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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3d5b0cb --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #67738 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67738) diff --git a/old/67738-0.txt b/old/67738-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5401c1b..0000000 --- a/old/67738-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9268 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of A New Aristocracy, by Birch Arnold - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: A New Aristocracy - -Author: Birch Arnold - -Release Date: March 29, 2022 [eBook #67738] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A NEW ARISTOCRACY *** - - -[Illustration] - - - - - A NEW - ARISTOCRACY. - - - BY - “BIRCH ARNOLD,” - Author of “Until the Daybreak.” - - - BARTLETT PUBLISHING COMPANY. - NEW YORK: 30 AND 32 WEST THIRTEENTH ST. - DETROIT, MICH.: 44 WEST LARNED ST. - - 1891. - - - - - COPYRIGHT BY AUTHOR. - - - ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY - THE PUBLISHERS’ PRINTING COMPANY - 30 & 32 WEST 13TH STREET - NEW YORK - - - - -“Talk about questions of the day. There is but one question and that is -the Gospel. It can and will correct everything that needs correction.... -My only hope for the world is in bringing the human mind into contact -with Divine Revelation. - - “WM. E. GLADSTONE.” - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - - “Write ye for art,” the critics cry, - “And give your best endeavor, - That down the aisles of length’ning time - Your fame may speed forever!” - - “Write ye for truth,” my heart replies, - “And prove that generous giving, - May help some blinded eyes to find - The noblest way of living.” - - The simple story, plainly told, - May bear its own conviction, - And words alive with buoyant hope - May supersede their diction. - - Give me the horny-handed clasp - Of some good honest neighbor, - Who finds within the words I speak - A strength for earnest labor. - - Give me the lifted, grateful smile - Of some poor fainting woman, - Who knows that I regard her soul - As something dear and human. - - Give me the fervent, heartfelt prayer - Of just the toiling masses; - To be remembered with their love - Your boasted art surpasses. - - And this be mine, whate’er the fault - Of manner, not of matter, - Along the rocky ways of life - Some living truths to scatter. - BIRCH ARNOLD. - - - - - A NEW ARISTOCRACY. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - -Mr. Murchison was dead. The villagers announced the fact to each other -with bated breath as they gazed with reverent awe at the crape on the -door. - -“Poor man,” they sighed, vaguely sympathetic; “it’s well enough with him -now, but there’s the children.” - -“Ay, there’s the children,” more than one responded feelingly. - -Mr. Murchison had been the rector of the small parish of Barnley, -distant perhaps a hundred miles from the city of C——, the great -commercial center of the West, and having attended faithfully to his -duties for a series of years, had been stricken at last with the dread -pangs of consumption. Two years of painful waiting had passed away, and -now the release had come. Devout, patient, and faithful, who could doubt -that it was well with him? - -“God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb,” tremblingly spoke the -clergyman who had been summoned to conduct the burial service. “Surely -He will so influence the hearts of His people that these bereft ones, -these fatherless and motherless children, shall not suffer from contact -with the cold and bitter side of life.” - -Comforting words truly; words that fell, as rain falls on parched -fields, upon the benumbed senses of those who wept for their dead; words -that touched the hearts of the little band of parishioners, and made -each one wonder for the time being what he could do for them; words that -resulted in offerings of flowers and fruit for one week and—so soon do -good impulses die—in comment and unsought advice for another. - -It was a well-known fact that aside from his library and household -belongings Mr. Murchison had left nothing. A student and a biblist of -rare discernment, he was happiest when deep in abstruse research, and -many a dollar of his meagre salary had gone for volumes whose undoubted -antiquity might help him to the completion of some vexed problem. -Sometimes, looking up from his treatise or his sermon, he would glance -at Margaret, his eldest daughter and careful housekeeper for the last -five lonely years of his life, and think painfully of the time, the -dread sometime, that was sure to leave his darlings unprotected. He -wished, good man, that he might have money; not that he coveted the -dross of earth, but that it might be the Lord’s will to shield his loved -ones from contact with bleak and bitter poverty. Many a prayer was -rounded with that earnest supplication, to which he supplemented, always -in complete resignation, “Thy will, not mine, be done.” But he never saw -the earthly realization of his hopes. He always grew poorer; his -clothing just a trifle shabbier, the table a little plainer, and -Margaret daily more and more put to her wit’s ends in the difficult -problem of making something out of nothing. But who shall say the faith -of a life-time met with no recompense? Who can declare, with certainty, -the blinded eyes saw not afterward with clearer vision that he had left -each of his darlings God’s highest riches, a brave human intelligence? - -Margaret Murchison, the eldest of the three children, was too strongly -built, physically and mentally, to be beautiful. It is indisputably true -that where nature puts strength she also puts hard lines, and every -feature of Margaret’s face bespoke the positive nature; quick to -comprehend and fearless to execute. Yet hers was by no means a masculine -or an ugly face. Though strongly marked, there was still an indefinable -attraction in the warm depths of her blue eyes and the smile of her -mobile and sympathetic mouth. She was, withal, strangely wholesome to -look upon; one of those rare beings, as it came afterward to be said of -her, whose faces rest you as calm waters and green fields rest eyes that -are blinded with the dust and turmoil of the city’s streets. In figure -she was tall, with that breadth of shoulder and hip which indicates -endurance, free and graceful in her movements, apt in her utterances, -and unusually keen in her intuitions. At the time of her father’s death -she was twenty-four years of age, thoughtful even beyond her years. Hers -had been a hard school. Poverty prematurely sharpens wits and generates -ambition, and ever since her earliest recollection she had witnessed the -daily pinchings and privations of stern necessity. Questioning often -with wondering eyes and grave thought, she had early learned to strive -against this oppressor of her household; but the best of effort had only -kept the lean wolf of hunger from the door. The father, wedded to -abstruse speculation and erudite research, had not that talent for -money-getting which is expected of the “working parsons” of country -villages; and though the mother had been possessed of uncommon tact, -meagreness in every detail of Margaret’s physical growth had always -confronted her. Not so intellectually, however. The bond of sympathy -between parents and children had always been strong, and in the -communion of thought the barren home life was lifted into realms of -peace and plenty. Nobody remembered how Margaret learned to read. The -faculty seemed to come with her growth, like her teeth, and almost as -soon as she had mastered the rudiments of reading, her father delighted -to feed the grave little head with as much of the mental pabulum upon -which he feasted as the infantile brain could digest. Her capacity -proved something like that of the sponge, growing receptive in -proportion as it was fed, and when at eighteen she was vouchsafed a year -of school life at a church institution, she astonished both faculty and -pupils by disclosing such an odd mixture of knowledge as no other pupil -had ever brought to the school. Latin and Greek were far more familiar -to her than fractions, and the geography of the Holy Land an open page -beside the study of her own state and its form of government. Her -aptitude for language was wonderful, and her ability for philosophical -reasoning much beyond her years. She achieved marvels of learning in the -one short year, only at its expiration to be called away by the sad -announcement of her mother’s mortal sickness. She reached home in time -to comfort the anxious heart with the promise to keep always a home for -the loved ones left behind. For five years she had faithfully fulfilled -this promise, and now death had come again to take her last and only -support. In the moment of her bereavement she did not realize how -largely she had been not only self-dependent, but had been the mainstay -of the little household. Love makes even the strongest natures yield to -its silken leading-strings, and the tie between father and daughter had -been no common one. But it was she who had been the prop that upheld the -fabric of his life in these weary later years. It was on her brave heart -he had leaned more and more; but she had no thought of what she had -given. She had received, ah! who shall count the memories and pledges -that loyal love has in its keeping? - -But the prosaic side of life confronted Margaret one morning a week -after she had laid her dead away, and roused her from the apathy of -grief that follows even the wildest tempest of tears. - -“Not even time to mourn,” she said wearily. “Death comes; but life goes -on, and it must be fed and comforted. I must work to drive the cobwebs -from my brain and this strange inertia from my limbs. Something to do, -some duty that must not be evaded, will heal and strengthen anew.” - -These reflections had been induced by a visit Margaret had just received -from one of the vestrymen of the church at Barnley, who had called with -words of condolence and inquiry. He desired to know, if it was not -impertinent, what course Miss Murchison had decided upon relative to her -future and her family. - -“I have made no decision as yet,” answered Margaret wearily; “I have -been too absorbed in other things. Why do you ask, Mr. Dempster?” - -“Well—ahem!—my wife and I had a talk about your—your prospects, and we -thought that if—if—that is, we would like to help you, seein’ as you’re -one of our pastor’s family.” - -“You are very kind,” said Margaret gently. - -“Well, you see,” began Mr. Dempster hurriedly, “we’ve always kind o’ -liked your folks, and my wife and I was sayin’ that seein’ as you’d be -pretty likely to have a hard time, we’d like to help you out a bit. Now, -there’s Elsie: she’s young, you know, and real bright and smart, and we -thought maybe you’d be willin’ we should take her and bring her up. -She’d have a fust-rate home, you know.” - -“Mr. Dempster,” said Margaret, ignoring the half-boastful tone in which -the last assertion had been made, “do you think I could give away one of -these children over whom I’ve watched for five years, and whom I -promised never to leave as long as they needed a home? No, sir. My life -has been hard, as you say; it may be harder yet; but as long as I have -life and health I shall keep my promise. Besides, you forget that Elsie -has not yet finished school.” - -“I know; but they was a-talkin’ it over in the vestry last evenin’, and -they said they didn’t see as you could afford to keep the children in -school any more, as your father’s salary is, of course, discontinued. -You see, it takes money for clothes and incidentals.” - -“I am fully aware of that fact, but I have strong hands and a stout -heart; because we are poor and cast down now, I see no reason why we -should always be so. Do you, Mr. Dempster?” - -“No, no, of course not,” hastily assented Mr. Dempster. - -“Is it the opinion of the vestry that Elsie and Gilbert need no further -education?” - -“Oh, no. They was only a-sayin’, as they was talkin’ about ways and -means, that if you couldn’t take care of ’em we—that’s Mr. Dodd and -me—would take ’em off your hands.” - -“I’ve no doubt that you meant kindly; but I intend to teach them to take -care of themselves, and there is no care equal to that. The parish of -Barnley has been very kind; but I assure you, sir, there is no happiness -like being independent, and that, with God’s help, I mean to teach my -brother and sister to be.” - -“Then you mean to say you refuse our offers of help, Miss Murchison?” -said Mr. Dempster, bristling a little. - -“Not at all. Indeed, I shall be glad of any assistance you can give me -in the way of work. You know before my father’s health failed I used to -make your wife’s dresses. I’m a little out of practice now, but I think -I could soon get back the old deftness.” - -“Why—yes—but Mrs. Dempster sends to C—— now for her work. She says she -gets better styles, and takin’ all things into consideration, it don’t -cost such a dreadful sight more.” - -Margaret smiled involuntarily. She knew how the Dempsters, from greatest -to least, counted the cost of everything, and she knew the offer to take -Elsie—dear, sunny-hearted Elsie—off her hands had not been so much a -question of philanthropy as gain. Could she so have disposed her heart -as to give Elsie away, the bare thought of the drudgery which would have -been her portion as maid-of-all-work in that household would have been -sufficient to deter her. - -“Well, I must be goin’,” said Mr. Dempster as Margaret remained silent. -“You know they’ve hired a new parson and he will be here this week,” he -added from the doorway. - -“So soon!” exclaimed Margaret with a start. “And—and—you will want the -parsonage right away?” - -“Well, there ain’t no particular hurry, I suppose; but the folks thought -it best to give you a week’s notice to quit,” and having delivered this -parting shot, Mr. Dempster said “good-day” hastily and walked out of the -gate. - -So soon! so soon! to leave the dear home that spoke so tenderly of those -who had gone away! To leave the cozy corner where stood her mother’s -armchair, as it had stood for years, often bringing its memories of the -sweet face and gentle hands which had presided over the hearthstone so -long ago. To leave the sacred room where stood her father’s desk, from -which not a paper had been removed since the nerveless hand had dropped -the pen in the midst of a sentence of his last sermon; the room where -stood his well-filled book-cases and his shabby furniture, and -go—where—oh, where? asked Margaret’s heart in utter anguish. She grew -suddenly weak with the rush of memory and regret, and slipped down upon -the floor in an abandon of grief. - -The outer door swept open and a young girl, entering hastily, cried -sharply as she knelt beside the prostrate form: “O Meg! dear, brave Meg! -what has happened?” - -“Nothing, Elsie dear. I have only been bewildered of late, and had -forgotten that this is no longer home.” - -“Must we leave soon?” - -“Within a week.” - -“It is sudden; but I knew it must come sooner or later. I am not sorry, -either, Meg; for we will go out into the world to work for each other -and make a new home.” - -Meg shook her head. “You are brave, Elsie, with the ignorance of youth. -You do not know what gulfs lie between your hope and its accomplishment. -While I——” - -“You, Meg,” interrupted Elsie, “are wearied with the weight of your -burdens, and I must take them off your shoulders and rest you good and -long.” - -“Oh, confident youth! What a sweet comfort this little rose is to me,” -and Margaret took the bright face between her hands and kissed it -fondly. It was a rose indeed that Margaret raised to her lips. Brilliant -with the rich coloring of the brunette, lit up by a pair of dark velvety -eyes, a full, red-lipped, delicately-curved mouth, and framed in a mass -of black, lustrous, curling hair, Elsie’s face was undeniably beautiful. -Somewhat petite in form, she was the embodiment of grace in every -movement. Naturally hopeful and sweet-tempered, she had been all her -life a source of comfort to Margaret. If she felt that she had greater -patience, she found encouragement in Elsie’s greater hopefulness. If she -felt in herself greater power to conquer adverse circumstances, she -relied equally upon Elsie’s faculty of throwing the best light upon -everything, and taking trouble as little to heart as possible. Unlike, -yet like. Margaret’s strength was born of conviction and experience, and -duty, her imperial mistress, held her firmly to her course. Elsie’s -courage and cheerfulness were as inherent a part of herself as her -rippling black hair or her daintily-fashioned foot, and love was the -governing impulse of her life. She would do for love’s sake what no -amount of cogent reasoning could convince her ought to be done for -duty’s. She “hated the name of duty,” she had been heard to declare with -an imperious stamp of her little foot. - -“If one was good, because love prompted her to do all these nice things -for other people, wasn’t that enough? And as for ‘doing good to those -who despitefully use you,’ she believed the Lord wasn’t very angry if -you only just didn’t do them any harm! And she felt sure that He would -forgive her if she _couldn’t_ and _wouldn’t_ like the Dempsters.” - -All this had happened long ago, and now it came back to them as Meg told -Elsie of Mr. Dempster’s offer. - -“The old—gentleman!” exclaimed Elsie as Margaret glanced up -apprehensively. “I was only going to say ‘heathen,’ anyway,” she added -mischievously. “Do you think it is my duty, Meg, to accept the offer, -and learn under their guidance to be a meek and quiet Christian?” - -“My poor Elsie, you will never be a meek Christian, I am sure. Let us -hope Mr. Dempster meant well, and so forget all about it.” - -“With all my heart, since I am not going to him. So long as my dear old -Meg commands I obey. He needn’t have troubled himself about the school, -for I don’t intend to go back.” - -“Indeed you must. I shall write to Dr. Ely to-day and ask a place for -you and Gilbert. You know what our prospects are, dear, that it must be -head and hands for each of us, and it behooves us to put as much into -our heads as time and circumstance will allow.” - -“And you, dear?” asked Elsie wistfully. - -“I shall find something for my hands to do. They are good strong hands, -and they must put bread into that little mouth.” - -“What can your hands find to do here? There is nothing better than -sewing or dish-washing. You are fitted for better work.” - -“I hope I am; but it does not follow that I must refuse to do what I can -find to do, because I cannot find what I want. If nothing better offers -I shall even try the dish-washing.” - -“O Meg! I couldn’t bear to see you so lowered.” - -“You misuse the word, Elsie. I should feel that I lowered myself more in -refusing the work at hand, in the vain hope of finding something -pleasing and genteel. Dear little girl, your solemn old Meg wants to -disclose to you the prosaic rule by which she means to measure her life. -It will seem dry and hard to you in your youth and bloom; but you must -learn some time, and if the bitter tonic is taken early nothing seems -quite so bitter afterward. Shall I tell you?” - -“Y-yes,” answered Elsie hesitatingly, “only—only——” - -“I know. You dislike even to be told that life is uncompromising. Well, -then, we’ll say no more about it. I see I cannot learn for you.” - -“It is not that,” exclaimed Elsie. “I am only just beginning to see how -you had to forego your youth and bloom to learn for all of us. Tell me -all about it, and teach me to be your helper. I am such a lover of -pleasure, I never can be strong like you. Tell me how you learned it, -Meg.” - -“I did not learn to be less than happy. I only learned to do well what -lay nearest me, and in that there is happiness. There is the whole dread -secret, Rosebud, and if you want me to be epigrammatic and terse here is -the formula: Aim high; mind is the greatest of God’s forces. Be honest; -a clean conscience is the best bed-fellow at night. Do cheerfully what -lies nearest you; fortune surprises the faithful.” - -“Diogenes in petticoats!” exclaimed Elsie, all her cheerfulness -returning. “Make a dictionary, Meg, on the plan that A stands for Apple, -and Gilbert and I will not need to go to school.” - -“No, I’ve tried philosophy enough on you; you laugh at it.” - -“Not for worlds! Trust me, Meg, to learn it all somewhere on the road to -threescore and ten. It is a ‘sair’ lesson for one of my temperament; but -if it ‘maun be’ it ‘maun be.’” - -“I hope your prosy Meg may live long enough to see you safely conning -it; for I feel as if I were born to keep your wings from singeing.” - -“What a heroine you are, Margaret Murchison! I am fain to fall at your -feet and worship you.” - -“That would be foolish. Wait to see at least how I bear the burden and -heat of the day. You may have to reverse your opinion.” - -“Never! Even if you sit with idle hands the rest of your days. But to go -back to our muttons. What are we to do?” - -“Write to Dr. Ely,” answered Meg, rising to her feet. “Bring me my -writing-desk, Elsie.” - -“On one condition,” said Elsie, placing a hand on either side of Meg’s -face and looking pleadingly up into her eyes: “write please for Gilbert. -Let me stay with you.” - -“No, Elsie. Education will be worth everything to you. You cannot be -successful without it.” - -“Then teach me yourself. Dr. Ely said you had a wonderful mind.” - -“Good friable soil for seed; nothing more. I have but a handful of -knowledge and that would soon be exhausted. I cannot consent to your -leaving school.” - -“I’ll not _leave_—I’ll never go back,” said stubborn Elsie. “Don’t look -so reproachful! This much I am decided upon: while you drudge I drudge, -so that’s said, and I isn’t a-gwine to unsaid it, nuther,” she added -roguishly, imitating the negro dialect and attitude. - -“Obstinate little girl! I perceive I must bring my desk myself.” - -“No, no, Meg,” and Elsie sprang to the door. “Only promise!” - -“It is your good I seek, child.” - -“I know it; but let me be unselfish this once. It may be my only chance -of redemption.” - -“You shall have your way,” said Margaret with eyes suffused with tears. - -“Dear, good Meg,” exclaimed impulsive Elsie, throwing her arms round her -sister’s neck. “We’ll cling together. You shall be the oak to hold me -up, and I’ll be the ivy to keep you warm—and green!” - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - -“Meg, I’ve an idea!” exclaimed Elsie several mornings later, as Margaret -returned from an unsuccessful search for a house, as well as work at the -hands of Mrs. Dempster and several other ladies of the parish. - -“I’m glad to hear it. Ideas are good things to have,” said Margaret, -wearily dropping into a chair. - -“Of course you haven’t found work, or anything else but advice, have -you? Well, this is my idea: let us go away from Barnley.” - -“O Elsie!” - -“I know it’s hard; but we’ll starve on advice. It’s cheaper than -beefsteak, of course; but it is somewhat weakening after one has -breakfasted, dined, and supped on it. Let’s go away and dig for a -living. See what I found this morning,” and Elsie drew from her pocket a -newspaper clipping of late date, and read aloud an advertisement: - - -“For Rent: A small house at Idlewild, with three acres of ground well -supplied with small fruits. Only thirty minutes’ ride on dummy to city -market. Rent cheap, or will sell at reasonable price. Call at Harris & -Smith’s, cor. Vine and Tenth Sts., C——.” - - -“Meg, let’s go and see it.” - -“Why, Elsie, child, how is it possible?” - -“This way. Maybe I’m visionary, but I’ve an idea that we can make enough -money out of the place to pay the rent and keep us. See here: ‘only -thirty minutes’ ride on dummy to city market.’ Now, three acres of -ground, if good for anything, ought to raise potatoes.” - -“Admitted. Go on with your proposition.” - -“Potatoes _with_ salt constitute a very fair living for a hungry man; -_without_ salt they keep starve to death away—ergo, let’s plant -potatoes! To be serious—I’ve thought of this. It is now February, and -we’ll need to make haste. We’ve raised our own potatoes in the parsonage -garden for years, and good ones, too. Why not raise double the quantity -somewhere else and sell the surplus? The small fruits advertised may be -worth cultivating, too. You are a splendid amateur gardener—everybody -says so; and there’s Gilbert—to be sure, only a boy; but a boy is good -for some things sometimes—and I consider myself capable of being taught. -Now, I’ve sketched the outlines of Eutopia, and you must fill in the -shading.” - -“Outlines are easily drawn; the skill lies in the filling in.” - -“Therefore I left it for you. I feel as if we might dig our living out -of the soil easier than out of the oftentimes ungracious favor of -humanity. Suppose we look this place up to-morrow?” - -“I cannot see my way clear yet. Where is all the money to come from to -start us in this venture? It takes money for spades, you know.” - -“I realize it. Can’t we sell something?” - -“What—our old clothes?” - -“To the rag-man perhaps. Seriously, have we nothing of value we can -spare?” - -“I can think of nothing.” - -“I can. O Meg, the hardest part of my suggestion is yet to come. Dr. Ely -said when I named some of the books in poor father’s library that they -were of undoubted value, as many were out of print. He spoke especially -of the two Caxton copies, Plantin’s ‘Biblia Polyglotta,’ and Sparks’ -‘Life of Washington.’ Dear Meg, the question is: Shall we keep our -treasures and starve, or in letting them go find a chance of outgrowing -our poverty? I am tired of this grinding life that takes the color out -of your cheeks and puts wrinkles where dimples ought to be. Much as I -love the dear old books, I love hope for you and for all of us better. O -Meg! it is no sacrilege to say that if our father could speak to us he -would tell us to sell them. The heritage is precious; how precious to us -few can guess. But, my sweet sister, your hopes and happiness are dearer -to him, I know. Don’t sob so, Meg; you will break my heart. Forgive me -for suggesting it. It really seems best.” - -“I know it, Rosebud,” said Margaret after a long silence. “I must think -about it. I cannot decide yet.” - -As Margaret spoke she raised Elsie’s tearful face and kissed it -tenderly. It was more difficult for Margaret to give up the books than -Elsie had dreamed. They were not to her, as to Margaret, the great mine -of wealth from which she had drawn the intellectual riches that were -already hers, and from which she had hoped to glean a far greater -abundance. Dear as they were for the associations’ sake, many of them -having been successively her grandfather’s and father’s, and hallowed as -they were by the thought of the dear eyes which had once delighted in -their pages, this relinquishment of her ambitions seemed the most cruel -hurt of all. She knew that Elsie’s suggestion was practicable; that it -opened a way out of their present difficulties; but it was the slipping -of the cable that bound her to the old life which, despite its -hardships, had seemed so idyllic in its visions and mental attainments. -If she gave up her books, what could she hope for beyond the barren -drudgery of mere existence? With her books she could revel in an ideal -world where the hard facts of her daily struggles could not intrude. -They were indeed a heaven of remembrance and a heaven of hope to her. -Where, oh, where else could she find the oasis of rest, the one little -gleam of personal happiness which she had hoped might be allowed her? -And yet duty, even from the mouth of Elsie, whom she had hitherto -regarded as a mere child, said all too plainly that the cherished books -must go. There seemed to be no other solution of the vexed question of -subsistence. It was a very pale face that Margaret raised to Elsie’s -anxious glance several moments later; but it was determined and calm. - -“You are right, Elsie; you excel me in practicability even now. I will -write at once to Dr. Ely.” - -“Meg, I was cruel to you.” - -“As facts are sometimes cruel. Now let us catalogue the books, that Dr. -Ely may judge of them. Not another tear, Rosebud, but forward.” - -A reassuring smile and a fond kiss calmed the rising storm of regret in -Elsie’s heart. With protean quickness the smile so natural to her face -came back, and hastily mounting the small step-ladder, she took down the -books and gave title, name of author, and date of issue to Margaret to -jot down. There were perhaps some eight hundred books, of which only a -small portion would in these days of reprints possess an unusual -interest for the bibliophilist. Among the latter were: Smellie’s -“Philosophy;” Plantin’s “Biblia Polyglotta” in eight folio volumes, -published in the sixteenth century; Dunton’s “Life and Errors,” -1659–1733; Caxton’s books, mostly translations from the French; -Nicholl’s “Literary Anecdotes;” Sotheby’s “Handwriting of Melancthon and -Luther;” Davy’s “System of Divinity,” twenty-six volumes; Dolby’s -“Shakespearean Dictionary;” Ainsworth’s “Historical Novels;” Hone’s -“Early Life and Conversion;” Timperly’s “Encyclopedia of Literary -Anecdote;” “The Bay Psalm Book;” Adelung’s “Historical Sketch of -Sanscrit Literature,” translated by Talboys; Krummacher’s “Elisha.” -Aside from these somewhat rare books, the library took a wide range in -history, poetry, fiction, and travels. Margaret could scarcely repress -the desire to cry out once more against the sacrilege. Here was -information for a life-time; here forgetfulness of the past, elysium for -the future! Why must this grief be superadded to all she had borne? But -with heroic effort she choked back the tears and went calmly on with her -work. By the time she had finished the list and written a letter to Dr. -Ely, of the Episcopal school at A——, she had put aside regret and was -once more ready to look facts squarely in the face. “The first step that -costs” had been taken, and never afterward to Margaret did any sorrow -seem like the wrench of this one. It was with alacrity, amounting almost -to cheerfulness, that she went about her task of packing the household -goods, and though sometimes tears would for a moment dim her eyes and -tender memories paralyze her hands, yet the serene conviction that her -decision had been wisely taken seemed to hover like a nimbus of light -above the sadness of the slowly-moving hours. - -One morning as Margaret, with her brown locks shrouded in a wide-frilled -sweeping cap, her dress hidden by a high-necked calico apron of -nondescript make, stood upon a step-ladder, engaged in removing the -dimity curtains from the sitting-room windows, a peremptory knock at the -open door behind her caused her to turn so suddenly that the ladder -tipped and threw her, with unexpected suddenness, into the arms of a -dignified gentleman who stood upon the threshold. Quickly disengaging -herself, she exclaimed with a laugh: - -“My greeting is unusually fervent, Dr. Ely; but you perceive that -circumstances——” - -“Were too many for you,” he interrupted; as Margaret paused for breath. -“I hope you were not hurt?” - -“Not in the least; but a trifle confused. Will you walk in and be -seated? I did not look for a personal answer to my letter, otherwise I -should have deferred my packing.” - -“I decided to come only at the last moment, and so could not write you. -I am not at all sorry that I surprised you; in fact, I found it rather -pleasant.” - -Margaret glanced up apprehensively, a new wonder growing in her eyes, -which the doctor was quick to note and interpret. “I felt that it would -be much easier to adjust the prices of the books and come to a -satisfactory arrangement of matters through a personal interview. -Therefore I am here.” - -“And quite welcome; but you must pardon the incoherent state of things.” - -“With all my heart, so long as you remain rational. And now I wish you -would tell me what you propose doing.” - -“I? Working for a living.” - -“At what?” - -“Anything I can find. Just now Elsie has me under control. She is bent -on making a market gardener of me. Please look at this advertisement. We -have already made appointment to visit the place, and if satisfactory -and the books are disposed of, to take immediate possession. What do you -think of the plan?” - -“H-m. It might be good, but how about the children’s education?” - -“That was what worried me greatly at first; but both of them say so long -as I work for a living they shall help too. We have decided to give an -hour each evening, after it is too dark to work, to a little home -culture. After all, it is the practical application of knowledge that -makes one educated.” - -“Quite true, Miss Margaret,” answered the doctor as he gravely regarded -her. “Give me a few more details of your plan, and let me see how -practicable it is.” - -As Margaret proceeded with an animated recital of the schemes which she -and Elsie had lain awake nights to concoct, Dr. Ely sat so intently -watching her that she flushed and grew uneasy under his scrutiny. He, -however, was not aware of it; for his mind was borne in upon itself, and -he was tracing step by step the years of his life that had brought him -to this present moment. He was a dignified man nearing the forties, with -a grave manner that was often thought austere, but which was only the -outward covering of a nature too keenly sympathetic and appreciative to -risk the disapproval of an obtuse world. Like all delicate and sensitive -things in nature, he wrapped himself in a husk, and only those who -penetrated the outward covering knew how beautiful was the inner temple -of his soul, how genial its warmth, and how playful the fancy that -tended the altar of his imaginings. His sudden encounter with Margaret -this morning had brought to the surface a slight hint of its existence, -but the quick wonder of her eyes had sent it again into hiding. He had -been for some ten years the president of the school at A——, and stood -entirely alone in the world. For twenty years he had cherished the -memory of a fair girl wife who had been companion and helpmeet but three -short months, when death claimed her. In her grave he had thought to -bury love, and live henceforth a solitary worker, with no dreams to -entice again beyond the prosaic outlines of his daily duties. But -Margaret Murchison’s year at the school had affected him strangely. He -had watched the girl’s development with uncommon interest; had been -touched more than once by the clearness and unusual candor of her -nature, and grew to have a profound admiration for the strength and -purpose which upheld her. When she had been so suddenly called home by -her mother’s death, he had missed her more than he liked to own even to -himself. Despite the disparity in their years, he felt that hers was a -nature to draw from its obscurity all that was highest of attainment in -his own. He was but too conscious that, struggle as he might, he somehow -fell short of his desires. His most earnest efforts seemed to fall -half-heartedly upon those around him. The fault must be his; the long -loneliness of his life—with neither father, mother, sister, brother, -wife, to share a single aspiration or make vivid a single heart-glow—had -unwittingly isolated him from mankind. When the light of this love fully -dawned upon him, his soul felt the glow of a new purpose, and it became -to him the symbol of a wider sympathy and charity, because of which -Divinity long ago found need to send a sign to all mankind. His school -was not slow to feel the change, and when the time became ripe for him -to speak, he felt that he was no longer offering Margaret, in all her -freshness, the remnant of a heart and life, but the first fruits of a -living soul. He hastened to Barnley, strong in his purpose to lift her -at once from the toil and privation of poverty. He had watched her -career as best he could, in the occasional letters received from her -father, who never failed to comment upon her strength and growth of -character, and his love had grown with the subtileness of fancy until he -had never stopped to consider the effect it might have upon Margaret. -Surely to be sheltered and loved—ah! how he would prove his love to -her—ought to be reason enough for any woman so bereft and friendless. So -he had reasoned until he caught the apprehensive glance of Margaret’s -eyes, and then he knew that his dream had not been hers, and that love -with her would not be made at once answerable even to the most -passionate appeals. All these musings ran swiftly through his mind, the -while his intent glance remained upon Margaret’s face, unconsciously -drinking in its variable play of expression. At last she ceased her -recital, and said in a slightly constrained voice: “I think I have told -you all our plans for the present, Dr. Ely.” - -But the intent eyes never left her face as the doctor asked wistfully: -“Are you sure you’ve strength for so much?” - -“I have faith that it will be given me.” - -“Yes, yes, it will,” he replied fervently, as he roused himself with an -effort. “And now let us take a look at the books.” - -He followed Margaret into the study and stood long in silent -contemplation before the shelves. He was evidently making a careful -computation of the value of the books. “How much money will you need for -this undertaking?” he asked, suddenly turning to Margaret. - -“I have very little idea. I can scarcely tell until we have seen the -place.” - -“Ah, yes, I had forgotten. Of course you are not sure of anything as -yet. When did you say you had appointed an interview with the agent?” - -“We had expected to go this afternoon, if we had a satisfactory letter -from you in time. If not, the interview was to be postponed until -to-morrow.” - -“And you have not had that satisfactory letter yet. Well, you shall have -it now. The books are even more valuable than I thought. They number, I -think you said, some eight hundred volumes. Now, I wish to propose a -plan of my own. Suppose I advance you the sum of four hundred dollars on -the books to begin with, allowing you to select such as in your home -culture club you will doubtless need, and reserve the balance—I will not -place an exact price on them now—to be drawn upon in case of further -demand for money. Then, when you have made your fortune, you are to have -the books back at the price I paid for them.” - -The doctor waited some time for Margaret’s answer; but she stood with -head slightly averted and was silent. At last he could wait no longer, -but bending forward, glanced down at her face. Tears stood on the long -lashes and trembled on her cheeks. “Margaret,” he cried sharply, “what -have I said that is wrong?” - -“Nothing!” she exclaimed, suddenly extending both hands to him. “Your -goodness is so unexpected that I am not strong enough for it.” - -He caught her hands in his own as he said impulsively: “Listen, -Margaret. It is not goodness—it is rather pure selfishness. I came here -this morning intent on offering you not the worth of the books, but -something I was foolish enough to fancy of more value—myself. No, don’t -start; but hear me out. Manlike, I fancied that I had but to speak and -you would let me take you away from all the toil and privation; but now -I know you——” - -Margaret gently drew her hands away, and interrupted him: “I never -dreamed of such a thing. It is impossible.” - -“If I loved you, Margaret, had loved you for years—don’t look so -incredulous—ever since you were a school-girl, and had waited patiently -until the time was right, hoping that my love might win its response -even as the flowers respond to the warmth and light of the sun—if I -offered all this and a life-long devotion, would it then be impossible?” - -Margaret glanced up wonderingly, appealingly, into the eager face above -her. - -“It is all so strange, so confusing; but I cannot—it would indeed be -impossible; for—forgive me, I do not want to hurt you—I do not love you, -Dr. Ely, and I——” - -“Say no more,” he said gently, “I knew it even before I spoke; but I am -glad you understand me. I have been a lonely man all my life, and you -can perhaps imagine how, even old as I am, I find delight in the -companionship of one who is quick to understand and appreciate all that -interests me. I love you, dear child, with the one love of my life; but -I shall never again obtrude it upon you. I must, however, claim one -favor. I am willing to sink all that I had hoped to the calm basis of -friendship; do not deny me that. Let me help you, even as I had meant to -before I spoke, and I promise faithfully never to claim anything more at -your hands than the just consideration of one friend for another. You -stand alone and inexperienced—put aside what has passed and let my age -and experience help you.” - -Margaret, watching him as he spoke, could not fail to be touched by the -sincerity and unselfishness of his words. For reply she placed her hand -in his and said softly, “I will.” - -“One word more. If the time ever comes—mind, I do not expect it, I do -not even beg it—but if the time does come when your heart can respond -fully to the love that shall be yours as long as life lasts, you have -only to say ‘come,’ and I will obey you though it be to the uttermost -parts of the earth. May I ask this too?” - -“It is not much to promise,” said Margaret gently, “but it may be too -much to hope for. I have never had time for anything but immediate -duties, and I am afraid I shall never find time for anything else. I -have always felt that I belonged to these children. If, however—and I -can discern but the faintest hope—if such a time _should_ come, you may -be sure that the word will not be uttered half-heartedly.” - -A blush stole up to Margaret’s cheek as she spoke, making her whole face -glow and soften with an unwonted beauty that the doctor’s observant eyes -did not fail to note. They were suspiciously misty as he raised her hand -to his lips and said fervently: - -“Amen. Now let’s to business.” - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - -“Oh, I think it is delightful,” exclaimed Elsie as she, Margaret, and -Dr. Ely stopped in the late glow of the afternoon sun before the gate of -the place at Idlewild. “Such a charming tangle of briers to get -scratched on while hunting for very stray berries.” - -“There is something to be done here before one could hope for returns,” -assented the doctor. “But let us explore the house, and see whether it -is possible to exist in it.” - -The house, by courtesy a cottage, had four rooms, so called. Elsie -suggested boxes as a better name, but found consolation in the fact that -four rooms for three people left a breathing-room that each could occupy -in turn. The rooms were black with smoke and slippery with filth, and -even Margaret felt something very like despair as she exclaimed -piteously: “The muscle and soap it will take to cleanse it.” - -“Is it habitable otherwise?” asked the doctor as he rattled windows, -examined hinges and locks, and poked into chimneys and cupboards. -“Fairly good. Whitewash, paint, soap, and muscle, and you won’t know it, -Miss Margaret. Now let us see what the garden is like. Wants -underdraining badly. Soil clayey and cold, but admirably situated for -outlet of drain. A few muck-heaps and this garden will blossom like the -rose.” - -“But you frighten me,” exclaimed Margaret aghast. “I haven’t the -slightest idea how to drain it, and I am sure it will cost more than we -can afford.” - -“We are only examining possibilities. ‘Small fruits,’ a dozen ragged -currant bushes, some straggling strawberry vines, grapes that have run -riot, and a ‘delightful tangle,’ as Elsie says, of raspberry bushes. -Common, too—no, Gregg if I am not mistaken. Ah! that is better. ‘Three -acres of land’—not more than two and one-half that can yield anything. -Now, Miss Margaret, if you and Elsie are ready we’ll interview the -agent.” - -“The place will not pay for the outlay upon it, I am afraid,” said -Margaret despondently, as they went out of the gate. - -“Not this season, certainly; but we can tell better when we have seen -the agent and found out what we can do with him.” - -“Well, if you had not insisted on coming with us I should have turned -back in dismay. Somehow, when I can see a way through I am ready enough -to act; but I become frightened when the wall is so high I cannot see -over.” - -“That is natural enough. Very few women have the courage to scale -precipices; but those who undertake the problem of self-support must -encounter all of a man’s difficulties. We are a chivalrous people here -in America, but that chivalry usually consists in giving a woman a fair -field and no quarter. If you seek to be one with us in opportunities, -you must be one with us in conditions.” - -“If I might always be sure of such fair consideration I shall not -complain. A woman, however, cannot insure her own incompetency against -the greed of those who are chivalrous enough to take advantage of it. -She must always be more or less a victim.” - -“So long as she remains incompetent. Experience, however, is the great -moulder in her case as well as that of her brother. She demonstrates her -capacity in proportion as she learns the same hard lessons. One of the -first of these lessons is not to ask any more of the world because of -her sex. When women cease clamoring for a man’s rights and a woman’s -pre-eminence at one and the same time, then will the dogged opposition -of those to whom she appeals be less noticeable.” - -“Yet it is quite natural for the weak to ask a little extra -standing-room of their more fortunate brothers.” - -“It is one thing to ask by virtue of a common sympathy, and another to -demand as a right. Mankind is a good deal like the pig that Paddy tried -to drive to market. ‘Shure if ye iver git ’im there, ye must head ’im -t’other way.’ It might be well to try the scheme on the agent of this -place.” - -As Margaret glanced up and caught the humorous twinkle of the doctor’s -eyes, she said quietly: “I leave the settlement of the matter in your -hands, while I watch your effort in getting the pig to market. I shall -have need to learn all I can.” - -Mr. Smith, of the real estate firm of Harris & Smith, was a portly, -self-satisfied man, who regarded the applicants for the little place at -Idlewild with a somewhat lofty stare over the rim of his gold -eye-glasses. It was quite evident from his manner that so small a -transaction as this was not considered worth any extra amount of -civility. But the pompous manner neither abashed nor diverted Dr. Ely -from his purpose. With a man’s decision and firmness he stated his -wishes, met objections, overcame difficulties, and obtained satisfactory -results, with such facility that Margaret felt herself well-nigh -overwhelmed in the dismal swamp of her own incapacity. - -When the contract for the specific performance of each had been duly -drawn and signed, and Dr. Ely, Margaret, and Elsie had once more -regained the sidewalk, the doctor asked: “Well, Miss Margaret, did I get -my pig to market?” - -“As I should never have dared to do.” - -“I knew it,” and the doctor’s face grew suddenly grave. “It is a big -undertaking for a slender untried woman.” - -“No,” said Margaret gently, “not when I have such an adviser.” - -“Well, I intend to see you safely settled before I leave. There is a -great deal in getting started right.” - -“I haven’t a demur to make—not even an expostulation as to the trouble -you are making yourself. The time to assert my independence will be when -I am monarch of all I survey.” - -“You’ll have nothing to do now for three years to come but develop your -skill as a gardener. I fancy you will not find altogether easy work or -satisfactory returns.” - -“I do not expect to. I have my apprenticeship yet to learn; but it seems -to promise more than any other available thing. Besides, I shall count -even mistakes as so much marketable goods in the future, if I am only -wise enough to profit by them.” - -“He is wise indeed who always succeeds in doing it.” - -The doctor at once set himself to supervising the laying in of the -drain, the painting and papering of the little house, and the trimming -and pruning of the tangle of vines and bushes in the garden. With the -aid of Gilbert, a bright lad of sixteen, the untidy place soon came to -assume an air of neatness and thrift which at once impressed Mr. Smith -with the idea that his tenants were people on whom it might be worth -while to expend a little civility. - -It was the first of March, raw, cold, and inhospitable, when, with their -household belongings, the little party was set down at the door of the -new home. It was late in the afternoon and all were cold, tired, and -somewhat dispirited. Even the doctor’s equanimity was beginning to give -way before the settled obstinacy of a refractory stove-pipe, when a -brisk knock at the door of the sitting-room interrupted operations for a -moment. Margaret opened the door, to be greeted with the cheery voice of -a little black-eyed woman who stepped in without waiting for an -invitation. “Good-efening to you all,” she cried. “I am Lizzette Minaud. -I lif ze next door, and I haf prepared ze souper for you. Do not say -‘Non!’ I take it so amiss. You look so blue, so tired, so ready to cry, -pauvre child,” and she laid her hand warmly upon Margaret’s arm as she -spoke. - -“You are very kind, but——” and Margaret glanced apprehensively at the -doctor. - -“Oh, your—your—ze gentilhomme will go, I am sure. I haf known how ze -tired comes in mofing, and you sall work so mooch ze better when you haf -supped. I keep you only so long as you sall need ze rest and -refreshment.” - -“A thousand thanks,” said the doctor heartily. “To be sure we will go. -Gilbert, you and I can have a good deal more patience with this unruly -stove-pipe after we have partaken of this lady’s supper, eh?” - -“I can’t answer for you, sir, but I know I am hungry as a wolf.” - -“So mooch ze better. Hunger ees ze sauce piquante to black bread.” - -“Did you ever feed a boy?” interposed Elsie, glancing roguishly at -Gilbert. “If not, I warn you beforehand.” - -“Non, non. I do not need ze warning. Lizzette Minaud’s table ees nefer -empty.” - -“We are taxing your kindness, I fear,” said Margaret, as they prepared -for the visit. - -“Non, eet ees ze plaisir. I—I like your face,” and the impulsive little -woman again grasped Margaret’s hand. “We must be friends, and friends -take no thought of ze trouble of serving each ozair.” - -“You have given the true meaning of friendship,” replied Margaret -earnestly. - -Lizzette Minaud’s house was a “box” indeed, not even as large as the one -which seemed so small to Margaret and Elsie; but it was a marvel of -neatness and taste. The oak floor of the salon, as in grandiose style -Lizzette designated her sitting-room, was like a mirror in its capacity -to reflect objects, and nearly as dangerous to walk upon. Here and there -bright-colored rugs, knit by the expert fingers of the mistress, lay -before couch, stove, and tables. The walls were a delicate cream tint, -with dado and frieze composed of crimson, brown, and golden maple leaves -delicately veined and shaded, each one the particular work of Lizzette. -In response to the delighted exclamation of her visitors, she explained -in perfect frankness that having little money and some skill, she had -determined to decorate her home—bought with the savings of years—in as -tasteful a design as she could achieve. She was rewarded with gratifying -success, for the grouping of the leaves was so artistic and the coloring -so perfect that nature seemed to be rivalled in the reproduction. - -“You are an artist!” enthusiastically exclaimed Margaret. - -“Non, non—only a Frenchwoman and a cook,” she answered with a -characteristic shrug. “I haf all my life been cook for ze great -families. In France first, in America many year since. I marry twelve -year since, and my husband he go away when my Antoine but two year old. -He ees here in zis room, and he will be so charmed to meet you.” As she -finished speaking, she turned toward a little alcove and presented to -view, what at first seemed a little child propped up on a couch. A -second look, and it was at once discovered that the child was a -hunch-backed lad of some ten years, with dwarfed and misshapen limbs -that refused to support him. With that appealing gaze so often noted in -the suffering and unfortunate, his dark eyes looked out from beneath a -brow broad, smooth, and white. Rings of jet-black curls, a straight, -delicate nose, and a mouth with lips thin and bloodless and downward -curved, completed the cast of his features. But it would be impossible -to reproduce in words the innate beauty of the smile that lit up his -face or the sublimity of spirit which looked out of the dark eyes. -Impulsive Elsie was on her knees beside him in a moment. - -“You dear angel!” she exclaimed, picking up one of the thin, white hands -and kissing it. “I shall love you, I know.” - -“Everybody does. Everybody is so good,” said the lad simply. “You are -good to come. I wanted to see you.” - -“Eet ees true,” said Lizzette, “he would not rest until I had tried to -make ze welcome. He ees sometimes lonesome when I go about ze work, but -he ees always patient and always so kind. He ees un grand scholair, too. -See, he read zis,” and Lizzette held up in triumph a well-thumbed copy -of Shakespeare. “It is ze Anglais. He learn so fast, and he read Santine -et Racine très bien. I go to school to mon enfant soon,” and the little -mother patted the boy’s pale cheek in an effusion of pride and fondness. -The lad glanced up lovingly and said quickly: - -“Non, non. Ma mère has quicker eyes and more wisdom than Antoine. Is the -supper ready? I am very hungry and want my wheel chair.” - -The mother turned to get it, but Gilbert was before her, and gently -lifting the lad into it, he started it toward the little kitchen where -stood the supper-table. - -“Ma mère is a famous cook,” said the lad with a bright smile. “She makes -appetite when it has forgotten to grow.” - -“So he say,” said Lizzette with a shrug. “I only follow ze way of my -art.” - -The doctor, who had long been silent, glanced up as they seated -themselves at the table, and asked: “Do you indeed think cookery an -art?” - -“Oui, oui, sir. Ze grand art, sir. Ze grain of ze man ees as ze food he -eat; if it be coarse, he coarse too. Strong, may be, but not ze fine -gentilhomme who eferywhere see ze leetle beauties of life, and so rest -you wiz ze gracefulness of his way.” - -“Perhaps you are right, madam,” said the doctor gravely, “although I -confess I had never looked at it in that light.” - -“Eet ees like ze art of ozair sings. Ze leetle touch zat makes ze -picture, and as Antoine say, ze poetry of Shakespeare. Will it please -you to speak ze grace?” - -Lizzette’s supper-table was a sight to tempt less weary and hungry -wayfarers than our dispirited quartette. It was simplicity itself, the -principal dish being a salad so crisp in its delicate ravigote of -finely-flavored herbs that Elsie declared it “a mortgage on the summer, -since it had stolen all its sweetest flavors.” - -Lobster rissoles, a mushroom omelette, with cold bread, a soupçon of -preserved plums, black coffee, and tea served from the depths of a -Japanese cosey, completed the menu. - -“The salad, Miss Elsie, ees made of ze weeds of ze wayside,” said -Lizzette. “Vous Anglais despise ze sings ze French live by. I make zis -salad of ze herb you call dandelion; I find it growing eferywhere. I mix -it wiz ze cressom—you call it water-cress—growing by ze brooks, toss it -up wiz ze ravigote of tarragon, chervil et bumet, and behold you have, -as you say, ‘ze summer in mortgage to ze winter.’” - -“Count me a pupil to the economy of these versatile French,” exclaimed -Elsie rapturously. “I know now what I was born for. Madam Minaud shall -make an artist of me. I am positively inspired with ambition.” - -“Or Madam Minaud’s supper,” observed Gilbert. - -“We Americans long ago accepted the gospel of plain ‘boiled and fried,’ -and your dispensation is only just beginning to be felt among those who -have lived abroad. It is certainly a much-needed lesson,” said the -doctor as he complacently accepted Lizzette’s offer of a second -omelette. - -“Ze French nevaire trow away like ze Anglais. Zey save ze leetle sings, -and so zey grow reech where ze Anglais—il a de quoi vivre mais bien -maigrement.” - -“Our lines have fallen in pleasant places,” cried Elsie -enthusiastically. “Antoine shall teach me French, and Madam Minaud shall -bestow upon me the art of converting wayside weeds into meat and drink -for the fleshly tabernacle.” - -“You are making the bargain all for yourself, Elsie. What compensation -do you propose in return?” asked Margaret with an amused glance at the -girl’s flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes. - -“Compensation?” exclaimed Antoine quickly. “Everything! herself, -love—ah, we shall be more than paid. I shall have the companion I have -longed for, and ma mère will see the rose come back to my cheeks and be -glad. Is it not so?” and the child’s hand sought Elsie’s as it rested on -the back of his chair. - -“Yes, yes,” said Elsie eagerly. “You shall have all the comfort I can -give you, dear child.” - -As she spoke she pushed back the jetty curls and left the warm touch of -her lips upon the lad’s white forehead. In an instant the thin arms were -around her neck, and he cried excitedly: “I love you so, and I shall -never be unhappy again.” - -Grave Dr. Ely turned away from this scene with quivering lip, and his -voice was not altogether steady as he said: “Well, Gilbert, that -stove-pipe does not look half so formidable as it did before Madam -Minaud’s delicious supper.” - -“Indeed, no, sir. I feel like a Hercules.” - -“All right. Let us see how soon we can slay the giant disorder. In view -of the circumstances, madam will excuse a hasty departure.” - -“Certainment. Work ees master in our leetle world.” - -“Work and love, ma mère,” exclaimed Antoine. - -“Antoine is right,” said Margaret. “These are the soul and body of -existence; to toil is the Divine command—to love the Divine purpose.” - -“We must perforce obey the command,” exclaimed Elsie, patting Antoine’s -cheek. “The purpose we will leave to its own solution.” - -“I’ve already solved it,” answered Antoine with a ripple of laughter -that brought a happy light to Lizzette’s eyes as she answered the -“good-nights” of the little party. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - -It did not take long to settle the little four-roomed house, for Dr. Ely -proved himself an every-day worker. The week that had passed since he -had left his school had been full of business. The purpose which he saw -in Margaret and Elsie had awakened a new interest in his life, and to -see that their feet were firmly fixed in the way they had marked out for -themselves seemed to him the task, as well as the pleasure, of an elder -brother. Looking upon life as the vast field from which should spring -all that is highest of development and achievement in humanity, he was -touched with the hope of being a factor in the ambitious purposes of -these inexperienced and well-nigh friendless girls. He believed fully in -allowing to each individual soul the opportunities for measuring its own -power, and while a certain sense of loss came upon him when he realized -that the expectation of taking Margaret into his own life could not be -fulfilled, he felt ennobled and strengthened by the desire to be one -with her in her efforts of self-advancement. “Not now, not now; but some -time, perhaps,” he said to his heart, and during his week of early and -late work not one word or look of his had disturbed the serenity of -Margaret’s mind. He had been solely and simply the elder brother on -whose experience and friendly aid she could rely. Now, however, the -little home was in order; the tiny sitting-room with its painted and -polished floor, its bright rugs, its gayly-cushioned Boston rockers, its -hassocks that served the double duty of seats and boot-boxes, and last, -but not least, its revolving book-case with the few of the well-known -volumes which Margaret had selected from her father’s library and which -Dr. Ely had supplemented with some contributions of his own. These were -principally works on art and the intellect, by Ruskin, Hammerton, and -others, and a few books of poetry by Dante Rossetti, Keats, Tennyson, -and a superb _édition de luxe_ of “Aurora Leigh.” They were all seated -in this room surveying its finishing touches the evening previous to Dr. -Ely’s departure for A—. - -“Well, it is pleasant,” he exclaimed. “I shall carry its memory with me -when I go, and in imagination behold you seated every evening around the -open stove, feasting on the contents of this handy little book-case. I -shall remember how white the curtains are, how dainty the table scarfs -and the head-rests of the chairs, and how really fine those oleographs -and photogravures on the wall appear in the glow of the fire-light, and -I shall fancy you are all taking on flesh and good spirits under the -inspiration of Elsie’s cooking.” - -“You are very kind not to insinuate one word about dyspepsia,” answered -Elsie demurely. “But I am really enthusiastic over my promised lessons -in that grand art, as madam so grandiloquently calls it. You know some -people are born great, and I really feel that I am destined to achieve -my highest expression in an apostleship to the pots and pans of the -kitchen. Like the starveling poet of the story-books, I shall doubtless -astonish the world when the flame of my soul has burst into a dish fit -to set before a king.” - -“You are somewhat mixed as to metaphor,” exclaimed Margaret with a -laugh. - -“Well, I hope to mix more than metaphors by-and-by. But tell me, Dr. -Ely, are you conscious of either an aching void or an aching fulness, -whichever dyspepsia happens to be, since you sat under my dispensation?” - -“I haven’t had such an appetite in years. I don’t in the least question -your genius for cookery, and when you have learned to make something out -of nothing with a ravishing French name and taste, you can count on -achieving a world-wide fame.” - -“Fame? a bauble! I look only to the expression of my art,” and Elsie -rolled up her eyes and shrugged her shapely shoulders with an abandon of -French mannerism that was as startling as it was amusing. Something in -Margaret’s apprehensive glance caught the doctor’s quick eye. What -wonderful fire and keenness lay in the little girl’s mobile face. Ah, -well, Margaret was right; there was work for her here. With an -abruptness that seemed almost harsh he spoke: - -“He ‘jests at scars that never felt a wound.’ Art, Miss Elsie, in its -entirety is deep, and high, and long, and men have sought it, and with -palsied finger on the pulse of time have died unanswered.” - -The laughing eyes of Elsie grew suddenly grave. “Dear me, one can’t be -enthusiastic nowadays without finding a wet blanket thrown over her at -the first step. Nevertheless I don’t intend to wear cap and spectacles -until long after my humble divinity has crowned me mistress. My ambition -is such a simple one—just to tickle the palates of my little world. Now, -doctor, don’t discourage me.” - -“Not for the world. Epicurus, if he were here, would doubtless pronounce -a benediction on your ambition, and I am not sure that your purpose does -not already deserve a laurel leaf, for it has been more than once -reiterated that the crying need of the day is good cookery.” - -“Thanks. I am glad that my mission has the support of the public mind, -or palate. Either will do, I suppose. But how is it with you, Meg? I -haven’t heard you declare as yet for any reform.” - -“I am not so sure of my mission as you are of yours, nor so confident of -being born to greatness.” - -“That’s bad. One surely ought to believe in herself if she expects to -get on. Perhaps the doctor can help your indecision.” - -There was a mischievous twinkle in Elsie’s eyes that was not lost on the -doctor, but with the utmost gravity he replied: “Well, yes, I think I -can. It will be a mission worth while to learn the problem of -self-support and self-education under adverse circumstances. It will -need something more than enthusiasm.” - -“A patience and a finesse of which I am not sure I am master. I am only -mutely feeling my way now. Indeed, the doctor has lifted so much -responsibility from my shoulders in this new venture that I hardly know -what I can do.” - -“You will know when the opportunity comes to act. Just now you needed -the little friendly direction I am very glad I was able to offer. There -are times when even the strongest are not wholly self-reliant.” - -Tears stood in Margaret’s eyes as she answered: “How unblessed is he who -can make no claim on loyal friendship. May I always prove myself worthy -of it.” - -“We’ll not question that now, nor in the future,” said the doctor, a -glow of light in his eyes that watching Elsie did not fail to note. -“Now, tell me your plan for making use of this mine,” he added, touching -the book-case at his right hand. - -“I’ve been thinking we must get at the nuggets with as little delay as -possible, for we haven’t time to bore through worthless drifts of -scoria, even though at the bottom may be a mine of wealth. We must make -practical and immediate use of what we learn.” - -“True,” interposed the doctor as Margaret looked up interrogatively. “I -am deeply interested.” - -“This, then, is what I’ve been thinking: every thought of other minds -from which we can draw sustenance must be drained of its nutriment -before we seek another, and that thought must be made to bear relatively -upon our own. In other words, it must father a new growth in our own -minds, for in that way only can education have any practical bearing -upon life and action.” - -“Excellent!” exclaimed the doctor warmly. “Go on, please.” - -Margaret’s cheek flushed as she complied. “It is my purpose, then, in -this home symposium to bring no thought that we cannot healthfully -digest. Occult research is only for the man of leisure. This is the -first principle that shall govern our intellectual feast. The second -shall be the democracy of our purpose, or, in other words, the -hand-to-hand start we shall make in our race for knowledge. No one shall -be debarred because he has not learned the alphabet of reason; we will -give him the chance to learn it. The third requirement will be only good -moral character,” and Margaret finished with a laugh. - -“Regardless of social position, remember, doctor,” exclaimed Elsie. “In -short, Margaret has sketched the outlines of a new aristocracy, wherein -moral worth and purpose count first, with brain and healthy digestion a -good second, and where wealth doesn’t stand any show at all.” - -“You forget that is the goal toward which the first two tend,” said -Margaret eagerly. “An aristocracy founded on those principles could not -be an insecure one—could it, doctor?” - -“It is admirable as a dream, and as a dream impracticable, I fear.” - -“By no means,” said Elsie as she noticed the shadow that crossed -Margaret’s face at the doctor’s words. “You forget that it concerns only -three people. We shall reform the world chiefly by beginning to reform -ourselves. Nothing could so suit our Eutopian ideas as to call it ‘A New -Aristocracy.’” - -“An aristocracy of potato diggers!” exclaimed Gilbert, looking up from -his book. - -“Exactly. We have a right to a kingdom of our own within these walls. -Our fame and our pride need not go beyond them.” - -“Safe enough on that score,” said Gilbert ironically. - -“Well,” said the doctor merrily, “I shall count myself one of the -aristocrats even when miles away.” - -“But I haven’t told you all my plan yet,” said Margaret. “It concerns -this very potato-digging that to Gilbert seems so incongruous with our -high purposes. On the principle that everything we have is the product -of the earth, there is nothing out of proportion in even potato diggers -striving for the highest development, and as our impressions all come to -us from our contact with every-day things, we shall find an astonishing -philosophy grow out of potato-digging if we look for it. In my endeavors -to carry out the behests underlying the propagation of plants, I expect -to find questions that will lead me into as yet unexplored paths, and I -shall endeavor to treasure up these questions and their answers if they -can be found. I shall exact the same process of reasoning from all the -members of our circle, and shall expect every evening to be regaled by -Elsie with a philosophical monologue on the amount of nutriment there is -in an egg or the exhilaration to be derived from the dish-pan.” - -“Then you will be disappointed. My ideas are not perennial; but if I -chance to evolve some flavor that a Frenchman would doubtless call -‘heavenly,’ you may look for a harangue.” - -“A practical school of philosophy it seems to shadow forth; but the -proof of the pudding is in the eating, you know,” said the doctor with a -smile. - -“I don’t underrate the difficulties in the way; but I think we three -ought to be able to do something with ourselves on that basis,” said -Margaret. - -“Certainly,” replied the doctor. “And I shall endeavor to remodel my own -work from the same standpoint. I have been a dreamer and an enthusiast, -and it has remained for an untried girl to show the practical -application of my dreams. I shall go home a wiser man.” - -“You frighten me, doctor, with the seriousness of that statement. It is -all untried as yet,” exclaimed Margaret in evident distress. - -“True; but I can see its first steps. After these the way may open wider -and clearer. It is certainly worth trying.” - -With this indorsement Margaret felt satisfied, and there was color in -her cheeks and brilliancy in her eyes as she and the doctor talked long -and animatedly until late in the evening. Gilbert had stolen away to bed -and Elsie was deep in a novel of Antoine’s. - -“I shall have to shake myself well together when I get home,” said the -doctor, when they discovered the lateness of the hour. “I’ve been living -a new life and the old one will seem strange.” - -It was hard for Margaret to acknowledge even to herself after the -doctor’s departure that she felt lonely and uneasy; but somehow she -missed the careful forethought that had been as new as it had been -unexpected. It was a strange experience in her barren life, and scold -herself as she might, she could not find it unpleasant. But for the -present she would not, she might not indulge in dreams. A work that -might stretch into years lay before her. That done—well, how strong is -faith? A new beauty, however, stole into her face; its somewhat stern -lines relaxed, and tender, almost pathetic, little curves grew about the -corners of the firmly-set lips. It was quite apparent to those who knew -her that the calm reliance of her nature had been disturbed by something -strange and sweet, yet not even Elsie guessed its full meaning. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - -It was the middle of April. Already in sheltered corners the thin blades -of grass were fringing the walks and telling mutely of the stir at their -roots. The sky had an unwonted tint of blue, and occasional breezes came -up from the Southland laden with the balm and spice of the new-born -earth. Hooded in their green cloaks, the dandelions lifted their yellow -heads and took a sly peep from their enveloping fringes. The crocuses -were just ready to laugh, and the purple bells of the wild hyacinth were -tinkling unheard in the soft air. The robins were hilarious in the -intoxication of hope, and Elsie and Antoine were endeavoring to rival -them in the ever-recurring joy and promise of the spring. They were in -the garden at Idlewild; Antoine in his wheel chair, and Elsie pretending -to wield a trowel around the roots of a few straggling rose bushes. She -was an indifferent worker, however, for every now and then Antoine would -catch the bursting refrain of some over-joyous robin, and throwing back -his handsome head, would imitate it so closely as to call forth -rapturous applause from Elsie and a chorus of answers from neighboring -trees. Presently Elsie began to purse her red lips in a wild attempt to -rival Antoine and the birds. Each attempt was followed by gay bursts of -laughter such as can issue only from the lips of children and the -utterly care-free. - -“It is no use,” said Elsie after awhile. “I never can be a bird.” - -“Then you can’t fly away from me,” said Antoine gravely, laying a thin -hand upon Elsie’s cotton-gloved ones. - -“Would it grieve you if I should?” - -“It has been heaven since you came,” said the lad simply. - -“I don’t believe you know what heaven is, if a madcap girl like me can -make it for you.” - -“I’ve read somewhere that ‘heaven lies in a woman’s eyes;’ but I suppose -that was meant for full-grown men, not for little chaps like me. It is -heaven all the same to find a companion—one who can laugh before I do. -Ma mère always laughs _after_.” - -“Did you laugh a great deal before I came?” - -“No, I only laughed when ma mère was looking. I had to do it to keep the -tears out of her voice. Oh, I’ve been so lonely, always thinking, -thinking, and I wanted not to think.” - -“Dear child, don’t let us begin now. At least we’ll put sad thoughts -away. Have you found your blossom for the home circle to-night?” - -“Not yet. Miss Margaret said it must grow from the soil of our daily -life, and nothing seems to grow in my soil.” - -“Listen, Antoine. You say I make heaven for you because I can bring you -laughter. Has not that thought grown in the barren soil you complain of? -Now make a blossom out of the root and stalk.” - -“I am too dull. You will not let me enter the circle if I show you how -little I can make a thought. I only live when I forget myself and -everything around me in somebody else. I am such a useless lad.” - -“No, no, you must not allow yourself to think such things. See what a -comfort you are to your mother; and how I delight in that odd little -head of yours. I neglect my work to talk to you, and shall have Margaret -scolding presently,” answered Elsie, picking up her trowel and giving -one or two energetic digs at the sod about a rose bush. - -“Miss Margaret never scolds, I am sure,” said Antoine emphatically. “But -oh, if I could run and leap and work!” The words ended in a half-sob. - -“We all have our appointed tasks, Antoine,” said Elsie softly. “Some are -made to do and some are made to bear.” - -“Mine always to bear!” exclaimed the lad bitterly. “Never to be a man -with a man’s hopes and ambitions. Just a little dried-up mummy——” - -“There, there!” interrupted Elsie, taking the flushed face between her -hands and kissing it. “Not very much of a mummy with such a vehement -tongue as that. Dear child, let us put the inevitable away. Heavy as the -cross is, love lightens it, and love will always be yours. No one can -look at you without loving you.” - -“For what?” asked the lad eagerly. “For my misfortune, or what other -reason?” - -“For the spirit in those dark eyes and the atmosphere of love that -radiates from you. The spirit is greater than the body, and life need -not be useless to you nor you to life.” - -“And is there more to hope for than the pity that says ‘poor child’ when -it looks at me?” - -Breathlessly Antoine asked the question, and as breathlessly seemed to -hang on Elsie’s words: “Men crippled like you, Antoine, have made the -world pause to wonder at their powers, and hail in reverent acclaim the -genius that is immeasurably above mere physical perfection.” - -“But I haven’t any genius,” said Antoine with a disappointed sigh. “I -have only one intense longing.” - -“For what? Tell me.” - -“You will laugh at me.” - -“Not for the world.” - -“Well, then,” and Antoine’s pale face flushed with the energy of desire, -“for music. To pour out my soul in wordless utterances like the birds; -to rise, to float on waves of song, away above everybody.” - -The little thin hands were clasped together in an ecstasy of feeling, -and the bent body was restlessly swaying back and forth among the -cushions. - -“Have you ever tried?” asked Elsie simply. - -“No; ma mère doesn’t even know it. She says I whistle like a bird, and -that is all she knows. She is too poor to buy me anything to make music -with.” - -“What would you like?” - -“I think I could play the violin best, for that doesn’t need anything -but arms to bring out the expression. Ah, what joy it would be to make -something talk for me, to me. I _know_, Elsie, I could teach it to say -the things in here that are so dumb now because they have no way to -speak,” and the restless hands clutched his breast as he spoke. - -“Wait a moment,” exclaimed Elsie, jumping up quickly and running into -the house. She was back in less than a moment with an old violin case in -her hand. - -“Ah!” she exclaimed, seeing the light of eager expectancy spring into -Antoine’s eyes. “Don’t be too sure of anything. I found this in the -rubbish when we moved. I don’t think it was poor father’s. I never heard -him play it. By the way, I believe it was left at our house by some -stranger. Indeed, Antoine, we never had any gayety in our home. It was -only just the serenity of well-performed duty, unless I whirled into a -storm for a change. But now, Antoine, if this fiddle can sing, we’ll -have a little gayety, won’t we?” - -“Oh, won’t we!” echoed Antoine, as Elsie busied herself with removing -the sack in which the violin had been carefully tied. Alas! the violin -had but one string, and not a shadow of any other to be found in sack or -case. - -“Well, it’s evidently whole,” said Elsie, thumping the back, “and -strings can be bought. Take the bow, Antoine, and wake the echoes with -one string. We’ll make a noise, at any rate.” - -Antoine took the old violin and examined it carefully, thumping the one -bass string with the gravity of discovery. Once or twice he adjusted it -under his chin, and made a motion as if to draw the bow across the -string. Suddenly he stopped. - -“No,” he said decidedly, “until there is a voice I cannot speak, and -even then, Elsie, how do I know I shall not fail? I know I shall with -you watching me. Some time when the strings are on the violin and I am -all alone, and I feel the song bird here in my breast, I will try. -Something tells me I shall succeed—that it is my life, my hope; but I do -not know, after all,” and over the dark eyes stole the cloud of despair -that so often makes the bravest genius fearful of its own weakness. - -“We will make it hope for you because we will work for it, dear,” -answered Elsie. “Even genius is nothing without work.” - -Antoine did not answer, and Elsie, noticing the cloud still hovering -over the lad’s face, pushed his chair to the other end of the garden, -where Margaret, Lizzette, and Gilbert were busied over cold frames and -garden beds. Looking over the low paling that separated Margaret’s -garden from that of Lizzette, they could already see the tender green of -early vegetables showing through the glass plates of the hot beds. -Lizzete eyed them approvingly. - -“Next year you sall rival me,” she said, laying a brown hand on -Margaret’s shoulder. “But nefer fear—zere ees room for bof in zis world. -We nezair of us grow reech, c’est vrai; but we lif and zat ees somesing. -Ah, Gilbeart, you lose von goot foot zere. Now put it zis way and see -your frame couvair so mooch more ground. Eet ees ze inch saved zat makes -ze foot gained in ze market garden. See! Can you find von inch to spare -in zat leetle space of mine? Eet all yields, and yet Lizzette Minaud ees -une très pauvre femme.” - -“Poverty is a relative term, you know. Enough to eat, to wear, and to -grow on are all that any one needs. It is in the enough, however, that -lies the division of opinion,” said Margaret as she helped Gilbert -adjust the frame to Lizzette’s satisfaction. - -“Zat ees true; but as ze world look at us we haf very leetle.” - -“But if we have contentment therewith, we have everything,” answered -Margaret. At this juncture Elsie, who had wheeled Antoine into the path -beside her sister, broke out impetuously: - -“Margaret Murchison, do you mean to say that you are perfectly -contented? I don’t believe one word of it. You are not contented, for if -you were you wouldn’t be striving with might and main to earn the -wherewithal to make a gentleman of Gilbert and a lady of me. You’d let -us remain clodhoppers to the end of our days. It is all nonsense to -preach contentment when your actions give the lie to your words.” - -Margaret glanced up quickly at the vehement assertion. - -“There is a difference between the contentment that has only stagnation -in it, and that which is satisfied to grow under the conditions which -environ it until the time ripens for wider growth and leafage. If I am -contented it is because I am willing to work step by step and inch by -inch as the way unfolds. There is only disaster in trying to reach the -height at a single bound. Order is subverted and reason impeded in such -attempts.” - -“My wise sister, put on my harness and teach me to trot soberly by your -side. I do so want to jump the gates for a wild run, and forget harness, -duty, and all the unpleasant things of life. Antoine and I have been -trying to be birds this morning.” - -“You didn’t succeed, I conclude.” - -“Well, no; at least I didn’t. Wings will never grow for me, but Antoine -is going to rival the birds some day. See here! I found this among the -rubbish in father’s study, and Gilbert when next he goes to the city -shall get the strings, and when Antoine has learned to mirror his soul -in music I’ll——” - -“What will you do?” asked Margaret soberly, as Elsie paused for breath. - -“Dance my way into fame! Now don’t look so horrified, or I shall think -you are going to be a ‘Miss Prunes and Prisms’ instead of the good -wholesome ‘sister’ Dr. Ely thinks you are.” - -Elsie watched with sparkling eyes the pink flush on Margaret’s cheek, -and a moment later mischievously intensified it by saying: “I wonder how -the staid Dr. Ely would relish hearing the world say that the sister -of——” - -“Elsie!” exclaimed Margaret apprehensively. - -“I was merely going to say—of the lady he admires so much was premier -danseuse at the Standard?” - -Elsie was half-way to the house by the time she had explained herself. - -“Oh, cet Elsie!” exclaimed Lizzette with a laugh. “What fire, what verve -zere ees under zat pretty head.” - -“She’s a great puzzle to me,” said Margaret somewhat sadly. “I really -fear she’ll burn her wings yet. I hope I can keep her out of the -candle.” - -“She’ll keep herself out,” exclaimed Antoine energetically. “She’s got a -heap of good sense; but she’s just like some wild bird, made to be gay -and beautiful all her life.” - -“She’s been dropped in a sorry corner of the world, if that is her -destiny. There is little hope of anything but the daily drill of duty in -this household,” answered Margaret. - -“She’ll never drill under any other captain than love,” said Antoine -with a smile up into Margaret’s grave face. - -“And he’ll have to be a pretty lively fellow to keep up with her antics, -too,” said Gilbert as he leaned his hoe against the fence and took up -the fiddle to examine it. - -Margaret’s face grew thoughtful as she heaped the earth about the frame. -“Love, love,” said she to herself. “After all, it is like the sun, the -vivifying influence of the world, and duty sounds cold beside it. I must -find out what it is that is trying to burst its bonds in my little -girl’s bosom. It may be I am too slow and dull for the gay spring-time -that is budding there.” - -“Antoine,” she exclaimed presently, “Gilbert shall fix up the old fiddle -and you shall learn to wake us up. I believe we’ve been too sleepy for -Elsie.” - -“O Miss Margaret! she is so lovely and so are you,” he added naïvely. - -“The old fiddle, Antoine,” said Margaret, responsively patting the boy’s -hand, “the old fiddle has a history. Some eight or nine years ago my -father took into his house a sick man, who came apparently from nowhere -and was apparently journeying to the same place. He was very ill when he -came to the house, and begged for a night’s lodging and supper. My -father never turned any one who was hungry from his door, and so he came -among us, and sat all the evening a silent figure in the chimney corner -until bedtime. He had nothing with him but a bundle tied up in a red -handkerchief and the fiddle. My father, with a delicacy which was -characteristic of him, did not even ask the man his name, and so we -never knew who he was, nor where his friends were, if he had any. About -midnight we were all awakened by strains of the weirdest music; -sometimes so sad and wailing that it seemed like a human being in -agonies of pain, again as gay and glad as any chansonette, with here and -there bird notes so sweet and clear one could almost hear the forest -echoes, and then the maddest, wildest, most rollicking melodies breaking -in upon it all. At last it stopped with a discordant crash of the bow -across the strings, and father stepped to the door of the sick man’s -chamber, to find him lying across the bed raving in delirium. We nursed -him through a two-days’ illness, and then he died without having told us -a word of himself. There was nothing to indicate who or what he was in -his little bundle, and so that and the violin were put away and nearly -forgotten until we came across them in moving. I am glad Antoine is -going to have the violin. My grave father had no use for it.” - -During the recital of Margaret’s story, Lizzette Minaud had stood a rapt -listener, her brown face working with some unwonted emotion. When -Margaret had finished she said huskily, “Ze violin for Antoine, Miss -Margaret? C’est très-bon. I tank you so mooch. Now Antoine will pour out -his soul; he ees so like son père, mon pauvre Jacques—ah Dieu! où -est-il?” - -“Is he not dead?” asked Margaret in surprise. - -“Non. When Antoine two year old, he go look for work. He promise me to -come back soon; mais le temps—c’est long, long. I nevair hear von word. -I know notings if he be living or dead. But ze violin eet bring back ze -memories. Mon Jacques he love eet so, and play très-bien.” - -“Ma mère! ma mère!” cried Antoine, throwing up his arms at sight of -Lizzette’s agitated face. - -“Chut! chut!” answered Lizzette, bending down to kiss him. “C’est passé, -mon garçon. Now we will be gay like ze birds, and happy ze livelong -day.” - -Margaret had slipped away during the little colloquy between Lizzette -and Antoine, and presently returned with a small bundle carefully tied -up in an old bandana handkerchief. Untying the knot, she spread its -contents open to view. - -“Mon Dieu! mon Dieu!” cried the voluble Frenchwoman, clutching the -handkerchief and falling in a paroxysm of weeping at Margaret’s feet. -“Ze cushion I made for him; ze hair comb; ze neccessaire—I know all, -all. Mon pauvre Jacques! And you, Miss Margaret, ze angel, ze comforter -of his last hours? Plut à Dieu! cet I too might have been wiz him. Ze -violin, celui de votre père, Antoine. Le bon Dieu! Zese friends, ze -violin, ze kind care de mon pauvre Jacques, votre père—ah! my heart ees -bursting wiv ze—ze—gratefulness. I weep my eyes away,” and the -affectionate creature clung to Margaret’s skirts in a bewilderment of -grief, wonder, and joy. - -“It seems like a miracle,” said Margaret, stooping to raise Lizzette -from the ground. “But it only shows how small the world is and how -interdependent we are. We shall be still warmer friends after this.” - -Antoine, a mute but agitated witness of the scene, reached out a hand to -Elsie, who had stolen quietly beside his chair. - -“How strange, how dear, how beautiful it all is!” he exclaimed. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - -That evening, gathered in the little sitting-room at Idlewild, were the -five people who made up the Home Circle Club which Margaret had -organized, and who, Elsie laughingly said, “represented the bone and -sinew of the ‘new aristocracy’ which was to revolutionize the world.” - -“Only think,” she exclaimed before Margaret had gravely called the -meeting to order. “Only think of the greatness concentrated here! In my -grave sister I recognize the ‘Morning Star’ of the new reformation; a -second Wickliffe with the mantle of peace and gentleness bravely wrapped -about her slight form. In Gilbert another Sir Isaac Newton, who shall -discover a new law of gravitation, which shall make the gold of the -miser fall of its own volition into the outstretched hands of the -philanthropist. In Antoine a later Corelli, who shall render all these -aspirations into a new classic for the benefit of future generations; -and in ma mère an Archestratus, who shall, in verifying Voltaire’s -enthusiasm, ‘qu’un cuisinier est un mortel divin,’ solidify this band of -enthusiasts with the material offering of something good to eat.” - -“And you?” asked Margaret. - -“The unfortunate mortal upon whom you will all practice.” - -“I should like to begin by subjecting you to the law of _gravity_,” -exclaimed Gilbert. - -“Never fear,” said Margaret. “Time will bring gravity soon enough, and -Elsie can’t throw stones at us without endangering her own enthusiasms. -Her next new dish will be our opportunity, Gilbert.” - -“Unless I put a guard over it.” - -“Will the meeting please come to order?” said Margaret soberly. Elsie -subsided into her corner and Antoine lay back among his cushions, and -listened with interest to Margaret’s statement of the purposes of the -little home club. “The first part of our plan is to develop thought, and -we have decided that such thought must come to us in response to our -daily needs or grow out of our daily work. We therefore expect each -member to bring what we will call a blossom for the wreath of every-day -living; this blossom may be perhaps a wayside weed or a cherished bloom -of some inner chamber of the heart. Nothing is too small or simple for -this wreath, so that out of it we may extract some consolation, hope, or -purpose. Upon these thoughts that are thrown together, and which shall -be kept in a record book, will depend the evening’s reading. In this way -we think the demands of our mental and moral needs will be best -satisfied. Elsie, what have you to offer?” - -The mischief had apparently died out of Elsie’s face as she answered: “A -good many things have come to me to-day; but the most pronounced thought -has been the despair of enthusiasm and the futility of the most earnest -effort. I burned with the desire of a Francatelli to achieve an -omelette; but having no eggs the earnestness of purpose failed me.” - -A ripple of laughter greeted Elsie’s announcement. - -“Wanted,” exclaimed Gilbert, “a new invention for making hens lay; -otherwise the foundation of our castle in Spain will not be equal to its -walls.” - -“Now, Antoine,” said Margaret, “let us hear from you.” - -“The day has been good to me,” replied the lad, “for in it I have -learned how sweet it is to hope.” - -“And I,” said Lizzette, “haf found zat friendship haf no price.” - -“While I,” asserted Gilbert, “have found a boy’s back can ache a great -deal harder at work than at play.” - -“Now, Margaret,” asked Elsie, “how are you going to philosophize over -the want of eggs and a boy’s back? These incorrigible facts take the -poetry out of our plan, I am afraid.” - -“Not in the least. It is the very thing we are endeavoring to do, make -our philosophy fit our material wants. It may be that the world wouldn’t -call our reasoning by so dignified a name; but we don’t care for that. -This is our world, and into it we are striving to bring as much of both -earthly and divine sustenance as will best fit us to receive the -greatest amount of happiness. Therefore, since eggs will contribute to -the mental balance and physical well-being of Elsie, to say nothing of -the rest of us, we must look up some information regarding henneries. -The garden planted, Gilbert must exercise his ingenuity in building one, -while the rest of us——” - -“Devise some means of making a hen lay two eggs a day,” interposed -Elsie. - -“Elsie, I am ashamed of you,” exclaimed Margaret with forced severity. -“To think that already you develop the greed of a monopolist.” - -“Well, what is Eutopia good for, if it doesn’t make all doors swing back -with the ‘open sesame’ of good wishes?” - -“Good to hope for,” said Gilbert dryly. - -“And to work for,” added Margaret quietly. - -“And ze hope and ze work keep ze world moving. But ze boy’s back, Mees -Margaret, zat is a question not yet answered.” - -“A good game of base-ball would cure that, eh, Gilbert?” - -“I protest,” exclaimed Elsie, “against any more nonsense this evening. -On our first grand opening to be found on such a lamentably low plane is -belittling to our great aims. There has not been a word said yet about -the crying need of our country, the deplorable condition of labor, the -injustice of our government, etc., etc. Will not our serene presidentess -inform her breathless audience how we are to strike at the roots of -these evils at once?” - -“Chiefly by attending to our own business. In the breast of each -individual lies the power of bettering himself, and as we better -ourselves intellectually and morally, as well as materially, by so much -we better the world.” - -“It sounds easy,” said Elsie dubiously. - -“It _is_ easy,” said Margaret firmly. “Grind out of our hearts the -selfish love of ease that creates the unholy desire to build up -ourselves by pulling others down, and bravely resolve to shirk no plain -duty, and the battle is half-won. Now let us turn to the real business -of the evening. I have laid out a line of history work for the first -half-hour; for the second, belles-lettres and poetry; for the third, -discussion; and for the last, music.” - -“From Antoine’s violin?” - -“Yes, and from an organ to accompany him.” - -“Has the organ materialized?” asked Elsie, gazing incredulously around -the room. - -“It shall to-morrow. We can obtain one by monthly payments, and only a -little plainer living, fewer clothes, and the thing can be managed. I’ll -agree to wear calico all the time, even Sundays if need be.” - -“And I won’t even _think_ of a ribbon,” exclaimed Elsie, with a -mischievous twinkle shining through eyes that were suspiciously misty. - -“Amen,” said Gilbert. “I’ll wear patches and play ‘bones.’” - -Lizzette and Antoine said nothing; but a look of intelligence passed -between them, which told of a purpose they did not care to mention just -then. And so the little Home Circle Club was arranged. Three evenings in -the week the programme came to be successfully carried out. Margaret -kept a record of all the proceedings, carefully noting down the doubts -and difficulties that beset them, and as carefully adding all truths -that came to help them. The music of the violin and organ was not a -startling success at first, for the empty purse prevented all thought of -tuition except that furnished by self-teaching manuals; but as -exceptional genius lay beneath Antoine’s curly locks, and Elsie was an -uncommonly bright scholar, it was not long before the two young heads -had solved the puzzling rudiments of music, and were on their way toward -a tolerable amount of proficiency. Antoine was a new being. His mother -affirmed that the music would cure him. A faint color tinged the -hitherto pale cheeks, and an unusual sparkle lit up the dark eyes. It -would have been hard to find a happier group of people than the five at -Idlewild. They were like one family in their interests and efforts. -Lizzette flitted in and out of both domiciles, intent now on Elsie’s -cooking, now on Antoine’s music, which came to her ears at all hours of -the day and night—for the violin had grown to be like a living companion -to the crippled lad—now helping Gilbert and Margaret in the garden or -gravely puzzling over some of the English books on Margaret’s table. -They were all busy, cheerful, and conscious that they were making -progress, intellectually and materially. Lizzette’s experience had been -the safeguard over Margaret’s efforts in the garden. It was prospering -finely, and already Lizzette had sold at her stall in the market at C—— -enough to make Margaret feel that her hard days of work with hoe and -spade were sometimes sure to be well rewarded. As the season progressed -the work in the garden required additional help. In an old negro woman, -known to everybody in the neighborhood as “Aunt Liza,” together with her -son Eph, Margaret found the needed assistance. Often she worked beside -them, finding as acquaintance progressed a perpetual source of annoyance -in the aimless and half-hearted way in which they worked. -Irresponsibility seemed to be with them the predominating -characteristic, and strive as she would against it, she frequently found -her efforts not much more successful than so much writing in water. They -would both listen to her instructions with serious but blank faces, and -relapse at once into that indolent method which was a continual thorn in -Margaret’s New England thrift. It was her first serious stumbling-block -on the way to that high plane of achievement whereon she had made no -allowance for the thriftless, the ignorant, and the irresponsible. To -her well-regulated mind, all people _ought_ to be industrious, patient, -and ambitious, and it was a keen thrust against her composure to be -brought into contact with the unpromising side of human nature. It was -not so much that the two did not earn the wages she paid them, as that -she saw failure, suffering, misfortune before the two unthinking -mortals. She felt a moral responsibility in endeavoring to set their -feet aright, and so tried in numberless little ways to impress upon them -a faint idea of the requirements of life. She found in the little hut -where they lived a deplorable poverty, and undertook to question Liza, -who in the summer, together with Eph, earned fairly good wages, how it -happened that they were so poor. - -“Dunno, Miss Margaret,” answered Liza with a grin. “Spec somehow me an’ -Eph ain’t got no way of sabin’. In the summertime we has ’nough ter eat, -and we firgits about de cold, and so when de winter comes, folks ’bout -here is mighty good, and don’t let us go hungry, and that’s jes’ de way -we gits thru.” - -“But wouldn’t you rather save a part of your wages in the summer and fix -up the cabin good and warm, and be able to feed yourself and have people -respect you?” - -“Spec ’twould seem better to have de old cabin fixed up; but as for -folks ’spectin’ ole Aunt Liza and nigger Eph—yah! yah! I reckon, Miss -Margaret, yer ain’t lived long o’ niggers much.” - -Liza’s fat sides shook with unctuous laughter as she looked up into -Margaret’s face. - -“No,” said Margaret, “but I think every one is entitled to respect who -earns it, whether he is black or white.” - -“P’raps that’s so,” assented Liza, “but niggers ain’t white folks, -nohow. They’s a pore down-trodden race fo’ suah,” she added, catching -the whine of some claptrap orator. “Dey jes’ don’t know how to be any -better.” - -“They can learn.” - -“Mighty hard work teach a nigger; dey’s got dreffel thick skulls. -Niggers is the comicalest folks too; jes’ gib ’em a chicken bone and a -watermillion and dey don’t care fo’ nuffin’ else,” and Aunt Liza stopped -work long enough to chuckle over her own wit. - -“But they ought to; because chicken bones and watermelons don’t grow on -every bush. They ought to learn how to take care of their money, and buy -little homes of their own, and grow into citizens that are honest and -self-respecting.” - -“Specs it take mighty long while to do dat, Miss Margaret. Niggers don’t -have nuffin’ mo’n a few pennies at a time, and dey’s sartin suah to git -away jes’ soon as dey turns roun’.” - -“Did you ever count up how much money there would be in saving five -cents a day for a year, or even a summer?” - -“No, don’t know ’nuff; but Eph hyah’s been to school. Eph, you jes’ -count ’em up.” - -“Cain’t do it. Hain’t got that fur. Ye see,” said he, glad of a chance -to rise from his cramped position, with the ostensible object of -explaining himself, “I’s only jes’ larned de A B abs and hain’t got no -time to go no mo’. I’s got to hire out all de time.” - -“Well, five cents a day for six days in a week make thirty cents; that -sum for fifty-two weeks in a year makes the sum of $15.60.” - -“Ooeeh!” exclaimed Eph. “Dat’s mo’ money ’n I ever seed at a time. Jes’ -five cents’ yer say? How much ef it’s only thru de summer dat we sabes -it?” - -“That depends upon how many months you work. If you work from April to -November, say a period of twenty-six weeks, there will be seven dollars -and eighty cents. Would not that go a good way in helping to clothe and -feed you in the winter?” - -“Golly, yes,” exclaimed Eph. “I never has no clothes when the col’ -spells come on. I’s allus shiverin’ ’roun’ in de winter and hopin’ fo’ -spring.” - -“Eph,” said Aunt Liza, roused by Margaret’s arithmetic into an unusual -interest, “jes’ s’posin’ we ’uns tries dat little speculation. Five -cents hain’t a drefful sight ter sabe a day, but it do heap up ’mazin’ -fast, dat’s so. Jes’ let’s make Miss Margaret hold de money fo’ us; fo’ -dar ain’t no use o’ us tryin’ ter sabe it. It jes’ burn holes in our -pockets fo’ shuah.” - -“I’s agreed,” answered Eph, getting up again and making an elaborate bow -to Margaret. “Specs Miss Margaret tryin’ a little mission on us; but -lawsee! reckon dar’s need ’nuff of it, and I’s putty shuah dar ain’t -nobody nicerer to be banker fo’ us.” - -Having delivered this speech, Eph leaned up against the fence with the -air of having supplied a long-felt want. Margaret smiled and began, “I -am afraid——” - -“Heah, you Eph!” interrupted Aunt Liza, picking up a clod and hurling it -at Eph’s head, “you lazy nigger! go to work, or yer don’t git no five -cents to sabe.” - -Eph cleverly dodged the clod and leisurely sank to his knees. “Specs -Miss Margaret hain’t no ’bjections ter actin’ as ouah banker,” he -resumed with the utmost complacency. - -“I don’t believe that’s the best plan. Can’t you lay it up yourselves, -and resolve not to touch it till cold weather comes?” - -“Shuah fo’ sartin, Miss Margaret, a nigger don’t know how to sabe a -cent. It jes’ gits away, dat’s all. Onless you’s our banker, like Eph -say, we don’t git rich by time col’ weather’s settlin’ down.” - -Aunt Liza, unmindful of the reproof she had just administered to Eph, -sat up in the path, and with numerous gesticulations proceeded to -emphasize her statement. “It’s mighty good o’ yer, Miss Margaret, to -take a likin’ to us no-’count niggers, and I’s jes’ goin’ to try and see -ef dar ain’t some good in ouah ole bones aftah all. Ef you’ll jes’ keep -ouah sabin’s I’ll make dat Eph work every day in de week and go huntin’ -Sundays.” - -“Well,” said Margaret, with difficulty repressing a smile, “I’ll try it. -Now let’s see if these two rows can’t be finished by noon.” - -“Meg,” said Elsie, as Margaret came wearily into the house at the noon -hour, “what have you been trying to do with those good-for-nothing -‘cullud pussons’ out there?” - -“Teach them a little responsibility, that is all.” - -“My sweet sister,” said Elsie, rapturously kissing the pale face as she -drew Margaret down into a rocking-chair, “you will kill yourself with -trying to be the world’s keeper.” - -“It is only a little thing, Elsie; the cup of cold water and no more.” - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - -It was June before the little Frenchwoman would hear to Margaret’s -making any effort to dispose of her produce in her own way. Regularly -every morning Lizzette boarded the four-o’clock train for the city with -her boxes of produce, which she pushed to the train in the hand-cart and -wheeled from the train to her stall in the market. Until now the amount -yielded by Margaret’s garden had been small in bulk, but so well had it -thrived under Lizzette’s management and the comparatively good season, -that the more bulky vegetables, such as spinach, peas, beans, etc., were -coming on, and Lizzette found the yield of the two gardens more than she -could well manage in her small way. Margaret, appalled somewhat, for all -her courage, at having to face the multitude in a stall at the market, -was for disposing of her produce to the commission merchants on South -M—— Street. - -“Non,” said Lizzette emphatically. “Zere ees no money in zat. You make -consignment and more likely zan not get back ze whole stuff wilted and -good for nosing. I tried zat to my sorrow. In ze stall you sell all at -some price. You no carry home ze stuff again.” - -“I know,” said Margaret doubtfully, “but truly I dread my ignorance and -the contact with things wholly unfamiliar.” - -“Ah, ze little brown Frenchwoman haf no such fear, and she forget ze -girlhood so long temps! Zare ees Gilbert—ees he not old enough? I take -him under my wing, and he sall learn ze tricks of trade. N’est-ce pas?” - -“I will go with you to-morrow,” said Margaret, “for I must conquer my -dread. Perhaps some time Gilbert shall take my place.” - -Nothing in the line of work had ever seemed so distasteful to Margaret -as wheeling the little hand-cart through the streets of the city, and -taking her place within the stall next to Lizzette’s. It was early when -they reached the market, and the buyers were not out in full force; -nevertheless Margaret fancied she saw in every eye that lingered on her -an impertinent curiosity. Self-consciousness was the least of her -failings; but there was an almost unacknowledged protest at being -compelled to stand up before the gaze of hundreds and volubly offer her -small wares for sale. Duty certainly wore her most uninviting aspect -that morning, and came nearer finding Margaret a coward than ever -before. She had never as yet shrunk from any work, however menial; but -there was a vast difference between performing that work within the -seclusion of home, cheered and upheld by an atmosphere of love and -appreciation that made “the dignity of labor” something more than the -radiant utterance of some visionary pedant, and standing in the full -gaze of the public, subjected to the whims, avarice, snobbishness, and -impertinence of the pushing, merciless multitude. Oh, how she shrank -from it all! How had she ever thought it possible to have strength for -such work? Lizzette’s quick eyes noticed the constraint of Margaret’s -manner, and she undertook, by a display of more than ordinary volubility -and gayety, to dispel the gloom that wrapped her. She bustled about, -changing the position of that bunch of onions or radishes, this head of -lettuce, or endeavoring to display more temptingly the measures of -spinach, peas, beans, etc. More than one would-be buyer halted, gazed at -the silent figure and white face, and passed on. - -“Zis will nevair do,” interposed Lizzette in a whisper. “You look truly -seek; sit down here behind ze cart, and I sell for bof of us. Vous avez -ze paleness I no like to see. Ze work ees too hard.” - -Margaret shook herself together with an effort. No, she would not be -beaten back at the first step; it would be degrading. The mutiny in her -breast, whatever it was, whether a hitherto unknown undercurrent of -false pride or a new and abnormal sensitiveness, _must_ be conquered. -With a smile that was almost pitiful in its attempted bravery she said: -“No, Lizzette; it is now or never. You will soon see what a brave -market-woman I will make. I shall make a sale to the next comer. -Good-morning, madam! How can I serve you?” she asked, as a woman who -wore diamonds and silk approached and sniffed contemptuously above the -little display of greenery. - -“Dear me! You don’t seem to have anything fit for a pig to eat,” said -the woman as with ungloved hand flashing with diamonds she deliberately -reached for a measure of spinach, and turned it bottom side up on the -little counter. - -“I presume not,” said Margaret, quietly picking up the spinach and -restoring it to its place. “We don’t sell to pigs here.” - -“H’m! impertinent!” and with a haughty stare into Margaret’s face, the -diamonds and silk passed on. Lizzette was convulsed with laughter. -Margaret stole a quick glance at her, and the white scorn of her face -lit up with a smile. - -“That was a tonic, Lizzette,” she said. “I shall do better next time.” - -A second later a sweet-faced little matron stopped at the counter, asked -for prices, made her selection, and looking earnestly at Margaret, said: -“You are a newcomer here. I know all the old faces.” - -“It is my first effort.” - -“And you find it hard?” - -“A little. I shall get used to it.” - -“Ah, yes, we get used to almost everything in this world. I shall -remember you and look for you to-morrow. Good morning.” And with a -slight bow the little matron took up her purchases and went on her way. - -Margaret’s face softened as she glanced at Lizzette. “Eet ees not all -bad,” Lizzette found time to whisper. - -“No,” said Margaret, “a little smile lightens the whole world.” - -When the market hours were over, Margaret, to her surprise, found that -she had sold out her little stock, and Lizzette was voluble in praise of -her ability as a saleswoman. The generous hearted little Frenchwoman had -nothing to say of the numberless ways in which she had contrived to -bring Margaret’s supplies within the notice of purchasers. Margaret went -home with a lighter heart. After all, nothing was ever quite so hard -when once the shoulder had been put to the wheel. Yet it was a white, -tired face that greeted the three who at Idlewild were anxiously -awaiting the result of the experiment. - -“O Meg!” cried Elsie apprehensively. “You have gone beyond your -strength, and I am to blame for coaxing you into this move. I am going -to take your place.” - -“No, indeed,” said Margaret decisively; “I’ll not hear one word to it. -This is my work until I have mastered it and am ready to give it up to -Gilbert.” - -They knew persuasions were useless, and so she was left to work out the -problem upon which she was just entering. It did not grow any easier as -the weeks and months progressed. She never could quite put down the mute -protest that arose within her against a conscious unsuitability for such -work. It was always distasteful to her to mingle with the jostling crowd -and urge upon fault-finding buyers the excellence of her wares; but she -resolutely choked back revolt, and finding that she was gaining -customers who grew to like the simple earnestness of her manner and to -rely upon the exactness of her word and measure, and that there was at -least a living profit in her calling, she learned to endure all its -unpleasantness with no word of complaint. How bravely she bore it all no -one guessed except Lizzette, who witnessed daily the struggle going on -in the girl’s breast. - -“Ze instinct of ze lady rebelled, but ze heart of ze woman bear,” she -said sententiously. - -The summer passed away quickly and uneventfully; the daily round of -duties, of self-improvement, of little moments of relaxation over -Elsie’s organ or Antoine’s violin, making the days bright with widening -hope and prospects. - -One late October evening, while Elsie and Antoine were filling the -little house with music and Gilbert was buried in a book, Margaret -seated herself before her father’s desk and began a letter to Dr. Ely. - - -“In fulfilment of my promise, I inclose a summary of our summer’s work. -You will see that financially we are a trifle ahead. This is due to the -wise forethought of our good friend Dr. Ely and the management of our -wonderful little Frenchwoman. When I look at my own work, I realize that -I have been but the obedient machine of wiser calculation than I could -possibly have evinced, and I take no credit to myself for this happy -state of our affairs. Much as I believe in and preach the independence -of the individual, I realize more and more the absolute need of -interdependent friendship. It is impossible to find healthy life in the -isolation of self; and yet it is in the development of self that we -reach the highest capability for perfect friendship. The wisdom of -others has benefited me largely this summer. Through others’ eyes I have -seen with clearer vision many things which my own inexperience would -have shown me but dimly. I feel that I have grown stronger and more -steadfast by reason of this friendship that came like a waft of summer -wind across my barren pathway; and that I may properly render unto -Cæsar, I hereby make my acknowledgments for numberless good offices at -your hands. - -“As regards the garden, the hot-beds are made ready for the winter’s -sowing, and we have built a substantial hen-house and a miniature -duck-pond at the foot of the raspberry patch. The yield of berries this -summer was inconsiderable, owing to the vigorous pruning given to the -bushes, but the growth has been fine. The trellises are all in good -shape and we hope for a substantial return next summer. - -“My experiment with Aunt Liza and Eph, about which I wrote you, has not -been highly successful. Between the two they have managed to save about -five dollars, and I’ve no doubt the community will be called upon as -usual to keep the breath of life in their poor bodies until spring. For -my part, since they are both able-bodied I shall _give_ nothing. -Whatever help I offer they must be made to pay for in some shape, since -in that way only can they be taught independence and responsibility, and -something like a solution be made of this problem of the poor whom we -have always with us. - -“As regards my market business, I do not think I am calculated for -trade. The peculiar isolation of my life has unfitted me for contact -with many-sided humanity, and for that reason I tie myself to it with a -self-immolation of an Indian devotee. With not only my own way to make -in the world, but that of Elsie and Gilbert, I can afford no mawkish -shrinking from unpleasant things. It will never be a pleasant business -for me, but as I find the newness wearing off, it grows more bearable. I -have established a regular line of good customers who seem always well -suited; have quite a trade in butter, which I buy from the farmers’ -wives hereabout, and a slight output of eggs and chickens from our own -hennery. Eph has promised to keep me supplied for the winter with game, -and Lizzette and I will make our trips at six o’clock instead of four as -the weather grows colder. So much for material matters. - -“In our Home Club we have done fairly well. We have finished United -States history, taken up the first principles of political economy, made -some studies in Shakespeare and ‘Ivanhoe’ and ‘Adventures of Philip,’ -_tried_ Browning and discarded him—our practical life is too short to -spend in solving enigmas that, however charming they may be as poetical -conceptions, have nothing perceptible to teach us—and by way of dessert, -with Ruskin to fall back on, have taken up some slight studies in -æstheticism, the material result of which has been innumerable ‘love -bags,’ impossible ‘head-rests,’ and indescribable nothings on Elsie’s -part. The best part of our efforts, however, has been the practical -value of our discussions following the presentation of a ‘blossom’ or -thought by each member. You will recall my previous letter regarding -this. Out of this discussion has come wisdom, even beyond our hopes, and -strength greater than our own. We scorn nothing here, not the simplest -wayside weed, and we have learned much from each other and research. -Antoine is making marvellous progress in his music. Already he is -interpreting Bach and Handel, and even venturing into snatches of -original composition. The lad’s soul seems to have been lit at the altar -of music; for on no ordinary presumption can one compute his wonderful -development. Strength and a greater degree of comeliness seems to have -come into his long thin arms and bent shoulders, while there is a -constant glow in his dark eyes and an unusual gayety in his laugh. -Lizzette is in a fervor of happiness and pride, and seems not to be able -to do enough for us. Elsie has caught Antoine’s faculty for whistling, -and often makes a good second to the bird-like notes with which he -accompanies his violin. It is a rare treat to listen to them as I am -listening now—Elsie at the organ, Antoine with his violin nestled -lovingly under his chin, and his deft bow bringing out with marvellous -power its almost human tones, and both whistling! Elsie grows daily more -charming and more expansive, and music seems to be with her, as with -Antoine, the expression of much that is restless, wayward, and beautiful -in her soul. Gilbert is docile and patient; but I notice a growing -uneasiness and distaste for his work that must be met and overcome in -some way. I have been thinking of putting him in the manual-training -school in the city, but have not yet solved the problem of ways and -means. I think you may perhaps be pained to find that we do not attend -church. In the first place, the purchase of the organ rendered necessary -the most rigid economy in dress—in fact, Elsie and I wear nothing but -calico, and Gilbert’s clothes are growing decidedly seedy. In the second -place, we went once to St. Paul’s, in the city, and have had no heart to -go since. My poor father long before his death used to declaim against -the growing tendency to exclusiveness in the churches. In the simplicity -of my country living, I thought him unnecessarily apprehensive. The -house of God was indeed to me so much a sanctuary I thought worldliness -was left at the outer door; but I found my mistake upon entering the -door of St. Paul’s. The free seats, high-backed and uncushioned, were -portioned off from the others with a wide aisle. In them were gathered a -little handful of people like ourselves, evidently the world’s toilers -and God’s poor. The cushioned seats were filled with a richly-dressed -congregation. The altar was superbly decorated in white and gold, and -the clergyman, as white and high-bred-looking as his æsthetic -surroundings, preached a sermon on the ‘Beauty of the ideal.’ He found -his text in the Bible, but he found nothing else there. The Bread of -Life was not in it. I glanced around the congregation; those in the free -seats sat with blankly staring countenances, evidently victims to a -sense of duty. The occupants of the cushioned seats leaned luxuriously -back and listened with a well-bred air of interest; but as far as I -could see not one face glowed with an intensity of feeling or asked for -anything more than the rhetorical flourish. We remained through the -communion service, but did not partake of it. I think the divine symbols -would have choked me, my heart was so hot and bitter within me. Clearly -my father was right. The church of to-day is not for the masses, nor of -the masses, and yet I feel sure that there is a great heart of humanity -underlying all this worldliness, and perhaps waiting patiently for the -time to ripen when the crust of wealth-worship, caste, and place-hunting -shall be burned through with the white heat of its fires. God loves his -chosen, and they are of all the earth; some day he shall call them -together! We spend our Sundays at home. Elsie and Antoine render -beautifully those old arks of safety, ‘Come! Ye Disconsolate’ and -‘Jesus, Lover of My Soul.’ We read, talk, study, and open our hearts to -the sweet graces of love and charity, and so we forget that outside -there is a world which scorns our poverty and our calloused hands. Once -in a while, drawn by the music, old Aunt Liza and Eph—who by the way -begrudges the Sunday that takes him away from his hunting—make an -addition to our number. I don’t try to do any so-called missionary work -with them, although Eph says suspiciously he ‘specs dat’s what it all -means, anyhow!’ On the whole, life is very pleasant with us. I am -growing so accustomed to its methodical rounds that I have no time for -anything like regret or vain aspirations. - -“With the best wishes for the prosperity of the school and the welfare -of our good friend Dr. Ely, I am - - Sincerely your friend, - “MARGARET MURCHISON.” