The Opelousas courier., 1905-08-19

IF you will not mind, I must leay
you for a few minutes" she said
: "Gfandma MeCallum wishes to speal
to me before she goes to sleep. Dom
wait for hc,' girls. IL 1 stayed,
couldn't decide which one has done th
most nobly, for I wonder at you ALL"
She glanced about at the' gaFlands O
roses which Eleanor had hung upon tn,
walls, at the twinkling candles, at thu
faces turned affectionately toward her
What Il wonderful evening it had been
and each had contributed to its perfes
ton. Through the open windows She
could see the glimmer Of lights upor
the CAMPUS, and the sound Of music
and gay voices mingled with the sigh
Of the night wind III the trees, She
treasured it all in this mohfeRt. that
it's remembrance might bring gladness
in the coming years, for when Size re.
turned the spell would be broken, and
all that remained would be to say good
night and good-by.
When the door closed behind the
slim, white figure, Lettice Clayton rose
abruptly at the head of the table.
The girls looked at her in surprise
and inquire, Would she propose the
toast at once? Not one but would have
waited Indefinitely for Delights re.
turn. Nothing was complete without
Delight.
Lettice looked from one to another
with a curious expression.
perhaps Delight Everett is the last
person competent to tell her WI story
she said, with a thrill In her voice.
IF you are willing, I should like to
tell you something of this quiet life
in Durham"
do tell us, Letticew urged Dorothy,
and the rest nodded.
Perhaps you remember that 1t was
the desire of Delights life to go into
settlement work with me-" Lettice be-
gam, land I know Of 10 one who would
be better fitted for the work. Besides,
she was an orphan, and seemed unus-
ually free to follow her wishes. But
the summer after graduation the aunt
who had made a home for Delight dur
ing vacations fell sick, and Delight
would not leave her. 1t proved to he
a lingering illness filled with intense
suffering, and through 1t all the poor
woman elung to Delight as to her only
hope and comfort. For three years
Delight devoted herself to this mission,
doing the housework as well. for the
doctors bills we're heavy and the fam
lily purse was shallow"
She stopped n moment, ahd her eyes
grew tender, while the others waited In
silence.
Il saw Delight once in that time"
she said, softly. "She was the same
dear Delight-no word of complaint,
no sigh for her deferred hopes, no
Consciousness of sacrifice, just sun
shine in a shady place. 1t was only
when she was listening to the stories
of my work she begged for, that /
caught a glimpse of her hope denied.
But If you could have heard what the
poor sufferer said one morning i'm her
absence! .Girls"-she threw out her
hands ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS would I not
give TO have such things said of mel"
Lettuce stood turning a rose in her
fingers while she waited to recover her
poise, her eyes looking beyond the
dropping petals Of the flower.
II went to Durham again." she IN
tinued, when I heard that the poor
woman was at rest. This time l ex-
pected to carry Delight away with me.
The work needed her-I needed her.
But l found somebody else had estab-
lished a prior claim. L cannot leave
poor uncle she said to me, with her
bright, brave smile. He is so Desc
late and SO helplessv
when I urged that there were 9TH
ers who might shoulder that burden, |
she shook her head. "Uncle is pecul- |
lar she answered, and if one did not |
know him well, one might not under
stand, and might be inpatient"
The narrator laughed ont suddenly. |
PECULIAR she cried. HE was a |
wizened little creature, but possessed
of a cantankerous spirit quite gigantic.
Indeed, IL Delight had not stayed at |
'S h oouDt IL uus pouy Cuuiu /
been found who would take 4
charge of that terrible old man. And
there our dear Delight has stayed, car
ing for him as tenderly as if he had
her father, and finding time, too,
to spend her love and sympathy upon |
every needy creature in that little |
town. And now, at last, Delight is.
free for her uncle died this spring,
leaving her the poor little farm as |
a token that-somewhere in his gnarled
and twisted soul-he, acknowledged her
loving service. And this is why De-
light has no story to tell of the past
ten years."
Judith Graves looked across ut the
narrator with eyes that were sus-
piciously bright. "'She hath chosen |
the better part,'' she murmured.
Il have so often wondered that De-
light did not marry" sighed Rose Alb
bott. "She would make a wonderful
wife and mother"
Lettice opened her lips impulsively, |
then closed them again. Not even to
her had Delight confided the full ex-
actions of her duty. But she remem-
pered the day when her cousin, DR..
Philip Clayton. had come to tell her
that he must go alone to complete the
preparation in Vienna which should