The San Francisco call., 1909-11-20

glossy black hat or the topmost curl of
his snowy hair to the very tips o. his
shiny shoes his appearance was neat
ness and gentility itself His manners
were perfect No man was too poor or
humble for the professors" courtly
greeting; no woman was too old or too
shabby for him to assist across the
street; no child was ever left out" of
his fatherly kindness.
For, as is always the case the pro
fessors' heart was as good and kind
as his manners were polished and
courtly. He was true gentleman.
The rough people Of the mountain
town often wondered why he always
kept himself so neat and why he was
so much more polite and courteous
than they. Unknowingly they gave the
true reason when they "reckoned twas
the way he was raised"
The professor had come to the town
20 years before His wife was with him
then and his little boy He bought a
modest house and fitted it up with
every comfort for the delicate wife. for
whose sake they had come to the noun
tains. They lived there. quietly and
happily, until the boy had grown to be
quite lad, manly and intelligent like
his father, gentle and affectionate like
his mother Then suddenly he died. /.
1T was cruel blow-unexpected. un-
dreamed of.
But together the. professor and his
little wife bravely met their sorrow;
together they went forward to meet
the lonely years before them. They
were not many for the little wife AL
ways delicate, before long she went to
join her little son.
Alone, the professor" lived on in the
little house. 1t was all the home he
had; it was filled with mementos of
his dear ones and he had no wish to
leave it.
The love he had lavished on his wife
and son was now bestowed, it seemed,
on all mankind and especially on the
people of the little town
His garden was his delight and also
his means OF recreation when he was
tired with his work
He was not professor at all. but a
student and a writer. His contribu-
tons to scientific magazines were noted
for their depth and clearness. Equally
wonderful. though in q different way
were his beautiful, tender books for
children.
He cooked his own meals and ate
alone, except on Sundays and holi-
days. These were too unutterably
lonely as he told the nshdlady of the
one little hotel when he went to make
arrangements to take his dinners there
on those days.
On the night before Thanksgiving
IliClC w do ~ CIceIy WOOu Hre III the Dig
fireplace of the professors sitting room
The professor was interested in his work
and 1T was getting much later than he
realized. He liked his work; besides he
had learned the lesson many have
learned before him and since-that the
two best cures for sorrow are kindness
to others and hard work
Suddenly the professor raised his
head and listened. There it was again
"a tap, faint and hesitating, at the
door.
He sprang and opened it,
The cheerful light streamed out,
across the porch and on the gravel
walk, where lay the snow, cold and
crisp, and lit up the dark branches of
the evergreens beyond.
1t shown in the face and blinded the
eyes of boy, ragged and forlorn. who
stood there. shivering with the cold.
Have you got any work. sirr' he
asked. "Td do anything, sirs'
Work, my boy, at this time Of
night?'
"well, thought perhaps you might
have some.
you see. sir. walked an awful long
ways and 1 couldn't get no work and
I'm awful hungry, and"
We'll. / guess you are! You look IT.
"Come in, my boy, we'll manage to
find something to eat, even IL it is late
II believe l am hungry myself.
Come along into the Kitchen, we'll
see what we can find"
What they found seemed abundance
and luxury to the half starved city
waif and when, after "toasting his
toes" as the professor called it, be-
fore the open fire, he lay down on the
comfortable bed the professor had fixed
for him on the couch, he thought
heaven itself couldn't be much better
In the morning the professor found
something for him to do wood to
carry in, paths to clean and errands
to go.
The work seemed to hold out wonder
fully. There were pickets on the
fences TO be nailed up, brush to be
cleaned up, in the corner OF the gar
dan, later. there WAS snadinp and