Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-02
CHAPTER xI-Continued.

CHAPTER XI-Continued.
DR.. Lavendar opened his lips to speak
but found no words
And he was offended. Offended? What
right had he to be offended? / was the
offended party. He went to a low the
alter. Apparently, you see nothing wrong
in that? Well. I've always said that
every parson had the making of an actor
in him. It's toss-up-the stage or the
pulpit Same thing at bottom. But per-
haps even you won approve of his stay
ing away all night? Smoking! Drinking
He'd been drunk. He confessed it. And
there was a woman in it. He confessed
that. Said they'd all gone to supper to-
| gether. Said that he was seeing the
world'-which man cman,' if you
pleaseD of his years had a right to do.
! Well. j suppose you'd have had me smile
| at him, and tuck him up in bed to sleep
off his headache, and give him a stick
of candy? That wasn't my way. l re-
proved him. I-chastised him. Perfectly
proper Perhaps-unusual He was
| twenty-four, and L laid him across my
knee, and-well; 1 got over it in fifteen
minutes. 1 was, perhaps, hasty. My
temper in those days was not what it is
| now. But | forgave him in fifteen min
utes, and he had gone! He's been gone
for thirtytwo years. My Cod
He poured out another finger of whisky,
| but forgot to drink it. A canary bird
chirped loudly, then lapsed into a sleepy
| twitter.
Il was well rid of him! To make a
quarrel out of thing like that-a joke,
as you might say, I laughed. myself,
afterward, at the thought of it. A fell
low of nty-four-spanked! Why didn't
he swear and be done with it? 1 would
| have reproved him for his profanity, of
course. Profanity in young persons is a
thing I will not tolerate; Simmons will
tell you so. But it would have cleared
the air. If he had done that we'd have
been laughing about it now-he and 1
together" The old man suddenly put
both hands over his face and a broken
sound came from behind them.
DIR. Lavendar shook his head, speech
lessly.
Whats the matter with you?" cried
Benjamin Wright, pulling offshis hat and
banging it down on the table so fercely
that the crown collapsed on one side like
an accordion. Good God! Can't you
see the tomfoolery of this business of
thirty-two years of hurt feelings?"
Dr. Lavendar was silent.
What! You excuse him? When I was
young parsons believed in the Ten Com
mandments: Honor thy father and thy
mother"
There is another scripture which saith,
Fathers, provoke not your children to
wrath And when it comes to the com
mandments 1 would commend the third
to your attention. AS for Samuel, you
robbed him.
Robbed him?''
you took his self-respect. A young
mans dignity, at twenty-four, is as pre-
ciouS to him as womans mOdesty. You
stole it. Yes, you robbed him. Our
Heavenly Father doesn't do that when
He Furnishes us. We lose our dignity
ourselves. but He never robs us of it.
~.
bed Samuel. My-my-my! DR.. Law
endar sighed. YEARLY. For. indeed. the
matter looked very dark. Here was the
moment he had prayed for-the readiness
of one or the other of the two men to
take the first step toward reconciliation.
Such readiness, he had thought would
mean the healing of the dreadful wound,
whatever it was; forgiveness on the
fathers part of some terrible wrong
doing, forgiveness on the sons part of
equally terrible hardness of heart. In
stead he found a cruel and ridiculous
modification, made permanent by
thirty-two unpardoning years Here was
no sin to command the dreadful dignity
of repentance, with it's divine response of
forgiveness. The very lack of serious
ness in the cause made the effect more
serious. He looked over at the older
man and shook his head - How could
they pay their debts to each other. this
father and son? Could Benjamin Wright
away? Could Samuel offer that filial af-
lection which should have blessed all
these empty years? wickedly ludi-
crous memory forbade the SOlemnity of
reconciliation; below any attempt the
father might make, there would be grin,
somewhere; below any attempt the son
might make, there would be a cringe
somewhere. The only possible hope was
in absolute fat commonplace. Play writ
ing as subject of conversation was out
of the question.
Benjamin" he said. with agitation, Il
thank God that you are willing to see
Samuel, but you must promise me not to
refer to Sans play. You must promise
me this, or the last end of the quarrel
will be worse than the first
II haven't said l was willing to see
him. Mr. Wright broke out; I'm not
willing! Is it likely that 1 would banker
after an interview? All 1 want is to get
the boy away from Old Chester; to see
the world His-father ought to 'sympa-
thize with that. Yes. to get him away l
would even But if you will tell his
relatives. that. in my judgment, he ought
to go away, that is all that is neces-
sary.'
NO, You must urge it YOURSELF DIR.
Lavendar said, eagerly. Put 1t on the
ground of calf-love, if you want to. I'll
tell Samuel you want to get Sam out of
town because you're afraid he's falling in
love with Mrs. Richie, and you'd like to
consult him about it."
But the old man began a scrabbling
retreat. NO. Mo-" he said putting on
his hat with shaking hands. mo, don't
tell anybody anything. I'll find some
his-relatives is a last resource. If they
are so virtuous az to object to plays. I'll
try something else. Object?' he repeated.
Cad mercy! My discipline was sue
cessful! He grinned wickedly.
DIR. Lavendar made no reply. The in
terview had been a strain and he got up
little feebly. Benjamin Wright, as he
saw him to the door, swore again at some
misdemeanor on the part of Simmons.
but was not rebuked.
The old minister climbed into his buggy
and told Goliath to "glong.' AS he
passed the Stuffed Animal House he
peered through the little dusty window
of the hood, but David was not in sight.