The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-22

' KNEW by the look in the boys eyes
 as he raised them to mine, that I ' had hurt him keenly. Yet to show that knew it meant to twist the dagger in the wound, for he was trying with all the might of his sensitive little pride and loyalty to hide 1t from me. So I waited Automatically for him to speak, but the moments dropped one by one into the sea of silence and were drowned, and could not countenance longer this slaughter of the innocents.
 'Well?" l said interrogatively.
 Its all right, father" He tried to say 1t heartily, but I, listening with the ears of love, detected pretence, a note in the heartiness that did not ring quite true. Tt will make no difference between you and me, lad" I said hastily, defensively, as though he had condemned me. Again that swift, hurt look. and I knew my words >fell on unbelieving ears.
 NO, sir; of course it won't" He met the suggestion gallantly, but his eyes carefully avoided mine. His glance strayed along the sloping hillside to an old rail fence where a curious chipmunk had paused to investigate us. l watched his face breathlessly-my heart stopped beat ing, and then throbbed on again with a dull ache as the fluff of brown fur brought no answering light to his trou- bled eyes. I realized poignantly, then, that the hurt was deeper than even suspected and that he had drawn fur ter than ever before away from me
 
 self where I could not follow him.
 Tt will distress me very greatly not to have you approve of it,' I said, going cautiously, for I would not let him see that I had looked into his sacred sane tuary.
 "Of course it's all right" he repeated, sturdily, "an I'm awful glad if you are happier"
 But still that false note in his brave little voice that tugged at the strings of my parent heart.
 See here, son" The name sounded strange on~my unaccustomed lips. To me he had always been just Boy" but somehow he had grown amazingly in the last half hour. I put my hand on his shoulder, man to man, not daring to cud-
 
 strengthen the love between us, not take from it. I said. "She is very sweet, and she'll give you what you've needed all your life-a mothers love and care.''
 ..But haven't eyer needed anybody but you, father" he broke in hastily, re- sentfully, and I fancied his throat con tnacted on a sob and killed it, though never a ghost of it appeared in his val iant little voice.
 yIox fria fa hot t1,ar and father to you." I went on, reaching desperately for his confidence as l felt him slipping further and further away from me. You were such a wee little thing when your mother dled-a man can't grow very big in 24 hours-and felt so helpless when I looked at the tiny bundle of clothes which was you. Some how have never gotten over that help 1essness, and there are times when you make me feel have been all wrong irs my ideas of bringing you up You remem- ber-we've talked it over so often-that unless you tell me all the thoughts that trouble you while you are a little boy, can't help you to grow into the honest. strong-hearted man I should like you to be-"
 'But do, father" he said. reproach- fully and the dark eyes he raised to mine were grieved and wounded; you know do. When the bad part of me makes me do things you don't want me to do, you know always tell you so you can punish me- I don't hide the naughty things from you"
 I sighed. How was to make him un- derstand the spiritual side of perfect con fidence? How could induce him to let me into that sanctuary where he had re- treated and barred me out? '-~5
 "It Is not the things you tell me-the <1ntx. "a fI,ak LA most Those we can straighten out, be- cause we both know and understand. It's feeling so helpless. That's where you need mother. The spiritual part of you that you'd give to motherhood you shut out from me, and leave me just the fatherhood that can only grasp the actual ities 6f fife. not any of it's finer feeling an dintuitions"