Alaska sentinel., 1907-08-22
.M N PYEtzI|IA!!S PYEt3zz S E
A Missionary Box.

"Listen, girls" said Aunt Lois. when the sewing circle had settled itself to work, and needles and tongues were merrily busy. Here's something that will interest you" And she read from a newspaper an item in which appeared the name of Rev. Philo X. Townsend, and some good thing he had done.
 What of It, Aunt Lois?" asked one of the younger women. She was Aunt Lois" to them all, and they were all girls to her.
 "Why, that's the man we packed missionary box for-fet me see-it must be forty years ago l don't suppose any of you remember, but I do. He was student then, and a bright one, too, but had to stop for a while for lack of money. We had no minister at the time and he came here as supply, Everybody liked him, and said be would grow to be a great man if he could only finish his education. But that was the trouble. He was In debt already, and our church was small and couldn't do much to help him, and don't know whether he ever could have succeeded If we women hadn't taken hold and helped.
 We made him q missionary box. We knit stockings. and made underclothing good warm tlannels, too-and ever So much money for such things, I'm pretty sure. And besides the useful things, We put In a good many nice little knck- knacks and notions.
 "J remember that box just as well, and how we sent 1t to him when he first got back to school. lie wrote us beautiful letter of thanks. And now he's pastor of that great city church, I tell you. girls. this society has done some real good things
 Do you suppose he remembers !t?" asked one of the members.
 "I believe I'll write to him, and sec" said Aunt Lois.
 The next meeting of the little society found every one ready to hear the let ter which, as they had learned already, Aunt Lois had received. The man had not forgotten. He remembered the very day of the month on which he received the. box, and Aunt Lois's letter reached him almost exactly forty years after. It brought back his earlier gratitude with new meaning when he recalled It all through the memories of forty years. Aunt Lois removed her spectacles twice to wipe them while reading his letter. Then she recalled some of the sacri- fees which the little society had made In the doing of such deeds In the years of Its history, and added, But just one letter like that Is enough to pay for all the work of the Sorty years"
 Further inquiry had been made by 1 the members of the society, who now told what they had learned of MT. Townsend. The good work done for l him had been passed on to others. man who did good In many ways, he l had taken a special interest in young people who had to struggle. He had given financial aid to at least fourteen young men to enable them to complete their education. He had been a discov- erer of genius. One of his proteges was writer of note. Another, whom he had adopted as his own son, was a sculptor, and had recently completed for a Western city a ten-thousand-dollar statue which critics praised highly. 1 70 girls" said Aunt Lois, when these things were rehearsed, when I think how far little good goes, when once it gets started, and how 1t keeps on multiplying itself in ways we can never know, I take new heart, and it makes hard work easy."-Youth's Con- i panion.