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - -The ground was covered with snow, and with the thermometer registering -ten degrees below zero everything creaked, tingled, and snapped in the -frosty air. A keen, cutting wind whistled down from the North and made -the comfortably-housed mortal shiver with dread at thought of being -exposed to its rude blast. In the little house at Idlewild the three -drew around the stove and discussed, gravely apprehensive, Margaret’s -dread trip to market in the morning. - -“Don’t go!” exclaimed Elsie. “It will be so bitter cold that precious -few will venture out to buy.” - -“I wouldn’t if it were not so near Christmas, and I shall have no money -for remembrance if I do not sell off the little produce we have.” - -“Well, I’d rather forego a remembrance than have you frozen stiff in the -act of presenting a cabbage-head to an indifferent public, while your -very utterances crystallized on the frosty air and left you a touching -monument to the ills of labor.” - -“Let me go, sister,” exclaimed Gilbert. “I think it is time you let me -bear a little hardship.” - -“Indeed it is,” interposed Elsie. “You are spoiling the lad by -forgetting that if he lives long enough he will be a man some time.” - -“Never fear! He will live long enough to see you a sharp-tongued old -maid,” ejaculated Gilbert, who occasionally winced under Elsie’s -raillery. - -“That doesn’t frighten me a bit! I never saw a sharp tongued old maid -who didn’t have the right of way everywhere she went. Try again, -Gilbert. Your picture is not half dismal enough.” - -“Hush, children!” interferred Margaret, laying a hand on the hand of -each. “Suppose I accept your proposition and let Gilbert take my place -to-morrow!” - -“Yes, and the rest of the winter,” said Gilbert earnestly. “It is too -hard for you. I’ve noticed you were growing thin under it.” - -“And I too,” added Elsie. “I should have said so before, but you have -such a desperately calm heroism about you that it takes more than usual -bravery to remonstrate with you.” - -“Desperately calm is an admirable expression, Elsie,” said Margaret with -a smile, “and now that you have exhibited so much bravery, I suppose -there is nothing left for me but to succumb.” - -“Exactly. It is refreshing to find you so docile.” - -“I suspect it is because I am a coward physically. I have not much -desire to stand in the front; in fact, I’d like to desert from the army -of workers.” - -“Margaret, I’m afraid you are going to be sick,” exclaimed Elsie, all -the mischief dying out of her face. - -“Nonsense, Rosebud. I never was sick in my life.” - -“Everybody finds his Waterloo some time, and now, Margaret Murchison, -I’m going to exert my long-reserved authority and insist that you put up -that book—somehow I never see you of late without a book or a cabbage in -your hand—and go to bed. You are completely tired out, I know, and there -is no use in trying to make a martyr of yourself any longer.” - -With gentle insistence Elsie took the book from her sister’s hand and -dragged her off to bed, hovering over her with ostentatious airs of -stern command that were as grateful to Margaret’s tired senses as they -were amusing in the blithe-hearted girl. - -Some moments later, though it was still early in the evening, the little -household was wrapped in profound slumber. - -Fire! Fire! shouted a belated passer-by as he ran hurriedly toward the -Idlewild cottage. - -Fire! Fire! first took up one voice and another, and Fire! Fire! they -cried almost under the windows of the little house. No response came -from the inside. “Pound on the doors!” shouted a voice. - -“Maybe they are not at home,” responded another. “Pound away! wake them -up! break in the door!” - -Terrific blows were applied on the door, which yielded to the pressure -and fell back splintered from top to bottom. Fire! Fire! yelled the -foremost man of the party. Still no response from the inmates. By this -time half a dozen men had gathered in the room, and were busily engaged -in throwing out articles of furniture, hunting for water, and -endeavoring to put out the fire, which, with the draft of the open door, -was already encircling the room. - -“Good God!” cried one of the men, opening a bedroom door and discovering -Elsie and Margaret asleep. “Here are two women! Wake up! Wake up! The -house is on fire!” - -Elsie sprang up dazed and bewildered. - -“On fire?” she cried as if dimly understanding. “O Meg! O Meg! wake up! -We’ll burn!” and seizing Margaret by the shoulder she undertook to wake -her. There was no response from Margaret, who lay like one dead. - -“There ain’t no time to waste,” called the man. “Come, get up out of -here,” and he shook her vigorously. So heavy a stupor was upon her she -could make no reply, and the man finally lifted her by main force and -called to Elsie, “Come on, girl—there ain’t no time to fool away.” - -Just then arose the cry, “We can’t get a drop of water! Everything is -frozen solid!” - -“Let her go, boys! Throw out the things! No use trying to save her!” - -At that moment Elsie appeared in the doorway. “My brother! My brother -Gilbert! He’s in there!” pointing to a door that seemed barred by the -flames. “Let me wake him,” and she was about to rush through the flames, -clad only in her night-dress and with bare feet, when the little knot of -men threw themselves in her way. One of them, axe in hand, dashed -through the flames, and a moment later they heard the sound of shivering -glass, while Gilbert awoke from a boy’s sound slumber on the snow -outside of his room. The man with the axe followed the boy’s exit -through the window, and appeared at the outer doorway a moment later. -“Any one else in the house?” he asked. - -“No,” said Elsie growing cooler as she realized the safety of Margaret -and Gilbert. “Save the books, the organ, and the desk if everything else -goes.” - -“All right, but you better put for the neighbor’s. We’ll bring you some -clothes and save the furniture too. Now, boys, pitch in!” - -Elsie started out of the door at the word of command, and almost -stumbled over Antoine on his knees in the snow. “O Elsie! O Elsie!” he -cried. “I couldn’t stay in. I was so frightened. Thank God, you’re not -burned!” - -Elsie picked up the helpless lad in her arms and started as fast as the -burden would permit her for the lad’s home. At the corner of the house -she met Gilbert in his night clothes, dazed and stupid. “Come, Gilbert!” -she cried, “help me take Antoine home. I can hardly carry him.” - -“I want my clothes,” he shivered; “let me get my clothes.” He was just -dodging into the door, when a hand seized him roughly by the shoulders -and sent him flying into the snow again. - -“Are you mad? The walls are just ready to fall. Get to the neighbor’s! -Here, take this blanket!” and the fireman tossed the shivering boy a -blanket. Elsie was barely half-way up the path leading to Antoine’s -home, when she encountered Lizzette frantic with fear for Gilbert and -Elsie. When she saw Elsie’s burden she snatched the lad up with a -startled exclamation. - -“Mon Dieu, Antoine! Que fait il? Ou va-t-il? I nevair know he leaves ze -house, Elsie. Run, Elsie! Margaret ees in a faint. I no wake her! -Gilbert, mon pauvre garçon! Que dire? que faire?” - -Hastily along the icy way the three ran, Lizzette having taken Antoine -from Elsie’s arms. They burst open the door of the little sitting-room, -to find Margaret still and white on the lounge. - -“Meg, darling,” cried Elsie, sinking on her knees beside her. “Oh, look -up! Speak to me! What is it? Oh, somebody tell me what is the matter! -She breathes—see! she moves a little! Meg, Meg, speak to me!” - -Her wild importunities only caused a little tremor to run through -Margaret’s frame. By this time Lizzette was at Elsie’s side with a glass -of brandy. “Here, drink zis, Margaret! Non? A teaspoon, Elsie! Now zen, -open her teeth! Zay are not set! C’est très-bon! She swallow? Oui! Her -hands, zey are so cold! Ce n’est pas bien! Some hot cloths, Elsie. I go -send for ze docteur!” - -As Lizzette turned away there came a loud knocking at the door. Several -men stood outside with clothing and furniture. “We have saved what we -could. Where shall we store the things?” - -“Oh, come in,” cried Lizzette. “I know not. I only know ze young lady -ees seek. Vill not some one be so kind to get ze docteur? She faint all -ze time.” - -“Certainly,” exclaimed one of their number. “I’ll go at once.” - -“Ze furniture!” exclaimed Lizzette, suddenly recollecting herself. “In -ze little room in ze back zare, vot you can find ze place for. Ze rest -in ze hennery—anywhere. I tank you, gentlemen! Zese young people so like -my own eet break my heart,” and sobbing bitterly Lizzette sank into a -chair. - -Elsie and Gilbert, wrapped in blankets, still cowered, dumb with -anguish, at Margaret’s side. Antoine lay back in his wheel chair as -white as his pillows, but with eyes that glowed like caverns of light in -his white face. - -“It’s hard, mum,” said one of the men, as with quick glances he took in -the scene, “but we’ve saved most of the stuff, and I guess the young -lady will come to after a while. Pretty nearly frightened to death, I -reckon.” - -“This is not a faint from fright,” said the doctor half an hour later. -“It is the lethargy of typhoid fever. Has she not seemed tired and -languid for several days? Ah, I thought so! You could not wake her? No; -it will be some time yet before she realizes her surroundings. A -critical case; but not beyond cure. Now, my good madam, can you put her -to bed?” - -“Oui—oui, at vonce.” - -Elsie and Gilbert, by this time aroused from the vague horror and -stupefaction which had overtaken them, had managed to equip themselves -in the various odds and ends of clothing which the men had dropped on -the floor, and now sprang quickly to the aid of Lizzette. In a few -moments Margaret was safely bestowed in Lizzette’s bed, and the doctor -was pouring directions in Elsie’s ears. - -“You are sure you are calm enough to remember instructions?” asked the -doctor, intently observing her white face and darkly-circled eyes. - -“I am perfectly calm, now that I have hope for my sister. She shall not -suffer for want of attention.” - -“Non, non,” said Lizzette excitedly. “She ees ze angel of our lives. We -sall nevair leave her von moment.” - -“It will be hard for you,” said the doctor sympathetically, “but her -case is urgent, and depends largely upon care. I will call again -to-morrow. Good-night!” - -“Now for some beds,” said Lizzette, all her energy returning. “Antoine, -mon garçon, venez avec moi! You sall sleep now, for ze great fear ees -ovair. La fievre, eet sall be easy cure.” - -With tenderest ejaculations Lizzette picked up Antoine and carried him -to bed. “Le bon Dieu!” exclaimed the lad fervently as he clasped his -arms around his mother’s neck. - -“Oui,” said Lizzette, kissing him. “He make all sings even.” - -For three weeks there was but one thought, one hope, one fear in -Lizzette’s little home. Margaret’s fever was of that low, obstinate type -which is all the more difficult of cure by reason of its seeming lack of -violence. Day slipped into night and night into day again all unheeded -by the quiet figure on the bed. She seemed neither to hear nor to see, -and only responded to the care bestowed upon her as a new-born infant -responds to the fulfilment of its needs. She lay like one sleeping -peacefully, and seldom evinced restlessness unless this lethargy was -broken by demands upon her attention. At the end of the twenty-first day -there came a visible change. Her features grew drawn and sunken; her -hands became more restless, now idly picking at the bedclothes and anon -clutching vaguely at the air. Her breath grew hourly and hourly more -irregular; now sinking almost away, and again growing labored and -painful. - -“Now,” said the doctor, “is the hour of trial. Keep her strength up and -we shall save her. She has a magnificent physique to aid us.” - -Heavily dragged the hours as the four—Lizzette, Elsie, Gilbert, and the -doctor—watched Margaret’s painful struggle for life. There seemed to be -so little to do to save her. It was like barbarism to sit there and -watch the regular administering of the necessary stimulant, and realize -that upon it, and the recuperative power in the frail body, depended -hope and life. Elsie, worn as she was with watching, was nearly mad with -the desire to do something worth while, to be active in rousing Margaret -to recognition, and not to feel almost guilty in the passiveness with -which she watched the approach of the dread crisis. - -“I shall go wild with waiting, doctor. Is there nothing more I can do?” -she moaned. - -“Nothing, child,” he answered sympathetically. “We are doing all that -can be done.” - -“Waiting is such hard work.” - -“For youth, yes; for old age, its time of greatest cheer. When you are -silver-haired, as I am, you will have learned to wait patiently.” - -“I never was patient; but God means to teach me, I see. It was Margaret -who was always patient, always kind, always helpful. Dear God, we cannot -live without her.” - -Down upon her knees beside the doctor’s chair slipped broken-hearted -Elsie, and grasping his hand she cried desolately: “Oh, may the good God -strengthen you to save her, doctor! You don’t know all she has been to -us, to everybody with whom she came in contact. She has been one of -God’s good angels, sent by Him to make this selfish world more mindful -of divine truth! He cannot mean to take her now with her work just -begun. I know He will give you power to save her, and you will, you -will, won’t you?” - -With all of a childlike innocence and pleading she raised her -tear-stained face to his. - -“My dear child,” he replied, “all that I know I have so far applied to -the case, and I am deeply interested in saving her. I have faith that I -shall do it. Now, my little girl, it is not wise to give way to tears. -You must keep up your strength to help me. The battle is only half-won -when the crisis is passed.” - -At that instant there was a timid knock at the middle door, which -speedily opened to show Eph’s black face, as he whispered -half-apologetically: “I don fotched some game, and reckon maybe I’s -gwine ter heah some good news. Mammy’s out’n heah and we’s come ober ter -help take cah of you’uns fo’ ter-night. Mammy says as how yer oughter -hab some good strong coffee, an’ she don tol’ me ter ax yer should she -make some ter hearten yer up a bit?” - -“That’s right, Eph,” said the doctor, who knew Eph well. “Just tell Aunt -Liza to go ahead; for that’s the very thing we need.” - -“The world is full of kindness,” said the doctor when Eph’s black face -had been withdrawn, “if one only knows how to strike the key-note.” - -The interruption had been in the nature of a tonic; for the wave of -intensified feeling subsided before the simple offer of the good-natured -African. Elsie bent over Margaret’s bed with renewed faith and strength, -and as the midnight hours grew slowly into early morning, she was as -quick as the doctor to notice the least change in the symptoms. - -“I think she is better, doctor,” she whispered half-questioningly. - -“You are right,” was the answer. “She will live.” - -Swiftly as an electric message went the glad news from eye to eye, and -“Thank God!” welled up from anxious hearts and lifted eyes overflowing -with tears. - -Margaret had been convalescent two weeks before she was permitted an -answer to the wonder in her eyes. It was a disjointed answer at best. No -one knew how the fire had originated, why it had been impossible to make -connections with the water-mains, or why they had been so deplorably -incapable of action. One fact alone stood out distinct and clear: -Margaret’s insensibility and the subsequent hard fight for life. Now -that Margaret was recovering, the misfortune seemed to lighten. In fact, -the old sunshine had come back to their faces, albeit the unpicturesque -side of poverty stared them in the face. They had not as yet gone -hungry, for Eph with the generosity and sympathy of his race had kept -the table supplied with game; but Lizzette’s slender resources were -being daily lessened. Of this, however, she gave no intimation, but -cheerfully bore her increased expense and labor, thankful above all else -for the boon of Margaret’s life, and the opportunity to repay a debt -which it had seemed to her a life’s devotion could never obliterate. -Elsie was quick to see how the slender means were being strained to -their utmost, but while Margaret was still so weak and needing such -careful nursing she could make no effort to earn anything to help out -the scanty purse. She could only bide her time until Margaret was able -to wait upon herself, and then something must be done. She and Gilbert -must be bread-winners now. Gilbert, in the mean time, had gone from door -to door, shovelling coal here, sweeping walks there, running occasional -errands, and doing odd jobs of tinkering, in the hopeful effort to eke -out the scanty income. It was a miserable pittance at best that he -earned, but it bought the beef for Margaret’s tea and occasional bits of -fruit to tempt the tardy appetite. If Margaret surmised the severity of -the struggle, she saw no evidence of it in the serene faces about her. -If the old gayety of Elsie’s laugh was a trifle subdued and Antoine’s -violin had a more than usual plaintiveness, there had come a tenderer -sympathy, a sweeter note of love, and a closer bond of union that were -even more grateful. By tacit consent the old evenings had been resumed -as Margaret’s convalescence progressed, Elsie “serene presidentess pro -tem.,” as she styled herself, and Margaret an honorary member, from whom -nothing was permitted except smiles and occasional applause. It was a -great delight to Margaret to watch her Protean sister. How admirably the -versatile little witch fitted into every niche! How beautiful she was in -face and form, and more than beautiful in character! “God shield her!” -was Margaret’s inward prayer. “The world is full of danger for such as -she, and I must hasten to get well, rebuild the home nest, and keep the -home ties strong.” - -But Margaret’s recovery was very slow. It seemed as if the red blood of -renewed strength would never come, and it was with a bitter heart-pang -that she listened to the doctor’s statement that she would not be fitted -to resume work of any kind before spring. The golden cord had been -well-nigh snapped in the indomitable determination to conquer self and -circumstances, and nature was taking her revenge. Gradually, sitting -helpless and empty-handed in her chair, she began to notice the little -evidences of desperate need which the others tried in vain to keep from -her, and one morning, determined to try her strength, she crawled feebly -into the kitchen to surprise them at breakfast with nothing on the table -but potatoes and salt! - -“We are waiting for the cook to bring in breakfast,” exclaimed Elsie, -noticing the pain in Margaret’s eyes. - -“O Margaret!” cried Lizzette, “zis ees too much. Here, sit down, and see -what good appetite we haf. Ze pomme de terre, ze sel, bof of a superieur -kind and so well served we eat and eat like ze epicure.” - -The humorous twinkle in Lizzette’s eyes was lost on Margaret, for weak -and disheartened she sank into a seat, bowed her head on the table, and -sobbed like a child. In a second Antoine was out of his chair and his -arms were around her neck. - -“Don’t,” he whispered. “The potatoes are done to a turn and you will -spoil them.” - -The lad’s keenness had touched the right chord. To stand in the way of -another’s need or pleasure, even in little things, was an ingrained -abhorrence of Margaret’s nature. Instantly she raised a half-smiling -face. “It is a good deal better than starving, after all,” she said. - -“Vastly,” responded Elsie. “Just watch Gilbert stow ’em away! I’m not -going to tell the result of my tally this morning, for fear he’ll take -revenge on me. We are growing to be experts on potatoes, and can tell -how they taste with our eyes shut.” - -The ripple of laughter that greeted this statement chased the last tear -from Margaret’s eyes. - -“Hereafter,” she said resolutely, “there shall be no beef, fruit, and -creams for me. I intend to become an expert too.” - -Lizzette threw up her hands in protest. “Non, non, Margaret. Ze strength -fail unless ze diet ees generous for you. Ze waste tissue must be -repaired first. Non, non, cherie. Trust Lizzette to know ze best.” - -“Well, I submit on one condition,” and Margaret threw a quick glance at -Antoine’s pale face. “I must share with Antoine. He needs rebuilding as -much as I do.” - -“C’est vrai,” said Lizzette in a choked voice. “Il est très souffrant; -but aujourdhui I make some famous potage de lapin for all, and we dine -like ze empereur. Eph he bring ze lapin and say, ‘Game mighty shy -somehow, Missis Minaud, but I don’t fergit Miss Margaret, nohow.’” - -“Poor fellow! I am afraid he robs himself,” said Margaret -sympathetically. - -“If he does, other people make it up to him,” replied Elsie. “The -community has had its usual call to feed him and his mother. I asked him -one day when he was here with a brace of partridges if he shot enough -game to support them. ‘Lawzee, missy!’ said he with a laugh that showed -the whites of his eyes and the internal anatomy of a cavernous mouth, -‘not by a jugful. Dis yere game law jest doin’ a heep o’ mischuf to po’ -men. I hez ter be mighty cahful.’ So, Miss Murchison, on the principle -that the receiver is as bad as the thief, I mistrust you’ve been -cheating your beloved country of its just dues whenever you have smacked -your lips over a bit of partridge breast!” - -“Let us be thankful that rabbits are not interdicted, and that Eph’s -sense of kindness exceeds his respect for law.” - -“‘How are the mighty fallen,’” quoted Elsie tragically. “I fully -expected to see you rise in the might and majesty of insulted justice, -and visit condign punishment upon poor Eph by refusing to be any longer -a party to his crime.” - -“Hunger is said to know no law, and while I feel inclined to forgive Eph -for past sins, I shall have to try to impress upon him a fuller sense of -his obligations as a law-abiding citizen.” - -“A useless task, I fancy. Too many generations of dependent blood run in -his veins. His liveliest sense seems to be gratitude for some little -acts of kindness on your part.” - -“I wonder what he did with the money he and his mother saved last -summer,” said Margaret reflectively. - -Elsie laughed. “I asked him one day, and he hung his head as sheepishly -as a boy who is caught stealing apples. Finally after much coaxing I got -the information—’Deed, missy, specs you think I’s nuffin but a po’ fool -niggah; but I’s listened to you’uns playin’ music till I’s most dead, -and I buyed a ’cawdion wid my part ob de cash and mammy she buyed a hat -fur meetin’. I’s larned to play on it too, Missy Elsie!’ You see, -Margaret, your idea of ‘culchah’ has taken deep root in unexpected -soil.” - -“Is Aunt Liza’s hat an outgrowth?” - -“As an artistic idea I imagine it is; for more intensified reds and -yellows never gleamed above a smiling black face. The poor old creature -was so delighted with her ‘speriment,’ as she called it, in saving money -for such an artistic triumph, that I hadn’t the heart to do more than -enjoy it with her.” - -“After all,” said Margaret thoughtfully, “my ‘speriment’ was not a -failure, even if it missed its objective point. I have aroused ambition -in their apathetic breasts. See if it does not bear good fruit.” - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - -One afternoon as Elsie and Antoine were filling the little house with -the notes of a Hungarian battle song, in which violin, organ, voice, and -whistle played prominent parts, Margaret was startled by the sudden -opening of the outer door, and the appearance on the threshold of a -richly-dressed lady, who with a deprecating gesture which the carnival -of sound alone permitted, undertook to explain her unannounced presence. -Margaret stepped feebly across the room and hushed the players as the -lady said laughingly: - -“I rapped several times, but was unable to make myself heard, and -venturing upon the freedom of long acquaintance, I opened the door. I -think I must have made a mistake. I thought I was in the house of -Lizzette Minaud.” - -“You are,” said Margaret. “Be seated and we will call her.” - -The moment Lizzette saw her caller she cried in the freedom of her -native tongue: “Madam Mason! Comment cela va-t-il, aujourdhui?” - -“Assez bien. Et-vous?” was the answer in the same tongue. - -Lizzette hesitated a moment and then said by way of explanation: “Zese -friends of mine zay speak ze French wiz me.” - -“Ah!” and the lady glanced somewhat superciliously at Margaret and -Elsie. “It is immaterial to me which tongue we use. I have only a few -moments to spare at best. I was not aware, Lizzette, that you were -musical.” - -“Eh bien, eet ees only Miss Elsie and Antoine. I haf not ze time.” - -“I should suppose not,” said the lady, still using the French tongue, in -the evident belief that it might cover some slight impertinences of -question and manner. - -“Where did they learn that battle song they were playing as I came in?” - -“Zey learn zemselves,” answered Lizzette. “Zey haf un grand penchant for -music, and eet ees bread and meat to Antoine.” - -“Humph! Who are these girls?” - -The blood mounted to Lizzette’s face, but restraining herself she said -with a quiet dignity, that in the little market woman was evidently -vastly amusing to Mrs. Mason, “Zey are my guests.” - -Mrs. Mason laughed. “Come, Lizzette——” she began, but her words were -interrupted by a simultaneous movement on the part of Margaret and -Elsie. Margaret arose from her chair, and Elsie as quickly offered her -arm, and the two were on the point of leaving the room when they were -arrested by a whisper from Antoine, “Take me too. I can’t stay here.” - -Elsie put her hand to Antoine’s chair, and in a profound silence the -“funeral procession,” as Elsie called it, marched out of the room. - -“Come, come, Lizzette,” exclaimed Mrs. Mason in English, when the door -had closed. “I meant no offence, of course. You seem to have acquired an -unusual dignity since I last saw you.” - -“For zose who deserve it, oui; for Lizzette Minaud, non. I know ze -ladies when I see zem, if so be zey are in calico or silk.” - -“Oh, of course, of course,” replied Mrs. Mason somewhat impatiently. -“Tell me who they are, anyway, and how they happen to be with you.” - -“Helen Mason,” said Lizzette a little sternly, “if so be I did not know -you nearly ze whole of your life, I nevair tell you von leetle word. But -since I think vous avez ze heart under zat spoiled exterieur, I vill -tell you ze story.” - -Mrs. Mason laughed. - -“The privilege of an old friend, Lizzette, is sometimes terribly abused; -but I forgive you because of my impatience to hear this wonderful story. -You’ve really aroused my curiosity.” - -With all the eloquence of eye, voice, and gesture so characteristic of -the French, Lizzette gave the details of Margaret’s struggles and -misfortunes. The barren story lost nothing under the glow of Lizzette’s -imagination and fertile tongue, and when she finished with a glowing -peroration on the virtues of the little family, Mrs. Mason’s eyes -required several applications of a dainty bit of embroidered gauze -before they were restored to their pristine brightness. - -“Very affecting indeed,” she declared. “It is singular how hard some -people’s lives have to be, but it is fate, I suppose.” Mrs. Mason was -evidently quite resigned to fate. “I declare,” she exclaimed, “listening -to the story of the trials of these people, I had nearly forgotten my -own. I am in the deepest trouble, Lizzette, and of course I had to come -to you for help just as I used to do.” - -“Tu as l’air triste,” laughed Lizzette. - -“Why, I am in despair. You remember that expensive Frenchman I took such -pains to import for my kitchen a year ago, and who was such a splendid -cook? Not quite equal to you, of course, Lizzette—nobody ever has been. -Well, what did the beast do but get so drunk yesterday that he hasn’t -prepared a meal since and we are nearly starved!” - -“Wiz all zose servants in ze house?” asked Lizzette incredulously. - -“Oh, as for that, the maids have succeeded in sending up something, but -then you know how exasperating it is to have meals so poorly served. -Dear me! he was such a model on sauces!” And a sigh that was evidently -drawn from the depths of her heart followed the plaintive ejaculation. - -“Was? Ou est il?” - -“Oh, Mr. Mason discharged him this morning. You know how rigid he is -about drunkenness. I begged Mr. Mason on my knees to let me keep Joseph -another month, anyway; for Herbert—your Herbert, you know, Lizzette—is -coming home from Europe, and I’ve no end of dinners planned for him, and -no cook in the house. What am I to do, Lizzette? Can’t you come to me -just for a month, Lizzette? I will pay you well if you will, and Antoine -can stay here with these girls. Oh, do come, there’s a dear, good -Lizzette.” - -Mrs. Mason was gently patting Lizzette’s brown hand with one of her own -daintily gloved ones. Lizzette pondered a moment. “Vot you pay Joseph?” - -“An enormous sum,” answered Mrs. Mason, coloring. “He had such a -reputation, you know, and one always has to pay for reputation!” - -“Ah!” - -The ejaculation was so dry that Mrs. Mason hastened to add: “But of -course I shall not let money stand between us.” - -Lizzette ruminated a little: “Ees eet worth to you ze twenty dollars a -week?” - -“It is truly,” she answered, feeling a sense of relief that it was not -Joseph’s usual weekly stipend of one hundred dollars. - -“Eh bien!” said Lizzette, “I cannot go.” - -“Lizzette, you break my heart. Why not, pray?” - -“Because everysing go to ze waste here; mais, I haf ze plan for you. I -find you une cuisinière a cet prix.” - -“But ordinary cooks, you know, Lizzette, cannot earn more than five or -six dollars a week.” - -“I know; mais, zis von ees so très-bonne, I myself teach her. She lack -ze experience, zat ees all. Elle à le genie sublime!” - -“That may be; but such wages are too large to pay inexperience. I think -you ought to get her cheaper.” - -“Ees eet not,” asked Lizzette with a sly twinkle in her eyes, “zat le -prix ees much sheaper zan you obtain Joseph?” - -“Oh, of course; but Joseph was a noted chef.” - -“Haf you not ze grand need of a cook?” - -“Certainly.” - -“Zen if I take l’avantage de votre need to obtain le bon prix for ze -work zat ees very good _wizout_ ze reputation, I only follow ze well -known business principle: one zat Monsieur Mason take l’avantage of -every day.” - -“Lizzette, you are too much for me. Where is your paragon?” - -“Here. C’est Elsie.” - -“What, that young girl? You astonish me. She cannot be capable; besides, -I thought you considered her a lady.” - -“Bah! Ze work ees not ze lady any more zan your robe de soie ees ze -lady. Ven I say ‘lady’ I mean ze instinct, ze character, ze soul, ze -nature. She cannot harm zat by working dans le cuisine. My word for it, -you will nevair find Elsie Murchison ze trespasser of her place, if so -be it ees in your kitchen or in your salon.” - -“Small likelihood of the latter! Go on, Lizzette—you are really -eloquent.” - -“Mais, I feel ze indignation at ze misapprehension of your world ofer ze -name of lady. In my leetle world eet means somesing besides ze airs and -ze graces et l’argent.” - -“Your world and mine won’t quarrel over it much, I fancy,” said Mrs. -Mason composedly. “It seems to me you’ve grown into a fierce little -radical since you compounded such delectable dishes in mamma’s kitchen; -but as to the capability of that young thing, I doubt it much.” - -“I do not, for she learn so fast; and ven I haf vonce taken her through -ze maison and she know ze duties, you vill be surprised at ze ease she -do zem. Besides, ze grand sing ees ze buying, and I vill do zat until -she sall haf learned. Je vous le promets a treasure in Elsie, and you -vill nevair be sorry zat Lizzette Minaud say so.” - -“I never have been sorry that I took any advice of yours. But how do you -know your marvel will accept?” - -“Nous verrons! Elsie!” called Lizzette, stepping to the kitchen door. -“Sit down,” she added, as Elsie presented herself. “Madam Mason haf ze -offer to make to you,” and thereupon Lizzette detailed the proposition -that had just been under discussion. - -Elsie’s eyes grew big with wonder as she listened to Lizzette. “I am -afraid I am not equal to it,” she faltered. - -“Lizzette vouches for you,” said Mrs. Mason. “I have always found her -advice good.” - -Elsie did not answer at once. A tide of thought was sweeping over her. -The opportunity was like a tale from fairy land in the riches it seemed -to offer; but how could she live under the domination of that -supercilious woman she _knew_ she should hate? But Margaret, Gilbert, -Antoine—how much she could do for all of them! Courage! Now was the time -to prove herself. The way had been opened; there could not be, must not -be any shrinking back. - -“Very well,” she answered simply. “I am willing to make the trial.” - -“To-morrow, then,” said Mrs. Mason, rising, “you will begin under -Lizzette’s management. She knows my house as well as her own. At ten -o’clock in the morning I shall be prepared to receive you. Good-evening, -Lizzette and—Elsie.” - -With a scarcely perceptible nod Mrs. Mason hastened out to her carriage. -When the door had closed Lizzette grasped Elsie by the shoulders and -began an impromptu chaussée up and down the room. - -“C’est très-bon! C’est très-bon!” she cried. “I prove ze sharper zat -time; mais, le defaut ees in ze grand cause of humanity.” - -“I am frightened to death, Lizzette,” said Elsie. - -“Chut! Helen Mason ees only la femme ordinaire, and reech! Helas! -l’argent zat petite femme frow to ze winds. Lizzette haf catch some for -you, anyway.” - -Margaret opened the door just then and the three sat down to discuss the -important move. - -“Honestly, Lizzette, now, do you think I can manage their great dinners? -Why, I haven’t the least idea how to plan any work beyond my own little -kitchen.” - -“Vraiment, c’est une bagatelle ven you haf got ze hang of sings. Nefer -you fear. I take you under my wing for three, four days and zen we vill -see! Ze chance was so très-bon to help Margaret——” - -“And all of us,” interrupted Elsie softly. - -“Oui; ze pomme de terre and ze sel go by ze board now, eh, Elsie?” - -“O Lizzette, what a good friend you have been!” exclaimed Margaret. - -“Bah! eet ees only selfishness. I want myself some good sings to eat. -Now, Elsie, I gif you my recipes; vous savez zat you read zem wiz care -and learn zem by heart. Sans doubte, you exercise your skill to ze charm -of madam.” - -“Tell us about her.” - -“Zare ees but leetle to tell. I vork in ze kitchen de sa mère zese many -year. I make ze good friends of Helen and Herbeart—ah, Herbeart, mon -cher ami, il est un galant homme, and I knows ze folly of Helen like ze -book. She ees vain and haughty; mais, her heart ees not mèchante. You -vill grow into ze good friends some time.” - -“I don’t expect that,” said Elsie. “All I ask is not to be tyrannized -over. I am conservative enough to recognize the gulf society places -between us, and I shall endeavor to keep to my side of the fence.” - -“Vous avez raison. Still, I make ze meestake eef Helen Mason do not -herself some time break down ze barrier. Zare are some sings zat vill -not be made to see de fausses idées de grandeur.” - -“It is not wise ever to hope for such a thing,” said Margaret, fearful -that Elsie might be carried away by Lizzette’s volatile spirits. “We -have our work to do in our own sphere, and we know that we can achieve -all that is in us by working faithfully within our own lines. If we hope -for recognition outside of these lines, it will but breed disappointment -and discontent.” - -“Have no fear for me, my sweet sister,” replied Elsie with sparkling -eyes. “I shall never yearn for a world greater than that of our own -little quintette, wherein Lizzette, Gilbert, and I furnish the brawn and -_capital_—I feel like a bloated bondholder already—and Antoine and -Margaret represent the culture. But to stop nonsense and come down to -practical things. Since I am to represent the capital of our community, -I must have the chief direction of affairs, otherwise behold in me ‘the -iron hand,’ etc. What are we to do with our three-years’ lease of our -desolate home?” - -“Eef ze agents vill not rebuild, Margaret and Gilbeart sall stay wiz me -and so still work ze land.” - -“No,” said Margaret decisively. “The hardest part of this apparent good -fortune that has befallen Elsie is that it takes her from home. I cannot -endure it long, and if Elsie remains with Mrs. Mason I shall take rooms -in the city as near as I can find them, and Gilbert must bring her to us -every evening. We must not break the home ties.” - -“That will be glorious,” exclaimed Elsie. - -“Non,” said Lizzette, tears springing to her eyes. “Eet vill bring ze -heart break to Antoine and Lizzette Minaud.” - -“No, no,” said Margaret and Elsie together, “you shall come to us every -day after market hours, and Antoine can be with us two-thirds of the -time.” - -“I know zat vill be ze best for Elsie; but ees eet possible? Ze docteur, -he say zat you vork not till ze spring. You must obey ze command, if -strength sall come back to you.” - -“I know,” replied Margaret. “How would it suit you to take a sub-lease -of the land, if satisfactory arrangements can be made with the agents?” - -“Eet vill be ze very sing.” - -“In that event the manual-training school for Gilbert is the next move, -and I shall be compelled to ask Dr. Ely for a further advance on the -books.” - -“And be sure to add that I can very soon repay it out of my independent -income,” laughed Elsie. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - -The mansion of Helen Mason was a treasure house of art in pictures, -draperies, furniture, bric-à-brac, and all those distinguishing -characteristics of wealth and culture. In one particular it was somewhat -unique; everything was genuine, from the old masters to the spoons. The -fair mistress of the house hated pretence, and although an ardent -believer in the divine right of kings, she recognized none of them in a -tinsel crown. The child of wealthy and aristocratic parents, in whom the -old noblesse oblige had taken deep root, she had grown to look upon her -station in life as the outgrowth of a certain fixed law which bestows -upon men the positions for which they are best fitted. If there were -suffering, struggling mortals on planes far below hers in social -advantages, no doubt the sufferings arose principally from their efforts -to fit themselves into niches for which they were not made. It seemed -singular to her undisturbed mind that there should be such a seething -discontent among the masses. Why couldn’t people be satisfied to go the -way they were called? Why were they trying all the time to subvert -society and make one fairly afraid of her life with these horrible -physical force movements and plots and counterplots of all kinds? It was -so much better every way for people to learn contentment. She believed -the doctrine was too little preached, and she meant to speak to her -pastor, the white high-bred rector of St. Paul’s, about it. He must -really exert his influence over these misguided people who were so -clamorous for places for which they were not destined. Believing as she -did in the doctrine of every man to his place, she strove with a zeal of -a prophet in her own little domain to make that place the best of its -kind. Her servants were accordingly well lodged, fed, and paid, albeit -they were trained to their duties with the precision of a martinet. -Haughty, imperious in some things, while childishly dependent in others, -she was at the same time a good mistress, and by no means unfriendly to -her dependents. She intended to accord them the rights of their class, -as she exacted a reverent homage for the privileges of her own; but she -was far from admitting that those rights could in any way transcend the -limits of a certain material consideration. The finer qualities of the -soul, such as innate delicacy of perception and the instinctive -appreciation of true refinement, could not be theirs by reason of the -stamp of poverty and the millstone of low association which precluded -cultivation. It was a theory of hers that only generations of wealth and -leisure could produce the highest types, and she had consequently a -great scorn for the nouveaux riches of modern society and their -blundering attempts to imitate English customs and cockney “fads.” As a -rule her servants were loyal and obedient, and she was wise enough to -see that her little investment in humanity yielded usurious interest -which she was by no means disposed to undervalue. She had been proud of -having the best-equipped home, the most perfectly-trained servants, and -the most noted chef in the city. It was, therefore, with no little -trepidation that she awaited the coming of Lizzette and Elsie, and -contemplated yielding the dominion of her kitchen to “that young thing.” -Mr. Mason had laughed at her when she recounted the result of her -attempt to secure Lizzette, and had said, by way of administering -comfort to her perturbed spirit: “That is just about as quixotic as -women’s schemes usually are. My word for it, she will not have been -three days in the house before the present discomfort will be -intensified, and we shall end by having to order our meals from the -caterer.” - -It was now nearing the hour of ten, and she was impatient to settle -details with Lizzette and feel the troublesome experiment partially off -her hands. As she sat idly tapping one foot against the brass fender of -the blue-tiled grate in her morning-room, she was a fair type of the -cultured, self-poised, well-dressed woman of society. Her face was -chiefly remarkable for a pair of keen gray eyes, with heavy black lashes -and straight brows. The remaining features were nondescript, with a -colorless skin and dark brown hair handsomely coiffured, for setting. A -keen, cold, somewhat intellectual face had been Elsie’s thought on first -seeing her, and she felt sure that she should hate her. She felt the -same conviction sweep over her now as she and Lizzette stood in the -presence of the mistress of the magnificent home. - -“Be seated,” she said, motioning them to seats. “I presume Lizzette has -informed you that I am a strict disciplinarian and require the most -perfect obedience. If that is rendered you will not find me a hard -mistress.” - -“I should not have come if I had not expected to obey orders,” replied -Elsie. “My only fear is that my inexperience may try your patience.” - -“As to that I shall hold Lizzette responsible; and now, while Lizzette -will at once post you in regard to matters below stairs, I will give you -our hours for meals, and shall expect you to report to me promptly every -morning at ten o’clock to receive orders for the day. Lizzette will at -present do my buying; but you must of course go with her until you have -familiarized yourself with prices and materials. Here is to-day’s menu, -which by the way, as to the main dishes, I always prepare myself. You -may have noticed as you came through the house that the maids are in -uniform. I shall expect you to wear one, and you will find your -allotment of white aprons, caps, and kerchiefs in this basket. Here, -Lizzette, you may as well invest yourself in one, too.” - -“Helas! zese new idées vill do for la jeune fille like Elsie. Mais, ze -brown face of Lizzette Minaud look not so well from under ze white cap. -Still I obey ze mistress!” - -“Just as you always did,” laughed Mrs. Mason, pressing an electric -button, which almost immediately brought a maid to the door. - -“Show Elsie, our new cook, to her room. Stay with me, Lizzette. I wish -to speak with you.” Elsie picked up her satchel and basket and followed -the maid, who eyed her curiously, but vouchsafed no word. “Here,” she -said sententiously, opening a door of a roomy, comfortable bedroom on -the third floor. - -Elsie hastily entered and closed the door behind her. Then dropping -satchel and basket, she threw herself on the floor beside them and cried -out: “O Meg, Meg, Meg, how hard life is away from you and your serene -courage! How lovely all our theories are until we have to put them into -practice. I shall hate that woman, I know. Dear me! this won’t do. I -shall have a red nose. Now let’s see how I look in the new prison garb,” -and volatile Elsie bounded to her feet, and speedily invested herself in -the white muslin cap with its narrow frill and the accompanying kerchief -and apron. - -“Not so bad, after all,” she said, as she eyed herself in the glass, and -a roguish dimple nestled in her cheek as she viewed the picture. It was -pretty enough to tempt the vanity of the Quaker maiden she resembled. -The dainty frill above the black rings of hair, the fichu folded -smoothly across her breast, and the long apron with its big pockets, -seemed exactly fitted to the piquant face and slender form. “Well, -there’s some satisfaction in not looking like a fright,” she said as she -descended the stairs. - -The morning-room door stood open and Mrs. Mason and Lizzette could -scarcely repress a start of surprise as the dainty maiden stepped upon -the threshold. “She look like ze picture of ze old time,” exclaimed -Lizzette. Mrs. Mason made no reply as she handed Elsie a memorandum-book -and pencil, which with keys to pantry and store-room were to be -suspended at her belt. - -“Now you are equipped, I believe, and Lizzette will take you in charge. -I wish you the best of success.” - -When the two had departed, Mrs. Mason stood where they had left her with -downcast eyes gazing into the grate. “What a lovely face,” she mused. -“So full of fire and strength and—well, yes, I suppose I must admit -it—refinement! She looked like a queen in masquerade as she stood in the -doorway. But then nature indulges in freaks of that kind sometimes. -Lizzette tells me they were always as poor as church mice. What an -absurdity I am perpetrating in putting her in my kitchen; but my old -brown Lizzette is always as good as her word, and we shall see what will -come of it.” - -The force of servants in the Mason household consisted of James, the -English-looking butler, of whom Elsie was secretly afraid, because his -gaze of admiration was so open; William, the coachman; Martha and Mary, -the two house-maids; and Jenie, the little kitchen-maid of twelve years. -They all knew Lizzette, who, being a privileged character about the -Mason mansion, was free to do pretty much as she liked, and when, in -response to her call, they gathered in the below-stairs parlor, which -also served them for dining-room, they received Elsie with unction. - -“It hain’t a bad place, miss,” said James patronizingly. “I’ve been with -the family five years, and I can’t say as I’ve ’ad a ’ard time by no -means.” - -“I should say not,” laughed Martha. “James thinks as he owns the hull -place.” - -“Ceptin’ you,” added Mary. - -“I wouldn’t own such poor property, no’ow,” said James with offended -dignity. - -“That ain’t me,” exclaimed William with a sly chuckle. “I’ve just been -a-dyin’ to own both on you girls for months.” - -“Oh, you horrid Mormon,” chorused the girls; “you’ll be wanting the new -cook too, next.” The blood flamed into Elsie’s cheeks and an ominous -sparkle gleamed for a moment beneath the downcast lids; but, with a -struggle that was only noticed by Lizzette, she raised her eyes to -William’s round, honest face. - -“I think we shall all grow to be good friends; but you must be very -patient with me until I have learned the ways here.” - -The sweet face, the timid, deprecating manner, the ladylike voice, awoke -varying emotions in the breasts of Elsie’s little audience. “You bet,” -exclaimed William hastily. - -“Oh, of course,” said James, and then stopped confusedly as he -recollected how near he had been to saying “Madam!” - -Martha and Mary looked at each other and sniffed. “Stuck up,” they -whispered as they passed out to their various duties; but little Jenie -slipped her hand into Elsie’s and said simply, “I like you.” - -“Courage, ma chere,” whispered Lizzette; “now we haf nosing but ze -dinner to sink of.” - -In recounting the day’s experience afterward to Margaret, Elsie always -alluded to Lizzette as her “colossal spinal column;” for in reality -Lizzette was the main director and executor of the day’s work. Elsie -obediently followed directions; but her native force and ingenuity -seemed to have deserted her, which made even Lizzette a trifle doubtful -of the wisdom of her experiment. But when everything was finally made -snug for the night, and Lizzette was leaving for home, Elsie said -bravely, though tears stood under the curved lashes, “I shall do much -better to-morrow. Tell Margaret I’ve got the ‘hang’ of the ship’s -tackle, and to-morrow she’ll sail.” - -“Nevair fear,” said Lizzette lightly, as she imprinted a kiss on either -rosy cheek, and steadily ignored the trembling drops in the dark eyes. -“Eet sall be ze brave capitaine on ze deck, too.” - -The next morning, with the edge of strangeness somewhat blunted, Elsie -was able to send up the breakfast in excellent style, and Mrs. Mason was -therefore prepared to receive her with a manner a trifle less severe -than that of the day before. - -“Your breakfast was well prepared,” she said as Elsie stood before her, -note-book and pencil in hand, to receive orders. “If the dinner is as -satisfactory I shall feel no further uneasiness.” - -“I shall endeavor to improve as I become accustomed to things, and I -shall hope to satisfy you in every way. I love to cook, and the kitchen -is so admirably appointed that what has hitherto been a mere passion I -may be able to elevate into the great art that Lizzette calls it.” - -“Lizzette is an enthusiast.” - -“It takes enthusiasm to succeed in anything, and it is because I love my -work that I expect to please you.” - -Mrs. Mason looked at Elsie curiously. How quietly, yet with what -seemingly unconscious dignity, she uttered those few well-chosen words. -If she had been mistress instead of servant they could not have been -better expressed or more charmingly enunciated. There could be no -question of efficiency with such intelligence; but oh, there was the -fear, always oppressing one so with these “lady helps,” that she would -get above her business. So to Elsie’s little burst of confidence she -said coldly, “As long as you keep strictly to your line of duty I shall -be satisfied.” - -“You have nothing to fear on that score, Mrs. Mason. I know my place as -‘Elsie the cook.’ Have you any further orders?” - -“Nothing more to-day.” - -Mrs. Mason smiled triumphantly as she watched the blood deepen in -Elsie’s cheeks as she left the room. “The girl is as proud as Lucifer; -but it is not a usual pride, I must confess.” - -At the close of the week Elsie found that her end of the domestic -machinery was running quietly and smoothly. She had already made friends -with the other servants, who, while recognizing the air of -self-respecting womanhood that would neither give nor permit low jests -or rude actions, could not fail to be drawn by the simplicity of her -manner and her frank, straightforward way of looking at things. -Insensibly the loud-voiced talk and rude horse-play formerly in vogue -among them began to disappear. James’ ostentatious display of knowledge -gradually weakened before Elsie’s clear eyes and plain questions; -William left his stable-talk at the door, together with his coat and -boots, and came to his meals in patent-leather pumps, velveteen -roundabout, and hair saturated with patchouli. The house-maids had less -gossip of the upper regions to retail, and Jenie’s smutty frock was -invariably replaced by a clean one at meal-time. - -“Ze leetle witch,” exclaimed Lizzette to Margaret. “She haf got zere -necks under her heel so quick! And ze funny part ees zey know eet not at -all.” - -“I doubt if Elsie does,” replied Margaret. “For after all it is only the -power of judiciously exhibited self-respect.” - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - -There was a subdued bustle in the Mason mansion which betokened an -unusual event. Covers were removed from unused furniture, long-closed -rooms were newly aired and decorated, windows were opened to the -sunlight, and hot-houses were ransacked for potted plants and cut -flowers. In the store-rooms of Elsie’s department tables and shelves -were piled high with viands of every sort, the combined result of -Lizzette’s and Elsie’s skill; for Elsie had been afraid on so momentous -an occasion to trust entirely to herself. - -“And all this fuss is over one small man,” whispered Elsie to Lizzette -as they stood admiring the aggregation of eatables. “Has he been -starving among the Hottentots all these years, or is he a great -gourmand?” - -“Nezair,” laughed Lizzette. “Il est ze apple of ze eye of Helen Mason. -Zay are alone togezzer in ze world, and ze one sweet sing in Helen Mason -ees her love for Herbeart. Mais, he ees très cher efen to me. So vot you -call warm-hearted, wiz ze bonhomie zat make ze world bright. He travel -in Europe zese several year, and like Helen il à l’argent in heaps I -know not.” - -“What has he made of himself?” - -“Eh bien. Vraiment, le galant homme!” - -“A gentleman! A noble profession. How does he do it?” - -“Ze witch ees laughing! I no explain to zose mocking eyes.” - -“Never mind, Lizzette. There is something so charmingly indefinite about -the term ‘gentleman’ that I was only trying to discover what particular -form this rara avis took.” - -“He choose no profession zat I know. He no haf to work.” - -“Unlucky mortal! How he will envy us, Lizzette! But tell me about him. -Does he resemble his sister?” - -“Not ze leetle bit. Il a les eyes like ze summer sky, zay are so blue. -Il est so tall like ze young tree. His hair ees ze sunshine of ze -autumn, and his smile like ze warmth of ze summer sun.” - -“Scorching,” exclaimed Elsie. “How glad I am I shall not come under its -gleams; for I would rather cook his dinner than be cooked by that -smile!” - -“Ze mauvaise Elsie! She make ze fun of eferysing, efen my heart. I haf -loved him since many year he climb my knee, and I only speak ze figures -de la poesie.” - -“My dear Lizzette,” exclaimed Elsie contritely, “I do not make fun of -your love, nor of your similes, which really are quite wonderful. -Indeed, I never knew you so eloquent before; but this worship of yours -for the fair god is so new to me, I did not know that men were entitled -to so much.” - -“Ze time vill come, ma petite Elsie, ze time vill come ven zat mocking -heart sall take back zose idle words.” - -“How solemn you are, Lizzette. You frighten me.” - -“Non, non, mais, zere ees no love like ze true love in ze heart of ze -good woman.” - -“It may be,” said Elsie lightly, “but like the old Scotchwoman’s white -linen, ‘it taks a sair bit o’ achin’ ta get it,’ and I’ve no desire to -prove it.” - -“Eet vill prove itself in ze heart, and no ask desire.” - -“Dear me! how far we have wandered from our muttons. I suppose your -paragon dines here to-night?” - -“Oui, and to-morrow I sall go shake ze hand de mon Herbeart, and find -him still ze same.” - -“Perhaps not.” - -“I know,” said Lizzette positively. “My lad ees not made of ze sheap -stuff zat wear out memory.” - -The next morning as Elsie, in response to Mrs. Mason’s invitation, -entered the morning-room, she became at once aware that its fair -mistress was not its only occupant. Partially concealed behind a -newspaper she saw a blonde head, out of which a pair of blue eyes gave -her a quick glance, and she noticed with an odd sense of detail that -their owner wore a dark blue smoking-jacket with facings of pale blue -satin. There was also a running accompaniment of observation as to a -slim white hand, the curling ends of a blonde mustache, and an air of -indolent grace in the long lithe figure. Venturing but one glance, she -stood with book and pencil in hand, quietly awaiting Mrs. Mason’s -orders. It had been one of the results of Elsie Murchison’s secluded -life and country rearing that no one had ever told her how beautiful she -was, and if she could but read the pleasing tale in her mirror she -accepted it in as humble and thankful a spirit as she accepted the -sunshine and the flowers, and there was always a refreshing -unconsciousness about her that reminded one of the innocence of a child. -If she ever knew how charming a picture she made as she stood before her -mistress with downcast eyes and flushed cheeks and the quaint cap and -kerchief only intensifying her girlish simplicity, it was not till long -after. The natural flush of youthful expectancy at coming in contact -with the young and handsome man before her was crushed back under the -self-scorn with which she regarded any vague desire, as she expressed -it, to “look over the fence.” Not for one moment would she allow herself -to forget that she was “Elsie the cook,” and a little defiant curve -settled around the dimpled mouth as she became aware of the intent gaze -of those blue eyes over the top of the newspaper. It was with haste -amounting almost to curtness that she received her orders and betook -herself out of the room. - -There were two or three moments of silence after Elsie’s departure, and -then Mrs. Mason’s guest threw down his paper with the question: “Where -in the name of all the graces, Helen, did you find such a Hebe as that?” - -There was a steely flash in Mrs. Mason’s eyes as she answered: “Have you -been half the world over, Herbert Lynn, only to come home and rave over -the beauty of my cook?” - -“Cook? I thought Lizzette was responsible for that superb dinner last -evening.” - -“So she was in part; but this girl, Elsie Murchison, is a protégé of -hers whom I have engaged for a short time until I can do better.” - -“Well, if her cooking corresponds to her beauty she must be a treasure.” - -“That is what James and William both declare her to be,” replied Mrs. -Mason calmly. - -“Oh, of course, just their style of girl,” and Mr. Lynn resumed the -reading of his newspaper, as if the subject had no further interest for -him. - -“Singular,” he mused, while his eyes roamed over an editorial résumé of -the Parnell inquiry, “what surprises nature does love to work, putting -the face of an houri over a mind that doubtless shames a Nancy Sykes. -Helen’s cook, indeed! but, by Jove! I never saw so lovely a face -before.” - -After this, despite the black looks of his sister, Herbert took especial -delight in haunting the morning-room at the usual hour of her conference -with her cook. He was seldom rewarded by hearing the Hebe speak, and -then only in monosyllables; but he noticed she had “that excellent thing -in woman,” a well-modulated voice, as well as a quiet and reserved -manner. - -“Herbert,” exclaimed Mrs. Mason with an angry flash in her gray eyes, -after he had been present at the third or fourth of these conferences, -“I’ll not have you watching that girl so, and I warn you that my house -is not the place for any old-world gallantries.” - -The mild blue eyes met her own for an instant with an equally angry -glance, which, however, speedily died away by the time the nonchalant -lips had framed an answer. “I believe I’ve been doing nothing unbecoming -a gentleman.” - -“Well, I only drop you a warning. I know what the views of young men -usually are after they have spent a season in Paris.” - -“You are wise in your generation,” he said with a slight touch of scorn. -“When did you learn of the all-pervading blight of that modern -Gomorrah?” - -“Don’t try to be lofty with me,” pettishly exclaimed his sister. “You -know as well as I do that no good can come of your admiring that girl.” - -“And what possible harm can come of it? I have done nothing -reprehensible, except to bestow a few quick glances upon a fair and -youthful face. If she is not to be looked at, you must veil her like the -prophet of Khorassan. As for your insinuations—well, if men go to the -devil as regularly and deliberately as you seem to think, it is often -because they are driven there by the cool assumptions of women like -yourself. Now, my dear sister, let me disabuse your mind once for all of -the fear that I have imbibed nothing but old-world vices in my -continental trip. I always did respect virtuous womanhood and always -shall. I shall not in the least harm your Hebe of the pots and pans, but -to relieve your mind I’ll read the papers hereafter in the -billiard-room.” - -“Well,” said Mrs. Mason, after Herbert had somewhat ostentatiously -departed, and she was left to ruminate on not over-sweet fancies, “I -fancy I’ve forestalled any absurd ideas that might get into Elsie’s -head, and although I am growing to like her better every day, just let -me catch her making eyes at Herbert!” - -“Elsie,” said Mrs. Mason the next morning, “we are all going out for the -day, and you may have your time to yourself. I’ve given the maids a -half-holiday and there’ll be nobody at home but James.” - -Elsie stood for a moment irresolute. A swift desire had all but leaped -to her lips—but dare she make it known? - -“What is it, Elsie?” asked her mistress, evidently more graciously -disposed than usual. - -“I would like to ask a great favor. If there is to be no one in the -house may I try the piano?” - -“I was not aware that you played the piano,” said Mrs. Mason a trifle -coldly. Elsie’s face flushed. - -“I do not. I never touched one in my life; but I have a longing to see -what I can do. There isn’t volume and scope enough in our little cottage -organ, and I promised Antoine to ask permission to try the piano. He is -so much interested in music and finds so much pleasure in learning that -I love to help him even in little things.” - -“I see no objection in the present instance; but you of course -understand that I regard the request as an unusual one for a servant to -make?” - -“I do,” said Elsie hotly as she turned away, “and I will not——” - -Back swept the red blood from Elsie’s face, and a white, dull patience -overspread it as she took up the broken thread of her speech. - -“Mrs. Mason, I was going to say that I would not touch your piano for -worlds! You seem to be afraid all the time that I will forget the -difference in our station and presume upon it. Have I done so? Have I -been less than obedient, or indicated by word or look that I thought -myself anything more than a servant? But even servants have the common -right of humanity, and I asked a favor, knowing it to be a favor, -because of the crippled boy I love and the sick sister who taught me to -love and do for all things helpless and dependent. If it were not for -them no money would tempt me to stay where I am not trusted; but they -are helpless and in need. I shall never ask any further favors of you, -Mrs. Mason; but if you still wish to keep me I shall try, as I have -tried, to be obedient and faithful to your interests.” - -Mrs. Mason sat for a moment without speaking, and then suddenly reached -out her hand to Elsie. “Come back, child,” she said, “and sit down. I -want to talk with you.” - -Elsie came back from the door and stood before her mistress. “Sit down,” -reiterated Mrs. Mason. - -“It is expected that servants will stand in the presence of their -superiors,” answered Elsie with the old mischievous sparkle in her eyes. - -Mrs. Mason laughed. “I like your spirit, anyway. I really haven’t any -objection to your using the piano when we are away. I’m glad you are -ambitious to cultivate yourself; but you mustn’t make the mistake of -regarding a little superficial finish as cultivation. Genuine -cultivation strikes deep in the soil and takes hold of every fibre of -the being.” - -“Mrs. Mason,” said Elsie, “you make a mistake if you think I have any -longing for the mere name of lady. I believe I could be your cook all my -days and yet make myself worthy of the character and appellation. It is -not what one does so much as in the manner of doing it that lies the -distinction, and I have as natural a longing for all things noble and -beautiful as the flowers have for the sun, and just as good a right to -reach for them.” - -“Certainly,” assented Mrs. Mason; “but with such surroundings you -haven’t a very hopeful chance of obtaining them. Your life is not a very -happy one.” - -“Yes, it is,” replied Elsie stoutly, “because I make it so. I wouldn’t -change places with the richest woman in this city, if by so doing I had -to lose the dear hopes and sympathies for every day living that make -even our misfortunes bearable. O Mrs. Mason, before the fire and -Margaret’s sickness, nothing could have exceeded the daily delight of -our lives, even with all their hard work and privation. Something to -believe in, some hope for humanity, some trifle in word or deed for each -other—why, it seemed like a foretaste of heaven. And now—well—” she went -on, choking back the sobs, “it is a delight to me to know that my -earnings have placed my brother Gilbert in the manual-training school, -and are helping Margaret, Lizzette, and Antoine in numerous ways. I -don’t want anything in this world, but just to grow into light and life -with the dear ones I love and who love me.” - -Mrs. Mason did an unprecedented thing for her. She clasped one of -Elsie’s hands in her own, and said with a little break in her voice: “My -dear child, you must promise to forget my severity, and take me at my -word when I tell you to use the piano as often as you find the coast -clear, and also to help yourself to what books you like in the library. -I shall never speak a harsh word to you again.” - -“Don’t say that,” exclaimed Elsie quickly. “I may need a good many.” - -“Well, the compact stands until you do need them.” - -Two hours later, having seen the carriage drive from the door, and -supposing the house empty with the exception of James, who was dozing in -his pantry off the dining-room, Elsie came softly down the stairs to the -front drawing-room. She had taken off cap, kerchief, and apron, and wore -only a dark cloth dress with a little knot of bright red silk at the -throat. With childish curiosity she investigated everything in the -handsome room, pausing longest before a Carrara marble statuette of -Cupid and Psyche and talking aloud with all the abandon of a child. - -“So that face of Psyche’s was the best the sculptor could do to -represent the soul. I should call it rather the absence of soul; but -then I’m a Philistine, and lack culture; and as for Cupid, if the blind -god is no fairer than he is painted—I should say carved—he wouldn’t -stand much chance of awaking immortality in me. I don’t believe I’ve got -a bit of poetry in me, anyhow; I’m so inclined to laugh at sentiment, or -sentimentality—it all amounts to the same thing. In either event, I -suppose it shows that ‘Elsie the cook’ is made of coarser clay than -those who find beauty in unmeaning faces. But I forget. ‘Elsie the cook’ -has gone away, and Elsie the lady has come to stay.” - -A low ripple of laughter broke from her lips over the unintentional -couplet. “A poet, after all! I guess, as they say below stairs, I’ll -throw up my job and get a quill and ink-stand.” - -At this juncture, a gentleman who had been stretched at full length upon -a couch within a curtained alcove at the further end of the library, -closed the book he had been reading, and shoving the curtain aside for -an inch or two, gazed into the drawing-room through the half-open door. -It chanced that the wide pier-glass was so situated that nearly the -whole interior of the drawing-room was visible to the occupant of the -alcove, and a half-smile gleamed beneath the curled blonde mustache as -he listened to Elsie’s amusing comments. - -“Elsie the lady has come to stay,” she repeated, “and now I’ll see if I -can play it as well as madam herself. I wonder if I look like one,” and -half-dancing up to the glass, Elsie stood for a moment looking -critically at herself. “No, I won’t do. My hair ought to be so,” and she -gathered it up on the top of her head, from which the riotous ends -speedily escaped in a curling mass. “There! that’s better; looks quite -fashionable; gown is very plain, but then we’ll suppose I go in for -asceticism. No rings, but no pot black on my hands. Nails well manicured -and tolerably aristocratic-looking. That is, there’s quite a taper to -the fingers, which I suppose puts the proper stamp on. Now that my lady -has come to her own, let’s see how she receives her guests. We’ll try -her cook first, so as to get the proper air of dignified severity. No, -I’ll not do it,” she said thoughtfully, as she stood for a moment with -downcast eyes. “She was kind to me after all, and I’ll not repay it with -mockery even to myself. It is quite evident that there is a great deal -due to station in this world, and Elsie the cook must cultivate a little -appreciation. Come, my Lord Snubbem, and teach me to be a Brahmin.” - -With a mock courtesy Elsie stood before a great sleepy hollow chair of -blue velvet and went on with her soliloquy: - -“You will no doubt understand, my lord, that this is my first appearance -in society, and lacking the _savoir faire_ of long acquaintance, I -shall, I presume, shock you with some of my ‘wild woolly western’ ideas. -Nevertheless, having seen that my brother, Mr. High-and-Mighty, just -returned from ‘the continent’—that is the way even Americans put it, as -if there were but one continent—is paying his proper devoirs to Miss -Bullion, and will probably fall in love with her, or rather with her -money, which, entre nous, is all ‘we’ ask nowadays, I suppose I’ll have -to permit you, my Lord Snubbem, after a great deal of coaxing, to induce -me to play for you. Of course you know all the time I’m dying to show -off; at least that’s the way they say it is in society, and so you offer -me your arm and lead me to the piano, and I prepare to display my -diamond rings—dear me, it’s too bad I haven’t any!—and my precious -little knowledge of music. Let me see, how shall I begin? With a grand -flourish, of course; now for that Hungarian battle song!” And almost -forgetful of the character she was supposed to represent, Elsie struck -the heavy chords of the overture, and became at once absorbed in the -melody she was evoking. “Ah, that is grand,” she sighed tremulously. -“There is power, adaptability, volume in a piano that you can’t find in -a cottage organ if you smother your soul in it. Now good-by, Lord -Snubbem. Elsie the cook and Antoine the cripple have come back and are -going to forget all about you.” - -Presently, after a few drum-beats of the piano, arose the shrill, sweet -notes of a trumpet-call. Again it came, louder, sweeter than ever, then -the answering tones of the piano, until trumpet-call and drum-beat were -blended in one brilliant clash of melody. Then the piano ceased and -Elsie’s whistle took up the plaintive solo of the violin, which is -supposed to represent the pathetic heroism of the Hungarian mother in -sending her loved ones to battle. Softly, yet clearly, and with such -underlying feeling rang the bird notes through the room that the -listener felt tears gathering beneath his eyelids. Scarcely had the -sweet notes ended when louder and faster came the crash of battle, to be -followed by the low dirge and moaning cries rendered by the resonant -whistle. “Oh, dear,” sighed Elsie, “if Antoine had only been here, it -might have been worth while. What a grand thing the piano is! Poverty -wouldn’t be so bad if it did not exclude so much of the heaven of music -and art, etc., etc., etc. Now, Elsie the cook, stop that vain longing! -Maybe you’ll earn a piano yet with your immense riches. Just one more -try, and Elsie the cook must go into the lower regions again; but it’s -been glorious to know what such a life might mean. Come, old comforter, -and compose my soul,” and she struck the accompaniment to the old, old -song, “Jesus, Lover of my Soul.” The fresh young voice, gaining -confidence as the feeling pervading the melody swept over her, seemed to -fill every nook and corner of the room and rise upward and outward until -it was lost on the shining pathway to the stars. It was dusk when Elsie -closed the piano, and with a sudden fervor she bent down and kissed it. -“The only friend I have in the house,” she sighed aloud. A moment later -she passed out into the hall humming softly to herself: - - “Hide me! Oh, my Saviour, hide, - Till the storm of life be passed!” - -When the last notes had died away in the distance Herbert Lynn sprang -from his couch, and striking a match, looked at his watch. - -“Six o’clock!” he exclaimed. “Helen will be furious because I’ve not -kept my engagement; but I wouldn’t have missed that scene for all the -dinners in Christendom. Heavens! what a nature there is in that little -girl!” - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - -Margaret sat reading a letter from Dr. Ely. The faint blood of returning -health was deepening in her cheeks, and the glad light of her eyes -intensified by emotions which the letter evidently called forth. With -the freedom of the invisible biographer we will glance over her shoulder -as she reads: - - -“I have carried for months the picture of the cosey sitting-room at -Idlewild set like a gem in the silver circle of memory. It is hard, very -hard, now to feel that it must be only a memory; that I shall never see -it again, and never be able to picture the little feasts of reason which -your letters have so charmingly described. Still, home is where the -heart is, and I regard this misfortune as only a temporary interruption -of your plans. I know so well the motive springs of action in your -nature, that I feel sure as soon as your strength comes back on perhaps -a firmer basis, the old progress will be re-established. - -“I heartily indorse your move in placing Gilbert in the manual-training -school, and inclose a draft for one hundred dollars to advance your -efforts. You need have no hesitancy in accepting it, as I find the books -are regarded by bibliophilists generally as possessing all the value I -placed upon them. - -“As regards Elsie’s experiment in going as a cook, there is much to be -said for and against. She will be subjected in such a position to much -that will tax her high spirit; but if she is equal to it she will be the -gainer in conscious strength and purpose. As a financial move, even at -the average wages, it is undoubtedly the best thing that could be done; -for even had the way been opened, there is no such money in teaching -school or standing behind the counter. It is also a safer life for a -girl of her beauty, because the seclusion of the kitchen has no such -temptations as beset the workers in public shops and factories. The -question of caste has evidently not entered into her calculations, -because she looks upon life as it is developed from the standpoint of -moral worth, and she is a charming example of the revival of primitive -ideas. I shall watch the outcome of the experiment with a good deal of -interest, not alone because I admire the fair experimenter, but because -I also look upon the move as an incipient factor in social progress. The -housekeeping and homekeeping questions lie at the roots of all -philosophy; for man is by no means a sublimated mortal who can exist and -theorize with no provision for his material needs. Still, if I could -have had my way, I should have preferred that Elsie develop her -character and fitness for the world’s work under less trying -circumstances. It does not seem fitting to me that women should bear the -brunt of bread-winning; there is other and better work for them to do. - -“As for my school and myself, I think we are both growing in strength. I -should indeed be faint-hearted if I did not feel nerved for the battle -when I remember the fearful odds against which you and Elsie have set -yourselves. I do not prophesy much in the way of harvest for you, for I -know the world better than you do. Yet I know that with you a slender -sheaf of the gleanings will be as so much saved for the All Father’s -granary, and I can only bid you God-speed in all you do. I know those -who come within the radius of your presence are lifted, albeit -unconsciously, in aspiration, and I have no wonder at all at Eph’s -devotion. I look upon it as a natural result of natural conditions, and -I predict that in your home in the city you will find the question of -how to find room for all the demands upon your sympathies and interests -a much more serious one than it is now. I shall hope to have in the -future, as in the past, a full account of the progress made by all of -you, and trust that in trying to fulfil the purposes that actuate you, -you will not forget what is due your health. - - “Sincerely your friend, - “CHARLES J. ELY.” - - -Margaret read the letter very slowly, evidently finding much food for -thought in the lines. That it was happy thought the demure smiles that -almost brought dimples in her cheeks testified. - -“It wouldn’t be difficult to turn back now,” she mused, “but it would be -cowardly. It will be easier too to go ahead, knowing as I do that all my -efforts are watched by sympathetic eyes. The determination to stand by -Elsie and Gilbert, until character shall have been formed and purposes -achieved, grows heroic as I progress; for in it I already discern, -thanks to Dr. Ely’s eyes, a lever for the good of others besides -ourselves. Duty has always seemed so simple and necessary a thing to me, -that I don’t believe I have properly appreciated Elsie’s heroism. Poor -little girl! I wonder how she bears the brunt of the battle, and if that -tempestuous heart of hers is in daily rebellion. Antoine!” she exclaimed -aloud, “we are glad this is Sunday and that Elsie is coming home to-day, -aren’t we?” - -“So glad that I can’t half read,” said the boy, tossing aside his book -and looking up with a smile. - -“It seems to me, Antoine, the violin has leaned more to elegies and -dirges than formerly. That won’t do, for I notice you are not looking as -well as you were, and I fancy you are missing Elsie too much. I’ll tell -you what we’re going to do. Next week I shall look up rooms in the city, -near Elsie, and we will have her home every night, and you—now don’t -look so disconsolate—you shall remain with us and take lessons at the -conservatory. I’ve arranged it all with ma mère, and I shall see almost, -if not quite, as much of you as I do now.” - -Antoine did not answer until he had choked back one or two obtrusive -sobs. “And ma mère?” he asked. - -“She will be back and forth every day, with two homes instead of one.” - -“And am I really to have lessons?” - -“Really and truly,” answered Margaret. - -“I don’t know how to be thankful enough,” said the lad. “But who pays -for them?” - -“Never mind asking questions,” said Margaret, smiling. “It is your -business to accept propositions.” - -“I know—it is Elsie!” he exclaimed gleefully. “She said she should -dispense charity like a millionaire.” - -Margaret laughed as she replied: “I don’t think Elsie’s princely income, -as she calls it, will be equal to all the schemes she has in her bright -head; but I know I am very glad of the prospect of having her with us -once again. It’s a dull house without her.” - -“And shall we have the old ‘evenings’ over again?” - -“Indeed we shall, please God. We’ll take up the thread where it snapped -on that awful night of the fire, only a little wiser and tenderer -perhaps in our judgments.” - -“How would it be possible for you to be any tenderer than you always -have been?” asked Antoine. - -“Because experience widens and deepens our natures, and - - “‘Hearts, like apples, are hard and sour, - Till crushed by pain’s resistless power.’” - -“God mellowed yours, then, in long-gone ages, for nobody ever found a -hard spot in your heart.” - -“A royal flatterer!” exclaimed Margaret gayly. “I shall have to kiss you -for that,” and Margaret sank on her knees beside the wheel chair and -printed a resounding smack upon the lad’s pale cheek. - -“I’m jealous!” cried a gay voice at the door, and the next instant Elsie -was on the other side of the chair and Antoine’s arms were around her -neck. - -“Home again! Home again!” he cried with a little break in his voice. - -“For just about six hours, so tongues must fly at a mile a minute. I -have heaps and heaps to tell,” and breathless Elsie sank into a chair -and said nothing. - -“Why don’t you tell it?” asked Antoine. - -“It dwindles so when I stop to think of it. I guess it is all summed up -in the statement that ‘Elsie the cook’ is very well satisfied with her -place, and a good deal prouder of her two-weeks’ wages than if somebody -had earned the money for her. Just see!” and emptying the contents of -her purse in Margaret’s lap, she went on: “Now, I’ve come home for some -music and to hear the rest of you talk. Where’s the fiddle, Antoine? -Let’s wake the echoes and forget the frying-pan.” - -“O Elsie, life has come back with you,” exclaimed Antoine fervently as -he tuned his fiddle. - -“To stay, I hope; for I don’t want to be guilty of taking life when I go -again.” - -An hour later everything had been forgotten in the rendering of the old -hymns and psalms with which it had been their wont to delight themselves -on Sunday afternoons. Margaret and Gilbert were joining in the chorus, -and Lizzette was softly humming to herself in her work about the -kitchen, when there came a gentle rap at the outer door. Lizzette opened -it and with difficulty repressed an exclamation at sight of Herbert Lynn -on the threshold. With a warning gesture he put his fingers to his lips -and said in a low voice: “I did not want to interrupt the music or I -should have rapped at the front door. Who is it plays and sings so -charmingly?” - -“Antoine and Elsie,” said Lizzette proudly. - -“Elsie? I did not know she was here. I had a little leisure and -concluded I couldn’t better employ it than in coming to see my old -Lizzette.” - -“Vous avez ze welcome, just as in ze old days. Let me get ze leetle -rocker, and you sall sit by me and talk,” and Lizzette made a move to -enter the little sitting-room. Herbert’s hand was on her arm in an -instant. - -“No, no,” he said in a whisper. “Let me sit here and listen. It will -disturb them to know I am here.” - -Softly and sweetly from the other room came the strain, “’Tis midnight, -and on Olive’s brow,” and Herbert Lynn reverently dropped his head in -his hands and listened. If there was to his critical ear a lack of -technical skill, there was no lack of sympathy or feeling in every touch -and tone. Neither was there lack of genius, although it was easily -discernible that it was an untrained genius. - -“What power Antoine gets out of the violin,” he whispered to Lizzette, -who nodded and smiled in proud acknowledgment of his appreciation. - -“Il a——” she began, but the music had ceased and there was a rustle of -turning leaves as Margaret took up the Bible. - -“On second thought,” she said, “I will ask for a subject. What shall it -be, Elsie? You have been out in the world—what need has seemed greatest -to you?” - -“The strength to bear,” answered Elsie soberly. “It seemed easy to be -patient and properly humble in this home of love and appreciation, but -in this other world of place-hunting and time-serving the quick retort -quite too often besieges my lips. You know, Margaret, it is only the old -enemy, and as the horizon widens and I see what life might mean to me if -fortune had been kinder, and I realize that I have a nature capable of -profiting by the beautiful things of the world, I grow rebellious and -dissatisfied. I try every now and then to imagine I am perfectly -contented; but all the time I know I am deceiving myself. Help me, -Margaret dear, with all your sublime patience and courage, to bear it, -and not yearn after the vain things of the world.” - -There was a sound of tears in Margaret’s voice as she answered: -“Strength must come from within, Elsie. ‘They that dwell in His house’ -know where the well of strength is, and ‘the pools are filled with -water.’ As for the vain things of this world for which you sigh, the sin -of it depends upon what those things are. I think I know your heart well -enough to believe they are not selfish follies, but only healthy -aspirations for broader fields of culture. I don’t believe in repressing -such aspirations. They are as natural to natures like yours as sunshine -to flowers. Aside from my unchanging faith in the beneficence of God, I -have always found the thought that the duty of to-day may be the -pleasure of to-morrow my greatest source of comfort. Let us work -faithfully, cheerfully to-day; the way may be a little rough, but after -all we shall find many things to gladden it. A note from Antoine’s -fiddle, a bit of Elsie’s nonsense, have often made me smile in the midst -of the moodiest repinings. Our work now, Elsie, is like the hard digging -around the roots of a rose-bush; by and by we shall look up and see its -crown of beauty and fragrance, and the roses will be all the sweeter -because our hands have sent the thrill along their stems that roused -them to life. I haven’t the least fear for my little girl when we -re-establish the old home life. Discontent will be left at the door, and -aspiration will find wings in Antoine’s fiddle and at the ends of her -deft fingers.” - -“The first day I ever saw you,” said Antoine to Elsie, “you said your -ambition lay all in learning to cook like ma mère. What is the matter -with it that it does not satisfy you? Is the grand art of ma mère no art -after all?” - -“Don’t ask such heretical questions, Antoine! Just ask ma mère if I -don’t put heaps of enthusiasm in my work, and make perfect poems in -pastry and sonnets in salads, whose proof is in the eating! But one may -have a thousand ambitions in the course of a life-time, and to confess -the honest truth—Margaret, hide your face!—I’ve just now an absorbing -ambition to have a new gown in the very latest style, with velvet all -over it and some genuine lace at the throat, and all those refined -ladylike things that make you feel so—so satisfied with yourself! See, I -bow my head and meekly await the avalanche of reproaches from this -virtuous and austere household!” - -“Well,” said Gilbert from his corner, “I haven’t any for you; for the -threadbare appearance of my knees has filled me with a similar ambition. -The fellows at the training school are mostly sons of well-to-do men, -and they eye me in a way that doesn’t make me feel so—so satisfied with -myself.” - -In an instant Elsie jumped from her chair, and patronizingly patting -Gilbert’s head exclaimed: “My dear brother, how glad I am to know I’m -not the only black sheep of the family! Meg, you see what comes of -letting the lambs out in the world’s pastures!” - -Just then Elsie, glancing out into the kitchen, caught sight of the -amused faces of Lizzette and Herbert Lynn, and consternation, fright, -and astonishment so overcame her that she could only stand still and -scream. - -This at once brought Lizzette and Herbert to the door. “Margaret,” -exclaimed Lizzette, “zis ees my old friend, mon garçon Herbeart Lynn, -who coming to see his old Lizzette haf ze desire also to know her -friends. He haf zair welcome, I believe?” - -Lizzette looked appealingly from the white scorn of Elsie’s face to the -surprise of Margaret’s; but before either had time to speak Herbert said -eagerly and with flushing cheek as he glanced at Elsie: “I can explain -my presence here as an involuntary listener in this way. Lizzette, as -you probably know, has been more than half-mother to me. Taking -advantage of a day when I felt sure of finding her at home, I came out -for a little visit. As I neared the door I heard such charming music I -hesitated to interrupt it, and so I crept like a culprit to the back -door and listened—very reprehensibly, I know—to a discussion which was -so full of strength and interest to me I had not the courage to -interrupt it. Lizzette, can you not help me to be forgiven?” - -“Helas,” said Lizzette. “I am ze grand culprit. I take ze pride in vat -you list.” - -“Lizzette’s friends are of course welcome to us, since we are -trespassers upon her kindness,” said Margaret brightly. “And as we have -no state secrets, I think we can forgive an unintentional listening. -This is my sister, Elsie Murchison, whom perhaps you know serves your -sister, Mrs. Mason, as cook.” - -Margaret’s countenance hardened a trifle as she looked at the young -man’s handsome face and again at Elsie’s, coldly repellant, and she laid -a stress upon the last word that brought an involuntary smile to Elsie’s -lips. The nod which she bestowed upon Herbert was, however, so -ostentatiously distant that the pleasant augury of the smile was -speedily dispelled. - -“An’ zis ees my good lad Gilbeart Murchison, et zis mon garçon Antoine,” -said Lizzette hastily, in an endeavor to smooth over the awkwardness of -the situation. - -Herbert turned quickly to the boys, and taking the proffered seat -eagerly clasped Antoine’s hand in his own. “You’ve changed a good deal, -my boy, since I saw you, and you are growing to be quite a musician. -Your genius must be cultivated.” - -“It is going to be,” answered Antoine, “thanks to my Elsie.” - -Herbert glanced up as Antoine spoke, in time to see Elsie slip into the -kitchen. - -“Eet ees ze dinner hour,” said Lizzette, looking after her. “I sall -leave you, Herbeart, in ze good care of Miss Margaret and ze boys.” - -“I shall be well cared for, no doubt. I always have been in your house.” - -“You have but recently returned from Europe, I understand,” said -Margaret as Lizzette left the room. “Were you there long?” - -“Some three years,” replied Herbert. - -“Long enough, then, to become somewhat imbued with old-world ideas and -customs.” - -“To the extent of finding democratic America the most delightful place -on earth to live.” - -The air of constraint, so foreign to Herbert’s usual suavity of address, -dropped off under the stimulant of Margaret’s calm eyes and interested -face, and he presently found himself talking and laughing with her and -the boys with the freedom of long acquaintance. In the mean time -Lizzette had been bustling about the kitchen on hospitable thoughts -intent, and wondering vaguely where Elsie had gone. In honor of her -home-coming she had sacrificed a couple of plump chickens which she had -stuffed with truffles grown in the darkness of her cellar. On the case -of wooden shelves which, with the romanticism of her race, she loved to -dignify with the name of “beaufet,” stood a glass bowl of snow cream -flanked by a basket piled high with yellow sponge-cakes. - -“Zere ees ze pineapple jelly, ze salade de cresson, ze cold sliced ham, -ze duchesse potatoes, et ze cream chocolate—ah, well, Lizzette’s table -ees not so empty after all.” - -She was bending over the oven door, watching the browning of the -chickens and letting a flood of savory steam into the kitchen, when she -felt a warm kiss on her cheek. Glancing up in surprise she saw Elsie, -cloaked and bonneted, before her. “Fie, fie, Elsie,” exclaimed Lizzette. -“Zis vill not do. You no leave before ze dinner.” - -“I must,” said Elsie, putting her hands on Lizzette’s shoulders and -looking into her face with her eyes full of tears. “Don’t you see how -the case stands? This ‘petit curieux’—there, don’t be angry, I can’t -call him anything else—has followed me here, and if Mrs. Mason hears of -it I shall lose my place. Don’t you see I could not sit at the table -with him and defend myself against her attacks?” - -“Oh-h!” It was a very long and expressive “oh” on Lizzette’s part, and -her eyes grew round with wonder and amusement as she glanced at Elsie’s -perturbed face. “I nevair vas so big dunce in my life. Haf Herbeart efer -speak to you?” - -“No,” said Elsie, crimsoning, “only—only looked at me!” - -Lizzette burst into a laugh so resounding that it penetrated the room -beyond; but Elsie’s distressed face was too much for her tender -sympathies. “Ma petite fille,” she exclaimed, “how stupid ees your old -Lizzette. Eh bien, I vill explain. Herbeart know not you live here; he -tell me so, and I nevair know Herbeart Lynn to lie. So you see eet ees -not ma petite Elsie zat bring him——” - -“Lizzette! Lizzette!” cried Elsie, beside herself with mortification. “I -did not mean it that way! I’m not so vain as you think; but to tell the -truth he has always eyed me so, when I went to confer with Mrs. Mason, -that I have noticed she was uneasy and cross when he was in the room. -That is all in the world there is in it, except that as ‘Elsie the cook’ -I decline to sit at table with his high mightiness. Honestly, I do not -want ever to speak to him.” - -“Herbeart haf ze good heart zat harm nobody.” - -“That may be true; but the gulf between us is considered too wide by his -circle ever to be bridged over by the commonplaces of even the simplest -association. You know I am right, Lizzette, and no false vanity prompts -what I say. I do want to keep my place, and Mrs. Mason would be furious -if she knew I broke bread at the same table with her brother.” - -“Ah, zat Helen! Oui, Elsie, vous avez raison. Zis ees too bad. Mais you -sall not go hungry; here in ze pantry I set you some dinner.” - -“No, Lizzette, I can’t eat,” said Elsie disconsolately. “I’ll just go -down to Aunt Liza’s and stay till the six-o’clock train. Tell Meg how -the case stands. I know she’ll approve my view of it.” - -“Helas,” said Lizzette sorrowfully. “Ze dinner vill be spoiled for -Margaret and ze rest of us; but maybe zat vill be ze best way out of -trouble.” - -It was growing dusk when Elsie took her seat in the car on her way back -to the city. She was tired, faint, and overwrought. A disturbing -influence had set again at work all those little discontents which -Margaret’s calm reasoning had well-nigh dispelled, and she fairly gasped -with horror when she saw Herbert Lynn enter the car and deliberately -take the vacant seat beside her. - -“Miss Elsie,” he coolly asked, “will you be kind enough to tell me why I -am an object of such aversion to you?” - -“I—I—don’t know what you mean,” she stammered helplessly. - -“Aversion, Miss Elsie, is said by Webster to mean dislike, disapproval, -detestation, repugnance, antipathy, abhorrence, loathing, etc., and so -on. I trust you understand me now,” and he looked down on the flushing -face with a marked little smile of triumph. - -“The definitions are all a blank to me, and relate to nothing with which -I am familiar.” - -“Let me enlighten you, then. Do you think I am not aware that I drove -you from the house this afternoon, and Lizzette’s delicious dinner? I am -truly sorry that my mere unexpected presence in that little house should -have been productive of so much mischief. I assure you I am not half as -bad as I look, and I feel as penitent as a small boy who is caught -stealing apples, and just about as guilty.” - -Elsie sat with her face turned toward the window and made no reply. Not -to be balked, Herbert went on: - -“I never enjoyed—or would have enjoyed but for the unlucky fact of your -displeasure—anything so much as acquaintance with your sister and the -atmosphere of Lizzette’s little home. It is something new to me, and I -am not so case-hardened as to be wholly insensible to it.” Still Elsie -vouchsafed no word as he paused in evident expectation. - -“Well, if I am to have all this conversation to myself, I shall take the -liberty of saying just what I think. I think a certain Miss Elsie -Murchison is decidedly unreasonable, and is determined that the -culprit’s sentence shall be a severer one than he deserves. She will not -even permit him to plead his cause. Nevertheless, as he is satisfied of -its justice he proposes to go on. The brother of Mrs. Helen Mason, an -acknowledged leader of the haut ton, is neither a knave nor a fool; at -least he is not prepared to so view himself just yet, and because his -well-beloved sister has certain views in accordance with the creed of -her set, it does not follow that he must blindly indorse all those -views. He may have sufficient independence to recognize worth when he -sees it, regardless of its environment.” - -Still no response from stubborn Elsie. The hot blood mounted to -Herbert’s brow. Bending forward so that he might get a good view of her -face, he exclaimed impetuously: - -“Miss Murchison, if this is really a matter of personal dislike I have -nothing further to say. Until I am satisfied that it is, however, I feel -that I have a right to understand the meaning of your persistent -silence.” - -Thus brought to bay Elsie raised her eyes, and Herbert saw that they -were full of unshed tears. - -“Mr. Lynn,” she began tremulously, “it seems almost cruel in you to -press me for an answer; but since you force it you shall have the plain -truth. There is no personal feeling at all in the matter. I neither like -nor dislike you, and simply ask to be let alone. I am your sister’s -cook, between whom and Mr. Lynn there cannot be even common -acquaintance.” - -“My sister’s cook!” repeated Herbert. “It is as I suspected, a mere -matter of pride on your part.” - -“No,” said Elsie desperately. “It is a matter of bread and butter. As -your sister’s cook I am earning good wages, that are of incalculable -value to those I love and for whom I work. If I lose my place, it means -deprivation and distress. Can you not see my reason and be generous?” - -“Generous, most certainly; but not for any reason you advance. I am not -under my sister’s dominion.” - -“But I am; and if I in any way incur her displeasure, I shall suffer for -it.” - -“Not through me,” said Herbert stoutly. “I shall take good care of -that.” - -“You can only do it by refusing to notice me any further; a favor which -I particularly request.” - -“I do not know that I ever before flatly refused a lady’s request; but -this time I am compelled to do so by circumstances beyond my control.” - -The mischief in Herbert’s eyes was too much for Elsie’s volatile nature, -and she greeted his audacious statement with a ripple of laughter which -she bitterly regretted a second later. - -“There!” he exclaimed. “I am glad the statuesque repose of the De Veres -has been broken. I think we shall understand each other soon.” - -“We do now,” said Elsie hastily. “I cannot speak any plainer.” - -“Well, I can; but here we are, and while we walk the rest of the way -home I’ll endeavor to be explicit. Please take my arm.” - -There was no help for it. Eight or ten blocks intervened between them -and the Mason mansion; it was dark and physical fear prevented Elsie’s -refusal of the proffered escort. - -“Now,” said Herbert as she meekly placed her hand on his arm, “things -are just to my satisfaction. As regards your place, it shall be yours -indefinitely so far as I am concerned. I promise not to annoy you in any -way—that is, whenever I think that way is consistent with my way. I -admire your sister very much, and she has already accepted my offer of -comradeship, which, by the way, shows her good sense. As for her -rebellious little sister, I shall be just as much her good friend as if -she were forty times a queen in her own right, which she undoubtedly is. -She cannot prevent my admiration of her independence and heroism if she -snubs me twenty times a day, as, judging from the past, I presume she -will. That, however, will be the least of my distress, so I succeed in -making her believe I am not a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I assure you, -upon the honor of a gentleman, that I shall be guilty of no more -reprehensible act than to claim the kindly consideration of one friend -for another.” - -Elsie found it difficult to frame a reply. Animosity was fast breaking -down before the simple, candid words, and in its place had come a not -wholly definable sense of companionship that was strangely sweet. - -“But the social gulf——” she began feebly. - -“A fig for it! Are you not of that heretical sect which believes only in -an aristocracy of moral worth and cultivated brains? Are you going to -deny me the privilege of proving my claim to distinction among you? Your -sister has already outlined your little evenings to me, and I am -going——” - -“To do what?” asked Elsie quickly. - -“Look in upon you occasionally, that is all. You fancied I was going to -apply for a membership. I am afraid if I should, one of its brightest -members would stay away. But we are almost home, and you haven’t told me -yet that you have forgiven my unintentional transgression of the -conventionalities this afternoon; nor have you promised to believe in my -integrity and good-will.” - -“I promise on one condition,” said Elsie, stopping suddenly. “There is -only half a block further; let me go alone. It would be so unfortunate -for me if—if any one saw us together.” - -“Certainly, if you wish it. I suppose there is no law to prevent my -walking a few steps behind you.” - -“I don’t think there is any law anywhere for you. Good-night,” and with -Herbert’s laugh ringing in her ears Elsie hastened down the area steps -and swung open the kitchen door. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - -“Elsie,” said Mrs. Mason the following morning, “I am going to give a -reception in my brother’s honor to-morrow evening, and I shall put the -dining-room and kitchen in the hands of the caterer. If you like you may -assist Mary and Martha in the toilet-rooms during the evening.” - -“Very well,” answered Elsie soberly; but there was a light in her eyes -which made Mrs. Mason say interrogatively, “You are pleased at the -change?” - -“Indeed I am! I shall see a little of the pageantry of life, and I love -to look at beautiful things, fair ladies, and brave men. The whole thing -will be a living picture, and while I hand a pin to this one, or a fan -to that, I shall be stealing something that will be neither coats nor -diamonds.” - -“Something less tangible, but more valuable, perhaps.” - -“I am not so sure of its value as I am of its pleasure.” - -“Pleasure in what way?” - -“In the way that a rose is just as beautiful to my eyes as to those of a -princess; in the way that this reception will be just as much for me as -if I wore satins instead of a house-maid’s cap and apron.” - -Elsie had been for the nonce aroused from her usual reserve, and as she -caught the coldly critical glance which Mrs. Mason bestowed upon her, -she exclaimed eagerly: “I beg your pardon, Mrs. Mason. I did not mean to -inflict my small enthusiasms upon you.” - -“I was only thinking,” replied Mrs. Mason, “that the world seems to open -a vista of enjoyment for you which many apparently more fortunate would -give half their years to possess. What is the secret of your happiness?” - -“‘Secret?’ I have none, unless it is that I am still a child, in heart -at least, and accept life as unquestioningly.” - -“But by and by the heart of the child will have grown old, and you will -be like the rest of us, tired, disappointed, doubting.” - -There was a note of sadness in Mrs. Mason’s voice that appealed at once -to Elsie’s tender sympathies. Involuntarily she reached out a hand as if -to lay it upon the white jewelled one of her mistress; but with a sudden -start of recollection she drew back and said simply: “There is so much -in this world to hope for, so much that may be had even by the poorest, -that disappointment and doubt need affect one only as externals. I hope -I may never grow wise if wisdom brings only bitterness of spirit.” - -Mrs. Mason made no reply; she was watching the fine mobile face before -her, with its blending of pride and guilelessness. “The girl gains on -one so,” she mused, “that I could almost make her friend instead of -servant, if it were not for——” - -At this juncture Elsie, uneasy under the prolonged scrutiny of the gray -eyes, asked hesitatingly: “Do you wish anything further, Mrs. Mason? May -I go now?” - -“You might have gone some time since,” was the calm reply, given with -all the iciness of manner she knew so well how to apply to the impulsive -girl. - -Elsie’s face flushed painfully as she left the room. Mrs. Mason smiled -grimly as she saw it. “I treat that girl horribly sometimes; but it is -the only way I can preserve the proprieties.” - -The next evening, when everything had been put to rights in the kitchen, -Elsie and Jenie, the little maid of the scullery, climbed the back -stairs with many a ripple of laughter. They were deeply engaged in the -all-important subject of dress, and were as keen in their enjoyment of -the good points of attire as many a society belle who would grace the -Mason parlors. - -“Oh, but you are just lovely,” exclaimed enraptured Jenie as Elsie -invested herself in a cheap lawn of rose pink, and fastened a coquettish -lace cap above her curls in place of the frilled muslin of every day. -The dress was as straight and plain as that of a Puritan maid; but the -soft lace of a Martha Washington fichu and a jaunty lace-trimmed apron -with pink bows on the pockets, created a costume that only needed the -dark eyes and tinted cheeks of the wearer to complete it. - -“I lack one thing,” said Elsie, critically surveying herself in the -glass. “I wish I had one of those Bonsilene roses that the florist has -massed in the parlors. I’m going to ask Mrs. Mason for one.” - -“I wouldn’t,” said Jenie. “I’d just take one. It would never be missed.” - -“Jenie,” laughed Elsie as she placed a hand under the little maid’s -chin, “I should miss it, and that would be the worst miss of all. I like -to keep my fingers clean, you know.” - -“Well, it ain’t like takin’ clothes and such like.” - -“Not exactly; but all the same it _is_ taking what doesn’t belong to -me.” - -“It’s such a little thing I wouldn’t have minded it.” - -“It is the ‘littles’ that make us, Jenie. Lookout for the little foxes -and the lions will keep away. Now, let me see how you look. As sweet and -clean as a whistle. Let me straighten your cap. Dear me, there’s a -button off your shoe. I must sew that on right away. It doesn’t look -ladylike, you know, to go with the buttons off.” - -Jenie laughed. “Me a lady!” she exclaimed as if the idea were -preposterous. - -“To be sure,” said Elsie seriously. “You can be just as much a lady in -your work as Mrs. Mason in hers.” - -“Humph! She’d laugh at me.” - -“That wouldn’t affect the fact, and nobody will laugh at you for -respecting yourself. Only you must lookout that you don’t think so much -of yourself that you neglect your duty. People would have a right to -laugh at you then. Now I’m going for the rose;” and having seen that -Jenie’s belongings were in order, she opened the door and started for -the lower hall, humming a gay chansonette and emphasizing its tune with -a step as graceful as if art, not nature, had prompted it. Herbert -Lynn’s door stood open, and unseen by Elsie, he watched the lively -patter of a pair of bronze slippers along the hall with a light that was -somewhat deeper than amusement in his eyes. - -“Good-evening!” he exclaimed as Elsie neared his door. “These buttons on -my glove are a trifle refractory. May I beg you to fasten them?” - -The song on her lips met instant suppression as she glanced up with -heightened color into the blue eyes that were smiling down at her. It -seemed to Elsie that it was rare good fortune which sent James at that -moment across the hall. - -“James,” she called, “Mr. Lynn would like to have you button his glove,” -and without pausing a second Elsie walked soberly along the hall to Mrs. -Mason’s room. Herbert bit his lips in vexation, and re-entering his -room, he slammed the door in no very amiable frame of mind. - -“The witch!” he exclaimed, throwing himself into a chair and scowling -like a thunder-cloud. “How cavalierly she does treat me! Jove! isn’t she -lovely in that cheap finery! She ought to ‘walk in silk attire and -siller hae to spare’ instead of being doomed to the round of Helen’s -pots and pans. How unequally the good things of life seem to be -distributed, and how singular it is to find such pride of character in a -girl occupying her position in life. Well, I’d give ‘Jupiter and his -power to thunder’ to break that stubborn pride of hers, and I’ll do it -or die in the attempt.” - -A look of resolute will settled over the bright, almost boyish, face and -gave it an added strength and beauty, which struck Elsie wonderingly as -a moment later she encountered him in the hall with her hands full of -roses. He bestowed upon her only the slightest nod as he passed rapidly -down the stairs, and Elsie climbed to her room and pinned the roses at -throat and belt with a feeling that something had taken the glamor from -the evening’s enjoyment. - -“I don’t care,” said she defiantly. “I knew my hands would tremble if I -tried to fasten those buttons; besides, I don’t thank him for noticing -me in the least. I’m only ‘Elsie the cook’ and he knows it, for all of -his pleadings to the contrary. I just want him to let me alone, and -there’s all there is of it.” - -This stalwart enunciation of wishes was not wholly borne out by the -misty eyes that greeted her from the glass, and it required several -little pattings of her handkerchief to clear them so that she dare trust -herself in the waiting-room below. The guests were already arriving as -Elsie entered the dressing-rooms, and her services were at once called -into requisition in undoing trains, buttoning gloves and slippers, -making up faces and arms, and arranging dishevelled coiffures. More than -one quick glance was bestowed by the guests upon the pretty maid in pink -who so deftly ministered to their various needs, and one tall, -statuesque girl of superb grace and unusual elegance of costume -attempted to slip a dollar into Elsie’s hands as she was about to leave -the room. - -“I beg your pardon,” said Elsie, flushing. “I—I cannot accept the money. -Mrs. Mason pays me for my work.” - -The lady laughed as she tapped Elsie’s cheek with her fan. “You must be -a new acquisition of Helen’s. I do not remember to have seen you before, -and as for the money, my dear child, I always bestow it upon those who -serve and please me.” - -“It doesn’t seem right for me to take it,” replied Elsie; “and I hope -you won’t think me ungrateful if I refuse.” - -“Why, if you will be so quixotic I will not urge it upon you, of course; -but you are the first of your class I ever remember to refuse a gift. I -must congratulate Helen on her rare good fortune. Your action is quite -unusual, I assure you.” - -At the first opportunity Elsie turned to Martha and Mary, who had smiled -audibly behind their handkerchiefs at witnessing the little scene. “Did -I do anything wrong?” she asked pitifully. - -“Don’t know as it’s very wrong,” answered Martha, “but it’s awful silly, -and you’ll find out that the tips the rich folks give you’ll buy lots o’ -nice things.” - -“If that’s all I don’t care,” said Elsie. “I don’t want to be rude.” - -“Why didn’t you want it?” asked Mary curiously. - -“Because I am paid by Mrs. Mason for my work, and because somehow it -touched my pride to be offered money for nothing.” - -Martha and Mary laughed. “That’s a queer pride of your’n, Elsie. I never -seen none like it before,” exclaimed Martha. - -“It is a pride I hope that harms no one; not even myself.” - -“I don’t know about that! You’ll always get left if you stand too much -on your dignity.” - -“Not if I am faithful in my work, and that I mean to be.” - -The evening was after all a great delight to Elsie, who never allowed -any misgiving to long cloud her skies. The beautiful costumes, the light -laughter, the gay banter, the strains of music that floated up-stairs -from the mandolin orchestra stationed in the library behind banks of -ferns and roses, all seemed a dream from the fairyland of the -imagination. She hovered over the balusters in the hall, and watched the -moving panorama below with all the intoxication of youth in bright and -beautiful things. Later in the evening she crept down-stairs with the -other maids, and hiding herself behind a screen of palms in the hall, -could see in the drawing-room beyond the bevy of belles and beaux in the -exercise of all the graces of refined intercourse. She could see that -Herbert Lynn was everywhere welcomed by bright eyes and cordial words, -and a little pang of regret shot through her heart at the injustice of -fate. But it was only for a moment, and then, with an effort of will so -strong that it sent the blood out of her face, she trampled the rising -regret to death. - -“I will not, I will not,” she said between set teeth, as she walked -wearily along the hall to her room when the last guest had departed. - -“You’ve dropped your roses,” said Herbert’s voice behind her just as she -reached the foot of the stairs. - -“No matter,” she said, half-turning. “A withered rose is valueless.” - -“Not to me,” he replied emphatically, as he gathered them up and -deliberately placed them inside his vest. - -A look of innocent wonder swept over Elsie’s face, that was not -altogether successful in its effort to appear natural. “A wilted rose, I -suppose, will answer for a rose-jar! There are oceans in the parlors, -and I can bring you a panful if you wish.” - -Herbert took a quick step that brought him to Elsie’s side. “Elsie -Murchison,” he exclaimed half-savagely, “do you know I never was baffled -in my life?” - -“First times have come to a good many of the world’s conquerors. Mr. -Lynn would be a most notable exception if he continued an unbroken line -of victories.” - -“You may mock me as you choose. I have been candid to the verge of -bluntness with you, and you know very well I am desirous of obtaining -your friendship.” - -“And you know very well,” answered Elsie, all the brightness dying out -of her face and leaving it gray and cold, “that there is no friendship -possible between us. I resolutely refuse to consider the slightest -chance of such a thing.” - -Stung to the quick, Herbert turned on his heel, saying vehemently, “Very -well. So emphatic a statement as that must be heeded; but I am very much -mistaken if you do not some day regret it.” - -Elsie had never known such a weariness of body as she carried up the -long flight of stairs to her room, and it was with a feeling of having -been hunted and driven to bay that she threw herself across the bed and -burst into tears. All the pent-up feeling of years seemed to burst its -bonds as sob after sob shook the slight frame and floods of tears rolled -their tempestuous way over her cheeks. At last the force of the storm -was spent and she sat up in bed, weak but relieved. - -“I couldn’t have been fiercer if I’d been Vesuvius in action,” she said -ruefully as she tried to collect her scattered senses. “But I’ve done -one virtuous act, anyway! ‘Regret it!’ Ah, if he only knew the silly -little heart I carry here, and how heavy it is and always will be! Meg, -dear, duty didn’t find your little Elsie on the coward’s side, after -all, and yet how I should have enjoyed saying ‘Thank you, sir,’ after -the regulation order. He’ll forget all about me in a day or two, and it -is a good deal better than if I had tried the miserable farce of -friendship only to have it surely end in trouble. Now I’m the only one -to suffer, and henceforth I shall look upon myself as quite a heroine. I -don’t think there’s much fun in being one, though,” and with this -doleful reflection Elsie, like a sensible girl, turned off the gas and -went to bed. If her sleep had not the peace of the care-free, it was yet -sufficiently healthy to bring back the color to her cheeks and the -lustre to her eyes, and no one dreamed of the tempest of pain that had -swept over her the night before. