The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1906-03-23
ALTHOUGH REGENERATED jim
FOUND DISAPPOINTMENT
IN THE CHURCH.

Publishing company
Jim Hewston stood. his eyes
cleaning spontaneously, under
the stares and winks of certain I'M
regenerate members of the congre-
cation. He recalled little grimly
that the door of church was the
last place where he would have
whiled away his Sunday half hours
a wear ago. But then he had not
known Alice Huyler.
Alice was the organist and would
be the last one to come out.
Jim had lived in some pretty hard
sections.
Before when he had been at
Blackhawk, one time he broke up
a. dance at old Prouty's hall by de-
liberately shooting out the candles
and decorating the ceilgin with bull
let holes, "just to stampede the out
it," This brilliant stroke OF genl'
us gave Jim such prestige among
the boys that they unanimously
elected him foreman of the "Mulli-
gan Guards Hose Company No. l."
Somebody suggested that the
Presbyterians were having "mush
and milk debauch or a strawberry
hurrah."
What they did there Jim could
not remember distinctly; he had a
dim recollection of helping to buy
out a doll baby bazar, presided over
by several pretty but embarrassed
young ladies'. Anyway, he was very
much ashamed of the whole bust
ness, and testified to this the next
night by asking Stancliff, the Sun
day school superintendent good
young man whom he had often, and,
he was now convinced, unjustly
characterized as a weak sister-to
take him around for the second
night of the bazar. The good sisters
of the church, ever ready to snatch
| a brand from the burning, intro
duced him to all the pretty girls.
Piqued by the obvious Indifference
! of Alice Huyler, Jim finally asked
Stancliff for an introduction.
Not long after, supper was an
nounced. Jim purchased two tick
etcs, and without hesitation he
stepped up to Alice Huyler before
Stancliff's astonished eyes and
said: Miss Huyler, | know you,
and you think you know me well
enough not to want to kow me any
better; that's so, amt it? Well,
you're making a dead mistake. Now,
I've two tickets for supper, an |
don't want to sit alongside Of an
empty chair. Will you break bread
with a publican and sinner tonight?
Now come to think it over, l dis
remember the circumstances an l
don't know whether he belonged to
your church or not, but there was
a man down in Galilee a few thou
sand years ago that went around
hunting up my kind of fellers."
Before Alice had time to shape an
excuse, Jim had her hand safely
on his arm and was in the supper
room.
This was the beginning Of their
acquaintance. Alice was girl of
Puritan ideals. Jim did not come
up to her standard.
She felt it her Christian duty to
do what she could to save his soul.
He. she knew, with a dozen other
Guards" had been arrested but a
few days before and fined for dis
turbing a prohibition mass meet
ing" Jim and two others had
pleaded guilty and paid fines under
the names of u. s. Grant, Henry
Ward Beecher and DR.. Mark Walk
er.
One day he said to her: 81 know
you are not fond of the gang
travel with; you're hard on us, just
the same. 1t seems to me you are
always just little flintier after a
sermon. | don't seem to belong to
the kind of crowd you people want
to save; it's only the good ones
you're after"
Don't think that" she cried,
earnestly; you wrong the church
and you are unjust to me. For my
part, would do anything in the
world to make one better or bring
soul nearer to God. Oh, Jim,
there is so much that is good and
noble in you; why won't you give
yourself a chance?"