The Semi-weekly leader., 1907-01-12

had been trying month, with the
special services and the resulting
numberless private conferences he
had been called upon to grant in order
that the full benefit of the services
might be reaped. 1t is no small thing
to hold three regular services a day
besides the duties an honest priest
must ever perform to his parish-the
calls on the sick and afflicted, the
marriages and the funeral rites And
when added to all this one is COM
PEELED to hold himself ready at all
times to receive the halfconverted,
and pour into troubled and doubtful
souls the spiritual inspiration they
lack-well, it takes considerable out
of him.
So Father Gray was particularly
tired, and even while he bravelj told
himself that it was all nonsense and
weakness of the flesh, and that he
was as we'll and strong and fresh as
ever to go about his Masters busi-
ness, yet his tired head persisted in
laying on his arm on the table, and to
his overwrought senses there stole
that delicious calm which is the balm
to tired nerves and brain and muscle.
But it was not to be that he should
enjoy this relaxation long. A knock
came on his study door, and in re-
sponse to his drowsy invitation to
enter there appeared the sweet, calm
face of Sister Margaret, and with her
there was shrinking young girl. with
frightened eyes and pale face crowned
with a wonderful mass of glorious
brown hair. She was a beautiful girl,
and Father Gray remembered to have
seen her at several of the special
meetings.
He remembered particularly well,
because the face had strangely re-
minded him of some part of his past
life-before he was Father Gray and
simply Henry Gray, before the great
trial which had come to him had
moved him to renounce the world and
devote himself to the service of the
Master and His church-and humani-
ty AS he looked into the eyes of the
girl the reminder came more strongly
than ever, and the blood ran through
his veins as it had not done for years
The past-the happy past, with its
human joys and hopes and promises
rose before him.
He shook the mood from him rough
ly, and in reply to the greeting of the
sister and the statement that the
girl had been awakened by the meet
ings and sought advise from him, re-
piled:
Very good, sister, will talk with
her.
Then Sister Margaret withdrew,
leaving the girl, pale and trembling,
alone with the priest. With the gen
tleness and sympathy which had
made him such a success in the min
istry he set the girl partially at ease
and drew from her the confession she
had come to make.
"Oh, father!" she cried, clasping
her hands before her and gazing into
his face with distress written all over
her face, 'I have great-a very great
sin upon my conscience. | want to do
the best and wisest thing to undo the
wrong l have inflicted upon others,
but the way is so dark and 1 am so
weak l do not know what to do. You
have been such a comfort to me at
the meetings, and you seem so good
and wise, that / thought you could
advise me. I am willing to suffer
myself for my sin, but l want to do
the best thing for those l have
wronged."
go on" he said gently.
Many years ago-dear me, it seems
ages ago-I did something in a fit of
temper which ruined my sisters hap
piness for all her life, and the happi-
ness, fear, of good man. Oh, faith
er, 1 was only a child, and did not
Nnow. l loved my sister so dearly
that 1 was madly jealous of her. She
was IL years older than l and beau
tiful young woman. She had many
admirers. didn't mind most of them,
because she laughed at them, but
there was one whom l grew to hate
with that passionate jealousy which a
child sometimes feels. In my great
love for my sister l saw clearly that
] was second to none of the others in
her love, but l was most distinctly
second to Henry. For none of the
others would she abandon any of the
plans we would make for our amuse-
ment, but for Henry she would aban-
don everything and forget me eutire-
ly.
/ brooded over this until / was mad
with insane iealouSy And then ono
day, when he wrote note and asked
her to go out riding with him, as he
had something in particular he want
ed to say to her, and she joyously
abandoned a picnic we had planned
and sent me down to the parlor to en-
tertain him until she finished dress
ing, Il lied to him and told him that
after she received his note Claude
Belknap-an avowed admirer-had
come and asked her to take a boat
ride, and she had torn up his note and
gone with Claude.
"Oh, l was cunning beyond nv
years, and l told him with the con-
vincing artlessness of child-and
was glad, yes, heaven help mel / was
glad to see the pain in his face. He
scribbled note to her that he was
compelled to leave that night on a
trip of many months in the west and
begging her to come to the train, as
it would be the last opportunity he
q, would have to see her until his return
and that the trip would mean a great
advance for him-so great an advance