Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-26
AT THE MAY SERVICE

'.One evening last week at dinner said
the refund. composed-Ioeking man Of forty.
.'the wife asked me II I wouldn't like to
go to the May services at church that even
ing-with her. of course. / caught her ex-
changing a glance across the table with
our eldest boy. tyke of ten, when she
made that suggestion TO me. Therefore,
said to myself right away, 1t was a put
up job. The boy and his mother were in
on a deal to timber up my religion
little. I'd been keeping the faith right
along, Of course, without making any wide
detours to do it-going to mass-one Of the
brief low masses-on Sundays and such
like. But here they were, mother and boy.
linked in a conspiracy to force me to take
on leetle more religion. Things are COM
ing along. said l to myself, when that
youngster and his mother fall to scheming
together And this idea kind o made me
sit UP and take mental notice. so to speak,
for it seemed somehow or another, to mark
the close Of the time when the mother and /
did all of the scheming together for the
boy.
But there l was. No way to get out of
It. Couldn't make any excuses or try to
wriggle out of going to those May evening
services. with the boy sitting right there,
taking everything In. / thought bit ag-
grievedy of the comfortable, loling smokes
it would cost me If 1 went. and l expert
enced just a teenchy touch OF resentment
over the rather smooth ana SeTtile way L
was being cut out of those smokes. But
there was no way out
why, certainly, mother. I'll go-glad
to-, said |, as hearty as l could make 1t.
and then again I caught that significant
exchange of glances between the boy and
his mother, just as if they'd achieved some
kind of victory or other. Made me feel
as If / were becoming sad old sinner, or
something when those two seemed to take
it as such big thing to get me out Of my
arm chair for an evening to attend the
May services.
''Well, the boy executed his usual disap-
pearance soon after dinner and then. al
lowing me to get just one cigar burnt up,
the wife began to hustle and hustle me
around, and presently We were on our way
to the May services. l had to grin bit
sheepishly as we drew nigh the church por-
tai.
Fine work for you, little lady, said L
to the boys mother. DO you know how
many years it's been since l ATTENDED May
evening services?
Please don't tell me- said she. I don't
want to hear. And don't ever say any
thing like that before the chfldren-you
know how they notice these chance re-
marks and with that we were inside the
cool church and on our way up the center
aisle to the pew.
well we'll what long stretch OF years
that fragrance took me back across-tnat
mingled fragrance of roses and drifting in
cense Noticed 1t the minute l set foot
within the church-first. the smell OF the
roses that were heaped up on the main al
tar and the side altar, and then, as We got
uside that other aroma of the incense. L
declare that those two fused fragrances-
and they go mighty well together, If you've
ever noticed-just clean picked me up ana
set me back on the road good thirty
years and a good bit of that road pretty
hard going, at that.
1.-THE wife and 1 sat down in the pew and
I was listening to some of the old familiar
May evening music, full of its dim remlnis-
cences, when she gave me slight nudge.
I turned and looked at her. and her eyes
were shining mighty bright, sure enough.
And she was nodding toward the altar.
thought that she meant that she wanted me
to stop looking around at the rose decora-
TONS and to pay attention to what was
going on at the altar. and 80 I followed her
gaze.
Then I understood the inside of that put
up job between the boy and his mother-for
there was the boy up on the altar in cas-
sock and surplice. at the right-hand side OF
the priest. at that. l understood, all right
When l turned to her again her eyes were
still shining away like as IL they d-but
when it comes to that l couldn't see her
very well myself for it all came a-romping
back to me in an instant that she looked
just exactly. for all the world. like my own
little mother had looked, away back yonder
over the craggy path of years, when she
seen me diked out in casSock and surplice
for the first tlme-for all the world and to
the life! Same shining eyes. same trembling
around the corners of the mouth, same
speaking pride OF the features-the joy of
the mother-wornan when she sees one of her
own taking part for the first time in a rite
at any kind of a shrine
That's why she'd got me out of my arm
chair to attend the May evening services.
The conspiracy between her and the boy
stood revealed. But / didn't feel aggrieved
over those sacrificed smokes any longer"