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - -The week following Elsie’s memorable visit to Idlewild found Margaret -and Gilbert domiciled in rooms some ten blocks removed from the Mason -mansion; that being the nearest approach of cheap rents to the -aristocratic thoroughfare. The rooms were situated in an -apartment-house, as such are nowadays called under the approved -nomenclature of progressive ideas; but the building was some decades -behind its imposing name. It was indeed a type of the old -shabbily-built, inconvenient, and miasma-breeding tenement-house. It was -a long, narrow, five-storied structure, poorly lighted and equally as -poorly ventilated; but it was in fact the only house with a reasonable -rent which could be found near enough to Elsie to warrant a nightly -visit from her. Margaret chose, out of several vacant rooms, four in the -fifth story, because in these she had both light and air, and she felt -she could better endure the inconvenience of the four long flights of -stairs than the absence of two such essentials to health and comfort. -The condition of the halls, which the majority of the tenants seemed to -consider a lodging-place for refuse of various kinds, was a terrible -eyesore to her housewifely instincts, and she had not been many days in -her new quarters before she put her wits to work to effect a change in -their untidy aspect. So far as her own flight of stairs and its -contiguous hallways were concerned, the solution was simply a compound -of soap, water, and muscle; but when it came to the consideration of -those below her, something like generalship was needed to induce the -desired cleanliness. To perform an undue share of the public work did -not by any means enter into her scheme of the general good. The -responsibility of the individual was the one hobby, if such it could be -called, which Margaret permitted herself. To arouse the latent instinct -of self-dependence and development was an almost unconscious exhalation -of the sturdy faith which had always made circumstances only a means -unto an end, and that end the uplifting of the better elements of -character. To be her brother’s keeper in so far as that keeping could -induce a heartfelt aspiration or a simple kindness, had been but an -outgrowth of the unselfishness of her aims. Few people looked with as -lenient an eye upon the shortcomings of humanity, or were actuated by as -sincere a desire to lend a hand to retrieve a false step, as Margaret -Murchison. Yet it was with a good deal of delicacy that she reviewed the -means whereby she might bring an air of greater thrift and cleanliness -into the desolate halls below. Like all refined and sensitive people, -she felt a hesitancy about bringing even an inferential reflection of -uncleanliness upon those whose co-operation she desired. - -“It will be impossible to do it,” she sighed, “until I have made their -acquaintance, and won their confidence. They will be distrustful and -think in their vernacular that I am putting on airs if I broach the -subject before.” - -If the condition of the halls dismayed Margaret, the condition of the -living-rooms of the inmates of the building was much more disheartening. -Not that poverty in its severest aspect was present, for in nearly all -cases the rooms were occupied by the families of porters, office clerks, -and under salesmen, and although a decent amount of food and clothing -was to be had by the closest economy, there was such a lack of homeness -that it turned Margaret heart-sick. The women were, for the most part, -good-natured, well-intentioned souls, but tried beyond endurance in the -almost hopeless task of making both ends meet on the scanty dole of the -one wage-earner. Children were everywhere; for whatever other blessings -may be denied the toiler, the children always come to lighten his heart -and empty his pocket. Ambition was well-nigh dead in their bosoms; for -the daily grind of hard work, the lowering cloud of capitalistic -oppression, and the constantly-increasing tide of mongrel, half-starved -immigrants, who stood ever ready to snatch the crust from their lips, -had left very little opportunity for the better classes of American -workingmen to look forward with any degree of hope. - -There was a wholesomeness about Margaret that made both men and women -trust her, and with the natural volubility of their class, the women had -poured the whole story of their daily struggles into her willing ears -before she had been ten days in the house. There were twelve families in -the building, a number of rooms being unoccupied; and barren as had been -Margaret’s own life in the little parsonage at Barnley, and later at -Idlewild, she felt that it had been a broad way of peace and plenty -beside the narrow line of these toilers. With her, above meagre outlines -and practical details had been the wide field of growth, the plenitude -of hope, and the infinite realm of thought. With these people, cabined -and confined year in and year out within smoke-begrimed walls, life had -become a sordid round of ministering to material needs, with no blue -skies to call their eyes upward or song of birds to awaken benumbed -hearts. - -“I would not have thought poverty could wear so pitiless an aspect,” she -mused. “Something must be done to bring back the revivifying influence -of hope to these people. But what can I do, burdened with a like -poverty, against the greed and extortion of these capitalists? Just -think of men with families compelled to live and pay rent on six, seven, -and nine dollars a week, working twelve and fourteen hours a day, and -Sundays too, if the ‘boss’ so wills, without a penny’s extra pay! Oh, it -makes my blood boil when I see such injustice! Is there no relief for -all this? Are there no thunderbolts of heaven to strike these -slave-drivers who compel their men to this life, by telling them the -market is overstocked with unorganized workers, and that a body of lean -and hungry wolves stands ever ready to snatch their scanty crusts? Small -wonder that ambition dies, and that there are only mutterings of -discontent and savage envy and malignant plottings against the mighty -magnates who instigate and abet this monstrous cruelty. What can I do -for these overworked and disheartened mothers, these joyless children -and sullen fathers? How can I help them to smile, to look for sunshine -instead of clouds? Out of the abundance with which I am blessed I must -devise some way.” - -Margaret’s abundance was certainly not that of money, for she had been -forced into taking “slop-work” from the factories, at forty-five cents -per dozen for men’s hickory shirts and fifty cents per dozen pairs for -men’s overalls. The winter’s indebtedness was draining the greater share -of Elsie’s abundant wages, and Gilbert’s expenses at the training school -were already eating into the carefully-guarded one hundred dollars that -had been sent by Dr. Ely. It was evident that what help Margaret gave -could only be that of interest and suggestion. But how to make -suggestion inoffensive, and how to stimulate ambition without arousing -antagonism, were questions which puzzled her not a little. - -One Saturday morning, returning from the factory with her arms laden -with work, she stopped at the doors of the various rooms on her way -up-stairs and asked that all the children who were large enough to climb -the stairs be sent to her rooms in half an hour. - -How joyfully they swarmed the halls long before the appointed time, and -what a time Margaret had counting them! Forty-eight above five years and -the eldest not above nine. “How many go to school?” she asked as she -ranged them along the wall. - -Fourteen little hands were raised; of these eight were boys. - -“Now, boys,” she exclaimed, “I’m going to begin with you. What do you -like best, or would like best, if you could have your wish?” - -The answers varied from peg-tops to balloons and locomotives. - -“How many hours do you have out of school?” - -“School’s out at four.” - -“Till half-after six, then—two good hours. Now, how many are willing to -work to earn money?” Every hand went up. “Well, after four o’clock -to-night I want you to come up again to see my brother Gilbert. He has -fitted up a work-bench in one of the rooms, and those of you who are -willing to work, and work hard, for two straight hours a day, can earn -some money by and by. It will not be so much fun, perhaps, as racing -through the halls, sliding down the stairs, or playing out in the -street; but it will buy the peg-tops and locomotives one of these days, -and there isn’t much in this world we can have without paying for it in -one way or another. Are you all agreed?” - -“You bet!” came the unanimous response. Margaret smiled as she turned to -the girls. - -“How many know how to sew?” Not a single hand was raised. “How many are -willing to learn?” Every hand in the room went up. “Boys and all,” -exclaimed Margaret. “Now let’s make a test. Who has a button off his -shoe?” - -“Jimmy! Johnnie! Nell! Sue! Mary! Jane! Jack!” sang out the noisy -chorus. - -“Down on the floor, every one of you. Now, I’ll furnish needles, thread, -and buttons, and I want every one who has a button off to sew it on, and -sew it strongly, too. Now, the one who sews a button on the best and -quickest shall have that card,” and Margaret pointed to a brilliant -chromo-lithograph of angels with impossible wings and beatific smiles. - -“Oh, my!” chorused the girls. - -“Jiminy crickets!” ejaculated the boys, with now and then a more -forcible expletive thrown in. It took some time for the clumsy little -fingers to get to work; but Margaret, noting down time and names, kept -close tally, and at last pronounced every button in its place, and -proclaimed the name of the winner of the prize. - -“Now,” said Margaret, “this is not all. If every little child here will -agree to keep the buttons on his shoes, I’ll give every one, at the end -of a month, a still handsomer card, and by that time perhaps the boys -will have learned how to make frames for them.” - -“All right!” “Betcher sweet life!” “You’re a trump!” “Bully for you!” -were the expressive answers with which this proposition was met. - -“I want to get up a little club among ourselves and call it the ‘Busy -Fingers Club,’” Margaret went on, “and I want to see how much real good -work this little club can do. I expect to be mistress of the club, and -the first thing I shall ask will be to see how neat and clean you can -keep yourselves. Now, take this hand-glass and begin at the head, and -tell me how many are sure that their faces are as clean as soap and -water can make them.” - -It was a shamefaced little group as the glass was passed from hand to -hand, and hitherto unnoticed and unthought-of streaks and specks came -into view. The girls eyed each other askance and surreptitiously applied -their aprons to several more obtrusive marks, but the boys made no -attempt at self-improvement and shouted their approval when one of the -older ones exclaimed: “Boys and dirt go together. ’Tain’t no use to try -to keep clean.” - -“Trying does a great deal in this world, and I suspect it is equal to -making a boy declare war upon dirt. We’ll hope it is, anyway.” - -Thereupon Margaret proceeded to state the plan and laws governing the -Busy Fingers Club, whereby every member was to become an important -factor in the great work of self-government and improvement. When all -the details had been submitted, the children gathered around her -enthusiastically. “It’s just the jolliest thing,” they cried. “We’ll -work like tigers so long’s you’re our captain.” - -And they did. Under Gilbert’s tutelage the boys developed skill and -industry in wood-carving and amateur cabinet work, while the girls from -big to little grew deft in the use of the needle, and lifted many a -burden from the shoulders of tired mothers in timely patching and -darning. Elsie became deeply interested in Margaret’s efforts, and -begged silks and velvets from Mrs. Mason for the girls’ fancy work, -which was one day supplemented by a huge bundle containing everything in -the line of material for such work. The bundle was sent anonymously, and -great was the wonder of the girls and Margaret as to its source. If -Elsie guessed she was discreetly silent about it, although she was -possessed of no small curiosity to know how the scheme had become so -well advertised. Her wonder would have been greater, if her curiosity -had been less, could she have seen the companion of Lizzette in her -daily walks between market and station, and some times to the very door -of Margaret’s hive of industry. Since the evening she had so resolutely -refused to consider the possibility of association between them, Elsie -had not encountered Herbert Lynn. Once or twice she had caught a glimpse -of him in library or dining-room as she passed up-stairs to her daily -interview with Mrs. Mason, but he had always seemed entirely unconscious -of her proximity. Evidently the whim which had seized him had passed, -and Elsie assured herself, with somewhat remarkable frequency, that she -was glad the young man’s reason had returned, and that having been -“baffled” at last, she hoped he would not be so boastful in the future. - -One morning, some three weeks after Margaret’s removal to the city, -Lizzette left Antoine at Margaret’s door with a hurried exclamation. - -“I haf not ze moment to spare. I haf ze business engagement zis morning. -I no return perhaps zese several hour. Delay not ze dinner for me,” and -with a kiss upon Antoine’s cheek, she hastened down the stairs. Half-way -up the block she gave a signal to a gentleman driving leisurely along on -the opposite side of the street. A second later he drew rein at the -curbstone, and alighting, assisted Lizzette to the seat beside him. - -“O Herbeart!” she exclaimed, “I know not how to tank you. You haf given -me ze hope once more. Mon Dieu! Eef eet be true ze light of my life vill -shine again.” - -“It is only a hope as yet,” he answered, “for I was not sufficiently -posted about his case to enter into particulars. However, this morning’s -interview will probably determine it.” - -“And ze docteur assure you he tink Antoine can be made to walk?” - -“There is a chance for him, he thinks, but it will be months of pain and -tedium for the poor boy.” - -“And after zat zen his music vill make him ze grand maestro, and I need -not to toil till my hands—see!” and she drew off a shabby cotton glove, -“be so like ze iron. Antoine ze grand maestro, and Lizzette ze—ze—lady,” -and she gave an arch glance, half-smile and half-tear, up at Herbert’s -sympathetic face. “Ah, eet ees ze dream of fairy land!” - -Herbert smiled down at the wrinkled brown face with the affectionate -sympathy of the old boyish days, and Lizzette grasped his hand and -patted it softly. “Eet ees all so dear zat I haf mon garçon Herbeart to -do zis for me in my old age. I could take ze loan—Antoine sall -repay—from no one so easy as my Herbeart. Eet ees no offence zat I say -eet seems like von of ze family?” - -“Offence! No,” laughed Herbert. “I don’t hedge myself around with any -absurd notions of caste, although E— By the way, what a peculiar little -body your friend Elsie Murchison is!” - -Lizzette’s eyes twinkled, but she was resolutely obtuse. “Je ne vous -comprend pas! Please explain.” - -“Oh, well, she is so—so—proud.” - -Lizzette laughed. “Elsie! ze cook de votre sœur Madam Mason!” - -“Yes, cook, cook, cook!” exclaimed Herbert vehemently. “She’s thrown -that in my face a half-dozen times, and now you do the same. What’s the -matter with all of you?” - -“Ze matter ees wiz you, Herbeart. Vot do you care to know ma petite -Elsie?” - -“Because she is the most charming person I ever met. You needn’t look so -incredulous. There’s an originality and a sweet womanliness about her -that is exceedingly rare in these days. I suppose I may as well tell you -the whole story of what first attracted me, although I shall enjoin -secrecy upon you,” and thereupon Herbert proceeded to relate the scene -in the parlor which he had witnessed several weeks before. Lizzette’s -enjoyment of the recital was keenly portrayed in her sparkling eyes and -expressive features. - -“Oh, zat Elsie!” she exclaimed. “She ees such a witch!” - -“A most unapproachable one, too,” answered Herbert. “I had a strong -desire to make her acquaintance after the unconscious revelation I -witnessed, for I felt that it would not hurt a certain conscious -complacency of mine to brush it against the rugged sense and keen satire -of such a nature, and you know, Lizzette, that I don’t care a fig for -the creeds of society. I can recognize a gentleman in the man who drives -my coach, if he exhibits the qualities of one. But your Miss Elsie is -decidedly averse to any advances in that direction. In fact, she has -snubbed me so emphatically that I can’t help thinking she has a personal -dislike for me.” - -“Ah, Herbeart, you reason like ze boy. I know Elsie haf ze desire to -please your sister, and Helen! ze hurricane ees no comparison to her -anger eef her only brother should disgrace——” - -“Take back that word, Lizzette!” exclaimed Herbert hotly. “Disgrace and -Herbert Lynn never went together, and never will, please God. It is no -disgrace to love—what is beautiful and right.” - -Lizzette caught at his words quickly. “Tell me, Herbeart, ees eet only -ze passing fancy, or ze strong man’s love?” - -The blood flamed into Herbert’s face as he answered passionately: “Would -to heaven it _was_ only a passing fancy; but I am afraid the ugly truth -is that I’m in love, as it is called, for the first time in my life.” - -“C’est triste! C’est triste!” murmured Lizzette. “Helen vill be zo -angry, and eet ees so—so—out of ze right vay.” - -“Nonsense!” exclaimed Herbert. “The right way doesn’t depend upon any -old-world ideas of aristocracy. Were I ten times a King Cophetua, I -should sue my little maid right royally, if there were only a little -less scorn in her eyes. I tell you, Lizzette, there is so much -unhappiness bred in this world by false ideas as to what is due to -position, and there are so many mercenary and loveless marriages, that I -am sick of the whole empty pageant. I cannot see that I am to blame -because I happened to be the only son of a millionaire, nor do I feel -bound to render myself miserable for life to please the whims of those -who enjoin certain obligations upon the possessor of a little inflated -position. As regards Elsie, I’d give a good deal to be able to lift her -out of that drudgery, even if—yes, I’m so far gone as that—I never saw -her again. Can’t you help me to help her, Lizzette?” - -“Eet ees all ze grave meestake, Herbeart. Elsie ees so—so vot you call -independent zat she no take von sou in charity. I can see no vay except -you forget her and leave her to her own place. Eet ees often so mooch -meestake to marry beneath von too.” - -“That isn’t the question, at least not now. Such gifts as Elsie’s ought -to be put to better use than the making of sauces and salads in Helen’s -kitchen——” - -“I take eet you vould not mind eef ze talent vas changed to Herbeart’s -kitchen,” interrupted Lizzette. “Zat ees just like ze man; he want -eferysing to himself.” - -“You wouldn’t have found me quite so selfish if you had waited a moment. -I only desire a chance for the best development of Elsie’s gifts. Now I -needn’t appear in this matter, and a few thousand dollars, I’m sure, -couldn’t be more worthily bestowed.” - -“Non, non,” said Lizzette with a sober shake of her head. “Elsie guess -in no time, and ze cake be all dough. Not von sou vill she take if she -earn it not. I haf tried her and I know. Zare ees only zis to hope for, -if so be you not forget her: leave her to her place—eet would be von -bitter blow to her to lose it—and trust to ze change in time and -circumstance. Eef some time I sall find zat ze tangle may be made -straight and no hearts break, I vill tell my Herbeart.” - -“A dubious promise, considering the view you take of the situation; but -there is one thing you can do. Antoine tells me Elsie is to pay for his -music lessons; let me pay for them, while you put the sum, small as it -is, in the dime savings bank to her account. That will not be charity.” - -“Merely a loan zat Antoine sall repay!” - -“Oh, certainly! What strict constructionists you and your little circle -are!” - -“Eet ees ze old-time construction of self-dependence and respect zat I -haf learned of Margaret and Elsie. Ze self-pride ees wiz zem ze grande -idée.” - -“Good doctrine, I’ll admit; but there are times when it is excessively -inconvenient.” - -“Such times as mon Herbeart like to play ze philanthropist, eh? Neffer -mind, I feel ze day come ven ze vay vill open for ze help you like to -gif to humanity.” - -“But I am decidedly indifferent to humanity in general. My philanthropy -is specific.” - -“And goes no more beyond ze rosy cheeks and bright eyes of a pretty -girl! Fie! fie! Herbeart, zose bright eyes transfix you wiz zere scorn -if she know zat. So often I sees zem dimmed wiz tears ovair ze pain, ze -loss, ze trial of ze vide strange vorld. So often she vish for money zat -she might build up ze strength of independence for ze suffering. Ah, you -tink you know ma petite Elsie. Je vous dis, zat she haf ze heart of ze -angel in her breast. L’homme zat vin ze love of ma petite sall take -heaven to his home.” - -“Amen,” said Herbert reverently. - -“But eet will not be ze selfish heaven; eet sall be so vide as ze earth, -so long as ze life!” - -“Lizzette!” exclaimed Herbert with a start. “All this shames me, for I -realize the selfishness of my aims. But let me once win Elsie, and by -all that is sacred I promise to be as wax in her hands.” - -Lizzette regarded Herbert’s flushed face with grave eyes. “I tink you -meestake her still. To vin ze spurs and vear zem make ze knight in her -eyes, I fancy.” - -“Ah, well, I see you are bound to convince me that the way is difficult; -but I do not despair yet. To tell the truth, it is a new and somewhat -depressing knowledge to learn of how little value Herbert Lynn is in -this world. He always fancied himself quite a personage until he chanced -on your quixotic circle.” - -Lizzette’s eyes twinkled. “Eet ees good sometimes to see ourselves in ze -truthful mirror of unflattering eyes. Still I do not tink mon Herbeart -ees all so bad. I haf some fond hope for him yet.” - -“It is fortunate that you have; for with the unpleasant truths I’ve been -hearing lately, there is great danger in my finding this world a hollow -mockery and betaking myself to a monastery. But here we are! Now for a -consultation with Dr. M——. We shall know the truth about Antoine’s case -soon, and then, if favorable, we can tell the lad what the future has in -store for him.” - -Glancing up, Lizzette saw before her the façade of a large hospital, -into which they were speedily ushered. It did not take long to establish -the fact that so far as could be determined without actual examination -there was hope for Antoine, and it was safe enough to arouse the lad’s -anticipations; a thing which Lizzette had hesitated about doing without -strong presumption of success. A personal examination the following day -gave still greater color to hope, and with glowing anticipations for the -future, it was settled that within two weeks Antoine should take up his -abode for six months at the hospital. - -That night Elsie and Antoine held high carnival, and between them there -was a wild commingling of laughter, tears, kisses, and music. Every now -and then Elsie would turn from the organ to print a kiss on the lad’s -pale cheek, and Antoine would throw down fiddle and bow to clasp his -arms around her neck and whisper: - -“Only think, Elsie, if it hadn’t been for Herbert all this would never -have happened. Isn’t he good!” - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - -It was the night before Antoine’s departure for the hospital, and -already April breaths were balmy with Southland odors. Through the open -windows of Margaret’s room there floated down to passers-by the -vanishing strains of a deftly-handled violin. Antoine and Elsie were -giving a farewell concert to Margaret’s Busy Fingers Club, and the -strains of music had drawn first one inmate of the house and then -another up the long flights of stairs until the rooms were full. It was -a treat to which the children had long been looking forward, and their -elders found a short surcease of care in the delight and abandon of the -two untrained musicians. Elsie and Antoine were in their gayest mood, -and violin and organ seemed to laugh with them. Like the birds they had -tried to imitate a year ago, music seemed to be innate in their breasts, -and they flung off gay quicksteps, ariettas, and rondos until hands, -feet, and heads of the little audience kept almost unconscious time, and -smiles flitted from face to face in self-forgetfulness. - -The music came in fitful gusts through the open windows, and passers-by -paused to listen, seemingly loth to lose a note of the gladness -trembling on the air. Across the street in the shadow of a portico a man -had stood for some time in a listening attitude, and as the music seemed -to grow madder and merrier, a certain restlessness became apparent in -shifting feet, and an uneasy tapping of fingers on the wooden column -against which he leaned. - -“Antoine is gay to-night,” he thought. “Hope has been awakened in his -breast, and if it were not that I might seem to be seeking his thanks I -should climb the stairs and make myself known to them. I wonder if my -Lady Scornful would be as unbending to-night as she is within my -sister’s walls! I’m strongly tempted to try her—yet I’m afraid it would -be an unwise thing to do; for as Lizzette counsels, it is best to await -developments. What an extraordinary position this is for me, anyway! -I’ve tried my best to reason it out on one of Helen’s hypotheses, but it -all comes point-blank against the fact that life isn’t worth living -without that little bunch of spitefulness. And, after all, she moves in -an orbit that is distinctly outside of mine and with which, to tell the -truth, I have very little sympathy. She and her sister are charming -types of self-cultured women, and worthy of any man’s or society’s -recognition; but their quixotic notions regarding a regenerated humanity -seem the veriest nonsense to me. Every man for himself—et sauve qui peut -is, as the world makes it, a fairly good doctrine. What is the use of -being burdened with the sins and sorrows of the world? I don’t consider -myself responsible for them or that they would be materially lessened if -I threw away my money in clothing the sans culottes. Such people are as -ragged as ever the next day after your philanthropy, and you are -certainly none the better for it. Indeed, the leaven of generosity, like -that of love, ought to have a narrow circle; it grows too pale if you -widen it. And yet those two slender girls would build up a social -paradise in which the ignoble qualities of humanity have no part. Greed, -avarice, jealousy, insincerity, are entirely eliminated from their -scheme of life. Surely in their position they must have encountered all -these evils, and still they ignore them! They look upon others as -themselves in replica, at least in motive. A natural conclusion, no -doubt, but one the facts do not bear out. One may safely prophesy -regarding the outcome of these Eutopian ideas. There never can be, never -will be, anything but the survival of the fittest. I suppose if Elsie -heard me she would say that the fittest ought to include the majority at -least, and that it is in the hands of the fittest to help the unfit to -become fit. But that is what Christianity has been trying to do all -these years, and still the cry is, ‘save us or we perish.’ These slender -girls, hearing this cry, have offered their empty hands to the -multitude. And the result? Well, from what Lizzette tells me of that -little club of Margaret’s, the outlook is by no means disheartening; but -how will it be as the circle widens? How much of heart and hope—for it -is all they have—will they be able to bring into the work? I rather -imagine that unknown quantity is beyond my arithmetic at present. How -long am I going to be content to let this pathetic little drama go on? -Elsie seems to have locked the door against me in that pitiful plea of -hers not to jeopardize her standing with my sister, and I am more -completely shut out of her sympathies than if I were the beggar at her -door. Even Lizzette shakes that sage head of hers and says it is not -right. Right! what’s wrong about it? If I had a perverted taste and -Elsie was coarse and ignorant, and the chances were all against the -ultimate happiness of such a union, perhaps I might be induced to see my -error. But when did reason ever lend her balances to a man in love? I -always supposed I was sane enough until a certain Miss Elsie Murchison -took to snubbing me; yet here I am, a love-sick boy, mooning outside of -her window, and like Benedick, ‘a college of wit-crackers cannot flout -me out of my humor.’ Dear Lady Disdain, good-night! I’m going home to -read my Shakespeare once more and learn of my prototype how to rail at -and forget you—if I can!” - -It was late in the afternoon of the next day, and Margaret sat alone in -her room thinking wistfully of Antoine and the long six months of his -stay at the hospital. The lad had gone cheerfully to the loneliness and -pain before him, never doubting that the glad promise of walking like -other men and awaking to the joy of vigorous life would be fulfilled. -Indeed, his faith was so absolute that it took away much of the pang of -separation, and Margaret and Elsie had choked back unbidden tears and -promised him a weekly visit of long talks and merry times. Books, -violin, and a mandolin, the gift of Herbert, had been sent with his -other belongings, and a daily order for flowers had been left by Herbert -at the florist’s. All that loving hands could do to smooth the painful -path had been done, and now there was nothing left but to hope and wait. -But how they all missed him! The pale quiet face, the great dark eyes, -the loving smile, and the sweet strains of his violin had so entwined -themselves around their hearts that not to find them daily ministers to -their need seemed a sore deprivation. “Elsie’s smile will be more -infrequent now that Antoine is no longer with us,” sighed Margaret. “I -am afraid our loved evenings will be doleful enough without our laddie. -Still there must be the same adherence to duty wherever the lines fall, -and perhaps our progress will be all the more substantial when we -realize that hard work is our only master.” - -There was a sudden scurrying of feet up the stairs and several children -burst breathlessly into the room. “O Miss Margaret!” they cried, “just -come and see what some men have done to the new tenant—the one that only -moved in a week ago! They’ve just come and took every bit of furniture, -and the woman is sick, and they took the bed from under her and left her -only a straw tick and a quilt, and she’s crying awful, and the two -little babies are squalling, and—oh! it’s dreadful!” - -Margaret quickly followed the children down two flights of stairs, to -find the scene even more pitiable than the children had described. Upon -a thin straw mattress in the corner lay a woman with her face hidden in -her arms, while heart-rending sobs shook her frame from head to feet, -and two little children, as yet only prattling babes, crouched beside -her crying: “Mamma, mamma, look up. Talk to baby. Don’t cry! Mamma! -Mamma!” - -Margaret knelt beside the agonized form and softly stroked back the hair -from the face that remained persistently hidden, and then, taking both -of the wondering babies in her lap, said softly to the group of children -at the door: “Now run away, dears, and shut the door.” - -The children obeyed instantly, and Margaret remained softly stroking the -woman’s hair and hugging the now quiet babies to her bosom. Under the -soothing influence of Margaret’s touch and presence the violent sobbing -soon ceased, and a tear-stained face, lit up by a pair of hollow eyes, -glanced up at Margaret. One glance caused a sudden transformation in the -convulsed and agonized face, and a thin hand crept out toward Margaret -as the woman said brokenly, but in the unmistakable voice and language -of refinement: “You are good not to pass by on the other side. What made -you come here?” - -“Love,” said Margaret simply. - -“Love?” repeated the woman interrogatively. “Love died long ago, and the -devils of greed and pride danced at his funeral.” - -“Not in all hearts, I trust. Love lives to help and strengthen sufferers -like you. Can you tell me any way to help you?” - -“Yes—kill me!” The hollow eyes gleamed with sullen despair. - -“And the babies?” asked Margaret as she stroked back the rings of flaxen -hair above the fair little brows. - -“Oh, God forgive me! I am so wretched, so desperate.” - -“I know it, and I do not blame you; but let us see if there is not some -way toward the sunshine. Tell me all about it.” - -“It is only a little to tell. The marriage of a petted, only daughter, -with a head full of romantic notions, to a man whose only fortune was -head and hands; but who held, at the time of my marriage, a salaried -position as manager of a prosperous business firm. A panic, a failure, -and consequent loss of employment, followed by unsuccessful attempts at -re-establishment in the old line, the yielding of health at the shrine -of motherhood, the gradual settling into bare and bitter poverty, the -disposal of every article of value, and that, last resort of the -impecunious, the buying of needed furniture on the instalment plan, -followed by the forcible taking back of the furniture just before the -last payment could be made.” - -“And your husband?” - -“He went out again this morning in the old, well-nigh hopeless search -for work.” - -“Your parents?” - -“They live in a distant city and know nothing of this. I married against -their wishes. There were just five dollars more due on the furniture, -but the chattel-mortgage shark exacted immediate payment, and of course -I could not meet it. He was kind enough to leave me this,” and the thin -hands pulled at the tattered quilt. - -“Oh, it is pitiful! Shameful!” exclaimed Margaret. “You must not be left -to lie here. Can you walk?” - -“I haven’t walked a step in three months. Edward, my husband, has lifted -me in his arms and managed to care for me and the babies. Oh, it is -terrible, the way we have been compelled to live.” And sobs again shook -the slight frame. - -“Never mind,” said Margaret soothingly. “It will be better soon. My -rooms are two flights above, so it will be impossible to take you there, -but you shall have a comfortable bedroom and kind friends to look after -you. I shall be compelled to leave you for a few moments, until I can -ask some of these friends to make room for you.” - -“Oh, don’t trouble anybody! I can’t bear to be thrown upon charity. It -hurts my pride so.” - -“We won’t call it charity; we’ll call it love. The love that prompted -the Samaritan and a greater than he to moisten parched lips with cooling -waters and taught mankind the constant need they have of each other.” - -“And do you believe in Him?” - -“With an everlasting faith,” answered Margaret. - -“I did once until the inhumanity of the world made me doubt.” - -“Doubt no longer,” said Margaret, smiling, “for He has raised up succor -for you.” With these reassuring words Margaret sought the rooms of -several good women of the house, to hold counsel with them and determine -the best course to pursue. Margaret’s story evoked such a storm of -indignation and invective against the mortgage shark that, if it could -have gathered sufficient volume, would have swept the whole guild from -the face of the earth. And yet, one and all counselled Margaret not to -meddle with the matter. - -“You can’t do nothin’ with ’em. They’ve got the power and they know it,” -was the unanimous conclusion of the little circle. - -“But the injustice of it,” exclaimed Margaret. “I can’t stand tamely by -and see a helpless being robbed.” - -“No more could we if there was any chance, but you’ll find, the longer -you live, that the poor don’t have no justice in this world. The laws is -all made for the rich.” - -“Then it is the fault of the poor man if he has no justice, for he is a -recognized factor in the vote that sends men to make those laws, and if -he knows his rights he can have them maintained.” - -“Well, I don’t know how it is, but my man has to vote as the boss tells -him or lose his place.” - -“Shame! Shame!” said Margaret indignantly, “and this is America’s -boasted freedom of life and thought! But we are forgetting that poor -woman. Who among you will take her in until something can be done?” - -“I,” exclaimed Mrs. Smith, a motherly woman whose rooms were on the same -floor. “We’re a good deal crowded now, but she shan’t lay there and -suffer so long as I have a crust.” - -“Let us hope it will be only a temporary inconvenience. I am going to -find some way to unravel this web of injustice and regain possession of -those goods.” - -“You’ll have your trouble for your pains,” said Mrs. Smith dubiously as -they walked along the hall. - -“It may be, but there will be some satisfaction in trying. Here we are!” -Margaret exclaimed as they entered the sick woman’s room “Now we’ll make -a chair of our hands and between us carry you to Mrs. Smith’s room, -whose heart is as large as her back is broad.” - -“You’re making it pretty big,” laughed Mrs. Smith as she presented her -ample form to the sick woman’s view. A faint smile at the pleasantry -played over the wan face, as she allowed them to lift her to the -improvised seat and carry her to a bed. - -“Now,” said Margaret, when their charge was safely bestowed between -clean sheets, and the babies were softly cooing on either side of her, -“I want all the information you can give me, and all the papers you have -relative to this furniture. I am going to make an effort to get it -back.” - -“You will find an old portfolio in the tick I was lying on. All the -receipts for money paid and the contract are in it.” - -As Margaret returned with the portfolio, a sheet of paper fell from it -and fluttered to the floor. She picked it up and was about to restore -it, when the sick woman said: “Read it. It will verify the statement I -made a few moments ago.” - -Margaret glanced along the page and saw that it was poetry written in a -free-flowing hand. Seating herself beside the bed she read: - - “O Soul, I am tired of you, tired! - You do nothing but think and feel, - And often you weep, - In some sensitive deep, - O’er wounds that you cannot heal. - - “O Soul, I am tired of you, tired! - You have threaded the paths of life, - And found the sweet, - Too incomplete - To answer the pain and strife. - - “O Soul, I am tired of you, tired! - You give me no peace or rest; - The blinding steep, - Or lonely deep - I walk at your stern behest. - - “O Soul, I am tired of you, tired! - You have only your faith and prayer; - For every ill, - Their utterance still - Comes back on the empty air. - - “O Soul, I am tired of you, tired! - How often with faith and you, - I have tried to soar - Where doubt is no more, - And humanity’s sometimes true. - - “O Soul, I am tired of you, tired; - Why ask for an endless day? - I am tired of the light, - And long for the night, - To rest forever and aye! - - “O Soul, I am tired of you, tired! - Go ask of Time, and find - Some quiet spot, - Where feeling is not, - And oblivion conquers mind!” - -As Margaret finished reading she bent over and kissed the white face. -“Is this yours?” she asked. - -“Yes, and dozens of others. They have been my safeguard against -insanity. Only when I could go outside of myself, could I find anything -to make the barren life endurable.” - -“Have you offered any for publication?” - -“No; I have neither stamps nor courage.” - -“May I keep this?” asked Margaret, referring to the one she had just -read. - -“Certainly, if you like it.” - -“I do, very much; and now let me see the contract and receipts.” - -Margaret found that the original bill and contract called for one -hundred and fifty dollars, but that the expense of making mortgage and -the interest had been compounded until, although one hundred and -seventy-five dollars had been paid, it still called for a balance of -five dollars, which remaining unpaid, permitted foreclosure and forcible -seizure of the furniture. - -“A Shylock’s bond!” exclaimed Margaret indignantly. “It is so manifestly -unjust that I feel sure there is a law somewhere to cover it.” - -“We knew at the time the goods were bought that it was an unjust -contract, but we had no money to pay down, and what could we do? It is -just the way the world takes advantage of necessity. The trite maxim -that ‘sentiment and business have nothing in common’ you’ll hear on the -lips of every man in trade.” - -“We shall hear how justice agrees with business, then,” said Margaret, -rising. “I should like to put the bitter dose of equitable payment for -these crimes against common humanity, between the teeth of these sharks. -At any rate, if there is no justice for such despicable creatures it is -time it was known.” - -“Humanity has a grand defender in you,” said the sick woman, looking -admiringly at Margaret’s flushed cheeks and flashing eyes. - -“Not so,” she replied, shaking her head. “I know my weakness and -ignorance too well. I only recognize the truth that the primitive idea -of equal rights seems to have been utterly lost in this avaricious -world. But so long as I have voice I shall speak for it. The good such -speaking may do remains to be seen.” - -Margaret went up to her rooms and opened her purse to see how much money -she had at her command. Of the money Dr. Ely had sent, but five dollars -remained. “If worst comes, and I cannot regain the furniture, this will -at least buy them something to eat, and I can loan them Gilbert’s bed -while he takes the lounge, until the way is opened for something better. -Now to find a lawyer in whose hands to put the case.” - -Once on the street, Margaret realized that in all the great city she -knew no one to whom she might apply for advice. She wandered down toward -the business part of the city, intently scanning signs and inwardly -praying that she might be directed to some one who, with the profession -of lawyer, combined the outlawed sentiment of humanity. “J. Brown, -Attorney,” glittered in gilt letters before her, and up the two tall -flights of stairs she followed the beckoning sign. A gentle rap, -answered by a gruff “Come in!” and the room of J. Brown, Attorney, -opened to her view. - -“Is Mr. Brown in?” - -“I am he. What can I do for you, madam?” - -“I desire advice on a matter of business.” - -“Ah, be seated, please. You may state your case.” - -Margaret lost no time in doing so, relating the pitiful story with such -succinct detail that the lawyer beamed at her with evident admiration. - -“Very well stated, madam—very well, indeed. Are these people in any way -related to you?” - -“They are entire strangers.” - -“And you have taken up their case from pure charity?” - -“From pure humanity, rather; as, indeed, I would that another should do -for me.” - -“Very admirable of you, indeed; but you are doubtless aware that it -takes money even to champion the cause of humanity.” - -“I am,” said Margaret briefly, though with sinking heart. - -“Then you will readily see that I can give you no advice on this matter -without cash in hand.” - -“How much does it require?” - -“In consideration of circumstances, I’ll make it merely nominal. Say -five dollars!” - -Margaret arose to her feet somewhat unsteadily. “I have but five dollars -in my purse, sir,” she explained, “and I shall need it to buy food for -the sick woman. I shall be compelled to look further.” - -“As you like,” and J. Brown, Attorney, stiffly turned his back on -Margaret and returned only a slight acknowledgment of her faint -“Good-afternoon.” Somewhat depressed by this encounter, Margaret -wandered on and entered no less than six offices, to be met with very -nearly the same treatment in every case, and the identical result in -all. “The cause of humanity cannot be championed without money!” - -These words seemed burned in on Margaret’s brain as she left the last of -these offices and stood irresolute and disheartened upon the sidewalk. -How could she take the story of failure back to that suffering woman? -How could she bear to tell her that the promised succor was only a -chimera of her own quixotic brain? “I’ll not do it,” she said -resolutely. “I’ll go tell that little sister of mine, and though I know -her purse is always low, perhaps her fertile brain may suggest what my -own stupefied one fails to apprehend.” - -Margaret was coming up the area steps of the Mason mansion with her -purse reinforced by two dollars, the entire contents of Elsie’s -pocketbook, when she encountered Herbert Lynn just descending from his -buggy. - -“Miss Murchison, I’m delighted to meet you once again,” he exclaimed as -with smiling face he advanced to greet her. There were tears on -Margaret’s cheeks and trembling on the heavily-fringed lids of the blue -eyes. “Pardon me,” he cried solicitously. “You are in trouble.” Margaret -hastily brushed the tears away as she answered: - -“Only a little overwrought. I’ve been passing through some trying scenes -to-day.” - -“You were going home? Let me take you there. Fortunately my buggy is -just at hand.” - -“Thank you! I’m not going home at present. I have some purchases to -make, and I do not like to detain you.” - -“I have ample leisure, and it will be a new sensation to be of some use. -I beg you to command my services.” - -Margaret glanced up curiously at the eager, almost boyish, face. -“Perhaps if I were to tell you my errand you would not be so ready to -offer your services. It is not pleasant to one who cares for his own -peace of mind.” - -Herbert laughed. “I shall insist now where before I begged. Perhaps my -own peace of mind will be all the dearer by contrast.” - -“If you insist I accept gratefully; for the truth is, my self-reliance -is a good deal shaken.” - -When they were seated in the buggy and driving leisurely along the -boulevard, Margaret said: “I am glad I have met you, for I have a story -to tell and advice to ask.” Without further prelude she detailed the -events of the day. Herbert listened attentively until the whole story -had been told, and then, with a new look of earnestness on his face, he -exclaimed emphatically: - -“Miss Murchison, if there are brains enough in C——, this dastardly -outrage shall be probed to the bottom. It is enough to make a man’s -blood boil to think of the injuries inflicted on suffering women and -children by such overpowering greed. But,” he added, glancing at his -watch, “it is five o’clock and already past office hours. Nothing can be -done until to-morrow. If you will trust me with these papers, I will -make an early effort to-morrow to regain the furniture. In the mean -time, allow me to supply a bed and immediate necessaries for the -sufferers.” - -“That will not be needed,” interposed Margaret. “I have a bed of -Gilbert’s which I can loan them——” - -“And turn the poor fellow onto the floor!” interrupted Herbert. “That is -philanthropy gone mad, Miss Murchison. I shall insist upon supplying the -bed.” - -“I am perfectly sane, Mr. Lynn,” laughed Margaret, “and contemplate -nothing worse than asking Gilbert to occupy a lounge.” - -“We’ll forestall that by the purchase of a bed. Now that you’ve taken me -into partnership, you must not deny me my rights.” - -“Not if you look upon it in that light,” said Margaret seriously. “Still -I should regret it, if it seemed a charity that was forced upon you.” - -“You would rather inconvenience yourself than ask a favor of one whom -you knew to be perfectly able to grant it?” - -“I should, if I thought the favor would be bestowed as a mere matter of -form, without the promptings of a generous spirit.” - -“‘The gift without the giver is vain,’” quoted Herbert musingly. “You -can trust the spirit this time, Miss Murchison,” he added, with a half -smile. “It has lighted its torch at your altar.” - -“Thank you,” replied Margaret gratefully, “but only for the time being, -I am sure. The embers are glowing on the home shrine.” - -“Belief from such a source is most highly treasured,” commented Herbert -smilingly. “Now that you have complimented me so generously, perhaps you -will tell me what I must do to deserve it.” - -“Buy the bedstead,” said Margaret dryly. - -“To hear is to obey,” and putting whip to his horse, Herbert soon drew -up before a down-town furniture store, where bedstead and clothing were -purchased and dispatched on their way. A huge basket of provisions was -next procured and stowed away in the buggy, while Margaret carried a -smaller one of fruit. - -“Let me carry these to your room,” said Herbert as they drew up before -Margaret’s home. “You are to be sole almoner, for I beg you not to let -my name appear in the transaction.” - -“I shall be compelled to,” said Margaret, “if only as the mythical great -and good man of all such works of charity. I could not truthfully bear -the burden of so much generosity.” - -“Paint me as glowingly as you please, if only you give me no local -habitation or name.” - -“Your wish shall be respected. Will my presence be necessary to-morrow?” - -“No, I can save you all further trouble. And now good-night, and thank -you for having given me a few genuinely happy hours.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - -“Well, we’ve won!” exclaimed Herbert the next day as, having mounted the -stairs two at a time, he thrust his head into Margaret’s open door. “The -men are putting the furniture into the room, and I’ve a little sop in -the way of damages,” and he drew from his pocketbook a bank-note for ten -dollars and laid it in Margaret’s lap. - -She looked at it dubiously. “Oh, it is honest,” he laughed; “there’s no -taint of charity about it. Such high-handed crimes against justice must -be made to suffer the penalty. It has set me to thinking, too, that it -is time something was done toward establishing justice for these -helpless poor. Why, the case would never have been won if I had not -employed some of the best talent in the city.” - -“And that, of course, is costly.” - -“Of course; often more than the little sum in question. By the way, have -you seen the head of this distressed family down-stairs?” - -“I saw him for a few moments last night. He seems to be a gentleman in -bearing and acquirements, but he wears a depressed, hopeless expression -and a listless, half-hearted manner, that I can see are a constant thorn -in the side of his more energetic, if enfeebled, wife.” - -“Well, no wonder, if half the story she tells is true. This seems to me -a case of genuine humanity; one that appeals directly to a man’s soul if -he has one. That man ought to be given work.” - -“True, but he says he has sought for it far and wide.” - -“I don’t think he need seek any further. I have a friend who is a -wholesale grocer down on S—— W—— Street, and in relating the story to -him, he offered the position of porter at eight dollars a week. Not a -munificent salary, certainly, but a good deal better than nothing.” - -“Oh, I am so glad!” exclaimed Margaret. “And how happy that poor wife -will be. I’ve grown very much interested in her, for the reason that -such an ambitious spirit seems to dwell within the enfeebled body. How -terrible it is when body and spirit are so at odds!” - -“Terrible indeed! I really hope the good news of a place for her husband -will act as a tonic. I leave the matter entirely in your hands and -empower you to deliver the message.” - -“I will go now, if you will excuse me. I am in a hurry to tell the good -news.” - -“Oh, certainly! Never mind me.” - -Margaret returned with a dismayed and crestfallen countenance. “He -refuses it!” she exclaimed breathlessly as she sank into a chair. -Herbert gave a long low whistle, and elevated his eyebrows in a cynical -grimace that was not at all becoming. - -“I am ashamed to tell you his reason,” Margaret went on. “It seems so -trivial under the circumstances. He says he is fitted for higher work, -and, in short, cannot accept such ungenteel employment.” - -“Well, that settles the Hon. Edward Carson, Esq.,” said Herbert briskly. -“I shall waste no more sympathy on him.” - -“But the poor wife,” said Margaret, the tears standing in her eyes. “It -was pitiful to see the look she gave him and hear her voice as she urged -his acceptance of the place. ‘Anything is better than starving,’ she -cried. ‘And perhaps you can work up to a better place; I am sure you can -when your employers learn your fidelity and trustworthiness;’ but her -entreaties were useless. He was stubborn with that white determination -of an iron will. Neither the poor woman’s tears nor prayers had any -visible effect upon him.” - -“What does the fellow intend to do?” - -“Oh, he has some little peddling devices, out of which, I believe, he -expects to realize the fortune of a Vanderbilt in a short time. In fact, -he informed me that he considered himself fully equal to managing his -own affairs.” - -“He has proved it. Well, Miss Margaret, this only strengthens my belief -in the folly of attempting to help such incapables.” - -“But think how the innocent suffer with the guilty! Think of the sick -wife and the helpless babies! Because the man is stubborn and -ill-natured, must those who are dependent on him be left to starve?” - -“It seems a hard doctrine, born of that old pagan idea of brute force; -but I sometimes question if it would not be the shortest way of ridding -the world of its great army of incapables. Don’t look so horrified, at -least until I have finished. Take this unfortunate woman, delicately -reared, educated, refined, sensitive; charity is, no doubt, nearly as -offensive to her as starvation. Such people are proud of their -independence of character, and what can she hope for in a future that -sees only the hand of charity between her and the grave? The helping -hand in an extremity like this is different from a bounty that must be a -continued obligation.” - -“Looking at the question from her standpoint, perhaps you are right; but -in looking at it from ours, I think you are wrong.” - -“There’s the rub! These ethical questions demand some other solution -than expediency.” - -“Christianity alone can solve them, as indeed it is the only true -solution of all the great questions of the world. The simple truth that -we are our brother’s keeper acknowledged by mankind would be an easy -method of settling this omnipresent and embittering war between labor -and capital.” - -“A method the world has been slow to accept.” - -“In one sense, perhaps, but as we view the long night of darkness and -degradation before the coming of Christ, we can only marvel at the -progress that has been made in less than two thousand years. Some day in -God’s great harmonies we shall hear the rhythmic heart-beats of an -altruistic faith, binding the whole world together in a common -brotherhood.” - -“And you are doing your best to strike a note in that great harmony?” - -“With Mr. Lynn’s help,” laughed Margaret. “He is going to advise me how -to assist that suffering and unfortunate woman down-stairs.” - -“Impossible! He can only be the humble tool in your wiser hands. -However, I’ve been wise enough to think she ought to be put under the -care of a physician. That can be safely managed through you, as indeed -can all delicate commissions.” - -“Thanks,” said Margaret. “I always try to put myself in the sufferer’s -place, as I have known what it was to need help, and be grateful for -it.” - -“When my hour of tribulation comes, may I have just such a ministering -angel!” exclaimed Herbert warmly. - -“Tribulation and the prosperous Mr. Lynn are a singular and almost -unlooked-for conjunction.” - -“A man may have a great deal and yet want more. In fact, if he owns the -earth he usually wants the moon, or something equally impossible.” - -“Is that one of your longings?” - -“No; mine is more sublunary, if you will permit a pun so atrocious. The -truth is there’s another Galatea in whose marble veins I should like to -see the warm blood of feeling run. My presence always seems to congeal -the red current that glows for others.” - -“You speak in enigmas.” - -“Just now, perhaps; but by-and-by you will understand. By the way, there -is one intense longing you can gratify. May I drop in some time to one -of those charming ‘evenings’ Lizzette and Antoine have described to me? -I have a sincere desire to consider myself a beneficiary.” - -“I am afraid I should say ‘no,’ if I did not begin to realize a little -the earnestness of your nature. We are sensitive to our shortcomings.” - -“An equal sensitiveness inspires me with the desire to find a motive as -admirable as that which actuates your little coterie. Besides—I suppose -I may as well be honest, since you will be sure to find me out—I play -the violin a little myself, and would be most happy occasionally to -supply Antoine’s vacant niche, provided your sister could be prevailed -upon to accompany me.” - -A new light dawned upon Margaret as she watched the boyish blush that -mounted to Herbert’s brow. “And so you have already found out what an -uncertain quantity my little sister is?” - -“As regards your humble servant, she has been a profound certainty. A -block of ice could not have been a colder reality,” answered Herbert -with a rueful smile. - -Margaret’s face grew suddenly thoughtful, but after a moment’s -hesitation she said bravely: - -“I believe there are times when only the truth should be spoken -regardless of conventionality. For my own part, Mr. Lynn, I like you -exceedingly, and should gladly welcome you to our little circle; but my -little sister is young, beautiful as you know, imaginative, sensitive, -and—well, is it not best under the circumstances, which you so well -understand, that she should continue a cold reality to you?” - -“No!” exclaimed Herbert emphatically, as he sprang to his feet and -placed a hand on the back of Margaret’s chair. “I am no cowardly -trifler, and I have an honest admiration for Elsie that has a right to -crave its legitimate outlet. I ask only a fair field.” - -Glancing up at the earnest, flushed face, Margaret smiled as she rose -and laid her hand on his. “You shall have it,” she said. “Bring your -violin and be your own propitiation. I never interfere in matters of -this kind.” - -Herbert raised Margaret’s hand to his lips, and murmuring something -wholly unintelligible, he snatched his hat and left the room. Margaret -sat long buried in thought after he had left her. Elsie’s doubts and -misgivings in no way troubled her. Love in her eyes was too sacred and -too rare to hamper it with the chains of caste or clothe it in false -conventionality. But until now the thought of love and Elsie had not -come to her except in the vague sometime that comes to all women. Elsie -was so young, so inexperienced, yet, strange as it seemed, so wise. She -had looked apprehensively upon the volatile nature, fearful that its -buoyant wings would be sadly singed in the candle of life. Yet by -Herbert’s own confession the little maid had been as wise in her -demeanor as if whole generations of elder sisters had stood sponsor for -every utterance. “I am glad,” she sighed tremulously, with that sweet -enjoyment of love which all women have. “I could not be better pleased -if the selection had been my own; but I mistrust that little sister of -mine will lead him a wild dance before she surrenders, if she ever does. -There are graver thoughts in that young head than I ever dreamed of. But -all I can say is, God speed an honest love!” - -An hour later Margaret was on the street, intent upon a purpose which -had been gaining strength ever since the invalid, Mrs. Carson, had given -her the poem she had read at her bedside. There seemed to Margaret to be -too much merit in the poem to forego the effort to find for it, not only -publication, but pay. Margaret had become strongly possessed of the -primitive idea that the laborer is worthy of his hire, and that merit -had the right to demand recognition. Her contact with life had so far -been so simple and direct that the complexities governing man’s progress -had only just begun to confront her. It was, therefore, with the bravery -born of ignorance that she entered several editorial sanctums connected -with the various leading papers and periodicals of the great city and -offered the poem for inspection. The contemptuous glances, and decided -snubs she received, disturbed her equanimity rather than her purpose; -although if the matter had been a purely personal one, literary ambition -would have met instant death in these encounters. But Margaret’s -strength was always greater for others than for herself, and not until -she had exhausted all avenues did she intend to turn back. Finally in -the eleventh venture she encountered an editor who, listening to her -story and becoming interested, volunteered the information that the poem -had merit and was worthy of remuneration. A check for five dollars -gladdened Margaret’s heart, and her smiles and expressions of gratitude -must have made a bit of sunshine in the soul of a just man. Margaret -hurried home, her face glowing with happiness, and hastening into the -invalid’s room, produced the check with infinite satisfaction. There was -no answer, but a pair of thin arms reached up and clasped Margaret’s -neck, while sobs and tears contended for the mastery. Margaret waited -until the storm had subsided and then said gently: “You will have a -chance now to turn your talent to account.” - -“What an angel you are! Sent by the God whom I doubted! How can I ever -repay it all?” - -“By reawakening a slumbering faith, getting well, and working -cheerfully,” and with a kiss upon the invalid’s agitated lips, Margaret -went up to her rooms. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - -One evening, a week after Antoine’s departure for the hospital, Elsie -sat at the organ, idly picking out the melody of several of his favorite -airs and dreamily wishing the lad could be with them once again. -Margaret was busied over her books, and Lizzette, who was with them for -the night, was knitting the stocking that always grew but never seemed -finished, and Gilbert was putting some decorative touches upon a small -medicine cabinet. Suddenly Herbert Lynn appeared in the open doorway, -his arms filled with books and a violin case in one hand. - -Elsie arose from her seat as the others greeted him, and stood with her -slight figure as erect and indignant as her mutinous spirit could make -it. Herbert turned toward her. “I am here by permission of high -authority,” he laughed, glancing at Margaret. “I have no apology to make -this time.” - -“My sister’s guests are always welcome,” said Elsie icily, as she sank -upon the piano stool and industriously undertook to rearrange several -sheets of disordered music. - -Herbert made no reply, but stood composedly watching the trembling -fingers and the swiftly-mounting blushes on the fair face. - -“You are nervous,” he said at last. “Let me do that for you. I am -delightfully calm.” - -Something in the exasperatingly cool tones made Elsie glance up, and -then as quickly glance down again. - -“It is useless to keep on the defensive any longer,” Herbert resumed as -he coolly took the sheets of music from her. “I’ve come to beg a truce.” - -“And have you forgotten all I said?” - -“Not altogether; but I am of a forgiving disposition.” - -“You forgive very easily, it seems to me,” said Elsie haughtily. - -“Sometimes, and one of these times is when a spiteful little girl says -things she doesn’t mean.” - -Elsie tried hard to keep a sober face, but Herbert’s good-nature was -irresistible, and the corners of her mouth relaxed in a smile as she -looked up and asked: “What occult wisdom taught you she didn’t mean -them?” - -“The science of physiognomy, if there is such a science. A face that is -all sunshine for others cannot surely mean to keep all its -thunder-clouds for an inoffensive young man like me.” - -“Some people attract lightning,” exclaimed Elsie mischievously. - -“By reason of superior magnetism, it is to be presumed. Thanks!” - -At this juncture Lizzette came up with the violin case in her hand. -“Herbeart, zis ees ze reminder de mon petit Antoine. Let me hear ze -fiddle speak again.” - -“Willingly, if Miss Elsie will accompany me.” - -Elsie looked up, mutinous still; but meeting Herbert’s eyes, defiance -gave its last gasp as she said under her breath: “You are an arch -conspirator. I suppose there is nothing left for me but submissiveness.” - -Herbert’s blonde head bent low over the pile of music he was ostensibly -examining as he whispered: “You shall see how generously I can conspire. -Trust me to be magnanimous.” - -Elsie’s nimble tongue was silent, and a sudden wave of intoxication -seemed to sway her back and forth in a rarefied atmosphere where -breathing was impossible. When at last she dared to glance again at -Herbert, he was tuning his violin with such a look of beatific -contentment on his face that pent-up feeling, on the perilous edge of a -tear, seized the other alternative and burst into laughter. With -instinctive quickness she dashed into a noisy jig on the organ, and by -the time she dared to glance apprehensively around, Herbert had selected -the piece of music and was striking its key-note on the violin. Elsie -played very badly that night, and Herbert was several times obliged to -point out little mistakes and make corrections with all the gravity of a -professional music master. But the tumult in her veins rose higher and -higher, and with a sudden crash on the keys the music came to a stop. -Glancing down at the perturbed face, Herbert turned to the others: - -“My violin is evidently not Antoine’s and Miss Elsie looks tired. Have -you examined the new books, Miss Murchison? There is one on sociology, -by Sir Lyon Playfair, I thought might interest you. And there is -Henderson’s ‘History of Music,’ the ‘Journal of Marie Bashkirtseff,’ -‘The Three Germanies,’ and two or three newly-issued volumes of poetry -by Meredith, Lover, and others. I thought before I dipped into them I -should like your opinion.” - -While Margaret, Lizzette, Gilbert, and Herbert were discussing the new -books, Elsie slipped away, too perturbed to do anything but throw -herself on the bed and cry. Just why she cried it would have been -difficult for her to tell. But she did not try to tell; she only knew, -like all volcanic natures, that safety and reason lay in a copious burst -of tears. Half an hour later she presented herself in the sitting-room, -her old, calm, smiling self. - -“Now that the ice is broken I shall hope I may come often,” said Herbert -as he bade them good-night. And saucy Elsie had no retort ready. - -The summer wore into early autumn with busy days and brightening -prospects for our little circle. Antoine was making slow but evidently -sure progress at the hospital, and was hopeful and happy at the Sunday -receptions of the friends who clustered around him. Lizzette beamed with -joy and gratitude and seemed to have thrown discretion to the winds in -the praises of Herbert which she constantly chanted in Elsie’s ears. The -treaty of peace to which Elsie had so unwillingly committed herself had, -after all, been a very simple affair. Herbert had been generous, as he -promised, and beyond occasional evenings together over violin and organ, -at which Elsie was learning to acquit herself with greater credit than -on their first venture, they did not often meet. Contrary to her usual -custom, Helen Mason had not closed her city home for the summer. -Herbert, much to her chagrin, refused to seek the seashore, and with -wise forethought, as she fancied, she filled her house with gay company. -Among the guests was a certain Miss Alice Houghton, who, an orphan and -the sole possessor of great wealth, lived, together with a duenna aunt, -at one of the great family hotels in the city. She was a tall, -fine-looking, well-bred girl of twenty-three or twenty-four. Her -distinguishing characteristic was an air of pronounced weariness, that -reminded one vividly of Young’s “Languid Lady.” It was a difficult -matter to interest her in anything, yet her attention once caught, her -face would light up with unusual intelligence and animation. Herbert at -first regarded her simply as an exponent of the system of purposeless -education which is bestowed upon the average society girl; but after -several weeks of acquaintance he became convinced that a secret grief -was preying upon her. He was consequently not greatly surprised when he -found her one morning in late summer in the drawing-room, with a ghastly -look of horror on her face as she clutched a newspaper and read the -head-lines concerning a sensational suicide of a fast young man about -town in one of the gambling hells of the city. - -“My husband!” she gasped, pointing to the head-lines and then lapsed -into insensibility. - -Elsie was on her way to her morning conference with her mistress when -she encountered Herbert, pale and distracted, with the limp burden in -his arms, calling wildly for Helen. There was no time for explanations -as Helen Mason ran quickly down the stairs, and Elsie returned to her -work with a clouded face and defiant air that did not escape Herbert’s -notice. The story of Alice Houghton’s life was soon told to the two -sympathetic friends. A marriage, secret at first from mere caprice, but -afterward guarded because of shame, to a handsome but dissipated and -entirely characterless man of fashion, who, having spent his own and a -considerable portion of his wife’s fortune at the gambling table, had -deliberately shot himself rather than face the consequences of his evil -deeds. The story never became known beyond the three or four -sympathizers within the Mason household, and the death of a relative -furnished ample excuse for the deep mourning and grief-stricken air with -which the young widow again faced the world. Herbert was very kind and -attentive to her in the early days of her grief, and in consequence his -sister drew some exceedingly flattering pictures as to his future. - -With Margaret the summer had been productive of much good. The little -leaven of her kindly nature and generous deeds had permeated the whole -tenement-house and extended even beyond it in sundry additions to her -Busy Fingers Club. She was idolized by the children of the neighborhood, -who hailed her as the patron saint of all their little schemes and -ambitions. Under her fostering care and that of the physician which -Herbert had ordered, the invalid, Mrs. Carson, was slowly gaining her -health and some slight encouragement in her literary ventures. There was -a cloud, however, hovering in Margaret’s sky. Gilbert, who had already -reached a man’s stature, had acquired as well a man’s independence, and -had taken to absenting himself from home evenings, much to the annoyance -of both sisters. It had been his custom during the spring and summer to -go for Elsie and bring her home for the night, and there had been a -substantial progress made in their studies in consequence. Of late, -however, Elsie had found herself dependent for escort upon the -good-natured William, who had shown himself only too happy to be of use -to her, and had grown alarmingly confidential as a result. This state of -William’s mind being duly imparted to Margaret, she had resolved to -forestall trouble by insisting upon Gilbert’s usual attendance on his -sister. But the lad was sullen and unresponsive when she broached the -subject, and when night came he put on his hat and went away without a -word. Margaret brooded for some time over Gilbert’s changed demeanor, -and with a feeling of impending trouble which it is so often impossible -to resist, she dressed herself for the street and went out, resolved to -discover the places he frequented most. Fortune favored her, for at Mrs. -Carson’s door she learned that Gilbert and Mr. Carson had held a -discussion about a meeting of some kind which they were to attend that -evening at Harmonie Hall. The nature of the meeting the invalid did not -know, but she imagined it was semi-political in character, as she had -found that her husband had become interested of late in municipal -politics. There had been strange mutterings in the air for some time -among the inmates of the tenement-house, and Margaret’s heart instantly -took the alarm. What had Gilbert, a minor, to do with municipal politics -and this spirit of discontent that she could but notice among the -laborers with whom she lived? The great strife between labor and capital -had never come actively home to Margaret. Indeed, so simple had seemed -its solution to her upon the broad basis of brotherly love and active -Christianity, that she had worked on quietly, hopefully, in the firm -faith that she was only one of millions of like factors in once more -establishing the kingdom of Christ. Like one who watches the battle from -the hill-top, she believed the contending forces were only seeking their -way up to the clear sunshine. It was, therefore, with something like -consternation that she found herself among the disorderly crowd in the -hall. Here and there little groups of men and women were noisily -discussing various topics and paying only occasional attention to the -speaker, a swarthy, wild-eyed woman, who was shouting in a shrill, -rasping voice the most astounding ideas that had ever greeted Margaret’s -ears. Drawn by curiosity as well as interest, she quietly worked her way -up to a position near the platform and sank into a seat to listen. - -“Talk about freedom,” yelled the speaker, waving her long thin arms like -a revolving windmill. “I tell you we are slaves—handcuffed, manacled, -abject slaves.” This assertion brought a round of applause. “Talk about -the great American eagle—it is only a superannuated old crow that lets -its blind followers go where the witches dance on the point of a -needle.” This witticism provoked a loud guffaw of approval from the -crowd. “I tell you, men, what we want is to preach the gospel of -discontent. We want every one of you, all thinking people, to be -anarchists. We don’t believe in statutory law; we don’t want any law but -natural law.” - -“Hear! Hear!” came in shrill calls from various parts of the room. - -“But you say,” resumed the speaker, “that anarchy is disreputable. That -is just what we want it to be. We want to find the gospel of discontent -in the gutters. We don’t want to be reputable, and I thank God that I am -absolutely disreputable. We leave respectability for the Christian -capitalist, the slave-driver, the monopolist. Why, a man cannot be a -Christian anarchist, because anarchy is only of the earth. The only -class of people who can regulate this dismal condition of society, at -which so many are just now trying their hands, are the anarchists. Think -of it: the telegraphs in this country are owned by one man, the -railroads by sixty families, and into the hands of the few is fast being -gathered the country’s wealth. Impracticable dreamers propose to remedy -this evil by making the state or nation responsible, but the anarchist -says no, he doesn’t want any interference, for he has had too much of -it. The state resorts to armed force. If we want liberty, there is no -other way to get it but to do as the state does and resort to armed -force.” - -The speaker sat down amid a great wave of applause, and Margaret shrank -back in her seat with her cheeks burning and eyes flashing with -indignation. A man with long black hair and ragged beard next occupied -the platform, and held forth on the cruelty of the bloated capitalists -and a monopolistic press. - -“Why, all attempts at pacification,” he cried, “are dead failures. -Monopolists are more arrogant, trades unions more bitter than ever. -‘Give us more wages,’ we cry; ‘We’ll give you less,’ they say. ‘We don’t -want to work so many hours a day,’ we respond; ‘You shall have more,’ -they answer. ‘We won’t work under such conditions,’ we declare; ‘Then -starve,’ they hiss. Do you know there are over three millions of -workingmen who are crying all this? And the capitalists ask: ‘What are -you going to do about it?’ We’ll show them what we’ll do about it. Let -them beware! Let them remember the dark days of the French Revolution, -and note how many patrician heads went under the axe because the rabble -like us—the sans culottes like us, if you please—went crying for bread, -and when they couldn’t have bread they cried for blood and had it. Why, -men, this is the greatest war of history. It is a war not of countries, -but of the globe, and the two great forces, the very rich and the very -poor, those bonded slaves of an arrogant aristocracy, are closing in -upon each other. As yet it is a bloodless strife; but let them beware, I -say, let them beware! This trouble will never cry itself to sleep. There -are too many mighty passions surging through the bosoms of outraged and -insulted beings. There are too many hungry wives and freezing children. -From the Bastile to the portals of this hall stalks a long line of -menacing ghosts, who with pointing fingers demand that the cause for -which they died shall yet be made triumphant. Blind is he who cannot see -that the edicts of society are crushing to the wall the helpless -toilers, the unfortunate women and innocent children of this world. -Blind is he who looks upon the cruelties indorsed by capital without -rising in righteous indignation to echo the cry that rings along the -line, ‘Down with the aristocracy!’ It is a lie that all men have an -equal chance in this world; I tell you the competition is unequal and -capital forces the issue. Success! success! is the Moloch of the world’s -worship, and into its ravenous maw you and I and every one of the -toilers feed daily the writhing bodies of wives and children. It is -feasting on the putrid carcasses that are crushed under its triumphal -car. And all the while there is wealth enough in this world for every -man to have and to spare. I tell you, fellow-mortals, the torch and the -shotgun, the bomb and the bludgeon, are as much for the toiler as the -blue-coated minions of the law.” - -The man took his seat on the rear of the platform amid the wildest -cheers, and Margaret watched the eagle-like face and the trembling, -attenuated form with more than usual interest. There had been many -grains of truth in his wild harangue, and they had inspired her -conservative breast with an enthusiastic desire to behold the wide gulf, -between the two great opposing forces of the world, narrowed down to the -line of arbitration and adjustment, to which all such questions must -finally come. But she shuddered with horror at the sanguinary battle -which the speaker’s inflammatory words had conjured. A second French -revolution, intolerably bitterer, bloodier, more wide-spread than its -prototype! God forbid! There was just then a call from the chairman for -volunteer speakers, and Margaret’s eyes became stony in their wonder and -terror, as she saw Gilbert rise from his seat and advance to the front -of the platform. Tall, lithe, like a young sapling, with a wealth of -dark hair pushed back from a high, straight brow, piercing dark eyes, a -square, firmly-set mouth and chin, and fine thin nostrils expanding with -the fire of enthusiasm, he stood before them all. For the first time in -her life Margaret realized the singular beauty and magnetism of the -boy’s presence. To her he had been always only Gilbert, to be watched -over and taken care of with a mother’s unfailing forethought. Now she -saw, with a bitter wrenching of her heart-strings, that the chrysalis -had burst and her lad had gone away forever. Before her stood the man -Gilbert, on whose utterances she hung in breathless apprehension. There -was something almost wonderful in the boy’s self-possession as he stood -and gazed the noisy crowd into curious silence. - -“Friends and brother toilers,” he began in a rich, sonorous voice that -filled the hall. “You have called for volunteer talks, and although I am -not yet fully come to man’s estate, the impulse to speak is too strong -to be resisted. It is time that something was done to lift this burden -under which we are groaning, and yet it is the old, old question that -for thousands of years before Christ oppressed the bondsmen of the -earth. How long, O Lord, how long, before this world shall see the -fruition of the mighty labors of the millions who have gone down to -death for the good of their brothers? How long before vengeance shall -overtake the insatiable greed of capital, which has no more care for the -toiler in its grasp than the tiger in the jungle for the man he has -smitten with his paw? What is it to capital that labor goes unshod, to -the well-fed gourmand that the slave who serves him is starving for the -crust he despises? What does the capitalist care for the wails of woe -that go up from thousands of infantile throats, for the shiverings of -the naked wretches at his door, so that piled higher and higher in his -safes he sees the gold these wretched toilers have wrested from the -mighty bowels of the earth? Who cares for the wretched twenty-four -thousand souls that live in one precinct in this great and -wealth-rolling city, within a compass of two small blocks? Who cares for -the nobodies that live in hovels where the water from the street pours -in on the floors, and where sixty or seventy people live in eight or ten -rooms and exhibit the morality of the dogs they represent? What -millionaire philanthropist goes down into his pocket to pay his men -living wages, so that the poverty which shames old-country degradation -need not be re-enacted here? Where is the churchman who, giving largely -to conspicuous charities, would be willing to turn that charity into -specific help in business to the man or men who do his bidding? It is -only a few years back that the ‘boss’ worked at the same bench with his -men. Now this is all changed. Now he has his elegant office, his -carriage, his fine attire; but the workmen show no such advance in -prosperity. They work for even less wages, wear the same cheap clothing, -and toil just as many hours as when they and the ‘boss’ were co-workers. -What has wrought this change? What has made these conditions possible? I -will tell you. It is governmental aid. It is because the government has -fostered the schemes of the rich man and made him a ward of the nation. -But it is unjust, and a relic of the old feudality that the government -should recognize one son to the exclusion of the others equally -well-born, and equally deserving. On this principle, therefore, we -demand that we be made wards of the nation. We demand a distributive -justice, by pacific means if possible, and if not, then by a retributive -justice, by force of arms——” - -“Gilbert! Gilbert!” - -A hand laid on the lad’s shoulder caused him to turn in wonder and -confusion to meet Margaret’s pleading face and terror-stricken eyes. - -“You are wrong, Gilbert,” she cried earnestly. “Wrong! wrong! You must -not incite to violence. Just see what turbulent elements are before -you!” - -There had come an instant hush with her appearance on the platform; men -and women had risen to their feet and were peering curiously at the two. -Flushed, trembling, intoxicated with enthusiasm, Gilbert cried: “But the -terrible wrongs of the poor! You know what they are—you who toil for a -daily pittance! They must be avenged!” - -“But not in the way you indicate. Not by bloodshed or violence. See! we -are attracting attention! Will you let me speak for you?” - -For a moment resentment gleamed in Gilbert’s eyes, and then, as he -glanced at Margaret’s uplifted earnest face, he answered: “Yes, correct -me if I am wrong. God speed you!” - -Gilbert sank back into a chair, his eyes intently fixed upon his -sister’s face as she advanced to the front of the platform and stood -looking out upon the sea of wondering faces. - -“Friends,” she began in a low voice, “I have a story to tell you. The -lad who has just addressed you is my brother. For seven years I have -been mother, counsellor, friend to him. I promised his dying father to -watch over him with unremitting vigilance until his feet should be -firmly set in the paths of upright manhood. That father was a man who -believed in and practiced the doctrine of the universal brotherhood of -man. He recognized not that all men are created equal mentally and -physically, for that is a manifest absurdity, but that there is a -principle underneath all conditions of society calling for the respect, -veneration, and love of man as man. We must respect humanity in all its -phases, and there is no right, divine or earthly, that permits us to -cripple it, enslave it, or destroy it. This idea was one of his ardent -beliefs; but it would have cut his gentle heart to the quick to know -that his son would ever be misled into uttering words that could in any -way incite to violence or wrong-doing. I have listened to-night to words -that made my heart bleed; not only for the evils afflicting labor, not -only for the misguided ideas of the so-called upper classes, but for the -deeper wrongs you are inflicting on yourselves.” - -A stir among the audience and a few hisses for a moment disturbed -Margaret’s equanimity, but gathering heart again she went on in a voice -of deep and commanding earnestness: “Nay! hear me out. I premise here -that I am not against you; indeed, I am one of you. I toil for my daily -bread, and I receive but a pittance for my work. I take slop-work from -the factories, and make men’s shirts for forty-five cents per dozen, and -men’s overalls for fifty cents per dozen pairs. So you see I know what -labor has to contend with.” - -Shouts of “You’re a good one!” “Go on!” encouraged the increasing tide -of thought that surged to her lips. She stood before them pale, earnest, -like a prophet, and forgetting time, self, place, she swept the now -listening throng with the full force of the unselfish convictions which -had made her mistress of herself and untoward circumstance. - -“Once more I say to you, O my brothers and sisters, you are wrong, and I -repeat it with the facts of history as a bulwark of defence. Let us go -back a little to the dim days of which we catch but faint shadows, two -thousand years and more before the Christian era, when there were but -two classes of men, feudal lords and bondsmen. Let us trace up through -the freedom given the slaves under Moses, fourteen hundred years before -Christ, and through all the struggles of the toiler up to the present -day, the results of violent uprisings of brute force. History gives but -two evidences where such uprisings on the part of labor’s slaves were -not terribly disastrous to the insurgents. Thousands of years have -passed away, men have fought with the desperation of tigers for their -rights, and still these rights are in a measure denied, and the -millennium of labor is not yet in sight. You may strike the torch to the -factory, aim the shotgun at your fellow-workman because he refuses to -listen to your dictation, put your bombs on railroad tracks before the -midnight express, leave the ship without sailors or the printing press -without workers, because any or all of these are not conducted with a -true regard for mutual welfare, and you will only find yourselves still -deeper in the mire of dissatisfaction and wrong. You cripple your own -resources and injure your own prospects when you preach the doctrine of -physical force. Leave the development of that doctrine to the brute -whose only resource it is, and lift yourselves up to the higher plane -where exists the reason of man. But you are no doubt asking where that -reason must begin. Back of all sophistries, back of all calculation, on -that primitive plane of the newly awakened—the conscience! This, in the -age of intricate reasoning and perplexing sophistries, may seem to you -but the utterance of a simple-minded woman; but history proves, through -experience, that the great and seemingly complex problems of the day -never can be and never will be solved on any other basis. It was not -indeed until the gentle Nazarene walked the earth that its toilers began -to grope upward toward the light of reason and conscience. He it was who -first took the taint from the grimy hand of the worker; He it is who -ought to-day to be the sole advocate and mediator in all your wrongs and -suffering. I am not talking to you of the religion that the occupants of -velvet pulpits preach to the occupants of velvet pews, nor of the -Christianity, so called, that is reserved for the rich man who builds -churches where he and his class may worship in unsullied seclusion; but -of that fundamental principle which led the Carpenter of Nazareth to -render absolute justice to all men and which prompted the good Samaritan -to do a generous deed to his fallen neighbor. Yes, you say all this -would do very well if men could be made over on a higher basis; but they -are greedy, avaricious, and prompted more by self-interest than -brotherly love. True; but there is always the acorn before there is the -oak. Social reforms must begin with the individual. In order to have an -upright community it must be largely composed of upright individuals, -and if every man reformed himself the proposition of a reformed society -would be of very simple solution. It is wonderful indeed how the little -leaven leavens the whole lump. Wonderful how the gulf between classes is -already being widened by these injudicious threats of violence. Let us -beware, then, of incendiary words! We are all of us, Dives and Lazarus -alike, striving for the same goal; we would all be rich, prosperous, -happy if we could. We are indignant because Dives gets in our way and -hinders our advancement, when he ought, by all the laws of -good-fellowship, to give us fair play and equal chances. But when we as -Lazarus, by a fortunate conjunction of circumstances, come at last to -Dives’ importance, how is it that we take the same mean advantage of -some less capable or lucky mortal? Ah, my friends, until we learn that -all these great problems lie partially at least within ourselves, and, -like Atlas, are willing to bear the world on our shoulders, we shall -never gain the object we are seeking. In the conscience of every -individual lies the hope of the world’s progress. Let us seek, -therefore, to cultivate that light within our own breasts, so that, -feeble ray though it may be, it shall illumine the pathway of some -weaker brother and help him toward the diviner light of the gentle -Nazarene. I protest against the indiscriminate and wordy assaults upon -rich men. Not alone in the poor man’s breast are all the virtues. Much -of the poverty of the world is the fault of the individual. Natural -thrift and industry have their reward even in the present untoward -industrial conditions. You cannot smoke away, and drink up your income, -and justly blame the bloated capitalist who employs you if your children -are shoeless and the table stands empty. But you can use your reason, -you can be thrifty, careful, and educate yourselves on the side of -conscience and humanity. I look upon this talk of reform which is in the -air as excellent for the great cause of universal brotherhood. This is -the tendency of the times; the cardinal truth underlying the welfare of -the world. Capital is identical in interest with us, and must recognize -sooner or later the trite truth that we are only the fulfilment and -complement of each other. Let us beware, then, my friends, how we -antagonize those whose help we need. Let us make capital feel, by reason -of our foresight, our fidelity, our judgment, our generosity, that it -cannot afford to ignore our rights and must open wide the doors to human -progress or fall a victim to its own inertia. With you I believe in -organization; organization upheld by, and upholding, the rights of the -people, irrespective of class; organization prompted by the still small -voice of conscience, which abridges no man’s freedom while seeking its -own. In this way only can your wrongs and mine be righted. But before we -mend the steps of those who oppress us, let us as individuals sweep the -inner chambers of the heart, and garnish them anew for the long-waited -guest of universal justice.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - -The night of Margaret’s meeting with the anarchists was an eventful one -for the three members of the Murchison family. Elsie, tired of waiting -for Gilbert’s appearance, and strenuous in her desire to spend her -nights at home, had been again compelled to ask William’s escort, a fact -which raised the spirits of the mercurial young Irishman to a point of -emphatic self-gratulation. He felt sure, to use his own phraseology, -that “Elsie was getting soft on him,” and while preparing himself for -the walk he resolved to put into definite shape his growing fondness for -her. It so happened that when he and Elsie left the area door, Herbert -Lynn, violin case in hand, walked down the front steps of the Mason -mansion and leisurely followed them up the street. As William possessed -the native wit of his race, together with an abundant fund of -good-humor, Elsie’s laugh was frequent at the droll remarks and -anecdotes he poured into her ear. This only increased the self-elation -with which he viewed his prospects, but lacking the finesse of language -wherewith to proclaim his passion, he allowed the precious moments to -slip by, until, having reached the dimly-lighted entrance to Elsie’s -home, he felt that decisive action alone could serve his purpose. - -“Good-night, and thank you,” said Elsie as they stepped within the -narrow hall. - -“Not so fast,” he cried, clutching at Elsie’s dress and detaining her. -“I must be better paid.” - -“To be sure,” answered Elsie, reaching into the depths of a woman’s long -pocket and bringing her purse to view. “How careless I am.” - -“No, you don’t! Put that pocketbook up. Sure an’ this is what I mean,” -and grasping Elsie round the waist he strove to imprint a kiss upon her -lips. - -“Let me go! Let me go!” cried frightened and struggling Elsie. - -“Sure an’ I’ll not, then! I’ll jest have a kiss and maybe more from the -swate girl of my heart,” and his strong arms were just about to bring -the flushed and frightened face within range of his lips, when a firm -hand clutched his coat collar and sent him spinning into the street. -Glancing up he met the indignant eyes of Herbert Lynn. - -“It isn’t a very safe thing, young man, for you to insult ladies in this -manner, and you may congratulate yourself on getting off with scant -justice. The best thing you can do is to go home and reform some of your -free-and-easy habits.” - -William shuffled off maddened and revengeful. “Ah, but I’ll fix him and -the girl too. Sure and the high hand isn’t always for the mighty -millionaire. And it’s him, is it, that’s stealing my girl’s heart away? -Well, then, an’ I’ll ’umble ’em, sure. I’m after thinking the mistress -with her fine airs will not be as swate as the summer when she finds her -brother is comin’ it asy over the purty cook.” - -Elsie, released from William’s grasp, darted up the stairs, but half-way -up the first flight she sank down in fright and exhaustion. Springing up -two steps at a time, Herbert followed and bent over her. “Elsie! Elsie!” -he cried, “what is it? Are you faint? Here, let me steady you,” and with -the same audacity which he had indignantly rebuked in William, he -slipped an arm round Elsie’s waist and endeavored to lift her up. - -“I don’t need any help,” she said, struggling to her feet and making -frantic efforts to free herself from the detaining arm. “I can go alone -a good deal better. Please take your arm away.” - -“No, thank you; it is quite too comfortable,” replied Herbert -composedly. - -“And succeeds in making me very uncomfortable. I entreat you to release -me.” Elsie glanced up into a pair of blue eyes, in whose depths lay a -light so warm and tender, that she staggered dizzily against the wall -when Herbert’s encircling arm was removed. - -“There, I knew you couldn’t go alone. Now I insist upon being permitted -to help you up the stairs. I therefore offer you, in the most decorous -manner possible, the despised and rejected arm.” - -Herbert stood before her with crooked elbow and attitude so ludicrously -stiff, that in the laugh which rose to her lips the constraint of the -situation passed away, and she not only accepted the arm, but made no -remonstrance when, before the third flight had been reached, the -despised member, by some legerdermain best known to lovers perhaps, had -been restored to its original offensive position. It still lay supine -and satisfied around the slender waist when the two reached Margaret’s -door and found it locked. - -“Here’s a go!” exclaimed Herbert slangily. - -“No,” said Elsie, attempting to remove his arm, “it seems to be a stay!” - -Herbert caught at the word instantly, even while his laugh echoed along -the corridor. “A stay!” he echoed, tightening his grasp. “Elsie, -darling——” - -No one will know quite just how it happened, but drawn by an -overmastering impulse, he drew the dark head to his breast and pressed a -fervent kiss upon, I grieve to state, a pair of unresisting lips. - -“For shame!” cried Elsie when she found breath. “A second William. Young -man, go and reform some of your free-and-easy habits! You’re infinitely -more cruel than he, because you know better. I am ashamed, indignant, -heart-broken,” and Elsie burst into tears. - -“My darling,” cried Herbert for the second time, as he prepared to do -penance by repeating the crime of which he was accused, “you may be just -as indignant as you choose so that indignation does not take you away -from me. Here, take your kiss back again! I am perfectly willing to -return the jewel I stole,” and grasping the flushed face in both hands, -he held it in a vise-like grip while he bestowed upon the ripe lips the -principal with usurious interest. There was no time for protest or -further explanation. There was some one coming up the stairs, and it was -a hurried assumption of composure that greeted Margaret and Gilbert as -they reached their door. - -“We have been waiting for you,” cried Herbert, adding audaciously, “It -seemed to Miss Elsie, I’ve no doubt, as if you never would come.” - -“Margaret, dear,” exclaimed Elsie, “how pale you are! What has -happened?” - -“Come in and I will tell you,” wearily answered Margaret as she unlocked -the door. - -“As it is late,” said Herbert hesitatingly, “with your permission I will -leave my violin here and come for our music to-morrow evening. -Good-night.” - -Elsie could not raise her eyes to his, such a tumult of wounded feeling, -love, shame, and regret surged through her breast, and Herbert was -obliged to depart without the glance he coveted. Elsie listened to his -merry whistle as he ran down the stairs, and cowered, shamefaced and -despairing, in the shadow of the window curtain. How weak she had been! -She had struggled so hard not to notice him, not to think of him, and -all the time the victim of a relentless fate, had at last yielded to his -kiss and let him see she had given her love unasked! What a state of -moral degradation she had reached! How Margaret would despise her if she -knew it! How everybody with any fine moral sense would be contaminated -with her presence if it was known how really bad she was! - -Sleep did not visit the perturbed brain that night. In dry-eyed misery -she lay through the long hours of darkness by Margaret’s side, and when -at the first break of dawn she returned to her work, she carried a pale, -conscience-stricken face. The other servants eyed her curiously, giving -her already crushed spirit unmistakable evidence that William had -heralded the evening’s adventure. It was with lagging footsteps and a -colorless face that she dragged through her morning’s duties, and -finally mounted the stairs to her usual conference with her mistress. - -Mrs. Mason was alone when Elsie entered the morning-room, but she did -not look up. She was apparently busied over a small account-book, in -which, with the gold pencil attached to it, she now and then jotted down -figures or memoranda. The coals in the grate glowed warmly; the -mocking-bird in his gilded cage chirped cheerily; the flowers and potted -plants in the windows seemed to smile a welcome to the disheartened -girl, but the fair mistress had no greeting for her. Elsie waited some -moments, and then, seeing that Mrs. Mason was purposely silent, she -asked, but with a note of despondency in her voice that was only too -apparent, “What orders, Mrs. Mason, have you for me this morning?” - -“Only one,” replied the lady, for the first time turning a darkened face -upon Elsie. “Take this envelope, containing your week’s wages, and leave -my house at once. I have no further need of your services.” - -The room grew so dark to Elsie that she reeled and clutched at the -door-post. Mrs. Mason watched her, secretly glad to see the shaft strike -home. - -“Will you tell me why you dismiss me?” asked Elsie faintly. - -“Why? How innocent you are! You know very well why I will not keep such -a dissembler in my house. Attempting to deceive me with your assumption -of flawless honor, and then using all your arts and graces to ensnare -the fancy of my brother, who——” - -“Stop!” cried Elsie, all her strength returning under the sting of Mrs. -Mason’s words, and with indignation firing voice and attitude. “You make -unjust accusations. I never have deceived you in any particular. I never -sought to ensnare the fancy of your brother. Instead, I have begged him -to let me alone. I told him I did not want his acquaintance, and I -repeat it to you, his proud and aristocratic sister. I have my own life -to live irrespective of your creeds and caste, and I have endeavored to -keep both of you at arm’s-length.” - -“You are as brazen as the generality of your class. It is useless to -attempt any justification. The fact remains that you have accepted the -attentions of a man infinitely above you in station, good-breeding, -blood——” - -“I deny it! Neither in blood nor breeding are you any better than the -girl you despise. In station—you but emphasize the arrogance of your -nature and standing when you attempt to heap unmerited abuse upon one -whom you know to be defenceless; a thing which ‘Elsie the cook’ would -scorn to do.” - -“You insolent thing! Leave the room at once, and if you ever dare to -speak to my brother again, I’ll publish you from one end of the city to -the other, and then we’ll see whether ‘Elsie the cook’ will continue to -flaunt her good breeding in the face of her betters.” - -The hot blood-surged to Elsie’s face until the purple veins threatened -to burst. “Have no fear!” she cried. “I despise——” - -At that moment the door opened and Herbert entered the room. He glanced -at the flushed faces and turned to his sister for explanation. Elsie, -trembling in every limb, rushed through the open door, heedless of -Herbert’s earnest entreaty to remain. How she gained the street and flew -up the long flights of stairs and buried her head in Margaret’s lap, she -never realized until long after. What a tumult of anger, shame, and -wounded love raged in the girl’s breast. How black her sky seemed, and -how pitiful the story was when, by snatches of incoherent words and -bursts of passionate tears, Margaret finally became possessed of it. She -could only bend over the writhing form and press kisses upon the -disordered hair, while endeavoring to soothe by touch and voice the -violent storm of sobs and tears. Calmness had not yet come back to them -and reason could only dimly see its way through the darkness, when there -came an imperative rap at the door, followed almost instantly by -Herbert’s appearance. - -“Elsie,” he cried, tossing his hat into a chair and coming up to her as -she lay with her head buried in Margaret’s lap, “I have come to make -reparation for all that you have suffered this morning. I have learned -the whole disgraceful story, and I have come to offer the hand with the -heart that has been yours for months. Look up, Elsie, and answer me. -Margaret knows that I have loved you long.” - -“Oh, go away and leave me,” moaned Elsie. “I cannot bear any more.” - -“Come!” exclaimed Herbert, bending over her and attempting to lift her -from Margaret’s lap. “I am impatient. I want a decisive answer.” - -“You shall have it,” said Elsie, pulling herself away from him and -raising a tear-stained and mutinous face to his. “It is a most -unqualified No.” - -Herbert staggered back a few steps and gazed with evident surprise at -Elsie’s resolute face. “You cannot surely mean it,” he cried. “I thought -you loved me, or would love me.” - -“Over-confidence is sometimes disastrous, even to young men who fancy -the world is ‘mine oyster.’” - -“Dear child, you are hurt, unstrung by the distressing events of the -morning. I wish I could make you see how pained I am that you should -have been made to suffer so. I wish you would let me make reparation.” - -“I do not need any,” said Elsie proudly. “I find myself able to survive -even your sister’s insults.” - -“Do not refer to them. Helen has a great many false ideas, but you ought -not to punish me for them. I have never willingly harmed you.” - -“Yes, you have!” Elsie broke out impetuously. “Did not I beg of you to -let me alone, to keep to your own devices and let ‘Elsie the cook’ go -her own way?” - -A pained look overspread Herbert’s face as he answered: “If I have -wronged you, Elsie, I offer you as honorable a reparation as any man can -offer a woman.” - -“And do you think because, to please your own fancies, you have -despoiled me of a chance to earn my bread, I can accept so great a -condescension? I had rather starve than be made the recipient of any -man’s tardy sense of honor.” - -Stung, but not baffled, Herbert answered: “I loved you almost from the -first time I saw you. I sought to win your regard with a scrupulous -sense of honor, and if this offer of my hand is tardy, it is only -because you have so persistently kept me at bay. Elsie, I beg you to -forget my sister’s taunts and let me prove how devotedly I can make -amends for the suffering I have caused you. Margaret, help me to prove -how true my statements are.” - -Herbert turned, only to find that Margaret had slipped away. “Elsie, -darling,” he added, going up to her and attempting to take her in his -arms, “I cannot believe, after last night, that you do not, at least -cannot, love me. I was the happiest man last night that ever sat in the -glow of the fire-light and drew pictures of the future. If we had not -been interrupted I should have told you then all that I tell you now. -Elsie! Elsie! trust me to make you happy.” - -But Elsie drew herself away from the outstretched arms and sheltered -herself behind an intervening rocker. “I cannot,” she said resolutely, -although the pleading tones no less than the supplicating eyes had -well-nigh broken her composure. “Even could I so compose my heart as to -contemplate the possibility which you picture, there is an -insurmountable obstacle in the way.” - -“And that is?” - -“Your sister! Never will I enter a family, were it ten times mightier -than the one you represent, where I could be the object of such -undeserved scorn as was heaped upon me this morning.” - -“My poor child! I will put the globe between us.” - -“And let me be the means of separating an only brother and sister? No! -Go back to your sister, and marry some one who represents her idea of -respectability—Miss Houghton, for instance—and be sure that family -approval and society will bless you forever after.” - -“Thank you for the suggestion,” said Herbert dryly. “I am, however, -neither marrying my sister nor her ideas.” - -“No, I don’t think you’re marrying anybody at present.” - -“And am not likely to, you doubtless mean to suggest? Elsie, what makes -you punish me so?” - -“I am only paying you what I owe you.” - -“That is honest; now give me back the heart you’ve stolen.” - -“I have no heart to give.” - -“Elsie Murchison!” exclaimed Herbert with a new sternness, “I have one -question more to ask you, and I demand a straightforward answer. Tell me -by all the truth in your nature—do you love me?” - -Driven to bay, Elsie stood alternately flushing and paling, and with her -frame in such a quiver of excitement that the hand which rested on the -rocker shook perceptibly. “I decline to answer,” she finally faltered. -“You have no right to question a foregone conclusion. I have told you I -will not marry you.” - -“Is that decision final?” asked Herbert as he picked up his hat. “Can no -pleading, no proof of devotion change it?” - -White to the very lips, Elsie answered: “It is final and absolute.” - -“Then God pity us both!” cried Herbert as, with a face as white as -Elsie’s own, he left the room. - -Elsie threw herself on the floor and writhed in the agony of mental -torture. - -“Love him? Love him?” asked the tumultuous heart. Did she not rather -idolize him. And now she had signed her own death-warrant. “God keep him -wherever he went—how could she live without him?” A tempest of tears -answered this question as she saw days stretch into months and months -into years without one glimpse of the sunny blue eyes, one sound of the -melodious voice, or touch of the kindly hands that had been so glad to -anticipate any need or desire of hers. “How can I live, how can I live -without him?” she sobbed aloud, writhing in absolute physical pain. “Oh, -I shall die! I shall die! It will be too dreadful to live now!” - -A second later a pair of strong arms gathered her within their embrace, -and Herbert’s lips were raining kisses upon brow, cheek, and lips. “I -knew it, Elsie,” he whispered. “I couldn’t give it up so easily. You do -love me, I know you do. You dare not deny it.” - -With sudden impetuosity a pair of lithe arms crept around his neck, and -hiding her face in his bosom Elsie sobbed: “I don’t want to deny it now, -for it has almost killed me. But truly I’ll never marry you.” - -Herbert laughed. “Tell me the reason.” - -“Well, it wouldn’t be right, and not even my love for you will make me -do what is not fair and just.” - -“That’s right, my little girl,” answered Herbert between kisses. “We’ll -try to remove the wrong. Now that I know I’m held fast in the stronghold -of your heart, I can conquer the world.” - -“Can you?” asked Elsie, the old mischief coming quickly back. “Can you -make your sister, Mrs. Mason, get down on her knees and beg me to marry -you to save you from a decline?” - -“I’ll try,” said Herbert with a grimace, “although I beg to be delivered -from the decline.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - -Like Byron, Margaret awoke one day and found herself famous. The daily -press, in keeping close watch of the anarchist movement, had reported -nearly verbatim the speeches of both Gilbert and Margaret. Editorials -had been written upon Margaret’s utterances, and one enterprising daily -had printed a supposed portrait of her and given a brief account of her -work in the tenement-house, wherein she had been glorified beyond her -just deserts and made to wear the mantle of the professional reformer. -Margaret was by no means pleased with this unexpected notoriety, and -particularly displeasing to her sensitive nature was the attitude in -which she had been made to stand with reference to those whom she had -sought to aid in the quietness and sympathy of her home life. As a -friend, she was sure of their appreciation and co-operation; as a -reformer, she felt fearful of their mistrust and the gradual withdrawal -of the sympathies she had grown to depend upon for her own guidance and -happiness. It was, therefore, with no little vexation of spirit that she -found herself waited upon one day by a committee of ladies who urged her -going upon the platform as the advance agent of a board of foreign -missions. - -“It is impossible,” cried Margaret when the object of the visit had been -explained. “I am not fitted for such work. Indeed, it was a mere -accident which caused my appearance in public, and I hope never to -repeat it.” - -The ladies looked at each other aghast. Here was good timber obviously -going to waste. Something must be done to secure it. “But,” they argued, -“you must have the interests of our work at heart, as your utterances -gave evidence and as your work in your own home circle proves. Why not -be willing to broaden it and bring the suffering ones of earth, whom you -evidently pity, a little relief?” - -“Because,” said Margaret, smiling, “I believe, in the truest sense, in -the old saying that ‘Charity begins at home.’ I have a home to make, -first of all, for a young brother and sister who look upon me as mother -and guardian. So long as they have need of me I shall always keep for -them the one spot where home ties may reign supreme. In the next place, -I shall doubtless horrify you by saying that I do not believe in -charity.” - -A look of wide-eyed dismay went around the little circle. - -“But let me qualify the ruggedness of so bare a statement,” said -Margaret as a look of quiet amusement crept over her face. “I have -reference only to the charity which is practised under present -conditions. In the first place, I think we have heathen enough to -convert at home; in the second, if there were more of the genuine -charity which was taught by our great Preceptor, there would be scant -need of the various forms of associated charity. Modern charity -belittles and robs men of the God-given sense of independent manhood -which should be cultivated and respected in every one. The helping hand -that is given by associated charity fosters a national laziness and -sloth which grows every year more wide-spread and disgraceful.” - -“That is a most astounding statement,” cried her hearers. - -“I think you will find it true,” replied Margaret quietly. “Charity that -is bestowed with the air of patronage which such organizations can -scarcely fail to exhibit, must make its wards feel that independent -effort is not respected as it should be. We do not give any more from a -fraternal desire to see our fallen brother rise to his feet and work -steadily toward the goal which we have reached or are nearing; but we -give perhaps from a desire to display our importance, or from a -philanthropy which expects to find its way into the newspapers and be -talked about, or because it is fashionable to ‘assume a virtue if we -have it not.’ If we gave from the standpoint of humanity and a desire to -see all men on an equal footing before the law, do you suppose it would -be necessary to announce such themes from the pulpits of elegant and -exclusive churches as ‘How to reach the masses?’ The masses would be -there to be reached. They would not be outside, because an exclusive -sexton had found that he must look to the best interests of his patrons. -The church is every day growing richer and more influential. How is it -with the heaven-born principles of Him who toiled at the carpenter’s -bench and proved to the fishermen of Galilee that a common bond of -divine and human love held them together? What is the church to-day in a -great measure but a business institution? How much of the old faith -clings to the embroidered garment that has displaced the simple white -robe of the Messiah of all men? It is useless to offer charity to a man -whose rights you have denied, and expect thereby to build up a -prosperous and God-fearing commonwealth. Ladies, I must forego the -generous offer you make me, for the bread would be bitter in my mouth -which I earned by upholding a belief that I felt to be fundamentally -wrong. I ask nothing more than to be given strength to help wherever I -can in the humblest way and with the sincerest love.” - -It was a silent and crestfallen committee that bowed itself from -Margaret’s presence and whispered “quixotic,” “cranky,” “absurd,” when -it reached the sidewalk. Margaret sank into a chair, after the committee -had left her, with a feeling of vague discomfort and unrest. Did this -invasion of her private work bear any occult meaning? Was there really a -broader field of action awaiting her helping hand wherein she could -better fulfill the principles she loved to disseminate? Suddenly, as if -in revelation, she saw Gilbert’s impassioned face as he pleaded so -eloquently for his brother toilers at the anarchist meeting. Here was -work for Gilbert, stretching out into an indefinite and glowing future. -A society of universal brotherhood! She remembered that once a stranger -had preached in her father’s pulpit on that very topic, and she had -never forgotten the five great principles he had enunciated. She had -jotted them down in her note-book as truths worth remembering, and now -they came back to her with the vividness and force with which a thinking -brain is often overtaken by the ideas of the great minds of the world. - -1. “A society of universal brotherhood must be founded on eternal -truth.” - -2. “It must permit full and free development to every member of the -human race.” - -3. “There must be perfect harmony between all its members.” - -4. “It must attempt to secure happiness in this world. Here, now, on -this planet, in this day and generation, it must give justice to all -mankind.” - -5. “It must make not only men, but nations, free.”[1] - -She well remembered how the eloquent clergyman had enlarged upon this -declaration of principles in glowing words. - -“Tell me,” he had said, “would not such a society meet your desires? Yet -such was the organization founded by Jesus Christ. Men have found -occasion to depart a long way from it, but not till they retrace their -steps and take up the work as He planned it, can they enjoy the fruits -of the wisest law-giver the world ever beheld. He was the true leader of -men. He was born in a manger and brought up in poverty. He preached the -purest and truest democracy the world has ever listened to. The tramp, -the outcast, the beggar were with Him the equals before the law of the -richest man on the face of the earth. There was nothing narrow in His -creed. But how shall men establish the new order? We must take the -kingdom of heaven by storm; we must convert the boodlers and the -aristocrats who now dominate the church. Let me tell you the rich are -getting tired of the life they are living. They are beginning to see its -falsity, and many of them are anxious to see some means adopted by which -greater justice can be rendered to all. Work, then, my brothers, in -behalf of the rich as well as the poor, and make the society of -universal brotherhood the grand factor in a new civilization.” - -Footnote 1: - - These principles were recently enunciated by Father Huntington. - -These impassioned words had burned themselves on Margaret’s -memory, and in the light of later events seemed to have a peculiar -force and significance. A society of universal brotherhood! How -beautiful it seemed in theory; how easily, even on the basis of an -eighteen-hundred-years-old truth, the theory might be evolved into -established fact. Yet that mighty and eternal truth had been all -these years, through innumerable persecutions and conflicts, -vainly seeking its perfect flower and fruit. Where lay the -difficulty? Why were its life-giving branches so persistently -lopped, its trunk gashed and riven, its healing leaves stripped -and torn, and its fruition hindered and obstructed? Margaret -pondered long over the puzzling questions. It was a fundamental -truth that mankind was seeking happiness and had the same general -nature and desires. What, then, made the great divergence? The -casuist and sophist might find deep within the logic of history -and the philosophy of man a more lofty reason; but Margaret’s -primitive nature saw only the main truth that men had departed -from the underlying principle on which Christ had founded His -church of the living gospel. Primitive ideas had been ignored, -scoffed at, trampled in the dust, and yet the great Master had -made those ideas the whole sum and substance of life when He -enjoined upon man to love God and his neighbor, live soberly and -righteously, visit the fatherless and widows in affliction, and -keep himself unspotted from the world. Setting aside the divine -emanation of such laws, they were the truest interpretation of -natural law, for what is vicious is injurious. The divine virtues -of truth and equity are the bulwarks of society; if they are -transgressed, the whole body politic suffers, even as the -transgression of natural law causes disease and dissolution. -Surely, here “the steps are not straightened and he that runneth -stumbleth not.” - -To Gilbert, Margaret communicated all her doubts and fears as well as -hopes upon this theme, and with the eagerness with which an awakened -spirit seizes upon ideas, he followed her reasoning to a conclusion -which would have been remarkable in one so young, if it had not been the -logical result of Margaret’s training and practice. - -“I can only work on the plan you outline by first finding out how those -I desire to reach are striving for the happiness that is their aim. It -will be a long and laborious effort, for I must truly prove myself the -friend of every man. No thief, thug, criminal, outcast, or harlot must -be too vile and degraded to receive the warm clasp of my hand and the -hearty utterance of my good-will. Am I equal to it?” Gilbert buried his -head in his hands with a sob that was wrung from the consciousness of a -life-long sacrifice. Margaret knelt beside his chair and softly slipped -an arm around his neck. - -“A second Jean Valjean!” she whispered. - -“It is at most an experiment,” said Gilbert later, “and even in the -event of failure must do more good than harm. I will try it.” - -The loss of Elsie’s abundant wages had been a trying matter to the -little household. Gilbert’s attendance at the manual-training school had -been perforce curtailed, and the question of subsistence became a -serious one. Herbert had begged to be allowed to supply their needs, -since his indiscretion had been the cause of their loss, but the -ingrained independence of both sisters rebelled at the suggestion. - -“No,” exclaimed Elsie emphatically, “not until I say ‘yes’ at the -altar—and that day is still so remote as to be almost nebulous—shall I -permit any expenditure of your money on my behalf.” - -“Not even for this?” and Herbert drew from his pocket a small velvet -case and flashed a brilliant diamond ring before Elsie’s eyes. She took -it, flushing with pleasure over its beauty, and held it up over her head -to watch the play of translucent light on its polished surface. - -“Oh, what beautiful things God makes in His laboratory!” she cried, “and -how I do love beauty! But take it back, Herbert; it would be out of -place on the hand of a working girl.” - -“I’m tempted to quarrel with you all the time,” said Herbert petulantly. -“What shall I get you—an iron ring?” - -“You might have it silver-plated,” suggested Elsie soberly, “so that, -like the majority of my sex, I would not know it was iron until after -marriage.” - -“You are incorrigible! But what are you going to do with yourself, -anyway, while you are waiting for that haughty sister of mine to come -under my soothing ministrations?” - -“Something new—work!” - -“At what?” - -“Slop-work, like Margaret. I’ve already bought a new sewing-machine—on -part payments, of course—and I am going to break the record on hickory -shirts and blue jeans overalls.” - -“Absurd! quixotic! outrageous!” exclaimed Herbert, springing to his feet -and pacing the room with an excited air. “I tell you, Elsie, you and -Margaret will kill yourselves in endeavoring to uphold the dignity of -woman or labor or some other foolish notion.” - -“Herbert!” Elsie’s eyes flashed ominously. “If the whole world were like -you—Supreme Sultans of Gilded Leisure—you might make your -uncomplimentary classifications; but under existing conditions, I -think—well, I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself; so there!” - -“I am,” said Herbert contritely, as he took her in his arms. “I don’t in -the least question the nobility of motive that inspires all this -heroism, but I do question its result. Do you think the fate of the -world is hanging on the struggles of two such admittedly unselfish and -uplifted slips of girls?” - -“You’re just like the old heathen masters of morality!” ejaculated -Elsie. “They gave such excellent rules for other men’s guidance, but -they hadn’t the courage to try their arguments on themselves. Of course -Margaret and I are _very_ heroic in trying to live up to our -principles—but _very_ silly!” - -Herbert’s laugh was so contagious that even Elsie joined in it. - -“I am afraid I’m a heathen,” he said dubiously, “if in this day and age, -when the air is blue with reforms, I object to seeing the girl I love -wearing her life away for a mere chimera.” - -“Herbert Lynn!” exclaimed Elsie impetuously as she drew away from his -embrace and looked him earnestly in the face. “Do you look upon the -question of the day, the question that occupies all tongues and speaks a -heart-rending language in every half-starved wretch that walks the -street, as a chimera?” - -“It is a phantom that has been chased a good many thousand years,” he -answered, “and the end is not yet.” - -“Have you no interest in the question?” - -“Specifically, yes; generally, no.” - -“Then you have no heart!” exclaimed Elsie warmly. - -“I confess that it has left me and is in the keeping of a fierce little -radical.” - -“Who wishes your judgment was with it, for I think such conservatism as -yours is dangerous and—yes, positively wicked!” - -“You are charming when you wear that look,” said Herbert critically. - -“Just wait till I find you are as obstinate as you are evasive, and I -shall not look so charming. But really I wish you would go away. Do you -see that pile of blue jeans? Every moment wasted on you is just so much -stolen from my beauty sleep, and of course you care more for that than -for any purpose of mine.” - -“Well, then, if you’ll remember that all I shall ask of you at our next -meeting will be to look pretty and talk nonsense I’ll go.” Suiting the -action to the word, he left the room. - -“Elsie,” he called a moment later as he put his head in the open door, -“may I send you a violet if it’s a very small and stingy one?” - -Herbert dodged just in time to escape the pin-cushion Elsie threw at his -head, but the supper-table that night was graced with a generous bouquet -of Parmesan violets, and they nestled lovingly in Elsie’s dark locks, -under her plump chin, and in the cincture of her slender waist. