The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1915-03-18

close corporaUon, the anu
God.
Just outside the little private fold
were the Biagdens. After them, the
congregation OF the First Congregation
al church Of Corinth.
1t already has been said hat Mr..
Presbrey employed himself in the pleas
ant occupation Of developing other peo-
pies children. His wife, 1t may be
added, also took a hand in such affairs.
She had eve cared to have children
Of her own. This, perhaps, was a for
tunate thing for Mr.. Presbrey's peace
Of mind. It would have been most dis
tressing, ever dismaying, II she had
wanted them.
Again, 1 repeat, Mr.. Presbrey was a
very good man. He will bear watch
ing.
He was tall. spare, so and ascetic.
You could not have mistaken his long,
thin, aquiline nose for the property of
any but a sanity man, nor could his
closely cropped side whlskers, extend
ing below the lobes Of the ears, have
belonged to a less exalted personality.
Somtimes we confuse our own less care
full ministers with overly i~mportunate
nghtning-rod agents OF insurance So
lcitors-once in q while, to our sor-
row, with book agents-but We would
not have taken Mr.. Presbrey, by any
conceivable chance, for anything but
what he vas And yet, despite an out
ward appearance Of rigid self govern
ment and exactitude, he possessed a
certain form Of weakness that Is ap-
parent In most Of us, no matter how
strong minded we pretend to be. He
was not above listening to the advice
and counsel of his wife. I betray a Sc
cret, Of course, when / SAY that Mr..
Presbrey first took his burdens to MS
wife, and then to God. 1 will not go
SO far as to say hat II she had pooh
poohed them as ~trifles, he would not
have included them in his prayers, but
It is quite certain that he would have
gone about II perfunctorily.
II Mrs. Presbrey had searched the
world ove for q mate, h could not
have succeeded In finding one more
compatible than he. I do not pretend
to know how far afield she searched,
nor how long IL was before she came
to him, but II Is reasonable to suspect
that she had made some endeavor. She
was 10 when he married her and she
had led the bible class IN his Sunday
school for at least 10 years before the
miracle came to pass. Corinth was her
birthplace, SO, I fancy. she did not find
1t necessary to venture far from home.
She believed In the efficacy OF prayer.
That Is why she received the belated
blessing In the shape of Mr.. Presbrey.
%NA ~ OSo SoA ShAO AALN HA1SNN w
him-and for him. Gods blessing, as
well as His wrath, Is often delayed be-
yond all understanding, but IL we &C.
cept Mrs. Presbrey's spiritual persist
ency as an example, our minds may be
at rest as to the virtue Of the admonI-
ton: ASK and ye shall receive"
It Is only natural to suppose that the
excellent Presbreys had gone into the
problem Of the Midthorne children quite
thoroughly before presenting them
selves on the hill, some 10 minutes prior
to the Blagden's dinner hour. Mrs.
Presbrey made II O point never to be
late for anything. She avoided all pos
sibility Of such an occurance by being
punctually ahead OF time. So, when
they sat down to table at Z o'clock,
they were prepared to give all the
Christian advice hat the occasion and
It's e~xigencies demanded.
Mr.. Presbrey looked askance at Chef
wynd while the dessert was being
served. 1t was what is commonly called
float" Mrs. Blagden, intercepting the
look, directed a questioning glance at
her husband. Horace looked at the
crystal chandelier for a moment, and
then said:
run along now, Chetwynd."
Il want some more float" said Chef
wynd, who knew they were holding
something back.
Mrs. Presbrey sighed. Then she asked
casually enough:
Have your sisters children gone to
bed?"'
Horace cringed. He always cringed
when they were spoken of as his sis
ter's children. It never occurred to him
that II would have sounded awkward
II one asked: How are Mr.. Midthorne's
~children7' or Are the late Mr.. Mid
thorne's children coming to Sunday
~~knnlc 90 mr. wrApuk - a. NJ ~ ,Xn,,I1
not deny that they were his sisters
children.
"No, Mrs. Presbrey, they have not
he replied. He pondered for a moment.
Then he passed his smooth, white hand
across his chin. '"That reminds me, ]
want 20 speak to you about them, Pres
brey. The time has come-er-ahem!
when Il seems advisable for uB to &C
quaint them with the unhappy condi-
lions surrounding their pabyhood. They
should not be allowed to grow up in
utter ignorance of-er-ahemi-certain
hereditary influences. They must be
prepared, II Il is In power to pre-
pare them. for the perils Of that mis-
cradle heritage. We do not want them
to go on unconsciously developing the
-the-er,-what shall I say?-the faults
Of their parents"
Mr.. Presbrey's blue eyes lighted up.
my prayers r never complete
without an earnest plea In behalf OF
those dear children" he said. II he
had taken the trouble to look, he might
have seen q certain Tightening Of the
lines about Mrs. Blagden's lips. Mrs
Presbrey, more observing, saw the
change In her hostess expression. She
fastened to apologize for the careless
use Of the adjective.
IAN children are dears," she e
planned. a-
"'Suffer little children to come unto
Me,'"-began Mr.. Presbrey absently.
Chetwynd snickered. A warm red
surged to the speakers cheeks and
| brow, causing his wife to start with
amazement. She had not known there
was SO much blood In him. ~
What we should do" remarked Hor'
ace blandly, 'is this: we should put
the situation clearly to Eric. He Is
IL years old and bright as a dollar. Nc
one can gainsay that I daresay Mary
would not be sufficiently impressed al
her present age. Perhaps we'd better
wait In her case
at thought you wanted to save both
OF EN- put In Chetwynd rashly. ~
"Chetwynl" exclaimed his father
, ana mother In unison.
There Is a eaying," added Mr.. Pres
brey, In whom resentment still ranked
that children should be seen, Or some
thing to that effect" It was a very
| AZ rinO rama III for him IN malta