The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-06-11
Their Last Day Together.

kind, we shall deem 1t privilege to
help you, If we can. hope you do not
consider us officious, Mr.. Nelson"
ION the contrary, Mr.. Grayson. am
deeply grateful for your sympathy, but
have no trouble that anyone can
help"
Then we shall have to conclude
that You are worn out and sadly In
need Of rest. So we have come to you
with the proposal that you take a
leave of absence for three months.
This is hardly the time of year to
propose such thing, but the case
seems to demand 1t. We will take care
of matters In the parish until you come
back. Go somewhere-take an ocean
voyage If you wish; but, at least, come
back with that strained look gone and
that tired note out of your voice. We
love you too much not to want to help
you"
The old warden laid his hand on the
younger mans shoulder, his voice
broke and the rector's eyes filled with
tears. Finally the minister broke the
silence. Il deeply appreciate your
offer, and while / do not feel that I
need a vacation your friendship means
too much to me to disregard your ad-
vice and such an unself1sh request.
I hope to be able to serve you better
when / return. / do not know where
shall go, but will inform you as soon
as I can decide. shall probably start
In the morning"
When he was alone he sat down and
looked again into the flames. There
he saw what he had borne in his heart
for the past three months-a girls
face. No wonder his sermons had
suffered He wondered that with his
days and nights of torture he had been
able to attend to his parish duties at
all. A vacation seemed a mockery.
What he needed was hard work to helm
him to forget. But, after all, did
he want that? Instead, with each pass
Ing day. he pressed his own thorn into
his wounds afresh, and he knew that
he was not helping to answer his own
prayers.
Where could he go7 There was hut
one person he longed to see, and that
he dared not do. Six months before
he would have gone joyfully to dozen
different places, where the eager faces
Of old friends would have gladly well
coined him. Now, he thought of but
one. Shut out from that, the world
was a blank.
One afternoon In the preceding July
Robert Nelson sat in a boat on the
yiver, with a white, tense face, listen
mg to a refusal from the lips of q girl
who was no less agitated than he.
Tw0 months before, Muriel Warning
had come with her mother from the
neighboring city to spend some weeks
with relatives From that Sunday
morning when the young rector had
first seen her kneeling In his church,
he knew that she was the woman he
| had dreamed of from boyhood, and he
gave her the love and reverence that
only such man can give to a woman
who is fitted to be his mate.
The worldly Mrs. Waring did not
realize that her carefully trained
daughter could think of poor coun-
try clergyman, and permitted her to do
as she pleased. So there followed
weeks of long walks, visits to the par
ish poor and especially boat rides.
They had so many interests in common,
and the young rector realized the
I strength she could be to him in his
| chosen work.
| And tomorrow she was going home,
and this was their last day together.
While the boat drifted softly down the
stream, he laid his heart at her feet.
To his dying day he never saw the set
ting sun without remembering how 1t
shone on her face as she answered
him.
Mr.. Nelson, had dreamed that you
would take such step as this, would
not have permitted matters to go so
far. am to blame for this termina-
ton of your friendship, which has
meant more to me than l can tell you.
There Is no other man living whom
respect more nor to whom / would
sooner trust my life. But / am not
free"
"Then you love some one else in
stead? l have been foolish enough to
suppose you were heart free, and
might, in time, come TO care for me-"
Listen. When my father died he
left some money-enough, had we lived
within our means. But mother has
been very ambitious for me. She sent
me to expensive schools. and spent
large sums of money to establish me