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - -For some weeks Gilbert had been perfecting a number of handsomely -finished medicine cabinets (which were furnished with racks for bottles -and drawers for boxes, sponges, and all the various healing -paraphernalia which every well-regulated household keeps at hand for -emergencies), and now that the question of subsistence was so seriously -confronting them once more, he determined to canvass from house to house -and endeavor to sell them. Knowing that the homes of the rich would be -closed against him, he could only hope to gain access to those of the -middle and poorer classes, among whom he meant to provoke what thought -and inquiry he could regarding the establishment of a society of -universal brotherhood. Beyond the five great principles enunciated by -the eloquent clergyman, all ideas were as yet in a nebulous state. -Having established the fact of a desire for the proposed reform, the -three instigators—for Elsie was already heart and hand in the projected -work—believed that wisdom would be given them for the rounding and -perfecting of details. “There is one thing to be remembered,” said -Margaret, “that to-day no less than yesterday a tree is known by its -fruit, and love to God can only be reached in the minds of the oppressed -through love to man. First prove to men that you love their souls -because you love the God that created them, and you will then be able to -convey to them some of the greater truths of a divine and spiritual -love.” - -“Is not that material doctrine?” asked Elsie. - -“No, I do not think so. The world has been mystified too long. The plain -and simple doctrine of a human, interested, generous love even a child -can understand, and God does not despise the day of small things.” - -“How otherwise can you reach a material nature than by material -symbols?” asked Gilbert. - -“Even as a child learns to rely upon love and gradually reaches back to -the motive and inspiration of that love, so back of this earthly -brotherhood men will come to see the radiance and truth of divinity -overshadowing it.” - -“Ah, if mankind can only be made to look at it in that light! But what -are we going to do, Gilbert, in this new order with the besotted and -brutish natures that live only for self?” - -“Give them all the personal friendliness we can and help them to outgrow -their evil natures.” - -“It will take generations of refining influences to do that, I am -afraid. So much clings to the flesh that is bred in the bone.” - -“True; but we are to-day only small factors in the great scheme of human -civilization. What we leave unfinished other hands may take up. In any -event, whether of failure or success, we three, weird fates maybe,” said -Gilbert with a smile, “we know that for us happiness lies in doing what -we can to lighten the heavy load of oppression and injustice under which -our brothers are groaning.” - -“Amen!” exclaimed Elsie, printing a resounding kiss upon Gilbert’s -cheek. “You look like another Savonarola, only a trifle handsomer, I -must admit.” - -“Give me the inspiration of his genius and the force of his eloquence, -and I’ll will you my good looks.” - -“Thanks! Herbert says I’ll do as I am,” she exclaimed, drawing herself -up to her full height and flushing and dimpling as roguishly as a -mischievous child. - -“By the way, Elsie, how are you and your millionaire lover going to -reconcile the very opposite views you hold on various vital questions?” - -Elsie’s face grew sober instantly. “I don’t like to think about it, -Gilbert. I’m so happy now that I’m only waiting. Perhaps—some time—God -knows!” and tears routed the smiles on the volatile face. - -“There! don’t worry about it,” said Gilbert. “He’s a jolly good fellow, -anyhow, and we wouldn’t be any worse than a number of well-known -personages of history if we let conscience succumb to the narcotizing -influence of his pieces of silver.” - -There was an unusual twinkle in the eyes of the sober Gilbert, which -provoked Elsie to say: “Go to, thou reformer! What need hast thou of any -man’s silver?” - -With Elsie’s return home, her faculty for turning off work, and her fund -of good-humor, the circumference of the Busy Fingers Club was constantly -increasing. Now that Gilbert was away so much, she took his place at the -bench on the Saturdays allotted to the Club, and if she did not exhibit -his dexterity in directing and executing work, she yet preserved order -and made fast friends of the boys under her charge. She was so fertile -in suggestion that a good many new ideas took shape in inventive heads -and found expression in beautiful and useful things in wood. “Some day,” -said Elsie sagely, “we’ll have a bazaar and sell these things, and oh, -won’t we be rich!” - -“What’ll we do with our money?” cried the boys. - -“Put it in the bank until we can find some great and glorious need for -it.” - -“Like buying me a bicycle!” shouted one of the lads. - -“And me a base-ball outfit!” - -“And me a fiddle!” - -“And me a musical top!” - -“And me a white elephant!” cried Elsie. But the laugh did not rout the -idea of doing something in the way of a bazaar. It spread among the -girls and incited them to renewed effort; and it grew to be an open -secret in the neighborhood that in the glowing but indefinite sometime, -great things were to be achieved by the now well-known Busy Fingers -Club. - -It was the last of November and Antoine had returned from the hospital, -able to walk with the aid of one crutch and the promise of discarding -that when exercise and development had perfected the cure. A happier -woman than Lizzette Minaud seldom walked the earth. All her dreams and -anticipations of good fortune seemed to be winging their way to -realization. Antoine was getting well; for now that the lad had been -lifted to his full stature, the deformed shoulders seemed to be -straightening, the color came and went in the once pale cheeks, and the -laughter in his heart made a constant music for her. - -“Oh, eet ees all von blessed Providence, mon Herbeart,” she cried as he -sat at her right hand, the honored guest at the little banquet she had -prepared at Idlewild to welcome Antoine’s home-coming. “Surely le bon -Dieu direct ze noble heart to help my boy, and——” - -“Fall in love with Elsie,” suggested Herbert, who felt a little fearful -of a lachrymose scene in which he might be called upon to play actor. - -“Certainement!” laughed Lizzette. “Eet ees ze match made in heaven.” - -“Occasional sulphurous fumes about it when I scold, eh, Herbert?” cried -Elsie. - -“Oh, just enough as yet to light the flame of a ready wit. Whether -there’ll ever be any greater combustion remains to be seen.” - -“Well, I couldn’t be any happier over it if I stood in Herbert’s place,” -ejaculated Antoine, which grave announcement, in view of his twelve -years of maturity, was met with marked hilarity by the little circle. -“And I’m sure,” added Antoine, in no way abashed, “if Herbert is never -blown up until Elsie lights the fuse he’ll walk the earth a good while; -for I don’t believe she knows how to scold.” - -“Antoine, my lad, six months of seclusion have made you singularly -trustful. Elsie has scolded me ever since I knew her, and I’ve grown so -used to it in the last few weeks that I regard it in the light of a -tonic—like quinine or any other excellent bitter.” - -“Antoine,” said Elsie in a stage whisper, “have you noticed how improved -in health and appearance our mutual friend Mr. Lynn seems to be? It is -all the result of the exercise induced by trying to ward off some home -truths I’ve been thrusting at him.” - -“Ze fumes of sulphur!” cried Lizzette. “I protest zey rise no higher. I -fear ze combustion.” - -“They are a somewhat singular pair of lovers,” interposed Margaret. “It -is a rare thing when they are not sparring, but as they seem to enjoy it -and Herbert has not yet asked for a body-guard, I seldom interpose an -objection.” - -“Which, in view of the young man’s unprotected situation, is very -considerate of you,” said Elsie with a defiant toss of her head. “It is -my opinion, however, that there are more entertaining themes than the -peculiarities of a couple of commonplace individuals. Mr. Lynn, will you -please give us a lecture on good manners?” - -“I shall be most happy to do so when my audience narrows to one -listener.” - -“And he is before the mirror,” retorted Elsie. - -“Hush!” said Antoine; “stop that quarrelling! I’m going to sing.” And -closing his eyes and crossing his hands before him, he began to croon, -in well-portrayed negro accent and intonation, the lines of a little -dialect song: - - “De way is dark an’ rough an’ long, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - Doan’t git too deep in de slew ob wrong, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - - “Dey’s cross-roads heah an’ cross-roads dar, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - But hope is de sign-board shinin’ like a star, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - - “Jes’ keep a-joggin’ tru’ de san’ an’ clay, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - Dar’s lub at de eend ob de ’arthly way, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - - “De eyes some time mighty full ob teahs, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - But lub is de lawd ob de slabe ob feahs, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - - “So jes’ keep smilin’ in de face ob woe, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun! - Dar’s a happy lan’ whar de good shall go, - Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!” - -The clear soprano voice rolled out the words and notes with the abandon -of his Ethiopian prototype, and Elsie turned and laid an arm around the -lad’s neck as she exclaimed: “Antoine Minaud! Where in the world did you -find that song?” - -“In here,” said Antoine, significantly tapping his temple. - -“An improvisator!” cried Elsie ecstatically. “Herbert, we’re in the -presence of genius.” - -“So I perceive. Where did you discover the faculty, Antoine?” - -“At the hospital.” - -“Can you improvise instantly?” - -“Give me a theme and see.” - -“Well, take my lady’s eyes,” said Herbert with a low bow to Elsie. - -“Her nose rather! That would be more in keeping,” retorted Elsie. - -“All right,” laughed Antoine, and scarcely a moment later he was -carolling a rollicking Irish jig to words that seemed to follow the tune -as if they had been fitted with the utmost carefulness. - - “My lady’s nose— - You wouldn’t suppose - A poet could rave about it, - But as it lies - Between her eyes, - She wouldn’t look well without it! - - “An ‘ornery’ nose - Can smell a rose, - But hers has more to do, sir! - It scornful tips - Above her lips, - At follies she finds in you, sir!” - -“Bravo, Antoine!” cried Elsie, jumping up and bringing his violin. “Now -play it.” - -And as the violin dashed into the abandon of the melody, she grasped -Gilbert by the shoulders and the two went whirling off into a jig. - -“That’s inspiring,” cried Herbert, catching up Lizzette and dashing -after them. The dishes rattled, the pictures shook, the stove trembled, -the floors creaked, but on they danced, madder and merrier as the violin -actually shrieked in glee, until Margaret cried aghast: - -“Ho! ‘Tom the Piper’s Son!’ Stop! Stop! I beg. It is a veritable -witches’ dance.” - -“Come on, my solemn sister,” and Elsie caught Margaret around the waist -and dragged her into the merry scramble. - -“My poor old bones!” cried Lizzette, sinking into a chair. “Antoine’s a -necromancer! I almost grow young again.” The fiddle stopped, but only -for a moment, for by a sudden transition it swept away into an old-time -melody: - - “Sleep on thy pillow, - Happy and light, - As the moon on the billow - Reposes at night.” - -The old fiddle seemed to have awakened to new life under the touch of -the new Antoine, and Herbert could scarcely repress a glow of -satisfaction as he looked at the lad. “Specific kindness does vastly -more for the world than general good-will. If I might be permitted to -spend the better part of my income on this little circle, I should feel -that I had done enough for humanity; but the worst part of it is, this -little circle has such exalted ideas of independence, and Elsie—bless -her and bother her!—shuts the door in my face continually. I don’t more -than half like the muddle, anyway!” - -The winter wore away with but few radical changes. Mrs. Mason’s -opposition to Herbert’s marriage to Elsie showed no diminution, and -after numberless and fruitless intercessions on his part he finally took -up his quarters at a hotel, and Mrs. Mason closed her house and went to -Europe. His sister’s opposition and Elsie’s persistent refusal to marry -him as long as the present bitterness remained between them, kept -Herbert in a constant state of dissatisfaction. The world was quite too -much upside down with the conflict of ideas, and men no longer seemed to -be permitted to work out their own lines of happiness without treading -on somebody’s toes. Helen’s sole objection to Elsie had been the -capacity in which she had served them, and the consequent fear of -society’s verdict. He didn’t care a bit more for Helen’s narrow world, -than he did for Elsie’s quixotic schemes for a regenerated humanity. He -wanted simply to be happy in his own way and according to his highest -light. Helen and Elsie had both called him selfish, and both from -opposite standpoints. As to the truth of their judgments, he didn’t -care. He only knew that an overmastering love for Elsie as the -sweetest-natured, most piquant, and original woman he had ever met held -him fast in an irrevocable bondage, and but for an obstinacy on Elsie’s -part, as settled as it was difficult to understand, he would have cut -the Gordian knot by an immediate marriage and absolute defiance of -Helen. Lizzette had been right when she told Herbert he did not know -Elsie’s nature. It was developing a faculty for self-abnegation that -alarmed him. There were times when the sweetest and most sacred love -shone in her eyes, and the barriers of restraint were broken down by the -utmost sympathy of thought and feeling; at others the spirit of a martyr -looked out from their translucent depths and an invisible yet conscious -wall seemed to separate them. Herbert trembled in vague alarm whenever -he encountered this look, lying but thinly veiled beneath the mobile -face. But with a man’s blindness he could not see that the love which he -arrogated to himself and which shut out the world as of little moment, -was only broadening her sympathies and making divine revelations of its -beauty and value. Love with all its sacredness and possibilities, -holding close to the one dear image enshrined in the holy of holies of -her heart, had opened wide its door to suffering mankind. So vividly -burned the fire on the altar of her love that she turned as if with -outstretched arms, crying: “O ye who are cold and hungry! Here ye will -find warmth and shelter.” - -It is rarely that a man understands either the motive or development of -a love like this, and he is quite apt through ignorance or jealousy to -quarrel with any of its various manifestations. To Herbert many of -Elsie’s ideas on the great and vexed social questions of the day seemed -the acme of absurdity, and he cherished the fond hope that when she was -once transplanted to regions of luxurious ease, they would die from -inanition. He looked upon them as the natural outgrowth of a -circumscribed horizon and constant association with the seamy side of -life. “When she sees what art, science, culture, and wealth can do for -those she loves, her sympathies will not wander so far, but will narrow -down to an area wherein we can walk hand in hand.” - -Thus Herbert often assured himself as he became daily more conscious of -the undercurrent of feeling and belief that was gradually widening in -her nature. - -The winter had been an unusually long and severe one, and the resources -of the little family had often been severely taxed to keep the wolf from -the door. Herbert’s alert eyes had discovered this fact, and he had -taken to leaving sundry packages of groceries and provisions of various -kinds in the most unheard-of places, trusting to time to discover them -and good sense to appropriate and say nothing. Margaret had found them -stuffed under the cushions of the chairs, behind pictures, tucked under -the book-rack, and impelled by a need sharper than even Elsie had -guessed, since into Margaret’s hands had been transferred the domestic -machinery, had, as Herbert hoped, used them without inquiry. “It is one -of God’s balances,” she said to herself, “that may one day even up. It -is a delicate and generous act for which I can only be thankful and keep -silent.” - -To Gilbert the winter had been a revelation of suffering and vice that -had only stirred deeper the pool of the living faith within his heart. -In his vocation as peddler he had found access to much of the hidden -life of poverty and crime which escapes even the most far-sighted -general observers. Wherever he had been able to pierce the strata of -callousness which the severest forms of poverty invariably create, he -had found the same helpless appeal that has for so many generations -sounded down the aisles of time—give us something to hope for, believe -in, trust in! Something palpable that we can touch, feel, and know. -Inquiry as to churches surrounding them usually elicited a shrug of the -shoulders and the reply: “They are not for such as me. If I dares to go, -they talks about a far-off God that I doesn’t understand, and hitches -their fine clothes away from me as if my rags would pisen ’em!” - -The more that Gilbert came to know the impulses stirring in these -benumbed hearts, the more he and Margaret felt the need of establishing -a ground of intercommunication between them. To be able to meet these -wretched mortals upon their own plane and lead them along, by paths they -could understand, up to the great truths of time and eternity, and to -make palpable to them that God’s love is not a mere abstraction, but a -revivifying, humanizing influence—what dearer work could one ask? And -yet how was it possible in their straightened circumstances to make even -a beginning of this work? Elsie’s fertility of resource solved the -problem. - -“Make the Busy Fingers Club a factor in the case. Let them hold their -long-talked-of bazaar, rent the necessary room, and christen the project -‘The Children’s Home Meeting.’ Then let Gilbert go among his poor, tell -them of the wonderful violinist and improvisator, Antoine Minaud, and -promise them a free concert on some Sunday night. After the concert, -have a few moments for social intercourse, in which all four of the -principal instigators and abettors in the scheme endeavor to make the -acquaintance of those in the room, and then let Gilbert or Margaret give -them a few—only a few—of the simple truths of every-day living and -learning. It is a very simple beginning,” added Elsie dubiously. - -“And for that reason the best,” said Margaret decidedly. - -The members of the little club were enthusiastic abettors of the scheme -as outlined to them by Margaret and Elsie. The name which Elsie had so -happily bestowed upon the project instantly won upon their regard and -made them noisy advertisers of their work throughout the neighborhood. -The rooms of a member occupying the lower floor of the tenement-house -were secured for the use of the bazaar, and what audience the handiwork -of the little folks did not attract, the music of Antoine’s violin -succeeded in catching and holding. Altogether the bazaar was pronounced -a success by its delighted originators, and at its close there was money -enough to pay the rent of the hall for one night and possibly two. Then -came the work of training the children for the concert. Elsie took -especial care that every song should breathe the tenderness, the mercy, -the helpfulness of divine love, and the sweet, clear voices of the -children, trained to the subtile sympathy of expression by her innate -appreciation, made many of the songs long to be remembered. - -It was a curious and motley throng that assembled in the hall one Sunday -night in response to Gilbert’s invitation, as he stood at the door and -took every comer by the hand. Women with shawls over their heads, with -babies asleep on their breasts, men with hats pulled low over eyes that -cast furtive glances of unrest and suspicion, brazen-faced and -gaudily-dressed creatures with their calling stamped upon their -countenances, ragged and barefooted children, pale-faced and distorted -cripples, came slowly and half-reluctantly into the room. It was -something so new, so unlike anything they had ever been offered, that -they were more than half afraid it was a trap, and that it would end in -their being preached at, told how vile they were, and warned to flee -from the wrath of an angry and a jealous God. They had heard these words -so many times and had felt, deep within disquieted and tumultuous -bosoms, the wide gulf between the prosperous promulgators of the church -and their own degraded and unhappy condition. Yet somehow they all -trusted Gilbert; there was something in the clear, earnest, boyish face -that won the most suspicious nature, and it was because they had felt -that he was truly their friend that they had ventured to come. The hall -was a barren, smoke-begrimed, illy-ventilated room, but Elsie and the -children had made what effort they could with meagreness of material to -brighten it up. Above the platform, where stood Elsie’s organ and where -the semicircle of children was ranged, those in the audience who could -read beheld in large letters, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to -you, do ye even so unto them.” Over the windows hung gay cotton banners -bearing such inscriptions as “Love is lord of all.” “A cup of cold water -to the thirsty.” “A kind word maketh the heart glad.” “A true heart is -one of earth’s jewels.” “A little child shall lead them.” - -Antoine’s violin caught the inspiration of the hour and spoke in almost -human tones the pathos, the prayer, and the hope of each bosom. The airs -were those of simple, well-known hymns, many of them so familiar as to -be almost household words, and when in response to Gilbert’s invitation -the audience arose and sang the choruses, there were not many lips that -remained motionless. They had doubtless heretofore been hummed many -times by the same careless, unthinking voices; now they seemed to strike -deep into some inner fibre of feeling, and many a furtive tear rolled -from beneath quivering and downcast lashes. The children sang, as Elsie -declared, “like little angels;” but the crowning event of the evening -was Antoine’s improvisation. Advancing to the center of the platform on -his one crutch, he began in a low, plaintive, and touchingly-sweet -voice: - - “My heart is sair wi’ muckle woe, - God knows! God knows! - I ken nae mair the way to go, - God knows! - - “My feet are cut, my shoon are gane, - God knows! God knows! - And every step is hurt wi’ pain, - God knows! - - “Nae light is roun’ aboot my way, - God knows! God knows! - I canna see the sun of day, - God knows! - - “I faint and fall in sairest need, - God knows! God knows! - And men go by wi’ little heed, - God knows! - - “Sae little costs the kindly word, - God knows! God knows! - Sae sad it is sae seldom heard, - God knows! - - “Sae bitter is the thirsting lip, - God knows! God knows! - Some time mayhap love’s cup we’ll sip, - God knows!” - -Before Antoine had finished, men and women were rocking back and forth -and sobbing like children, and when the last strains of the song died -away, it seemed minutes before any one spoke, and then a woman, who an -hour before had entered the room with a brazen face and a foul-mouthed -ejaculation, cried out in heart-broken tones: “Oh, sing it again—God -knows! God knows!” - -Softly, as if taken up and echoed by angel voices, Antoine sang once -more the last stanza, and before the lingering notes were lost on the -air, he was at the woman’s side clasping her hand in his. - -Instantly Gilbert, with Margaret and Elsie on either side and Lizzette -and the children following, left the platform to mingle with and take -the hands of those present. They passed among them with words of cheer -and good-will, and when order was again called, there was an -unmistakable look of eager expectancy upon the faces that was balm to -the watchful eyes of Margaret and Gilbert. Advancing to the front of the -platform, the latter said simply: - -“My friends: I am glad you trusted me sufficiently to come here -to-night. We hope to have many more such nights together, and I only ask -you in going away to remember that, sad as is the pathway of life for -many of us, there is light ahead. The soul of man through which God -seeks to work the salvation of the world is not dead but sleepeth. -Slowly it is awaking, and love that abides in the world shall some time -teach men that its universal practice must be ‘Whatsoever ye would that -men should do to you, do ye even so unto them.’” - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - -As the winter grew into early spring, the fame of the Children’s Home -Meetings spread so rapidly that a larger audience-room became an -imperative necessity. The churches began to inquire into the matter, and -Margaret and Gilbert were beset with questions as to their creed and -purpose. To all such they gave answer, “Our only creed is love, and our -only purpose to help each other.” - -“Too vague and indefinite; the structure will fall for lack of proper -support. You ought at least to have a set of rules.” - -“So we have,” replied Margaret, “but they spring from the need of the -hour. We have order at our meetings because even disorderly natures find -that to keep the peace best subserves the interest they feel in the -all-pervading friendship we are seeking to establish. Beyond this we -keep in sight, although not obtrusively, the axiom, if such it may be -called, that the interest of one is the interest of all, and -transversely, that the interest of all is the interest of one. When -these simple truths have become the bone and sinew of belief and -practice, then we may go a few steps farther as the way opens and light -dawns.” - -“You must have an ultimate line of procedure marked out—some plan as to -its religious aspect, have you not?” - -“We teach no so-called system of theology. Since atheists, infidels, -deists, and trinitarians all meet upon the common ground that the -civilized world has never beheld a grander epitome of what is called -‘living’ than that afforded by Jesus of Nazareth, we are content to -forego modern complications of creeds and isms and establish among -ourselves the fundamental truths taught by Jesus and, better yet, -practised by Him. In doing this we think we shall better both man’s -desires and surroundings. This idea, carried to its logical conclusion, -is so far-reaching that inequalities of opportunity will fall away as if -by magic and the now unceasing mutterings of discontent and strife will -be one day relegated to a past age of unconscionable greed and -injustice.” - -“The church has been striving to accomplish this for eighteen hundred -years. How can you expect, with no trained organization, to reach so -beatific a state of society?” - -“Because we shall not do as the church does and partition the goats from -the sheep. We shall practice no exclusion, no worship of mammon, and -shall acknowledge no caste except that of heart and brain. Personally I -do not look beyond the good of the present hour; if that is rightfully -spent the future will take care of itself. Indeed, our effort is much -like guiding the first steps of the child; development must come with -years and growth.” - -“Well, you have a good motive and are an earnest advocate. We shall -watch your progress with interest and wish you God-speed.” - -These words were but a type of the interest the movement aroused among -cultured and progressive thinkers who came to watch and listen and went -away to ponder. Margaret and Gilbert, ever watchful of the trend of -current thought, smiled hopefully at each other when, in the columns of -their daily paper, they read the announcement of sermons on such topics -as “The Era of Religious Harmony: What Signs of its Approach? What can -we do to Hasten it?” “The Co-operative Principle in Morals.” “The Ethics -of the Eight-hour Movement.” “Religious Communism.” - -“The way is clearing for us,” said Margaret eagerly. “Thought is awake -and we are only followers in the march of progress; we are not even -forerunners.” - -“And yet we are looked upon with suspicion by a great many well-meaning -people. The conservative element in the church regards our ideas as -subversive and dangerous.” - -“So thought the money-changers in the temple when Jesus drove them out. -What are we attempting to do, indeed, but re-establish the line of faith -on which the church has built itself? And if in doing this we brush some -of our plebeian, homespun ideas against a shocked silken-coated -aristocratic culture, we may advance the price of homespun in the -market, if nothing more. I am not afraid for our cause, since it is -identical with everlasting truth.” - -“Yes, and walks hand in hand with the heart-hungry and soul-begging -mortal! Margaret, every time I stretch out my hand to one who has need -of a friend, I feel that the grandeur of that _Life_ which is enthroned -in my conscience and teaches me to aspire to the highest development, is -something infinitely greater than the same truth could have been as a -mere abstraction. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man among men, makes possible -all that is highest in human endeavor. A philosophy as old as the -earliest time and as fundamentally true as God himself, that ‘Nobility -arises from individual virtue and not from Abraham’s blood,’ and which -Jesus made so potent when He walked the earth, needs now, as then, -apostles who fear not to preach the truth. It underlies in all its -simplicity every system of religion and statecraft, and yet it is -ignored, brow-beaten, trampled under foot, and sneered at by those who -seek power at the expense of all that is noblest in man. Oh, had I a -thousand tongues I could not hurl these old truths at the world fast -enough!” - -Flushed and tremulous with feeling, Gilbert walked up and down the room, -pouring out the flood of ideas which his work called into activity. - -“Social well-being, industrial thrift, active consciences—let us place -these in the corner-stone of the new structure. Religion has been ‘set -apart’ too long; so long, indeed, that within its doors have crept the -monsters of greed, gold-worship, and place-hunting, until its higher and -holier meanings have been well-nigh crowded out. What, indeed, does man -want of a religion that does not permeate every hope, desire, and action -of life? We must bring it down from its idealized height and make it -common as the air we breathe and the bread we eat. Then indeed may man, -glancing upward, behold the dawn of a new and happier day!” - -It was a day or two later that Herbert and Elsie were at the organ -trying a new piece of music, which accidentally slipping from its rack -fell behind the organ as it stood diagonally across the room. In rolling -the organ out Elsie discovered a market basket full of groceries hidden -in the corner. - -“Where in the world did that basket come from, and what a strange place -to put it!” cried Elsie in amazement. As she glanced at Herbert his -flushed, uneasy face told the whole story. - -“I am exceedingly obliged to your estimate of us as objects of charity!” -she exclaimed, placing the basket in the middle of the room, and -standing over it with the air of a queen of tragedy. - -Herbert could not forbear a laugh, and there was a trifle of malice in -the tone with which he said: “It seems to me there is a striking -conflict of ideas between the democracy you preach and practice at the -Children’s Home Meetings I hear so much about, and the aristocracy of -pride you practice at home and toward those whom you ought to trust.” - -Elsie winced under the home thrust, and with the quickness with which -she could judge herself, answered contritely: “I know I am proud, -Herbert; but I think it is an honorable pride. At least so I have always -considered pride of character, and it always _did_ hurt when anything -struck at my independence. It isn’t as if I were sick, or incapable, -or——” - -“Exhibited a proper humility of spirit, instead of an obstinate and -irritating pride,” interrupted Herbert. - -“Am I irritating?” asked Elsie simply. “In what way?” - -“In ever so many ways,” answered Herbert, evidently bent on -fault-finding. “I seem to count but a cipher in your estimation beside -some of these overmastering ideas of yours. If I exhibit a generous -motive toward you, you smother it——” - -“In kisses,” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck and proceeding -to stop further explanation. “Herbert Lynn,” she added, drawing a long -breath after the bit of violent exercise above recorded, “you’re a most -ungrateful man! Now don’t bluster, for it won’t do one bit of good. I’m -going to tell you something new. I love you more than any man in the -world—that is, any I’ve met so far! Keep still! and I’m going to do an -exceedingly generous action; I’m going to keep the groceries, and drop -you a courtesy of the properly humble kind, and say, ‘Thank you kindly, -sir! May heaven’s blessings shower——’ Why, what is the matter? You won’t -even wait for the proper ending of the performance.” - -Herbert shook himself loose from her detaining arm and walked to the -window with a highly-offended air. - -The laugh on Elsie’s lips and in her eyes died away, and after a -moment’s pondering she followed him and said penitently: “Forgive me, -Herbert; you know I love you more than——” - -“What?” asked Herbert suspiciously. - -“Money,” said Elsie sententiously. - -“Bah!” exclaimed Herbert, angrily. - -“Be calm, my friend! Now look me squarely in the eyes and behold your -image reflected there as—I’m in earnest now—truly it is engraven on my -heart, never to be erased as long as I live.” - -Herbert’s reply was that speech of silence so eloquent to the ears of -all lovers, and for the time being it bridged over the tide of their -differences. - -“Herbert,” said Elsie, when the silence had been effectively disposed -of, “why do you never come to the Children’s Home Meetings?” - -“In the first place, because I’ve never been asked, and in the second -place, I’m not altogether in sympathy with the movement.” - -A sudden pang shot through Elsie’s heart. “Please explain,” she said -quietly. - -“Well, probably my reasons are selfish and personal. I believe you know -that I am somewhat generous at heart, that I am in the main humanity’s -well-wisher, and that I am ever ready to relieve a specific case of -distress; but I do not feel as if I wanted the girl who is to be my wife -hand in glove with the riff-raff of society.” - -“The riff-raff of society!” repeated Elsie wonderingly. “Who are they? -How am I hand in glove with them?” - -“Well, from what I hear,” answered Herbert uneasily, “you not only talk -the gospel of love in its broadest sense to women of the vilest stamp, -but you take their hands when it is pollution to touch them, you sit -beside them and try to teach them truths they are too dulled and -besotted to learn, and while you are, I must admit, an angel of light, -you are but a mock for their vile tongues, and make, I fear, only -questionable progress.” - -“Go on,” said Elsie faintly as Herbert paused. - -“There is a spirit of unrest and dissatisfaction abroad which I think -your efforts will do much to incite instead of quell. I do not question -your motives, but I do question your methods. Let them alone, Elsie, -darling, and be content to shine at the hearthstone of those who love -you. Intensify your light for me, instead of diffusing it until it is as -thin and almost as cold as moonshine.” - -There was no fire of playful fancy in the eyes that met Herbert’s as -Elsie raised her head from his shoulder. He started as he saw the dull, -cold hopelessness beneath the heavily-fringed eyelids. - -“O Herbert! Herbert!” she cried despairingly. “Why do you ask this? Why -did you ever learn to love me? I told you it was a mistake! I am one of -these common people whom you despise. I can no more shut out my -aspirations, hopes, dreams, and efforts for them than I can cut off my -right hand. I have fed on these thoughts until they have become bone and -sinew. You knew us, you knew our methods—why, oh, why did you learn to -love me?” - -“For the very reason that you are not one of the common people. I have, -I think, told you several times before that I am not so blind I cannot -tell a jewel regardless of its environment. I loved you _despite_ -education, surroundings, social pride, everything. I swept away every -obstacle to call you mine, and I care nothing for the world’s verdict. I -only want you for myself, queen of my heart and home, adored as its -sovereign light, surrounded by all that the eye delights in or the heart -can ask.” - -“No, not all,” said Elsie quietly. - -“What else?” asked Herbert eagerly. “You shall have everything that love -or wealth can procure.” - -“Can they buy a quiet conscience?” - -Herbert shrank back. “I think you exaggerate the matter,” he said -hastily. “I cannot see that the conscience is called into question.” - -“I can,” said Elsie decidedly. “I had a heritage left me, here,” and she -placed her hand upon her breast as she spoke, “and daily and hourly it -tells me that if I selfishly lock up my God-given sympathies and turn -away from the impulses of my better nature, I am committing a crime -whose punishment is no less severe because eternity shall judge it.” - -“Elsie! Elsie!” cried Herbert, awed into a great fear by the solemnity -of her words, “you shall be the dispenser of charity as bounteous as you -desire.” - -“And yet be forbidden to soil my hands by contact with poverty or crime. -No, we have too much of that sort of charity already. Besides, do you -not see, Herbert, that there could be no happiness for us holding such -opposite views as we do? Marriage is too holy to admit a division of -sentiment and endeavor between husband and wife. Ah, I have been so weak -to permit a love that I knew could only bring disaster!” - -“It is only a few moments ago that you assured me you loved me for all -time.” - -“I do.” - -“And yet you can throw me over for a disordered society that never will -appreciate an iota of your sacrifice.” - -“You are mistaken! The sacrifice appeases a deeper and holier feeling.” - -“You have a very strange way of reasoning, it seems to me,” said Herbert -bitterly. “You rob Peter to pay Paul with surprising alacrity.” - -The look that Elsie turned upon him was so filled with agony that he -cried remorsefully as he caught her hand and endeavored to draw her -toward him: “Forgive me, Elsie, darling! I am not worthy of your love, I -know; but I hunger so for it—I can’t give it up!” - -Elsie drew back with the despairing cry, “We are so wide apart, -Herbert.” - -“We needn’t be if you would trust more to me and less to that -hypersensitive soul of yours.” - -A look of scorn not usual to Elsie’s face met Herbert’s appealing gaze. -She rose to her feet and stood stiffly before him. - -“You are centuries too late. My hypersensitive soul has a right to its -own distinct existence. Your prescience should have told you how little -I could strike palms with you in utter self-annihilation.” - -A faint smile crossed Herbert’s face at Elsie’s grandiloquent words and -air, but it died quickly away as she swept haughtily from the room and -would not come back, though he called her repeatedly. Angrily he -snatched his hat and left the house. Abused, insulted, hurt, -misunderstood, he felt himself to be, and the more he reviewed the -situation the more he felt that Elsie’s obstinacy, as he termed it, had -raised an impassible barrier between them. Still his heart would not be -stifled, and it was not till after dispatching a note to her and -despairingly reading her answer—that marriage between people so -distinctly at variance could never bring happiness—that he wholly lost -hope. It was but the work of a few hours to make arrangements to join -his sister abroad. At the last moment he dispatched a note to Elsie -containing these words: “I have placed the sum of five thousand dollars -in the C—— National Bank, subject to your call. If you love me as -devotedly as I can assure you I shall ever cherish your memory, you -cannot do less than make me happy by using it. You owe me this small -recompense for the suffering that will be mine to the day of my death.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - -To Margaret alone Elsie opened the flood-gates of her heart, and it was -only after days of overwhelming grief that she could again take up the -burden of life. Margaret’s tears of sisterly sympathy and words of -counsel could not at first still the torrent of heart-broken tears with -which she mourned her lost love. Not even Herbert had known how precious -it had been to her—how everything high and holy had seemed to be the -offspring of that vitalizing force in her heart. Now, because having -lived up to its highest revelations and endeavored to be true to its -holiest purposes, she had crossed a counter-current of thought and will, -this love had been taken from her. Had she been wrong, opinionated, -obstinate, as Herbert called her? Had she forgotten the sweet submission -of the weaker unto the stronger in that natural order of divine and -human love which popular clamor voices as the proper sphere of woman? -Often as she asked herself these questions—and with the not unnatural -hope of finding herself in the wrong, since her heart prompted the -slave-like humility of a perfect love—just so often conscience answered, -“No!” Stronger still, as she reasoned, grew the feeling that her soul -had a right to its own individuality, and that whatever it cost her, she -had no right to bind its wings, even though the fetters were silken and -lightly held by the hand of love. Neither Margaret, Lizzette, Antoine, -nor Gilbert dared offer a verbal sympathy to the sore heart behind the -white, set face that confronted them when Elsie had fought her battle -alone. The sparkle was irretrievably gone from the dark eyes, and the -curved lips drooped pitifully at times; but in all the earnestness of -purpose, the kindliness of spirit, she was still the same Elsie. - -The work of the Children’s Home Meetings grew almost hourly under her -efforts; for now that she had sacrificed her heart on the altar of this -work, she meant to make the sacrifice acceptable in its good results. -Every hour that she and Margaret could snatch from the demands of their -daily work, they spent in forming what they called “Conscience Classes.” -The system of ethics taught was as simple as the minds with which they -came in contact, and bore the stamp of the ever-living truth. The -magnetic presence of the four chief workers grew to be a living delight -to all who came from motives of curiosity or interest within its circle. -Beginning at first only with what Herbert had been pleased to term “the -riff-raff of society,” the circumference of the circle had gradually -widened until a better-educated and more self-respecting class had found -its way among them. Yet even with intelligence gaining upon them, the -one great need of basing all reform, all happiness, all prosperity upon -the code of ethics which, while it demands the highest development of -the individual, yet takes its inspiration from the thought of a common -welfare, was never lost sight of. Earnestness is the great lever of the -world, and while there were many to oppose the idea as of -disproportionate value to the need and development of the times, the -effort still found many adherents. To be called cranks, laughed at by -unbelievers, and derided by the class for which nothing is holy but -success, came to be, as Elsie said, “normal as the air they breathed;” -but after the first sharp sting these shafts remained unnoticed, and the -one or two perishing ones uplifted, helped into the light and warmed by -the sunshine of human kindliness into a knowledge of the great inspirer -of their work, was balm enough to heal all the wounds of a scoffing -world. - -Margaret had also formed a Mother’s Class, in which everything -pertaining to motherhood and its duties, was thoughtfully discussed. -This class came in time to be presided over by Mrs. Carson, who, -partially recovered, found no greater delight than in seconding the good -work which had saved her in her hour of need. The Daughters of the -Carpenter was a class headed by Elsie and especially devoted to -helpfulness wherever it was needed. A list of the regular attendants of -the meeting was kept, and if a mother was found to be sick or -overworked, some one of the Daughters was appointed to render the needed -assistance. Among the men and elder boys Gilbert formed a reading class, -in which history and the science of government were brought down to the -comprehension of the illiterate, and men were shown that if they were -dissatisfied with existing social conditions, the remedy lay in their -own hands in a rightful use of the ballot, and that if they sold that -ballot to a ring or combination they only forged new links in the chains -that bound them to a slavery against which they were constantly -rebelling. Nor were the children forgotten in this work. Every original -“Busy Fingers” boy and girl had a new class, in which were resown the -good seeds implanted by Margaret and Gilbert. Thought and action were -growing slowly but surely in the little community; but already a serious -question was confronting them. The rental of the hall had easily been -effected by the subscription of a few cents from every regular -attendant; but the work, especially among the mothers’ and children’s -classes, required money to prosecute it. They were all poor, living from -hand to mouth, and while the work was growing there was no money to help -the growth. - -“O Margaret,” moaned Elsie, “if the money Herbert left me had only been -left to our beloved work, how gladly I would use it! Now, knowing how he -feels about it, I can never touch it.” - -It was nearing midsummer, and the work among their members was -increasing fast, by reason of sickness brought on by living in noisome -atmospheres and without proper food and care. Gilbert had come home from -his daily rounds one evening, the most of his cases unsold, and with an -unusual dejection of face and manner. - -“I am comfortless,” he said, “for lack of the dross of earth. I have -seen such realization of human suffering to-day without the power to -alleviate that I am in despair. I gained admittance to one room, where a -mother and her new-born babe lay dead for lack of care, while a couple -of little ones were begging her to give them something to eat. I had but -ten cents in my pocket that I had saved for street car-fare; but I -rushed out, got the children some buns, and aroused the other inmates of -the house, who were themselves too poor to do more than care for the -children temporarily, while I called in the authorities and had the body -disposed of in the potter’s field. How are we going to make this work of -ours reach such cases without money? I shall have to go begging -to-morrow. I had hoped that our work would so speak for itself that we -would not need to beg; but to-morrow I must endeavor to start a fund of -some kind.” - -As Gilbert ceased speaking, the open door was darkened by the form of a -tall, handsome woman dressed in deep mourning, whom Elsie at once -recognized as Alice Houghton. She turned with outstretched hand to -Elsie. “There is no need of introducing myself to you,” she said, -smiling, “but as I came to see your sister, will you make me known to -her, and your brother also?” - -The introductions over, Miss Houghton at once entered upon the object of -her visit. “I have come to you, Miss Murchison, for help. I have -recently been sadly bereaved in the loss of one I loved, and life has -very nearly lost its charms for me. I have been hearing a good deal of -your work lately, and I want you to teach me to find forgetfulness in -what is evidently very great happiness to you.” - -“Do you mean that you wish to become one of us?” - -“That is my meaning. I shall gladly be your servant in any work you may -have for me.” - -“To have a servant would be something new in my experience,” said -Margaret, smiling; “but we shall all be glad of help. Have you any -knowledge of our work? It is not agreeable only from one standpoint. -There isn’t the least æstheticism, superficially speaking, about it.” - -“I do not believe I shall be afraid to try it. I know you three alone, -unaided, without money or friends, have been doing a work that is -already forcing its way into notice by reason of its unselfishness. I -have money, much beyond my needs, and as I learn of the help you have -given to many sufferers, I feel sure that I can abet your efforts, with -money if not judgment.” - -Elsie sprang from her chair and impulsively held out her hand to Miss -Houghton. “We have such need of money,” she cried, “and you seem like a -providence of God.” - -“You are more willing to accept money from me now than you were once -before,” laughed Miss Houghton. - -“That was unearned; this is for the bettering of God’s poor.” - -“Your pride struck me as strange then. I understand it better now.” - -“And appreciate its motive, I hope,” said Elsie wistfully. - -“Indeed I do, my dear child; and if the pride of the world had a similar -foundation there would not be such a war of caste as afflicts society -to-day.” - -Fearful from Elsie’s flushed face and her knowledge of Helen Mason’s -opposition to Herbert’s marriage that in her last words she had -unwittingly trenched upon delicate ground, she slipped an arm around -Elsie’s waist, saying: “Tell me, my dear, why did you send Herbert -away?” - -It was a difficult matter for Elsie to summon self-command enough to -reply; but with a face from which the color quickly receded she -faltered: “We differed so much in our views that there was no -reconciling them.” - -“Then Helen was not wholly responsible?” - -“No, she was not responsible at all. Mr. Lynn’s education and mine had -been from such widely-different standpoints that the wonder is our ideas -ever came into conflict. It has always been a mystery to me why Mr. Lynn -ever chose to think——” - -“It is a wonder,” interrupted Alice Houghton dryly as she bent down and -kissed Elsie’s cheek. “I wouldn’t mourn, my dear, for a man who couldn’t -pocket a few whims to make me happy.” - -“But you don’t know,” said Elsie seriously; “it was no whim on my part, -for I seemed to belong here to this work. I could not give it up and be -happy.” - -“Ah, well, Herbert Lynn has lost the best of his life, and yet it is -only a few months ago that I looked through his spectacles. It is -strange how contact with sorrow opens our eyes to the true value of -qualities we did not notice before. Elsie, you must let me work beside -you, under the guidance of this wise sister of yours, and try to find -the same peace you are seeking. We seem to have met here from -widely-different paths. I gave up all for love—you, dear child, gave up -love for all humanity, and now we join hands in the same search for the -peace that passeth understanding. Will you show me the way, my little -girl?” - -It needed no words from Elsie, Margaret, or Gilbert to prove how -heartily and gladly they welcomed the proffered aid, even as they strove -to recompense in some measure the faltering and hungering spirit of -their benefactress. With intuitive quickness she became one of them in -the earnestness of her efforts, and the line of distinction so often -made apparent in the manner of those who seek the welfare of the -oppressed was entirely absent. Side by side with Margaret and Elsie she -walked among that class of women whose hands Herbert had said it was -pollution to touch; but when she saw the glow of appreciation lighting -up the dulled, imbruted faces, and heard the wails of penitence from -sore hearts, and the promises to gather up the remnants of shattered -lives and dedicate them henceforth to righteous living, she felt -something of the joy of the Master who thought it no disgrace to eat -with publicans and sinners. She was not long in following Gilbert from -door to door and inspecting the homes where, Gilbert said, a -self-respecting man would be ashamed to house his cattle. The absolute -disregard of sanitation in many of these herding places—for they were -little else—shamed with a burning blush the boasted nineteenth-century -civilization. The names of the owners of these tenement hovels were -listed by Alice Houghton and found in the majority of cases to be those -of men of wealth and prominence in the community, who never gave any -thought to their property except as regarded its monthly income. -Ordering her carriage and horses and dressing herself in her finest -raiment, Alice presented herself at the doors of these men. Without any -preliminaries she told them of her discoveries, the deplorable condition -of their tenants, and begged that something be done to improve their -condition. Her handsome presence, her dress, equipage, all bespeaking -her a person of consequence, she met with the usual courtesy which such -externals command; but in the majority of cases she was listened to with -that air of constraint betokened by elevated eyebrows and idly drumming -fingers. More than once she was given to understand, sometimes broadly -and sometimes indirectly, that she might better be minding her own -business. For all such she had a parting shot in saying: “I am preparing -for publication in the city press a series of articles on the condition -of our poor. I really hope, sir, I shall not be compelled to include -your name in the list of inhuman landlords.” - -The stroke told, and invariably elicited a promise of looking into the -matter, supplemented with at least some slight attempt at repairs. With -Alice Houghton conspicuous in such work, society became at once -interested. It might be a delightful fad to investigate this labor -question and exploit one’s charity in behalf of these poor dear -creatures. But whenever this desire was submitted, it met ignominious -and instant death. Only those who felt the earnestness of the work were -permitted any share in it. It soon became apparent, however, that the -latent impulses of human nature, veneered as they may be by false ideas -as to wealth and social position, are in the main generous and humane -ones. Under the influence of Alice Houghton wealth came to the succor of -the newly-formed and still chaotic society. Gilbert’s reading class -became possessed of a room for its exclusive use, where all the current -periodicals and papers and some of the best books could be found and -read by any one. It became a sort of poor man’s club-room where living -topics were discussed, and where twice a year a banquet was given at -which the speeches and toasts emanated from the growing minds of those -who had risen from the ranks. - -The parlors of several well-known society ladies were also thrown open -once a week to the orchestra formed by Antoine, but now placed under the -tutelage of a more proficient master. The Mother’s Class, the Daughters -of the Carpenter, and the Busy Fingers Club had each a fund from which -to draw in emergencies, and better than all else, it seemed to Gilbert, -the five great principles lying back of all these efforts had been -submitted to a council and a code of rules drawn up under the general -plan, which bade fair to make the society cohesive and enduring. Yet it -was by no means free from turbulent elements, nor had it come to its -present prosperity without encountering many well-nigh overwhelming -obstacles. As long as human nature is content to remain on the low plane -of self-indulgence, just so long will every good and unselfish impulse -find a bitter warfare waged against it, and not every one of those who -were to be most benefited by the movement was in favor of it. There -seems to exist in some natures a wolfish opposition to everything high -and holy, and Gilbert had long been aware, without in the least -understanding the reason, that he had incurred the enmity of one of -their number known as “Red Handed Mike.” If the fellow possessed any -patronymic it had long since passed into oblivion, and he was known only -by his sobriquet, and feared accordingly. Gilbert had been warned that -Mike was only waiting an opportunity to “make it hot for him”; but -thinking the threat, for lack of cause, merely the idle boast of a -bully, he passed it unnoticed. - -It was the morning of a day in early autumn. Margaret was made glad by -the sight of Aunt Liza and Eph, who, climbing to her sky-parlor with -many “oh’s” and “ah’s” and rheumatic squeaks of the joints, had greeted -her with the old-time effusion and affection which absence had not -dulled. - -“I was jes longin’ so fer de sight ob your face, Miss Margaret, I -couldn’t stay away no longer, and Eph heah has been a heap wuss’n me,” -exclaimed Aunt Liza. - -“Sho!” said Eph, fumbling with his hat and trying to hide his feet under -the rounds of his chair. “I only jes wanted to tell yer we’uns has done -a heap ob savin’ this heah summer. Mammy heah’s got a new red gown, an’ -I’s got a whole suit of store clothes, and besides, Ma’am Minaud’s -banked money fo’ us, too.” - -“Well done!” cried Margaret. “I couldn’t hear better news.” - -“I knowed you’d be tickled!” exclaimed Eph, delightedly displaying a -couple of rows of ivory teeth. “I done tol’ mammy dar wa’n’t no use -backslidin’ in this yere business when all you’uns had got to be jes -perfeck angels.” - -“Angels?” queried Margaret. - -“Why, don’t yer know we’uns has hearn tell all ’bout de society out to -Idlewild? And eberybody done says you’uns is saints and no mistake,” -exclaimed Aunt Liza. - -“Everybody is very kind,” said Margaret soberly, “but we are far from -saints. We are only trying to find the best side of human nature.” - -“Yo’ done it—yo’ done it fo’ shuah, Miss Margaret!” exclaimed Eph -excitedly. “Yo’ jest took us po’ trash and made us ’sponsible bein’s, -and showed us how to be ’spectable if we is brack.” - -“Deed yo’ did, Miss Margaret,” chimed in Aunt Liza. “And de bestest part -ob it is, as Eph’s a-sayin’, dar wa’n’t no ornery mission ’bout it.” - -“I’s jes been wonderin’, Miss Margaret,” interrupted Eph, “eber since I -hearn ’bout Antoine’s singin’ and de way de home meetin’s is callin’ de -po’ sinners, ef dar’s any reason why mammy an’ me couldn’t come jes -once, anyway. It’s white folkses’ meetin’, I know, but I jes like mighty -well ter heah some ob Antoine’s singin’. Day do say he jes ’lectrify de -aujience.” - -“Come and welcome,” said Margaret, who could not forbear a smile at -Eph’s rendering of popular phraseology. “We have room always for those -who are trying to find the way up.” - -“Deed’n I’s so glad, Miss Margaret,” said Aunt Liza effusively. “’Pears -like sometimes dey’s a dreffle prejice ’gainst folks jes cause de Lawd -made deir skin brack.” - -That evening, as Aunt Liza and Eph mounted the stairs of the Home Hall, -as it had come to be called, Red Handed Mike stood in the doorway and -blurted out as they passed: “We don’t want none o’ them d——d niggers -here. If Brother Gib ’lows ’em to stay I’ll break up the meetin’!” - -Just then Gilbert, accompanied by his sisters and Alice Houghton, -entered the hall. - -“Say,” called Mike, “do you see them niggers? Goin’ to let ’em stay?” - -“Certainly,” answered Gilbert. “They are friends of ours.” - -“No, they hain’t,” growled Mike. “I hain’t got no such devilish taste as -that.” - -Gilbert paused for a second, and said quietly as he faced the offender -with a steady glance: “I hope your good taste will prevent your making -any disturbance.” - -“Hush, Mike!” “Keep still, for God’s sake!” whispered several of his -companions as he turned to Gilbert threateningly. - -“Never fear, men,” said Gilbert reassuringly. “Mike knows this isn’t any -place for a mill,” and without saying anything further he passed on to -the platform. - -Under the entreaties of his companions the bully sank into a corner and -sulkily watched the proceedings. A little later Antoine stepped to the -front of the platform and began one of his inimitable improvisations. -Catching sight of Eph’s interested face in the audience, the impulse to -give a song in negro dialect came over him with irresistible force. With -scarcely a moment’s waiting the clear young voice rang out in a lively -carol. - - “What if some troubles yo’ do know? - Jes doan min’ ’em, let ’em go! - It only makes de bigger hill, - A-pilin’ up ob ebery ill, - So jes let trouble go! - - Chorus. - - “Git a lil’ sunshine in yo’ heart, - Whateber grief yo’s knowin’, - Git a lil’ sunshine in yo’ heart, - An’ set de smiles a-growin’. - - “De stranges’ thing is when yo’ smile, - Yo’ done forgit yo’sef a while! - Yo’ doan’ no mo’ remember pain, - Till yo’ forgits to smile again, - So jes let trouble go! - -Eph’s feet had been strangely uneasy during the rendering of the -preceding stanzas, and Aunt Liza had pulled at his coat and whispered -warningly: “Doan yo’ forgit, Eph, dis yere’s white folkses’ meetin’. Dey -doan ’low no shuffle heah.” - -“Cain’t help it, mammy,” returned Eph. “It do jes go clar through my -toes.” - - “Dar’s mighty lil’ dat we fin’ - Dat’s like a nice contented min’; - It makes de worl’ de fines’ place - To lib dis side ob heabenly grace; - So jes let trouble go!” - - “‘Git a lil’ sunshine in yo’ heart - -“Yes do!” responded Eph fervently. - - “‘Whateber grief yo’s knowin’!’ - -“Neber min’ it! Neber min’ it!” interposed Eph, growing more and more -excited. - - “‘Git a lil’ sunshine in yo’ heart!’ - -“Send it, Lawd! Send it, Lawd!” cried Eph, rocking to and fro, heedless -of the wondering glances bestowed upon him and Aunt Liza’s frantic -clutches at his coat. - - “An’ set de smiles a-growin’,” - -sang Antoine’s clear voice. - -“Yes, Lawd, we needs ’em! ’Deed we does,” groaned Eph half-aloud. A wave -of applause greeted the singer as he turned to leave the platform. It -swelled louder and louder and would not be stilled. In the midst of the -excitement Eph half-rose to his feet and called out: “Come back, -Antoine, honey! It’s jes like hearin’ ob de angels sing!” - -Only Antoine’s instant compliance quelled the rising flood of laughter -and hisses. Clasping his hands before him and half drooping on his -crutch in the pathetic attitude of old age and decrepitude, Antoine -began in a broken voice: - - “What ef my face is old an’ brack, - An’ hard my han’s, an’ bent my back, - An’ mos’ly shadows on de way - Hab followed dis yere form ob clay? - What ef, despised by brudder man, - I jes works on de bes’ I can, - An’ toilin’ airly, toilin’ late, - For arthly joys I’s long to wait? - I knows some time dis face ob min’ - As white as Jesus’ robe will shine, - For He, oh, He’s my Mahstah! - - “O Jesus, my Mahstah! - De frien’ ob de poah, - Deah Jesus, my Mahstah, - Yo’ sorrows will cuah; - O Jesus, my Mahstah, - He’s callin’, I come! - O brudder, my brudder, - Why stan’ yo’ dar dumb?” - -There was an unsurpassed tenderness and sweetness in Antoine’s rendition -of the words, and an unusual hush fell upon the audience, which was -broken now and then by the audible sighs and incoherent ejaculations of -Eph, and when, as it seemed to Eph’s agitated bosom, Antoine’s voice -soared, in its freshness and simplicity, to the very verge of the -eternal, he could no longer restrain himself, but threw up his arms in -an ecstasy of self-abandonment and shouted: “I’s comin’! Lawd! I’s -comin’! I’s heah! Take me, po’ mis’able sinnah, take me home to glory!” - -Instantly all was confusion. Men, women, and children craned their necks -for a view of the excited African whom Aunt Liza’s frantic efforts could -not calm. Eph had become possessed of the “power,” and was deaf to his -mother’s intercessions. “I’s knowed it long, Lawd,” he moaned. “I’s been -a dreffle sinnah. Jesus, my Mahstah, de fr’en’ ob de poah! O Jesus, my -Mahstah, yo’ sorrows will cuah——” - -“Come, Eph,” said Gilbert, who had quickly left the platform. Eph rose -at once, whispering as he did so: “I neber mean no harm, Mars Gilbert. -I’s jes a feel-in’ de force ob conviction.” - -“I know,” answered Gilbert soothingly. “Antoine’s singing was evidently -too much for you. You’ll feel better in the open air.” - -“’Deed I’ll neber feel any bettah till I knows de Lawd’s forgiben de -mis’ble sinnah Eph Blackburn! I’s jes got to be convarted, Mars -Gilbert.” - -Eph was growing excited again as they neared the door where Red Handed -Mike stood among a knot of his fellows. As Gilbert and Eph passed them, -Mike exclaimed in a tone loud enough to be heard throughout the hall: “I -told Brother Gib he’d better not let them d——d niggers in here.” - -Gilbert turned and faced him. “That is not fit language for this place, -and I don’t want any more of it.” - -“You don’t, eh?” cried Mike with a sneer. “I rather guess I’ve as good a -right to say what I please as any d——d nigger.” - -“Leave the room at once, or I shall be compelled to have you put out.” - -“You will? Take a little of that first, won’t you?” and drawing back the -bully, flaming with passion, sent a heavy blow of his fist into -Gilbert’s face. With a panther-like leap Gilbert evaded the blow, and -instantly closed his fingers in a vise-like grip around his opponent’s -throat. Struggling and clutching with the fierceness of a tiger at the -long, lithe fingers closing in upon his throat like bands of steel, with -his tongue lolling on his chin, his face growing black, and his eyes -starting from their sockets, Mike was forced by Gilbert against the -wall, who held him there as he cried, “Call the cops, boys!” - -“Hold him fast!” “Bully for you, Brother Gib!” “Make him ax yer -parding!” yelled the crowd. - -“I shall some other day,” answered Gilbert. “Just now I’ll keep my -fingers on him till the cops get him.” - -A moment later “Red Handed Mike,” crestfallen and sulky, was passed over -to the care of a couple of policemen, and Gilbert turned to the men who -had gathered around him and said, with a grim appreciation of its -underlying humor: - -“Boys, I am going to talk to you to-night on the beauty of peace.” - -He walked quietly and quickly up the aisle, but had not yet mounted the -platform when a tremendous cheer broke from the audience. Men threw -their hats in the air, and women waved their handkerchiefs as the story -of “the fighting parson,” as they then and there dubbed him, passed from -lip to lip. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - -Two years passed by; years that brought increasing strength and -prosperity to the Society of Universal Brotherhood, and gave it a -recognized standing as an important factor in the structure of social -reform. Dealing primarily with the fundamental truth of human -relationship, and resolutely adhering to the application of those -principles to all the conduct of life, it soon established a method of -reason which, if primitive, still satisfied the highest aspirations of -the heart. In Red Handed Mike Gilbert had won, after long proof of the -value of brotherly kindness and forbearance, one of his most earnest -co-workers, and it was no uncommon sight to behold the two side by side -at political, social, and semi-religious gatherings, endeavoring to -promulgate in quiet ways the truths which had become inherent parts of -their daily thought and work. To Antoine alone, of all the members of -the little circle, the years had brought apparent change. Increasing -stature and added health had given him greater comeliness of form, while -the once pale, thoughtful face was now enlivened by the glow of color -and sparkle of happiness. The parting of Herbert and Elsie had been a -great grief to the lad, for love and gratitude to both had built in -fancy a glowing future for them. In numberless little ways he had -endeavored to show his sympathy and appreciation, and to Herbert he had -taken to writing long letters descriptive of the lives and pursuits of -the old circle; but avoiding with intuitive delicacy any direct -reference to Elsie. The progress of the society was therefore an open -book to Herbert, who, wandering restlessly over the continent of Europe, -hungrily awaited the coming of Antoine’s letters in the fond hope of -gleaning even in imagination some news of Elsie. The two years of his -wanderings had been but a record of growing discontent. His prosperous -life had never before known a serious rebuff, and his love for Elsie had -been the one and only love of his life. Try as he might in his anger and -disapproval, he could never shut out the memory of the dark eyes and the -piquant face, now sparkling with gayety or quivering with the pathos of -grief. All her little crudities of speech, her high-tragedy airs, her -inimitable mimicry, and her tender flower-like caresses, dwelt so deep -within his heart that they were constant companions of his waking and -sleeping hours. He grew old and irritable under the pressure of grief -and disappointment, and Helen Mason declared that “a mummy from the -Catacombs couldn’t be more unsociable.” They wandered together up the -Nile, Herbert declaring his intention of tracing it to its source and -joining Stanley in the heart of the Dark Continent. - -“I’m tired,” he said, “of civilization, and think of returning to -savagery, where ‘labor strikes’ and ‘bloated capitalists’ are unknown -quantities.” - -“I think you’ve already reached that state,” Helen retorted, “for I live -in almost constant fear of having my head snapped off.” - -“Well, since I’m so nearly on the confines of cannibalism, I think, to -insure your safety, we will go back to Paris.” - -To Paris they accordingly directed their steps, but the gay capital had -no attractions for Herbert. Indeed, he was more at peace lazily dreaming -in the land of the Pharaohs, for in the new republic he could not -altogether shut his ears to the cry of the people. Thought seemed to be -teeming, even in the effete monarchies of the Old World, and when he and -Helen, in despair of enjoyment fled to the Russian capital, even there -nihilism and nationalism, dogged by the visions of Siberian prisons and -infuriated with the cry of slaves in mine and factory, were in the very -air they breathed. It was in Russia that Herbert first set himself to -studying the conditions so productive of upheaval as well as the worst -forms of human cruelty. To Helen’s intense fear he took to mingling with -the common people, and learning the reason for the scarcely breathed, -but only too apparent discontent and rebellion. - -“The people! The people! Away with the divine right of kings!” This was -the whispered shibboleth of nihilists and nationalists alike in the -courts and wilds of Russia, and it swelled into a modulated but -well-defined chorus along the banks of the Rhine, until it rang resonant -and clear in the heart of the new republic. At home, abroad, wherever he -journeyed, the echo of the world’s suffering and despair was sure to -reach him. But after all what was it to him more than an episode of -history, interesting as a study of the conflict of ideas, the upheavals -by revolution and evolution? What part had he in forming history, only -as one of the many on whom the mantle of existing orders must inevitably -fall? With a good deal of impatience he shook off the obtrusive -question. Every man must be his own savior and avenger in the battle of -existence. Elsie herself had preached the independence of the -individual. “True,” said Conscience, “but did she preach that alone? Did -she not also believe in the fullest co-operation as a prop and -encouragement to individual effort? Was not her life an epitome of the -highest personal development, morally at least, combined with the most -unselfish desire for the prosperity of others?” - -It was a long battle between a selfishness born of his environment, as -well as what he considered the inherent rights of individuals and -classes, and conscience and conviction. But the latter finally won the -day, and with an eagerness out of all proportion to his former weariness -and disgust with life, he set out for Paris and London with the -determination to investigate this industrial question to its farthest -limit. He was in London on that great first of May, when over two -millions of men throughout the world laid down their tools and quietly -awaited the declaration of advancing reason. He began to see that the -principle of co-operation, based, as it must ever be, on the simple -lines of equal opportunity and equal footing before the law, held within -its embracing bosom the solution of many of the vexed and complex -problems of sociology. It was while in Paris, however, that he made the -vital discovery which gave direction and concentration to his study of -the industrial question. While rambling with Helen in the purlieus of -the great city, he chanced upon a small community of neat -flower-enveloped cottages contiguous to an immense factory, and of which -they were evidently a part. Inquiry developed the fact that the little -village belonged to a manufacturer, who had organized a colony of -workingmen on an entirely original plan, in which their comfort was -coordinate with the profits to be gained. The cottages were rented to -men with families at from one dollar and a half to three dollars per -month, with the result that after long service they finally fell into -the hands of the occupants. The workingmen were insured against -accident, and their savings invested in the works at a guaranteed six -per cent per annum. Work was paid for by the piece at remunerative -wages, thus giving the skilled workman the opportunity to realize on his -ability, and stimulating the unskilled to greater activity. Imperfect -work was rigidly rejected at the expense of the employee, thereby -insuring the greatest carefulness and exactness. The streets of the -little village were handsomely paved, an ornate concert hall and good -school-houses adding to the attractiveness of the picture. The unmarried -workmen were able to secure comfortable lodgings at three cents per day, -and a restaurant provided meals at prices just paying expenses. -Discontent was an unknown quantity, while rosy-cheeked children and -plump matrons were living proof of the beneficence of the system. In -fact, situations were eagerly sought after and rarely vacated save by -death or disaster. The profits of the establishment were not, of course, -enormous, like so many similar institutions where human lives are -sacrificed on the altar of greed; but being moderate yet afforded a safe -permanent investment, which was never affected by strikes or lockouts, -and which in the zeal and affection of the community for its employer -relieved the burden of care and anxiety under which capital so often -groans in less favored circles. After weeks of investigation, Herbert -concluded that here was the middle ground on which capital and labor -must meet before either can achieve an unbroken line of progress. Making -himself and Helen acquainted with the owner and promulgator of all this -thrift and contentment, and beholding him in his charming home, -surrounded by luxuries, and with his daily comings and goings lighted by -the smiles and affection of his people, Herbert found his own ambition -fired to be the originator and center of a similar community. He -realized that the outlay at first would be enormous, involving his whole -fortune, and that the most arduous and exacting labor would be demanded -of him in its execution. But here under the balmy skies of France was -the living prosperous proof that business and sentiment, so universally -divorced by popular clamor, may be united in a harmonious and prolific -marriage. For the first time within the last two years, Herbert dropped -his taciturnity and discussed the project with Helen, who strangely -enough had become as infatuated with the little community as had Herbert -himself. - -“After all, Herbert,” she said plaintively one day, “I believe having -your own way all the time is like living on honey—it palls on the -appetite very soon.” - -Herbert glanced up quickly. “Are you turning philanthropist too?” he -asked with a touch of satire in his tone. - -“Well, it is in the air,” she answered resignedly, “and I don’t see how -one can help being infected.” - -“Bravo! Helen, you take the disease charmingly! Shall we go back to -America to establish a new Eden?” - -“On one condition, and that is—to take me in as equal partner.” - -“My sweet sister!” cried Herbert ecstatically as he sprang from his -chair and caught her around the waist. “Do you really mean it?” - -“Truly; and, Herbert,” and with tears in the eyes upraised, to his she -added brokenly, “if—if that little saint, Elsie, Alice Houghton writes -me about, can be induced——” - -“There!” Herbert’s face hardened as he placed his hand on his sister’s -lips. “Say no more on that subject. I appreciate your generosity, but -hope died long ago.” - -Two days later they were on the ocean homeward bound, and with the zeal -of new-born ambition were deep in their project almost before they -returned the greeting of their friends. Some two weeks after their -arrival the C—— _Sunday Herald_ contained a notice of the purchase of a -large tract of land in the northwestern part of the city, including the -subdivision known as “Idlewild,” by Herbert Lynn, Esq., who proposed the -erection of a mammoth shoe factory to be managed after a method which he -had investigated abroad, and believed to be not only the safest -investment for capital, but one yielding the largest returns from the -standpoint of the philanthropist. - -“Mr. Lynn,” the article went on to say, “is the pioneer in this form of -enterprise, and feeling that there is no reason other than inexcusable -greed for the occurrence of so much idleness, suffering, destitution, -vice, ignorance, and penury in so many departments of American labor, he -proposes a plan of co-operation, now working harmoniously and profitably -in France, which will no doubt do much toward solving some vexed -industrial conflicts.” - -Following this was a short history of the colony on the edge of Paris -and its plan of operations. Elsie read the article with swimming eyes, -and impulsively kissed the insensate bearer of such good news. She had -not seen Herbert since his return, and this was the first intimation of -his project which she had received from any one. How beautiful the world -grew all at once! How much there was in life to hope for, work for, -enjoy! Suffering humanity under Herbert’s fostering care—ah, how could -it be other than happy? To live in the light of those sunny blue -eyes—how she envied the prospective inhabitants of that social paradise. -But the weeks grew into months, and Herbert made no effort to renew his -old standing in the little circle. His name was rarely mentioned to -Elsie, although she learned from Lizzette that he had appropriated one -of the handsomest residences included in his purchase of Idlewild, and -had taken Lizzette from her market gardening to preside over his -bachelor establishment. Voluble as Lizzette had always been, she was now -suspiciously silent, unless she had a bit of gossip to offer regarding -the interest taken in the proposed work by Alice Houghton. Antoine, -happy as a bird in the new home and the exceptional progress he was -making in music, took especial care to avoid the mention of Herbert’s -name, although Elsie often intercepted a wistful glance of commiseration -in his dark eyes. Why were they all so silent? she often asked her -longing heart. Did they think she had no courage? Did they fancy her a -Lily Maid of Astolat who needs must die for love? Well, they should see -she could be brave and work on through a long life, and make no sign of -heart-break! So with renewed earnestness, never sparing a moment for -much-needed rest, she toiled on, earning her daily bread and giving the -helping hand to all who needed it. Margaret’s watchful eyes noted with -pain how thin and transparent the once rounded face was growing, what an -intent light burned within the old laughter-loving eyes, and how -feverish was her application to her work. - -It was a year before the great co-operative shoe factory was in running -order, and on the evening of the first day of regular work, Herbert, -flushed and elated over the promised success of his plan, was driving -hurriedly along the street, on his way to visit Helen and report -progress. Glancing up suddenly he encountered the gaze of Elsie’s eyes -as she paused for a second on the crossing. Heavens! How white and frail -she looked! What caverns those great dark eyes had grown to be! Was she -dying and nobody to tell him? - -So preoccupied was he with these hurried thoughts that he passed on, -failing to return the slight salutation she had made. A moment later he -drew rein, but Elsie had disappeared from view. He turned and followed -in the direction she had taken, but she was nowhere to be seen. He had -been working of late like the traditional galley-slave, curbing his -impatience in the thought of the offering he could one day lay at her -feet, and now, like a phantom of her old blithe, rosy-cheeked self, she -had crossed his path, and the dark eyes had seemed to speak the -despairing words, “Too late! Too late!” - -Lashing his horse into a white foam, in absolute defiance of the -ordinance against fast driving, he rushed a few moments later in upon -Margaret with the frightened question: - -“Where is Elsie? Why has nobody told me she was dying?” - -The question seemed almost brutal in its abruptness, and Margaret -staggered as if struck by a blow. - -“Forgive me, Margaret,” cried Herbert piteously. “I passed her just now, -but lost her again, looking so frail and wan—did you not know? Have you -not seen?” - -“Ah, yes,” moaned Margaret. “But I had no medicine for a breaking heart. -A spirit like hers soon burns out the fires of a frail body.” - -It was some time later that the door opened suddenly and Elsie, pale, -trembling with the exertion of climbing the stairs, and with eyes veiled -in the shadow of utter despair, stood on the threshold. - -Herbert was at her side in an instant. “Elsie! Elsie!” he cried. “Love -is master. I’ve come back to you, strengthened, purified, ennobled at -your hands. Do not scorn the gift now. It is richer than all else I ever -offered you.” - -But Elsie had no answer to make. For the first time in her life she -fainted, and lay a veritable picture of death in Herbert’s arms. “Dear -God,” he cried, “not this! Not now with our work all before us! Let me -keep her lest I grow slothful in the service of her dear Master!” - -Down on his knees beside the frail form, chafing the thin hands and with -the tears chasing each other in torrents over his face, Herbert knelt, -too frightened, too heart-broken to be of any service in Margaret’s -hasty efforts at resuscitation. - -Joy seldom kills, and Elsie slowly came back to life and love with the -shadow of the old smile on her lips. - -“Herbert,” she whispered as, still faint, but supremely happy, she -rested her head on his shoulder, “the old wilful, independent Elsie is -dead, and I want to prove to you hereafter how patient and submissive I -can be.” - -“Well, then,” said Herbert, after one of those eloquent silences which -“the world that dearly loves a lover” can readily interpret—“well, then, -I’m going to take you at your word; for to-morrow at high noon, in -society vernacular, I shall be here with license, priest, Helen, and all -the rest of us, prepared to hear a very meek ‘I will’ from those white -lips.” - -“But I have no wedding-gown!” - -“Put on your best calico,” said Herbert composedly. “So long as I can -see you wear that glad light in your eyes and the old happy smile on -your lips, I shall always feel that you are clothed in radiant attire.” - -One evening several days after the wedding, Gilbert came home to -Margaret with an inscrutable smile on his face. “Margaret,” he said -composedly, “I have come to the conclusion that your occupation as -home-maker is about gone.” - -“What do you mean?” she cried aghast. - -“Well, Herbert has given me a place in the factory, and he and Elsie -insist that I make my future home with them. It rather strikes me that -you are left out in the cold in consequence.” - -Tears sprang to Margaret’s eyes, and with a heartbreaking sob she buried -her head in her arms as she leaned against the table. - -“My dear sister,” cried Gilbert quickly. “My joke is rather rough I’ll -admit; but I’ve a little excuse for it.” And stepping to the hall door, -he beckoned mysteriously to some one standing there. Margaret raised her -head apprehensively, and saw Dr. Ely with smiling face standing upon the -threshold. - -“Here is a gentleman,” said Gilbert soberly, “who thinks he would like -to have a home made for him.” And with an ostentatious bang to the door -he slipped away. - - - - - CONCLUSION. - - -Of the remaining members of the little circle there are but few words to -speak. In Alice Houghton and Helen Mason the Society of Universal -Brotherhood finds able coadjutors. Life becomes broader and fairer to -them as they realize the existence of a common bond in humanity and a -universal creed of brotherly love. - -Slowly, but surely, the seed sown in doubt, darkness, and tribulation -has begun to bear fruit, and Gilbert, the powerful leader of the new -movement, often blesses the memory of the hours of sorrow and trial -which have made these helping influences spring from a soil watered by -tears and harrowed by privation. Antoine’s violin and marvellous gift of -improvisation are the delight of an enthusiastic public, and Lizzette’s -brown face, with the wrinkles growing a little deeper as the years go -by, wears a look of supreme pride and contentment as she contemplates -his progress. A cherished member of Herbert’s home, she is at once -housekeeper, friend, and companion. - -The marriage of Herbert and Elsie is one of those perfect unions in -which oneness of spirit, heart, and effort keep an unbroken bond. They -have seen their endeavors paying them a tenfold increase in the growing -tide of thought and prosperity overtaking the workingmen and women and -widening out into an irresistible current of human kindness. Children -have come to them, endowed with the same warm, generous natures, who are -never so happy as when smoothing a wrinkle out of papa’s tired brow, or -making a dimple come in mamma’s pretty cheek. Elsie, the idol of her -home, and beloved alike by the prosperous circle of universal -brotherhood, and the thrifty, contented colony at Idlewild, often -delights, with children clinging to her skirts, and a crowing baby -perched on Herbert’s shoulder, half-laughingly, half-earnestly, to -proclaim him the founder and father of America’s New Aristocracy of -heart and brain. - - - THE END. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. 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} - .ph1 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: xx-large; - margin: .67em auto; page-break-before: always; } - .ph2 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; - page-break-before: always; } - .x-ebookmaker p.dropcap:first-letter { float: left; } - /* ]]> */ </style> - </head> - <body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of A New Aristocracy, by Birch Arnold</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: A New Aristocracy</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Birch Arnold</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 29, 2022 [eBook #67738]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A NEW ARISTOCRACY ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_frontispiece.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c001'><span class='xlarge'>A NEW</span><br /> ARISTOCRACY.</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='small'>BY</span></div> - <div><span class='large'>“BIRCH ARNOLD,”</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>Author of “Until the Daybreak.”</span></div> - <div class='c002'>BARTLETT PUBLISHING COMPANY.</div> - <div><span class='sc'>New York: 30 and 32 West Thirteenth St.</span></div> - <div><span class='sc'>Detroit, Mich.: 44 West Larned St.</span></div> - <div class='c003'>1891.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div><span class='small'>COPYRIGHT BY AUTHOR.</span></div> - <div class='c002'><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Electrotyped and printed by</span></span></div> - <div><span class='small'>THE PUBLISHERS’ PRINTING COMPANY</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>30 & 32 WEST 13TH STREET</span></div> - <div><span class='small'>NEW YORK</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c005'>“Talk about questions of the day. There is but one -question and that is the Gospel. It can and will correct -everything that needs correction.... My only hope for -the world is in bringing the human mind into contact with -Divine Revelation.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Wm. E. Gladstone.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span> - <h2 class='c006'>INTRODUCTION.</h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c007'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Write ye for art,” the critics cry,</div> - <div class='line in2'>“And give your best endeavor,</div> - <div class='line'>That down the aisles of length’ning time</div> - <div class='line in2'>Your fame may speed forever!”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Write ye for truth,” my heart replies,</div> - <div class='line in2'>“And prove that generous giving,</div> - <div class='line'>May help some blinded eyes to find</div> - <div class='line in2'>The noblest way of living.”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>The simple story, plainly told,</div> - <div class='line in2'>May bear its own conviction,</div> - <div class='line'>And words alive with buoyant hope</div> - <div class='line in2'>May supersede their diction.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Give me the horny-handed clasp</div> - <div class='line in2'>Of some good honest neighbor,</div> - <div class='line'>Who finds within the words I speak</div> - <div class='line in2'>A strength for earnest labor.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Give me the lifted, grateful smile</div> - <div class='line in2'>Of some poor fainting woman,</div> - <div class='line'>Who knows that I regard her soul</div> - <div class='line in2'>As something dear and human.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>Give me the fervent, heartfelt prayer</div> - <div class='line in2'>Of just the toiling masses;</div> - <div class='line'>To be remembered with their love</div> - <div class='line in2'>Your boasted art surpasses.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>And this be mine, whate’er the fault</div> - <div class='line in2'>Of manner, not of matter,</div> - <div class='line'>Along the rocky ways of life</div> - <div class='line in2'>Some living truths to scatter.</div> - <div class='line in28'><span class='sc'>Birch Arnold.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span></div> -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>A NEW ARISTOCRACY.</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER I.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>Mr. Murchison was dead. The villagers announced -the fact to each other with bated breath as -they gazed with reverent awe at the crape on the door.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Poor man,” they sighed, vaguely sympathetic; “it’s -well enough with him now, but there’s the children.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ay, there’s the children,” more than one responded -feelingly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mr. Murchison had been the rector of the small -parish of Barnley, distant perhaps a hundred miles -from the city of C——, the great commercial center of -the West, and having attended faithfully to his duties -for a series of years, had been stricken at last with the -dread pangs of consumption. Two years of painful -waiting had passed away, and now the release had -come. Devout, patient, and faithful, who could doubt -that it was well with him?</p> - -<p class='c009'>“God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb,” tremblingly -spoke the clergyman who had been summoned -to conduct the burial service. “Surely He will so -influence the hearts of His people that these bereft -ones, these fatherless and motherless children, shall not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>suffer from contact with the cold and bitter side of -life.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Comforting words truly; words that fell, as rain -falls on parched fields, upon the benumbed senses of -those who wept for their dead; words that touched -the hearts of the little band of parishioners, and made -each one wonder for the time being what he could do -for them; words that resulted in offerings of flowers -and fruit for one week and—so soon do good impulses -die—in comment and unsought advice for another.</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was a well-known fact that aside from his library -and household belongings Mr. Murchison had left -nothing. A student and a biblist of rare discernment, -he was happiest when deep in abstruse research, and -many a dollar of his meagre salary had gone for volumes -whose undoubted antiquity might help him to -the completion of some vexed problem. Sometimes, -looking up from his treatise or his sermon, he would -glance at Margaret, his eldest daughter and careful -housekeeper for the last five lonely years of his life, -and think painfully of the time, the dread sometime, -that was sure to leave his darlings unprotected. He -wished, good man, that he might have money; not -that he coveted the dross of earth, but that it might -be the Lord’s will to shield his loved ones from contact -with bleak and bitter poverty. Many a prayer -was rounded with that earnest supplication, to which -he supplemented, always in complete resignation, “Thy -will, not mine, be done.” But he never saw the -earthly realization of his hopes. He always grew -poorer; his clothing just a trifle shabbier, the table a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>little plainer, and Margaret daily more and more put -to her wit’s ends in the difficult problem of making -something out of nothing. But who shall say the -faith of a life-time met with no recompense? Who can -declare, with certainty, the blinded eyes saw not afterward -with clearer vision that he had left each of his -darlings God’s highest riches, a brave human intelligence?</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret Murchison, the eldest of the three children, -was too strongly built, physically and mentally, -to be beautiful. It is indisputably true that where -nature puts strength she also puts hard lines, and every -feature of Margaret’s face bespoke the positive nature; -quick to comprehend and fearless to execute. Yet -hers was by no means a masculine or an ugly face. -Though strongly marked, there was still an indefinable -attraction in the warm depths of her blue eyes and -the smile of her mobile and sympathetic mouth. She -was, withal, strangely wholesome to look upon; one -of those rare beings, as it came afterward to be said -of her, whose faces rest you as calm waters and green -fields rest eyes that are blinded with the dust and turmoil -of the city’s streets. In figure she was tall, with -that breadth of shoulder and hip which indicates endurance, -free and graceful in her movements, apt in -her utterances, and unusually keen in her intuitions. -At the time of her father’s death she was twenty-four -years of age, thoughtful even beyond her years. Hers -had been a hard school. Poverty prematurely sharpens -wits and generates ambition, and ever since her earliest -recollection she had witnessed the daily pinchings and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>privations of stern necessity. Questioning often with -wondering eyes and grave thought, she had early -learned to strive against this oppressor of her household; -but the best of effort had only kept the lean -wolf of hunger from the door. The father, wedded to -abstruse speculation and erudite research, had not that -talent for money-getting which is expected of the -“working parsons” of country villages; and though -the mother had been possessed of uncommon tact, -meagreness in every detail of Margaret’s physical -growth had always confronted her. Not so intellectually, -however. The bond of sympathy between -parents and children had always been strong, and in -the communion of thought the barren home life was -lifted into realms of peace and plenty. Nobody remembered -how Margaret learned to read. The faculty -seemed to come with her growth, like her teeth, and -almost as soon as she had mastered the rudiments of -reading, her father delighted to feed the grave little -head with as much of the mental pabulum upon which -he feasted as the infantile brain could digest. Her -capacity proved something like that of the sponge, -growing receptive in proportion as it was fed, and -when at eighteen she was vouchsafed a year of school -life at a church institution, she astonished both faculty -and pupils by disclosing such an odd mixture of -knowledge as no other pupil had ever brought to the -school. Latin and Greek were far more familiar to -her than fractions, and the geography of the Holy -Land an open page beside the study of her own state -and its form of government. Her aptitude for language -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>was wonderful, and her ability for philosophical -reasoning much beyond her years. She achieved marvels -of learning in the one short year, only at its expiration -to be called away by the sad announcement -of her mother’s mortal sickness. She reached home -in time to comfort the anxious heart with the promise -to keep always a home for the loved ones left behind. -For five years she had faithfully fulfilled this promise, -and now death had come again to take her last and -only support. In the moment of her bereavement she -did not realize how largely she had been not only self-dependent, -but had been the mainstay of the little -household. Love makes even the strongest natures -yield to its silken leading-strings, and the tie between -father and daughter had been no common one. But -it was she who had been the prop that upheld the -fabric of his life in these weary later years. It was -on her brave heart he had leaned more and more; but -she had no thought of what she had given. She had -received, ah! who shall count the memories and -pledges that loyal love has in its keeping?</p> - -<p class='c009'>But the prosaic side of life confronted Margaret one -morning a week after she had laid her dead away, and -roused her from the apathy of grief that follows even -the wildest tempest of tears.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not even time to mourn,” she said wearily. -“Death comes; but life goes on, and it must be fed -and comforted. I must work to drive the cobwebs -from my brain and this strange inertia from my limbs. -Something to do, some duty that must not be evaded, -will heal and strengthen anew.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>These reflections had been induced by a visit Margaret -had just received from one of the vestrymen of -the church at Barnley, who had called with words of -condolence and inquiry. He desired to know, if it -was not impertinent, what course Miss Murchison had -decided upon relative to her future and her family.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I have made no decision as yet,” answered Margaret -wearily; “I have been too absorbed in other -things. Why do you ask, Mr. Dempster?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well—ahem!—my wife and I had a talk about -your—your prospects, and we thought that if—if—that -is, we would like to help you, seein’ as you’re one -of our pastor’s family.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are very kind,” said Margaret gently.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, you see,” began Mr. Dempster hurriedly, -“we’ve always kind o’ liked your folks, and my wife -and I was sayin’ that seein’ as you’d be pretty likely -to have a hard time, we’d like to help you out a bit. -Now, there’s Elsie: she’s young, you know, and real -bright and smart, and we thought maybe you’d be -willin’ we should take her and bring her up. She’d -have a fust-rate home, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Mr. Dempster,” said Margaret, ignoring the half-boastful -tone in which the last assertion had been -made, “do you think I could give away one of these -children over whom I’ve watched for five years, and -whom I promised never to leave as long as they needed -a home? No, sir. My life has been hard, as you say; -it may be harder yet; but as long as I have life and -health I shall keep my promise. Besides, you forget -that Elsie has not yet finished school.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>“I know; but they was a-talkin’ it over in the vestry -last evenin’, and they said they didn’t see as you could -afford to keep the children in school any more, as -your father’s salary is, of course, discontinued. You -see, it takes money for clothes and incidentals.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am fully aware of that fact, but I have strong -hands and a stout heart; because we are poor and cast -down now, I see no reason why we should always be -so. Do you, Mr. Dempster?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, no, of course not,” hastily assented Mr. Dempster.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Is it the opinion of the vestry that Elsie and -Gilbert need no further education?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, no. They was only a-sayin’, as they was talkin’ -about ways and means, that if you couldn’t take care -of ’em we—that’s Mr. Dodd and me—would take ’em -off your hands.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’ve no doubt that you meant kindly; but I intend -to teach them to take care of themselves, and there -is no care equal to that. The parish of Barnley has -been very kind; but I assure you, sir, there is no happiness -like being independent, and that, with God’s -help, I mean to teach my brother and sister to be.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then you mean to say you refuse our offers of -help, Miss Murchison?” said Mr. Dempster, bristling a -little.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not at all. Indeed, I shall be glad of any assistance -you can give me in the way of work. You know -before my father’s health failed I used to make your -wife’s dresses. I’m a little out of practice now, but -I think I could soon get back the old deftness.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>“Why—yes—but Mrs. Dempster sends to C—— -now for her work. She says she gets better styles, -and takin’ all things into consideration, it don’t cost -such a dreadful sight more.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret smiled involuntarily. She knew how the -Dempsters, from greatest to least, counted the cost -of everything, and she knew the offer to take Elsie—dear, -sunny-hearted Elsie—off her hands had not been -so much a question of philanthropy as gain. Could -she so have disposed her heart as to give Elsie away, -the bare thought of the drudgery which would have -been her portion as maid-of-all-work in that household -would have been sufficient to deter her.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, I must be goin’,” said Mr. Dempster as -Margaret remained silent. “You know they’ve hired -a new parson and he will be here this week,” he added -from the doorway.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So soon!” exclaimed Margaret with a start. “And—and—you -will want the parsonage right away?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, there ain’t no particular hurry, I suppose; -but the folks thought it best to give you a week’s -notice to quit,” and having delivered this parting shot, -Mr. Dempster said “good-day” hastily and walked -out of the gate.</p> - -<p class='c009'>So soon! so soon! to leave the dear home that -spoke so tenderly of those who had gone away! To -leave the cozy corner where stood her mother’s armchair, -as it had stood for years, often bringing its -memories of the sweet face and gentle hands which -had presided over the hearthstone so long ago. To -leave the sacred room where stood her father’s desk, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>from which not a paper had been removed since the -nerveless hand had dropped the pen in the midst of a -sentence of his last sermon; the room where stood his -well-filled book-cases and his shabby furniture, and -go—where—oh, where? asked Margaret’s heart in -utter anguish. She grew suddenly weak with the rush -of memory and regret, and slipped down upon the -floor in an abandon of grief.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The outer door swept open and a young girl, entering -hastily, cried sharply as she knelt beside the prostrate -form: “O Meg! dear, brave Meg! what has -happened?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nothing, Elsie dear. I have only been bewildered -of late, and had forgotten that this is no longer home.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Must we leave soon?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Within a week.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is sudden; but I knew it must come sooner or -later. I am not sorry, either, Meg; for we will go out -into the world to work for each other and make a -new home.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Meg shook her head. “You are brave, Elsie, with -the ignorance of youth. You do not know what gulfs -lie between your hope and its accomplishment. While -I——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You, Meg,” interrupted Elsie, “are wearied with -the weight of your burdens, and I must take them off -your shoulders and rest you good and long.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, confident youth! What a sweet comfort this -little rose is to me,” and Margaret took the bright -face between her hands and kissed it fondly. It was -a rose indeed that Margaret raised to her lips. Brilliant -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>with the rich coloring of the brunette, lit up by -a pair of dark velvety eyes, a full, red-lipped, delicately-curved -mouth, and framed in a mass of black, lustrous, -curling hair, Elsie’s face was undeniably beautiful. -Somewhat petite in form, she was the embodiment of -grace in every movement. Naturally hopeful and -sweet-tempered, she had been all her life a source of -comfort to Margaret. If she felt that she had greater -patience, she found encouragement in Elsie’s greater -hopefulness. If she felt in herself greater power to -conquer adverse circumstances, she relied equally upon -Elsie’s faculty of throwing the best light upon everything, -and taking trouble as little to heart as possible. -Unlike, yet like. Margaret’s strength was born of -conviction and experience, and duty, her imperial mistress, -held her firmly to her course. Elsie’s courage -and cheerfulness were as inherent a part of herself as -her rippling black hair or her daintily-fashioned foot, -and love was the governing impulse of her life. She -would do for love’s sake what no amount of cogent -reasoning could convince her ought to be done for -duty’s. She “hated the name of duty,” she had been -heard to declare with an imperious stamp of her little -foot.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“If one was good, because love prompted her to do -all these nice things for other people, wasn’t that -enough? And as for ‘doing good to those who despitefully -use you,’ she believed the Lord wasn’t very -angry if you only just didn’t do them any harm! -And she felt sure that He would forgive her if she -<em>couldn’t</em> and <em>wouldn’t</em> like the Dempsters.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>All this had happened long ago, and now it came -back to them as Meg told Elsie of Mr. Dempster’s offer.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The old—gentleman!” exclaimed Elsie as Margaret -glanced up apprehensively. “I was only going -to say ‘heathen,’ anyway,” she added mischievously. -“Do you think it is my duty, Meg, to accept the offer, -and learn under their guidance to be a meek and quiet -Christian?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My poor Elsie, you will never be a meek Christian, -I am sure. Let us hope Mr. Dempster meant -well, and so forget all about it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“With all my heart, since I am not going to him. -So long as my dear old Meg commands I obey. He -needn’t have troubled himself about the school, for I -don’t intend to go back.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Indeed you must. I shall write to Dr. Ely to-day -and ask a place for you and Gilbert. You know what -our prospects are, dear, that it must be head and hands -for each of us, and it behooves us to put as much into -our heads as time and circumstance will allow.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And you, dear?” asked Elsie wistfully.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I shall find something for my hands to do. They -are good strong hands, and they must put bread into -that little mouth.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What can your hands find to do here? There is -nothing better than sewing or dish-washing. You are -fitted for better work.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I hope I am; but it does not follow that I must -refuse to do what I can find to do, because I cannot -find what I want. If nothing better offers I shall even -try the dish-washing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>“O Meg! I couldn’t bear to see you so lowered.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You misuse the word, Elsie. I should feel that I -lowered myself more in refusing the work at hand, in -the vain hope of finding something pleasing and genteel. -Dear little girl, your solemn old Meg wants to -disclose to you the prosaic rule by which she means -to measure her life. It will seem dry and hard to you -in your youth and bloom; but you must learn some -time, and if the bitter tonic is taken early nothing -seems quite so bitter afterward. Shall I tell you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Y-yes,” answered Elsie hesitatingly, “only—only——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know. You dislike even to be told that life is -uncompromising. Well, then, we’ll say no more about -it. I see I cannot learn for you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is not that,” exclaimed Elsie. “I am only just -beginning to see how you had to forego your youth -and bloom to learn for all of us. Tell me all about it, -and teach me to be your helper. I am such a lover -of pleasure, I never can be strong like you. Tell me -how you learned it, Meg.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I did not learn to be less than happy. I only -learned to do well what lay nearest me, and in that -there is happiness. There is the whole dread secret, -Rosebud, and if you want me to be epigrammatic and -terse here is the formula: Aim high; mind is the -greatest of God’s forces. Be honest; a clean conscience -is the best bed-fellow at night. Do cheerfully -what lies nearest you; fortune surprises the faithful.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Diogenes in petticoats!” exclaimed Elsie, all her -cheerfulness returning. “Make a dictionary, Meg, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>on the plan that A stands for Apple, and Gilbert and -I will not need to go to school.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, I’ve tried philosophy enough on you; you -laugh at it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not for worlds! Trust me, Meg, to learn it all -somewhere on the road to threescore and ten. It is a -‘sair’ lesson for one of my temperament; but if it -‘maun be’ it ‘maun be.’”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I hope your prosy Meg may live long enough to -see you safely conning it; for I feel as if I were born to -keep your wings from singeing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What a heroine you are, Margaret Murchison! -I am fain to fall at your feet and worship you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That would be foolish. Wait to see at least how I -bear the burden and heat of the day. You may have -to reverse your opinion.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Never! Even if you sit with idle hands the rest -of your days. But to go back to our muttons. What -are we to do?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Write to Dr. Ely,” answered Meg, rising to her -feet. “Bring me my writing-desk, Elsie.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“On one condition,” said Elsie, placing a hand on -either side of Meg’s face and looking pleadingly up -into her eyes: “write please for Gilbert. Let me stay -with you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, Elsie. Education will be worth everything to -you. You cannot be successful without it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then teach me yourself. Dr. Ely said you had a -wonderful mind.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Good friable soil for seed; nothing more. I have -but a handful of knowledge and that would soon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>be exhausted. I cannot consent to your leaving -school.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’ll not <em>leave</em>—I’ll never go back,” said stubborn -Elsie. “Don’t look so reproachful! This much I am -decided upon: while you drudge I drudge, so that’s -said, and I isn’t a-gwine to unsaid it, nuther,” she added -roguishly, imitating the negro dialect and attitude.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Obstinate little girl! I perceive I must bring my -desk myself.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, no, Meg,” and Elsie sprang to the door. -“Only promise!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is your good I seek, child.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know it; but let me be unselfish this once. It -may be my only chance of redemption.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You shall have your way,” said Margaret with -eyes suffused with tears.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Dear, good Meg,” exclaimed impulsive Elsie, -throwing her arms round her sister’s neck. “We’ll -cling together. You shall be the oak to hold me up, -and I’ll be the ivy to keep you warm—and green!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER II.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>“Meg, I’ve an idea!” exclaimed Elsie several mornings -later, as Margaret returned from an unsuccessful -search for a house, as well as work at the hands of -Mrs. Dempster and several other ladies of the parish.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’m glad to hear it. Ideas are good things to -have,” said Margaret, wearily dropping into a chair.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Of course you haven’t found work, or anything -else but advice, have you? Well, this is my idea: let -us go away from Barnley.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“O Elsie!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know it’s hard; but we’ll starve on advice. It’s -cheaper than beefsteak, of course; but it is somewhat -weakening after one has breakfasted, dined, and -supped on it. Let’s go away and dig for a living. See -what I found this morning,” and Elsie drew from her -pocket a newspaper clipping of late date, and read -aloud an advertisement:</p> - -<p class='c008'>“For Rent: A small house at Idlewild, with three -acres of ground well supplied with small fruits. Only -thirty minutes’ ride on dummy to city market. Rent -cheap, or will sell at reasonable price. Call at Harris -& Smith’s, cor. Vine and Tenth Sts., C——.”</p> - -<p class='c008'>“Meg, let’s go and see it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Why, Elsie, child, how is it possible?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>“This way. Maybe I’m visionary, but I’ve an idea -that we can make enough money out of the place to -pay the rent and keep us. See here: ‘only thirty -minutes’ ride on dummy to city market.’ Now, three -acres of ground, if good for anything, ought to raise -potatoes.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Admitted. Go on with your proposition.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Potatoes <em>with</em> salt constitute a very fair living for -a hungry man; <em>without</em> salt they keep starve to death -away—ergo, let’s plant potatoes! To be serious—I’ve -thought of this. It is now February, and we’ll -need to make haste. We’ve raised our own potatoes -in the parsonage garden for years, and good ones, too. -Why not raise double the quantity somewhere else -and sell the surplus? The small fruits advertised may -be worth cultivating, too. You are a splendid amateur -gardener—everybody says so; and there’s Gilbert—to -be sure, only a boy; but a boy is good for some things -sometimes—and I consider myself capable of being -taught. Now, I’ve sketched the outlines of Eutopia, -and you must fill in the shading.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Outlines are easily drawn; the skill lies in the -filling in.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Therefore I left it for you. I feel as if we might -dig our living out of the soil easier than out of the -oftentimes ungracious favor of humanity. Suppose -we look this place up to-morrow?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I cannot see my way clear yet. Where is all the -money to come from to start us in this venture? It -takes money for spades, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I realize it. Can’t we sell something?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>“What—our old clothes?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To the rag-man perhaps. Seriously, have we -nothing of value we can spare?