The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-01-15
The Rev.
Mr.. Muldoon
By F. A. Mitchell

drove out of it.
Papa
"You know very well that you flirted
with him, then refused him.
But didn't drive him away"
when he handed me his resignation
he told me that it would be impossi-
BILE for him to live near you and for
get you"
Jacqueline hung her head
"This young man who is coming in
his place has been accepted at my in
, stigation because he is painfully home
". He has fiery red hair and freekles;
he is long boned and disjointed.'
What has that got to do with it?'
"a great deal 1t is impossible for
you to let a handsome, attractive man
alone. / expect Mr.. Muldoon to repel
you by his ugliness. We are getting
tired OF hunting up ministers for you
TO make fools of and drive away. We
are going TO try one of a different
kind"
"Why not get an old married MANI?
"You know very well what the sal
airy is. If we should do as you sug-
gest we would have family to sup
port besides the minister, and we are
too poor for that"
well, papa. IL Mr.. Muldoon is as
hideous as you say don't think you
will be put to the trouble of getting
another man on my account"
The first Sunday the new clergy
man preached Jacqueline was indis-
posed and should not have gone to
church, but she was so curious to know
how homely he really was that she
went to hear and see him. He was
homelier than he had been painted.
Besides his natural biemishes there
was an artificial one. When boy he
had fallen against q buZZsaw, which
had left Il frightful scar on his left
cheek. Then when preaching, having
made a point that especially pleased
him. he would smile, and the contor-
tion his face took on was expressive
Of n pain in his stomach.
At first II did not seem to Jacqueline
that she could endure to look at him.
But he had remarkable intellect and
the gift OF expressing his ideas in
words For awhile she listened to him
with her eyes turned away. BY de
grees she was enabled to endure the
sight of him for a few minutes at a
tire, and before the end of his SER
mon she had quite forgotten his ugli-
ness.
The next Sunday she was obliged to
begin all over again. but the process
of getting used to looking upon him,
his fiery red hair, his SCARED cheek
and worst of all that dreadful smile
at clinching an argument, required less
time than the Sunday before. More
over, his intellectual part began to In
tiuenceher. What comprehensive ideasl
What heart! What different way OF
looking at things from the cut and
dried theology that had come down
through the centuriesi How her heart
bled for those whom he pictured driv
en- by their surrounding circumstances
into crime. 1.-THE children of the poor"
he said, ''are sent to Jail, the children
of the rich to dancing school,"
And SO he accounted for that grow
ing criminality among the children and
youth OF the land, filing more and |
more the columns of the newspapers, |
illustrating their inevitable course by |
such graphic words as those quoted. |
Jacqueline went home from church |
and all the rest of the day was think
ing on that fearful procession Of little /
children with but one path before
them, and that leading to crime. And /
mingled with this picture was the face
of the minister, but one engaging fea
ture in it-sympathy lighted by pro-
test against this human injustice.
For time Jacqueline tried to stop
her ears against this childish wall.
Any effort to relieve It seemed hope
less. But she was at last won over by
the minister's exhortation to work I'M
der the inspiration of faith and leave
the rest to Providence. And so under
his direction she became the leader of
an association of women workers in
the field of charity. While the hand
some. gentlemanlike pastors of her
church had discoursed to her from
the pulpit upon theological princi-
pies that had been wrangled over for
ages and at other times had poured
soft nothings into her willing ear this
fright" by a sympathy for his fellow
beings had unconsciously walked by
straight path to her heart. The hair
was still fiery red; the scar. the ex-
smile. were as hideous as be-
fore, but not to her. for she did not see
them. They had been Obscured by a
divine light that emanated from the
spiritual part Of this repelant body.
Dne day the deacon. Iacqueline's ia
Iher, said to her:
Jack, | have noticed that you ere
aking great interest in the work in
,pired by Mr. Mudoon. | brought him
lere thinking that his ugliness would
protect him. fear that II has failed" ,
Father" said the girl impressively. I
when again you choose for such pur 4
nose a homely man to occupy the pull Z
,it of our church would advise you TO I
ELECT one without the gift OF intellec- >
uality and the divine attributes of
cal Christian. II you intend to warn !,
he il is too late. But this time IL is =
i. rrnv tha 90, mo .