The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-10-10


 flashes Of course, I cannot tell what sort of secret this is; but I think it is a disclosure of certain relations of our personal being to time and space and to other intelligences; to the procession of events and to the great first cause. This secret seems to be broken up into frag- ments, as it were, so that we find here a word, here a syllable and then again only letter of it. It never is written out [ for us as a complete sentence in this life. People have fallen into frances and learned some things which they never l could tell in human words. It is as often the plain as the beautiful face that hints the great secret. But this young girl has at once the beauty of feature and the mystery of expression. This great secret has nothing to do with the three words l love you. I don't wonder, though, that you think so, for T love you is all the secret most women have to tell.'
 There was bland, quiet old gentleman sitting opposite the professor whom he had not regarded at all in connection with Iris. But one morning the girl brought down some mignonette which she
 
 after giving a sprig to the Little Gen. tleman, sent by the hands of Biddy an- other sprig to the placid gentleman. How the old gentleman did strut with that sprig in his buttonhole. And after breakfast Iris must needs show him some of her drawings. "Very fine perform ances," he said; very fine, indeed Re- minded him of Miss Lindley's needlework exhibited in London in the year eighteen and a little or nothing-'p patronized by the Queen and the nobility and gentry Wonderful resemblance to nature.' It was vastly irritating to the professor everybody receiving some special atten- tion from Iris except that young Mary ] lander of his and the young Marylander apparently not caring a-well, not caring at all.
 But the professor, shrewd as he was in keeping run of his neighbors affairs, was not quite so omnscient as he fancied l himself. Iris used to go to church every | Sunday, the boarders escorting her in ] turns to the particular church or chapel which they affected. One Sunday when l it was the young Marylanders turn he l took her to the Church of St. Polycarp. 1 The service at the church dedicated to the martyred bishop of smyrna shocked i most of the boarders, but Iris found there something which strongly appealed , to her, and began to make it her usual l place of worship. St. Polycarp's had 1 very much the look of a Roman Catholic 1 church. There were pictures and in- l scriptons in antique characters, and 1 there were reading stands and flowers on the altar. There were boys to sing alter 1 nately in choirs responsive to each other, l and there was much lowing and very loud responding-a long service and a short sermon, and bag, such as Judas used to carry in the old pictures, was l passed about to take up the contribu- l tions.
 Of course in Iris strictly Puritanical bringing up she had been accustomed to l hear such going on" characterized by l uncomplimentary texts taken from the l Apocalypse, but she forgot her preju- dices at the door of St. Pelyearp's, for she found there church with open doors, with seats for all classes and all colors alike-a church of zeaious Wor- shipers after their faith, of charitable | and serviceable men and women, a church which took care of children, never forgot | it's poor, and whose people were more oc- | cupied in looking after their own souls than in attacking the faith of their neigh- bors. All this Iris at once discovered and the elaborate ritual harmonized wlen 1 her tastes The sweet alternation or the | two choirs as the holy song noated rom l side to side, the keen young voices risihs | like flight of singing birds that passes l from one grove to another carrying Us l music with it back and forth-ali these things soothed her and lifted up her l heart.
 When the professor learned that ITS