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I can think of nothing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I can. O Meg, the hardest part of my suggestion -is yet to come. Dr. Ely said when I named some of -the books in poor father’s library that they were of -undoubted value, as many were out of print. He -spoke especially of the two Caxton copies, Plantin’s -‘Biblia Polyglotta,’ and Sparks’ ‘Life of Washington.’ -Dear Meg, the question is: Shall we keep our -treasures and starve, or in letting them go find a chance -of outgrowing our poverty? I am tired of this grinding -life that takes the color out of your cheeks and -puts wrinkles where dimples ought to be. Much as I -love the dear old books, I love hope for you and for -all of us better. O Meg! it is no sacrilege to say -that if our father could speak to us he would tell us -to sell them. The heritage is precious; how precious -to us few can guess. But, my sweet sister, your hopes -and happiness are dearer to him, I know. Don’t sob -so, Meg; you will break my heart. Forgive me for -suggesting it. It really seems best.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know it, Rosebud,” said Margaret after a long -silence. “I must think about it. I cannot decide -yet.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>As Margaret spoke she raised Elsie’s tearful face -and kissed it tenderly. It was more difficult for Margaret -to give up the books than Elsie had dreamed. -They were not to her, as to Margaret, the great mine -of wealth from which she had drawn the intellectual -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>riches that were already hers, and from which she had -hoped to glean a far greater abundance. Dear as they -were for the associations’ sake, many of them having -been successively her grandfather’s and father’s, and -hallowed as they were by the thought of the dear eyes -which had once delighted in their pages, this relinquishment -of her ambitions seemed the most cruel hurt of -all. She knew that Elsie’s suggestion was practicable; -that it opened a way out of their present difficulties; -but it was the slipping of the cable that bound her to -the old life which, despite its hardships, had seemed so -idyllic in its visions and mental attainments. If she -gave up her books, what could she hope for beyond -the barren drudgery of mere existence? With her -books she could revel in an ideal world where the hard -facts of her daily struggles could not intrude. They -were indeed a heaven of remembrance and a heaven -of hope to her. Where, oh, where else could she find -the oasis of rest, the one little gleam of personal happiness -which she had hoped might be allowed her? -And yet duty, even from the mouth of Elsie, whom -she had hitherto regarded as a mere child, said all too -plainly that the cherished books must go. There -seemed to be no other solution of the vexed question -of subsistence. It was a very pale face that Margaret -raised to Elsie’s anxious glance several moments later; -but it was determined and calm.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are right, Elsie; you excel me in practicability -even now. I will write at once to Dr. Ely.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Meg, I was cruel to you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As facts are sometimes cruel. Now let us catalogue -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>the books, that Dr. Ely may judge of them. -Not another tear, Rosebud, but forward.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A reassuring smile and a fond kiss calmed the rising -storm of regret in Elsie’s heart. With protean quickness -the smile so natural to her face came back, and -hastily mounting the small step-ladder, she took down -the books and gave title, name of author, and date of -issue to Margaret to jot down. There were perhaps -some eight hundred books, of which only a small portion -would in these days of reprints possess an unusual -interest for the bibliophilist. Among the latter -were: Smellie’s “Philosophy;” Plantin’s “Biblia Polyglotta” -in eight folio volumes, published in the sixteenth -century; Dunton’s “Life and Errors,” 1659–1733; Caxton’s -books, mostly translations from the French; -Nicholl’s “Literary Anecdotes;” Sotheby’s “Handwriting -of Melancthon and Luther;” Davy’s “System of -Divinity,” twenty-six volumes; Dolby’s “Shakespearean -Dictionary;” Ainsworth’s “Historical Novels;” Hone’s -“Early Life and Conversion;” Timperly’s “Encyclopedia -of Literary Anecdote;” “The Bay Psalm Book;” -Adelung’s “Historical Sketch of Sanscrit Literature,” -translated by Talboys; Krummacher’s “Elisha.” Aside -from these somewhat rare books, the library took a wide -range in history, poetry, fiction, and travels. Margaret -could scarcely repress the desire to cry out once more -against the sacrilege. Here was information for a life-time; -here forgetfulness of the past, elysium for the -future! Why must this grief be superadded to all she -had borne? But with heroic effort she choked back the -tears and went calmly on with her work. By the time -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>she had finished the list and written a letter to Dr. -Ely, of the Episcopal school at A——, she had put -aside regret and was once more ready to look facts -squarely in the face. “The first step that costs” had -been taken, and never afterward to Margaret did any -sorrow seem like the wrench of this one. It was with -alacrity, amounting almost to cheerfulness, that she -went about her task of packing the household goods, -and though sometimes tears would for a moment dim -her eyes and tender memories paralyze her hands, yet -the serene conviction that her decision had been wisely -taken seemed to hover like a nimbus of light above -the sadness of the slowly-moving hours.</p> - -<p class='c009'>One morning as Margaret, with her brown locks -shrouded in a wide-frilled sweeping cap, her dress hidden -by a high-necked calico apron of nondescript make, -stood upon a step-ladder, engaged in removing the -dimity curtains from the sitting-room windows, a peremptory -knock at the open door behind her caused -her to turn so suddenly that the ladder tipped and -threw her, with unexpected suddenness, into the arms -of a dignified gentleman who stood upon the threshold. -Quickly disengaging herself, she exclaimed with a -laugh:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My greeting is unusually fervent, Dr. Ely; but -you perceive that circumstances——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Were too many for you,” he interrupted; as Margaret -paused for breath. “I hope you were not -hurt?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not in the least; but a trifle confused. Will you -walk in and be seated? I did not look for a personal -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>answer to my letter, otherwise I should have deferred -my packing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I decided to come only at the last moment, and so -could not write you. I am not at all sorry that I surprised -you; in fact, I found it rather pleasant.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret glanced up apprehensively, a new wonder -growing in her eyes, which the doctor was quick to -note and interpret. “I felt that it would be much -easier to adjust the prices of the books and come to a -satisfactory arrangement of matters through a personal -interview. Therefore I am here.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And quite welcome; but you must pardon the incoherent -state of things.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“With all my heart, so long as you remain rational. -And now I wish you would tell me what you propose -doing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I? Working for a living.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“At what?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Anything I can find. Just now Elsie has me under -control. She is bent on making a market gardener of -me. Please look at this advertisement. We have -already made appointment to visit the place, and if -satisfactory and the books are disposed of, to take -immediate possession. What do you think of the -plan?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“H-m. It might be good, but how about the children’s -education?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That was what worried me greatly at first; but -both of them say so long as I work for a living they -shall help too. We have decided to give an hour each -evening, after it is too dark to work, to a little home -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>culture. After all, it is the practical application of -knowledge that makes one educated.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Quite true, Miss Margaret,” answered the doctor -as he gravely regarded her. “Give me a few more -details of your plan, and let me see how practicable -it is.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>As Margaret proceeded with an animated recital of -the schemes which she and Elsie had lain awake nights -to concoct, Dr. Ely sat so intently watching her that -she flushed and grew uneasy under his scrutiny. He, -however, was not aware of it; for his mind was borne -in upon itself, and he was tracing step by step the -years of his life that had brought him to this present -moment. He was a dignified man nearing the forties, -with a grave manner that was often thought austere, -but which was only the outward covering of a nature -too keenly sympathetic and appreciative to risk the -disapproval of an obtuse world. Like all delicate and -sensitive things in nature, he wrapped himself in a -husk, and only those who penetrated the outward covering -knew how beautiful was the inner temple of his -soul, how genial its warmth, and how playful the fancy -that tended the altar of his imaginings. His sudden -encounter with Margaret this morning had brought to -the surface a slight hint of its existence, but the quick -wonder of her eyes had sent it again into hiding. He -had been for some ten years the president of the school -at A——, and stood entirely alone in the world. For -twenty years he had cherished the memory of a fair -girl wife who had been companion and helpmeet but -three short months, when death claimed her. In her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>grave he had thought to bury love, and live henceforth -a solitary worker, with no dreams to entice again beyond -the prosaic outlines of his daily duties. But -Margaret Murchison’s year at the school had affected -him strangely. He had watched the girl’s development -with uncommon interest; had been touched -more than once by the clearness and unusual candor -of her nature, and grew to have a profound admiration -for the strength and purpose which upheld her. When -she had been so suddenly called home by her mother’s -death, he had missed her more than he liked to own -even to himself. Despite the disparity in their years, -he felt that hers was a nature to draw from its obscurity -all that was highest of attainment in his own. -He was but too conscious that, struggle as he might, -he somehow fell short of his desires. His most earnest -efforts seemed to fall half-heartedly upon those around -him. The fault must be his; the long loneliness of his -life—with neither father, mother, sister, brother, wife, -to share a single aspiration or make vivid a single -heart-glow—had unwittingly isolated him from mankind. -When the light of this love fully dawned upon -him, his soul felt the glow of a new purpose, and it -became to him the symbol of a wider sympathy and -charity, because of which Divinity long ago found need -to send a sign to all mankind. His school was not -slow to feel the change, and when the time became -ripe for him to speak, he felt that he was no longer -offering Margaret, in all her freshness, the remnant of -a heart and life, but the first fruits of a living soul. -He hastened to Barnley, strong in his purpose to lift -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>her at once from the toil and privation of poverty. -He had watched her career as best he could, in the -occasional letters received from her father, who never -failed to comment upon her strength and growth of -character, and his love had grown with the subtileness -of fancy until he had never stopped to consider the -effect it might have upon Margaret. Surely to be -sheltered and loved—ah! how he would prove his love -to her—ought to be reason enough for any woman so -bereft and friendless. So he had reasoned until he -caught the apprehensive glance of Margaret’s eyes, and -then he knew that his dream had not been hers, and -that love with her would not be made at once answerable -even to the most passionate appeals. All these -musings ran swiftly through his mind, the while his -intent glance remained upon Margaret’s face, unconsciously -drinking in its variable play of expression. -At last she ceased her recital, and said in a slightly -constrained voice: “I think I have told you all our -plans for the present, Dr. Ely.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>But the intent eyes never left her face as the doctor -asked wistfully: “Are you sure you’ve strength for so -much?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I have faith that it will be given me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, yes, it will,” he replied fervently, as he roused -himself with an effort. “And now let us take a look -at the books.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>He followed Margaret into the study and stood long -in silent contemplation before the shelves. He was -evidently making a careful computation of the value -of the books. “How much money will you need for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>this undertaking?” he asked, suddenly turning to -Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I have very little idea. I can scarcely tell until we -have seen the place.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, yes, I had forgotten. Of course you are not -sure of anything as yet. When did you say you had -appointed an interview with the agent?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We had expected to go this afternoon, if we had -a satisfactory letter from you in time. If not, the interview -was to be postponed until to-morrow.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And you have not had that satisfactory letter yet. -Well, you shall have it now. The books are even -more valuable than I thought. They number, I think -you said, some eight hundred volumes. Now, I wish -to propose a plan of my own. Suppose I advance you -the sum of four hundred dollars on the books to begin -with, allowing you to select such as in your home culture -club you will doubtless need, and reserve the -balance—I will not place an exact price on them now—to -be drawn upon in case of further demand for -money. Then, when you have made your fortune, you -are to have the books back at the price I paid for them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The doctor waited some time for Margaret’s answer; -but she stood with head slightly averted and was silent. -At last he could wait no longer, but bending forward, -glanced down at her face. Tears stood on the long -lashes and trembled on her cheeks. “Margaret,” he -cried sharply, “what have I said that is wrong?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nothing!” she exclaimed, suddenly extending both -hands to him. “Your goodness is so unexpected that -I am not strong enough for it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>He caught her hands in his own as he said impulsively: -“Listen, Margaret. It is not goodness—it is -rather pure selfishness. I came here this morning intent -on offering you not the worth of the books, but -something I was foolish enough to fancy of more value—myself. -No, don’t start; but hear me out. Manlike, -I fancied that I had but to speak and you would -let me take you away from all the toil and privation; -but now I know you——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret gently drew her hands away, and interrupted -him: “I never dreamed of such a thing. It is -impossible.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“If I loved you, Margaret, had loved you for years—don’t -look so incredulous—ever since you were a -school-girl, and had waited patiently until the time -was right, hoping that my love might win its response -even as the flowers respond to the warmth and light -of the sun—if I offered all this and a life-long devotion, -would it then be impossible?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret glanced up wonderingly, appealingly, into -the eager face above her.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is all so strange, so confusing; but I cannot—it -would indeed be impossible; for—forgive me, I do -not want to hurt you—I do not love you, Dr. Ely, -and I——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Say no more,” he said gently, “I knew it even before -I spoke; but I am glad you understand me. I -have been a lonely man all my life, and you can perhaps -imagine how, even old as I am, I find delight in -the companionship of one who is quick to understand -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>and appreciate all that interests me. I love you, dear -child, with the one love of my life; but I shall never -again obtrude it upon you. I must, however, claim -one favor. I am willing to sink all that I had hoped -to the calm basis of friendship; do not deny me that. -Let me help you, even as I had meant to before I spoke, -and I promise faithfully never to claim anything more -at your hands than the just consideration of one friend -for another. You stand alone and inexperienced—put -aside what has passed and let my age and experience -help you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret, watching him as he spoke, could not fail -to be touched by the sincerity and unselfishness of his -words. For reply she placed her hand in his and said -softly, “I will.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“One word more. If the time ever comes—mind, I -do not expect it, I do not even beg it—but if the time -does come when your heart can respond fully to the -love that shall be yours as long as life lasts, you have -only to say ‘come,’ and I will obey you though it be -to the uttermost parts of the earth. May I ask this -too?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is not much to promise,” said Margaret gently, -“but it may be too much to hope for. I have never -had time for anything but immediate duties, and I am -afraid I shall never find time for anything else. I have -always felt that I belonged to these children. If, however—and -I can discern but the faintest hope—if such a -time <em>should</em> come, you may be sure that the word will -not be uttered half-heartedly.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>A blush stole up to Margaret’s cheek as she spoke, -making her whole face glow and soften with an unwonted -beauty that the doctor’s observant eyes did -not fail to note. They were suspiciously misty as he -raised her hand to his lips and said fervently:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Amen. Now let’s to business.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER III.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>“Oh, I think it is delightful,” exclaimed Elsie as -she, Margaret, and Dr. Ely stopped in the late glow -of the afternoon sun before the gate of the place at -Idlewild. “Such a charming tangle of briers to get -scratched on while hunting for very stray berries.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There is something to be done here before one -could hope for returns,” assented the doctor. “But let -us explore the house, and see whether it is possible to -exist in it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The house, by courtesy a cottage, had four rooms, -so called. Elsie suggested boxes as a better name, -but found consolation in the fact that four rooms for -three people left a breathing-room that each could -occupy in turn. The rooms were black with smoke -and slippery with filth, and even Margaret felt something -very like despair as she exclaimed piteously: -“The muscle and soap it will take to cleanse it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Is it habitable otherwise?” asked the doctor as he -rattled windows, examined hinges and locks, and poked -into chimneys and cupboards. “Fairly good. Whitewash, -paint, soap, and muscle, and you won’t know it, -Miss Margaret. Now let us see what the garden is -like. Wants underdraining badly. Soil clayey and -cold, but admirably situated for outlet of drain. A -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>few muck-heaps and this garden will blossom like the -rose.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But you frighten me,” exclaimed Margaret aghast. -“I haven’t the slightest idea how to drain it, and I am -sure it will cost more than we can afford.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We are only examining possibilities. ‘Small fruits,’ -a dozen ragged currant bushes, some straggling strawberry -vines, grapes that have run riot, and a ‘delightful -tangle,’ as Elsie says, of raspberry bushes. Common, -too—no, Gregg if I am not mistaken. Ah! that is -better. ‘Three acres of land’—not more than two -and one-half that can yield anything. Now, Miss -Margaret, if you and Elsie are ready we’ll interview -the agent.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The place will not pay for the outlay upon it, I am -afraid,” said Margaret despondently, as they went out -of the gate.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not this season, certainly; but we can tell better -when we have seen the agent and found out what we -can do with him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, if you had not insisted on coming with us I -should have turned back in dismay. Somehow, when -I can see a way through I am ready enough to act; -but I become frightened when the wall is so high I -cannot see over.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That is natural enough. Very few women have -the courage to scale precipices; but those who undertake -the problem of self-support must encounter all of -a man’s difficulties. We are a chivalrous people here in -America, but that chivalry usually consists in giving -a woman a fair field and no quarter. If you seek to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>be one with us in opportunities, you must be one with -us in conditions.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“If I might always be sure of such fair consideration -I shall not complain. A woman, however, cannot -insure her own incompetency against the greed of those -who are chivalrous enough to take advantage of it. She -must always be more or less a victim.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So long as she remains incompetent. Experience, -however, is the great moulder in her case as well as -that of her brother. She demonstrates her capacity -in proportion as she learns the same hard lessons. -One of the first of these lessons is not to ask any more -of the world because of her sex. When women cease -clamoring for a man’s rights and a woman’s pre-eminence -at one and the same time, then will the dogged -opposition of those to whom she appeals be less noticeable.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yet it is quite natural for the weak to ask a little -extra standing-room of their more fortunate brothers.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is one thing to ask by virtue of a common -sympathy, and another to demand as a right. Mankind -is a good deal like the pig that Paddy tried to -drive to market. ‘Shure if ye iver git ’im there, ye -must head ’im t’other way.’ It might be well to try -the scheme on the agent of this place.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>As Margaret glanced up and caught the humorous -twinkle of the doctor’s eyes, she said quietly: “I leave -the settlement of the matter in your hands, while I -watch your effort in getting the pig to market. I shall -have need to learn all I can.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mr. Smith, of the real estate firm of Harris & Smith, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>was a portly, self-satisfied man, who regarded the applicants -for the little place at Idlewild with a somewhat -lofty stare over the rim of his gold eye-glasses. -It was quite evident from his manner that so small a -transaction as this was not considered worth any extra -amount of civility. But the pompous manner neither -abashed nor diverted Dr. Ely from his purpose. With -a man’s decision and firmness he stated his wishes, met -objections, overcame difficulties, and obtained satisfactory -results, with such facility that Margaret felt -herself well-nigh overwhelmed in the dismal swamp -of her own incapacity.</p> - -<p class='c009'>When the contract for the specific performance of -each had been duly drawn and signed, and Dr. Ely, -Margaret, and Elsie had once more regained the sidewalk, -the doctor asked: “Well, Miss Margaret, did I -get my pig to market?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As I should never have dared to do.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I knew it,” and the doctor’s face grew suddenly -grave. “It is a big undertaking for a slender untried -woman.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” said Margaret gently, “not when I have such -an adviser.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, I intend to see you safely settled before I -leave. There is a great deal in getting started right.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I haven’t a demur to make—not even an expostulation -as to the trouble you are making yourself. The -time to assert my independence will be when I am -monarch of all I survey.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You’ll have nothing to do now for three years to -come but develop your skill as a gardener. I fancy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>you will not find altogether easy work or satisfactory -returns.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do not expect to. I have my apprenticeship yet -to learn; but it seems to promise more than any other -available thing. Besides, I shall count even mistakes -as so much marketable goods in the future, if I am -only wise enough to profit by them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“He is wise indeed who always succeeds in doing it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The doctor at once set himself to supervising the -laying in of the drain, the painting and papering of -the little house, and the trimming and pruning of the -tangle of vines and bushes in the garden. With the -aid of Gilbert, a bright lad of sixteen, the untidy place -soon came to assume an air of neatness and thrift -which at once impressed Mr. Smith with the idea that -his tenants were people on whom it might be worth -while to expend a little civility.</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was the first of March, raw, cold, and inhospitable, -when, with their household belongings, the little -party was set down at the door of the new home. It -was late in the afternoon and all were cold, tired, and -somewhat dispirited. Even the doctor’s equanimity -was beginning to give way before the settled obstinacy -of a refractory stove-pipe, when a brisk knock at the -door of the sitting-room interrupted operations for a -moment. Margaret opened the door, to be greeted -with the cheery voice of a little black-eyed woman -who stepped in without waiting for an invitation. -“Good-efening to you all,” she cried. “I am Lizzette -Minaud. I lif ze next door, and I haf prepared ze -souper for you. Do not say ‘Non!’ I take it so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>amiss. You look so blue, so tired, so ready to cry, -pauvre child,” and she laid her hand warmly upon -Margaret’s arm as she spoke.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are very kind, but——” and Margaret glanced -apprehensively at the doctor.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, your—your—ze gentilhomme will go, I am -sure. I haf known how ze tired comes in mofing, and -you sall work so mooch ze better when you haf supped. -I keep you only so long as you sall need ze rest and -refreshment.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A thousand thanks,” said the doctor heartily. “To -be sure we will go. Gilbert, you and I can have a -good deal more patience with this unruly stove-pipe -after we have partaken of this lady’s supper, eh?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I can’t answer for you, sir, but I know I am hungry -as a wolf.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So mooch ze better. Hunger ees ze sauce piquante -to black bread.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Did you ever feed a boy?” interposed Elsie, glancing -roguishly at Gilbert. “If not, I warn you beforehand.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Non, non. I do not need ze warning. Lizzette -Minaud’s table ees nefer empty.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We are taxing your kindness, I fear,” said Margaret, -as they prepared for the visit.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Non, eet ees ze plaisir. I—I like your face,” and -the impulsive little woman again grasped Margaret’s -hand. “We must be friends, and friends take no -thought of ze trouble of serving each ozair.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You have given the true meaning of friendship,” -replied Margaret earnestly.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>Lizzette Minaud’s house was a “box” indeed, not -even as large as the one which seemed so small to -Margaret and Elsie; but it was a marvel of neatness -and taste. The oak floor of the salon, as in grandiose -style Lizzette designated her sitting-room, was like a -mirror in its capacity to reflect objects, and nearly as -dangerous to walk upon. Here and there bright-colored -rugs, knit by the expert fingers of the mistress, -lay before couch, stove, and tables. The walls were -a delicate cream tint, with dado and frieze composed -of crimson, brown, and golden maple leaves delicately -veined and shaded, each one the particular work of -Lizzette. In response to the delighted exclamation of -her visitors, she explained in perfect frankness that -having little money and some skill, she had determined -to decorate her home—bought with the savings of -years—in as tasteful a design as she could achieve. -She was rewarded with gratifying success, for the -grouping of the leaves was so artistic and the coloring -so perfect that nature seemed to be rivalled in the -reproduction.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are an artist!” enthusiastically exclaimed -Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Non, non—only a Frenchwoman and a cook,” she -answered with a characteristic shrug. “I haf all my -life been cook for ze great families. In France first, -in America many year since. I marry twelve year -since, and my husband he go away when my Antoine -but two year old. He ees here in zis room, and he -will be so charmed to meet you.” As she finished -speaking, she turned toward a little alcove and presented -<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>to view, what at first seemed a little child -propped up on a couch. A second look, and it was at -once discovered that the child was a hunch-backed lad -of some ten years, with dwarfed and misshapen limbs -that refused to support him. With that appealing -gaze so often noted in the suffering and unfortunate, -his dark eyes looked out from beneath a brow broad, -smooth, and white. Rings of jet-black curls, a straight, -delicate nose, and a mouth with lips thin and bloodless -and downward curved, completed the cast of his features. -But it would be impossible to reproduce in -words the innate beauty of the smile that lit up his -face or the sublimity of spirit which looked out of the -dark eyes. Impulsive Elsie was on her knees beside -him in a moment.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You dear angel!” she exclaimed, picking up one -of the thin, white hands and kissing it. “I shall love -you, I know.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Everybody does. Everybody is so good,” said the -lad simply. “You are good to come. I wanted to -see you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eet ees true,” said Lizzette, “he would not rest -until I had tried to make ze welcome. He ees sometimes -lonesome when I go about ze work, but he ees -always patient and always so kind. He ees un grand -scholair, too. See, he read zis,” and Lizzette held up -in triumph a well-thumbed copy of Shakespeare. “It -is ze Anglais. He learn so fast, and he read Santine -et Racine très bien. I go to school to mon enfant -soon,” and the little mother patted the boy’s pale -cheek in an effusion of pride and fondness. The lad -glanced up lovingly and said quickly:</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>“Non, non. Ma mère has quicker eyes and more -wisdom than Antoine. Is the supper ready? I am -very hungry and want my wheel chair.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The mother turned to get it, but Gilbert was before -her, and gently lifting the lad into it, he started it toward -the little kitchen where stood the supper-table.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ma mère is a famous cook,” said the lad with a -bright smile. “She makes appetite when it has forgotten -to grow.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So he say,” said Lizzette with a shrug. “I only -follow ze way of my art.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The doctor, who had long been silent, glanced up as -they seated themselves at the table, and asked: “Do -you indeed think cookery an art?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oui, oui, sir. Ze grand art, sir. Ze grain of ze -man ees as ze food he eat; if it be coarse, he coarse too. -Strong, may be, but not ze fine gentilhomme who -eferywhere see ze leetle beauties of life, and so rest -you wiz ze gracefulness of his way.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Perhaps you are right, madam,” said the doctor -gravely, “although I confess I had never looked at it -in that light.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eet ees like ze art of ozair sings. Ze leetle touch -zat makes ze picture, and as Antoine say, ze poetry of -Shakespeare. Will it please you to speak ze grace?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette’s supper-table was a sight to tempt less -weary and hungry wayfarers than our dispirited -quartette. It was simplicity itself, the principal dish -being a salad so crisp in its delicate ravigote of finely-flavored -herbs that Elsie declared it “a mortgage on -the summer, since it had stolen all its sweetest flavors.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>Lobster rissoles, a mushroom omelette, with cold -bread, a soupçon of preserved plums, black coffee, and -tea served from the depths of a Japanese cosey, completed -the menu.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The salad, Miss Elsie, ees made of ze weeds of ze -wayside,” said Lizzette. “Vous Anglais despise ze -sings ze French live by. I make zis salad of ze herb -you call dandelion; I find it growing eferywhere. I -mix it wiz ze cressom—you call it water-cress—growing -by ze brooks, toss it up wiz ze ravigote of tarragon, -chervil et bumet, and behold you have, as you -say, ‘ze summer in mortgage to ze winter.’”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Count me a pupil to the economy of these versatile -French,” exclaimed Elsie rapturously. “I know now -what I was born for. Madam Minaud shall make an -artist of me. I am positively inspired with ambition.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Or Madam Minaud’s supper,” observed Gilbert.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We Americans long ago accepted the gospel of -plain ‘boiled and fried,’ and your dispensation is only -just beginning to be felt among those who have lived -abroad. It is certainly a much-needed lesson,” said -the doctor as he complacently accepted Lizzette’s -offer of a second omelette.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ze French nevaire trow away like ze Anglais. -Zey save ze leetle sings, and so zey grow reech where -ze Anglais—il a de quoi vivre mais bien maigrement.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Our lines have fallen in pleasant places,” cried -Elsie enthusiastically. “Antoine shall teach me French, -and Madam Minaud shall bestow upon me the art of -converting wayside weeds into meat and drink for the -fleshly tabernacle.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>“You are making the bargain all for yourself, Elsie. -What compensation do you propose in return?” asked -Margaret with an amused glance at the girl’s flushed -cheeks and sparkling eyes.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Compensation?” exclaimed Antoine quickly. -“Everything! herself, love—ah, we shall be more than -paid. I shall have the companion I have longed for, -and ma mère will see the rose come back to my cheeks -and be glad. Is it not so?” and the child’s hand -sought Elsie’s as it rested on the back of his chair.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, yes,” said Elsie eagerly. “You shall have all -the comfort I can give you, dear child.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>As she spoke she pushed back the jetty curls and -left the warm touch of her lips upon the lad’s white -forehead. In an instant the thin arms were around -her neck, and he cried excitedly: “I love you so, and I -shall never be unhappy again.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Grave Dr. Ely turned away from this scene with -quivering lip, and his voice was not altogether steady -as he said: “Well, Gilbert, that stove-pipe does not look -half so formidable as it did before Madam Minaud’s -delicious supper.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Indeed, no, sir. I feel like a Hercules.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“All right. Let us see how soon we can slay the -giant disorder. In view of the circumstances, madam -will excuse a hasty departure.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Certainment. Work ees master in our leetle world.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Work and love, ma mère,” exclaimed Antoine.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Antoine is right,” said Margaret. “These are the -soul and body of existence; to toil is the Divine command—to -love the Divine purpose.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>“We must perforce obey the command,” exclaimed -Elsie, patting Antoine’s cheek. “The purpose we will -leave to its own solution.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’ve already solved it,” answered Antoine with a -ripple of laughter that brought a happy light to -Lizzette’s eyes as she answered the “good-nights” of -the little party.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER IV.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>It did not take long to settle the little four-roomed -house, for Dr. Ely proved himself an every-day worker. -The week that had passed since he had left his -school had been full of business. The purpose which -he saw in Margaret and Elsie had awakened a new -interest in his life, and to see that their feet were -firmly fixed in the way they had marked out for themselves -seemed to him the task, as well as the pleasure, -of an elder brother. Looking upon life as the vast -field from which should spring all that is highest of -development and achievement in humanity, he was -touched with the hope of being a factor in the ambitious -purposes of these inexperienced and well-nigh -friendless girls. He believed fully in allowing to each -individual soul the opportunities for measuring its own -power, and while a certain sense of loss came upon -him when he realized that the expectation of taking -Margaret into his own life could not be fulfilled, he -felt ennobled and strengthened by the desire to be one -with her in her efforts of self-advancement. “Not -now, not now; but some time, perhaps,” he said to his -heart, and during his week of early and late work not -one word or look of his had disturbed the serenity of -Margaret’s mind. He had been solely and simply the -elder brother on whose experience and friendly aid she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>could rely. Now, however, the little home was in -order; the tiny sitting-room with its painted and -polished floor, its bright rugs, its gayly-cushioned -Boston rockers, its hassocks that served the double -duty of seats and boot-boxes, and last, but not least, -its revolving book-case with the few of the well-known -volumes which Margaret had selected from her father’s -library and which Dr. Ely had supplemented with -some contributions of his own. These were principally -works on art and the intellect, by Ruskin, Hammerton, -and others, and a few books of poetry by -Dante Rossetti, Keats, Tennyson, and a superb <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">édition -de luxe</span></i> of “Aurora Leigh.” They were all seated in -this room surveying its finishing touches the evening -previous to Dr. Ely’s departure for A—.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, it is pleasant,” he exclaimed. “I shall carry -its memory with me when I go, and in imagination -behold you seated every evening around the open -stove, feasting on the contents of this handy little -book-case. I shall remember how white the curtains -are, how dainty the table scarfs and the head-rests of -the chairs, and how really fine those oleographs and -photogravures on the wall appear in the glow of the -fire-light, and I shall fancy you are all taking on flesh -and good spirits under the inspiration of Elsie’s cooking.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are very kind not to insinuate one word about -dyspepsia,” answered Elsie demurely. “But I am -really enthusiastic over my promised lessons in that -grand art, as madam so grandiloquently calls it. You -know some people are born great, and I really feel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>that I am destined to achieve my highest expression in -an apostleship to the pots and pans of the kitchen. -Like the starveling poet of the story-books, I shall -doubtless astonish the world when the flame of my -soul has burst into a dish fit to set before a king.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are somewhat mixed as to metaphor,” exclaimed -Margaret with a laugh.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, I hope to mix more than metaphors by-and-by. -But tell me, Dr. Ely, are you conscious of either -an aching void or an aching fulness, whichever dyspepsia -happens to be, since you sat under my dispensation?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I haven’t had such an appetite in years. I don’t -in the least question your genius for cookery, and -when you have learned to make something out of -nothing with a ravishing French name and taste, you -can count on achieving a world-wide fame.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Fame? a bauble! I look only to the expression of -my art,” and Elsie rolled up her eyes and shrugged -her shapely shoulders with an abandon of French -mannerism that was as startling as it was amusing. -Something in Margaret’s apprehensive glance caught -the doctor’s quick eye. What wonderful fire and keenness -lay in the little girl’s mobile face. Ah, well, Margaret -was right; there was work for her here. With -an abruptness that seemed almost harsh he spoke:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“He ‘jests at scars that never felt a wound.’ Art, -Miss Elsie, in its entirety is deep, and high, and long, -and men have sought it, and with palsied finger on the -pulse of time have died unanswered.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The laughing eyes of Elsie grew suddenly grave. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>“Dear me, one can’t be enthusiastic nowadays without -finding a wet blanket thrown over her at the first -step. Nevertheless I don’t intend to wear cap and -spectacles until long after my humble divinity has -crowned me mistress. My ambition is such a simple -one—just to tickle the palates of my little world. Now, -doctor, don’t discourage me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not for the world. Epicurus, if he were here, -would doubtless pronounce a benediction on your ambition, -and I am not sure that your purpose does not -already deserve a laurel leaf, for it has been more than -once reiterated that the crying need of the day is good -cookery.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Thanks. I am glad that my mission has the support -of the public mind, or palate. Either will do, I -suppose. But how is it with you, Meg? I haven’t -heard you declare as yet for any reform.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am not so sure of my mission as you are of yours, -nor so confident of being born to greatness.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That’s bad. One surely ought to believe in herself -if she expects to get on. Perhaps the doctor can -help your indecision.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was a mischievous twinkle in Elsie’s eyes that -was not lost on the doctor, but with the utmost gravity -he replied: “Well, yes, I think I can. It will be -a mission worth while to learn the problem of self-support -and self-education under adverse circumstances. -It will need something more than enthusiasm.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A patience and a finesse of which I am not sure I -am master. I am only mutely feeling my way now. -Indeed, the doctor has lifted so much responsibility -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>from my shoulders in this new venture that I hardly -know what I can do.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You will know when the opportunity comes to act. -Just now you needed the little friendly direction I am -very glad I was able to offer. There are times when -even the strongest are not wholly self-reliant.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Tears stood in Margaret’s eyes as she answered: -“How unblessed is he who can make no claim on loyal -friendship. May I always prove myself worthy of it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We’ll not question that now, nor in the future,” -said the doctor, a glow of light in his eyes that watching -Elsie did not fail to note. “Now, tell me your -plan for making use of this mine,” he added, touching -the book-case at his right hand.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’ve been thinking we must get at the nuggets -with as little delay as possible, for we haven’t time to -bore through worthless drifts of scoria, even though -at the bottom may be a mine of wealth. We must -make practical and immediate use of what we learn.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“True,” interposed the doctor as Margaret looked -up interrogatively. “I am deeply interested.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“This, then, is what I’ve been thinking: every -thought of other minds from which we can draw sustenance -must be drained of its nutriment before we -seek another, and that thought must be made to bear -relatively upon our own. In other words, it must -father a new growth in our own minds, for in that way -only can education have any practical bearing upon -life and action.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Excellent!” exclaimed the doctor warmly. “Go -on, please.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>Margaret’s cheek flushed as she complied. “It is -my purpose, then, in this home symposium to bring no -thought that we cannot healthfully digest. Occult research -is only for the man of leisure. This is the first -principle that shall govern our intellectual feast. The -second shall be the democracy of our purpose, or, in -other words, the hand-to-hand start we shall make in -our race for knowledge. No one shall be debarred because -he has not learned the alphabet of reason; we -will give him the chance to learn it. The third requirement -will be only good moral character,” and -Margaret finished with a laugh.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Regardless of social position, remember, doctor,” -exclaimed Elsie. “In short, Margaret has sketched -the outlines of a new aristocracy, wherein moral worth -and purpose count first, with brain and healthy digestion -a good second, and where wealth doesn’t stand -any show at all.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You forget that is the goal toward which the first -two tend,” said Margaret eagerly. “An aristocracy -founded on those principles could not be an insecure -one—could it, doctor?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is admirable as a dream, and as a dream impracticable, -I fear.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“By no means,” said Elsie as she noticed the shadow -that crossed Margaret’s face at the doctor’s words. -“You forget that it concerns only three people. We -shall reform the world chiefly by beginning to reform -ourselves. Nothing could so suit our Eutopian ideas -as to call it ‘A New Aristocracy.’”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“An aristocracy of potato diggers!” exclaimed Gilbert, -looking up from his book.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>“Exactly. We have a right to a kingdom of our -own within these walls. Our fame and our pride need -not go beyond them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Safe enough on that score,” said Gilbert ironically.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well,” said the doctor merrily, “I shall count myself -one of the aristocrats even when miles away.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But I haven’t told you all my plan yet,” said Margaret. -“It concerns this very potato-digging that to -Gilbert seems so incongruous with our high purposes. -On the principle that everything we have is the product -of the earth, there is nothing out of proportion -in even potato diggers striving for the highest development, -and as our impressions all come to us from our -contact with every-day things, we shall find an astonishing -philosophy grow out of potato-digging if we look -for it. In my endeavors to carry out the behests underlying -the propagation of plants, I expect to find -questions that will lead me into as yet unexplored -paths, and I shall endeavor to treasure up these questions -and their answers if they can be found. I shall -exact the same process of reasoning from all the members -of our circle, and shall expect every evening to -be regaled by Elsie with a philosophical monologue -on the amount of nutriment there is in an egg or the -exhilaration to be derived from the dish-pan.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then you will be disappointed. My ideas are not -perennial; but if I chance to evolve some flavor that -a Frenchman would doubtless call ‘heavenly,’ you may -look for a harangue.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A practical school of philosophy it seems to -shadow forth; but the proof of the pudding is in the -eating, you know,” said the doctor with a smile.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>“I don’t underrate the difficulties in the way; but I -think we three ought to be able to do something with -ourselves on that basis,” said Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Certainly,” replied the doctor. “And I shall endeavor -to remodel my own work from the same standpoint. -I have been a dreamer and an enthusiast, and -it has remained for an untried girl to show the practical -application of my dreams. I shall go home a -wiser man.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You frighten me, doctor, with the seriousness of -that statement. It is all untried as yet,” exclaimed -Margaret in evident distress.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“True; but I can see its first steps. After these the -way may open wider and clearer. It is certainly worth -trying.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With this indorsement Margaret felt satisfied, and -there was color in her cheeks and brilliancy in her eyes -as she and the doctor talked long and animatedly -until late in the evening. Gilbert had stolen away to -bed and Elsie was deep in a novel of Antoine’s.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I shall have to shake myself well together when I -get home,” said the doctor, when they discovered the -lateness of the hour. “I’ve been living a new life and -the old one will seem strange.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was hard for Margaret to acknowledge even to -herself after the doctor’s departure that she felt lonely -and uneasy; but somehow she missed the careful forethought -that had been as new as it had been unexpected. -It was a strange experience in her barren -life, and scold herself as she might, she could not find -it unpleasant. But for the present she would not, she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>might not indulge in dreams. A work that might -stretch into years lay before her. That done—well, -how strong is faith? A new beauty, however, stole -into her face; its somewhat stern lines relaxed, and -tender, almost pathetic, little curves grew about the -corners of the firmly-set lips. It was quite apparent -to those who knew her that the calm reliance of her -nature had been disturbed by something strange and -sweet, yet not even Elsie guessed its full meaning.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER V.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>It was the middle of April. Already in sheltered -corners the thin blades of grass were fringing the -walks and telling mutely of the stir at their roots. -The sky had an unwonted tint of blue, and occasional -breezes came up from the Southland laden with the -balm and spice of the new-born earth. Hooded in -their green cloaks, the dandelions lifted their yellow -heads and took a sly peep from their enveloping -fringes. The crocuses were just ready to laugh, and -the purple bells of the wild hyacinth were tinkling unheard -in the soft air. The robins were hilarious in -the intoxication of hope, and Elsie and Antoine were -endeavoring to rival them in the ever-recurring joy and -promise of the spring. They were in the garden at -Idlewild; Antoine in his wheel chair, and Elsie pretending -to wield a trowel around the roots of a few -straggling rose bushes. She was an indifferent worker, -however, for every now and then Antoine would catch -the bursting refrain of some over-joyous robin, and -throwing back his handsome head, would imitate it so -closely as to call forth rapturous applause from Elsie -and a chorus of answers from neighboring trees. -Presently Elsie began to purse her red lips in a wild -attempt to rival Antoine and the birds. Each attempt -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>was followed by gay bursts of laughter such as -can issue only from the lips of children and the utterly -care-free.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is no use,” said Elsie after awhile. “I never -can be a bird.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then you can’t fly away from me,” said Antoine -gravely, laying a thin hand upon Elsie’s cotton-gloved -ones.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Would it grieve you if I should?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It has been heaven since you came,” said the lad -simply.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I don’t believe you know what heaven is, if a madcap -girl like me can make it for you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’ve read somewhere that ‘heaven lies in a woman’s -eyes;’ but I suppose that was meant for full-grown -men, not for little chaps like me. It is heaven all the -same to find a companion—one who can laugh before I -do. Ma mère always laughs <em>after</em>.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Did you laugh a great deal before I came?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, I only laughed when ma mère was looking. I -had to do it to keep the tears out of her voice. Oh, -I’ve been so lonely, always thinking, thinking, and I -wanted not to think.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Dear child, don’t let us begin now. At least we’ll -put sad thoughts away. Have you found your blossom -for the home circle to-night?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not yet. Miss Margaret said it must grow from -the soil of our daily life, and nothing seems to grow -in my soil.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Listen, Antoine. You say I make heaven for you -because I can bring you laughter. Has not that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>thought grown in the barren soil you complain of? -Now make a blossom out of the root and stalk.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am too dull. You will not let me enter the circle -if I show you how little I can make a thought. I -only live when I forget myself and everything around -me in somebody else. I am such a useless lad.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, no, you must not allow yourself to think such -things. See what a comfort you are to your mother; -and how I delight in that odd little head of yours. -I neglect my work to talk to you, and shall have Margaret -scolding presently,” answered Elsie, picking up -her trowel and giving one or two energetic digs at -the sod about a rose bush.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Miss Margaret never scolds, I am sure,” said Antoine -emphatically. “But oh, if I could run and leap -and work!” The words ended in a half-sob.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We all have our appointed tasks, Antoine,” said -Elsie softly. “Some are made to do and some are -made to bear.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Mine always to bear!” exclaimed the lad bitterly. -“Never to be a man with a man’s hopes and ambitions. -Just a little dried-up mummy——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There, there!” interrupted Elsie, taking the flushed -face between her hands and kissing it. “Not very -much of a mummy with such a vehement tongue as -that. Dear child, let us put the inevitable away. -Heavy as the cross is, love lightens it, and love -will always be yours. No one can look at you without -loving you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“For what?” asked the lad eagerly. “For my misfortune, -or what other reason?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>“For the spirit in those dark eyes and the atmosphere -of love that radiates from you. The spirit is -greater than the body, and life need not be useless to -you nor you to life.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And is there more to hope for than the pity that -says ‘poor child’ when it looks at me?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Breathlessly Antoine asked the question, and as -breathlessly seemed to hang on Elsie’s words: “Men -crippled like you, Antoine, have made the world pause -to wonder at their powers, and hail in reverent acclaim -the genius that is immeasurably above mere -physical perfection.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But I haven’t any genius,” said Antoine with a disappointed -sigh. “I have only one intense longing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“For what? Tell me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You will laugh at me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not for the world.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, then,” and Antoine’s pale face flushed with -the energy of desire, “for music. To pour out my -soul in wordless utterances like the birds; to rise, to -float on waves of song, away above everybody.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The little thin hands were clasped together in an -ecstasy of feeling, and the bent body was restlessly -swaying back and forth among the cushions.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Have you ever tried?” asked Elsie simply.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No; ma mère doesn’t even know it. She says I -whistle like a bird, and that is all she knows. She is -too poor to buy me anything to make music with.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What would you like?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I think I could play the violin best, for that -doesn’t need anything but arms to bring out the expression. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>Ah, what joy it would be to make something -talk for me, to me. I <em>know</em>, Elsie, I could teach -it to say the things in here that are so dumb now because -they have no way to speak,” and the restless -hands clutched his breast as he spoke.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Wait a moment,” exclaimed Elsie, jumping up -quickly and running into the house. She was back in -less than a moment with an old violin case in her -hand.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah!” she exclaimed, seeing the light of eager expectancy -spring into Antoine’s eyes. “Don’t be too -sure of anything. I found this in the rubbish when -we moved. I don’t think it was poor father’s. I never -heard him play it. By the way, I believe it was left at -our house by some stranger. Indeed, Antoine, we -never had any gayety in our home. It was only just -the serenity of well-performed duty, unless I whirled -into a storm for a change. But now, Antoine, if this -fiddle can sing, we’ll have a little gayety, won’t we?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, won’t we!” echoed Antoine, as Elsie busied -herself with removing the sack in which the violin had -been carefully tied. Alas! the violin had but one -string, and not a shadow of any other to be found in -sack or case.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, it’s evidently whole,” said Elsie, thumping -the back, “and strings can be bought. Take the bow, -Antoine, and wake the echoes with one string. We’ll -make a noise, at any rate.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Antoine took the old violin and examined it carefully, -thumping the one bass string with the gravity -of discovery. Once or twice he adjusted it under his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>chin, and made a motion as if to draw the bow across -the string. Suddenly he stopped.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” he said decidedly, “until there is a voice I -cannot speak, and even then, Elsie, how do I know I -shall not fail? I know I shall with you watching me. -Some time when the strings are on the violin and I am -all alone, and I feel the song bird here in my breast, I -will try. Something tells me I shall succeed—that it -is my life, my hope; but I do not know, after all,” and -over the dark eyes stole the cloud of despair that so -often makes the bravest genius fearful of its own -weakness.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We will make it hope for you because we will -work for it, dear,” answered Elsie. “Even genius is -nothing without work.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Antoine did not answer, and Elsie, noticing the -cloud still hovering over the lad’s face, pushed his -chair to the other end of the garden, where Margaret, -Lizzette, and Gilbert were busied over cold frames and -garden beds. Looking over the low paling that separated -Margaret’s garden from that of Lizzette, they -could already see the tender green of early vegetables -showing through the glass plates of the hot beds. -Lizzete eyed them approvingly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Next year you sall rival me,” she said, laying a -brown hand on Margaret’s shoulder. “But nefer fear—zere -ees room for bof in zis world. We nezair of -us grow reech, c’est vrai; but we lif and zat ees somesing. -Ah, Gilbeart, you lose von goot foot zere. Now -put it zis way and see your frame couvair so mooch -more ground. Eet ees ze inch saved zat makes ze foot -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>gained in ze market garden. See! Can you find von -inch to spare in zat leetle space of mine? Eet all yields, -and yet Lizzette Minaud ees une très pauvre femme.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Poverty is a relative term, you know. Enough -to eat, to wear, and to grow on are all that any one -needs. It is in the enough, however, that lies the -division of opinion,” said Margaret as she helped Gilbert -adjust the frame to Lizzette’s satisfaction.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Zat ees true; but as ze world look at us we haf -very leetle.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But if we have contentment therewith, we have -everything,” answered Margaret. At this juncture -Elsie, who had wheeled Antoine into the path beside -her sister, broke out impetuously:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Margaret Murchison, do you mean to say that you -are perfectly contented? I don’t believe one word of -it. You are not contented, for if you were you wouldn’t -be striving with might and main to earn the wherewithal -to make a gentleman of Gilbert and a lady of -me. You’d let us remain clodhoppers to the end of -our days. It is all nonsense to preach contentment -when your actions give the lie to your words.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret glanced up quickly at the vehement assertion.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There is a difference between the contentment -that has only stagnation in it, and that which is satisfied -to grow under the conditions which environ it -until the time ripens for wider growth and leafage. -If I am contented it is because I am willing to work -step by step and inch by inch as the way unfolds. -There is only disaster in trying to reach the height at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>a single bound. Order is subverted and reason impeded -in such attempts.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My wise sister, put on my harness and teach me -to trot soberly by your side. I do so want to jump -the gates for a wild run, and forget harness, duty, and -all the unpleasant things of life. Antoine and I have -been trying to be birds this morning.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You didn’t succeed, I conclude.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, no; at least I didn’t. Wings will never grow -for me, but Antoine is going to rival the birds some -day. See here! I found this among the rubbish in -father’s study, and Gilbert when next he goes to the -city shall get the strings, and when Antoine has -learned to mirror his soul in music I’ll——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What will you do?” asked Margaret soberly, as -Elsie paused for breath.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Dance my way into fame! Now don’t look so -horrified, or I shall think you are going to be a ‘Miss -Prunes and Prisms’ instead of the good wholesome -‘sister’ Dr. Ely thinks you are.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie watched with sparkling eyes the pink flush -on Margaret’s cheek, and a moment later mischievously -intensified it by saying: “I wonder how the -staid Dr. Ely would relish hearing the world say that -the sister of——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie!” exclaimed Margaret apprehensively.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I was merely going to say—of the lady he admires -so much was premier danseuse at the Standard?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie was half-way to the house by the time she had -explained herself.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>“Oh, cet Elsie!” exclaimed Lizzette with a laugh. -“What fire, what verve zere ees under zat pretty head.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“She’s a great puzzle to me,” said Margaret somewhat -sadly. “I really fear she’ll burn her wings yet. -I hope I can keep her out of the candle.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“She’ll keep herself out,” exclaimed Antoine energetically. -“She’s got a heap of good sense; but she’s -just like some wild bird, made to be gay and beautiful -all her life.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“She’s been dropped in a sorry corner of the world, -if that is her destiny. There is little hope of anything -but the daily drill of duty in this household,” answered -Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“She’ll never drill under any other captain than -love,” said Antoine with a smile up into Margaret’s -grave face.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And he’ll have to be a pretty lively fellow to keep -up with her antics, too,” said Gilbert as he leaned his -hoe against the fence and took up the fiddle to examine -it.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret’s face grew thoughtful as she heaped the -earth about the frame. “Love, love,” said she to herself. -“After all, it is like the sun, the vivifying influence -of the world, and duty sounds cold beside it. I -must find out what it is that is trying to burst its -bonds in my little girl’s bosom. It may be I am too -slow and dull for the gay spring-time that is budding -there.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Antoine,” she exclaimed presently, “Gilbert shall -fix up the old fiddle and you shall learn to wake us -up. I believe we’ve been too sleepy for Elsie.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>“O Miss Margaret! she is so lovely and so are -you,” he added naïvely.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The old fiddle, Antoine,” said Margaret, responsively -patting the boy’s hand, “the old fiddle has a -history. Some eight or nine years ago my father -took into his house a sick man, who came apparently -from nowhere and was apparently journeying to the -same place. He was very ill when he came to the -house, and begged for a night’s lodging and supper. -My father never turned any one who was hungry from -his door, and so he came among us, and sat all the -evening a silent figure in the chimney corner until bedtime. -He had nothing with him but a bundle tied up -in a red handkerchief and the fiddle. My father, with -a delicacy which was characteristic of him, did not -even ask the man his name, and so we never knew -who he was, nor where his friends were, if he had any. -About midnight we were all awakened by strains of -the weirdest music; sometimes so sad and wailing that -it seemed like a human being in agonies of pain, again -as gay and glad as any chansonette, with here and -there bird notes so sweet and clear one could almost -hear the forest echoes, and then the maddest, wildest, -most rollicking melodies breaking in upon it all. At -last it stopped with a discordant crash of the bow -across the strings, and father stepped to the door of -the sick man’s chamber, to find him lying across the -bed raving in delirium. We nursed him through a -two-days’ illness, and then he died without having -told us a word of himself. There was nothing to indicate -who or what he was in his little bundle, and so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>that and the violin were put away and nearly forgotten -until we came across them in moving. I am glad -Antoine is going to have the violin. My grave father -had no use for it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>During the recital of Margaret’s story, Lizzette -Minaud had stood a rapt listener, her brown face -working with some unwonted emotion. When Margaret -had finished she said huskily, “Ze violin for Antoine, -Miss Margaret? C’est très-bon. I tank you so -mooch. Now Antoine will pour out his soul; he ees -so like son père, mon pauvre Jacques—ah Dieu! où -est-il?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Is he not dead?” asked Margaret in surprise.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Non. When Antoine two year old, he go look for -work. He promise me to come back soon; mais le -temps—c’est long, long. I nevair hear von word. -I know notings if he be living or dead. But ze violin -eet bring back ze memories. Mon Jacques he love eet -so, and play très-bien.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ma mère! ma mère!” cried Antoine, throwing up -his arms at sight of Lizzette’s agitated face.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Chut! chut!” answered Lizzette, bending down to -kiss him. “C’est passé, mon garçon. Now we will -be gay like ze birds, and happy ze livelong day.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret had slipped away during the little colloquy -between Lizzette and Antoine, and presently returned -with a small bundle carefully tied up in an old -bandana handkerchief. Untying the knot, she spread -its contents open to view.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Mon Dieu! mon Dieu!” cried the voluble Frenchwoman, -clutching the handkerchief and falling in a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>paroxysm of weeping at Margaret’s feet. “Ze cushion -I made for him; ze hair comb; ze neccessaire—I -know all, all. Mon pauvre Jacques! And you, Miss -Margaret, ze angel, ze comforter of his last hours? -Plut à Dieu! cet I too might have been wiz him. Ze -violin, celui de votre père, Antoine. Le bon Dieu! -Zese friends, ze violin, ze kind care de mon pauvre -Jacques, votre père—ah! my heart ees bursting wiv ze—ze—gratefulness. -I weep my eyes away,” and the -affectionate creature clung to Margaret’s skirts in a -bewilderment of grief, wonder, and joy.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It seems like a miracle,” said Margaret, stooping -to raise Lizzette from the ground. “But it only shows -how small the world is and how interdependent we -are. We shall be still warmer friends after this.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Antoine, a mute but agitated witness of the scene, -reached out a hand to Elsie, who had stolen quietly -beside his chair.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“How strange, how dear, how beautiful it all is!” -he exclaimed.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER VI.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>That evening, gathered in the little sitting-room at -Idlewild, were the five people who made up the Home -Circle Club which Margaret had organized, and who, -Elsie laughingly said, “represented the bone and sinew -of the ‘new aristocracy’ which was to revolutionize -the world.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Only think,” she exclaimed before Margaret had -gravely called the meeting to order. “Only think of -the greatness concentrated here! In my grave sister -I recognize the ‘Morning Star’ of the new reformation; -a second Wickliffe with the mantle of peace and gentleness -bravely wrapped about her slight form. In -Gilbert another Sir Isaac Newton, who shall discover a -new law of gravitation, which shall make the gold of -the miser fall of its own volition into the outstretched -hands of the philanthropist. In Antoine a later -Corelli, who shall render all these aspirations into a -new classic for the benefit of future generations; and -in ma mère an Archestratus, who shall, in verifying -Voltaire’s enthusiasm, ‘qu’un cuisinier est un mortel -divin,’ solidify this band of enthusiasts with the material -offering of something good to eat.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And you?” asked Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The unfortunate mortal upon whom you will all -practice.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>“I should like to begin by subjecting you to the law -of <em>gravity</em>,” exclaimed Gilbert.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Never fear,” said Margaret. “Time will bring gravity -soon enough, and Elsie can’t throw stones at us -without endangering her own enthusiasms. Her next -new dish will be our opportunity, Gilbert.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Unless I put a guard over it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Will the meeting please come to order?” said Margaret -soberly. Elsie subsided into her corner and -Antoine lay back among his cushions, and listened with -interest to Margaret’s statement of the purposes of -the little home club. “The first part of our plan is to -develop thought, and we have decided that such -thought must come to us in response to our daily -needs or grow out of our daily work. We therefore -expect each member to bring what we will call a blossom -for the wreath of every-day living; this blossom -may be perhaps a wayside weed or a cherished bloom -of some inner chamber of the heart. Nothing is too -small or simple for this wreath, so that out of it we -may extract some consolation, hope, or purpose. -Upon these thoughts that are thrown together, and -which shall be kept in a record book, will depend the -evening’s reading. In this way we think the demands -of our mental and moral needs will be best satisfied. -Elsie, what have you to offer?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The mischief had apparently died out of Elsie’s face -as she answered: “A good many things have come to -me to-day; but the most pronounced thought has been -the despair of enthusiasm and the futility of the most -earnest effort. I burned with the desire of a Francatelli -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>to achieve an omelette; but having no eggs the -earnestness of purpose failed me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A ripple of laughter greeted Elsie’s announcement.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Wanted,” exclaimed Gilbert, “a new invention for -making hens lay; otherwise the foundation of our castle -in Spain will not be equal to its walls.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now, Antoine,” said Margaret, “let us hear from -you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The day has been good to me,” replied the lad, -“for in it I have learned how sweet it is to hope.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And I,” said Lizzette, “haf found zat friendship -haf no price.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“While I,” asserted Gilbert, “have found a boy’s -back can ache a great deal harder at work than at play.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now, Margaret,” asked Elsie, “how are you going -to philosophize over the want of eggs and a boy’s -back? These incorrigible facts take the poetry out -of our plan, I am afraid.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not in the least. It is the very thing we are endeavoring -to do, make our philosophy fit our material -wants. It may be that the world wouldn’t call our -reasoning by so dignified a name; but we don’t care -for that. This is our world, and into it we are striving -to bring as much of both earthly and divine sustenance -as will best fit us to receive the greatest -amount of happiness. Therefore, since eggs will contribute -to the mental balance and physical well-being -of Elsie, to say nothing of the rest of us, we must look -up some information regarding henneries. The garden -planted, Gilbert must exercise his ingenuity in -building one, while the rest of us——”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>“Devise some means of making a hen lay two eggs -a day,” interposed Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie, I am ashamed of you,” exclaimed Margaret -with forced severity. “To think that already you develop -the greed of a monopolist.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, what is Eutopia good for, if it doesn’t make -all doors swing back with the ‘open sesame’ of good -wishes?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Good to hope for,” said Gilbert dryly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And to work for,” added Margaret quietly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And ze hope and ze work keep ze world moving. -But ze boy’s back, Mees Margaret, zat is a question -not yet answered.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A good game of base-ball would cure that, eh, Gilbert?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I protest,” exclaimed Elsie, “against any more -nonsense this evening. On our first grand opening to -be found on such a lamentably low plane is belittling -to our great aims. There has not been a word said -yet about the crying need of our country, the deplorable -condition of labor, the injustice of our government, -etc., etc. Will not our serene presidentess -inform her breathless audience how we are to strike at -the roots of these evils at once?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Chiefly by attending to our own business. In the -breast of each individual lies the power of bettering -himself, and as we better ourselves intellectually and -morally, as well as materially, by so much we better -the world.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It sounds easy,” said Elsie dubiously.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It <em>is</em> easy,” said Margaret firmly. “Grind out of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>our hearts the selfish love of ease that creates the unholy -desire to build up ourselves by pulling others -down, and bravely resolve to shirk no plain duty, and -the battle is half-won. Now let us turn to the real -business of the evening. I have laid out a line of history -work for the first half-hour; for the second, belles-lettres -and poetry; for the third, discussion; and for -the last, music.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“From Antoine’s violin?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, and from an organ to accompany him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Has the organ materialized?” asked Elsie, gazing -incredulously around the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It shall to-morrow. We can obtain one by monthly -payments, and only a little plainer living, fewer -clothes, and the thing can be managed. I’ll agree to -wear calico all the time, even Sundays if need be.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And I won’t even <em>think</em> of a ribbon,” exclaimed -Elsie, with a mischievous twinkle shining through eyes -that were suspiciously misty.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Amen,” said Gilbert. “I’ll wear patches and play -‘bones.’”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette and Antoine said nothing; but a look of -intelligence passed between them, which told of a purpose -they did not care to mention just then. And so -the little Home Circle Club was arranged. Three -evenings in the week the programme came to be successfully -carried out. Margaret kept a record of all -the proceedings, carefully noting down the doubts and -difficulties that beset them, and as carefully adding -all truths that came to help them. The music of the -violin and organ was not a startling success at first, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>for the empty purse prevented all thought of tuition -except that furnished by self-teaching manuals; but -as exceptional genius lay beneath Antoine’s curly -locks, and Elsie was an uncommonly bright scholar, -it was not long before the two young heads had -solved the puzzling rudiments of music, and were on -their way toward a tolerable amount of proficiency. -Antoine was a new being. His mother affirmed that -the music would cure him. A faint color tinged the -hitherto pale cheeks, and an unusual sparkle lit up the -dark eyes. It would have been hard to find a happier -group of people than the five at Idlewild. They -were like one family in their interests and efforts. -Lizzette flitted in and out of both domiciles, intent -now on Elsie’s cooking, now on Antoine’s music, -which came to her ears at all hours of the day and -night—for the violin had grown to be like a living -companion to the crippled lad—now helping Gilbert -and Margaret in the garden or gravely puzzling over -some of the English books on Margaret’s table. They -were all busy, cheerful, and conscious that they were -making progress, intellectually and materially. Lizzette’s -experience had been the safeguard over Margaret’s -efforts in the garden. It was prospering finely, -and already Lizzette had sold at her stall in the market -at C—— enough to make Margaret feel that her hard -days of work with hoe and spade were sometimes sure -to be well rewarded. As the season progressed the -work in the garden required additional help. In an -old negro woman, known to everybody in the neighborhood -as “Aunt Liza,” together with her son Eph, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>Margaret found the needed assistance. Often she -worked beside them, finding as acquaintance progressed -a perpetual source of annoyance in the aimless -and half-hearted way in which they worked. Irresponsibility -seemed to be with them the predominating -characteristic, and strive as she would against it, -she frequently found her efforts not much more successful -than so much writing in water. They would -both listen to her instructions with serious but blank -faces, and relapse at once into that indolent method -which was a continual thorn in Margaret’s New England -thrift. It was her first serious stumbling-block -on the way to that high plane of achievement whereon -she had made no allowance for the thriftless, the -ignorant, and the irresponsible. To her well-regulated -mind, all people <em>ought</em> to be industrious, patient, and -ambitious, and it was a keen thrust against her composure -to be brought into contact with the unpromising -side of human nature. It was not so much that the -two did not earn the wages she paid them, as that she -saw failure, suffering, misfortune before the two unthinking -mortals. She felt a moral responsibility in -endeavoring to set their feet aright, and so tried in -numberless little ways to impress upon them a faint -idea of the requirements of life. She found in the -little hut where they lived a deplorable poverty, and -undertook to question Liza, who in the summer, together -with Eph, earned fairly good wages, how it -happened that they were so poor.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Dunno, Miss Margaret,” answered Liza with a -grin. “Spec somehow me an’ Eph ain’t got no way -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>of sabin’. In the summertime we has ’nough ter eat, -and we firgits about de cold, and so when de winter -comes, folks ’bout here is mighty good, and don’t let -us go hungry, and that’s jes’ de way we gits thru.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But wouldn’t you rather save a part of your wages -in the summer and fix up the cabin good and warm, -and be able to feed yourself and have people respect -you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Spec ’twould seem better to have de old cabin -fixed up; but as for folks ’spectin’ ole Aunt Liza and -nigger Eph—yah! yah! I reckon, Miss Margaret, -yer ain’t lived long o’ niggers much.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Liza’s fat sides shook with unctuous laughter as she -looked up into Margaret’s face.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” said Margaret, “but I think every one is entitled -to respect who earns it, whether he is black or -white.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“P’raps that’s so,” assented Liza, “but niggers ain’t -white folks, nohow. They’s a pore down-trodden race -fo’ suah,” she added, catching the whine of some claptrap -orator. “Dey jes’ don’t know how to be any -better.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“They can learn.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Mighty hard work teach a nigger; dey’s got dreffel -thick skulls. Niggers is the comicalest folks too; jes’ -gib ’em a chicken bone and a watermillion and dey -don’t care fo’ nuffin’ else,” and Aunt Liza stopped -work long enough to chuckle over her own wit.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But they ought to; because chicken bones and -watermelons don’t grow on every bush. They ought -to learn how to take care of their money, and buy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>little homes of their own, and grow into citizens that -are honest and self-respecting.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Specs it take mighty long while to do dat, Miss -Margaret. Niggers don’t have nuffin’ mo’n a few pennies -at a time, and dey’s sartin suah to git away jes’ -soon as dey turns roun’.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Did you ever count up how much money there -would be in saving five cents a day for a year, or even -a summer?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, don’t know ’nuff; but Eph hyah’s been to -school. Eph, you jes’ count ’em up.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Cain’t do it. Hain’t got that fur. Ye see,” said -he, glad of a chance to rise from his cramped position, -with the ostensible object of explaining himself, “I’s -only jes’ larned de A B abs and hain’t got no time to -go no mo’. I’s got to hire out all de time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, five cents a day for six days in a week make -thirty cents; that sum for fifty-two weeks in a year -makes the sum of $15.60.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ooeeh!” exclaimed Eph. “Dat’s mo’ money ’n -I ever seed at a time. Jes’ five cents’ yer say? How -much ef it’s only thru de summer dat we sabes it?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That depends upon how many months you work. -If you work from April to November, say a period of -twenty-six weeks, there will be seven dollars and eighty -cents. Would not that go a good way in helping to -clothe and feed you in the winter?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Golly, yes,” exclaimed Eph. “I never has no -clothes when the col’ spells come on. I’s allus shiverin’ -’roun’ in de winter and hopin’ fo’ spring.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eph,” said Aunt Liza, roused by Margaret’s arithmetic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>into an unusual interest, “jes’ s’posin’ we ’uns -tries dat little speculation. Five cents hain’t a drefful -sight ter sabe a day, but it do heap up ’mazin’ fast, -dat’s so. Jes’ let’s make Miss Margaret hold de money -fo’ us; fo’ dar ain’t no use o’ us tryin’ ter sabe it. It -jes’ burn holes in our pockets fo’ shuah.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’s agreed,” answered Eph, getting up again and -making an elaborate bow to Margaret. “Specs Miss -Margaret tryin’ a little mission on us; but lawsee! -reckon dar’s need ’nuff of it, and I’s putty shuah dar -ain’t nobody nicerer to be banker fo’ us.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Having delivered this speech, Eph leaned up against -the fence with the air of having supplied a long-felt -want. Margaret smiled and began, “I am afraid——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Heah, you Eph!” interrupted Aunt Liza, picking -up a clod and hurling it at Eph’s head, “you lazy -nigger! go to work, or yer don’t git no five cents to -sabe.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Eph cleverly dodged the clod and leisurely sank to -his knees. “Specs Miss Margaret hain’t no ’bjections -ter actin’ as ouah banker,” he resumed with the -utmost complacency.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I don’t believe that’s the best plan. Can’t you lay -it up yourselves, and resolve not to touch it till cold -weather comes?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Shuah fo’ sartin, Miss Margaret, a nigger don’t -know how to sabe a cent. It jes’ gits away, dat’s all. -Onless you’s our banker, like Eph say, we don’t git -rich by time col’ weather’s settlin’ down.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Aunt Liza, unmindful of the reproof she had just -administered to Eph, sat up in the path, and with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>numerous gesticulations proceeded to emphasize her -statement. “It’s mighty good o’ yer, Miss Margaret, -to take a likin’ to us no-’count niggers, and I’s jes’ -goin’ to try and see ef dar ain’t some good in ouah ole -bones aftah all. Ef you’ll jes’ keep ouah sabin’s I’ll -make dat Eph work every day in de week and go -huntin’ Sundays.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well,” said Margaret, with difficulty repressing a -smile, “I’ll try it. Now let’s see if these two rows -can’t be finished by noon.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Meg,” said Elsie, as Margaret came wearily into -the house at the noon hour, “what have you been -trying to do with those good-for-nothing ‘cullud pussons’ -out there?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Teach them a little responsibility, that is all.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My sweet sister,” said Elsie, rapturously kissing -the pale face as she drew Margaret down into a rocking-chair, -“you will kill yourself with trying to be the -world’s keeper.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is only a little thing, Elsie; the cup of cold water -and no more.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER VII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>It was June before the little Frenchwoman would -hear to Margaret’s making any effort to dispose of her -produce in her own way. Regularly every morning -Lizzette boarded the four-o’clock train for the city -with her boxes of produce, which she pushed to the -train in the hand-cart and wheeled from the train to -her stall in the market. Until now the amount yielded -by Margaret’s garden had been small in bulk, but so -well had it thrived under Lizzette’s management and -the comparatively good season, that the more bulky -vegetables, such as spinach, peas, beans, etc., were -coming on, and Lizzette found the yield of the two -gardens more than she could well manage in her small -way. Margaret, appalled somewhat, for all her courage, -at having to face the multitude in a stall at the -market, was for disposing of her produce to the commission -merchants on South M—— Street.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Non,” said Lizzette emphatically. “Zere ees no -money in zat. You make consignment and more -likely zan not get back ze whole stuff wilted and good -for nosing. I tried zat to my sorrow. In ze stall you -sell all at some price. You no carry home ze stuff -again.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know,” said Margaret doubtfully, “but truly I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>dread my ignorance and the contact with things wholly -unfamiliar.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, ze little brown Frenchwoman haf no such fear, -and she forget ze girlhood so long temps! Zare ees -Gilbert—ees he not old enough? I take him under my -wing, and he sall learn ze tricks of trade. N’est-ce -pas?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I will go with you to-morrow,” said Margaret, -“for I must conquer my dread. Perhaps some time -Gilbert shall take my place.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Nothing in the line of work had ever seemed so distasteful -to Margaret as wheeling the little hand-cart -through the streets of the city, and taking her place -within the stall next to Lizzette’s. It was early when -they reached the market, and the buyers were not out -in full force; nevertheless Margaret fancied she saw -in every eye that lingered on her an impertinent curiosity. -Self-consciousness was the least of her failings; -but there was an almost unacknowledged protest at -being compelled to stand up before the gaze of hundreds -and volubly offer her small wares for sale. Duty -certainly wore her most uninviting aspect that morning, -and came nearer finding Margaret a coward than -ever before. She had never as yet shrunk from any -work, however menial; but there was a vast difference -between performing that work within the seclusion of -home, cheered and upheld by an atmosphere of love -and appreciation that made “the dignity of labor” -something more than the radiant utterance of some -visionary pedant, and standing in the full gaze of the -public, subjected to the whims, avarice, snobbishness, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>and impertinence of the pushing, merciless multitude. -Oh, how she shrank from it all! How had she ever -thought it possible to have strength for such work? -Lizzette’s quick eyes noticed the constraint of Margaret’s -manner, and she undertook, by a display of -more than ordinary volubility and gayety, to dispel -the gloom that wrapped her. She bustled about, -changing the position of that bunch of onions or -radishes, this head of lettuce, or endeavoring to display -more temptingly the measures of spinach, peas, beans, -etc. More than one would-be buyer halted, gazed at -the silent figure and white face, and passed on.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Zis will nevair do,” interposed Lizzette in a whisper. -“You look truly seek; sit down here behind ze -cart, and I sell for bof of us. Vous avez ze paleness -I no like to see. Ze work ees too hard.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret shook herself together with an effort. -No, she would not be beaten back at the first step; -it would be degrading. The mutiny in her breast, -whatever it was, whether a hitherto unknown undercurrent -of false pride or a new and abnormal sensitiveness, -<em>must</em> be conquered. With a smile that was -almost pitiful in its attempted bravery she said: “No, -Lizzette; it is now or never. You will soon see what -a brave market-woman I will make. I shall make -a sale to the next comer. Good-morning, madam! -How can I serve you?” she asked, as a woman who -wore diamonds and silk approached and sniffed contemptuously -above the little display of greenery.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Dear me! You don’t seem to have anything fit -for a pig to eat,” said the woman as with ungloved -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>hand flashing with diamonds she deliberately reached -for a measure of spinach, and turned it bottom side -up on the little counter.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I presume not,” said Margaret, quietly picking up -the spinach and restoring it to its place. “We don’t -sell to pigs here.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“H’m! impertinent!” and with a haughty stare -into Margaret’s face, the diamonds and silk passed on. -Lizzette was convulsed with laughter. Margaret stole -a quick glance at her, and the white scorn of her face -lit up with a smile.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That was a tonic, Lizzette,” she said. “I shall do -better next time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A second later a sweet-faced little matron stopped -at the counter, asked for prices, made her selection, -and looking earnestly at Margaret, said: “You are a -newcomer here. I know all the old faces.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is my first effort.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And you find it hard?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A little. I shall get used to it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, yes, we get used to almost everything in this -world. I shall remember you and look for you to-morrow. -Good morning.” And with a slight bow the -little matron took up her purchases and went on her -way.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret’s face softened as she glanced at Lizzette. -“Eet ees not all bad,” Lizzette found time to whisper.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” said Margaret, “a little smile lightens the -whole world.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>When the market hours were over, Margaret, to her -surprise, found that she had sold out her little stock, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>and Lizzette was voluble in praise of her ability as -a saleswoman. The generous hearted little Frenchwoman -had nothing to say of the numberless ways in -which she had contrived to bring Margaret’s supplies -within the notice of purchasers. Margaret went home -with a lighter heart. After all, nothing was ever quite -so hard when once the shoulder had been put to the -wheel. Yet it was a white, tired face that greeted the -three who at Idlewild were anxiously awaiting the result -of the experiment.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“O Meg!” cried Elsie apprehensively. “You have -gone beyond your strength, and I am to blame for -coaxing you into this move. I am going to take your -place.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, indeed,” said Margaret decisively; “I’ll not -hear one word to it. This is my work until I have -mastered it and am ready to give it up to Gilbert.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>They knew persuasions were useless, and so she was -left to work out the problem upon which she was just -entering. It did not grow any easier as the weeks -and months progressed. She never could quite put -down the mute protest that arose within her against -a conscious unsuitability for such work. It was always -distasteful to her to mingle with the jostling crowd -and urge upon fault-finding buyers the excellence of -her wares; but she resolutely choked back revolt, and -finding that she was gaining customers who grew to -like the simple earnestness of her manner and to rely -upon the exactness of her word and measure, and that -there was at least a living profit in her calling, she -learned to endure all its unpleasantness with no word -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>of complaint. How bravely she bore it all no one -guessed except Lizzette, who witnessed daily the struggle -going on in the girl’s breast.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ze instinct of ze lady rebelled, but ze heart of ze -woman bear,” she said sententiously.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The summer passed away quickly and uneventfully; -the daily round of duties, of self-improvement, of -little moments of relaxation over Elsie’s organ or -Antoine’s violin, making the days bright with widening -hope and prospects.</p> - -<p class='c009'>One late October evening, while Elsie and Antoine -were filling the little house with music and Gilbert -was buried in a book, Margaret seated herself before -her father’s desk and began a letter to Dr. Ely.</p> - -<p class='c008'>“In fulfilment of my promise, I inclose a summary -of our summer’s work. You will see that financially -we are a trifle ahead. This is due to the wise forethought -of our good friend Dr. Ely and the management -of our wonderful little Frenchwoman. When I -look at my own work, I realize that I have been but -the obedient machine of wiser calculation than I could -possibly have evinced, and I take no credit to myself -for this happy state of our affairs. Much as I believe -in and preach the independence of the individual, I -realize more and more the absolute need of interdependent -friendship. It is impossible to find healthy -life in the isolation of self; and yet it is in the development -of self that we reach the highest capability -for perfect friendship. The wisdom of others has -benefited me largely this summer. Through others’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>eyes I have seen with clearer vision many things which -my own inexperience would have shown me but dimly. -I feel that I have grown stronger and more steadfast -by reason of this friendship that came like a waft of -summer wind across my barren pathway; and that I -may properly render unto Cæsar, I hereby make my -acknowledgments for numberless good offices at your -hands.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As regards the garden, the hot-beds are made -ready for the winter’s sowing, and we have built a -substantial hen-house and a miniature duck-pond at -the foot of the raspberry patch. The yield of berries -this summer was inconsiderable, owing to the vigorous -pruning given to the bushes, but the growth has been -fine. The trellises are all in good shape and we hope -for a substantial return next summer.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My experiment with Aunt Liza and Eph, about -which I wrote you, has not been highly successful. -Between the two they have managed to save about -five dollars, and I’ve no doubt the community will be -called upon as usual to keep the breath of life in their -poor bodies until spring. For my part, since they are -both able-bodied I shall <em>give</em> nothing. Whatever help -I offer they must be made to pay for in some shape, -since in that way only can they be taught independence -and responsibility, and something like a solution -be made of this problem of the poor whom we have -always with us.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As regards my market business, I do not think I -am calculated for trade. The peculiar isolation of my -life has unfitted me for contact with many-sided humanity, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>and for that reason I tie myself to it with a -self-immolation of an Indian devotee. With not only -my own way to make in the world, but that of Elsie -and Gilbert, I can afford no mawkish shrinking from -unpleasant things. It will never be a pleasant business -for me, but as I find the newness wearing off, it grows -more bearable. I have established a regular line of -good customers who seem always well suited; have -quite a trade in butter, which I buy from the farmers’ -wives hereabout, and a slight output of eggs and -chickens from our own hennery. Eph has promised -to keep me supplied for the winter with game, and -Lizzette and I will make our trips at six o’clock instead -of four as the weather grows colder. So much -for material matters.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“In our Home Club we have done fairly well. We -have finished United States history, taken up the first -principles of political economy, made some studies in -Shakespeare and ‘Ivanhoe’ and ‘Adventures of Philip,’ -<em>tried</em> Browning and discarded him—our practical life -is too short to spend in solving enigmas that, however -charming they may be as poetical conceptions, have -nothing perceptible to teach us—and by way of dessert, -with Ruskin to fall back on, have taken up some slight -studies in æstheticism, the material result of which -has been innumerable ‘love bags,’ impossible ‘head-rests,’ -and indescribable nothings on Elsie’s part. The -best part of our efforts, however, has been the practical -value of our discussions following the presentation -of a ‘blossom’ or thought by each member. You -will recall my previous letter regarding this. Out of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>this discussion has come wisdom, even beyond our -hopes, and strength greater than our own. We scorn -nothing here, not the simplest wayside weed, and we -have learned much from each other and research. -Antoine is making marvellous progress in his music. -Already he is interpreting Bach and Handel, and even -venturing into snatches of original composition. The -lad’s soul seems to have been lit at the altar of music; -for on no ordinary presumption can one compute his -wonderful development. Strength and a greater degree -of comeliness seems to have come into his long -thin arms and bent shoulders, while there is a constant -glow in his dark eyes and an unusual gayety in his -laugh. Lizzette is in a fervor of happiness and pride, -and seems not to be able to do enough for us. Elsie -has caught Antoine’s faculty for whistling, and often -makes a good second to the bird-like notes with which -he accompanies his violin. It is a rare treat to listen -to them as I am listening now—Elsie at the organ, Antoine -with his violin nestled lovingly under his chin, -and his deft bow bringing out with marvellous power -its almost human tones, and both whistling! Elsie -grows daily more charming and more expansive, and -music seems to be with her, as with Antoine, the expression -of much that is restless, wayward, and beautiful -in her soul. Gilbert is docile and patient; but I -notice a growing uneasiness and distaste for his work -that must be met and overcome in some way. I have -been thinking of putting him in the manual-training -school in the city, but have not yet solved the problem -of ways and means. I think you may perhaps be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>pained to find that we do not attend church. In the -first place, the purchase of the organ rendered necessary -the most rigid economy in dress—in fact, Elsie -and I wear nothing but calico, and Gilbert’s clothes -are growing decidedly seedy. In the second place, we -went once to St. Paul’s, in the city, and have had no -heart to go since. My poor father long before his -death used to declaim against the growing tendency -to exclusiveness in the churches. In the simplicity of -my country living, I thought him unnecessarily apprehensive. -The house of God was indeed to me so much -a sanctuary I thought worldliness was left at the outer -door; but I found my mistake upon entering the door -of St. Paul’s. The free seats, high-backed and uncushioned, -were portioned off from the others with a -wide aisle. In them were gathered a little handful of -people like ourselves, evidently the world’s toilers and -God’s poor. The cushioned seats were filled with a -richly-dressed congregation. The altar was superbly -decorated in white and gold, and the clergyman, as -white and high-bred-looking as his æsthetic surroundings, -preached a sermon on the ‘Beauty of the ideal.’ -He found his text in the Bible, but he found nothing -else there. The Bread of Life was not in it. I glanced -around the congregation; those in the free seats sat -with blankly staring countenances, evidently victims -to a sense of duty. The occupants of the cushioned -seats leaned luxuriously back and listened with a well-bred -air of interest; but as far as I could see not one -face glowed with an intensity of feeling or asked for -anything more than the rhetorical flourish. We remained -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>through the communion service, but did not -partake of it. I think the divine symbols would have -choked me, my heart was so hot and bitter within me. -Clearly my father was right. The church of to-day is -not for the masses, nor of the masses, and yet I feel -sure that there is a great heart of humanity underlying -all this worldliness, and perhaps waiting patiently for -the time to ripen when the crust of wealth-worship, -caste, and place-hunting shall be burned through with -the white heat of its fires. God loves his chosen, and -they are of all the earth; some day he shall call them -together! We spend our Sundays at home. Elsie and -Antoine render beautifully those old arks of safety, -‘Come! Ye Disconsolate’ and ‘Jesus, Lover of My -Soul.’ We read, talk, study, and open our hearts to -the sweet graces of love and charity, and so we forget -that outside there is a world which scorns our poverty -and our calloused hands. Once in a while, drawn by -the music, old Aunt Liza and Eph—who by the way -begrudges the Sunday that takes him away from his -hunting—make an addition to our number. I don’t -try to do any so-called missionary work with them, although -Eph says suspiciously he ‘specs dat’s what -it all means, anyhow!’ On the whole, life is very -pleasant with us. I am growing so accustomed to its -methodical rounds that I have no time for anything -like regret or vain aspirations.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“With the best wishes for the prosperity of the -school and the welfare of our good friend Dr. Ely, -I am</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Sincerely your friend,</div> - <div class='line in4'>“<span class='sc'>Margaret Murchison</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>The ground was covered with snow, and with the -thermometer registering ten degrees below zero everything -creaked, tingled, and snapped in the frosty air. -A keen, cutting wind whistled down from the North -and made the comfortably-housed mortal shiver with -dread at thought of being exposed to its rude blast. -In the little house at Idlewild the three drew around -the stove and discussed, gravely apprehensive, Margaret’s -dread trip to market in the morning.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Don’t go!” exclaimed Elsie. “It will be so bitter -cold that precious few will venture out to buy.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I wouldn’t if it were not so near Christmas, and I -shall have no money for remembrance if I do not sell -off the little produce we have.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, I’d rather forego a remembrance than have -you frozen stiff in the act of presenting a cabbage-head -to an indifferent public, while your very utterances -crystallized on the frosty air and left you a touching -monument to the ills of labor.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Let me go, sister,” exclaimed Gilbert. “I think it -is time you let me bear a little hardship.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Indeed it is,” interposed Elsie. “You are spoiling -the lad by forgetting that if he lives long enough he -will be a man some time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Never fear! He will live long enough to see you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>a sharp-tongued old maid,” ejaculated Gilbert, who -occasionally winced under Elsie’s raillery.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That doesn’t frighten me a bit! I never saw a -sharp tongued old maid who didn’t have the right of -way everywhere she went. Try again, Gilbert. Your -picture is not half dismal enough.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Hush, children!” interferred Margaret, laying a -hand on the hand of each. “Suppose I accept your -proposition and let Gilbert take my place to-morrow!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, and the rest of the winter,” said Gilbert earnestly. -“It is too hard for you. I’ve noticed you -were growing thin under it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And I too,” added Elsie. “I should have said so -before, but you have such a desperately calm heroism -about you that it takes more than usual bravery to -remonstrate with you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Desperately calm is an admirable expression, Elsie,” -said Margaret with a smile, “and now that you have -exhibited so much bravery, I suppose there is nothing -left for me but to succumb.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Exactly. It is refreshing to find you so docile.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I suspect it is because I am a coward physically. -I have not much desire to stand in the front; in fact, -I’d like to desert from the army of workers.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Margaret, I’m afraid you are going to be sick,” -exclaimed Elsie, all the mischief dying out of her -face.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nonsense, Rosebud. I never was sick in my life.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Everybody finds his Waterloo some time, and now, -Margaret Murchison, I’m going to exert my long-reserved -authority and insist that you put up that book—somehow -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>I never see you of late without a book or -a cabbage in your hand—and go to bed. You are -completely tired out, I know, and there is no use in -trying to make a martyr of yourself any longer.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With gentle insistence Elsie took the book from her -sister’s hand and dragged her off to bed, hovering over -her with ostentatious airs of stern command that were -as grateful to Margaret’s tired senses as they were -amusing in the blithe-hearted girl.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Some moments later, though it was still early in -the evening, the little household was wrapped in -profound slumber.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Fire! Fire! shouted a belated passer-by as he ran -hurriedly toward the Idlewild cottage.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Fire! Fire! first took up one voice and another, -and Fire! Fire! they cried almost under the windows -of the little house. No response came from the inside. -“Pound on the doors!” shouted a voice.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Maybe they are not at home,” responded another. -“Pound away! wake them up! break in the door!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Terrific blows were applied on the door, which yielded -to the pressure and fell back splintered from top to -bottom. Fire! Fire! yelled the foremost man of the -party. Still no response from the inmates. By this time -half a dozen men had gathered in the room, and were -busily engaged in throwing out articles of furniture, -hunting for water, and endeavoring to put out the fire, -which, with the draft of the open door, was already -encircling the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Good God!” cried one of the men, opening a bedroom -door and discovering Elsie and Margaret asleep. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>“Here are two women! Wake up! Wake up! The -house is on fire!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie sprang up dazed and bewildered.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“On fire?” she cried as if dimly understanding. -“O Meg! O Meg! wake up! We’ll burn!” and seizing -Margaret by the shoulder she undertook to wake -her. There was no response from Margaret, who lay -like one dead.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There ain’t no time to waste,” called the man. -“Come, get up out of here,” and he shook her vigorously. -So heavy a stupor was upon her she could -make no reply, and the man finally lifted her by main -force and called to Elsie, “Come on, girl—there ain’t -no time to fool away.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Just then arose the cry, “We can’t get a drop of -water! Everything is frozen solid!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Let her go, boys! Throw out the things! No use -trying to save her!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>At that moment Elsie appeared in the doorway. “My -brother! My brother Gilbert! He’s in there!” pointing -to a door that seemed barred by the flames. “Let -me wake him,” and she was about to rush through the -flames, clad only in her night-dress and with bare feet, -when the little knot of men threw themselves in her -way. One of them, axe in hand, dashed through the -flames, and a moment later they heard the sound of -shivering glass, while Gilbert awoke from a boy’s sound -slumber on the snow outside of his room. The man -with the axe followed the boy’s exit through the window, -and appeared at the outer doorway a moment -later. “Any one else in the house?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>“No,” said Elsie growing cooler as she realized the -safety of Margaret and Gilbert. “Save the books, the -organ, and the desk if everything else goes.