Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-26

THINNER imam Vnen Sne saw MIN last. FER
haps it was his black clothes that gave
this impression. That clerical Waistcoat
seemed so absurd; and to think that he
was the Reverend Bentley Parker. She
had seen his name so given in the news
paper only a few days ago for the first
time and it had struck her as funny. She
had never thought he would do it. He
smiled at her in his frank. eager way.
She felt as she had often felt before
about him-that he was infinitely younger
than she, and yet hands had been laid
upon him and he was ordained to min
lister to the souls of men,
II came here for two reasons" he
said, 1.-The first being that Gardner asked
me. and the other
He looked at her intently and in a way
that warned her.
please don't! That's all a closed book,
Bentley
But let me say that 1 was lonely
That 1 wished to see you very much;
that 1t means great deal to me to see
You. Mary"
'It isn't fair to talk so. You remem-
wouldn't drive me out into the rain. That
wouldn't be in keeping with your-ottice?
Is that what 1 should call it?'
You may call 1t whatever you like"
he answered.: and added, after a pause:
Il hope that my work. what 1 have I'M
dertaken to do, hasn't made any differ
ence,hasn't made it more impossible
Il don't want to talk about it at ALL"
she said. looking past him to the gray
lake. But your work.
Yes. my work?' he asked eagerly. He
cared greatly for her opinion. It had al
ways been SO; and he had brought him
self to her now for sympathy, for the
support that such men demand of women
Your work. To tell you the truth.
Bentley, as an old friend, it seems to me
very foolish. Sums. Houses of refuge,
Settlements and that kind Of thing!' She
spread her hands with a mockery of dis
dain.
Yes: and that kind of thing" he re-
peated. slowly why isn't it worth while?
we used to talk of these things in the
old days, when you We're the one that
was interested and l was-well, you used
to give it to me pretty hard for my fri
volity.' He laughed in his eager way and
then grew grave. But l should be sorry
if you didn't care-if this work that 1
have undertaken to do didn't appeal to
you. l have hoped so much that it would
make difference-even that you might
aid me in tt
oh. Bentley! you must drop me out of
IL I'm afraid my views have changed
a good deal in the past year or two
since you took to the cloister. 1t USED to
seem awfully easy to do nice little things
for the poor-the poor in purse. You and
l belong to certain order of people,
Bentley; we are of the half that finds life
easy We are not very good-many Of us
other half In a pleasantly patronzfng
way. We feel quite beatifc when we
have done something that costs us moth
ing for the poor. We expect them to be
humbly grateful for our crumbs
Better our crumbs than that they
should go hungry
I'm not so sure Of that" She was
wholly serious now, and the note of rail-
lery had gone out of her voice. ut seems
to me that the poor are altogether too
easy for us to exercise our phianthropies
upon. Why don't we ever try to do
something for our own kind of people?
~In
poor at all. Look at the political ras-
cals-they're not the poor. but the be-
trayers Of the poor. What we need is a
salvation army for the rich-for us. for
such people as these that are idling away
their time here"
Il don't think we are so useless It's
the fashion to sheer at US: but I don't
see any reason why those of us who are
not rascals shouldn't help where we feel
we can"
There isn't any reason; but we ought
to offer better examples to the poor be-
fore we preach to them. that's all.
stopped reading the newspapers because
l grew tired of the daily chronicle of the
fall Of the prosperous The great and
good are always going into the ditch.
It's monotonous.'
But we have to help those we can
reach. 1 wish there were some way of
helping a man before he goes down: but
those that sit in high places are not easily
helped-they are well-nigh inaccessible"
The trouble is''-she hesitated before
saying what was in her mind-but he
p1qued her. He was man who had I'M
dertaken mission. but he did not appre-
ciate it's gravity. He was too sanguine.
too cheerful. Her ideals We're founded on
sacrifice. There had never been time in
Mary Ransom's life when she had denied
herself anything. but she was capable of
prescribing sacrifices a though they were
forfeits in childish game
You are throwing yourself away.
Bentley. The time will come when you
will want to give it up, and it's not so
easy to drop out of the ministry as to
cease being an amateur lawyer or doctor
or writer. When you get tired of preac
ing TO the poor and begin collecting ger
man favorS again you won't care to he
heralded in the newspapers as the Rev.
bentley Parker. You would do injury
10 the very cause you now have this pass
ing enthusiasm for"
He leaned forward with his arms on his
knees A look of detection came over his
face. Her words stung him. What right
had she to judge him in this harsh way
he asked himself. His eyes ceased to meet
hers; he was ashamed for the moment of
himself He was conscious of swift self
examination and he wondered for the first
time whether he were not ashamed Of his
cause. He wished that he did not care
so much but he had never been so touch
ed by her before. 1t had been said of her
that she was hard: or that she had been
spoiled; but the one thing was false and
the other did not matter He loved her
deeply. The fact OF his love broke over
him with a new strength as he talked
Her charm, her beauty, appealed to him
anew.
GO on" he said
Il once had my own enthuiasms about
the poor" she continued, but that was
before l grew up. l feel like hypocrte
every time I write a check for one of these
pretty charities. And here's my father
Arnold Ransom, esquire. the honorary
president of two or three Of them! It's a
lot cheaper for him to go on paying other
people to do the work than to bother him
self about it. And fathers a good man.
be thinks he does his duty-and he does
according to his lightn'
There's no mistaking your fathers
service. He does an immense amount of
good with his money. And his name and
lnnuence have value. 1t is easy to I'M
derestimate such things when you choose
TO take a pessimistic view. Noblesse
opi1Se! l have no ambition to shine in
the ministry. I merely wanted to have a
substantial institution behind me- The
private soldier, you know. gains some dig
nifty and authority from his uniform
I've had really flattering calls to do parish
1t was not my preaching or my spiritual
qualities that they were after; 1t was the
money have and the notion that has got
abroad that I'm high social luminary
that did the business But these people
don't interest me, Mary"
They probably wanted you to give tone
to their weddings" she said smiling a
little. THAT kind of thing has its place.
You may do worse. Or YOU might give