The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-18

E II
{ you ever ask him? No. you olIS
thought that he-was going away I III.
I you. when he ought TO nave SO -
/ and become hired man without pSS ,,
you thought he was going away 10 Hii i.
I larger opportunities to be Wlcksu' -
didn't occur TO the deacon tnat ms so ,n
could wish to go to place -,
everybody would not point al ~
/ where he would not be the black sneep
[ of the nejghborhood. where he might
/ have some chance Of becoming q man
/ You'd think any father would nav !
given his son a chance for that' Du1
what did YOU do? You sald ne " as
dead To you. Every time you Heal y
anything bad about him, diun YOU
/ feel yourself that much better oecd l - :
| you thought him that much WoIse
I That was your idea Of being q ID ne il.l D.,
wasn't il? You wouldn't heip Hiiii
when he wanted to tTy-you only salu
he was dead"
Asa Cutters head had dropped, ana
he was looking up at her from benei~Lh
his brows, the fingers of one mana NOV
ing across his lips. He was Keen
enough to realize that much OF via l
she said was true: his own virtue mac
indeed seemed to him greater Dy con-
parison with the vice of his SON lle
anger her words caused him az liISI
ONLY maze MN Ille more ' uAAANA @ ~
the points she afterwards scored. Be
sides. there had been times. after the
death of the younger son, when ne NAG
wondered whether he had done rlghl
By Ralph: that was partly the reason
for his coming to rescue Ralph : SON.
if he was determined to snatch him as
a brand from the burning. he also
meanPto do for him what he had not
done for Ralph; make him heir OF ms
accumulated fortune, which was not
small. by country reckoning. More
than that Asa Cutler had not thought
il possible to do for any one. As MS
sons widow poured forth her re
proaches and accusations. therefore ne
began to feel himself little misjudged.
and. consequently, hurt in another
way.
she watched the changes in his face
and went on. What do you know OF
the things he cared for?' she cried
Ralph wanted to follow the beautiful.
TO create beautiful things Was there
anything wicked in that? But you de-
cIared. without knowing anything
about it. that art and the life of an
aartist were the evil one and his works
What right have you to say that
thing is bad when many other people
say it is good? Who is to judge-yOu,
any more than another? Ralph never
did any harm TO any one but himself
Will you be able to say as much for
yourself when you stand before your
maker? Yes. and when Ralph stands
before the judgment seat, do you think
he'll be judged as you judge him? Do
YOU? Do YOU remember the good
things Ralph did, No. you only re-
member the bad OneF. And of the bad
ones. do you think OF how many would
have turned out good If he had had
his father back of him, or any one to
give him a helping hand. or even a
little encourag cement? Do you judge
him by the beautiful thoughts he had.
the kind deeds he did, the struggles he
made. the fights he Won? No. not you,
You judge him By his failures. He had
temptations within himself of which
you never dreamed, and yet you think
you are a better man because you eS-
( capped all temptations. than Ralph was
because he couldn't overcome every one
Of his"
Asa Cutler folded his arms upon his
( breast and turned his back but her
words burned into his brain. Having
| broken through his srmor Of lifelong
! self satisfaction. IT was no difficult
matter to touch the quick beneath it.
and he was listening to words which
! revealed himself in a new light. De
| fenseless as he was. this women was
| SCATTERING the foundations of his self
esteem: he began to see himself as she
saw him, stripped of the regard of his
neighbors, without his cloak Of right
! eOusnesS. bare OF sOul-and ashamed.
/ Deprived of the strength Of his phari-
| saicaI pride. he was becoming within
the few minutes Il old man heavy
summoned remained with him; he saw
man Guitar CTR Of
/ terial things, waiting to be judged for
himself alone-tO answer for his son
| He bowed his head. and she. under
standing in part what was passing
through his mind, spoke again.
Yes, you judge him now. but YOU
condemned him first. What DO YOU
know of him. of this man whom you
viii not OWN You turned your back
upon him in his need. and you condemn
him because he failed, 1 have gone
out into the streets to hunt for him.
and when I've found him I have
brought him home helpless: I don't
condemn, because I know what his re-
morse was, I know how hard he tried.
You stay at a distance, say he is dead.
and do not know how tired Of sin he
was. how he longed and prayed to do
| better; I know, because 1 was with
him, and I saw the fight he made. You
don't know what il is to be shaken in
the grip Of that longing for drink that
used to torment Ralph, and you think
yourself the better man because you
never felt it; ] know what it was: ]
have seen him battle with il. and-and
! have seen him lose. But 7 don't re-
member il against him that he lost: I
remember the good fight he made. You
think he was bad-oh, 7 know how good
he was. know how good he wasI"
Her voice rose piercingly in the last
words, and she threw herself across the
couch, her head on the dead mans
feet, sobbing. Asa Cutler stood dtiet
and tense for few minutes. her weeD-
ing sounding as rebUkingly in his ears
as her words then he walked the
length of the room and back and stood
by the head of the couch. looking down
upon the quiet. life-searred features.
He was my son." le said slowly. az
if the fact were being borne in uDou
him.
The weeping woman raised her head
and looked at the old man in dues-
tioning amazement. Then she srosa
and left the room. presently returning
with a child in her arms
Size held him shOulder-high. and If
was evident that she had awakened
him from his nap. His blue eyes were
still heavy with sleep and his head fen
sideways against his mothers his
=I,=r,fuu v77r7,r,ro7 o,--f-