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“All right, but you better put for the neighbor’s. -We’ll bring you some clothes and save the furniture -too. Now, boys, pitch in!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie started out of the door at the word of command, -and almost stumbled over Antoine on his knees -in the snow. “O Elsie! O Elsie!” he cried. “I -couldn’t stay in. I was so frightened. Thank God, -you’re not burned!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie picked up the helpless lad in her arms and -started as fast as the burden would permit her for the -lad’s home. At the corner of the house she met Gilbert -in his night clothes, dazed and stupid. “Come, -Gilbert!” she cried, “help me take Antoine home. I -can hardly carry him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I want my clothes,” he shivered; “let me get my -clothes.” He was just dodging into the door, when a -hand seized him roughly by the shoulders and sent -him flying into the snow again.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Are you mad? The walls are just ready to fall. -Get to the neighbor’s! Here, take this blanket!” and -the fireman tossed the shivering boy a blanket. Elsie -was barely half-way up the path leading to Antoine’s -home, when she encountered Lizzette frantic with -fear for Gilbert and Elsie. When she saw Elsie’s -burden she snatched the lad up with a startled exclamation.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Mon Dieu, Antoine! Que fait il? Ou va-t-il? I -nevair know he leaves ze house, Elsie. Run, Elsie! -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>Margaret ees in a faint. I no wake her! Gilbert, -mon pauvre garçon! Que dire? que faire?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Hastily along the icy way the three ran, Lizzette -having taken Antoine from Elsie’s arms. They burst -open the door of the little sitting-room, to find Margaret -still and white on the lounge.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Meg, darling,” cried Elsie, sinking on her knees -beside her. “Oh, look up! Speak to me! What is it? -Oh, somebody tell me what is the matter! She breathes—see! -she moves a little! Meg, Meg, speak to me!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Her wild importunities only caused a little tremor -to run through Margaret’s frame. By this time Lizzette -was at Elsie’s side with a glass of brandy. “Here, -drink zis, Margaret! Non? A teaspoon, Elsie! Now -zen, open her teeth! Zay are not set! C’est très-bon! -She swallow? Oui! Her hands, zey are so -cold! Ce n’est pas bien! Some hot cloths, Elsie. -I go send for ze docteur!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>As Lizzette turned away there came a loud knocking -at the door. Several men stood outside with clothing -and furniture. “We have saved what we could. -Where shall we store the things?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, come in,” cried Lizzette. “I know not. I only -know ze young lady ees seek. Vill not some one be so -kind to get ze docteur? She faint all ze time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Certainly,” exclaimed one of their number. “I’ll -go at once.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ze furniture!” exclaimed Lizzette, suddenly recollecting -herself. “In ze little room in ze back zare, -vot you can find ze place for. Ze rest in ze hennery—anywhere. -I tank you, gentlemen! Zese young people -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>so like my own eet break my heart,” and sobbing bitterly -Lizzette sank into a chair.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie and Gilbert, wrapped in blankets, still cowered, -dumb with anguish, at Margaret’s side. Antoine lay -back in his wheel chair as white as his pillows, but -with eyes that glowed like caverns of light in his white -face.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It’s hard, mum,” said one of the men, as with quick -glances he took in the scene, “but we’ve saved most of -the stuff, and I guess the young lady will come to -after a while. Pretty nearly frightened to death, I -reckon.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“This is not a faint from fright,” said the doctor -half an hour later. “It is the lethargy of typhoid -fever. Has she not seemed tired and languid for several -days? Ah, I thought so! You could not wake -her? No; it will be some time yet before she realizes -her surroundings. A critical case; but not beyond -cure. Now, my good madam, can you put her to bed?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oui—oui, at vonce.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie and Gilbert, by this time aroused from the -vague horror and stupefaction which had overtaken -them, had managed to equip themselves in the various -odds and ends of clothing which the men had dropped -on the floor, and now sprang quickly to the aid of -Lizzette. In a few moments Margaret was safely bestowed -in Lizzette’s bed, and the doctor was pouring -directions in Elsie’s ears.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are sure you are calm enough to remember -instructions?” asked the doctor, intently observing -her white face and darkly-circled eyes.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>“I am perfectly calm, now that I have hope for my -sister. She shall not suffer for want of attention.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Non, non,” said Lizzette excitedly. “She ees ze -angel of our lives. We sall nevair leave her von moment.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It will be hard for you,” said the doctor sympathetically, -“but her case is urgent, and depends largely -upon care. I will call again to-morrow. Good-night!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now for some beds,” said Lizzette, all her energy -returning. “Antoine, mon garçon, venez avec moi! -You sall sleep now, for ze great fear ees ovair. La -fievre, eet sall be easy cure.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With tenderest ejaculations Lizzette picked up Antoine -and carried him to bed. “Le bon Dieu!” exclaimed -the lad fervently as he clasped his arms around -his mother’s neck.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oui,” said Lizzette, kissing him. “He make all -sings even.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>For three weeks there was but one thought, one -hope, one fear in Lizzette’s little home. Margaret’s -fever was of that low, obstinate type which is all the -more difficult of cure by reason of its seeming lack of -violence. Day slipped into night and night into day -again all unheeded by the quiet figure on the bed. She -seemed neither to hear nor to see, and only responded -to the care bestowed upon her as a new-born infant -responds to the fulfilment of its needs. She lay like -one sleeping peacefully, and seldom evinced restlessness -unless this lethargy was broken by demands upon -her attention. At the end of the twenty-first day -there came a visible change. Her features grew drawn -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>and sunken; her hands became more restless, now -idly picking at the bedclothes and anon clutching -vaguely at the air. Her breath grew hourly and hourly -more irregular; now sinking almost away, and again -growing labored and painful.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now,” said the doctor, “is the hour of trial. Keep -her strength up and we shall save her. She has a -magnificent physique to aid us.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Heavily dragged the hours as the four—Lizzette, -Elsie, Gilbert, and the doctor—watched Margaret’s -painful struggle for life. There seemed to be so little to -do to save her. It was like barbarism to sit there and -watch the regular administering of the necessary stimulant, -and realize that upon it, and the recuperative -power in the frail body, depended hope and life. Elsie, -worn as she was with watching, was nearly mad with -the desire to do something worth while, to be active -in rousing Margaret to recognition, and not to feel -almost guilty in the passiveness with which she watched -the approach of the dread crisis.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I shall go wild with waiting, doctor. Is there -nothing more I can do?” she moaned.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nothing, child,” he answered sympathetically. -“We are doing all that can be done.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Waiting is such hard work.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“For youth, yes; for old age, its time of greatest -cheer. When you are silver-haired, as I am, you will -have learned to wait patiently.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I never was patient; but God means to teach me, I -see. It was Margaret who was always patient, always -kind, always helpful. Dear God, we cannot live without -her.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>Down upon her knees beside the doctor’s chair -slipped broken-hearted Elsie, and grasping his hand -she cried desolately: “Oh, may the good God -strengthen you to save her, doctor! You don’t know -all she has been to us, to everybody with whom she -came in contact. She has been one of God’s good -angels, sent by Him to make this selfish world more -mindful of divine truth! He cannot mean to take -her now with her work just begun. I know He will -give you power to save her, and you will, you will, -won’t you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With all of a childlike innocence and pleading she -raised her tear-stained face to his.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My dear child,” he replied, “all that I know I have -so far applied to the case, and I am deeply interested -in saving her. I have faith that I shall do it. Now, -my little girl, it is not wise to give way to tears. You -must keep up your strength to help me. The battle -is only half-won when the crisis is passed.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>At that instant there was a timid knock at the middle -door, which speedily opened to show Eph’s black -face, as he whispered half-apologetically: “I don -fotched some game, and reckon maybe I’s gwine ter -heah some good news. Mammy’s out’n heah and we’s -come ober ter help take cah of you’uns fo’ ter-night. -Mammy says as how yer oughter hab some good strong -coffee, an’ she don tol’ me ter ax yer should she make -some ter hearten yer up a bit?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That’s right, Eph,” said the doctor, who knew Eph -well. “Just tell Aunt Liza to go ahead; for that’s -the very thing we need.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>“The world is full of kindness,” said the doctor -when Eph’s black face had been withdrawn, “if one -only knows how to strike the key-note.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The interruption had been in the nature of a tonic; -for the wave of intensified feeling subsided before the -simple offer of the good-natured African. Elsie bent -over Margaret’s bed with renewed faith and strength, -and as the midnight hours grew slowly into early morning, -she was as quick as the doctor to notice the least -change in the symptoms.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I think she is better, doctor,” she whispered half-questioningly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are right,” was the answer. “She will live.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Swiftly as an electric message went the glad news -from eye to eye, and “Thank God!” welled up from -anxious hearts and lifted eyes overflowing with tears.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret had been convalescent two weeks before -she was permitted an answer to the wonder in her eyes. -It was a disjointed answer at best. No one knew how -the fire had originated, why it had been impossible to -make connections with the water-mains, or why they -had been so deplorably incapable of action. One fact -alone stood out distinct and clear: Margaret’s insensibility -and the subsequent hard fight for life. Now that -Margaret was recovering, the misfortune seemed to -lighten. In fact, the old sunshine had come back to -their faces, albeit the unpicturesque side of poverty -stared them in the face. They had not as yet gone -hungry, for Eph with the generosity and sympathy of -his race had kept the table supplied with game; but -Lizzette’s slender resources were being daily lessened. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>Of this, however, she gave no intimation, but cheerfully -bore her increased expense and labor, thankful -above all else for the boon of Margaret’s life, and the -opportunity to repay a debt which it had seemed to -her a life’s devotion could never obliterate. Elsie was -quick to see how the slender means were being strained -to their utmost, but while Margaret was still so weak -and needing such careful nursing she could make no -effort to earn anything to help out the scanty purse. -She could only bide her time until Margaret was able -to wait upon herself, and then something must be done. -She and Gilbert must be bread-winners now. Gilbert, -in the mean time, had gone from door to door, shovelling -coal here, sweeping walks there, running occasional -errands, and doing odd jobs of tinkering, in the hopeful -effort to eke out the scanty income. It was a miserable -pittance at best that he earned, but it bought the -beef for Margaret’s tea and occasional bits of fruit to -tempt the tardy appetite. If Margaret surmised the -severity of the struggle, she saw no evidence of it in -the serene faces about her. If the old gayety of Elsie’s -laugh was a trifle subdued and Antoine’s violin had a -more than usual plaintiveness, there had come a tenderer -sympathy, a sweeter note of love, and a closer -bond of union that were even more grateful. By tacit -consent the old evenings had been resumed as Margaret’s -convalescence progressed, Elsie “serene presidentess -pro tem.,” as she styled herself, and Margaret -an honorary member, from whom nothing was permitted -except smiles and occasional applause. It was -a great delight to Margaret to watch her Protean sister. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>How admirably the versatile little witch fitted -into every niche! How beautiful she was in face and -form, and more than beautiful in character! “God -shield her!” was Margaret’s inward prayer. “The -world is full of danger for such as she, and I must hasten -to get well, rebuild the home nest, and keep the -home ties strong.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>But Margaret’s recovery was very slow. It seemed -as if the red blood of renewed strength would never -come, and it was with a bitter heart-pang that she listened -to the doctor’s statement that she would not be -fitted to resume work of any kind before spring. The -golden cord had been well-nigh snapped in the indomitable -determination to conquer self and circumstances, -and nature was taking her revenge. Gradually, -sitting helpless and empty-handed in her chair, she began -to notice the little evidences of desperate need -which the others tried in vain to keep from her, and -one morning, determined to try her strength, she -crawled feebly into the kitchen to surprise them -at breakfast with nothing on the table but potatoes -and salt!</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We are waiting for the cook to bring in breakfast,” -exclaimed Elsie, noticing the pain in Margaret’s eyes.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“O Margaret!” cried Lizzette, “zis ees too much. -Here, sit down, and see what good appetite we haf. -Ze pomme de terre, ze sel, bof of a superieur kind -and so well served we eat and eat like ze epicure.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The humorous twinkle in Lizzette’s eyes was lost on -Margaret, for weak and disheartened she sank into a -seat, bowed her head on the table, and sobbed like a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>child. In a second Antoine was out of his chair and -his arms were around her neck.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Don’t,” he whispered. “The potatoes are done to -a turn and you will spoil them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The lad’s keenness had touched the right chord. -To stand in the way of another’s need or pleasure, even -in little things, was an ingrained abhorrence of Margaret’s -nature. Instantly she raised a half-smiling face. -“It is a good deal better than starving, after all,” she -said.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Vastly,” responded Elsie. “Just watch Gilbert -stow ’em away! I’m not going to tell the result of -my tally this morning, for fear he’ll take revenge on -me. We are growing to be experts on potatoes, and -can tell how they taste with our eyes shut.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The ripple of laughter that greeted this statement -chased the last tear from Margaret’s eyes.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Hereafter,” she said resolutely, “there shall be no -beef, fruit, and creams for me. I intend to become an -expert too.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette threw up her hands in protest. “Non, non, -Margaret. Ze strength fail unless ze diet ees generous -for you. Ze waste tissue must be repaired first. Non, -non, cherie. Trust Lizzette to know ze best.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, I submit on one condition,” and Margaret -threw a quick glance at Antoine’s pale face. “I must -share with Antoine. He needs rebuilding as much as -I do.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“C’est vrai,” said Lizzette in a choked voice. “Il -est très souffrant; but aujourdhui I make some famous -potage de lapin for all, and we dine like ze empereur. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>Eph he bring ze lapin and say, ‘Game mighty -shy somehow, Missis Minaud, but I don’t fergit Miss -Margaret, nohow.’”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Poor fellow! I am afraid he robs himself,” said -Margaret sympathetically.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“If he does, other people make it up to him,” replied -Elsie. “The community has had its usual call to feed -him and his mother. I asked him one day when he -was here with a brace of partridges if he shot enough -game to support them. ‘Lawzee, missy!’ said he with -a laugh that showed the whites of his eyes and the internal -anatomy of a cavernous mouth, ‘not by a jugful. -Dis yere game law jest doin’ a heep o’ mischuf -to po’ men. I hez ter be mighty cahful.’ So, Miss -Murchison, on the principle that the receiver is as bad -as the thief, I mistrust you’ve been cheating your beloved -country of its just dues whenever you have -smacked your lips over a bit of partridge breast!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Let us be thankful that rabbits are not interdicted, -and that Eph’s sense of kindness exceeds his respect -for law.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“‘How are the mighty fallen,’” quoted Elsie tragically. -“I fully expected to see you rise in the might -and majesty of insulted justice, and visit condign punishment -upon poor Eph by refusing to be any longer -a party to his crime.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Hunger is said to know no law, and while I feel -inclined to forgive Eph for past sins, I shall have to -try to impress upon him a fuller sense of his obligations -as a law-abiding citizen.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A useless task, I fancy. Too many generations of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>dependent blood run in his veins. His liveliest sense -seems to be gratitude for some little acts of kindness -on your part.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I wonder what he did with the money he and his -mother saved last summer,” said Margaret reflectively.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie laughed. “I asked him one day, and he hung his -head as sheepishly as a boy who is caught stealing apples. -Finally after much coaxing I got the information—’Deed, -missy, specs you think I’s nuffin but a -po’ fool niggah; but I’s listened to you’uns playin’ -music till I’s most dead, and I buyed a ’cawdion wid -my part ob de cash and mammy she buyed a hat fur -meetin’. I’s larned to play on it too, Missy Elsie!’ You -see, Margaret, your idea of ‘culchah’ has taken deep -root in unexpected soil.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Is Aunt Liza’s hat an outgrowth?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As an artistic idea I imagine it is; for more intensified -reds and yellows never gleamed above a smiling -black face. The poor old creature was so delighted -with her ‘speriment,’ as she called it, in saving money -for such an artistic triumph, that I hadn’t the heart to -do more than enjoy it with her.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“After all,” said Margaret thoughtfully, “my ‘speriment’ -was not a failure, even if it missed its objective -point. I have aroused ambition in their apathetic -breasts. See if it does not bear good fruit.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER IX.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>One afternoon as Elsie and Antoine were filling the -little house with the notes of a Hungarian battle song, -in which violin, organ, voice, and whistle played prominent -parts, Margaret was startled by the sudden opening -of the outer door, and the appearance on the -threshold of a richly-dressed lady, who with a deprecating -gesture which the carnival of sound alone permitted, -undertook to explain her unannounced presence. -Margaret stepped feebly across the room and hushed -the players as the lady said laughingly:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I rapped several times, but was unable to make -myself heard, and venturing upon the freedom of long -acquaintance, I opened the door. I think I must have -made a mistake. I thought I was in the house of -Lizzette Minaud.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are,” said Margaret. “Be seated and we will -call her.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The moment Lizzette saw her caller she cried in the -freedom of her native tongue: “Madam Mason! Comment -cela va-t-il, aujourdhui?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Assez bien. Et-vous?” was the answer in the -same tongue.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette hesitated a moment and then said by way -of explanation: “Zese friends of mine zay speak ze -French wiz me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah!” and the lady glanced somewhat superciliously -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>at Margaret and Elsie. “It is immaterial to me which -tongue we use. I have only a few moments to spare -at best. I was not aware, Lizzette, that you were musical.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eh bien, eet ees only Miss Elsie and Antoine. I -haf not ze time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I should suppose not,” said the lady, still using the -French tongue, in the evident belief that it might cover -some slight impertinences of question and manner.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Where did they learn that battle song they were -playing as I came in?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Zey learn zemselves,” answered Lizzette. “Zey haf -un grand penchant for music, and eet ees bread and -meat to Antoine.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Humph! Who are these girls?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The blood mounted to Lizzette’s face, but restraining -herself she said with a quiet dignity, that in the -little market woman was evidently vastly amusing to -Mrs. Mason, “Zey are my guests.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason laughed. “Come, Lizzette——” she began, -but her words were interrupted by a simultaneous -movement on the part of Margaret and Elsie. Margaret -arose from her chair, and Elsie as quickly offered -her arm, and the two were on the point of leaving the -room when they were arrested by a whisper from Antoine, -“Take me too. I can’t stay here.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie put her hand to Antoine’s chair, and in a profound -silence the “funeral procession,” as Elsie called -it, marched out of the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Come, come, Lizzette,” exclaimed Mrs. Mason in -English, when the door had closed. “I meant no -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>offence, of course. You seem to have acquired an unusual -dignity since I last saw you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“For zose who deserve it, oui; for Lizzette Minaud, -non. I know ze ladies when I see zem, if so be zey are -in calico or silk.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, of course, of course,” replied Mrs. Mason somewhat -impatiently. “Tell me who they are, anyway, -and how they happen to be with you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Helen Mason,” said Lizzette a little sternly, “if so -be I did not know you nearly ze whole of your life, I -nevair tell you von leetle word. But since I think -vous avez ze heart under zat spoiled exterieur, I vill -tell you ze story.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason laughed.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The privilege of an old friend, Lizzette, is sometimes -terribly abused; but I forgive you because of -my impatience to hear this wonderful story. You’ve -really aroused my curiosity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With all the eloquence of eye, voice, and gesture so -characteristic of the French, Lizzette gave the details -of Margaret’s struggles and misfortunes. The barren -story lost nothing under the glow of Lizzette’s imagination -and fertile tongue, and when she finished with a -glowing peroration on the virtues of the little family, -Mrs. Mason’s eyes required several applications of a -dainty bit of embroidered gauze before they were restored -to their pristine brightness.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Very affecting indeed,” she declared. “It is singular -how hard some people’s lives have to be, but it -is fate, I suppose.” Mrs. Mason was evidently quite -resigned to fate. “I declare,” she exclaimed, “listening -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>to the story of the trials of these people, I had -nearly forgotten my own. I am in the deepest trouble, -Lizzette, and of course I had to come to you for help -just as I used to do.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Tu as l’air triste,” laughed Lizzette.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Why, I am in despair. You remember that expensive -Frenchman I took such pains to import for -my kitchen a year ago, and who was such a splendid -cook? Not quite equal to you, of course, Lizzette—nobody -ever has been. Well, what did the beast do -but get so drunk yesterday that he hasn’t prepared -a meal since and we are nearly starved!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Wiz all zose servants in ze house?” asked Lizzette -incredulously.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, as for that, the maids have succeeded in sending -up something, but then you know how exasperating -it is to have meals so poorly served. Dear me! he -was such a model on sauces!” And a sigh that was -evidently drawn from the depths of her heart followed -the plaintive ejaculation.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Was? Ou est il?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, Mr. Mason discharged him this morning. You -know how rigid he is about drunkenness. I begged -Mr. Mason on my knees to let me keep Joseph another -month, anyway; for Herbert—your Herbert, you know, -Lizzette—is coming home from Europe, and I’ve no -end of dinners planned for him, and no cook in the -house. What am I to do, Lizzette? Can’t you come -to me just for a month, Lizzette? I will pay you well -if you will, and Antoine can stay here with these girls. -Oh, do come, there’s a dear, good Lizzette.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>Mrs. Mason was gently patting Lizzette’s brown -hand with one of her own daintily gloved ones. Lizzette -pondered a moment. “Vot you pay Joseph?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“An enormous sum,” answered Mrs. Mason, coloring. -“He had such a reputation, you know, and one always -has to pay for reputation!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The ejaculation was so dry that Mrs. Mason hastened -to add: “But of course I shall not let money -stand between us.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette ruminated a little: “Ees eet worth to you ze -twenty dollars a week?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is truly,” she answered, feeling a sense of relief -that it was not Joseph’s usual weekly stipend of one -hundred dollars.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eh bien!” said Lizzette, “I cannot go.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Lizzette, you break my heart. Why not, pray?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Because everysing go to ze waste here; mais, I haf -ze plan for you. I find you une cuisinière a cet prix.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But ordinary cooks, you know, Lizzette, cannot -earn more than five or six dollars a week.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know; mais, zis von ees so très-bonne, I myself -teach her. She lack ze experience, zat ees all. Elle à -le genie sublime!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That may be; but such wages are too large to pay -inexperience. I think you ought to get her cheaper.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ees eet not,” asked Lizzette with a sly twinkle in -her eyes, “zat le prix ees much sheaper zan you obtain -Joseph?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, of course; but Joseph was a noted chef.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Haf you not ze grand need of a cook?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>“Certainly.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Zen if I take l’avantage de votre need to obtain le -bon prix for ze work zat ees very good <em>wizout</em> ze reputation, -I only follow ze well known business principle: -one zat Monsieur Mason take l’avantage of every day.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Lizzette, you are too much for me. Where is your -paragon?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Here. C’est Elsie.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What, that young girl? You astonish me. She cannot -be capable; besides, I thought you considered her -a lady.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Bah! Ze work ees not ze lady any more zan your -robe de soie ees ze lady. Ven I say ‘lady’ I mean ze -instinct, ze character, ze soul, ze nature. She cannot -harm zat by working dans le cuisine. My word for -it, you will nevair find Elsie Murchison ze trespasser -of her place, if so be it ees in your kitchen or in your -salon.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Small likelihood of the latter! Go on, Lizzette—you -are really eloquent.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Mais, I feel ze indignation at ze misapprehension -of your world ofer ze name of lady. In my leetle -world eet means somesing besides ze airs and ze graces -et l’argent.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Your world and mine won’t quarrel over it much, I -fancy,” said Mrs. Mason composedly. “It seems to me -you’ve grown into a fierce little radical since you -compounded such delectable dishes in mamma’s -kitchen; but as to the capability of that young thing, -I doubt it much.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do not, for she learn so fast; and ven I haf vonce -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>taken her through ze maison and she know ze duties, -you vill be surprised at ze ease she do zem. Besides, -ze grand sing ees ze buying, and I vill do zat until she -sall haf learned. Je vous le promets a treasure in Elsie, -and you vill nevair be sorry zat Lizzette Minaud -say so.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I never have been sorry that I took any advice of -yours. But how do you know your marvel will accept?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nous verrons! Elsie!” called Lizzette, stepping to -the kitchen door. “Sit down,” she added, as Elsie presented -herself. “Madam Mason haf ze offer to make to -you,” and thereupon Lizzette detailed the proposition -that had just been under discussion.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie’s eyes grew big with wonder as she listened to -Lizzette. “I am afraid I am not equal to it,” she -faltered.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Lizzette vouches for you,” said Mrs. Mason. “I -have always found her advice good.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie did not answer at once. A tide of thought -was sweeping over her. The opportunity was like a -tale from fairy land in the riches it seemed to offer; -but how could she live under the domination of that -supercilious woman she <em>knew</em> she should hate? But -Margaret, Gilbert, Antoine—how much she could do -for all of them! Courage! Now was the time to -prove herself. The way had been opened; there could -not be, must not be any shrinking back.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Very well,” she answered simply. “I am willing to -make the trial.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To-morrow, then,” said Mrs. Mason, rising, “you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>will begin under Lizzette’s management. She knows -my house as well as her own. At ten o’clock in the -morning I shall be prepared to receive you. Good-evening, -Lizzette and—Elsie.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With a scarcely perceptible nod Mrs. Mason hastened -out to her carriage. When the door had closed -Lizzette grasped Elsie by the shoulders and began an -impromptu chaussée up and down the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“C’est très-bon! C’est très-bon!” she cried. “I -prove ze sharper zat time; mais, le defaut ees in ze -grand cause of humanity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am frightened to death, Lizzette,” said Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Chut! Helen Mason ees only la femme ordinaire, -and reech! Helas! l’argent zat petite femme frow to -ze winds. Lizzette haf catch some for you, anyway.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret opened the door just then and the three -sat down to discuss the important move.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Honestly, Lizzette, now, do you think I can manage -their great dinners? Why, I haven’t the least idea -how to plan any work beyond my own little kitchen.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Vraiment, c’est une bagatelle ven you haf got ze -hang of sings. Nefer you fear. I take you under my -wing for three, four days and zen we vill see! Ze -chance was so très-bon to help Margaret——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And all of us,” interrupted Elsie softly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oui; ze pomme de terre and ze sel go by ze board -now, eh, Elsie?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“O Lizzette, what a good friend you have been!” -exclaimed Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Bah! eet ees only selfishness. I want myself some -good sings to eat. Now, Elsie, I gif you my recipes; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>vous savez zat you read zem wiz care and learn zem -by heart. Sans doubte, you exercise your skill to ze -charm of madam.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Tell us about her.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Zare ees but leetle to tell. I vork in ze kitchen de -sa mère zese many year. I make ze good friends of -Helen and Herbeart—ah, Herbeart, mon cher ami, il -est un galant homme, and I knows ze folly of Helen -like ze book. She ees vain and haughty; mais, her -heart ees not mèchante. You vill grow into ze good -friends some time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I don’t expect that,” said Elsie. “All I ask is not -to be tyrannized over. I am conservative enough to -recognize the gulf society places between us, and I -shall endeavor to keep to my side of the fence.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Vous avez raison. Still, I make ze meestake eef -Helen Mason do not herself some time break down ze -barrier. Zare are some sings zat vill not be made to -see de fausses idées de grandeur.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is not wise ever to hope for such a thing,” said -Margaret, fearful that Elsie might be carried away by -Lizzette’s volatile spirits. “We have our work to do -in our own sphere, and we know that we can achieve -all that is in us by working faithfully within our own -lines. If we hope for recognition outside of these -lines, it will but breed disappointment and discontent.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Have no fear for me, my sweet sister,” replied -Elsie with sparkling eyes. “I shall never yearn for a -world greater than that of our own little quintette, -wherein Lizzette, Gilbert, and I furnish the brawn and -<em>capital</em>—I feel like a bloated bondholder already—and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>Antoine and Margaret represent the culture. But -to stop nonsense and come down to practical things. -Since I am to represent the capital of our community, -I must have the chief direction of affairs, otherwise -behold in me ‘the iron hand,’ etc. What are we to do -with our three-years’ lease of our desolate home?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eef ze agents vill not rebuild, Margaret and Gilbeart -sall stay wiz me and so still work ze land.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” said Margaret decisively. “The hardest part -of this apparent good fortune that has befallen Elsie is -that it takes her from home. I cannot endure it long, -and if Elsie remains with Mrs. Mason I shall take -rooms in the city as near as I can find them, and Gilbert -must bring her to us every evening. We must -not break the home ties.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That will be glorious,” exclaimed Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Non,” said Lizzette, tears springing to her eyes. -“Eet vill bring ze heart break to Antoine and Lizzette -Minaud.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, no,” said Margaret and Elsie together, “you -shall come to us every day after market hours, and -Antoine can be with us two-thirds of the time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know zat vill be ze best for Elsie; but ees eet -possible? Ze docteur, he say zat you vork not till ze -spring. You must obey ze command, if strength sall -come back to you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know,” replied Margaret. “How would it suit -you to take a sub-lease of the land, if satisfactory arrangements -can be made with the agents?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eet vill be ze very sing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>“In that event the manual-training school for Gilbert -is the next move, and I shall be compelled to ask -Dr. Ely for a further advance on the books.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And be sure to add that I can very soon repay it -out of my independent income,” laughed Elsie.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER X.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>The mansion of Helen Mason was a treasure house -of art in pictures, draperies, furniture, bric-à-brac, and -all those distinguishing characteristics of wealth and -culture. In one particular it was somewhat unique; -everything was genuine, from the old masters to the -spoons. The fair mistress of the house hated pretence, -and although an ardent believer in the divine right of -kings, she recognized none of them in a tinsel crown. -The child of wealthy and aristocratic parents, in whom -the old noblesse oblige had taken deep root, she had -grown to look upon her station in life as the outgrowth -of a certain fixed law which bestows upon men the -positions for which they are best fitted. If there were -suffering, struggling mortals on planes far below hers -in social advantages, no doubt the sufferings arose -principally from their efforts to fit themselves into -niches for which they were not made. It seemed -singular to her undisturbed mind that there should be -such a seething discontent among the masses. Why -couldn’t people be satisfied to go the way they were -called? Why were they trying all the time to subvert -society and make one fairly afraid of her life with -these horrible physical force movements and plots and -counterplots of all kinds? It was so much better every -way for people to learn contentment. She believed -the doctrine was too little preached, and she meant to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>speak to her pastor, the white high-bred rector of St. -Paul’s, about it. He must really exert his influence -over these misguided people who were so clamorous -for places for which they were not destined. Believing -as she did in the doctrine of every man to his place, -she strove with a zeal of a prophet in her own little -domain to make that place the best of its kind. Her -servants were accordingly well lodged, fed, and paid, -albeit they were trained to their duties with the precision -of a martinet. Haughty, imperious in some -things, while childishly dependent in others, she was -at the same time a good mistress, and by no means -unfriendly to her dependents. She intended to accord -them the rights of their class, as she exacted a reverent -homage for the privileges of her own; but she was -far from admitting that those rights could in any way -transcend the limits of a certain material consideration. -The finer qualities of the soul, such as innate delicacy -of perception and the instinctive appreciation of true -refinement, could not be theirs by reason of the stamp -of poverty and the millstone of low association which -precluded cultivation. It was a theory of hers that -only generations of wealth and leisure could produce -the highest types, and she had consequently a great -scorn for the nouveaux riches of modern society and -their blundering attempts to imitate English customs -and cockney “fads.” As a rule her servants were loyal -and obedient, and she was wise enough to see that her -little investment in humanity yielded usurious interest -which she was by no means disposed to undervalue. -She had been proud of having the best-equipped home, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>the most perfectly-trained servants, and the most noted -chef in the city. It was, therefore, with no little trepidation -that she awaited the coming of Lizzette and Elsie, -and contemplated yielding the dominion of her kitchen -to “that young thing.” Mr. Mason had laughed at her -when she recounted the result of her attempt to secure -Lizzette, and had said, by way of administering comfort -to her perturbed spirit: “That is just about as -quixotic as women’s schemes usually are. My word for -it, she will not have been three days in the house before -the present discomfort will be intensified, and we shall -end by having to order our meals from the caterer.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was now nearing the hour of ten, and she was -impatient to settle details with Lizzette and feel the -troublesome experiment partially off her hands. As -she sat idly tapping one foot against the brass fender -of the blue-tiled grate in her morning-room, she was -a fair type of the cultured, self-poised, well-dressed -woman of society. Her face was chiefly remarkable -for a pair of keen gray eyes, with heavy black lashes -and straight brows. The remaining features were -nondescript, with a colorless skin and dark brown hair -handsomely coiffured, for setting. A keen, cold, somewhat -intellectual face had been Elsie’s thought on -first seeing her, and she felt sure that she should hate -her. She felt the same conviction sweep over her now -as she and Lizzette stood in the presence of the mistress -of the magnificent home.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Be seated,” she said, motioning them to seats. -“I presume Lizzette has informed you that I am -a strict disciplinarian and require the most perfect -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>obedience. If that is rendered you will not find me a -hard mistress.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I should not have come if I had not expected to -obey orders,” replied Elsie. “My only fear is that my -inexperience may try your patience.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As to that I shall hold Lizzette responsible; and -now, while Lizzette will at once post you in regard to -matters below stairs, I will give you our hours for -meals, and shall expect you to report to me promptly -every morning at ten o’clock to receive orders for the -day. Lizzette will at present do my buying; but you -must of course go with her until you have familiarized -yourself with prices and materials. Here is to-day’s -menu, which by the way, as to the main dishes, I always -prepare myself. You may have noticed as you came -through the house that the maids are in uniform. I -shall expect you to wear one, and you will find your -allotment of white aprons, caps, and kerchiefs in this -basket. Here, Lizzette, you may as well invest yourself -in one, too.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Helas! zese new idées vill do for la jeune fille like -Elsie. Mais, ze brown face of Lizzette Minaud look -not so well from under ze white cap. Still I obey ze -mistress!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Just as you always did,” laughed Mrs. Mason, -pressing an electric button, which almost immediately -brought a maid to the door.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Show Elsie, our new cook, to her room. Stay with -me, Lizzette. I wish to speak with you.” Elsie picked -up her satchel and basket and followed the maid, who -eyed her curiously, but vouchsafed no word. “Here,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>she said sententiously, opening a door of a roomy, -comfortable bedroom on the third floor.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie hastily entered and closed the door behind her. -Then dropping satchel and basket, she threw herself on -the floor beside them and cried out: “O Meg, Meg, -Meg, how hard life is away from you and your serene -courage! How lovely all our theories are until we have -to put them into practice. I shall hate that woman, I -know. Dear me! this won’t do. I shall have a red nose. -Now let’s see how I look in the new prison garb,” and -volatile Elsie bounded to her feet, and speedily invested -herself in the white muslin cap with its narrow -frill and the accompanying kerchief and apron.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not so bad, after all,” she said, as she eyed herself -in the glass, and a roguish dimple nestled in her cheek -as she viewed the picture. It was pretty enough to -tempt the vanity of the Quaker maiden she resembled. -The dainty frill above the black rings of hair, the fichu -folded smoothly across her breast, and the long apron -with its big pockets, seemed exactly fitted to the -piquant face and slender form. “Well, there’s some -satisfaction in not looking like a fright,” she said as -she descended the stairs.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The morning-room door stood open and Mrs. Mason -and Lizzette could scarcely repress a start of -surprise as the dainty maiden stepped upon the -threshold. “She look like ze picture of ze old time,” -exclaimed Lizzette. Mrs. Mason made no reply as -she handed Elsie a memorandum-book and pencil, -which with keys to pantry and store-room were to be -suspended at her belt.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>“Now you are equipped, I believe, and Lizzette will -take you in charge. I wish you the best of success.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>When the two had departed, Mrs. Mason stood -where they had left her with downcast eyes gazing into -the grate. “What a lovely face,” she mused. “So full -of fire and strength and—well, yes, I suppose I must -admit it—refinement! She looked like a queen in -masquerade as she stood in the doorway. But then -nature indulges in freaks of that kind sometimes. -Lizzette tells me they were always as poor as church -mice. What an absurdity I am perpetrating in putting -her in my kitchen; but my old brown Lizzette -is always as good as her word, and we shall see what -will come of it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The force of servants in the Mason household consisted -of James, the English-looking butler, of whom -Elsie was secretly afraid, because his gaze of admiration -was so open; William, the coachman; Martha and -Mary, the two house-maids; and Jenie, the little kitchen-maid -of twelve years. They all knew Lizzette, who, -being a privileged character about the Mason mansion, -was free to do pretty much as she liked, and when, in -response to her call, they gathered in the below-stairs -parlor, which also served them for dining-room, they -received Elsie with unction.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It hain’t a bad place, miss,” said James patronizingly. -“I’ve been with the family five years, and I -can’t say as I’ve ’ad a ’ard time by no means.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I should say not,” laughed Martha. “James thinks -as he owns the hull place.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ceptin’ you,” added Mary.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>“I wouldn’t own such poor property, no’ow,” said -James with offended dignity.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That ain’t me,” exclaimed William with a sly -chuckle. “I’ve just been a-dyin’ to own both on you -girls for months.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, you horrid Mormon,” chorused the girls; -“you’ll be wanting the new cook too, next.” The -blood flamed into Elsie’s cheeks and an ominous -sparkle gleamed for a moment beneath the downcast -lids; but, with a struggle that was only noticed by -Lizzette, she raised her eyes to William’s round, honest -face.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I think we shall all grow to be good friends; but -you must be very patient with me until I have learned -the ways here.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The sweet face, the timid, deprecating manner, the -ladylike voice, awoke varying emotions in the breasts -of Elsie’s little audience. “You bet,” exclaimed William -hastily.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, of course,” said James, and then stopped confusedly -as he recollected how near he had been to -saying “Madam!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Martha and Mary looked at each other and sniffed. -“Stuck up,” they whispered as they passed out to -their various duties; but little Jenie slipped her hand -into Elsie’s and said simply, “I like you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Courage, ma chere,” whispered Lizzette; “now we -haf nosing but ze dinner to sink of.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>In recounting the day’s experience afterward to -Margaret, Elsie always alluded to Lizzette as her -“colossal spinal column;” for in reality Lizzette was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>the main director and executor of the day’s work. -Elsie obediently followed directions; but her native -force and ingenuity seemed to have deserted her, which -made even Lizzette a trifle doubtful of the wisdom of -her experiment. But when everything was finally -made snug for the night, and Lizzette was leaving for -home, Elsie said bravely, though tears stood under -the curved lashes, “I shall do much better to-morrow. -Tell Margaret I’ve got the ‘hang’ of the ship’s tackle, -and to-morrow she’ll sail.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nevair fear,” said Lizzette lightly, as she imprinted -a kiss on either rosy cheek, and steadily ignored the -trembling drops in the dark eyes. “Eet sall be ze -brave capitaine on ze deck, too.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The next morning, with the edge of strangeness -somewhat blunted, Elsie was able to send up the breakfast -in excellent style, and Mrs. Mason was therefore -prepared to receive her with a manner a trifle less -severe than that of the day before.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Your breakfast was well prepared,” she said as -Elsie stood before her, note-book and pencil in hand, -to receive orders. “If the dinner is as satisfactory I -shall feel no further uneasiness.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I shall endeavor to improve as I become accustomed -to things, and I shall hope to satisfy you in -every way. I love to cook, and the kitchen is so admirably -appointed that what has hitherto been a mere -passion I may be able to elevate into the great art -that Lizzette calls it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Lizzette is an enthusiast.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It takes enthusiasm to succeed in anything, and it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>is because I love my work that I expect to please -you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason looked at Elsie curiously. How quietly, -yet with what seemingly unconscious dignity, she uttered -those few well-chosen words. If she had been -mistress instead of servant they could not have been -better expressed or more charmingly enunciated. -There could be no question of efficiency with such intelligence; -but oh, there was the fear, always oppressing -one so with these “lady helps,” that she would get -above her business. So to Elsie’s little burst of confidence -she said coldly, “As long as you keep strictly -to your line of duty I shall be satisfied.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You have nothing to fear on that score, Mrs. -Mason. I know my place as ‘Elsie the cook.’ Have -you any further orders?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nothing more to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason smiled triumphantly as she watched the -blood deepen in Elsie’s cheeks as she left the room. -“The girl is as proud as Lucifer; but it is not a usual -pride, I must confess.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>At the close of the week Elsie found that her end -of the domestic machinery was running quietly and -smoothly. She had already made friends with the -other servants, who, while recognizing the air of self-respecting -womanhood that would neither give nor permit -low jests or rude actions, could not fail to be -drawn by the simplicity of her manner and her frank, -straightforward way of looking at things. Insensibly -the loud-voiced talk and rude horse-play formerly in -vogue among them began to disappear. James’ ostentatious -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>display of knowledge gradually weakened before -Elsie’s clear eyes and plain questions; William left -his stable-talk at the door, together with his coat and -boots, and came to his meals in patent-leather pumps, -velveteen roundabout, and hair saturated with patchouli. -The house-maids had less gossip of the upper -regions to retail, and Jenie’s smutty frock was invariably -replaced by a clean one at meal-time.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ze leetle witch,” exclaimed Lizzette to Margaret. -“She haf got zere necks under her heel so quick! And -ze funny part ees zey know eet not at all.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I doubt if Elsie does,” replied Margaret. “For -after all it is only the power of judiciously exhibited -self-respect.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XI.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>There was a subdued bustle in the Mason mansion -which betokened an unusual event. Covers were removed -from unused furniture, long-closed rooms were -newly aired and decorated, windows were opened to -the sunlight, and hot-houses were ransacked for potted -plants and cut flowers. In the store-rooms of Elsie’s -department tables and shelves were piled high with -viands of every sort, the combined result of Lizzette’s -and Elsie’s skill; for Elsie had been afraid on so momentous -an occasion to trust entirely to herself.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And all this fuss is over one small man,” whispered -Elsie to Lizzette as they stood admiring the aggregation -of eatables. “Has he been starving among the -Hottentots all these years, or is he a great gourmand?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nezair,” laughed Lizzette. “Il est ze apple of ze -eye of Helen Mason. Zay are alone togezzer in ze -world, and ze one sweet sing in Helen Mason ees her -love for Herbeart. Mais, he ees très cher efen to me. -So vot you call warm-hearted, wiz ze bonhomie zat -make ze world bright. He travel in Europe zese several -year, and like Helen il à l’argent in heaps I know not.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What has he made of himself?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eh bien. Vraiment, le galant homme!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A gentleman! A noble profession. How does he -do it?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>“Ze witch ees laughing! I no explain to zose mocking -eyes.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Never mind, Lizzette. There is something so -charmingly indefinite about the term ‘gentleman’ that -I was only trying to discover what particular form -this rara avis took.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“He choose no profession zat I know. He no haf -to work.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Unlucky mortal! How he will envy us, Lizzette! -But tell me about him. Does he resemble his sister?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not ze leetle bit. Il a les eyes like ze summer -sky, zay are so blue. Il est so tall like ze young tree. -His hair ees ze sunshine of ze autumn, and his smile -like ze warmth of ze summer sun.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Scorching,” exclaimed Elsie. “How glad I am I -shall not come under its gleams; for I would rather -cook his dinner than be cooked by that smile!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ze mauvaise Elsie! She make ze fun of eferysing, -efen my heart. I haf loved him since many year he -climb my knee, and I only speak ze figures de la -poesie.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My dear Lizzette,” exclaimed Elsie contritely, “I -do not make fun of your love, nor of your similes, -which really are quite wonderful. Indeed, I never -knew you so eloquent before; but this worship of -yours for the fair god is so new to me, I did not know -that men were entitled to so much.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ze time vill come, ma petite Elsie, ze time vill -come ven zat mocking heart sall take back zose idle -words.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“How solemn you are, Lizzette. You frighten me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>“Non, non, mais, zere ees no love like ze true love -in ze heart of ze good woman.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It may be,” said Elsie lightly, “but like the old -Scotchwoman’s white linen, ‘it taks a sair bit o’ achin’ -ta get it,’ and I’ve no desire to prove it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eet vill prove itself in ze heart, and no ask desire.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Dear me! how far we have wandered from our -muttons. I suppose your paragon dines here to-night?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oui, and to-morrow I sall go shake ze hand de -mon Herbeart, and find him still ze same.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Perhaps not.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know,” said Lizzette positively. “My lad ees -not made of ze sheap stuff zat wear out memory.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The next morning as Elsie, in response to Mrs. -Mason’s invitation, entered the morning-room, she became -at once aware that its fair mistress was not its -only occupant. Partially concealed behind a newspaper -she saw a blonde head, out of which a pair of -blue eyes gave her a quick glance, and she noticed -with an odd sense of detail that their owner wore a -dark blue smoking-jacket with facings of pale blue -satin. There was also a running accompaniment of -observation as to a slim white hand, the curling ends -of a blonde mustache, and an air of indolent grace in -the long lithe figure. Venturing but one glance, she -stood with book and pencil in hand, quietly awaiting -Mrs. Mason’s orders. It had been one of the results -of Elsie Murchison’s secluded life and country rearing -that no one had ever told her how beautiful she was, -and if she could but read the pleasing tale in her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>mirror she accepted it in as humble and thankful a -spirit as she accepted the sunshine and the flowers, -and there was always a refreshing unconsciousness -about her that reminded one of the innocence of a -child. If she ever knew how charming a picture she -made as she stood before her mistress with downcast -eyes and flushed cheeks and the quaint cap and kerchief -only intensifying her girlish simplicity, it was not -till long after. The natural flush of youthful expectancy -at coming in contact with the young and handsome -man before her was crushed back under the self-scorn -with which she regarded any vague desire, as -she expressed it, to “look over the fence.” Not for -one moment would she allow herself to forget that -she was “Elsie the cook,” and a little defiant curve settled -around the dimpled mouth as she became aware -of the intent gaze of those blue eyes over the top of -the newspaper. It was with haste amounting almost -to curtness that she received her orders and betook -herself out of the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>There were two or three moments of silence after -Elsie’s departure, and then Mrs. Mason’s guest threw -down his paper with the question: “Where in the -name of all the graces, Helen, did you find such a -Hebe as that?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was a steely flash in Mrs. Mason’s eyes as -she answered: “Have you been half the world over, -Herbert Lynn, only to come home and rave over the -beauty of my cook?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Cook? I thought Lizzette was responsible for -that superb dinner last evening.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>“So she was in part; but this girl, Elsie Murchison, -is a protégé of hers whom I have engaged for a short -time until I can do better.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, if her cooking corresponds to her beauty she -must be a treasure.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That is what James and William both declare her -to be,” replied Mrs. Mason calmly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, of course, just their style of girl,” and Mr. -Lynn resumed the reading of his newspaper, as if the -subject had no further interest for him.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Singular,” he mused, while his eyes roamed over -an editorial résumé of the Parnell inquiry, “what surprises -nature does love to work, putting the face of -an houri over a mind that doubtless shames a Nancy -Sykes. Helen’s cook, indeed! but, by Jove! I never -saw so lovely a face before.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>After this, despite the black looks of his sister, -Herbert took especial delight in haunting the morning-room -at the usual hour of her conference with her -cook. He was seldom rewarded by hearing the Hebe -speak, and then only in monosyllables; but he noticed -she had “that excellent thing in woman,” a well-modulated -voice, as well as a quiet and reserved -manner.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Herbert,” exclaimed Mrs. Mason with an angry -flash in her gray eyes, after he had been present at the -third or fourth of these conferences, “I’ll not have -you watching that girl so, and I warn you that my -house is not the place for any old-world gallantries.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The mild blue eyes met her own for an instant with -an equally angry glance, which, however, speedily died -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>away by the time the nonchalant lips had framed an -answer. “I believe I’ve been doing nothing unbecoming -a gentleman.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, I only drop you a warning. I know what -the views of young men usually are after they have -spent a season in Paris.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are wise in your generation,” he said with a -slight touch of scorn. “When did you learn of the -all-pervading blight of that modern Gomorrah?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Don’t try to be lofty with me,” pettishly exclaimed -his sister. “You know as well as I do that no good -can come of your admiring that girl.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And what possible harm can come of it? I have -done nothing reprehensible, except to bestow a few -quick glances upon a fair and youthful face. If she is -not to be looked at, you must veil her like the prophet -of Khorassan. As for your insinuations—well, if men -go to the devil as regularly and deliberately as you -seem to think, it is often because they are driven there -by the cool assumptions of women like yourself. Now, -my dear sister, let me disabuse your mind once for all -of the fear that I have imbibed nothing but old-world -vices in my continental trip. I always did respect -virtuous womanhood and always shall. I shall not in -the least harm your Hebe of the pots and pans, but to -relieve your mind I’ll read the papers hereafter in the -billiard-room.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well,” said Mrs. Mason, after Herbert had somewhat -ostentatiously departed, and she was left to -ruminate on not over-sweet fancies, “I fancy I’ve forestalled -any absurd ideas that might get into Elsie’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>head, and although I am growing to like her better -every day, just let me catch her making eyes at Herbert!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie,” said Mrs. Mason the next morning, “we -are all going out for the day, and you may have your -time to yourself. I’ve given the maids a half-holiday -and there’ll be nobody at home but James.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie stood for a moment irresolute. A swift desire -had all but leaped to her lips—but dare she make it -known?</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What is it, Elsie?” asked her mistress, evidently -more graciously disposed than usual.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I would like to ask a great favor. If there is to -be no one in the house may I try the piano?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I was not aware that you played the piano,” said -Mrs. Mason a trifle coldly. Elsie’s face flushed.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do not. I never touched one in my life; but I -have a longing to see what I can do. There isn’t volume -and scope enough in our little cottage organ, and -I promised Antoine to ask permission to try the piano. -He is so much interested in music and finds so much -pleasure in learning that I love to help him even in -little things.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I see no objection in the present instance; but you -of course understand that I regard the request as an -unusual one for a servant to make?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do,” said Elsie hotly as she turned away, “and -I will not——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Back swept the red blood from Elsie’s face, and a -white, dull patience overspread it as she took up the -broken thread of her speech.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>“Mrs. Mason, I was going to say that I would not -touch your piano for worlds! You seem to be afraid -all the time that I will forget the difference in our -station and presume upon it. Have I done so? Have -I been less than obedient, or indicated by word or look -that I thought myself anything more than a servant? -But even servants have the common right of humanity, -and I asked a favor, knowing it to be a favor, because -of the crippled boy I love and the sick sister who -taught me to love and do for all things helpless and -dependent. If it were not for them no money would -tempt me to stay where I am not trusted; but they -are helpless and in need. I shall never ask any further -favors of you, Mrs. Mason; but if you still wish to -keep me I shall try, as I have tried, to be obedient and -faithful to your interests.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason sat for a moment without speaking, and -then suddenly reached out her hand to Elsie. “Come -back, child,” she said, “and sit down. I want to talk -with you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie came back from the door and stood before her -mistress. “Sit down,” reiterated Mrs. Mason.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is expected that servants will stand in the presence -of their superiors,” answered Elsie with the old -mischievous sparkle in her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason laughed. “I like your spirit, anyway. -I really haven’t any objection to your using the piano -when we are away. I’m glad you are ambitious to -cultivate yourself; but you mustn’t make the mistake -of regarding a little superficial finish as cultivation. -Genuine cultivation strikes deep in the soil and takes -hold of every fibre of the being.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>“Mrs. Mason,” said Elsie, “you make a mistake if -you think I have any longing for the mere name of -lady. I believe I could be your cook all my days and -yet make myself worthy of the character and appellation. -It is not what one does so much as in the manner -of doing it that lies the distinction, and I have as -natural a longing for all things noble and beautiful as -the flowers have for the sun, and just as good a right -to reach for them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Certainly,” assented Mrs. Mason; “but with such -surroundings you haven’t a very hopeful chance of -obtaining them. Your life is not a very happy one.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, it is,” replied Elsie stoutly, “because I make -it so. I wouldn’t change places with the richest woman -in this city, if by so doing I had to lose the dear hopes -and sympathies for every day living that make even -our misfortunes bearable. O Mrs. Mason, before the -fire and Margaret’s sickness, nothing could have exceeded -the daily delight of our lives, even with all -their hard work and privation. Something to believe -in, some hope for humanity, some trifle in word or -deed for each other—why, it seemed like a foretaste -of heaven. And now—well—” she went on, choking -back the sobs, “it is a delight to me to know that -my earnings have placed my brother Gilbert in the -manual-training school, and are helping Margaret, -Lizzette, and Antoine in numerous ways. I don’t -want anything in this world, but just to grow into -light and life with the dear ones I love and who love -me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason did an unprecedented thing for her. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>She clasped one of Elsie’s hands in her own, and said -with a little break in her voice: “My dear child, you -must promise to forget my severity, and take me at -my word when I tell you to use the piano as often as -you find the coast clear, and also to help yourself to -what books you like in the library. I shall never speak -a harsh word to you again.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Don’t say that,” exclaimed Elsie quickly. “I may -need a good many.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, the compact stands until you do need them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Two hours later, having seen the carriage drive from -the door, and supposing the house empty with the exception -of James, who was dozing in his pantry off the -dining-room, Elsie came softly down the stairs to the -front drawing-room. She had taken off cap, kerchief, -and apron, and wore only a dark cloth dress with a -little knot of bright red silk at the throat. With -childish curiosity she investigated everything in the -handsome room, pausing longest before a Carrara -marble statuette of Cupid and Psyche and talking -aloud with all the abandon of a child.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So that face of Psyche’s was the best the sculptor -could do to represent the soul. I should call it rather -the absence of soul; but then I’m a Philistine, and -lack culture; and as for Cupid, if the blind god is no -fairer than he is painted—I should say carved—he -wouldn’t stand much chance of awaking immortality in -me. I don’t believe I’ve got a bit of poetry in me, anyhow; -I’m so inclined to laugh at sentiment, or sentimentality—it -all amounts to the same thing. In either -event, I suppose it shows that ‘Elsie the cook’ is made -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>of coarser clay than those who find beauty in unmeaning -faces. But I forget. ‘Elsie the cook’ has gone -away, and Elsie the lady has come to stay.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A low ripple of laughter broke from her lips over -the unintentional couplet. “A poet, after all! I guess, -as they say below stairs, I’ll throw up my job and get -a quill and ink-stand.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>At this juncture, a gentleman who had been stretched -at full length upon a couch within a curtained alcove -at the further end of the library, closed the book he -had been reading, and shoving the curtain aside for an -inch or two, gazed into the drawing-room through the -half-open door. It chanced that the wide pier-glass -was so situated that nearly the whole interior of the -drawing-room was visible to the occupant of the alcove, -and a half-smile gleamed beneath the curled blonde -mustache as he listened to Elsie’s amusing comments.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie the lady has come to stay,” she repeated, -“and now I’ll see if I can play it as well as madam -herself. I wonder if I look like one,” and half-dancing -up to the glass, Elsie stood for a moment looking critically -at herself. “No, I won’t do. My hair ought to -be so,” and she gathered it up on the top of her head, -from which the riotous ends speedily escaped in a -curling mass. “There! that’s better; looks quite -fashionable; gown is very plain, but then we’ll suppose -I go in for asceticism. No rings, but no pot black -on my hands. Nails well manicured and tolerably -aristocratic-looking. That is, there’s quite a taper to -the fingers, which I suppose puts the proper stamp on. -Now that my lady has come to her own, let’s see how -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>she receives her guests. We’ll try her cook first, so as -to get the proper air of dignified severity. No, I’ll -not do it,” she said thoughtfully, as she stood for a moment -with downcast eyes. “She was kind to me after -all, and I’ll not repay it with mockery even to myself. -It is quite evident that there is a great deal due to -station in this world, and Elsie the cook must cultivate -a little appreciation. Come, my Lord Snubbem, and -teach me to be a Brahmin.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With a mock courtesy Elsie stood before a great -sleepy hollow chair of blue velvet and went on with -her soliloquy:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You will no doubt understand, my lord, that this -is my first appearance in society, and lacking the <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">savoir -faire</span></i> of long acquaintance, I shall, I presume, shock -you with some of my ‘wild woolly western’ ideas. -Nevertheless, having seen that my brother, Mr. High-and-Mighty, -just returned from ‘the continent’—that -is the way even Americans put it, as if there were but -one continent—is paying his proper devoirs to Miss -Bullion, and will probably fall in love with her, or -rather with her money, which, entre nous, is all ‘we’ -ask nowadays, I suppose I’ll have to permit you, my -Lord Snubbem, after a great deal of coaxing, to induce -me to play for you. Of course you know all the time -I’m dying to show off; at least that’s the way they -say it is in society, and so you offer me your arm and -lead me to the piano, and I prepare to display my -diamond rings—dear me, it’s too bad I haven’t any!—and -my precious little knowledge of music. Let me -see, how shall I begin? With a grand flourish, of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>course; now for that Hungarian battle song!” And -almost forgetful of the character she was supposed to -represent, Elsie struck the heavy chords of the overture, -and became at once absorbed in the melody she -was evoking. “Ah, that is grand,” she sighed tremulously. -“There is power, adaptability, volume in a -piano that you can’t find in a cottage organ if you -smother your soul in it. Now good-by, Lord Snubbem. -Elsie the cook and Antoine the cripple have -come back and are going to forget all about you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Presently, after a few drum-beats of the piano, arose -the shrill, sweet notes of a trumpet-call. Again it -came, louder, sweeter than ever, then the answering -tones of the piano, until trumpet-call and drum-beat -were blended in one brilliant clash of melody. Then -the piano ceased and Elsie’s whistle took up the plaintive -solo of the violin, which is supposed to represent -the pathetic heroism of the Hungarian mother in sending -her loved ones to battle. Softly, yet clearly, and -with such underlying feeling rang the bird notes -through the room that the listener felt tears gathering -beneath his eyelids. Scarcely had the sweet notes -ended when louder and faster came the crash of battle, -to be followed by the low dirge and moaning cries -rendered by the resonant whistle. “Oh, dear,” sighed -Elsie, “if Antoine had only been here, it might have -been worth while. What a grand thing the piano is! -Poverty wouldn’t be so bad if it did not exclude so -much of the heaven of music and art, etc., etc., etc. -Now, Elsie the cook, stop that vain longing! Maybe -you’ll earn a piano yet with your immense riches. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>Just one more try, and Elsie the cook must go into -the lower regions again; but it’s been glorious to know -what such a life might mean. Come, old comforter, -and compose my soul,” and she struck the accompaniment -to the old, old song, “Jesus, Lover of my Soul.” -The fresh young voice, gaining confidence as the feeling -pervading the melody swept over her, seemed to -fill every nook and corner of the room and rise upward -and outward until it was lost on the shining -pathway to the stars. It was dusk when Elsie closed -the piano, and with a sudden fervor she bent down -and kissed it. “The only friend I have in the house,” -she sighed aloud. A moment later she passed out -into the hall humming softly to herself:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Hide me! Oh, my Saviour, hide,</div> - <div class='line'>Till the storm of life be passed!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>When the last notes had died away in the distance -Herbert Lynn sprang from his couch, and striking a -match, looked at his watch.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Six o’clock!” he exclaimed. “Helen will be furious -because I’ve not kept my engagement; but I wouldn’t -have missed that scene for all the dinners in Christendom. -Heavens! what a nature there is in that little -girl!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>Margaret sat reading a letter from Dr. Ely. The -faint blood of returning health was deepening in her -cheeks, and the glad light of her eyes intensified by -emotions which the letter evidently called forth. With -the freedom of the invisible biographer we will glance -over her shoulder as she reads:</p> - -<p class='c008'>“I have carried for months the picture of the cosey -sitting-room at Idlewild set like a gem in the silver -circle of memory. It is hard, very hard, now to feel -that it must be only a memory; that I shall never see -it again, and never be able to picture the little feasts -of reason which your letters have so charmingly described. -Still, home is where the heart is, and I regard -this misfortune as only a temporary interruption -of your plans. I know so well the motive springs of -action in your nature, that I feel sure as soon as your -strength comes back on perhaps a firmer basis, the old -progress will be re-established.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I heartily indorse your move in placing Gilbert in -the manual-training school, and inclose a draft for -one hundred dollars to advance your efforts. You -need have no hesitancy in accepting it, as I find the -books are regarded by bibliophilists generally as possessing -all the value I placed upon them.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>“As regards Elsie’s experiment in going as a cook, -there is much to be said for and against. She will be -subjected in such a position to much that will tax her -high spirit; but if she is equal to it she will be the -gainer in conscious strength and purpose. As a financial -move, even at the average wages, it is undoubtedly -the best thing that could be done; for even had the -way been opened, there is no such money in teaching -school or standing behind the counter. It is also a -safer life for a girl of her beauty, because the seclusion -of the kitchen has no such temptations as beset the -workers in public shops and factories. The question -of caste has evidently not entered into her calculations, -because she looks upon life as it is developed -from the standpoint of moral worth, and she is a -charming example of the revival of primitive ideas. -I shall watch the outcome of the experiment with a -good deal of interest, not alone because I admire the -fair experimenter, but because I also look upon the -move as an incipient factor in social progress. The -housekeeping and homekeeping questions lie at the -roots of all philosophy; for man is by no means a -sublimated mortal who can exist and theorize with no -provision for his material needs. Still, if I could have -had my way, I should have preferred that Elsie develop -her character and fitness for the world’s work -under less trying circumstances. It does not seem -fitting to me that women should bear the brunt of -bread-winning; there is other and better work for -them to do.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As for my school and myself, I think we are both -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>growing in strength. I should indeed be faint-hearted -if I did not feel nerved for the battle when I remember -the fearful odds against which you and Elsie have -set yourselves. I do not prophesy much in the way -of harvest for you, for I know the world better than -you do. Yet I know that with you a slender sheaf of -the gleanings will be as so much saved for the All -Father’s granary, and I can only bid you God-speed -in all you do. I know those who come within the -radius of your presence are lifted, albeit unconsciously, -in aspiration, and I have no wonder at all at Eph’s -devotion. I look upon it as a natural result of natural -conditions, and I predict that in your home in the city -you will find the question of how to find room for all -the demands upon your sympathies and interests a -much more serious one than it is now. I shall hope -to have in the future, as in the past, a full account of -the progress made by all of you, and trust that in trying -to fulfil the purposes that actuate you, you will -not forget what is due your health.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sincerely your friend,</div> - <div class='line in16'>“<span class='sc'>Charles J. Ely</span>.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>Margaret read the letter very slowly, evidently finding -much food for thought in the lines. That it was -happy thought the demure smiles that almost brought -dimples in her cheeks testified.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It wouldn’t be difficult to turn back now,” she -mused, “but it would be cowardly. It will be easier -too to go ahead, knowing as I do that all my efforts -are watched by sympathetic eyes. The determination -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>to stand by Elsie and Gilbert, until character shall -have been formed and purposes achieved, grows heroic -as I progress; for in it I already discern, thanks to -Dr. Ely’s eyes, a lever for the good of others besides -ourselves. Duty has always seemed so simple and -necessary a thing to me, that I don’t believe I have -properly appreciated Elsie’s heroism. Poor little girl! -I wonder how she bears the brunt of the battle, and if -that tempestuous heart of hers is in daily rebellion. -Antoine!” she exclaimed aloud, “we are glad this is -Sunday and that Elsie is coming home to-day, aren’t -we?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So glad that I can’t half read,” said the boy, tossing -aside his book and looking up with a smile.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It seems to me, Antoine, the violin has leaned more -to elegies and dirges than formerly. That won’t do, -for I notice you are not looking as well as you were, -and I fancy you are missing Elsie too much. I’ll tell -you what we’re going to do. Next week I shall look -up rooms in the city, near Elsie, and we will have her -home every night, and you—now don’t look so disconsolate—you -shall remain with us and take lessons -at the conservatory. I’ve arranged it all with ma -mère, and I shall see almost, if not quite, as much of -you as I do now.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Antoine did not answer until he had choked back -one or two obtrusive sobs. “And ma mère?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“She will be back and forth every day, with two -homes instead of one.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And am I really to have lessons?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Really and truly,” answered Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>“I don’t know how to be thankful enough,” said the -lad. “But who pays for them?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Never mind asking questions,” said Margaret, -smiling. “It is your business to accept propositions.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know—it is Elsie!” he exclaimed gleefully. “She -said she should dispense charity like a millionaire.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret laughed as she replied: “I don’t think -Elsie’s princely income, as she calls it, will be equal to -all the schemes she has in her bright head; but I know -I am very glad of the prospect of having her with us -once again. It’s a dull house without her.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And shall we have the old ‘evenings’ over again?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Indeed we shall, please God. We’ll take up the -thread where it snapped on that awful night of the -fire, only a little wiser and tenderer perhaps in our -judgments.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“How would it be possible for you to be any tenderer -than you always have been?” asked Antoine.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Because experience widens and deepens our natures, -and</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘Hearts, like apples, are hard and sour,</div> - <div class='line'>Till crushed by pain’s resistless power.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“God mellowed yours, then, in long-gone ages, for -nobody ever found a hard spot in your heart.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A royal flatterer!” exclaimed Margaret gayly. “I -shall have to kiss you for that,” and Margaret sank on -her knees beside the wheel chair and printed a resounding -smack upon the lad’s pale cheek.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’m jealous!” cried a gay voice at the door, and -the next instant Elsie was on the other side of the -chair and Antoine’s arms were around her neck.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>“Home again! Home again!” he cried with a little -break in his voice.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“For just about six hours, so tongues must fly at a -mile a minute. I have heaps and heaps to tell,” and -breathless Elsie sank into a chair and said nothing.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Why don’t you tell it?” asked Antoine.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It dwindles so when I stop to think of it. I guess -it is all summed up in the statement that ‘Elsie the -cook’ is very well satisfied with her place, and a good -deal prouder of her two-weeks’ wages than if somebody -had earned the money for her. Just see!” and -emptying the contents of her purse in Margaret’s lap, -she went on: “Now, I’ve come home for some music -and to hear the rest of you talk. Where’s the fiddle, -Antoine? Let’s wake the echoes and forget the frying-pan.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“O Elsie, life has come back with you,” exclaimed -Antoine fervently as he tuned his fiddle.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To stay, I hope; for I don’t want to be guilty of -taking life when I go again.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>An hour later everything had been forgotten in the -rendering of the old hymns and psalms with which -it had been their wont to delight themselves on Sunday -afternoons. Margaret and Gilbert were joining in -the chorus, and Lizzette was softly humming to herself -in her work about the kitchen, when there came a -gentle rap at the outer door. Lizzette opened it and -with difficulty repressed an exclamation at sight of -Herbert Lynn on the threshold. With a warning gesture -he put his fingers to his lips and said in a low -voice: “I did not want to interrupt the music or I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>should have rapped at the front door. Who is it plays -and sings so charmingly?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Antoine and Elsie,” said Lizzette proudly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie? I did not know she was here. I had a -little leisure and concluded I couldn’t better employ -it than in coming to see my old Lizzette.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Vous avez ze welcome, just as in ze old days. Let -me get ze leetle rocker, and you sall sit by me and -talk,” and Lizzette made a move to enter the little -sitting-room. Herbert’s hand was on her arm in an -instant.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, no,” he said in a whisper. “Let me sit here -and listen. It will disturb them to know I am here.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Softly and sweetly from the other room came the -strain, “’Tis midnight, and on Olive’s brow,” and -Herbert Lynn reverently dropped his head in his hands -and listened. If there was to his critical ear a lack of -technical skill, there was no lack of sympathy or feeling -in every touch and tone. Neither was there lack -of genius, although it was easily discernible that it -was an untrained genius.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What power Antoine gets out of the violin,” he -whispered to Lizzette, who nodded and smiled in proud -acknowledgment of his appreciation.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Il a——” she began, but the music had ceased and -there was a rustle of turning leaves as Margaret took -up the Bible.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“On second thought,” she said, “I will ask for a -subject. What shall it be, Elsie? You have been out -in the world—what need has seemed greatest to you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The strength to bear,” answered Elsie soberly. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>“It seemed easy to be patient and properly humble -in this home of love and appreciation, but in this other -world of place-hunting and time-serving the quick retort -quite too often besieges my lips. You know, -Margaret, it is only the old enemy, and as the horizon -widens and I see what life might mean to me if fortune -had been kinder, and I realize that I have a nature -capable of profiting by the beautiful things of the -world, I grow rebellious and dissatisfied. I try every -now and then to imagine I am perfectly contented; -but all the time I know I am deceiving myself. Help -me, Margaret dear, with all your sublime patience and -courage, to bear it, and not yearn after the vain things -of the world.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was a sound of tears in Margaret’s voice as -she answered: “Strength must come from within, -Elsie. ‘They that dwell in His house’ know where -the well of strength is, and ‘the pools are filled with -water.’ As for the vain things of this world for which -you sigh, the sin of it depends upon what those things -are. I think I know your heart well enough to believe -they are not selfish follies, but only healthy aspirations -for broader fields of culture. I don’t believe in -repressing such aspirations. They are as natural to -natures like yours as sunshine to flowers. Aside from -my unchanging faith in the beneficence of God, I have -always found the thought that the duty of to-day may -be the pleasure of to-morrow my greatest source of -comfort. Let us work faithfully, cheerfully to-day; -the way may be a little rough, but after all we shall -find many things to gladden it. A note from Antoine’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>fiddle, a bit of Elsie’s nonsense, have often made me -smile in the midst of the moodiest repinings. Our -work now, Elsie, is like the hard digging around the -roots of a rose-bush; by and by we shall look up and -see its crown of beauty and fragrance, and the roses -will be all the sweeter because our hands have sent the -thrill along their stems that roused them to life. I -haven’t the least fear for my little girl when we re-establish -the old home life. Discontent will be left at -the door, and aspiration will find wings in Antoine’s -fiddle and at the ends of her deft fingers.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The first day I ever saw you,” said Antoine to -Elsie, “you said your ambition lay all in learning to -cook like ma mère. What is the matter with it that -it does not satisfy you? Is the grand art of ma mère -no art after all?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Don’t ask such heretical questions, Antoine! Just -ask ma mère if I don’t put heaps of enthusiasm in my -work, and make perfect poems in pastry and sonnets -in salads, whose proof is in the eating! But one may -have a thousand ambitions in the course of a life-time, -and to confess the honest truth—Margaret, hide your -face!—I’ve just now an absorbing ambition to have a -new gown in the very latest style, with velvet all over -it and some genuine lace at the throat, and all those -refined ladylike things that make you feel so—so satisfied -with yourself! See, I bow my head and meekly -await the avalanche of reproaches from this virtuous -and austere household!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well,” said Gilbert from his corner, “I haven’t any -for you; for the threadbare appearance of my knees -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>has filled me with a similar ambition. The fellows at -the training school are mostly sons of well-to-do men, -and they eye me in a way that doesn’t make me feel -so—so satisfied with myself.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>In an instant Elsie jumped from her chair, and -patronizingly patting Gilbert’s head exclaimed: “My -dear brother, how glad I am to know I’m not the only -black sheep of the family! Meg, you see what comes -of letting the lambs out in the world’s pastures!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Just then Elsie, glancing out into the kitchen, caught -sight of the amused faces of Lizzette and Herbert -Lynn, and consternation, fright, and astonishment so -overcame her that she could only stand still and -scream.</p> - -<p class='c009'>This at once brought Lizzette and Herbert to the -door. “Margaret,” exclaimed Lizzette, “zis ees my -old friend, mon garçon Herbeart Lynn, who coming to -see his old Lizzette haf ze desire also to know her -friends. He haf zair welcome, I believe?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette looked appealingly from the white scorn -of Elsie’s face to the surprise of Margaret’s; but before -either had time to speak Herbert said eagerly and with -flushing cheek as he glanced at Elsie: “I can explain -my presence here as an involuntary listener in this -way. Lizzette, as you probably know, has been more -than half-mother to me. Taking advantage of a day -when I felt sure of finding her at home, I came out for -a little visit. As I neared the door I heard such charming -music I hesitated to interrupt it, and so I crept -like a culprit to the back door and listened—very reprehensibly, -I know—to a discussion which was so full of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>strength and interest to me I had not the courage to -interrupt it. Lizzette, can you not help me to be forgiven?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Helas,” said Lizzette. “I am ze grand culprit. I -take ze pride in vat you list.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Lizzette’s friends are of course welcome to us, -since we are trespassers upon her kindness,” said -Margaret brightly. “And as we have no state secrets, -I think we can forgive an unintentional listening. This -is my sister, Elsie Murchison, whom perhaps you know -serves your sister, Mrs. Mason, as cook.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret’s countenance hardened a trifle as she -looked at the young man’s handsome face and again -at Elsie’s, coldly repellant, and she laid a stress upon -the last word that brought an involuntary smile to -Elsie’s lips. The nod which she bestowed upon Herbert -was, however, so ostentatiously distant that the -pleasant augury of the smile was speedily dispelled.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“An’ zis ees my good lad Gilbeart Murchison, et zis -mon garçon Antoine,” said Lizzette hastily, in an endeavor -to smooth over the awkwardness of the situation.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert turned quickly to the boys, and taking the -proffered seat eagerly clasped Antoine’s hand in his -own. “You’ve changed a good deal, my boy, since I -saw you, and you are growing to be quite a musician. -Your genius must be cultivated.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is going to be,” answered Antoine, “thanks to -my Elsie.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert glanced up as Antoine spoke, in time to -see Elsie slip into the kitchen.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>“Eet ees ze dinner hour,” said Lizzette, looking after -her. “I sall leave you, Herbeart, in ze good care of -Miss Margaret and ze boys.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I shall be well cared for, no doubt. I always have -been in your house.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You have but recently returned from Europe, I -understand,” said Margaret as Lizzette left the room. -“Were you there long?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Some three years,” replied Herbert.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Long enough, then, to become somewhat imbued -with old-world ideas and customs.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To the extent of finding democratic America the -most delightful place on earth to live.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The air of constraint, so foreign to Herbert’s usual -suavity of address, dropped off under the stimulant -of Margaret’s calm eyes and interested face, and he -presently found himself talking and laughing with -her and the boys with the freedom of long acquaintance. -In the mean time Lizzette had been bustling -about the kitchen on hospitable thoughts intent, -and wondering vaguely where Elsie had gone. In -honor of her home-coming she had sacrificed a couple -of plump chickens which she had stuffed with truffles -grown in the darkness of her cellar. On the case of -wooden shelves which, with the romanticism of her -race, she loved to dignify with the name of “beaufet,” -stood a glass bowl of snow cream flanked by a basket -piled high with yellow sponge-cakes.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Zere ees ze pineapple jelly, ze salade de cresson, -ze cold sliced ham, ze duchesse potatoes, et ze cream -chocolate—ah, well, Lizzette’s table ees not so empty -after all.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>She was bending over the oven door, watching the -browning of the chickens and letting a flood of savory -steam into the kitchen, when she felt a warm kiss on -her cheek. Glancing up in surprise she saw Elsie, -cloaked and bonneted, before her. “Fie, fie, Elsie,” -exclaimed Lizzette. “Zis vill not do. You no leave -before ze dinner.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I must,” said Elsie, putting her hands on Lizzette’s -shoulders and looking into her face with her eyes full -of tears. “Don’t you see how the case stands? This -‘petit curieux’—there, don’t be angry, I can’t call him -anything else—has followed me here, and if Mrs. Mason -hears of it I shall lose my place. Don’t you see I -could not sit at the table with him and defend myself -against her attacks?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh-h!” It was a very long and expressive “oh” on -Lizzette’s part, and her eyes grew round with wonder -and amusement as she glanced at Elsie’s perturbed -face. “I nevair vas so big dunce in my life. Haf -Herbeart efer speak to you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” said Elsie, crimsoning, “only—only looked at -me!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette burst into a laugh so resounding that it -penetrated the room beyond; but Elsie’s distressed -face was too much for her tender sympathies. “Ma -petite fille,” she exclaimed, “how stupid ees your old -Lizzette. Eh bien, I vill explain. Herbeart know -not you live here; he tell me so, and I nevair know -Herbeart Lynn to lie. So you see eet ees not ma petite -Elsie zat bring him——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Lizzette! Lizzette!” cried Elsie, beside herself with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>mortification. “I did not mean it that way! I’m not -so vain as you think; but to tell the truth he has always -eyed me so, when I went to confer with Mrs. Mason, -that I have noticed she was uneasy and cross when -he was in the room. That is all in the world there is -in it, except that as ‘Elsie the cook’ I decline to sit -at table with his high mightiness. Honestly, I do not -want ever to speak to him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Herbeart haf ze good heart zat harm nobody.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That may be true; but the gulf between us is considered -too wide by his circle ever to be bridged over -by the commonplaces of even the simplest association. -You know I am right, Lizzette, and no false -vanity prompts what I say. I do want to keep my -place, and Mrs. Mason would be furious if she knew -I broke bread at the same table with her brother.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, zat Helen! Oui, Elsie, vous avez raison. Zis -ees too bad. Mais you sall not go hungry; here in ze -pantry I set you some dinner.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, Lizzette, I can’t eat,” said Elsie disconsolately. -“I’ll just go down to Aunt Liza’s and stay till the six-o’clock -train. Tell Meg how the case stands. I know -she’ll approve my view of it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Helas,” said Lizzette sorrowfully. “Ze dinner vill -be spoiled for Margaret and ze rest of us; but maybe -zat vill be ze best way out of trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was growing dusk when Elsie took her seat in the -car on her way back to the city. She was tired, faint, -and overwrought. A disturbing influence had set -again at work all those little discontents which Margaret’s -calm reasoning had well-nigh dispelled, and she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>fairly gasped with horror when she saw Herbert Lynn -enter the car and deliberately take the vacant seat beside -her.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Miss Elsie,” he coolly asked, “will you be kind -enough to tell me why I am an object of such aversion -to you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I—I—don’t know what you mean,” she stammered -helplessly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Aversion, Miss Elsie, is said by Webster to mean -dislike, disapproval, detestation, repugnance, antipathy, -abhorrence, loathing, etc., and so on. I trust you -understand me now,” and he looked down on the flushing -face with a marked little smile of triumph.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The definitions are all a blank to me, and relate -to nothing with which I am familiar.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Let me enlighten you, then. Do you think I am -not aware that I drove you from the house this afternoon, -and Lizzette’s delicious dinner? I am truly -sorry that my mere unexpected presence in that little -house should have been productive of so much mischief. -I assure you I am not half as bad as I look, -and I feel as penitent as a small boy who is caught -stealing apples, and just about as guilty.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie sat with her face turned toward the window -and made no reply. Not to be balked, Herbert went -on:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I never enjoyed—or would have enjoyed but for -the unlucky fact of your displeasure—anything so much -as acquaintance with your sister and the atmosphere -of Lizzette’s little home. It is something new to me, -and I am not so case-hardened as to be wholly insensible -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>to it.” Still Elsie vouchsafed no word as he paused -in evident expectation.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, if I am to have all this conversation to myself, -I shall take the liberty of saying just what I think. I -think a certain Miss Elsie Murchison is decidedly unreasonable, -and is determined that the culprit’s sentence -shall be a severer one than he deserves. She will not -even permit him to plead his cause. Nevertheless, as he -is satisfied of its justice he proposes to go on. The -brother of Mrs. Helen Mason, an acknowledged leader -of the haut ton, is neither a knave nor a fool; at least -he is not prepared to so view himself just yet, and because -his well-beloved sister has certain views in accordance -with the creed of her set, it does not follow -that he must blindly indorse all those views. He may -have sufficient independence to recognize worth when -he sees it, regardless of its environment.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Still no response from stubborn Elsie. The hot -blood mounted to Herbert’s brow. Bending forward -so that he might get a good view of her face, he exclaimed -impetuously:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Miss Murchison, if this is really a matter of personal -dislike I have nothing further to say. Until I am -satisfied that it is, however, I feel that I have a right to -understand the meaning of your persistent silence.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Thus brought to bay Elsie raised her eyes, and -Herbert saw that they were full of unshed tears.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Mr. Lynn,” she began tremulously, “it seems almost -cruel in you to press me for an answer; but since -you force it you shall have the plain truth. There is -no personal feeling at all in the matter. I neither like -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>nor dislike you, and simply ask to be let alone. I am -your sister’s cook, between whom and Mr. Lynn there -cannot be even common acquaintance.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My sister’s cook!” repeated Herbert. “It is as I -suspected, a mere matter of pride on your part.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” said Elsie desperately. “It is a matter of -bread and butter. As your sister’s cook I am earning -good wages, that are of incalculable value to those -I love and for whom I work. If I lose my place, it -means deprivation and distress. Can you not see my -reason and be generous?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Generous, most certainly; but not for any reason -you advance. I am not under my sister’s dominion.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But I am; and if I in any way incur her displeasure, -I shall suffer for it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not through me,” said Herbert stoutly. “I shall -take good care of that.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You can only do it by refusing to notice me any -further; a favor which I particularly request.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do not know that I ever before flatly refused a -lady’s request; but this time I am compelled to do -so by circumstances beyond my control.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The mischief in Herbert’s eyes was too much for -Elsie’s volatile nature, and she greeted his audacious -statement with a ripple of laughter which she bitterly -regretted a second later.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There!” he exclaimed. “I am glad the statuesque -repose of the De Veres has been broken. I think we -shall understand each other soon.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We do now,” said Elsie hastily. “I cannot speak -any plainer.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>“Well, I can; but here we are, and while we walk -the rest of the way home I’ll endeavor to be explicit. -Please take my arm.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was no help for it. Eight or ten blocks intervened -between them and the Mason mansion; it was -dark and physical fear prevented Elsie’s refusal of the -proffered escort.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now,” said Herbert as she meekly placed her -hand on his arm, “things are just to my satisfaction. -As regards your place, it shall be yours indefinitely -so far as I am concerned. I promise not -to annoy you in any way—that is, whenever I think -that way is consistent with my way. I admire your -sister very much, and she has already accepted my -offer of comradeship, which, by the way, shows her good -sense. As for her rebellious little sister, I shall be just -as much her good friend as if she were forty times a -queen in her own right, which she undoubtedly is. She -cannot prevent my admiration of her independence -and heroism if she snubs me twenty times a day, as, -judging from the past, I presume she will. That, however, -will be the least of my distress, so I succeed in -making her believe I am not a wolf in sheep’s clothing. -I assure you, upon the honor of a gentleman, that I -shall be guilty of no more reprehensible act than to -claim the kindly consideration of one friend for another.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie found it difficult to frame a reply. Animosity -was fast breaking down before the simple, candid words, -and in its place had come a not wholly definable sense -of companionship that was strangely sweet.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>“But the social gulf——” she began feebly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A fig for it! Are you not of that heretical sect -which believes only in an aristocracy of moral worth -and cultivated brains? Are you going to deny me -the privilege of proving my claim to distinction among -you? Your sister has already outlined your little -evenings to me, and I am going——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To do what?” asked Elsie quickly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Look in upon you occasionally, that is all. You -fancied I was going to apply for a membership. I am -afraid if I should, one of its brightest members would -stay away. But we are almost home, and you haven’t -told me yet that you have forgiven my unintentional -transgression of the conventionalities this afternoon; -nor have you promised to believe in my integrity and -good-will.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I promise on one condition,” said Elsie, stopping -suddenly. “There is only half a block further; let me -go alone. It would be so unfortunate for me if—if -any one saw us together.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Certainly, if you wish it. I suppose there is no -law to prevent my walking a few steps behind you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I don’t think there is any law anywhere for you. -Good-night,” and with Herbert’s laugh ringing in her -ears Elsie hastened down the area steps and swung -open the kitchen door.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>“Elsie,” said Mrs. Mason the following morning, -“I am going to give a reception in my brother’s honor -to-morrow evening, and I shall put the dining-room -and kitchen in the hands of the caterer. If you like -you may assist Mary and Martha in the toilet-rooms -during the evening.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Very well,” answered Elsie soberly; but there was -a light in her eyes which made Mrs. Mason say interrogatively, -“You are pleased at the change?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Indeed I am! I shall see a little of the pageantry -of life, and I love to look at beautiful things, fair ladies, -and brave men. The whole thing will be a living picture, -and while I hand a pin to this one, or a fan to -that, I shall be stealing something that will be neither -coats nor diamonds.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Something less tangible, but more valuable, perhaps.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am not so sure of its value as I am of its pleasure.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Pleasure in what way?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“In the way that a rose is just as beautiful to my -eyes as to those of a princess; in the way that this reception -will be just as much for me as if I wore satins -instead of a house-maid’s cap and apron.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie had been for the nonce aroused from her usual -reserve, and as she caught the coldly critical glance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>which Mrs. Mason bestowed upon her, she exclaimed -eagerly: “I beg your pardon, Mrs. Mason. I did not -mean to inflict my small enthusiasms upon you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I was only thinking,” replied Mrs. Mason, “that -the world seems to open a vista of enjoyment for you -which many apparently more fortunate would give -half their years to possess. What is the secret of your -happiness?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“‘Secret?’ I have none, unless it is that I am still -a child, in heart at least, and accept life as unquestioningly.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But by and by the heart of the child will have -grown old, and you will be like the rest of us, tired, -disappointed, doubting.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was a note of sadness in Mrs. Mason’s voice -that appealed at once to Elsie’s tender sympathies. -Involuntarily she reached out a hand as if to lay it -upon the white jewelled one of her mistress; but with -a sudden start of recollection she drew back and said -simply: “There is so much in this world to hope for, -so much that may be had even by the poorest, that -disappointment and doubt need affect one only as -externals. I hope I may never grow wise if wisdom -brings only bitterness of spirit.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason made no reply; she was watching the -fine mobile face before her, with its blending of pride -and guilelessness. “The girl gains on one so,” she -mused, “that I could almost make her friend instead -of servant, if it were not for——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>At this juncture Elsie, uneasy under the prolonged -scrutiny of the gray eyes, asked hesitatingly: “Do -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>you wish anything further, Mrs. Mason? May I go -now?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You might have gone some time since,” was the -calm reply, given with all the iciness of manner she -knew so well how to apply to the impulsive girl.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie’s face flushed painfully as she left the room. -Mrs. Mason smiled grimly as she saw it. “I treat that -girl horribly sometimes; but it is the only way I can -preserve the proprieties.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The next evening, when everything had been put to -rights in the kitchen, Elsie and Jenie, the little maid -of the scullery, climbed the back stairs with many a -ripple of laughter. They were deeply engaged in the -all-important subject of dress, and were as keen in -their enjoyment of the good points of attire as many -a society belle who would grace the Mason parlors.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, but you are just lovely,” exclaimed enraptured -Jenie as Elsie invested herself in a cheap lawn of rose -pink, and fastened a coquettish lace cap above her curls -in place of the frilled muslin of every day. The dress -was as straight and plain as that of a Puritan maid; -but the soft lace of a Martha Washington fichu and -a jaunty lace-trimmed apron with pink bows on the -pockets, created a costume that only needed the dark -eyes and tinted cheeks of the wearer to complete it.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I lack one thing,” said Elsie, critically surveying -herself in the glass. “I wish I had one of those Bonsilene -roses that the florist has massed in the parlors. -I’m going to ask Mrs. Mason for one.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I wouldn’t,” said Jenie. “I’d just take one. It -would never be missed.