Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-23

CHc great nlcSSdke came 10 HE. LII NY
wanderings I met man who had once
lived life of sin. He was in the wreck
of the Santigan.''
1.-THE Santigan." said Lady Betty.
There were no survivors of the Santi-
GAN"
Then she lifted up the shade of the
lamp so that the light fell upon his face:
Her own was in darkness and he could
not see the sudden Joy fash into her
eyes.
He stood the ordeal without fiinching.
His arms were folded and his head sunk
upon his breast.
This man." he continued. in calm
voice. was picked up by some fishermen
that time his mind and body underwent
change. He repented Of his sins and lived
a clean, wholesome life. Then temptation
again confronted him and he fed from IT
into the great desert. 1t was there that
l met him. and there that he gave me
his message to you. His name was Sir
Richard Gaunt.'
"Yes?" the woman said. in faint voice.
Her eyes were fixed on the desk in front
OF her and she appeared to be thinking
of something else.
He gave me this message to you" the
man continued. firmly. HE asked me to
tell you that before he left England he
only pretended to love you and was go
ing to marry you for your money.
A faint sound came from the woman
lips. inarticulate, piteous.
But, as he became a better man.
Father Francis continued. The realized
your splendid worth. and by degrees came
to love you with all his heart and soul.
Lady Betty did not speak. but she COW
cred her eyes with one hand, as though
to shade them from the light.
He said that he would stay there IN
the wilderness till he was worthy OF you;
and that then he would return. He wished
to be quite sure that he was strong
enough to resist temptation.
And when will he return?" asked Lady
Betty. slowly. without raising her head
"Sir Richard Gaunt is dead. But he died
loving you and with you In his last
thoughts. 1T will be better for her. he
said to me. The world will gain what
have lost Those were his words before
God called him."
For more than a minute there was 81
lence. The woman still shaded her face
with her hand. The man stood before
her. as though awaiting sentence from
judge.
But he was the first to break the ST.
lence.
1.-The world will gain.'' he said. gently.
ut must always gain by self-sacrifice
You and the little girl who is crying for
apart for Gods work. /, too, and this
young man. We are giving up something.
1t is only in this way that one can do the
highest form of work. There Is no mar
rage lOT SUCH do yOu dhN
Then you will not let Harry Brandon
come back to u.s." she said, after long
pause.
Il will not" he answered. firmly.
She bowed her head. as though In SUBJ
mission. and he turned to leave the room.
Then. as though moved by sudden i'm
pulse he came back to her side.
You are a good woman" he said,
simply. May 1 ask you to pray for
me?''
at will rr.v for Won she reDIied with
out looking at his face.
And 1 will pray for you he said. In
low voice. I'VE are cOmrades-you and l.
We are trying to do good in the world.
Father Francis left the room without
another word. When he had closed the
door behind him Lady Betty Drake buried
her face in her hands and sobbed pit
eously.
in this long-haired, wild-eyed preacher
from the deserts Of Arabia. Directly she
set eyes on him his face and voice
had dimly suggested her dead lover, but
she had ascribed the resemblance to q
mere coincidence. The message, however.
and the mention of the Santigan. left no
room for doubt. and when she threw the
light of the lamp on the mans face she
knew that her lover had returned to her
again.
In the great JOY Of the discovery she
had nearly betrayed herself.
She heard the confession that he had
only loved her for the sake Of her money.
and she covered under the blow. Then,
as she learnt that he had grown TO love
her, and would stay in the wilderness till
he was worthy of her. her heart beat fast
with JOY. and she waited eagerly for the
words which she expected to come from
his lips.
Then. impatient of the delay. she had
asked him when Sir Richard Gaunt was
going to return, and then the answer had
come back to her
He will not return Sir Richard Gaunt
is dead"
ard Gaunt was dead Father Francis was
alive He had ceased to be a man with
human passions and feelings. He was
going to devote all his time. and brains.
and heart and energy to the great work.
to which he believed himself called.
He had asked her to pray for him. she
was not to help him; she was to be
neither his companion, his wife nor his
friend. She was only to pray for him,
as one prays for the soul OF the dead.
And now that he had gone and she had
time for thought, she recalled all that he
had said in reference to Harry Brandon.
and she realized that he was speaking not
only Of the young man. but or hlmseH.
"Sir Richard Gaunt is dead.
She folded her hands as il in prayer
and a great light came into her careworn
face. He had given up his lands-hls in
heritance Of Gaunt Royal, and ne had
given up all thought of the happiness
which a wife and children bring TO every
good man. And he had done this because
he believed that it was the sacrifice de-
manded of him.
Could she do less than follow the ex-
ample of the man she loved? She knew
that she had devoted her life to good
works. because the happiness OF mar
riage had been denied to her, because she
believed her lover to be dead. She realized
that it was in no sense of the word true
sacrifice. The work had filled a blank In
her life. She had given up nothing. But
everything else had been taken from her.
Now that she knew the truth. however.
her work would stand on different
plane. This man had thrust her out OF
his life. but he was still a man OF human
passions and weaknesses. If he loved
her. and his words left no doubt on this
point. 1t would not, perhaps, be SO very
hard to make him falter in his purpose.
He would see that. after all. man en-
gagged in great work would be helped
and not hindered by sympathetic wife.
But there was the difficulty. the cruX of
the whole matter. Was she in sympathy
with his work? Was 1t not too wild, too
ideal. too impra cticable for the approval
of a sane and healthy-minded woman?
Was there even the remotest chance of
success? Was it not utterly useless.
waste of time and talent that might prof
itably be employed a less gigantic
practical. They were devoted to single
portion of the sin and misery Of the
world. But this man would not dsign to
turn his attention to anything less than
war with the whole social system. She
had no sympathy with the scheme. AS