Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1905-12-22
IN HER PLACE SAT- A aIRL1su FIGURE.

| IN HER PLACE SAT A GIRLlSH FIGURE.
from any other dwellings and lighted
| by one small lamp which sent its rays
! through the narrow window, he fol-
! lowed The men through the door into
n barely furnished room. On cot
| in the corner lay child, small and
wasted, marked with deaths stamp,
and beside her sat the weeping moth
| :. Some strange mystery haunted
| the room. What were these poverty
stricken people trying TO conceal? The
clergyman shook Off the feeling and
| opened his prayer book at the bap-
tismal service.
Having performed his mission, ac-
| companied by the two men, he was
passing a clump of trees on his way
home when one of them stopped sud
denly and. pulling a long bladed knife
! from his pocket, flashed it before the
| young rector's face and instantly point
| ed 1t toward his heart. He uttered
piercing shrek
"Ugh." said John Hare as the sound
| of hi; own voice wakcned him and he
sat up in bed. What an ugly night
marew Then. with n look at his watch,
''It is high time | was up anyway.
| with fifty parochial visits before me-
! must make sure that not a single
| family has Il cheerless Christmas to-
| morrow"
His eye caught the picture of a girls
face, gentle eyed, yet CHEEKY, hanging
in frame on his wall. And if there's
any persuasion in John Hare's poor
| eloquence lie won't have a cheerless
nor Il lonely Christmas the next 25th
of December"
This young rector had come to
Spottsfield, rising manufacturing
Gig, three years before, after serving
as curate in large city parish. He
had transformed his new congregation
from a disgruntled, quarreling COM
munity composed of few rich and
many poor to n great family interested
in each other and respecting his Christ
like principles. And incidentally his
strict resolution for busy bachelor
hood had been somewhat disturbed by
Il pair of interested, laughing eyes
which belonged to the daughter of a
factory owner.
This energetic. but rather shy, young
woman was famed and loved among
the poor and sick of Spottsficld for her
gentle and unprctentious way Of help
ing when and where she was needed.
Though Of different faiths, she and
John Hare met often while on eXcur-
sions OF mercy. He had seen her, too,
at her fathers home, where lie was
popular as Il dinner guest because of
his appreciation OF II good cigar and
his broad forccful views on Christian
ity.
AS he dressed that morning before
The festive holiday he realized that the
human heart cannot be denied its sus-
tenancc - one beating in touch and
sympathy with it - and that one fair
girl had woven her charms about him
so completely that he could no longer
, refrain from telling her Of it, even
though of late she had rather seemed
to avoid him when he crossed her path
and was even chary of her conversa-
tion when he dined at her house.
buiihS thc ioiS bNSy tHs Sht WIS
constantly brought to his mind In the
homes he visited. A forlorn old wom-
an told CT the coming of Miss Ruth
with yarn for the next years knitting
and box Of sweets. A grateful moth
er told of the nights Miss Ruth had
stayed and nursed the baby back to
life. In the poorer homes he heard Of
the baskets Of Christmas goodies she
had brought with toys and warm nit
tens for the children.
1t was 10 o'clock before the rector
had finished the days task, and when
he REACHED home he threw himself,
quite worn out, on the couch In the H.
brafy. Not ten minutes seemed to
have elapsed whom the sound "Br-r-r.rw
through his sleen wakened him sud-