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>“Jenie,” laughed Elsie as she placed a hand under -the little maid’s chin, “I should miss it, and that -would be the worst miss of all. I like to keep my -fingers clean, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, it ain’t like takin’ clothes and such like.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not exactly; but all the same it <em>is</em> taking what -doesn’t belong to me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It’s such a little thing I wouldn’t have minded it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is the ‘littles’ that make us, Jenie. Lookout -for the little foxes and the lions will keep away. Now, -let me see how you look. As sweet and clean as a -whistle. Let me straighten your cap. Dear me, there’s -a button off your shoe. I must sew that on right away. -It doesn’t look ladylike, you know, to go with the buttons -off.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Jenie laughed. “Me a lady!” she exclaimed as if -the idea were preposterous.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To be sure,” said Elsie seriously. “You can be just -as much a lady in your work as Mrs. Mason in hers.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Humph! She’d laugh at me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That wouldn’t affect the fact, and nobody will -laugh at you for respecting yourself. Only you must -lookout that you don’t think so much of yourself that -you neglect your duty. People would have a right to -laugh at you then. Now I’m going for the rose;” -and having seen that Jenie’s belongings were in order, -she opened the door and started for the lower hall, -humming a gay chansonette and emphasizing its tune -with a step as graceful as if art, not nature, had -prompted it. Herbert Lynn’s door stood open, and -unseen by Elsie, he watched the lively patter of a pair -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>of bronze slippers along the hall with a light that was -somewhat deeper than amusement in his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Good-evening!” he exclaimed as Elsie neared his -door. “These buttons on my glove are a trifle refractory. -May I beg you to fasten them?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The song on her lips met instant suppression as she -glanced up with heightened color into the blue eyes -that were smiling down at her. It seemed to Elsie -that it was rare good fortune which sent James at that -moment across the hall.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“James,” she called, “Mr. Lynn would like to have -you button his glove,” and without pausing a second -Elsie walked soberly along the hall to Mrs. Mason’s -room. Herbert bit his lips in vexation, and re-entering -his room, he slammed the door in no very amiable -frame of mind.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The witch!” he exclaimed, throwing himself into a -chair and scowling like a thunder-cloud. “How cavalierly -she does treat me! Jove! isn’t she lovely in that -cheap finery! She ought to ‘walk in silk attire and siller -hae to spare’ instead of being doomed to the round -of Helen’s pots and pans. How unequally the good -things of life seem to be distributed, and how singular -it is to find such pride of character in a girl occupying -her position in life. Well, I’d give ‘Jupiter and his -power to thunder’ to break that stubborn pride of hers, -and I’ll do it or die in the attempt.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A look of resolute will settled over the bright, almost -boyish, face and gave it an added strength and beauty, -which struck Elsie wonderingly as a moment later she -encountered him in the hall with her hands full of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>roses. He bestowed upon her only the slightest nod -as he passed rapidly down the stairs, and Elsie climbed -to her room and pinned the roses at throat and belt -with a feeling that something had taken the glamor -from the evening’s enjoyment.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I don’t care,” said she defiantly. “I knew my hands -would tremble if I tried to fasten those buttons; besides, -I don’t thank him for noticing me in the least. -I’m only ‘Elsie the cook’ and he knows it, for all of -his pleadings to the contrary. I just want him to let -me alone, and there’s all there is of it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>This stalwart enunciation of wishes was not wholly -borne out by the misty eyes that greeted her from the -glass, and it required several little pattings of her -handkerchief to clear them so that she dare trust herself -in the waiting-room below. The guests were already -arriving as Elsie entered the dressing-rooms, -and her services were at once called into requisition -in undoing trains, buttoning gloves and slippers, making -up faces and arms, and arranging dishevelled coiffures. -More than one quick glance was bestowed by -the guests upon the pretty maid in pink who so deftly -ministered to their various needs, and one tall, statuesque -girl of superb grace and unusual elegance of -costume attempted to slip a dollar into Elsie’s hands -as she was about to leave the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I beg your pardon,” said Elsie, flushing. “I—I -cannot accept the money. Mrs. Mason pays me for -my work.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The lady laughed as she tapped Elsie’s cheek with -her fan. “You must be a new acquisition of Helen’s. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>I do not remember to have seen you before, and as -for the money, my dear child, I always bestow it upon -those who serve and please me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It doesn’t seem right for me to take it,” replied -Elsie; “and I hope you won’t think me ungrateful if -I refuse.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Why, if you will be so quixotic I will not urge it -upon you, of course; but you are the first of your class -I ever remember to refuse a gift. I must congratulate -Helen on her rare good fortune. Your action is quite -unusual, I assure you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>At the first opportunity Elsie turned to Martha and -Mary, who had smiled audibly behind their handkerchiefs -at witnessing the little scene. “Did I do anything -wrong?” she asked pitifully.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Don’t know as it’s very wrong,” answered Martha, -“but it’s awful silly, and you’ll find out that the tips -the rich folks give you’ll buy lots o’ nice things.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“If that’s all I don’t care,” said Elsie. “I don’t -want to be rude.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Why didn’t you want it?” asked Mary curiously.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Because I am paid by Mrs. Mason for my work, -and because somehow it touched my pride to be offered -money for nothing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Martha and Mary laughed. “That’s a queer pride -of your’n, Elsie. I never seen none like it before,” exclaimed -Martha.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is a pride I hope that harms no one; not even -myself.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I don’t know about that! You’ll always get left -if you stand too much on your dignity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>“Not if I am faithful in my work, and that I mean -to be.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The evening was after all a great delight to Elsie, -who never allowed any misgiving to long cloud her -skies. The beautiful costumes, the light laughter, the -gay banter, the strains of music that floated up-stairs -from the mandolin orchestra stationed in the library -behind banks of ferns and roses, all seemed a dream -from the fairyland of the imagination. She hovered -over the balusters in the hall, and watched the moving -panorama below with all the intoxication of youth in -bright and beautiful things. Later in the evening she -crept down-stairs with the other maids, and hiding herself -behind a screen of palms in the hall, could see in -the drawing-room beyond the bevy of belles and beaux -in the exercise of all the graces of refined intercourse. -She could see that Herbert Lynn was everywhere welcomed -by bright eyes and cordial words, and a little -pang of regret shot through her heart at the injustice -of fate. But it was only for a moment, and then, with -an effort of will so strong that it sent the blood out -of her face, she trampled the rising regret to death.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I will not, I will not,” she said between set teeth, -as she walked wearily along the hall to her room when -the last guest had departed.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You’ve dropped your roses,” said Herbert’s voice -behind her just as she reached the foot of the stairs.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No matter,” she said, half-turning. “A withered -rose is valueless.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not to me,” he replied emphatically, as he gathered -them up and deliberately placed them inside his vest.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>A look of innocent wonder swept over Elsie’s face, -that was not altogether successful in its effort to appear -natural. “A wilted rose, I suppose, will answer -for a rose-jar! There are oceans in the parlors, and I -can bring you a panful if you wish.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert took a quick step that brought him to -Elsie’s side. “Elsie Murchison,” he exclaimed half-savagely, -“do you know I never was baffled in my -life?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“First times have come to a good many of the -world’s conquerors. Mr. Lynn would be a most notable -exception if he continued an unbroken line of victories.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You may mock me as you choose. I have been -candid to the verge of bluntness with you, and you -know very well I am desirous of obtaining your friendship.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And you know very well,” answered Elsie, all the -brightness dying out of her face and leaving it gray -and cold, “that there is no friendship possible between -us. I resolutely refuse to consider the slightest chance -of such a thing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Stung to the quick, Herbert turned on his heel, saying -vehemently, “Very well. So emphatic a statement -as that must be heeded; but I am very much -mistaken if you do not some day regret it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie had never known such a weariness of body as -she carried up the long flight of stairs to her room, -and it was with a feeling of having been hunted and -driven to bay that she threw herself across the bed -and burst into tears. All the pent-up feeling of years -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>seemed to burst its bonds as sob after sob shook the -slight frame and floods of tears rolled their tempestuous -way over her cheeks. At last the force of the -storm was spent and she sat up in bed, weak but relieved.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I couldn’t have been fiercer if I’d been Vesuvius -in action,” she said ruefully as she tried to collect her -scattered senses. “But I’ve done one virtuous act, -anyway! ‘Regret it!’ Ah, if he only knew the silly -little heart I carry here, and how heavy it is and always -will be! Meg, dear, duty didn’t find your little -Elsie on the coward’s side, after all, and yet how I -should have enjoyed saying ‘Thank you, sir,’ after the -regulation order. He’ll forget all about me in a day -or two, and it is a good deal better than if I had tried -the miserable farce of friendship only to have it surely -end in trouble. Now I’m the only one to suffer, and -henceforth I shall look upon myself as quite a heroine. -I don’t think there’s much fun in being one, though,” -and with this doleful reflection Elsie, like a sensible -girl, turned off the gas and went to bed. If her sleep -had not the peace of the care-free, it was yet sufficiently -healthy to bring back the color to her cheeks -and the lustre to her eyes, and no one dreamed of the -tempest of pain that had swept over her the night -before.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>The week following Elsie’s memorable visit to Idlewild -found Margaret and Gilbert domiciled in rooms -some ten blocks removed from the Mason mansion; -that being the nearest approach of cheap rents to the -aristocratic thoroughfare. The rooms were situated -in an apartment-house, as such are nowadays called -under the approved nomenclature of progressive ideas; -but the building was some decades behind its imposing -name. It was indeed a type of the old shabbily-built, -inconvenient, and miasma-breeding tenement-house. -It was a long, narrow, five-storied structure, -poorly lighted and equally as poorly ventilated; but it -was in fact the only house with a reasonable rent -which could be found near enough to Elsie to warrant -a nightly visit from her. Margaret chose, out of several -vacant rooms, four in the fifth story, because in these -she had both light and air, and she felt she could better -endure the inconvenience of the four long flights of -stairs than the absence of two such essentials to health -and comfort. The condition of the halls, which the -majority of the tenants seemed to consider a lodging-place -for refuse of various kinds, was a terrible eyesore -to her housewifely instincts, and she had not been -many days in her new quarters before she put her -wits to work to effect a change in their untidy aspect. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>So far as her own flight of stairs and its contiguous -hallways were concerned, the solution was simply a -compound of soap, water, and muscle; but when it -came to the consideration of those below her, something -like generalship was needed to induce the desired -cleanliness. To perform an undue share of the public -work did not by any means enter into her scheme of -the general good. The responsibility of the individual -was the one hobby, if such it could be called, which -Margaret permitted herself. To arouse the latent instinct -of self-dependence and development was an almost -unconscious exhalation of the sturdy faith which -had always made circumstances only a means unto an -end, and that end the uplifting of the better elements -of character. To be her brother’s keeper in so far as -that keeping could induce a heartfelt aspiration or a -simple kindness, had been but an outgrowth of the -unselfishness of her aims. Few people looked with as -lenient an eye upon the shortcomings of humanity, or -were actuated by as sincere a desire to lend a hand to -retrieve a false step, as Margaret Murchison. Yet it -was with a good deal of delicacy that she reviewed -the means whereby she might bring an air of greater -thrift and cleanliness into the desolate halls below. -Like all refined and sensitive people, she felt a hesitancy -about bringing even an inferential reflection of -uncleanliness upon those whose co-operation she desired.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It will be impossible to do it,” she sighed, “until -I have made their acquaintance, and won their confidence. -They will be distrustful and think in their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>vernacular that I am putting on airs if I broach the -subject before.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>If the condition of the halls dismayed Margaret, the -condition of the living-rooms of the inmates of the -building was much more disheartening. Not that -poverty in its severest aspect was present, for in nearly -all cases the rooms were occupied by the families of -porters, office clerks, and under salesmen, and although -a decent amount of food and clothing was to be had -by the closest economy, there was such a lack of homeness -that it turned Margaret heart-sick. The women -were, for the most part, good-natured, well-intentioned -souls, but tried beyond endurance in the almost hopeless -task of making both ends meet on the scanty dole -of the one wage-earner. Children were everywhere; -for whatever other blessings may be denied the toiler, -the children always come to lighten his heart and -empty his pocket. Ambition was well-nigh dead in -their bosoms; for the daily grind of hard work, the -lowering cloud of capitalistic oppression, and the constantly-increasing -tide of mongrel, half-starved immigrants, -who stood ever ready to snatch the crust from -their lips, had left very little opportunity for the -better classes of American workingmen to look forward -with any degree of hope.</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was a wholesomeness about Margaret that -made both men and women trust her, and with the -natural volubility of their class, the women had poured -the whole story of their daily struggles into her willing -ears before she had been ten days in the house. -There were twelve families in the building, a number -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>of rooms being unoccupied; and barren as had been -Margaret’s own life in the little parsonage at Barnley, -and later at Idlewild, she felt that it had been a broad -way of peace and plenty beside the narrow line of these -toilers. With her, above meagre outlines and practical -details had been the wide field of growth, the plenitude -of hope, and the infinite realm of thought. With -these people, cabined and confined year in and year -out within smoke-begrimed walls, life had become a -sordid round of ministering to material needs, with no -blue skies to call their eyes upward or song of birds -to awaken benumbed hearts.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I would not have thought poverty could wear so -pitiless an aspect,” she mused. “Something must be -done to bring back the revivifying influence of hope -to these people. But what can I do, burdened with a -like poverty, against the greed and extortion of these -capitalists? Just think of men with families compelled -to live and pay rent on six, seven, and nine dollars a -week, working twelve and fourteen hours a day, and -Sundays too, if the ‘boss’ so wills, without a penny’s -extra pay! Oh, it makes my blood boil when I see -such injustice! Is there no relief for all this? Are -there no thunderbolts of heaven to strike these slave-drivers -who compel their men to this life, by telling -them the market is overstocked with unorganized -workers, and that a body of lean and hungry wolves -stands ever ready to snatch their scanty crusts? Small -wonder that ambition dies, and that there are only -mutterings of discontent and savage envy and malignant -plottings against the mighty magnates who instigate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>and abet this monstrous cruelty. What can I do -for these overworked and disheartened mothers, these -joyless children and sullen fathers? How can I help -them to smile, to look for sunshine instead of clouds? -Out of the abundance with which I am blessed I must -devise some way.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret’s abundance was certainly not that of -money, for she had been forced into taking “slop-work” -from the factories, at forty-five cents per dozen -for men’s hickory shirts and fifty cents per dozen -pairs for men’s overalls. The winter’s indebtedness -was draining the greater share of Elsie’s abundant -wages, and Gilbert’s expenses at the training school -were already eating into the carefully-guarded one -hundred dollars that had been sent by Dr. Ely. It -was evident that what help Margaret gave could only -be that of interest and suggestion. But how to make -suggestion inoffensive, and how to stimulate ambition -without arousing antagonism, were questions which -puzzled her not a little.</p> - -<p class='c009'>One Saturday morning, returning from the factory -with her arms laden with work, she stopped at the -doors of the various rooms on her way up-stairs and -asked that all the children who were large enough -to climb the stairs be sent to her rooms in half an -hour.</p> - -<p class='c009'>How joyfully they swarmed the halls long before -the appointed time, and what a time Margaret had -counting them! Forty-eight above five years and the -eldest not above nine. “How many go to school?” she -asked as she ranged them along the wall.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>Fourteen little hands were raised; of these eight -were boys.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now, boys,” she exclaimed, “I’m going to begin -with you. What do you like best, or would like best, -if you could have your wish?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The answers varied from peg-tops to balloons and -locomotives.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“How many hours do you have out of school?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“School’s out at four.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Till half-after six, then—two good hours. Now, -how many are willing to work to earn money?” Every -hand went up. “Well, after four o’clock to-night I -want you to come up again to see my brother Gilbert. -He has fitted up a work-bench in one of the rooms, and -those of you who are willing to work, and work hard, -for two straight hours a day, can earn some money -by and by. It will not be so much fun, perhaps, as -racing through the halls, sliding down the stairs, or -playing out in the street; but it will buy the peg-tops -and locomotives one of these days, and there isn’t -much in this world we can have without paying for it -in one way or another. Are you all agreed?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You bet!” came the unanimous response. Margaret -smiled as she turned to the girls.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“How many know how to sew?” Not a single hand -was raised. “How many are willing to learn?” Every -hand in the room went up. “Boys and all,” exclaimed -Margaret. “Now let’s make a test. Who has a button -off his shoe?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Jimmy! Johnnie! Nell! Sue! Mary! Jane! Jack!” -sang out the noisy chorus.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>“Down on the floor, every one of you. Now, I’ll -furnish needles, thread, and buttons, and I want every -one who has a button off to sew it on, and sew it -strongly, too. Now, the one who sews a button on the -best and quickest shall have that card,” and Margaret -pointed to a brilliant chromo-lithograph of angels with -impossible wings and beatific smiles.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, my!” chorused the girls.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Jiminy crickets!” ejaculated the boys, with now -and then a more forcible expletive thrown in. It took -some time for the clumsy little fingers to get to work; -but Margaret, noting down time and names, kept close -tally, and at last pronounced every button in its place, -and proclaimed the name of the winner of the prize.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now,” said Margaret, “this is not all. If every -little child here will agree to keep the buttons on his -shoes, I’ll give every one, at the end of a month, a -still handsomer card, and by that time perhaps the -boys will have learned how to make frames for them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“All right!” “Betcher sweet life!” “You’re a -trump!” “Bully for you!” were the expressive answers -with which this proposition was met.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I want to get up a little club among ourselves and -call it the ‘Busy Fingers Club,’” Margaret went on, -“and I want to see how much real good work this -little club can do. I expect to be mistress of the club, -and the first thing I shall ask will be to see how neat -and clean you can keep yourselves. Now, take this -hand-glass and begin at the head, and tell me how -many are sure that their faces are as clean as soap and -water can make them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>It was a shamefaced little group as the glass was -passed from hand to hand, and hitherto unnoticed -and unthought-of streaks and specks came into view. -The girls eyed each other askance and surreptitiously -applied their aprons to several more obtrusive marks, -but the boys made no attempt at self-improvement and -shouted their approval when one of the older ones exclaimed: -“Boys and dirt go together. ’Tain’t no use -to try to keep clean.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Trying does a great deal in this world, and I suspect -it is equal to making a boy declare war upon dirt. -We’ll hope it is, anyway.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Thereupon Margaret proceeded to state the plan -and laws governing the Busy Fingers Club, whereby -every member was to become an important factor in -the great work of self-government and improvement. -When all the details had been submitted, the children -gathered around her enthusiastically. “It’s just the -jolliest thing,” they cried. “We’ll work like tigers so -long’s you’re our captain.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>And they did. Under Gilbert’s tutelage the boys -developed skill and industry in wood-carving and amateur -cabinet work, while the girls from big to little -grew deft in the use of the needle, and lifted many a -burden from the shoulders of tired mothers in timely -patching and darning. Elsie became deeply interested -in Margaret’s efforts, and begged silks and velvets -from Mrs. Mason for the girls’ fancy work, which was -one day supplemented by a huge bundle containing -everything in the line of material for such work. The -bundle was sent anonymously, and great was the wonder -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>of the girls and Margaret as to its source. If Elsie -guessed she was discreetly silent about it, although she -was possessed of no small curiosity to know how the -scheme had become so well advertised. Her wonder -would have been greater, if her curiosity had been -less, could she have seen the companion of Lizzette in -her daily walks between market and station, and some -times to the very door of Margaret’s hive of industry. -Since the evening she had so resolutely refused to -consider the possibility of association between them, -Elsie had not encountered Herbert Lynn. Once or -twice she had caught a glimpse of him in library or -dining-room as she passed up-stairs to her daily interview -with Mrs. Mason, but he had always seemed entirely -unconscious of her proximity. Evidently the -whim which had seized him had passed, and Elsie assured -herself, with somewhat remarkable frequency, -that she was glad the young man’s reason had returned, -and that having been “baffled” at last, she hoped he -would not be so boastful in the future.</p> - -<p class='c009'>One morning, some three weeks after Margaret’s removal -to the city, Lizzette left Antoine at Margaret’s -door with a hurried exclamation.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I haf not ze moment to spare. I haf ze business -engagement zis morning. I no return perhaps zese -several hour. Delay not ze dinner for me,” and with -a kiss upon Antoine’s cheek, she hastened down the -stairs. Half-way up the block she gave a signal to a -gentleman driving leisurely along on the opposite side -of the street. A second later he drew rein at the curbstone, -and alighting, assisted Lizzette to the seat beside -him.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>“O Herbeart!” she exclaimed, “I know not how -to tank you. You haf given me ze hope once more. -Mon Dieu! Eef eet be true ze light of my life vill -shine again.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is only a hope as yet,” he answered, “for I was -not sufficiently posted about his case to enter into -particulars. However, this morning’s interview will -probably determine it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And ze docteur assure you he tink Antoine can be -made to walk?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There is a chance for him, he thinks, but it will -be months of pain and tedium for the poor boy.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And after zat zen his music vill make him ze grand -maestro, and I need not to toil till my hands—see!” -and she drew off a shabby cotton glove, “be so like -ze iron. Antoine ze grand maestro, and Lizzette ze—ze—lady,” -and she gave an arch glance, half-smile and -half-tear, up at Herbert’s sympathetic face. “Ah, eet -ees ze dream of fairy land!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert smiled down at the wrinkled brown face -with the affectionate sympathy of the old boyish days, -and Lizzette grasped his hand and patted it softly. -“Eet ees all so dear zat I haf mon garçon Herbeart -to do zis for me in my old age. I could take ze loan—Antoine -sall repay—from no one so easy as my Herbeart. -Eet ees no offence zat I say eet seems like von -of ze family?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Offence! No,” laughed Herbert. “I don’t hedge -myself around with any absurd notions of caste, although -E— By the way, what a peculiar little body -your friend Elsie Murchison is!”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>Lizzette’s eyes twinkled, but she was resolutely obtuse. -“Je ne vous comprend pas! Please explain.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, well, she is so—so—proud.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette laughed. “Elsie! ze cook de votre sœur -Madam Mason!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, cook, cook, cook!” exclaimed Herbert vehemently. -“She’s thrown that in my face a half-dozen -times, and now you do the same. What’s the matter -with all of you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ze matter ees wiz you, Herbeart. Vot do you -care to know ma petite Elsie?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Because she is the most charming person I ever -met. You needn’t look so incredulous. There’s an -originality and a sweet womanliness about her that is -exceedingly rare in these days. I suppose I may as -well tell you the whole story of what first attracted -me, although I shall enjoin secrecy upon you,” and -thereupon Herbert proceeded to relate the scene in -the parlor which he had witnessed several weeks before. -Lizzette’s enjoyment of the recital was keenly portrayed -in her sparkling eyes and expressive features.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, zat Elsie!” she exclaimed. “She ees such a -witch!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A most unapproachable one, too,” answered Herbert. -“I had a strong desire to make her acquaintance -after the unconscious revelation I witnessed, for I felt -that it would not hurt a certain conscious complacency -of mine to brush it against the rugged sense and keen -satire of such a nature, and you know, Lizzette, that -I don’t care a fig for the creeds of society. I can recognize -a gentleman in the man who drives my coach, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>if he exhibits the qualities of one. But your Miss -Elsie is decidedly averse to any advances in that direction. -In fact, she has snubbed me so emphatically -that I can’t help thinking she has a personal dislike -for me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, Herbeart, you reason like ze boy. I know -Elsie haf ze desire to please your sister, and Helen! -ze hurricane ees no comparison to her anger eef her -only brother should disgrace——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Take back that word, Lizzette!” exclaimed Herbert -hotly. “Disgrace and Herbert Lynn never went -together, and never will, please God. It is no disgrace -to love—what is beautiful and right.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette caught at his words quickly. “Tell me, -Herbeart, ees eet only ze passing fancy, or ze strong -man’s love?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The blood flamed into Herbert’s face as he answered -passionately: “Would to heaven it <em>was</em> only a passing -fancy; but I am afraid the ugly truth is that I’m in -love, as it is called, for the first time in my life.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“C’est triste! C’est triste!” murmured Lizzette. -“Helen vill be zo angry, and eet ees so—so—out of ze -right vay.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Nonsense!” exclaimed Herbert. “The right way -doesn’t depend upon any old-world ideas of aristocracy. -Were I ten times a King Cophetua, I should sue my -little maid right royally, if there were only a little less -scorn in her eyes. I tell you, Lizzette, there is so -much unhappiness bred in this world by false ideas as -to what is due to position, and there are so many mercenary -and loveless marriages, that I am sick of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>whole empty pageant. I cannot see that I am to -blame because I happened to be the only son of a -millionaire, nor do I feel bound to render myself miserable -for life to please the whims of those who enjoin -certain obligations upon the possessor of a little inflated -position. As regards Elsie, I’d give a good deal -to be able to lift her out of that drudgery, even if—yes, -I’m so far gone as that—I never saw her again. -Can’t you help me to help her, Lizzette?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eet ees all ze grave meestake, Herbeart. Elsie -ees so—so vot you call independent zat she no take -von sou in charity. I can see no vay except you forget -her and leave her to her own place. Eet ees often -so mooch meestake to marry beneath von too.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That isn’t the question, at least not now. Such -gifts as Elsie’s ought to be put to better use than the -making of sauces and salads in Helen’s kitchen——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I take eet you vould not mind eef ze talent vas -changed to Herbeart’s kitchen,” interrupted Lizzette. -“Zat ees just like ze man; he want eferysing to -himself.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You wouldn’t have found me quite so selfish if you -had waited a moment. I only desire a chance for the -best development of Elsie’s gifts. Now I needn’t appear -in this matter, and a few thousand dollars, I’m -sure, couldn’t be more worthily bestowed.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Non, non,” said Lizzette with a sober shake of her -head. “Elsie guess in no time, and ze cake be all -dough. Not von sou vill she take if she earn it not. -I haf tried her and I know. Zare ees only zis to hope -for, if so be you not forget her: leave her to her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>place—eet would be von bitter blow to her to lose it—and -trust to ze change in time and circumstance. Eef -some time I sall find zat ze tangle may be made straight -and no hearts break, I vill tell my Herbeart.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A dubious promise, considering the view you take -of the situation; but there is one thing you can do. -Antoine tells me Elsie is to pay for his music lessons; -let me pay for them, while you put the sum, small as -it is, in the dime savings bank to her account. That -will not be charity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Merely a loan zat Antoine sall repay!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, certainly! What strict constructionists you -and your little circle are!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Eet ees ze old-time construction of self-dependence -and respect zat I haf learned of Margaret and Elsie. -Ze self-pride ees wiz zem ze grande idée.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Good doctrine, I’ll admit; but there are times when -it is excessively inconvenient.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Such times as mon Herbeart like to play ze philanthropist, -eh? Neffer mind, I feel ze day come ven -ze vay vill open for ze help you like to gif to humanity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But I am decidedly indifferent to humanity in general. -My philanthropy is specific.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And goes no more beyond ze rosy cheeks and -bright eyes of a pretty girl! Fie! fie! Herbeart, zose -bright eyes transfix you wiz zere scorn if she know -zat. So often I sees zem dimmed wiz tears ovair ze -pain, ze loss, ze trial of ze vide strange vorld. So -often she vish for money zat she might build up ze -strength of independence for ze suffering. Ah, you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>tink you know ma petite Elsie. Je vous dis, zat she -haf ze heart of ze angel in her breast. L’homme zat -vin ze love of ma petite sall take heaven to his home.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Amen,” said Herbert reverently.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But eet will not be ze selfish heaven; eet sall be -so vide as ze earth, so long as ze life!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Lizzette!” exclaimed Herbert with a start. “All -this shames me, for I realize the selfishness of my aims. -But let me once win Elsie, and by all that is sacred I -promise to be as wax in her hands.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette regarded Herbert’s flushed face with grave -eyes. “I tink you meestake her still. To vin ze spurs -and vear zem make ze knight in her eyes, I fancy.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, well, I see you are bound to convince me that -the way is difficult; but I do not despair yet. To tell -the truth, it is a new and somewhat depressing knowledge -to learn of how little value Herbert Lynn is in -this world. He always fancied himself quite a personage -until he chanced on your quixotic circle.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lizzette’s eyes twinkled. “Eet ees good sometimes -to see ourselves in ze truthful mirror of unflattering -eyes. Still I do not tink mon Herbeart ees all so bad. -I haf some fond hope for him yet.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is fortunate that you have; for with the unpleasant -truths I’ve been hearing lately, there is great -danger in my finding this world a hollow mockery and -betaking myself to a monastery. But here we are! -Now for a consultation with Dr. M——. We shall -know the truth about Antoine’s case soon, and then, if -favorable, we can tell the lad what the future has in -store for him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>Glancing up, Lizzette saw before her the façade of -a large hospital, into which they were speedily ushered. -It did not take long to establish the fact that so far -as could be determined without actual examination -there was hope for Antoine, and it was safe enough -to arouse the lad’s anticipations; a thing which Lizzette -had hesitated about doing without strong presumption -of success. A personal examination the -following day gave still greater color to hope, and -with glowing anticipations for the future, it was settled -that within two weeks Antoine should take up his -abode for six months at the hospital.</p> - -<p class='c009'>That night Elsie and Antoine held high carnival, -and between them there was a wild commingling of -laughter, tears, kisses, and music. Every now and -then Elsie would turn from the organ to print a kiss -on the lad’s pale cheek, and Antoine would throw -down fiddle and bow to clasp his arms around her neck -and whisper:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Only think, Elsie, if it hadn’t been for Herbert all -this would never have happened. Isn’t he good!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XV.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>It was the night before Antoine’s departure for the -hospital, and already April breaths were balmy with -Southland odors. Through the open windows of -Margaret’s room there floated down to passers-by the -vanishing strains of a deftly-handled violin. Antoine -and Elsie were giving a farewell concert to Margaret’s -Busy Fingers Club, and the strains of music had drawn -first one inmate of the house and then another up the -long flights of stairs until the rooms were full. It was -a treat to which the children had long been looking -forward, and their elders found a short surcease of -care in the delight and abandon of the two untrained -musicians. Elsie and Antoine were in their gayest -mood, and violin and organ seemed to laugh with -them. Like the birds they had tried to imitate a year -ago, music seemed to be innate in their breasts, and -they flung off gay quicksteps, ariettas, and rondos until -hands, feet, and heads of the little audience kept -almost unconscious time, and smiles flitted from face -to face in self-forgetfulness.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The music came in fitful gusts through the open -windows, and passers-by paused to listen, seemingly -loth to lose a note of the gladness trembling on the -air. Across the street in the shadow of a portico -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>a man had stood for some time in a listening attitude, -and as the music seemed to grow madder and merrier, -a certain restlessness became apparent in shifting feet, -and an uneasy tapping of fingers on the wooden column -against which he leaned.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Antoine is gay to-night,” he thought. “Hope has -been awakened in his breast, and if it were not that I -might seem to be seeking his thanks I should climb -the stairs and make myself known to them. I wonder -if my Lady Scornful would be as unbending to-night -as she is within my sister’s walls! I’m strongly -tempted to try her—yet I’m afraid it would be an unwise -thing to do; for as Lizzette counsels, it is best to -await developments. What an extraordinary position -this is for me, anyway! I’ve tried my best to reason -it out on one of Helen’s hypotheses, but it all comes -point-blank against the fact that life isn’t worth living -without that little bunch of spitefulness. And, after -all, she moves in an orbit that is distinctly outside of -mine and with which, to tell the truth, I have very -little sympathy. She and her sister are charming -types of self-cultured women, and worthy of any man’s -or society’s recognition; but their quixotic notions -regarding a regenerated humanity seem the veriest -nonsense to me. Every man for himself—et sauve qui -peut is, as the world makes it, a fairly good doctrine. -What is the use of being burdened with the sins and -sorrows of the world? I don’t consider myself responsible -for them or that they would be materially -lessened if I threw away my money in clothing the -sans culottes. Such people are as ragged as ever the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>next day after your philanthropy, and you are certainly -none the better for it. Indeed, the leaven of -generosity, like that of love, ought to have a narrow -circle; it grows too pale if you widen it. And yet -those two slender girls would build up a social paradise -in which the ignoble qualities of humanity have -no part. Greed, avarice, jealousy, insincerity, are entirely -eliminated from their scheme of life. Surely in -their position they must have encountered all these -evils, and still they ignore them! They look upon -others as themselves in replica, at least in motive. A -natural conclusion, no doubt, but one the facts do not -bear out. One may safely prophesy regarding the outcome -of these Eutopian ideas. There never can be, -never will be, anything but the survival of the fittest. -I suppose if Elsie heard me she would say that the -fittest ought to include the majority at least, and that -it is in the hands of the fittest to help the unfit to become -fit. But that is what Christianity has been trying -to do all these years, and still the cry is, ‘save us -or we perish.’ These slender girls, hearing this cry, -have offered their empty hands to the multitude. And -the result? Well, from what Lizzette tells me of that -little club of Margaret’s, the outlook is by no means -disheartening; but how will it be as the circle widens? -How much of heart and hope—for it is all they have—will -they be able to bring into the work? I rather imagine -that unknown quantity is beyond my arithmetic -at present. How long am I going to be content to -let this pathetic little drama go on? Elsie seems to -have locked the door against me in that pitiful plea of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>hers not to jeopardize her standing with my sister, -and I am more completely shut out of her sympathies -than if I were the beggar at her door. Even Lizzette -shakes that sage head of hers and says it is not right. -Right! what’s wrong about it? If I had a perverted -taste and Elsie was coarse and ignorant, and the -chances were all against the ultimate happiness of such -a union, perhaps I might be induced to see my error. -But when did reason ever lend her balances to a man -in love? I always supposed I was sane enough until -a certain Miss Elsie Murchison took to snubbing me; -yet here I am, a love-sick boy, mooning outside of her -window, and like Benedick, ‘a college of wit-crackers -cannot flout me out of my humor.’ Dear Lady Disdain, -good-night! I’m going home to read my Shakespeare -once more and learn of my prototype how to -rail at and forget you—if I can!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was late in the afternoon of the next day, and -Margaret sat alone in her room thinking wistfully of -Antoine and the long six months of his stay at the -hospital. The lad had gone cheerfully to the loneliness -and pain before him, never doubting that the -glad promise of walking like other men and awaking -to the joy of vigorous life would be fulfilled. Indeed, -his faith was so absolute that it took away much of -the pang of separation, and Margaret and Elsie had -choked back unbidden tears and promised him a -weekly visit of long talks and merry times. Books, -violin, and a mandolin, the gift of Herbert, had been -sent with his other belongings, and a daily order for -flowers had been left by Herbert at the florist’s. All -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>that loving hands could do to smooth the painful path -had been done, and now there was nothing left but to -hope and wait. But how they all missed him! The -pale quiet face, the great dark eyes, the loving smile, -and the sweet strains of his violin had so entwined -themselves around their hearts that not to find them -daily ministers to their need seemed a sore deprivation. -“Elsie’s smile will be more infrequent now that -Antoine is no longer with us,” sighed Margaret. “I -am afraid our loved evenings will be doleful enough -without our laddie. Still there must be the same -adherence to duty wherever the lines fall, and perhaps -our progress will be all the more substantial when we -realize that hard work is our only master.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was a sudden scurrying of feet up the stairs -and several children burst breathlessly into the room. -“O Miss Margaret!” they cried, “just come and see -what some men have done to the new tenant—the -one that only moved in a week ago! They’ve just -come and took every bit of furniture, and the woman -is sick, and they took the bed from under her and left -her only a straw tick and a quilt, and she’s crying -awful, and the two little babies are squalling, and—oh! -it’s dreadful!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret quickly followed the children down two -flights of stairs, to find the scene even more pitiable -than the children had described. Upon a thin straw -mattress in the corner lay a woman with her face hidden -in her arms, while heart-rending sobs shook her -frame from head to feet, and two little children, as yet -only prattling babes, crouched beside her crying: -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>“Mamma, mamma, look up. Talk to baby. Don’t -cry! Mamma! Mamma!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret knelt beside the agonized form and softly -stroked back the hair from the face that remained -persistently hidden, and then, taking both of the wondering -babies in her lap, said softly to the group of -children at the door: “Now run away, dears, and shut -the door.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The children obeyed instantly, and Margaret remained -softly stroking the woman’s hair and hugging -the now quiet babies to her bosom. Under the soothing -influence of Margaret’s touch and presence the -violent sobbing soon ceased, and a tear-stained face, lit -up by a pair of hollow eyes, glanced up at Margaret. -One glance caused a sudden transformation in the -convulsed and agonized face, and a thin hand crept out -toward Margaret as the woman said brokenly, but in -the unmistakable voice and language of refinement: -“You are good not to pass by on the other side. -What made you come here?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Love,” said Margaret simply.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Love?” repeated the woman interrogatively. -“Love died long ago, and the devils of greed and pride -danced at his funeral.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not in all hearts, I trust. Love lives to help and -strengthen sufferers like you. Can you tell me any -way to help you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes—kill me!” The hollow eyes gleamed with -sullen despair.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And the babies?” asked Margaret as she stroked -back the rings of flaxen hair above the fair little brows.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>“Oh, God forgive me! I am so wretched, so desperate.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know it, and I do not blame you; but let us see -if there is not some way toward the sunshine. Tell -me all about it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is only a little to tell. The marriage of a petted, -only daughter, with a head full of romantic notions, -to a man whose only fortune was head and hands; but -who held, at the time of my marriage, a salaried position -as manager of a prosperous business firm. A -panic, a failure, and consequent loss of employment, -followed by unsuccessful attempts at re-establishment -in the old line, the yielding of health at the shrine of -motherhood, the gradual settling into bare and bitter -poverty, the disposal of every article of value, and -that, last resort of the impecunious, the buying of -needed furniture on the instalment plan, followed by -the forcible taking back of the furniture just before -the last payment could be made.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And your husband?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“He went out again this morning in the old, well-nigh -hopeless search for work.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Your parents?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“They live in a distant city and know nothing of -this. I married against their wishes. There were just -five dollars more due on the furniture, but the chattel-mortgage -shark exacted immediate payment, and of -course I could not meet it. He was kind enough to -leave me this,” and the thin hands pulled at the tattered -quilt.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, it is pitiful! Shameful!” exclaimed Margaret. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>“You must not be left to lie here. Can you -walk?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I haven’t walked a step in three months. Edward, -my husband, has lifted me in his arms and managed -to care for me and the babies. Oh, it is terrible, the -way we have been compelled to live.” And sobs again -shook the slight frame.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Never mind,” said Margaret soothingly. “It will -be better soon. My rooms are two flights above, so -it will be impossible to take you there, but you shall -have a comfortable bedroom and kind friends to look -after you. I shall be compelled to leave you for a -few moments, until I can ask some of these friends to -make room for you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, don’t trouble anybody! I can’t bear to be -thrown upon charity. It hurts my pride so.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We won’t call it charity; we’ll call it love. The -love that prompted the Samaritan and a greater than -he to moisten parched lips with cooling waters and -taught mankind the constant need they have of each -other.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And do you believe in Him?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“With an everlasting faith,” answered Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I did once until the inhumanity of the world made -me doubt.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Doubt no longer,” said Margaret, smiling, “for He -has raised up succor for you.” With these reassuring -words Margaret sought the rooms of several good -women of the house, to hold counsel with them and -determine the best course to pursue. Margaret’s story -evoked such a storm of indignation and invective -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>against the mortgage shark that, if it could have -gathered sufficient volume, would have swept the -whole guild from the face of the earth. And yet, one -and all counselled Margaret not to meddle with the -matter.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You can’t do nothin’ with ’em. They’ve got the -power and they know it,” was the unanimous conclusion -of the little circle.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But the injustice of it,” exclaimed Margaret. “I -can’t stand tamely by and see a helpless being robbed.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No more could we if there was any chance, but -you’ll find, the longer you live, that the poor don’t -have no justice in this world. The laws is all made -for the rich.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then it is the fault of the poor man if he has no -justice, for he is a recognized factor in the vote that -sends men to make those laws, and if he knows his -rights he can have them maintained.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, I don’t know how it is, but my man has to -vote as the boss tells him or lose his place.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Shame! Shame!” said Margaret indignantly, -“and this is America’s boasted freedom of life and -thought! But we are forgetting that poor woman. -Who among you will take her in until something can -be done?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I,” exclaimed Mrs. Smith, a motherly woman whose -rooms were on the same floor. “We’re a good deal -crowded now, but she shan’t lay there and suffer so -long as I have a crust.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Let us hope it will be only a temporary inconvenience. -I am going to find some way to unravel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>this web of injustice and regain possession of those -goods.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You’ll have your trouble for your pains,” said Mrs. -Smith dubiously as they walked along the hall.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It may be, but there will be some satisfaction in trying. -Here we are!” Margaret exclaimed as they entered -the sick woman’s room “Now we’ll make a chair of -our hands and between us carry you to Mrs. Smith’s -room, whose heart is as large as her back is broad.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You’re making it pretty big,” laughed Mrs. Smith -as she presented her ample form to the sick woman’s -view. A faint smile at the pleasantry played over the -wan face, as she allowed them to lift her to the improvised -seat and carry her to a bed.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now,” said Margaret, when their charge was safely -bestowed between clean sheets, and the babies were -softly cooing on either side of her, “I want all the information -you can give me, and all the papers you -have relative to this furniture. I am going to make -an effort to get it back.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You will find an old portfolio in the tick I was -lying on. All the receipts for money paid and the -contract are in it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>As Margaret returned with the portfolio, a sheet of -paper fell from it and fluttered to the floor. She -picked it up and was about to restore it, when the sick -woman said: “Read it. It will verify the statement -I made a few moments ago.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret glanced along the page and saw that it -was poetry written in a free-flowing hand. Seating -herself beside the bed she read:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>“O Soul, I am tired of you, tired!</div> - <div class='line in2'>You do nothing but think and feel,</div> - <div class='line in4'>And often you weep,</div> - <div class='line in4'>In some sensitive deep,</div> - <div class='line in2'>O’er wounds that you cannot heal.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“O Soul, I am tired of you, tired!</div> - <div class='line in2'>You have threaded the paths of life,</div> - <div class='line in4'>And found the sweet,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Too incomplete</div> - <div class='line in2'>To answer the pain and strife.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“O Soul, I am tired of you, tired!</div> - <div class='line in2'>You give me no peace or rest;</div> - <div class='line in4'>The blinding steep,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Or lonely deep</div> - <div class='line in2'>I walk at your stern behest.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“O Soul, I am tired of you, tired!</div> - <div class='line in2'>You have only your faith and prayer;</div> - <div class='line in4'>For every ill,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Their utterance still</div> - <div class='line in2'>Comes back on the empty air.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“O Soul, I am tired of you, tired!</div> - <div class='line in2'>How often with faith and you,</div> - <div class='line in4'>I have tried to soar</div> - <div class='line in4'>Where doubt is no more,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And humanity’s sometimes true.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“O Soul, I am tired of you, tired;</div> - <div class='line in2'>Why ask for an endless day?</div> - <div class='line in4'>I am tired of the light,</div> - <div class='line in4'>And long for the night,</div> - <div class='line in2'>To rest forever and aye!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“O Soul, I am tired of you, tired!</div> - <div class='line in2'>Go ask of Time, and find</div> - <div class='line in4'>Some quiet spot,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Where feeling is not,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And oblivion conquers mind!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>As Margaret finished reading she bent over and -kissed the white face. “Is this yours?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>“Yes, and dozens of others. They have been my -safeguard against insanity. Only when I could go -outside of myself, could I find anything to make the -barren life endurable.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Have you offered any for publication?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No; I have neither stamps nor courage.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“May I keep this?” asked Margaret, referring to -the one she had just read.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Certainly, if you like it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do, very much; and now let me see the contract -and receipts.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret found that the original bill and contract -called for one hundred and fifty dollars, but that the -expense of making mortgage and the interest had been -compounded until, although one hundred and seventy-five -dollars had been paid, it still called for a balance -of five dollars, which remaining unpaid, permitted foreclosure -and forcible seizure of the furniture.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A Shylock’s bond!” exclaimed Margaret indignantly. -“It is so manifestly unjust that I feel sure -there is a law somewhere to cover it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We knew at the time the goods were bought that -it was an unjust contract, but we had no money to pay -down, and what could we do? It is just the way the -world takes advantage of necessity. The trite maxim -that ‘sentiment and business have nothing in common’ -you’ll hear on the lips of every man in trade.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We shall hear how justice agrees with business, -then,” said Margaret, rising. “I should like to put the -bitter dose of equitable payment for these crimes -against common humanity, between the teeth of these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>sharks. At any rate, if there is no justice for such despicable -creatures it is time it was known.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Humanity has a grand defender in you,” said the -sick woman, looking admiringly at Margaret’s flushed -cheeks and flashing eyes.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not so,” she replied, shaking her head. “I know -my weakness and ignorance too well. I only recognize -the truth that the primitive idea of equal rights seems -to have been utterly lost in this avaricious world. But -so long as I have voice I shall speak for it. The good -such speaking may do remains to be seen.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret went up to her rooms and opened her -purse to see how much money she had at her command. -Of the money Dr. Ely had sent, but five dollars -remained. “If worst comes, and I cannot regain the -furniture, this will at least buy them something to eat, -and I can loan them Gilbert’s bed while he takes the -lounge, until the way is opened for something better. -Now to find a lawyer in whose hands to put the case.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Once on the street, Margaret realized that in all the -great city she knew no one to whom she might apply -for advice. She wandered down toward the business -part of the city, intently scanning signs and inwardly -praying that she might be directed to some one who, -with the profession of lawyer, combined the outlawed -sentiment of humanity. “J. Brown, Attorney,” glittered -in gilt letters before her, and up the two tall -flights of stairs she followed the beckoning sign. A -gentle rap, answered by a gruff “Come in!” and the -room of J. Brown, Attorney, opened to her view.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Is Mr. Brown in?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>“I am he. What can I do for you, madam?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I desire advice on a matter of business.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, be seated, please. You may state your case.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret lost no time in doing so, relating the pitiful -story with such succinct detail that the lawyer -beamed at her with evident admiration.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Very well stated, madam—very well, indeed. Are -these people in any way related to you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“They are entire strangers.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And you have taken up their case from pure -charity?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“From pure humanity, rather; as, indeed, I would -that another should do for me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Very admirable of you, indeed; but you are doubtless -aware that it takes money even to champion the -cause of humanity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am,” said Margaret briefly, though with sinking -heart.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then you will readily see that I can give you no -advice on this matter without cash in hand.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“How much does it require?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“In consideration of circumstances, I’ll make it -merely nominal. Say five dollars!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret arose to her feet somewhat unsteadily. -“I have but five dollars in my purse, sir,” she explained, -“and I shall need it to buy food for the sick -woman. I shall be compelled to look further.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As you like,” and J. Brown, Attorney, stiffly turned -his back on Margaret and returned only a slight acknowledgment -of her faint “Good-afternoon.” Somewhat -depressed by this encounter, Margaret wandered -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>on and entered no less than six offices, to be met with -very nearly the same treatment in every case, and the -identical result in all. “The cause of humanity cannot -be championed without money!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>These words seemed burned in on Margaret’s brain -as she left the last of these offices and stood irresolute -and disheartened upon the sidewalk. How could she -take the story of failure back to that suffering woman? -How could she bear to tell her that the promised succor -was only a chimera of her own quixotic brain? -“I’ll not do it,” she said resolutely. “I’ll go tell that -little sister of mine, and though I know her purse is -always low, perhaps her fertile brain may suggest -what my own stupefied one fails to apprehend.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret was coming up the area steps of the Mason -mansion with her purse reinforced by two dollars, the -entire contents of Elsie’s pocketbook, when she encountered -Herbert Lynn just descending from his -buggy.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Miss Murchison, I’m delighted to meet you once -again,” he exclaimed as with smiling face he advanced -to greet her. There were tears on Margaret’s cheeks -and trembling on the heavily-fringed lids of the blue -eyes. “Pardon me,” he cried solicitously. “You are -in trouble.” Margaret hastily brushed the tears away -as she answered:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Only a little overwrought. I’ve been passing -through some trying scenes to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You were going home? Let me take you there. -Fortunately my buggy is just at hand.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Thank you! I’m not going home at present. I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>have some purchases to make, and I do not like to -detain you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I have ample leisure, and it will be a new sensation -to be of some use. I beg you to command my services.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret glanced up curiously at the eager, almost -boyish, face. “Perhaps if I were to tell you my -errand you would not be so ready to offer your services. -It is not pleasant to one who cares for his own -peace of mind.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert laughed. “I shall insist now where before -I begged. Perhaps my own peace of mind will be all -the dearer by contrast.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“If you insist I accept gratefully; for the truth is, -my self-reliance is a good deal shaken.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>When they were seated in the buggy and driving -leisurely along the boulevard, Margaret said: “I am -glad I have met you, for I have a story to tell and advice -to ask.” Without further prelude she detailed -the events of the day. Herbert listened attentively -until the whole story had been told, and then, with a -new look of earnestness on his face, he exclaimed emphatically:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Miss Murchison, if there are brains enough in -C——, this dastardly outrage shall be probed to the -bottom. It is enough to make a man’s blood boil to -think of the injuries inflicted on suffering women and -children by such overpowering greed. But,” he added, -glancing at his watch, “it is five o’clock and already -past office hours. Nothing can be done until to-morrow. -If you will trust me with these papers, I -will make an early effort to-morrow to regain the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>furniture. In the mean time, allow me to supply a bed -and immediate necessaries for the sufferers.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That will not be needed,” interposed Margaret. -“I have a bed of Gilbert’s which I can loan them——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And turn the poor fellow onto the floor!” interrupted -Herbert. “That is philanthropy gone mad, -Miss Murchison. I shall insist upon supplying the bed.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am perfectly sane, Mr. Lynn,” laughed Margaret, -“and contemplate nothing worse than asking Gilbert -to occupy a lounge.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We’ll forestall that by the purchase of a bed. Now -that you’ve taken me into partnership, you must not -deny me my rights.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not if you look upon it in that light,” said Margaret -seriously. “Still I should regret it, if it seemed -a charity that was forced upon you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You would rather inconvenience yourself than ask -a favor of one whom you knew to be perfectly able to -grant it?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I should, if I thought the favor would be bestowed -as a mere matter of form, without the promptings of -a generous spirit.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“‘The gift without the giver is vain,’” quoted Herbert -musingly. “You can trust the spirit this time, -Miss Murchison,” he added, with a half smile. “It has -lighted its torch at your altar.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Thank you,” replied Margaret gratefully, “but -only for the time being, I am sure. The embers are -glowing on the home shrine.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Belief from such a source is most highly treasured,” -commented Herbert smilingly. “Now that you have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>complimented me so generously, perhaps you will tell -me what I must do to deserve it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Buy the bedstead,” said Margaret dryly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To hear is to obey,” and putting whip to his horse, -Herbert soon drew up before a down-town furniture -store, where bedstead and clothing were purchased -and dispatched on their way. A huge basket of provisions -was next procured and stowed away in the -buggy, while Margaret carried a smaller one of fruit.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Let me carry these to your room,” said Herbert -as they drew up before Margaret’s home. “You are -to be sole almoner, for I beg you not to let my name -appear in the transaction.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I shall be compelled to,” said Margaret, “if only -as the mythical great and good man of all such works -of charity. I could not truthfully bear the burden of -so much generosity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Paint me as glowingly as you please, if only you -give me no local habitation or name.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Your wish shall be respected. Will my presence -be necessary to-morrow?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, I can save you all further trouble. And now -good-night, and thank you for having given me a few -genuinely happy hours.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>“Well, we’ve won!” exclaimed Herbert the next -day as, having mounted the stairs two at a time, he -thrust his head into Margaret’s open door. “The men -are putting the furniture into the room, and I’ve a -little sop in the way of damages,” and he drew from -his pocketbook a bank-note for ten dollars and laid it -in Margaret’s lap.</p> - -<p class='c009'>She looked at it dubiously. “Oh, it is honest,” he -laughed; “there’s no taint of charity about it. Such -high-handed crimes against justice must be made to -suffer the penalty. It has set me to thinking, too, -that it is time something was done toward establishing -justice for these helpless poor. Why, the case -would never have been won if I had not employed -some of the best talent in the city.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And that, of course, is costly.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Of course; often more than the little sum in question. -By the way, have you seen the head of this distressed -family down-stairs?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I saw him for a few moments last night. He -seems to be a gentleman in bearing and acquirements, -but he wears a depressed, hopeless expression and a -listless, half-hearted manner, that I can see are a constant -thorn in the side of his more energetic, if enfeebled, -wife.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>“Well, no wonder, if half the story she tells is true. -This seems to me a case of genuine humanity; one -that appeals directly to a man’s soul if he has one. -That man ought to be given work.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“True, but he says he has sought for it far and wide.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I don’t think he need seek any further. I have a -friend who is a wholesale grocer down on S—— W—— -Street, and in relating the story to him, he offered the -position of porter at eight dollars a week. Not a -munificent salary, certainly, but a good deal better -than nothing.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, I am so glad!” exclaimed Margaret. “And -how happy that poor wife will be. I’ve grown very -much interested in her, for the reason that such an -ambitious spirit seems to dwell within the enfeebled -body. How terrible it is when body and spirit are so -at odds!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Terrible indeed! I really hope the good news of -a place for her husband will act as a tonic. I leave -the matter entirely in your hands and empower you -to deliver the message.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I will go now, if you will excuse me. I am in a -hurry to tell the good news.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, certainly! Never mind me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret returned with a dismayed and crestfallen -countenance. “He refuses it!” she exclaimed breathlessly -as she sank into a chair. Herbert gave a long -low whistle, and elevated his eyebrows in a cynical -grimace that was not at all becoming.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am ashamed to tell you his reason,” Margaret -went on. “It seems so trivial under the circumstances. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>He says he is fitted for higher work, and, in short, -cannot accept such ungenteel employment.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, that settles the Hon. Edward Carson, Esq.,” -said Herbert briskly. “I shall waste no more sympathy -on him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But the poor wife,” said Margaret, the tears standing -in her eyes. “It was pitiful to see the look she -gave him and hear her voice as she urged his acceptance -of the place. ‘Anything is better than starving,’ -she cried. ‘And perhaps you can work up to a better -place; I am sure you can when your employers learn -your fidelity and trustworthiness;’ but her entreaties -were useless. He was stubborn with that white determination -of an iron will. Neither the poor woman’s -tears nor prayers had any visible effect upon him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What does the fellow intend to do?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, he has some little peddling devices, out of -which, I believe, he expects to realize the fortune of -a Vanderbilt in a short time. In fact, he informed me -that he considered himself fully equal to managing his -own affairs.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“He has proved it. Well, Miss Margaret, this only -strengthens my belief in the folly of attempting to -help such incapables.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But think how the innocent suffer with the guilty! -Think of the sick wife and the helpless babies! Because -the man is stubborn and ill-natured, must those -who are dependent on him be left to starve?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It seems a hard doctrine, born of that old pagan -idea of brute force; but I sometimes question if it -would not be the shortest way of ridding the world of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>its great army of incapables. Don’t look so horrified, -at least until I have finished. Take this unfortunate -woman, delicately reared, educated, refined, sensitive; -charity is, no doubt, nearly as offensive to her -as starvation. Such people are proud of their independence -of character, and what can she hope for in a -future that sees only the hand of charity between her -and the grave? The helping hand in an extremity -like this is different from a bounty that must be a -continued obligation.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Looking at the question from her standpoint, perhaps -you are right; but in looking at it from ours, I -think you are wrong.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There’s the rub! These ethical questions demand -some other solution than expediency.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Christianity alone can solve them, as indeed it is -the only true solution of all the great questions of the -world. The simple truth that we are our brother’s -keeper acknowledged by mankind would be an easy -method of settling this omnipresent and embittering -war between labor and capital.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A method the world has been slow to accept.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“In one sense, perhaps, but as we view the long -night of darkness and degradation before the coming -of Christ, we can only marvel at the progress that has -been made in less than two thousand years. Some -day in God’s great harmonies we shall hear the rhythmic -heart-beats of an altruistic faith, binding the -whole world together in a common brotherhood.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And you are doing your best to strike a note in -that great harmony?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>“With Mr. Lynn’s help,” laughed Margaret. “He -is going to advise me how to assist that suffering and -unfortunate woman down-stairs.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Impossible! He can only be the humble tool in -your wiser hands. However, I’ve been wise enough -to think she ought to be put under the care of a physician. -That can be safely managed through you, as -indeed can all delicate commissions.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Thanks,” said Margaret. “I always try to put -myself in the sufferer’s place, as I have known what -it was to need help, and be grateful for it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“When my hour of tribulation comes, may I have -just such a ministering angel!” exclaimed Herbert -warmly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Tribulation and the prosperous Mr. Lynn are a -singular and almost unlooked-for conjunction.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A man may have a great deal and yet want more. -In fact, if he owns the earth he usually wants the moon, -or something equally impossible.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Is that one of your longings?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No; mine is more sublunary, if you will permit a -pun so atrocious. The truth is there’s another Galatea -in whose marble veins I should like to see the warm -blood of feeling run. My presence always seems to -congeal the red current that glows for others.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You speak in enigmas.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Just now, perhaps; but by-and-by you will understand. -By the way, there is one intense longing you -can gratify. May I drop in some time to one of those -charming ‘evenings’ Lizzette and Antoine have described -to me? I have a sincere desire to consider -myself a beneficiary.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>“I am afraid I should say ‘no,’ if I did not begin to -realize a little the earnestness of your nature. We -are sensitive to our shortcomings.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“An equal sensitiveness inspires me with the desire -to find a motive as admirable as that which actuates -your little coterie. Besides—I suppose I may as well -be honest, since you will be sure to find me out—I -play the violin a little myself, and would be most -happy occasionally to supply Antoine’s vacant niche, -provided your sister could be prevailed upon to accompany -me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A new light dawned upon Margaret as she watched -the boyish blush that mounted to Herbert’s brow. -“And so you have already found out what an uncertain -quantity my little sister is?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As regards your humble servant, she has been a -profound certainty. A block of ice could not have -been a colder reality,” answered Herbert with a rueful -smile.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret’s face grew suddenly thoughtful, but after -a moment’s hesitation she said bravely:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I believe there are times when only the truth should -be spoken regardless of conventionality. For my own -part, Mr. Lynn, I like you exceedingly, and should -gladly welcome you to our little circle; but my little -sister is young, beautiful as you know, imaginative, -sensitive, and—well, is it not best under the circumstances, -which you so well understand, that she should -continue a cold reality to you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No!” exclaimed Herbert emphatically, as he -sprang to his feet and placed a hand on the back of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>Margaret’s chair. “I am no cowardly trifler, and I -have an honest admiration for Elsie that has a right -to crave its legitimate outlet. I ask only a fair -field.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Glancing up at the earnest, flushed face, Margaret -smiled as she rose and laid her hand on his. “You -shall have it,” she said. “Bring your violin and be -your own propitiation. I never interfere in matters of -this kind.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert raised Margaret’s hand to his lips, and murmuring -something wholly unintelligible, he snatched -his hat and left the room. Margaret sat long buried -in thought after he had left her. Elsie’s doubts and -misgivings in no way troubled her. Love in her eyes -was too sacred and too rare to hamper it with the -chains of caste or clothe it in false conventionality. -But until now the thought of love and Elsie had not -come to her except in the vague sometime that comes -to all women. Elsie was so young, so inexperienced, -yet, strange as it seemed, so wise. She had looked -apprehensively upon the volatile nature, fearful that -its buoyant wings would be sadly singed in the candle -of life. Yet by Herbert’s own confession the little -maid had been as wise in her demeanor as if whole -generations of elder sisters had stood sponsor for every -utterance. “I am glad,” she sighed tremulously, with -that sweet enjoyment of love which all women have. -“I could not be better pleased if the selection had -been my own; but I mistrust that little sister of mine -will lead him a wild dance before she surrenders, if she -ever does. There are graver thoughts in that young -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>head than I ever dreamed of. But all I can say is, -God speed an honest love!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>An hour later Margaret was on the street, intent -upon a purpose which had been gaining strength ever -since the invalid, Mrs. Carson, had given her the poem -she had read at her bedside. There seemed to Margaret -to be too much merit in the poem to forego the -effort to find for it, not only publication, but pay. -Margaret had become strongly possessed of the primitive -idea that the laborer is worthy of his hire, and -that merit had the right to demand recognition. Her -contact with life had so far been so simple and direct -that the complexities governing man’s progress had -only just begun to confront her. It was, therefore, -with the bravery born of ignorance that she entered -several editorial sanctums connected with the various -leading papers and periodicals of the great city and -offered the poem for inspection. The contemptuous -glances, and decided snubs she received, disturbed her -equanimity rather than her purpose; although if the -matter had been a purely personal one, literary ambition -would have met instant death in these encounters. -But Margaret’s strength was always greater -for others than for herself, and not until she had exhausted -all avenues did she intend to turn back. Finally -in the eleventh venture she encountered an editor -who, listening to her story and becoming interested, -volunteered the information that the poem had merit -and was worthy of remuneration. A check for five -dollars gladdened Margaret’s heart, and her smiles and -expressions of gratitude must have made a bit of sunshine -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>in the soul of a just man. Margaret hurried -home, her face glowing with happiness, and hastening -into the invalid’s room, produced the check with infinite -satisfaction. There was no answer, but a pair of thin -arms reached up and clasped Margaret’s neck, while -sobs and tears contended for the mastery. Margaret -waited until the storm had subsided and then said -gently: “You will have a chance now to turn your -talent to account.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What an angel you are! Sent by the God whom -I doubted! How can I ever repay it all?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“By reawakening a slumbering faith, getting well, -and working cheerfully,” and with a kiss upon the invalid’s -agitated lips, Margaret went up to her rooms.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>One evening, a week after Antoine’s departure for -the hospital, Elsie sat at the organ, idly picking out -the melody of several of his favorite airs and dreamily -wishing the lad could be with them once again. Margaret -was busied over her books, and Lizzette, who -was with them for the night, was knitting the stocking -that always grew but never seemed finished, and Gilbert -was putting some decorative touches upon a -small medicine cabinet. Suddenly Herbert Lynn appeared -in the open doorway, his arms filled with books -and a violin case in one hand.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie arose from her seat as the others greeted him, -and stood with her slight figure as erect and indignant -as her mutinous spirit could make it. Herbert turned -toward her. “I am here by permission of high authority,” -he laughed, glancing at Margaret. “I have -no apology to make this time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My sister’s guests are always welcome,” said Elsie -icily, as she sank upon the piano stool and industriously -undertook to rearrange several sheets of disordered -music.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert made no reply, but stood composedly watching -the trembling fingers and the swiftly-mounting -blushes on the fair face.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are nervous,” he said at last. “Let me do -that for you. I am delightfully calm.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>Something in the exasperatingly cool tones made -Elsie glance up, and then as quickly glance down -again.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is useless to keep on the defensive any longer,” -Herbert resumed as he coolly took the sheets of -music from her. “I’ve come to beg a truce.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And have you forgotten all I said?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not altogether; but I am of a forgiving disposition.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You forgive very easily, it seems to me,” said Elsie -haughtily.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Sometimes, and one of these times is when a spiteful -little girl says things she doesn’t mean.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie tried hard to keep a sober face, but Herbert’s -good-nature was irresistible, and the corners of -her mouth relaxed in a smile as she looked up and -asked: “What occult wisdom taught you she didn’t -mean them?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The science of physiognomy, if there is such a -science. A face that is all sunshine for others cannot -surely mean to keep all its thunder-clouds for an inoffensive -young man like me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Some people attract lightning,” exclaimed Elsie -mischievously.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“By reason of superior magnetism, it is to be presumed. -Thanks!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>At this juncture Lizzette came up with the violin -case in her hand. “Herbeart, zis ees ze reminder de -mon petit Antoine. Let me hear ze fiddle speak again.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Willingly, if Miss Elsie will accompany me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie looked up, mutinous still; but meeting Herbert’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>eyes, defiance gave its last gasp as she said under -her breath: “You are an arch conspirator. I suppose -there is nothing left for me but submissiveness.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert’s blonde head bent low over the pile of -music he was ostensibly examining as he whispered: -“You shall see how generously I can conspire. Trust -me to be magnanimous.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie’s nimble tongue was silent, and a sudden wave -of intoxication seemed to sway her back and forth in -a rarefied atmosphere where breathing was impossible. -When at last she dared to glance again at Herbert, he -was tuning his violin with such a look of beatific contentment -on his face that pent-up feeling, on the perilous -edge of a tear, seized the other alternative and -burst into laughter. With instinctive quickness she -dashed into a noisy jig on the organ, and by the time -she dared to glance apprehensively around, Herbert -had selected the piece of music and was striking its key-note -on the violin. Elsie played very badly that night, -and Herbert was several times obliged to point out little -mistakes and make corrections with all the gravity of -a professional music master. But the tumult in her -veins rose higher and higher, and with a sudden crash -on the keys the music came to a stop. Glancing down -at the perturbed face, Herbert turned to the others:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My violin is evidently not Antoine’s and Miss -Elsie looks tired. Have you examined the new -books, Miss Murchison? There is one on sociology, -by Sir Lyon Playfair, I thought might interest you. -And there is Henderson’s ‘History of Music,’ the -‘Journal of Marie Bashkirtseff,’ ‘The Three Germanies,’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>and two or three newly-issued volumes of poetry by -Meredith, Lover, and others. I thought before I -dipped into them I should like your opinion.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>While Margaret, Lizzette, Gilbert, and Herbert -were discussing the new books, Elsie slipped away, too -perturbed to do anything but throw herself on the bed -and cry. Just why she cried it would have been difficult -for her to tell. But she did not try to tell; she -only knew, like all volcanic natures, that safety and -reason lay in a copious burst of tears. Half an hour -later she presented herself in the sitting-room, her old, -calm, smiling self.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Now that the ice is broken I shall hope I may -come often,” said Herbert as he bade them good-night. -And saucy Elsie had no retort ready.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The summer wore into early autumn with busy days -and brightening prospects for our little circle. Antoine -was making slow but evidently sure progress at the -hospital, and was hopeful and happy at the Sunday -receptions of the friends who clustered around him. -Lizzette beamed with joy and gratitude and seemed -to have thrown discretion to the winds in the praises -of Herbert which she constantly chanted in Elsie’s -ears. The treaty of peace to which Elsie had so unwillingly -committed herself had, after all, been a very -simple affair. Herbert had been generous, as he -promised, and beyond occasional evenings together -over violin and organ, at which Elsie was learning to -acquit herself with greater credit than on their first -venture, they did not often meet. Contrary to her -usual custom, Helen Mason had not closed her city -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>home for the summer. Herbert, much to her chagrin, -refused to seek the seashore, and with wise forethought, -as she fancied, she filled her house with gay company. -Among the guests was a certain Miss Alice -Houghton, who, an orphan and the sole possessor of -great wealth, lived, together with a duenna aunt, at -one of the great family hotels in the city. She was a -tall, fine-looking, well-bred girl of twenty-three or -twenty-four. Her distinguishing characteristic was an -air of pronounced weariness, that reminded one vividly -of Young’s “Languid Lady.” It was a difficult matter -to interest her in anything, yet her attention once -caught, her face would light up with unusual intelligence -and animation. Herbert at first regarded her -simply as an exponent of the system of purposeless -education which is bestowed upon the average society -girl; but after several weeks of acquaintance he became -convinced that a secret grief was preying upon -her. He was consequently not greatly surprised when -he found her one morning in late summer in the drawing-room, -with a ghastly look of horror on her face -as she clutched a newspaper and read the head-lines -concerning a sensational suicide of a fast young man -about town in one of the gambling hells of the city.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My husband!” she gasped, pointing to the head-lines -and then lapsed into insensibility.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie was on her way to her morning conference with -her mistress when she encountered Herbert, pale and -distracted, with the limp burden in his arms, calling -wildly for Helen. There was no time for explanations -as Helen Mason ran quickly down the stairs, and Elsie -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>returned to her work with a clouded face and defiant -air that did not escape Herbert’s notice. The story -of Alice Houghton’s life was soon told to the two -sympathetic friends. A marriage, secret at first from -mere caprice, but afterward guarded because of shame, -to a handsome but dissipated and entirely characterless -man of fashion, who, having spent his own and a -considerable portion of his wife’s fortune at the gambling -table, had deliberately shot himself rather than -face the consequences of his evil deeds. The story -never became known beyond the three or four sympathizers -within the Mason household, and the death -of a relative furnished ample excuse for the deep -mourning and grief-stricken air with which the young -widow again faced the world. Herbert was very kind -and attentive to her in the early days of her grief, and -in consequence his sister drew some exceedingly flattering -pictures as to his future.</p> - -<p class='c009'>With Margaret the summer had been productive of -much good. The little leaven of her kindly nature -and generous deeds had permeated the whole tenement-house -and extended even beyond it in sundry -additions to her Busy Fingers Club. She was idolized -by the children of the neighborhood, who hailed her -as the patron saint of all their little schemes and ambitions. -Under her fostering care and that of the -physician which Herbert had ordered, the invalid, -Mrs. Carson, was slowly gaining her health and some -slight encouragement in her literary ventures. There -was a cloud, however, hovering in Margaret’s sky. -Gilbert, who had already reached a man’s stature, had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>acquired as well a man’s independence, and had taken -to absenting himself from home evenings, much to the -annoyance of both sisters. It had been his custom -during the spring and summer to go for Elsie and -bring her home for the night, and there had been a -substantial progress made in their studies in consequence. -Of late, however, Elsie had found herself -dependent for escort upon the good-natured William, -who had shown himself only too happy to be of use -to her, and had grown alarmingly confidential as a -result. This state of William’s mind being duly imparted -to Margaret, she had resolved to forestall -trouble by insisting upon Gilbert’s usual attendance -on his sister. But the lad was sullen and unresponsive -when she broached the subject, and when night came -he put on his hat and went away without a word. -Margaret brooded for some time over Gilbert’s changed -demeanor, and with a feeling of impending trouble -which it is so often impossible to resist, she dressed -herself for the street and went out, resolved to discover -the places he frequented most. Fortune favored -her, for at Mrs. Carson’s door she learned that Gilbert -and Mr. Carson had held a discussion about a meeting -of some kind which they were to attend that evening -at Harmonie Hall. The nature of the meeting the -invalid did not know, but she imagined it was semi-political -in character, as she had found that her husband -had become interested of late in municipal politics. -There had been strange mutterings in the air -for some time among the inmates of the tenement-house, -and Margaret’s heart instantly took the alarm. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>What had Gilbert, a minor, to do with municipal politics -and this spirit of discontent that she could but -notice among the laborers with whom she lived? The -great strife between labor and capital had never come -actively home to Margaret. Indeed, so simple had -seemed its solution to her upon the broad basis of brotherly -love and active Christianity, that she had worked -on quietly, hopefully, in the firm faith that she was only -one of millions of like factors in once more establishing -the kingdom of Christ. Like one who watches -the battle from the hill-top, she believed the contending -forces were only seeking their way up to the clear -sunshine. It was, therefore, with something like consternation -that she found herself among the disorderly -crowd in the hall. Here and there little groups of -men and women were noisily discussing various topics -and paying only occasional attention to the speaker, -a swarthy, wild-eyed woman, who was shouting in a -shrill, rasping voice the most astounding ideas that -had ever greeted Margaret’s ears. Drawn by curiosity -as well as interest, she quietly worked her way up to -a position near the platform and sank into a seat to -listen.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Talk about freedom,” yelled the speaker, waving -her long thin arms like a revolving windmill. “I tell -you we are slaves—handcuffed, manacled, abject -slaves.” This assertion brought a round of applause. -“Talk about the great American eagle—it is only a -superannuated old crow that lets its blind followers go -where the witches dance on the point of a needle.” -This witticism provoked a loud guffaw of approval -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>from the crowd. “I tell you, men, what we want is to -preach the gospel of discontent. We want every one -of you, all thinking people, to be anarchists. We don’t -believe in statutory law; we don’t want any law but -natural law.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Hear! Hear!” came in shrill calls from various -parts of the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But you say,” resumed the speaker, “that anarchy -is disreputable. That is just what we want it to be. -We want to find the gospel of discontent in the gutters. -We don’t want to be reputable, and I thank -God that I am absolutely disreputable. We leave respectability -for the Christian capitalist, the slave-driver, -the monopolist. Why, a man cannot be a Christian -anarchist, because anarchy is only of the earth. The -only class of people who can regulate this dismal condition -of society, at which so many are just now trying -their hands, are the anarchists. Think of it: the telegraphs -in this country are owned by one man, the railroads -by sixty families, and into the hands of the few -is fast being gathered the country’s wealth. Impracticable -dreamers propose to remedy this evil by making -the state or nation responsible, but the anarchist -says no, he doesn’t want any interference, for he has -had too much of it. The state resorts to armed force. -If we want liberty, there is no other way to get it but -to do as the state does and resort to armed force.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The speaker sat down amid a great wave of applause, -and Margaret shrank back in her seat with her cheeks -burning and eyes flashing with indignation. A man -with long black hair and ragged beard next occupied -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>the platform, and held forth on the cruelty of the -bloated capitalists and a monopolistic press.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Why, all attempts at pacification,” he cried, “are -dead failures. Monopolists are more arrogant, trades -unions more bitter than ever. ‘Give us more wages,’ -we cry; ‘We’ll give you less,’ they say. ‘We don’t -want to work so many hours a day,’ we respond; ‘You -shall have more,’ they answer. ‘We won’t work under -such conditions,’ we declare; ‘Then starve,’ they hiss. -Do you know there are over three millions of workingmen -who are crying all this? And the capitalists -ask: ‘What are you going to do about it?’ We’ll -show them what we’ll do about it. Let them beware! -Let them remember the dark days of the French Revolution, -and note how many patrician heads went under -the axe because the rabble like us—the sans culottes -like us, if you please—went crying for bread, and when -they couldn’t have bread they cried for blood and had -it. Why, men, this is the greatest war of history. It -is a war not of countries, but of the globe, and the two -great forces, the very rich and the very poor, those -bonded slaves of an arrogant aristocracy, are closing -in upon each other. As yet it is a bloodless strife; -but let them beware, I say, let them beware! This -trouble will never cry itself to sleep. There are too -many mighty passions surging through the bosoms of -outraged and insulted beings. There are too many -hungry wives and freezing children. From the Bastile -to the portals of this hall stalks a long line of menacing -ghosts, who with pointing fingers demand that -the cause for which they died shall yet be made triumphant. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>Blind is he who cannot see that the edicts -of society are crushing to the wall the helpless toilers, -the unfortunate women and innocent children of this -world. Blind is he who looks upon the cruelties indorsed -by capital without rising in righteous indignation -to echo the cry that rings along the line, ‘Down -with the aristocracy!’ It is a lie that all men have an -equal chance in this world; I tell you the competition -is unequal and capital forces the issue. Success! success! -is the Moloch of the world’s worship, and into -its ravenous maw you and I and every one of the -toilers feed daily the writhing bodies of wives and children. -It is feasting on the putrid carcasses that are -crushed under its triumphal car. And all the while -there is wealth enough in this world for every man to -have and to spare. I tell you, fellow-mortals, the -torch and the shotgun, the bomb and the bludgeon, -are as much for the toiler as the blue-coated minions -of the law.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The man took his seat on the rear of the platform -amid the wildest cheers, and Margaret watched the -eagle-like face and the trembling, attenuated form with -more than usual interest. There had been many -grains of truth in his wild harangue, and they had -inspired her conservative breast with an enthusiastic -desire to behold the wide gulf, between the two -great opposing forces of the world, narrowed down to -the line of arbitration and adjustment, to which all -such questions must finally come. But she shuddered -with horror at the sanguinary battle which the speaker’s -inflammatory words had conjured. A second French -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>revolution, intolerably bitterer, bloodier, more wide-spread -than its prototype! God forbid! There was -just then a call from the chairman for volunteer speakers, -and Margaret’s eyes became stony in their wonder -and terror, as she saw Gilbert rise from his seat and -advance to the front of the platform. Tall, lithe, like -a young sapling, with a wealth of dark hair pushed -back from a high, straight brow, piercing dark eyes, a -square, firmly-set mouth and chin, and fine thin nostrils -expanding with the fire of enthusiasm, he stood -before them all. For the first time in her life Margaret -realized the singular beauty and magnetism of -the boy’s presence. To her he had been always only -Gilbert, to be watched over and taken care of with -a mother’s unfailing forethought. Now she saw, with -a bitter wrenching of her heart-strings, that the -chrysalis had burst and her lad had gone away forever. -Before her stood the man Gilbert, on whose -utterances she hung in breathless apprehension. There -was something almost wonderful in the boy’s self-possession -as he stood and gazed the noisy crowd into -curious silence.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Friends and brother toilers,” he began in a rich, -sonorous voice that filled the hall. “You have called -for volunteer talks, and although I am not yet fully -come to man’s estate, the impulse to speak is too -strong to be resisted. It is time that something was -done to lift this burden under which we are groaning, -and yet it is the old, old question that for thousands of -years before Christ oppressed the bondsmen of the -earth. How long, O Lord, how long, before this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>world shall see the fruition of the mighty labors of the -millions who have gone down to death for the good of -their brothers? How long before vengeance shall -overtake the insatiable greed of capital, which has no -more care for the toiler in its grasp than the tiger in -the jungle for the man he has smitten with his paw? -What is it to capital that labor goes unshod, to the -well-fed gourmand that the slave who serves him is -starving for the crust he despises? What does the -capitalist care for the wails of woe that go up from -thousands of infantile throats, for the shiverings of the -naked wretches at his door, so that piled higher and -higher in his safes he sees the gold these wretched -toilers have wrested from the mighty bowels of the -earth? Who cares for the wretched twenty-four thousand -souls that live in one precinct in this great and -wealth-rolling city, within a compass of two small -blocks? Who cares for the nobodies that live in hovels -where the water from the street pours in on the floors, -and where sixty or seventy people live in eight or ten -rooms and exhibit the morality of the dogs they represent? -What millionaire philanthropist goes down into -his pocket to pay his men living wages, so that the -poverty which shames old-country degradation need -not be re-enacted here? Where is the churchman who, -giving largely to conspicuous charities, would be willing -to turn that charity into specific help in business to -the man or men who do his bidding? It is only a few -years back that the ‘boss’ worked at the same bench -with his men. Now this is all changed. Now he has -his elegant office, his carriage, his fine attire; but the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>workmen show no such advance in prosperity. They -work for even less wages, wear the same cheap clothing, -and toil just as many hours as when they and the -‘boss’ were co-workers. What has wrought this change? -What has made these conditions possible? I will tell -you. It is governmental aid. It is because the government -has fostered the schemes of the rich man and -made him a ward of the nation. But it is unjust, and -a relic of the old feudality that the government should -recognize one son to the exclusion of the others equally -well-born, and equally deserving. On this principle, -therefore, we demand that we be made wards of the -nation. We demand a distributive justice, by pacific -means if possible, and if not, then by a retributive justice, -by force of arms——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Gilbert! Gilbert!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A hand laid on the lad’s shoulder caused him to -turn in wonder and confusion to meet Margaret’s -pleading face and terror-stricken eyes.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are wrong, Gilbert,” she cried earnestly. -“Wrong! wrong! You must not incite to violence. -Just see what turbulent elements are before you!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There had come an instant hush with her appearance -on the platform; men and women had risen to -their feet and were peering curiously at the two. -Flushed, trembling, intoxicated with enthusiasm, Gilbert -cried: “But the terrible wrongs of the poor! You -know what they are—you who toil for a daily pittance! -They must be avenged!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But not in the way you indicate. Not by bloodshed -or violence. See! we are attracting attention! -Will you let me speak for you?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>For a moment resentment gleamed in Gilbert’s eyes, -and then, as he glanced at Margaret’s uplifted earnest -face, he answered: “Yes, correct me if I am wrong. -God speed you!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Gilbert sank back into a chair, his eyes intently fixed -upon his sister’s face as she advanced to the front of -the platform and stood looking out upon the sea of -wondering faces.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Friends,” she began in a low voice, “I have a -story to tell you. The lad who has just addressed you -is my brother. For seven years I have been mother, -counsellor, friend to him. I promised his dying father -to watch over him with unremitting vigilance until his -feet should be firmly set in the paths of upright manhood. -That father was a man who believed in and -practiced the doctrine of the universal brotherhood of -man. He recognized not that all men are created -equal mentally and physically, for that is a manifest -absurdity, but that there is a principle underneath all -conditions of society calling for the respect, veneration, -and love of man as man. We must respect humanity -in all its phases, and there is no right, divine -or earthly, that permits us to cripple it, enslave it, or -destroy it. This idea was one of his ardent beliefs; -but it would have cut his gentle heart to the quick to -know that his son would ever be misled into uttering -words that could in any way incite to violence or -wrong-doing. I have listened to-night to words that -made my heart bleed; not only for the evils afflicting -labor, not only for the misguided ideas of the so-called -upper classes, but for the deeper wrongs you are inflicting -on yourselves.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>A stir among the audience and a few hisses for a -moment disturbed Margaret’s equanimity, but gathering -heart again she went on in a voice of deep and -commanding earnestness: “Nay! hear me out. I -premise here that I am not against you; indeed, I am -one of you. I toil for my daily bread, and I receive -but a pittance for my work. I take slop-work from -the factories, and make men’s shirts for forty-five cents -per dozen, and men’s overalls for fifty cents per dozen -pairs. So you see I know what labor has to contend -with.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Shouts of “You’re a good one!” “Go on!” encouraged -the increasing tide of thought that surged to her -lips. She stood before them pale, earnest, like a -prophet, and forgetting time, self, place, she swept the -now listening throng with the full force of the unselfish -convictions which had made her mistress of herself and -untoward circumstance.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Once more I say to you, O my brothers and sisters, -you are wrong, and I repeat it with the facts of -history as a bulwark of defence. Let us go back a -little to the dim days of which we catch but faint -shadows, two thousand years and more before the -Christian era, when there were but two classes of men, -feudal lords and bondsmen. Let us trace up through -the freedom given the slaves under Moses, fourteen -hundred years before Christ, and through all the -struggles of the toiler up to the present day, the results -of violent uprisings of brute force. History gives -but two evidences where such uprisings on the part of -labor’s slaves were not terribly disastrous to the insurgents. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>Thousands of years have passed away, men -have fought with the desperation of tigers for their -rights, and still these rights are in a measure denied, -and the millennium of labor is not yet in sight. You -may strike the torch to the factory, aim the shotgun -at your fellow-workman because he refuses to listen -to your dictation, put your bombs on railroad tracks -before the midnight express, leave the ship without -sailors or the printing press without workers, because -any or all of these are not conducted with a true regard -for mutual welfare, and you will only find yourselves -still deeper in the mire of dissatisfaction and -wrong. You cripple your own resources and injure -your own prospects when you preach the doctrine of -physical force. Leave the development of that doctrine -to the brute whose only resource it is, and lift -yourselves up to the higher plane where exists the -reason of man. But you are no doubt asking where -that reason must begin. Back of all sophistries, back -of all calculation, on that primitive plane of the newly -awakened—the conscience! This, in the age of intricate -reasoning and perplexing sophistries, may seem -to you but the utterance of a simple-minded woman; -but history proves, through experience, that the great -and seemingly complex problems of the day never can -be and never will be solved on any other basis. It -was not indeed until the gentle Nazarene walked the -earth that its toilers began to grope upward toward -the light of reason and conscience. He it was who -first took the taint from the grimy hand of the worker; -He it is who ought to-day to be the sole advocate and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>mediator in all your wrongs and suffering. I am not -talking to you of the religion that the occupants of -velvet pulpits preach to the occupants of velvet pews, -nor of the Christianity, so called, that is reserved for -the rich man who builds churches where he and his -class may worship in unsullied seclusion; but of that -fundamental principle which led the Carpenter of Nazareth -to render absolute justice to all men and which -prompted the good Samaritan to do a generous deed -to his fallen neighbor. Yes, you say all this would do -very well if men could be made over on a higher basis; -but they are greedy, avaricious, and prompted more -by self-interest than brotherly love. True; but there -is always the acorn before there is the oak. Social reforms -must begin with the individual. In order to -have an upright community it must be largely composed -of upright individuals, and if every man reformed -himself the proposition of a reformed society would -be of very simple solution. It is wonderful indeed -how the little leaven leavens the whole lump. Wonderful -how the gulf between classes is already being -widened by these injudicious threats of violence. Let -us beware, then, of incendiary words! We are all of -us, Dives and Lazarus alike, striving for the same goal; -we would all be rich, prosperous, happy if we could. -We are indignant because Dives gets in our way and -hinders our advancement, when he ought, by all the -laws of good-fellowship, to give us fair play and equal -chances. But when we as Lazarus, by a fortunate -conjunction of circumstances, come at last to Dives’ -importance, how is it that we take the same mean -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>advantage of some less capable or lucky mortal? Ah, -my friends, until we learn that all these great problems -lie partially at least within ourselves, and, like Atlas, -are willing to bear the world on our shoulders, we -shall never gain the object we are seeking. In the -conscience of every individual lies the hope of the -world’s progress. Let us seek, therefore, to cultivate -that light within our own breasts, so that, feeble ray -though it may be, it shall illumine the pathway of -some weaker brother and help him toward the diviner -light of the gentle Nazarene. I protest against the -indiscriminate and wordy assaults upon rich men. -Not alone in the poor man’s breast are all the virtues. -Much of the poverty of the world is the fault of the -individual. Natural thrift and industry have their -reward even in the present untoward industrial conditions. -You cannot smoke away, and drink up your -income, and justly blame the bloated capitalist who -employs you if your children are shoeless and the -table stands empty. But you can use your reason, -you can be thrifty, careful, and educate yourselves on -the side of conscience and humanity. I look upon -this talk of reform which is in the air as excellent for -the great cause of universal brotherhood. This is the -tendency of the times; the cardinal truth underlying -the welfare of the world. Capital is identical in -interest with us, and must recognize sooner or later -the trite truth that we are only the fulfilment and -complement of each other. Let us beware, then, my -friends, how we antagonize those whose help we need. -Let us make capital feel, by reason of our foresight, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>our fidelity, our judgment, our generosity, that it -cannot afford to ignore our rights and must open wide -the doors to human progress or fall a victim to its -own inertia. With you I believe in organization; -organization upheld by, and upholding, the rights -of the people, irrespective of class; organization -prompted by the still small voice of conscience, which -abridges no man’s freedom while seeking its own. In -this way only can your wrongs and mine be righted. -But before we mend the steps of those who oppress -us, let us as individuals sweep the inner chambers of -the heart, and garnish them anew for the long-waited -guest of universal justice.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>The night of Margaret’s meeting with the anarchists -was an eventful one for the three members of the -Murchison family. Elsie, tired of waiting for Gilbert’s -appearance, and strenuous in her desire to spend her -nights at home, had been again compelled to ask William’s -escort, a fact which raised the spirits of the -mercurial young Irishman to a point of emphatic self-gratulation. -He felt sure, to use his own phraseology, -that “Elsie was getting soft on him,” and while preparing -himself for the walk he resolved to put into definite -shape his growing fondness for her. It so happened -that when he and Elsie left the area door, Herbert -Lynn, violin case in hand, walked down the front -steps of the Mason mansion and leisurely followed -them up the street. As William possessed the native -wit of his race, together with an abundant fund of good-humor, -Elsie’s laugh was frequent at the droll remarks -and anecdotes he poured into her ear. This only increased -the self-elation with which he viewed his prospects, -but lacking the finesse of language wherewith -to proclaim his passion, he allowed the precious moments -to slip by, until, having reached the dimly-lighted -entrance to Elsie’s home, he felt that decisive action -alone could serve his purpose.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Good-night, and thank you,” said Elsie as they -stepped within the narrow hall.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>“Not so fast,” he cried, clutching at Elsie’s dress -and detaining her. “I must be better paid.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To be sure,” answered Elsie, reaching into the -depths of a woman’s long pocket and bringing her -purse to view. “How careless I am.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, you don’t! Put that pocketbook up. Sure -an’ this is what I mean,” and grasping Elsie round the -waist he strove to imprint a kiss upon her lips.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Let me go! Let me go!” cried frightened and -struggling Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Sure an’ I’ll not, then! I’ll jest have a kiss and -maybe more from the swate girl of my heart,” and his -strong arms were just about to bring the flushed and -frightened face within range of his lips, when a firm -hand clutched his coat collar and sent him spinning -into the street. Glancing up he met the indignant -eyes of Herbert Lynn.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It isn’t a very safe thing, young man, for you to -insult ladies in this manner, and you may congratulate -yourself on getting off with scant justice. The best -thing you can do is to go home and reform some of -your free-and-easy habits.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>William shuffled off maddened and revengeful. -“Ah, but I’ll fix him and the girl too. Sure and the -high hand isn’t always for the mighty millionaire. -And it’s him, is it, that’s stealing my girl’s heart away? -Well, then, an’ I’ll ’umble ’em, sure. I’m after thinking -the mistress with her fine airs will not be as swate as -the summer when she finds her brother is comin’ it -asy over the purty cook.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie, released from William’s grasp, darted up the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>stairs, but half-way up the first flight she sank down in -fright and exhaustion. Springing up two steps at a -time, Herbert followed and bent over her. “Elsie! -Elsie!” he cried, “what is it? Are you faint? Here, -let me steady you,” and with the same audacity which -he had indignantly rebuked in William, he slipped -an arm round Elsie’s waist and endeavored to lift -her up.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I don’t need any help,” she said, struggling to her -feet and making frantic efforts to free herself from the -detaining arm. “I can go alone a good deal better. -Please take your arm away.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, thank you; it is quite too comfortable,” replied -Herbert composedly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And succeeds in making me very uncomfortable. -I entreat you to release me.” Elsie glanced up into -a pair of blue eyes, in whose depths lay a light so -warm and tender, that she staggered dizzily against -the wall when Herbert’s encircling arm was removed.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There, I knew you couldn’t go alone. Now I insist -upon being permitted to help you up the stairs. I -therefore offer you, in the most decorous manner possible, -the despised and rejected arm.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert stood before her with crooked elbow and -attitude so ludicrously stiff, that in the laugh which -rose to her lips the constraint of the situation passed -away, and she not only accepted the arm, but made -no remonstrance when, before the third flight had been -reached, the despised member, by some legerdermain -best known to lovers perhaps, had been restored to its -original offensive position. It still lay supine and satisfied -<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>around the slender waist when the two reached -Margaret’s door and found it locked.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Here’s a go!” exclaimed Herbert slangily.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” said Elsie, attempting to remove his arm, “it -seems to be a stay!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert caught at the word instantly, even while -his laugh echoed along the corridor. “A stay!” he -echoed, tightening his grasp. “Elsie, darling——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>No one will know quite just how it happened, but -drawn by an overmastering impulse, he drew the dark -head to his breast and pressed a fervent kiss upon, I -grieve to state, a pair of unresisting lips.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“For shame!” cried Elsie when she found breath. -“A second William. Young man, go and reform some -of your free-and-easy habits! You’re infinitely more -cruel than he, because you know better. I am ashamed, -indignant, heart-broken,” and Elsie burst into tears.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My darling,” cried Herbert for the second time, -as he prepared to do penance by repeating the crime -of which he was accused, “you may be just as indignant -as you choose so that indignation does not take -you away from me. Here, take your kiss back again! -I am perfectly willing to return the jewel I stole,” and -grasping the flushed face in both hands, he held it in a -vise-like grip while he bestowed upon the ripe lips the -principal with usurious interest. There was no time -for protest or further explanation. There was some -one coming up the stairs, and it was a hurried assumption -of composure that greeted Margaret and Gilbert -as they reached their door.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We have been waiting for you,” cried Herbert, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>adding audaciously, “It seemed to Miss Elsie, I’ve no -doubt, as if you never would come.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Margaret, dear,” exclaimed Elsie, “how pale you -are! What has happened?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Come in and I will tell you,” wearily answered -Margaret as she unlocked the door.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“As it is late,” said Herbert hesitatingly, “with your -permission I will leave my violin here and come for -our music to-morrow evening. Good-night.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie could not raise her eyes to his, such a tumult -of wounded feeling, love, shame, and regret surged -through her breast, and Herbert was obliged to depart -without the glance he coveted. Elsie listened to -his merry whistle as he ran down the stairs, and cowered, -shamefaced and despairing, in the shadow of -the window curtain. How weak she had been! She -had struggled so hard not to notice him, not to -think of him, and all the time the victim of a relentless -fate, had at last yielded to his kiss and let him -see she had given her love unasked! What a state of -moral degradation she had reached! How Margaret -would despise her if she knew it! How everybody -with any fine moral sense would be contaminated -with her presence if it was known how really bad -she was!</p> - -<p class='c009'>Sleep did not visit the perturbed brain that night. -In dry-eyed misery she lay through the long hours of -darkness by Margaret’s side, and when at the first -break of dawn she returned to her work, she carried a -pale, conscience-stricken face. The other servants -eyed her curiously, giving her already crushed spirit -<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>unmistakable evidence that William had heralded the -evening’s adventure. It was with lagging footsteps -and a colorless face that she dragged through her -morning’s duties, and finally mounted the stairs to her -usual conference with her mistress.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Mrs. Mason was alone when Elsie entered the morning-room, -but she did not look up. She was apparently -busied over a small account-book, in which, with -the gold pencil attached to it, she now and then jotted -down figures or memoranda. The coals in the grate -glowed warmly; the mocking-bird in his gilded cage -chirped cheerily; the flowers and potted plants in the -windows seemed to smile a welcome to the disheartened -girl, but the fair mistress had no greeting for her. -Elsie waited some moments, and then, seeing that Mrs. -Mason was purposely silent, she asked, but with a note -of despondency in her voice that was only too apparent, -“What orders, Mrs. Mason, have you for me this -morning?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Only one,” replied the lady, for the first time turning -a darkened face upon Elsie. “Take this envelope, -containing your week’s wages, and leave my house at -once. I have no further need of your services.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The room grew so dark to Elsie that she reeled and -clutched at the door-post. Mrs. Mason watched her, -secretly glad to see the shaft strike home.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Will you tell me why you dismiss me?” asked Elsie -faintly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Why? How innocent you are! You know very -well why I will not keep such a dissembler in my house. -Attempting to deceive me with your assumption of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>flawless honor, and then using all your arts and graces -to ensnare the fancy of my brother, who——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Stop!” cried Elsie, all her strength returning under -the sting of Mrs. Mason’s words, and with indignation -firing voice and attitude. “You make unjust -accusations. I never have deceived you in any particular. -I never sought to ensnare the fancy of your -brother. Instead, I have begged him to let me alone. -I told him I did not want his acquaintance, and I repeat -it to you, his proud and aristocratic sister. I -have my own life to live irrespective of your creeds -and caste, and I have endeavored to keep both of you -at arm’s-length.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are as brazen as the generality of your class. -It is useless to attempt any justification. The fact -remains that you have accepted the attentions of a -man infinitely above you in station, good-breeding, -blood——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I deny it! Neither in blood nor breeding are you -any better than the girl you despise. In station—you -but emphasize the arrogance of your nature and standing -when you attempt to heap unmerited abuse upon -one whom you know to be defenceless; a thing which -‘Elsie the cook’ would scorn to do.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You insolent thing! Leave the room at once, and -if you ever dare to speak to my brother again, I’ll publish -you from one end of the city to the other, and -then we’ll see whether ‘Elsie the cook’ will continue -to flaunt her good breeding in the face of her betters.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The hot blood-surged to Elsie’s face until the purple -veins threatened to burst. “Have no fear!” she -cried. “I despise——”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>At that moment the door opened and Herbert entered -the room. He glanced at the flushed faces and -turned to his sister for explanation. Elsie, trembling -in every limb, rushed through the open door, heedless -of Herbert’s earnest entreaty to remain. How she -gained the street and flew up the long flights of stairs -and buried her head in Margaret’s lap, she never realized -until long after. What a tumult of anger, -shame, and wounded love raged in the girl’s breast. -How black her sky seemed, and how pitiful the story -was when, by snatches of incoherent words and bursts -of passionate tears, Margaret finally became possessed -of it. She could only bend over the writhing form -and press kisses upon the disordered hair, while endeavoring -to soothe by touch and voice the violent -storm of sobs and tears. Calmness had not yet come -back to them and reason could only dimly see its way -through the darkness, when there came an imperative -rap at the door, followed almost instantly by Herbert’s -appearance.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie,” he cried, tossing his hat into a chair and -coming up to her as she lay with her head buried in -Margaret’s lap, “I have come to make reparation for -all that you have suffered this morning. I have learned -the whole disgraceful story, and I have come to offer -the hand with the heart that has been yours for -months. Look up, Elsie, and answer me. Margaret -knows that I have loved you long.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, go away and leave me,” moaned Elsie. “I -cannot bear any more.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Come!” exclaimed Herbert, bending over her and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>attempting to lift her from Margaret’s lap. “I am -impatient. I want a decisive answer.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You shall have it,” said Elsie, pulling herself away -from him and raising a tear-stained and mutinous face -to his. “It is a most unqualified No.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert staggered back a few steps and gazed with -evident surprise at Elsie’s resolute face. “You cannot -surely mean it,” he cried. “I thought you loved -me, or would love me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Over-confidence is sometimes disastrous, even to -young men who fancy the world is ‘mine oyster.’”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Dear child, you are hurt, unstrung by the distressing -events of the morning. I wish I could make you -see how pained I am that you should have been made -to suffer so. I wish you would let me make reparation.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do not need any,” said Elsie proudly. “I find -myself able to survive even your sister’s insults.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Do not refer to them. Helen has a great many -false ideas, but you ought not to punish me for them. -I have never willingly harmed you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, you have!” Elsie broke out impetuously. -“Did not I beg of you to let me alone, to keep to your -own devices and let ‘Elsie the cook’ go her own way?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A pained look overspread Herbert’s face as he answered: -“If I have wronged you, Elsie, I offer you as -honorable a reparation as any man can offer a woman.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And do you think because, to please your own fancies, -you have despoiled me of a chance to earn my -bread, I can accept so great a condescension? I had -rather starve than be made the recipient of any man’s -tardy sense of honor.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>Stung, but not baffled, Herbert answered: “I loved -you almost from the first time I saw you. I sought -to win your regard with a scrupulous sense of honor, -and if this offer of my hand is tardy, it is only because -you have so persistently kept me at bay. Elsie, I beg -you to forget my sister’s taunts and let me prove how -devotedly I can make amends for the suffering I have -caused you. Margaret, help me to prove how true -my statements are.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert turned, only to find that Margaret had -slipped away. “Elsie, darling,” he added, going up to -her and attempting to take her in his arms, “I cannot -believe, after last night, that you do not, at least -cannot, love me. I was the happiest man last night -that ever sat in the glow of the fire-light and drew pictures -of the future. If we had not been interrupted I -should have told you then all that I tell you now. -Elsie! Elsie! trust me to make you happy.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>But Elsie drew herself away from the outstretched -arms and sheltered herself behind an intervening rocker. -“I cannot,” she said resolutely, although the pleading -tones no less than the supplicating eyes had well-nigh -broken her composure. “Even could I so compose -my heart as to contemplate the possibility which you -picture, there is an insurmountable obstacle in the -way.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And that is?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Your sister! Never will I enter a family, were it -ten times mightier than the one you represent, where -I could be the object of such undeserved scorn as was -heaped upon me this morning.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>“My poor child! I will put the globe between us.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And let me be the means of separating an only -brother and sister? No! Go back to your sister, and -marry some one who represents her idea of respectability—Miss -Houghton, for instance—and be sure that -family approval and society will bless you forever -after.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Thank you for the suggestion,” said Herbert dryly. -“I am, however, neither marrying my sister nor her -ideas.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, I don’t think you’re marrying anybody at -present.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And am not likely to, you doubtless mean to suggest? -Elsie, what makes you punish me so?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am only paying you what I owe you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That is honest; now give me back the heart you’ve -stolen.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I have no heart to give.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie Murchison!” exclaimed Herbert with a new -sternness, “I have one question more to ask you, and -I demand a straightforward answer. Tell me by all -the truth in your nature—do you love me?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Driven to bay, Elsie stood alternately flushing and -paling, and with her frame in such a quiver of excitement -that the hand which rested on the rocker shook -perceptibly. “I decline to answer,” she finally faltered. -“You have no right to question a foregone -conclusion. I have told you I will not marry you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Is that decision final?” asked Herbert as he picked -up his hat. “Can no pleading, no proof of devotion -change it?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>White to the very lips, Elsie answered: “It is final -and absolute.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then God pity us both!” cried Herbert as, with a -face as white as Elsie’s own, he left the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie threw herself on the floor and writhed in the -agony of mental torture.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Love him? Love him?” asked the tumultuous -heart. Did she not rather idolize him. And now she -had signed her own death-warrant. “God keep him -wherever he went—how could she live without him?” -A tempest of tears answered this question as she -saw days stretch into months and months into years -without one glimpse of the sunny blue eyes, one -sound of the melodious voice, or touch of the kindly -hands that had been so glad to anticipate any need or -desire of hers. “How can I live, how can I live without -him?” she sobbed aloud, writhing in absolute physical -pain. “Oh, I shall die! I shall die! It will be too -dreadful to live now!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A second later a pair of strong arms gathered her -within their embrace, and Herbert’s lips were raining -kisses upon brow, cheek, and lips. “I knew it, Elsie,” -he whispered. “I couldn’t give it up so easily. You -do love me, I know you do. You dare not deny it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With sudden impetuosity a pair of lithe arms crept -around his neck, and hiding her face in his bosom Elsie -sobbed: “I don’t want to deny it now, for it has almost -killed me. But truly I’ll never marry you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert laughed. “Tell me the reason.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, it wouldn’t be right, and not even my love -for you will make me do what is not fair and just.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>“That’s right, my little girl,” answered Herbert between -kisses. “We’ll try to remove the wrong. Now -that I know I’m held fast in the stronghold of your -heart, I can conquer the world.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Can you?” asked Elsie, the old mischief coming -quickly back. “Can you make your sister, Mrs. -Mason, get down on her knees and beg me to marry -you to save you from a decline?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’ll try,” said Herbert with a grimace, “although I -beg to be delivered from the decline.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>Like Byron, Margaret awoke one day and found -herself famous. The daily press, in keeping close -watch of the anarchist movement, had reported nearly -verbatim the speeches of both Gilbert and Margaret. -Editorials had been written upon Margaret’s utterances, -and one enterprising daily had printed a supposed -portrait of her and given a brief account of her -work in the tenement-house, wherein she had been -glorified beyond her just deserts and made to wear -the mantle of the professional reformer. Margaret -was by no means pleased with this unexpected notoriety, -and particularly displeasing to her sensitive nature -was the attitude in which she had been made to -stand with reference to those whom she had sought to -aid in the quietness and sympathy of her home life. -As a friend, she was sure of their appreciation and co-operation; -as a reformer, she felt fearful of their mistrust -and the gradual withdrawal of the sympathies -she had grown to depend upon for her own guidance -and happiness. It was, therefore, with no little vexation -of spirit that she found herself waited upon one -day by a committee of ladies who urged her going -upon the platform as the advance agent of a board of -foreign missions.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is impossible,” cried Margaret when the object -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>of the visit had been explained. “I am not fitted for -such work. Indeed, it was a mere accident which -caused my appearance in public, and I hope never to -repeat it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The ladies looked at each other aghast. Here was -good timber obviously going to waste. Something -must be done to secure it. “But,” they argued, “you -must have the interests of our work at heart, as your -utterances gave evidence and as your work in your -own home circle proves. Why not be willing to -broaden it and bring the suffering ones of earth, whom -you evidently pity, a little relief?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Because,” said Margaret, smiling, “I believe, in the -truest sense, in the old saying that ‘Charity begins at -home.’ I have a home to make, first of all, for a -young brother and sister who look upon me as mother -and guardian. So long as they have need of me I -shall always keep for them the one spot where home -ties may reign supreme. In the next place, I shall -doubtless horrify you by saying that I do not believe -in charity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A look of wide-eyed dismay went around the little -circle.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But let me qualify the ruggedness of so bare a -statement,” said Margaret as a look of quiet amusement -crept over her face. “I have reference only to -the charity which is practised under present conditions. -In the first place, I think we have heathen -enough to convert at home; in the second, if there -were more of the genuine charity which was taught by -our great Preceptor, there would be scant need of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>various forms of associated charity. Modern charity -belittles and robs men of the God-given sense of independent -manhood which should be cultivated and respected -in every one. The helping hand that is given -by associated charity fosters a national laziness and -sloth which grows every year more wide-spread and -disgraceful.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That is a most astounding statement,” cried her -hearers.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I think you will find it true,” replied Margaret -quietly. “Charity that is bestowed with the air of -patronage which such organizations can scarcely fail -to exhibit, must make its wards feel that independent -effort is not respected as it should be. We do not -give any more from a fraternal desire to see our fallen -brother rise to his feet and work steadily toward the -goal which we have reached or are nearing; but we -give perhaps from a desire to display our importance, -or from a philanthropy which expects to find its way -into the newspapers and be talked about, or because -it is fashionable to ‘assume a virtue if we have it not.’ -If we gave from the standpoint of humanity and a -desire to see all men on an equal footing before the -law, do you suppose it would be necessary to announce -such themes from the pulpits of elegant and exclusive -churches as ‘How to reach the masses?’ The masses -would be there to be reached. They would not be -outside, because an exclusive sexton had found that -he must look to the best interests of his patrons. The -church is every day growing richer and more influential. -How is it with the heaven-born principles of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>Him who toiled at the carpenter’s bench and proved -to the fishermen of Galilee that a common bond of -divine and human love held them together? What is -the church to-day in a great measure but a business -institution? How much of the old faith clings to the -embroidered garment that has displaced the simple -white robe of the Messiah of all men? It is useless to -offer charity to a man whose rights you have denied, -and expect thereby to build up a prosperous and God-fearing -commonwealth. Ladies, I must forego the -generous offer you make me, for the bread would be bitter -in my mouth which I earned by upholding a belief -that I felt to be fundamentally wrong. I ask nothing -more than to be given strength to help wherever I can -in the humblest way and with the sincerest love.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was a silent and crestfallen committee that bowed -itself from Margaret’s presence and whispered “quixotic,” -“cranky,” “absurd,” when it reached the sidewalk. -Margaret sank into a chair, after the committee -had left her, with a feeling of vague discomfort -and unrest. Did this invasion of her private work -bear any occult meaning? Was there really a broader -field of action awaiting her helping hand wherein she -could better fulfill the principles she loved to disseminate? -Suddenly, as if in revelation, she saw Gilbert’s -impassioned face as he pleaded so eloquently for his -brother toilers at the anarchist meeting. Here was -work for Gilbert, stretching out into an indefinite and -glowing future. A society of universal brotherhood! -She remembered that once a stranger had preached in -her father’s pulpit on that very topic, and she had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>never forgotten the five great principles he had enunciated. -She had jotted them down in her note-book -as truths worth remembering, and now they came -back to her with the vividness and force with which a -thinking brain is often overtaken by the ideas of the -great minds of the world.</p> - -<p class='c009'>1. “A society of universal brotherhood must be -founded on eternal truth.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>2. “It must permit full and free development to -every member of the human race.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>3. “There must be perfect harmony between all its -members.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>4. “It must attempt to secure happiness in this -world. Here, now, on this planet, in this day and generation, -it must give justice to all mankind.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>5. “It must make not only men, but nations, free.”<a id='r1'></a><a href='#f1' class='c011'><sup>[1]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c009'>She well remembered how the eloquent clergyman -had enlarged upon this declaration of principles in -glowing words.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Tell me,” he had said, “would not such a society -meet your desires? Yet such was the organization -founded by Jesus Christ. Men have found occasion -to depart a long way from it, but not till they retrace -their steps and take up the work as He planned it, -can they enjoy the fruits of the wisest law-giver the -world ever beheld. He was the true leader of men. -He was born in a manger and brought up in poverty. -He preached the purest and truest democracy the -world has ever listened to. The tramp, the outcast, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>the beggar were with Him the equals before the law -of the richest man on the face of the earth. There -was nothing narrow in His creed. But how shall men -establish the new order? We must take the kingdom -of heaven by storm; we must convert the boodlers -and the aristocrats who now dominate the church. -Let me tell you the rich are getting tired of the life -they are living. They are beginning to see its falsity, -and many of them are anxious to see some means -adopted by which greater justice can be rendered to -all. Work, then, my brothers, in behalf of the rich as -well as the poor, and make the society of universal -brotherhood the grand factor in a new civilization.”</p> - -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c009'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. These principles were recently enunciated by Father Huntington.</p> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>These impassioned words had burned themselves on -Margaret’s memory, and in the light of later events -seemed to have a peculiar force and significance. A -society of universal brotherhood! How beautiful it -seemed in theory; how easily, even on the basis of an -eighteen-hundred-years-old truth, the theory might be -evolved into established fact. Yet that mighty and -eternal truth had been all these years, through innumerable -persecutions and conflicts, vainly seeking its -perfect flower and fruit. Where lay the difficulty? -Why were its life-giving branches so persistently -lopped, its trunk gashed and riven, its healing leaves -stripped and torn, and its fruition hindered and obstructed? -Margaret pondered long over the puzzling -questions. It was a fundamental truth that mankind -was seeking happiness and had the same general nature -and desires. What, then, made the great divergence? -The casuist and sophist might find deep within -<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>the logic of history and the philosophy of man a more -lofty reason; but Margaret’s primitive nature saw only -the main truth that men had departed from the underlying -principle on which Christ had founded His church -of the living gospel. Primitive ideas had been ignored, -scoffed at, trampled in the dust, and yet the -great Master had made those ideas the whole sum and -substance of life when He enjoined upon man to love -God and his neighbor, live soberly and righteously, -visit the fatherless and widows in affliction, and keep -himself unspotted from the world. Setting aside the -divine emanation of such laws, they were the truest interpretation -of natural law, for what is vicious is injurious. -The divine virtues of truth and equity are the -bulwarks of society; if they are transgressed, the whole -body politic suffers, even as the transgression of natural -law causes disease and dissolution. Surely, here -“the steps are not straightened and he that runneth -stumbleth not.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>To Gilbert, Margaret communicated all her doubts -and fears as well as hopes upon this theme, and with -the eagerness with which an awakened spirit seizes -upon ideas, he followed her reasoning to a conclusion -which would have been remarkable in one so young, if -it had not been the logical result of Margaret’s training -and practice.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I can only work on the plan you outline by first -finding out how those I desire to reach are striving -for the happiness that is their aim. It will be a long -and laborious effort, for I must truly prove myself the -friend of every man. No thief, thug, criminal, outcast, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>or harlot must be too vile and degraded to receive -the warm clasp of my hand and the hearty utterance -of my good-will. Am I equal to it?” Gilbert buried -his head in his hands with a sob that was wrung from -the consciousness of a life-long sacrifice. Margaret -knelt beside his chair and softly slipped an arm around -his neck.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“A second Jean Valjean!” she whispered.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is at most an experiment,” said Gilbert later, -“and even in the event of failure must do more good -than harm. I will try it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The loss of Elsie’s abundant wages had been a trying -matter to the little household. Gilbert’s attendance -at the manual-training school had been perforce -curtailed, and the question of subsistence became a -serious one. Herbert had begged to be allowed to -supply their needs, since his indiscretion had been the -cause of their loss, but the ingrained independence of -both sisters rebelled at the suggestion.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No,” exclaimed Elsie emphatically, “not until I -say ‘yes’ at the altar—and that day is still so remote -as to be almost nebulous—shall I permit any expenditure -of your money on my behalf.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Not even for this?” and Herbert drew from his -pocket a small velvet case and flashed a brilliant diamond -ring before Elsie’s eyes. She took it, flushing -with pleasure over its beauty, and held it up over her -head to watch the play of translucent light on its polished -surface.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, what beautiful things God makes in His laboratory!” -she cried, “and how I do love beauty! But -<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>take it back, Herbert; it would be out of place on the -hand of a working girl.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’m tempted to quarrel with you all the time,” said -Herbert petulantly. “What shall I get you—an iron -ring?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You might have it silver-plated,” suggested Elsie -soberly, “so that, like the majority of my sex, I would -not know it was iron until after marriage.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are incorrigible! But what are you going to -do with yourself, anyway, while you are waiting for -that haughty sister of mine to come under my soothing -ministrations?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Something new—work!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“At what?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Slop-work, like Margaret. I’ve already bought a -new sewing-machine—on part payments, of course—and -I am going to break the record on hickory shirts -and blue jeans overalls.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Absurd! quixotic! outrageous!” exclaimed Herbert, -springing to his feet and pacing the room with -an excited air. “I tell you, Elsie, you and Margaret -will kill yourselves in endeavoring to uphold the dignity -of woman or labor or some other foolish notion.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Herbert!” Elsie’s eyes flashed ominously. “If -the whole world were like you—Supreme Sultans of -Gilded Leisure—you might make your uncomplimentary -classifications; but under existing conditions, I -think—well, I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself; -so there!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am,” said Herbert contritely, as he took her in -his arms. “I don’t in the least question the nobility of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>motive that inspires all this heroism, but I do question -its result. Do you think the fate of the world is hanging -on the struggles of two such admittedly unselfish -and uplifted slips of girls?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You’re just like the old heathen masters of morality!” -ejaculated Elsie. “They gave such excellent -rules for other men’s guidance, but they hadn’t the -courage to try their arguments on themselves. Of -course Margaret and I are <em>very</em> heroic in trying to live -up to our principles—but <em>very</em> silly!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert’s laugh was so contagious that even Elsie -joined in it.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am afraid I’m a heathen,” he said dubiously, “if -in this day and age, when the air is blue with reforms, -I object to seeing the girl I love wearing her life away -for a mere chimera.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Herbert Lynn!” exclaimed Elsie impetuously as -she drew away from his embrace and looked him earnestly -in the face. “Do you look upon the question -of the day, the question that occupies all tongues and -speaks a heart-rending language in every half-starved -wretch that walks the street, as a chimera?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is a phantom that has been chased a good many -thousand years,” he answered, “and the end is not -yet.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Have you no interest in the question?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Specifically, yes; generally, no.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then you have no heart!” exclaimed Elsie warmly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I confess that it has left me and is in the keeping -of a fierce little radical.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Who wishes your judgment was with it, for I think -<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>such conservatism as yours is dangerous and—yes, -positively wicked!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are charming when you wear that look,” said -Herbert critically.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Just wait till I find you are as obstinate as you are -evasive, and I shall not look so charming. But really -I wish you would go away. Do you see that pile of -blue jeans? Every moment wasted on you is just so -much stolen from my beauty sleep, and of course you -care more for that than for any purpose of mine.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, then, if you’ll remember that all I shall ask -of you at our next meeting will be to look pretty and -talk nonsense I’ll go.” Suiting the action to the word, -he left the room.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie,” he called a moment later as he put his head -in the open door, “may I send you a violet if it’s a -very small and stingy one?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert dodged just in time to escape the pin-cushion -Elsie threw at his head, but the supper-table that -night was graced with a generous bouquet of Parmesan -violets, and they nestled lovingly in Elsie’s dark -locks, under her plump chin, and in the cincture of -her slender waist.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XX.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>For some weeks Gilbert had been perfecting a number -of handsomely finished medicine cabinets (which -were furnished with racks for bottles and drawers for -boxes, sponges, and all the various healing paraphernalia -which every well-regulated household keeps at -hand for emergencies), and now that the question of -subsistence was so seriously confronting them once -more, he determined to canvass from house to house -and endeavor to sell them. Knowing that the homes -of the rich would be closed against him, he could only -hope to gain access to those of the middle and poorer -classes, among whom he meant to provoke what -thought and inquiry he could regarding the establishment -of a society of universal brotherhood. Beyond -the five great principles enunciated by the eloquent -clergyman, all ideas were as yet in a nebulous state. -Having established the fact of a desire for the proposed -reform, the three instigators—for Elsie was already -heart and hand in the projected work—believed -that wisdom would be given them for the rounding -and perfecting of details. “There is one thing to be -remembered,” said Margaret, “that to-day no less -than yesterday a tree is known by its fruit, and love -to God can only be reached in the minds of the oppressed -through love to man. First prove to men that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>you love their souls because you love the God that -created them, and you will then be able to convey to -them some of the greater truths of a divine and spiritual -love.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Is not that material doctrine?” asked Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, I do not think so. The world has been mystified -too long. The plain and simple doctrine of a -human, interested, generous love even a child can understand, -and God does not despise the day of small -things.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“How otherwise can you reach a material nature -than by material symbols?” asked Gilbert.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Even as a child learns to rely upon love and gradually -reaches back to the motive and inspiration of -that love, so back of this earthly brotherhood men will -come to see the radiance and truth of divinity overshadowing -it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, if mankind can only be made to look at it in -that light! But what are we going to do, Gilbert, in -this new order with the besotted and brutish natures -that live only for self?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Give them all the personal friendliness we can and -help them to outgrow their evil natures.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It will take generations of refining influences to do -that, I am afraid. So much clings to the flesh that is -bred in the bone.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“True; but we are to-day only small factors in the -great scheme of human civilization. What we leave -unfinished other hands may take up. In any event, -whether of failure or success, we three, weird fates -maybe,” said Gilbert with a smile, “we know that for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>us happiness lies in doing what we can to lighten the -heavy load of oppression and injustice under which our -brothers are groaning.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Amen!” exclaimed Elsie, printing a resounding -kiss upon Gilbert’s cheek. “You look like another -Savonarola, only a trifle handsomer, I must admit.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Give me the inspiration of his genius and the force -of his eloquence, and I’ll will you my good looks.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Thanks! Herbert says I’ll do as I am,” she exclaimed, -drawing herself up to her full height and -flushing and dimpling as roguishly as a mischievous -child.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“By the way, Elsie, how are you and your millionaire -lover going to reconcile the very opposite views -you hold on various vital questions?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie’s face grew sober instantly. “I don’t like to -think about it, Gilbert. I’m so happy now that I’m -only waiting. Perhaps—some time—God knows!” -and tears routed the smiles on the volatile face.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There! don’t worry about it,” said Gilbert. “He’s -a jolly good fellow, anyhow, and we wouldn’t be any -worse than a number of well-known personages of history -if we let conscience succumb to the narcotizing -influence of his pieces of silver.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was an unusual twinkle in the eyes of the -sober Gilbert, which provoked Elsie to say: “Go to, -thou reformer! What need hast thou of any man’s -silver?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>With Elsie’s return home, her faculty for turning off -work, and her fund of good-humor, the circumference -of the Busy Fingers Club was constantly increasing. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>Now that Gilbert was away so much, she took his -place at the bench on the Saturdays allotted to the -Club, and if she did not exhibit his dexterity in directing -and executing work, she yet preserved order and -made fast friends of the boys under her charge. She -was so fertile in suggestion that a good many new -ideas took shape in inventive heads and found expression -in beautiful and useful things in wood. “Some -day,” said Elsie sagely, “we’ll have a bazaar and sell -these things, and oh, won’t we be rich!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What’ll we do with our money?” cried the boys.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Put it in the bank until we can find some great -and glorious need for it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Like buying me a bicycle!” shouted one of the -lads.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And me a base-ball outfit!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And me a fiddle!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And me a musical top!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And me a white elephant!” cried Elsie. But the -laugh did not rout the idea of doing something in the -way of a bazaar. It spread among the girls and incited -them to renewed effort; and it grew to be an -open secret in the neighborhood that in the glowing -but indefinite sometime, great things were to be -achieved by the now well-known Busy Fingers Club.</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was the last of November and Antoine had returned -from the hospital, able to walk with the aid of -one crutch and the promise of discarding that when -exercise and development had perfected the cure. -A happier woman than Lizzette Minaud seldom walked -the earth. All her dreams and anticipations of good -<span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>fortune seemed to be winging their way to realization. -Antoine was getting well; for now that the lad had -been lifted to his full stature, the deformed shoulders -seemed to be straightening, the color came and went -in the once pale cheeks, and the laughter in his heart -made a constant music for her.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, eet ees all von blessed Providence, mon Herbeart,” -she cried as he sat at her right hand, the honored -guest at the little banquet she had prepared at -Idlewild to welcome Antoine’s home-coming. “Surely -le bon Dieu direct ze noble heart to help my boy, -and——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Fall in love with Elsie,” suggested Herbert, who -felt a little fearful of a lachrymose scene in which he -might be called upon to play actor.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Certainement!” laughed Lizzette. “Eet ees ze -match made in heaven.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Occasional sulphurous fumes about it when I scold, -eh, Herbert?” cried Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Oh, just enough as yet to light the flame of a -ready wit. Whether there’ll ever be any greater combustion -remains to be seen.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, I couldn’t be any happier over it if I stood -in Herbert’s place,” ejaculated Antoine, which grave -announcement, in view of his twelve years of maturity, -was met with marked hilarity by the little circle. “And -I’m sure,” added Antoine, in no way abashed, “if Herbert -is never blown up until Elsie lights the fuse he’ll -walk the earth a good while; for I don’t believe she -knows how to scold.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Antoine, my lad, six months of seclusion have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>made you singularly trustful. Elsie has scolded me -ever since I knew her, and I’ve grown so used to it in -the last few weeks that I regard it in the light of a -tonic—like quinine or any other excellent bitter.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Antoine,” said Elsie in a stage whisper, “have you -noticed how improved in health and appearance our -mutual friend Mr. Lynn seems to be? It is all the -result of the exercise induced by trying to ward off -some home truths I’ve been thrusting at him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ze fumes of sulphur!” cried Lizzette. “I protest -zey rise no higher. I fear ze combustion.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“They are a somewhat singular pair of lovers,” interposed -Margaret. “It is a rare thing when they are -not sparring, but as they seem to enjoy it and Herbert -has not yet asked for a body-guard, I seldom interpose -an objection.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Which, in view of the young man’s unprotected situation, -is very considerate of you,” said Elsie with a -defiant toss of her head. “It is my opinion, however, -that there are more entertaining themes than the peculiarities -of a couple of commonplace individuals. -Mr. Lynn, will you please give us a lecture on good -manners?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I shall be most happy to do so when my audience -narrows to one listener.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And he is before the mirror,” retorted Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Hush!” said Antoine; “stop that quarrelling! -I’m going to sing.” And closing his eyes and crossing -his hands before him, he began to croon, in well-portrayed -negro accent and intonation, the lines of a little -dialect song:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>“De way is dark an’ rough an’ long,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - <div class='line'>Doan’t git too deep in de slew ob wrong,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Dey’s cross-roads heah an’ cross-roads dar,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - <div class='line'>But hope is de sign-board shinin’ like a star,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Jes’ keep a-joggin’ tru’ de san’ an’ clay,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - <div class='line'>Dar’s lub at de eend ob de ’arthly way,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“De eyes some time mighty full ob teahs,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - <div class='line'>But lub is de lawd ob de slabe ob feahs,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“So jes’ keep smilin’ in de face ob woe,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!</div> - <div class='line'>Dar’s a happy lan’ whar de good shall go,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Go slow, hol’ hard, chillun!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The clear soprano voice rolled out the words and -notes with the abandon of his Ethiopian prototype, -and Elsie turned and laid an arm around the lad’s -neck as she exclaimed: “Antoine Minaud! Where in -the world did you find that song?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“In here,” said Antoine, significantly tapping his -temple.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“An improvisator!” cried Elsie ecstatically. “Herbert, -we’re in the presence of genius.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So I perceive. Where did you discover the faculty, -Antoine?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“At the hospital.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Can you improvise instantly?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Give me a theme and see.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>“Well, take my lady’s eyes,” said Herbert with a -low bow to Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Her nose rather! That would be more in keeping,” -retorted Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“All right,” laughed Antoine, and scarcely a moment -later he was carolling a rollicking Irish jig to -words that seemed to follow the tune as if they had -been fitted with the utmost carefulness.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>“My lady’s nose—</div> - <div class='line in4'>You wouldn’t suppose</div> - <div class='line'>A poet could rave about it,</div> - <div class='line in4'>But as it lies</div> - <div class='line in4'>Between her eyes,</div> - <div class='line'>She wouldn’t look well without it!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>“An ‘ornery’ nose</div> - <div class='line in4'>Can smell a rose,</div> - <div class='line'>But hers has more to do, sir!</div> - <div class='line in4'>It scornful tips</div> - <div class='line in4'>Above her lips,</div> - <div class='line'>At follies she finds in you, sir!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“Bravo, Antoine!” cried Elsie, jumping up and -bringing his violin. “Now play it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>And as the violin dashed into the abandon of the -melody, she grasped Gilbert by the shoulders and the -two went whirling off into a jig.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That’s inspiring,” cried Herbert, catching up Lizzette -and dashing after them. The dishes rattled, the -pictures shook, the stove trembled, the floors creaked, -but on they danced, madder and merrier as the violin -actually shrieked in glee, until Margaret cried aghast:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ho! ‘Tom the Piper’s Son!’ Stop! Stop! I -beg. It is a veritable witches’ dance.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Come on, my solemn sister,” and Elsie caught -<span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>Margaret around the waist and dragged her into the -merry scramble.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My poor old bones!” cried Lizzette, sinking into a -chair. “Antoine’s a necromancer! I almost grow -young again.” The fiddle stopped, but only for a -moment, for by a sudden transition it swept away into -an old-time melody:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sleep on thy pillow,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Happy and light,</div> - <div class='line'>As the moon on the billow</div> - <div class='line in2'>Reposes at night.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>The old fiddle seemed to have awakened to new life -under the touch of the new Antoine, and Herbert -could scarcely repress a glow of satisfaction as he -looked at the lad. “Specific kindness does vastly -more for the world than general good-will. If I might -be permitted to spend the better part of my income -on this little circle, I should feel that I had done enough -for humanity; but the worst part of it is, this little -circle has such exalted ideas of independence, and -Elsie—bless her and bother her!—shuts the door in -my face continually. I don’t more than half like the -muddle, anyway!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The winter wore away with but few radical changes. -Mrs. Mason’s opposition to Herbert’s marriage to -Elsie showed no diminution, and after numberless and -fruitless intercessions on his part he finally took up -his quarters at a hotel, and Mrs. Mason closed her -house and went to Europe. His sister’s opposition -and Elsie’s persistent refusal to marry him as long as -the present bitterness remained between them, kept -<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>Herbert in a constant state of dissatisfaction. The -world was quite too much upside down with the conflict -of ideas, and men no longer seemed to be permitted -to work out their own lines of happiness without treading on somebody’s toes. Helen’s sole -objection to Elsie had been the capacity in which she -had served them, and the consequent fear of society’s -verdict. He didn’t care a bit more for Helen’s narrow -world, than he did for Elsie’s quixotic schemes for a -regenerated humanity. He wanted simply to be happy -in his own way and according to his highest light. -Helen and Elsie had both called him selfish, and both -from opposite standpoints. As to the truth of their -judgments, he didn’t care. He only knew that an overmastering -love for Elsie as the sweetest-natured, most -piquant, and original woman he had ever met held -him fast in an irrevocable bondage, and but for an obstinacy -on Elsie’s part, as settled as it was difficult to -understand, he would have cut the Gordian knot by an -immediate marriage and absolute defiance of Helen. -Lizzette had been right when she told Herbert he did -not know Elsie’s nature. It was developing a faculty -for self-abnegation that alarmed him. There were -times when the sweetest and most sacred love shone -in her eyes, and the barriers of restraint were broken -down by the utmost sympathy of thought and feeling; -at others the spirit of a martyr looked out from their -translucent depths and an invisible yet conscious wall -seemed to separate them. Herbert trembled in vague -alarm whenever he encountered this look, lying but -thinly veiled beneath the mobile face. But with a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>man’s blindness he could not see that the love which -he arrogated to himself and which shut out the world -as of little moment, was only broadening her sympathies -and making divine revelations of its beauty and -value. Love with all its sacredness and possibilities, -holding close to the one dear image enshrined in the -holy of holies of her heart, had opened wide its door -to suffering mankind. So vividly burned the fire on -the altar of her love that she turned as if with outstretched -arms, crying: “O ye who are cold and hungry! -Here ye will find warmth and shelter.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It is rarely that a man understands either the motive -or development of a love like this, and he is quite -apt through ignorance or jealousy to quarrel with any -of its various manifestations. To Herbert many of -Elsie’s ideas on the great and vexed social questions -of the day seemed the acme of absurdity, and he cherished -the fond hope that when she was once transplanted -to regions of luxurious ease, they would die -from inanition. He looked upon them as the natural -outgrowth of a circumscribed horizon and constant -association with the seamy side of life. “When she -sees what art, science, culture, and wealth can do for -those she loves, her sympathies will not wander so far, -but will narrow down to an area wherein we can walk -hand in hand.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Thus Herbert often assured himself as he became -daily more conscious of the undercurrent of feeling -and belief that was gradually widening in her nature.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The winter had been an unusually long and severe -one, and the resources of the little family had often -<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>been severely taxed to keep the wolf from the door. -Herbert’s alert eyes had discovered this fact, and he -had taken to leaving sundry packages of groceries and -provisions of various kinds in the most unheard-of -places, trusting to time to discover them and good -sense to appropriate and say nothing. Margaret had -found them stuffed under the cushions of the chairs, -behind pictures, tucked under the book-rack, and impelled -by a need sharper than even Elsie had guessed, -since into Margaret’s hands had been transferred the -domestic machinery, had, as Herbert hoped, used them -without inquiry. “It is one of God’s balances,” she -said to herself, “that may one day even up. It is a -delicate and generous act for which I can only be -thankful and keep silent.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>To Gilbert the winter had been a revelation of suffering -and vice that had only stirred deeper the pool -of the living faith within his heart. In his vocation -as peddler he had found access to much of the hidden -life of poverty and crime which escapes even the most -far-sighted general observers. Wherever he had been -able to pierce the strata of callousness which the severest -forms of poverty invariably create, he had found -the same helpless appeal that has for so many generations -sounded down the aisles of time—give us something -to hope for, believe in, trust in! Something -palpable that we can touch, feel, and know. Inquiry as -to churches surrounding them usually elicited a shrug -of the shoulders and the reply: “They are not for such -as me. If I dares to go, they talks about a far-off -God that I doesn’t understand, and hitches their fine -clothes away from me as if my rags would pisen ’em!”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>The more that Gilbert came to know the impulses -stirring in these benumbed hearts, the more he and -Margaret felt the need of establishing a ground of intercommunication -between them. To be able to meet -these wretched mortals upon their own plane and lead -them along, by paths they could understand, up to the -great truths of time and eternity, and to make palpable -to them that God’s love is not a mere abstraction, -but a revivifying, humanizing influence—what dearer -work could one ask? And yet how was it possible in -their straightened circumstances to make even a beginning -of this work? Elsie’s fertility of resource -solved the problem.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Make the Busy Fingers Club a factor in the case. -Let them hold their long-talked-of bazaar, rent the -necessary room, and christen the project ‘The Children’s -Home Meeting.’ Then let Gilbert go among -his poor, tell them of the wonderful violinist and improvisator, -Antoine Minaud, and promise them a -free concert on some Sunday night. After the concert, -have a few moments for social intercourse, in -which all four of the principal instigators and abettors -in the scheme endeavor to make the acquaintance -of those in the room, and then let Gilbert or Margaret -give them a few—only a few—of the simple truths of -every-day living and learning. It is a very simple beginning,” -added Elsie dubiously.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And for that reason the best,” said Margaret decidedly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The members of the little club were enthusiastic -abettors of the scheme as outlined to them by Margaret -<span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>and Elsie. The name which Elsie had so happily -bestowed upon the project instantly won upon -their regard and made them noisy advertisers of their -work throughout the neighborhood. The rooms of a -member occupying the lower floor of the tenement-house -were secured for the use of the bazaar, and -what audience the handiwork of the little folks did -not attract, the music of Antoine’s violin succeeded in -catching and holding. Altogether the bazaar was -pronounced a success by its delighted originators, and -at its close there was money enough to pay the rent -of the hall for one night and possibly two. Then -came the work of training the children for the concert. -Elsie took especial care that every song should breathe -the tenderness, the mercy, the helpfulness of divine -love, and the sweet, clear voices of the children, trained -to the subtile sympathy of expression by her innate -appreciation, made many of the songs long to be remembered.</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was a curious and motley throng that assembled -in the hall one Sunday night in response to Gilbert’s -invitation, as he stood at the door and took -every comer by the hand. Women with shawls over -their heads, with babies asleep on their breasts, men -with hats pulled low over eyes that cast furtive glances -of unrest and suspicion, brazen-faced and gaudily-dressed -creatures with their calling stamped upon their -countenances, ragged and barefooted children, pale-faced -and distorted cripples, came slowly and half-reluctantly -into the room. It was something so new, -so unlike anything they had ever been offered, that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>they were more than half afraid it was a trap, and -that it would end in their being preached at, told how -vile they were, and warned to flee from the wrath of -an angry and a jealous God. They had heard these -words so many times and had felt, deep within disquieted -and tumultuous bosoms, the wide gulf between -the prosperous promulgators of the church and their -own degraded and unhappy condition. Yet somehow -they all trusted Gilbert; there was something in the -clear, earnest, boyish face that won the most suspicious -nature, and it was because they had felt that he -was truly their friend that they had ventured to come. -The hall was a barren, smoke-begrimed, illy-ventilated -room, but Elsie and the children had made what effort -they could with meagreness of material to brighten it -up. Above the platform, where stood Elsie’s organ -and where the semicircle of children was ranged, -those in the audience who could read beheld in large -letters, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to -you, do ye even so unto them.” Over the windows -hung gay cotton banners bearing such inscriptions as -“Love is lord of all.” “A cup of cold water to the -thirsty.” “A kind word maketh the heart glad.” “A -true heart is one of earth’s jewels.” “A little child -shall lead them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Antoine’s violin caught the inspiration of the hour -and spoke in almost human tones the pathos, the -prayer, and the hope of each bosom. The airs were -those of simple, well-known hymns, many of them so -familiar as to be almost household words, and when -in response to Gilbert’s invitation the audience arose -<span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>and sang the choruses, there were not many lips that -remained motionless. They had doubtless heretofore -been hummed many times by the same careless, unthinking -voices; now they seemed to strike deep into -some inner fibre of feeling, and many a furtive tear -rolled from beneath quivering and downcast lashes. -The children sang, as Elsie declared, “like little -angels;” but the crowning event of the evening was -Antoine’s improvisation. Advancing to the center of -the platform on his one crutch, he began in a low, -plaintive, and touchingly-sweet voice:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My heart is sair wi’ muckle woe,</div> - <div class='line in2'>God knows! God knows!</div> - <div class='line'>I ken nae mair the way to go,</div> - <div class='line in22'>God knows!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My feet are cut, my shoon are gane,</div> - <div class='line in2'>God knows! God knows!</div> - <div class='line'>And every step is hurt wi’ pain,</div> - <div class='line in22'>God knows!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Nae light is roun’ aboot my way,</div> - <div class='line in2'>God knows! God knows!</div> - <div class='line'>I canna see the sun of day,</div> - <div class='line in22'>God knows!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“I faint and fall in sairest need,</div> - <div class='line in2'>God knows! God knows!</div> - <div class='line'>And men go by wi’ little heed,</div> - <div class='line in22'>God knows!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sae little costs the kindly word,</div> - <div class='line in2'>God knows! God knows!</div> - <div class='line'>Sae sad it is sae seldom heard,</div> - <div class='line in22'>God knows!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Sae bitter is the thirsting lip,</div> - <div class='line in2'>God knows! God knows!</div> - <div class='line'>Some time mayhap love’s cup we’ll sip,</div> - <div class='line in22'>God knows!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>Before Antoine had finished, men and women were -rocking back and forth and sobbing like children, and -when the last strains of the song died away, it seemed -minutes before any one spoke, and then a woman, who an -hour before had entered the room with a brazen face and -a foul-mouthed ejaculation, cried out in heart-broken -tones: “Oh, sing it again—God knows! God knows!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Softly, as if taken up and echoed by angel voices, -Antoine sang once more the last stanza, and before -the lingering notes were lost on the air, he was at the -woman’s side clasping her hand in his.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Instantly Gilbert, with Margaret and Elsie on either -side and Lizzette and the children following, left the -platform to mingle with and take the hands of those -present. They passed among them with words of -cheer and good-will, and when order was again called, -there was an unmistakable look of eager expectancy -upon the faces that was balm to the watchful eyes of -Margaret and Gilbert. Advancing to the front of the -platform, the latter said simply:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My friends: I am glad you trusted me sufficiently -to come here to-night. We hope to have many more -such nights together, and I only ask you in going away -to remember that, sad as is the pathway of life for -many of us, there is light ahead. The soul of man -through which God seeks to work the salvation of the -world is not dead but sleepeth. Slowly it is awaking, -and love that abides in the world shall some time teach -men that its universal practice must be ‘Whatsoever -ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so -unto them.’”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>As the winter grew into early spring, the fame of -the Children’s Home Meetings spread so rapidly that a -larger audience-room became an imperative necessity. -The churches began to inquire into the matter, and -Margaret and Gilbert were beset with questions as to -their creed and purpose. To all such they gave answer, -“Our only creed is love, and our only purpose -to help each other.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Too vague and indefinite; the structure will fall -for lack of proper support. You ought at least to -have a set of rules.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So we have,” replied Margaret, “but they spring -from the need of the hour. We have order at our -meetings because even disorderly natures find that to -keep the peace best subserves the interest they feel in -the all-pervading friendship we are seeking to establish. -Beyond this we keep in sight, although not obtrusively, -the axiom, if such it may be called, that the -interest of one is the interest of all, and transversely, -that the interest of all is the interest of one. When -these simple truths have become the bone and sinew -of belief and practice, then we may go a few steps -farther as the way opens and light dawns.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You must have an ultimate line of procedure -<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>marked out—some plan as to its religious aspect, have -you not?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We teach no so-called system of theology. Since -atheists, infidels, deists, and trinitarians all meet upon -the common ground that the civilized world has never -beheld a grander epitome of what is called ‘living’ -than that afforded by Jesus of Nazareth, we are content -to forego modern complications of creeds and -isms and establish among ourselves the fundamental -truths taught by Jesus and, better yet, practised by -Him. In doing this we think we shall better both -man’s desires and surroundings. This idea, carried to -its logical conclusion, is so far-reaching that inequalities -of opportunity will fall away as if by magic and -the now unceasing mutterings of discontent and strife -will be one day relegated to a past age of unconscionable -greed and injustice.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The church has been striving to accomplish this -for eighteen hundred years. How can you expect, -with no trained organization, to reach so beatific a -state of society?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Because we shall not do as the church does and -partition the goats from the sheep. We shall practice -no exclusion, no worship of mammon, and shall acknowledge -no caste except that of heart and brain. -Personally I do not look beyond the good of the present -hour; if that is rightfully spent the future will take -care of itself. Indeed, our effort is much like guiding -the first steps of the child; development must come -with years and growth.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, you have a good motive and are an earnest -<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>advocate. We shall watch your progress with interest -and wish you God-speed.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>These words were but a type of the interest the -movement aroused among cultured and progressive -thinkers who came to watch and listen and went away -to ponder. Margaret and Gilbert, ever watchful of -the trend of current thought, smiled hopefully at each -other when, in the columns of their daily paper, they -read the announcement of sermons on such topics as -“The Era of Religious Harmony: What Signs of its -Approach? What can we do to Hasten it?” “The -Co-operative Principle in Morals.” “The Ethics of -the Eight-hour Movement.” “Religious Communism.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The way is clearing for us,” said Margaret eagerly. -“Thought is awake and we are only followers in the -march of progress; we are not even forerunners.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And yet we are looked upon with suspicion by a -great many well-meaning people. The conservative -element in the church regards our ideas as subversive -and dangerous.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“So thought the money-changers in the temple when -Jesus drove them out. What are we attempting to -do, indeed, but re-establish the line of faith on which -the church has built itself? And if in doing this we -brush some of our plebeian, homespun ideas against a -shocked silken-coated aristocratic culture, we may advance -the price of homespun in the market, if nothing -more. I am not afraid for our cause, since it is identical -with everlasting truth.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, and walks hand in hand with the heart-hungry -<span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>and soul-begging mortal! Margaret, every time -I stretch out my hand to one who has need of a -friend, I feel that the grandeur of that <em>Life</em> which is -enthroned in my conscience and teaches me to aspire -to the highest development, is something infinitely -greater than the same truth could have been as a mere -abstraction. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man among men, -makes possible all that is highest in human endeavor. -A philosophy as old as the earliest time and as fundamentally -true as God himself, that ‘Nobility arises -from individual virtue and not from Abraham’s blood,’ -and which Jesus made so potent when He walked the -earth, needs now, as then, apostles who fear not to -preach the truth. It underlies in all its simplicity -every system of religion and statecraft, and yet it is -ignored, brow-beaten, trampled under foot, and sneered -at by those who seek power at the expense of all that -is noblest in man. Oh, had I a thousand tongues I -could not hurl these old truths at the world fast -enough!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Flushed and tremulous with feeling, Gilbert walked -up and down the room, pouring out the flood of ideas -which his work called into activity.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Social well-being, industrial thrift, active consciences—let -us place these in the corner-stone of the -new structure. Religion has been ‘set apart’ too -long; so long, indeed, that within its doors have crept -the monsters of greed, gold-worship, and place-hunting, -until its higher and holier meanings have been -well-nigh crowded out. What, indeed, does man want -of a religion that does not permeate every hope, desire, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>and action of life? We must bring it down from -its idealized height and make it common as the air we -breathe and the bread we eat. Then indeed may man, -glancing upward, behold the dawn of a new and happier -day!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was a day or two later that Herbert and Elsie -were at the organ trying a new piece of music, which -accidentally slipping from its rack fell behind the organ -as it stood diagonally across the room. In rolling the -organ out Elsie discovered a market basket full of -groceries hidden in the corner.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Where in the world did that basket come from, and -what a strange place to put it!” cried Elsie in amazement. -As she glanced at Herbert his flushed, uneasy -face told the whole story.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am exceedingly obliged to your estimate of us as -objects of charity!” she exclaimed, placing the basket -in the middle of the room, and standing over it with -the air of a queen of tragedy.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert could not forbear a laugh, and there was -a trifle of malice in the tone with which he said: “It -seems to me there is a striking conflict of ideas between -the democracy you preach and practice at the -Children’s Home Meetings I hear so much about, and -the aristocracy of pride you practice at home and -toward those whom you ought to trust.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie winced under the home thrust, and with the -quickness with which she could judge herself, answered -contritely: “I know I am proud, Herbert; but I think -it is an honorable pride. At least so I have always -considered pride of character, and it always <em>did</em> hurt -<span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>when anything struck at my independence. It isn’t as -if I were sick, or incapable, or——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Exhibited a proper humility of spirit, instead of an -obstinate and irritating pride,” interrupted Herbert.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Am I irritating?” asked Elsie simply. “In what -way?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“In ever so many ways,” answered Herbert, evidently -bent on fault-finding. “I seem to count but a -cipher in your estimation beside some of these overmastering -ideas of yours. If I exhibit a generous motive -toward you, you smother it——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“In kisses,” she cried, throwing her arms around his -neck and proceeding to stop further explanation. -“Herbert Lynn,” she added, drawing a long breath -after the bit of violent exercise above recorded, “you’re -a most ungrateful man! Now don’t bluster, for it -won’t do one bit of good. I’m going to tell you something -new. I love you more than any man in the -world—that is, any I’ve met so far! Keep still! and -I’m going to do an exceedingly generous action; I’m -going to keep the groceries, and drop you a courtesy -of the properly humble kind, and say, ‘Thank you -kindly, sir! May heaven’s blessings shower——’ Why, -what is the matter? You won’t even wait for the -proper ending of the performance.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert shook himself loose from her detaining arm -and walked to the window with a highly-offended air.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The laugh on Elsie’s lips and in her eyes died away, -and after a moment’s pondering she followed him and -said penitently: “Forgive me, Herbert; you know I -love you more than——”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>“What?” asked Herbert suspiciously.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Money,” said Elsie sententiously.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Bah!” exclaimed Herbert, angrily.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Be calm, my friend! Now look me squarely in the -eyes and behold your image reflected there as—I’m in -earnest now—truly it is engraven on my heart, never -to be erased as long as I live.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert’s reply was that speech of silence so eloquent -to the ears of all lovers, and for the time being -it bridged over the tide of their differences.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Herbert,” said Elsie, when the silence had been -effectively disposed of, “why do you never come to the -Children’s Home Meetings?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“In the first place, because I’ve never been asked, -and in the second place, I’m not altogether in sympathy -with the movement.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A sudden pang shot through Elsie’s heart. “Please -explain,” she said quietly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, probably my reasons are selfish and personal. -I believe you know that I am somewhat generous at -heart, that I am in the main humanity’s well-wisher, -and that I am ever ready to relieve a specific case of -distress; but I do not feel as if I wanted the girl who -is to be my wife hand in glove with the riff-raff of -society.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The riff-raff of society!” repeated Elsie wonderingly. -“Who are they? How am I hand in glove -with them?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, from what I hear,” answered Herbert uneasily, -“you not only talk the gospel of love in its broadest -sense to women of the vilest stamp, but you take -<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>their hands when it is pollution to touch them, you sit -beside them and try to teach them truths they are too -dulled and besotted to learn, and while you are, I must -admit, an angel of light, you are but a mock for their vile -tongues, and make, I fear, only questionable progress.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Go on,” said Elsie faintly as Herbert paused.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There is a spirit of unrest and dissatisfaction abroad -which I think your efforts will do much to incite instead -of quell. I do not question your motives, but -I do question your methods. Let them alone, Elsie, -darling, and be content to shine at the hearthstone of -those who love you. Intensify your light for me, instead -of diffusing it until it is as thin and almost as -cold as moonshine.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>There was no fire of playful fancy in the eyes that -met Herbert’s as Elsie raised her head from his -shoulder. He started as he saw the dull, cold hopelessness -beneath the heavily-fringed eyelids.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“O Herbert! Herbert!” she cried despairingly. -“Why do you ask this? Why did you ever learn to -love me? I told you it was a mistake! I am one of -these common people whom you despise. I can no -more shut out my aspirations, hopes, dreams, and -efforts for them than I can cut off my right hand. I -have fed on these thoughts until they have become -bone and sinew. You knew us, you knew our methods—why, -oh, why did you learn to love me?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“For the very reason that you are not one of the -common people. I have, I think, told you several -times before that I am not so blind I cannot tell a -jewel regardless of its environment. I loved you <em>despite</em> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>education, surroundings, social pride, everything. -I swept away every obstacle to call you mine, and I -care nothing for the world’s verdict. I only want you -for myself, queen of my heart and home, adored as its -sovereign light, surrounded by all that the eye delights -in or the heart can ask.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, not all,” said Elsie quietly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What else?” asked Herbert eagerly. “You shall -have everything that love or wealth can procure.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Can they buy a quiet conscience?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert shrank back. “I think you exaggerate the -matter,” he said hastily. “I cannot see that the conscience -is called into question.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I can,” said Elsie decidedly. “I had a heritage -left me, here,” and she placed her hand upon her breast -as she spoke, “and daily and hourly it tells me that if -I selfishly lock up my God-given sympathies and turn -away from the impulses of my better nature, I am -committing a crime whose punishment is no less -severe because eternity shall judge it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Elsie! Elsie!” cried Herbert, awed into a great fear -by the solemnity of her words, “you shall be the -dispenser of charity as bounteous as you desire.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And yet be forbidden to soil my hands by contact -with poverty or crime. No, we have too much of that -sort of charity already. Besides, do you not see, Herbert, -that there could be no happiness for us holding -such opposite views as we do? Marriage is too holy -to admit a division of sentiment and endeavor between -husband and wife. Ah, I have been so weak to permit -a love that I knew could only bring disaster!”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>“It is only a few moments ago that you assured -me you loved me for all time.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And yet you can throw me over for a disordered -society that never will appreciate an iota of your sacrifice.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are mistaken! The sacrifice appeases a deeper -and holier feeling.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You have a very strange way of reasoning, it seems -to me,” said Herbert bitterly. “You rob Peter to -pay Paul with surprising alacrity.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The look that Elsie turned upon him was so filled -with agony that he cried remorsefully as he caught -her hand and endeavored to draw her toward him: -“Forgive me, Elsie, darling! I am not worthy of your -love, I know; but I hunger so for it—I can’t give it -up!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie drew back with the despairing cry, “We are -so wide apart, Herbert.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“We needn’t be if you would trust more to me and -less to that hypersensitive soul of yours.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A look of scorn not usual to Elsie’s face met Herbert’s -appealing gaze. She rose to her feet and stood -stiffly before him.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are centuries too late. My hypersensitive -soul has a right to its own distinct existence. Your -prescience should have told you how little I could strike -palms with you in utter self-annihilation.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A faint smile crossed Herbert’s face at Elsie’s grandiloquent -words and air, but it died quickly away as -she swept haughtily from the room and would not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>come back, though he called her repeatedly. Angrily -he snatched his hat and left the house. Abused, insulted, -hurt, misunderstood, he felt himself to be, and -the more he reviewed the situation the more he felt -that Elsie’s obstinacy, as he termed it, had raised an -impassible barrier between them. Still his heart would -not be stifled, and it was not till after dispatching a -note to her and despairingly reading her answer—that -marriage between people so distinctly at variance could -never bring happiness—that he wholly lost hope. It -was but the work of a few hours to make arrangements -to join his sister abroad. At the last moment -he dispatched a note to Elsie containing these words: -“I have placed the sum of five thousand dollars in the -C—— National Bank, subject to your call. If you -love me as devotedly as I can assure you I shall ever -cherish your memory, you cannot do less than make me -happy by using it. You owe me this small recompense -for the suffering that will be mine to the day of -my death.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XXII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>To Margaret alone Elsie opened the flood-gates of -her heart, and it was only after days of overwhelming -grief that she could again take up the burden of life. -Margaret’s tears of sisterly sympathy and words of -counsel could not at first still the torrent of heart-broken -tears with which she mourned her lost love. -Not even Herbert had known how precious it had been -to her—how everything high and holy had seemed to -be the offspring of that vitalizing force in her heart. -Now, because having lived up to its highest revelations -and endeavored to be true to its holiest purposes, -she had crossed a counter-current of thought -and will, this love had been taken from her. Had she -been wrong, opinionated, obstinate, as Herbert called -her? Had she forgotten the sweet submission of the -weaker unto the stronger in that natural order of divine -and human love which popular clamor voices as -the proper sphere of woman? Often as she asked herself -these questions—and with the not unnatural hope -of finding herself in the wrong, since her heart prompted -the slave-like humility of a perfect love—just so often -conscience answered, “No!” Stronger still, as she -reasoned, grew the feeling that her soul had a right to -its own individuality, and that whatever it cost her, -she had no right to bind its wings, even though the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>fetters were silken and lightly held by the hand of -love. Neither Margaret, Lizzette, Antoine, nor Gilbert -dared offer a verbal sympathy to the sore heart behind -the white, set face that confronted them when Elsie -had fought her battle alone. The sparkle was irretrievably -gone from the dark eyes, and the curved lips -drooped pitifully at times; but in all the earnestness -of purpose, the kindliness of spirit, she was still the -same Elsie.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The work of the Children’s Home Meetings grew -almost hourly under her efforts; for now that she had -sacrificed her heart on the altar of this work, she meant -to make the sacrifice acceptable in its good results. -Every hour that she and Margaret could snatch from -the demands of their daily work, they spent in forming -what they called “Conscience Classes.” The system of -ethics taught was as simple as the minds with which -they came in contact, and bore the stamp of the ever-living -truth. The magnetic presence of the four chief -workers grew to be a living delight to all who came -from motives of curiosity or interest within its circle. -Beginning at first only with what Herbert had been -pleased to term “the riff-raff of society,” the circumference -of the circle had gradually widened until a -better-educated and more self-respecting class had -found its way among them. Yet even with intelligence -gaining upon them, the one great need of basing -all reform, all happiness, all prosperity upon the code -of ethics which, while it demands the highest development -of the individual, yet takes its inspiration from -the thought of a common welfare, was never lost sight -<span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>of. Earnestness is the great lever of the world, and -while there were many to oppose the idea as of disproportionate -value to the need and development of -the times, the effort still found many adherents. To -be called cranks, laughed at by unbelievers, and derided -by the class for which nothing is holy but success, -came to be, as Elsie said, “normal as the air they -breathed;” but after the first sharp sting these shafts -remained unnoticed, and the one or two perishing -ones uplifted, helped into the light and warmed by -the sunshine of human kindliness into a knowledge of -the great inspirer of their work, was balm enough to -heal all the wounds of a scoffing world.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Margaret had also formed a Mother’s Class, in which -everything pertaining to motherhood and its duties, -was thoughtfully discussed. This class came in time -to be presided over by Mrs. Carson, who, partially recovered, -found no greater delight than in seconding -the good work which had saved her in her hour of -need. The Daughters of the Carpenter was a class -headed by Elsie and especially devoted to helpfulness -wherever it was needed. A list of the regular attendants -of the meeting was kept, and if a mother was -found to be sick or overworked, some one of the -Daughters was appointed to render the needed assistance. -Among the men and elder boys Gilbert formed -a reading class, in which history and the science of -government were brought down to the comprehension -of the illiterate, and men were shown that if they were -dissatisfied with existing social conditions, the remedy -lay in their own hands in a rightful use of the ballot, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>and that if they sold that ballot to a ring or combination -they only forged new links in the chains that -bound them to a slavery against which they were constantly -rebelling. Nor were the children forgotten in -this work. Every original “Busy Fingers” boy and -girl had a new class, in which were resown the good -seeds implanted by Margaret and Gilbert. Thought -and action were growing slowly but surely in the little -community; but already a serious question was confronting -them. The rental of the hall had easily been -effected by the subscription of a few cents from every -regular attendant; but the work, especially among the -mothers’ and children’s classes, required money to prosecute -it. They were all poor, living from hand to -mouth, and while the work was growing there was no -money to help the growth.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“O Margaret,” moaned Elsie, “if the money Herbert -left me had only been left to our beloved work, -how gladly I would use it! Now, knowing how he -feels about it, I can never touch it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was nearing midsummer, and the work among -their members was increasing fast, by reason of sickness -brought on by living in noisome atmospheres and -without proper food and care. Gilbert had come -home from his daily rounds one evening, the most of -his cases unsold, and with an unusual dejection of face -and manner.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I am comfortless,” he said, “for lack of the dross -of earth. I have seen such realization of human suffering -to-day without the power to alleviate that I am -in despair. I gained admittance to one room, where -<span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>a mother and her new-born babe lay dead for lack of -care, while a couple of little ones were begging her to -give them something to eat. I had but ten cents in -my pocket that I had saved for street car-fare; but I -rushed out, got the children some buns, and aroused -the other inmates of the house, who were themselves -too poor to do more than care for the children temporarily, -while I called in the authorities and had the -body disposed of in the potter’s field. How are we -going to make this work of ours reach such cases without -money? I shall have to go begging to-morrow. -I had hoped that our work would so speak for itself -that we would not need to beg; but to-morrow I must -endeavor to start a fund of some kind.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>As Gilbert ceased speaking, the open door was -darkened by the form of a tall, handsome woman -dressed in deep mourning, whom Elsie at once recognized -as Alice Houghton. She turned with outstretched -hand to Elsie. “There is no need of introducing -myself to you,” she said, smiling, “but as I -came to see your sister, will you make me known to -her, and your brother also?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The introductions over, Miss Houghton at once entered -upon the object of her visit. “I have come to -you, Miss Murchison, for help. I have recently been -sadly bereaved in the loss of one I loved, and life has -very nearly lost its charms for me. I have been hearing -a good deal of your work lately, and I want you -to teach me to find forgetfulness in what is evidently -very great happiness to you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Do you mean that you wish to become one of us?”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>“That is my meaning. I shall gladly be your servant -in any work you may have for me.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“To have a servant would be something new in my -experience,” said Margaret, smiling; “but we shall all -be glad of help. Have you any knowledge of our -work? It is not agreeable only from one standpoint. -There isn’t the least æstheticism, superficially speaking, -about it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I do not believe I shall be afraid to try it. I know -you three alone, unaided, without money or friends, -have been doing a work that is already forcing its way -into notice by reason of its unselfishness. I have -money, much beyond my needs, and as I learn of the -help you have given to many sufferers, I feel sure that -I can abet your efforts, with money if not judgment.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Elsie sprang from her chair and impulsively held out -her hand to Miss Houghton. “We have such need of -money,” she cried, “and you seem like a providence of -God.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You are more willing to accept money from me -now than you were once before,” laughed Miss Houghton.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“That was unearned; this is for the bettering of -God’s poor.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Your pride struck me as strange then. I understand -it better now.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“And appreciate its motive, I hope,” said Elsie wistfully.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Indeed I do, my dear child; and if the pride of the -world had a similar foundation there would not be -such a war of caste as afflicts society to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>Fearful from Elsie’s flushed face and her knowledge -of Helen Mason’s opposition to Herbert’s marriage -that in her last words she had unwittingly trenched -upon delicate ground, she slipped an arm around Elsie’s -waist, saying: “Tell me, my dear, why did you send -Herbert away?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was a difficult matter for Elsie to summon self-command -enough to reply; but with a face from which -the color quickly receded she faltered: “We differed -so much in our views that there was no reconciling -them.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Then Helen was not wholly responsible?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, she was not responsible at all. Mr. Lynn’s -education and mine had been from such widely-different -standpoints that the wonder is our ideas ever -came into conflict. It has always been a mystery to -me why Mr. Lynn ever chose to think——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“It is a wonder,” interrupted Alice Houghton dryly -as she bent down and kissed Elsie’s cheek. “I -wouldn’t mourn, my dear, for a man who couldn’t -pocket a few whims to make me happy.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But you don’t know,” said Elsie seriously; “it was -no whim on my part, for I seemed to belong here to -this work. I could not give it up and be happy.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, well, Herbert Lynn has lost the best of his life, -and yet it is only a few months ago that I looked -through his spectacles. It is strange how contact with -sorrow opens our eyes to the true value of qualities -we did not notice before. Elsie, you must let me work -beside you, under the guidance of this wise sister of -yours, and try to find the same peace you are seeking. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>We seem to have met here from widely-different paths. -I gave up all for love—you, dear child, gave up love -for all humanity, and now we join hands in the same -search for the peace that passeth understanding. Will -you show me the way, my little girl?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It needed no words from Elsie, Margaret, or Gilbert -to prove how heartily and gladly they welcomed -the proffered aid, even as they strove to recompense -in some measure the faltering and hungering spirit of -their benefactress. With intuitive quickness she became -one of them in the earnestness of her efforts, and -the line of distinction so often made apparent in the -manner of those who seek the welfare of the oppressed -was entirely absent. Side by side with Margaret and -Elsie she walked among that class of women whose -hands Herbert had said it was pollution to touch; but -when she saw the glow of appreciation lighting up the -dulled, imbruted faces, and heard the wails of penitence -from sore hearts, and the promises to gather up -the remnants of shattered lives and dedicate them -henceforth to righteous living, she felt something of -the joy of the Master who thought it no disgrace to -eat with publicans and sinners. She was not long in -following Gilbert from door to door and inspecting -the homes where, Gilbert said, a self-respecting man -would be ashamed to house his cattle. The absolute -disregard of sanitation in many of these herding places—for -they were little else—shamed with a burning -blush the boasted nineteenth-century civilization. The -names of the owners of these tenement hovels were -listed by Alice Houghton and found in the majority -<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>of cases to be those of men of wealth and prominence -in the community, who never gave any thought -to their property except as regarded its monthly income. -Ordering her carriage and horses and dressing -herself in her finest raiment, Alice presented herself -at the doors of these men. Without any preliminaries -she told them of her discoveries, the deplorable condition -of their tenants, and begged that something be -done to improve their condition. Her handsome presence, -her dress, equipage, all bespeaking her a person -of consequence, she met with the usual courtesy which -such externals command; but in the majority of cases -she was listened to with that air of constraint betokened -by elevated eyebrows and idly drumming fingers. -More than once she was given to understand, sometimes -broadly and sometimes indirectly, that she might -better be minding her own business. For all such she -had a parting shot in saying: “I am preparing for publication -in the city press a series of articles on the condition -of our poor. I really hope, sir, I shall not be -compelled to include your name in the list of inhuman -landlords.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The stroke told, and invariably elicited a promise -of looking into the matter, supplemented with at least -some slight attempt at repairs. With Alice Houghton -conspicuous in such work, society became at once -interested. It might be a delightful fad to investigate -this labor question and exploit one’s charity in behalf -of these poor dear creatures. But whenever this desire -was submitted, it met ignominious and instant -death. Only those who felt the earnestness of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>work were permitted any share in it. It soon became -apparent, however, that the latent impulses of human -nature, veneered as they may be by false ideas as to -wealth and social position, are in the main generous -and humane ones. Under the influence of Alice -Houghton wealth came to the succor of the newly-formed -and still chaotic society. Gilbert’s reading -class became possessed of a room for its exclusive use, -where all the current periodicals and papers and some -of the best books could be found and read by any one. -It became a sort of poor man’s club-room where living -topics were discussed, and where twice a year a banquet -was given at which the speeches and toasts emanated -from the growing minds of those who had risen -from the ranks.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The parlors of several well-known society ladies -were also thrown open once a week to the orchestra -formed by Antoine, but now placed under the tutelage -of a more proficient master. The Mother’s Class, the -Daughters of the Carpenter, and the Busy Fingers -Club had each a fund from which to draw in emergencies, -and better than all else, it seemed to Gilbert, -the five great principles lying back of all these efforts -had been submitted to a council and a code of rules -drawn up under the general plan, which bade fair to -make the society cohesive and enduring. Yet it was -by no means free from turbulent elements, nor had it -come to its present prosperity without encountering -many well-nigh overwhelming obstacles. As long as -human nature is content to remain on the low plane -of self-indulgence, just so long will every good and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>unselfish impulse find a bitter warfare waged against -it, and not every one of those who were to be most -benefited by the movement was in favor of it. There -seems to exist in some natures a wolfish opposition to -everything high and holy, and Gilbert had long been -aware, without in the least understanding the reason, -that he had incurred the enmity of one of their number -known as “Red Handed Mike.” If the fellow -possessed any patronymic it had long since passed into -oblivion, and he was known only by his sobriquet, -and feared accordingly. Gilbert had been warned -that Mike was only waiting an opportunity to “make -it hot for him”; but thinking the threat, for lack of -cause, merely the idle boast of a bully, he passed it unnoticed.</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was the morning of a day in early autumn. Margaret -was made glad by the sight of Aunt Liza and -Eph, who, climbing to her sky-parlor with many “oh’s” -and “ah’s” and rheumatic squeaks of the joints, had -greeted her with the old-time effusion and affection -which absence had not dulled.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I was jes longin’ so fer de sight ob your face, Miss -Margaret, I couldn’t stay away no longer, and Eph -heah has been a heap wuss’n me,” exclaimed Aunt Liza.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Sho!” said Eph, fumbling with his hat and trying -to hide his feet under the rounds of his chair. “I only -jes wanted to tell yer we’uns has done a heap ob -savin’ this heah summer. Mammy heah’s got a new -red gown, an’ I’s got a whole suit of store clothes, -and besides, Ma’am Minaud’s banked money fo’ us, -too.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>“Well done!” cried Margaret. “I couldn’t hear -better news.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I knowed you’d be tickled!” exclaimed Eph, delightedly -displaying a couple of rows of ivory teeth. -“I done tol’ mammy dar wa’n’t no use backslidin’ in -this yere business when all you’uns had got to be jes -perfeck angels.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Angels?” queried Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Why, don’t yer know we’uns has hearn tell all ’bout -de society out to Idlewild? And eberybody done says -you’uns is saints and no mistake,” exclaimed Aunt -Liza.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Everybody is very kind,” said Margaret soberly, -“but we are far from saints. We are only trying to -find the best side of human nature.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yo’ done it—yo’ done it fo’ shuah, Miss Margaret!” -exclaimed Eph excitedly. “Yo’ jest took us po’ trash -and made us ’sponsible bein’s, and showed us how to -be ’spectable if we is brack.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Deed yo’ did, Miss Margaret,” chimed in Aunt -Liza. “And de bestest part ob it is, as Eph’s a-sayin’, -dar wa’n’t no ornery mission ’bout it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’s jes been wonderin’, Miss Margaret,” interrupted -Eph, “eber since I hearn ’bout Antoine’s singin’ and -de way de home meetin’s is callin’ de po’ sinners, ef -dar’s any reason why mammy an’ me couldn’t come -jes once, anyway. It’s white folkses’ meetin’, I know, -but I jes like mighty well ter heah some ob Antoine’s -singin’. Day do say he jes ’lectrify de aujience.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Come and welcome,” said Margaret, who could -not forbear a smile at Eph’s rendering of popular -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>phraseology. “We have room always for those who -are trying to find the way up.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Deed’n I’s so glad, Miss Margaret,” said Aunt Liza -effusively. “’Pears like sometimes dey’s a dreffle prejice -’gainst folks jes cause de Lawd made deir skin -brack.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>That evening, as Aunt Liza and Eph mounted the -stairs of the Home Hall, as it had come to be called, -Red Handed Mike stood in the doorway and blurted -out as they passed: “We don’t want none o’ them -d——d niggers here. If Brother Gib ’lows ’em to -stay I’ll break up the meetin’!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Just then Gilbert, accompanied by his sisters and -Alice Houghton, entered the hall.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Say,” called Mike, “do you see them niggers? -Goin’ to let ’em stay?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Certainly,” answered Gilbert. “They are friends -of ours.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“No, they hain’t,” growled Mike. “I hain’t got no -such devilish taste as that.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Gilbert paused for a second, and said quietly as he -faced the offender with a steady glance: “I hope your -good taste will prevent your making any disturbance.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Hush, Mike!” “Keep still, for God’s sake!” whispered -several of his companions as he turned to Gilbert -threateningly.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Never fear, men,” said Gilbert reassuringly. “Mike -knows this isn’t any place for a mill,” and without saying -anything further he passed on to the platform.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Under the entreaties of his companions the bully -sank into a corner and sulkily watched the proceedings. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>A little later Antoine stepped to the front of -the platform and began one of his inimitable improvisations. -Catching sight of Eph’s interested face in -the audience, the impulse to give a song in negro dialect -came over him with irresistible force. With -scarcely a moment’s waiting the clear young voice -rang out in a lively carol.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“What if some troubles yo’ do know?</div> - <div class='line'>Jes doan min’ ’em, let ’em go!</div> - <div class='line'>It only makes de bigger hill,</div> - <div class='line'>A-pilin’ up ob ebery ill,</div> - <div class='line in12'>So jes let trouble go!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in16'>Chorus.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Git a lil’ sunshine in yo’ heart,</div> - <div class='line'>Whateber grief yo’s knowin’,</div> - <div class='line'>Git a lil’ sunshine in yo’ heart,</div> - <div class='line in12'>An’ set de smiles a-growin’.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“De stranges’ thing is when yo’ smile,</div> - <div class='line'>Yo’ done forgit yo’sef a while!</div> - <div class='line'>Yo’ doan’ no mo’ remember pain,</div> - <div class='line'>Till yo’ forgits to smile again,</div> - <div class='line in12'>So jes let trouble go!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Eph’s feet had been strangely uneasy during the -rendering of the preceding stanzas, and Aunt Liza -had pulled at his coat and whispered warningly: “Doan -yo’ forgit, Eph, dis yere’s white folkses’ meetin’. Dey -doan ’low no shuffle heah.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Cain’t help it, mammy,” returned Eph. “It do jes -go clar through my toes.”</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Dar’s mighty lil’ dat we fin’</div> - <div class='line'>Dat’s like a nice contented min’;</div> - <div class='line'>It makes de worl’ de fines’ place</div> - <div class='line'>To lib dis side ob heabenly grace;</div> - <div class='line in12'>So jes let trouble go!”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘Git a lil’ sunshine in yo’ heart</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>“Yes do!” responded Eph fervently.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘Whateber grief yo’s knowin’!’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“Neber min’ it! Neber min’ it!” interposed Eph, -growing more and more excited.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘Git a lil’ sunshine in yo’ heart!’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“Send it, Lawd! Send it, Lawd!” cried Eph, rocking -to and fro, heedless of the wondering glances bestowed -upon him and Aunt Liza’s frantic clutches at -his coat.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“An’ set de smiles a-growin’,”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>sang Antoine’s clear voice.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Yes, Lawd, we needs ’em! ’Deed we does,” -groaned Eph half-aloud. A wave of applause greeted -the singer as he turned to leave the platform. It -swelled louder and louder and would not be stilled. -In the midst of the excitement Eph half-rose to his -feet and called out: “Come back, Antoine, honey! It’s -jes like hearin’ ob de angels sing!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Only Antoine’s instant compliance quelled the rising -flood of laughter and hisses. Clasping his hands before -him and half drooping on his crutch in the pathetic -attitude of old age and decrepitude, Antoine -began in a broken voice:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“What ef my face is old an’ brack,</div> - <div class='line'>An’ hard my han’s, an’ bent my back,</div> - <div class='line'>An’ mos’ly shadows on de way</div> - <div class='line'>Hab followed dis yere form ob clay?</div> - <div class='line'>What ef, despised by brudder man,</div> - <div class='line'>I jes works on de bes’ I can,</div> - <div class='line'>An’ toilin’ airly, toilin’ late,</div> - <div class='line'>For arthly joys I’s long to wait?</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>I knows some time dis face ob min’</div> - <div class='line'>As white as Jesus’ robe will shine,</div> - <div class='line in4'>For He, oh, He’s my Mahstah!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>“O Jesus, my Mahstah!</div> - <div class='line in6'>De frien’ ob de poah,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Deah Jesus, my Mahstah,</div> - <div class='line in6'>Yo’ sorrows will cuah;</div> - <div class='line in4'>O Jesus, my Mahstah,</div> - <div class='line in6'>He’s callin’, I come!</div> - <div class='line in4'>O brudder, my brudder,</div> - <div class='line in6'>Why stan’ yo’ dar dumb?”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>There was an unsurpassed tenderness and sweetness -in Antoine’s rendition of the words, and an unusual -hush fell upon the audience, which was broken now -and then by the audible sighs and incoherent ejaculations -of Eph, and when, as it seemed to Eph’s -agitated bosom, Antoine’s voice soared, in its freshness -and simplicity, to the very verge of the eternal, -he could no longer restrain himself, but threw up -his arms in an ecstasy of self-abandonment and -shouted: “I’s comin’! Lawd! I’s comin’! I’s heah! -Take me, po’ mis’able sinnah, take me home to -glory!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Instantly all was confusion. Men, women, and children -craned their necks for a view of the excited African -whom Aunt Liza’s frantic efforts could not calm. -Eph had become possessed of the “power,” and was -deaf to his mother’s intercessions. “I’s knowed it -long, Lawd,” he moaned. “I’s been a dreffle sinnah. -Jesus, my Mahstah, de fr’en’ ob de poah! O Jesus, my -Mahstah, yo’ sorrows will cuah——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Come, Eph,” said Gilbert, who had quickly left the -platform. Eph rose at once, whispering as he did so: -<span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>“I neber mean no harm, Mars Gilbert. I’s jes a feel-in’ -de force ob conviction.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I know,” answered Gilbert soothingly. “Antoine’s -singing was evidently too much for you. You’ll feel -better in the open air.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“’Deed I’ll neber feel any bettah till I knows de -Lawd’s forgiben de mis’ble sinnah Eph Blackburn! I’s -jes got to be convarted, Mars Gilbert.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Eph was growing excited again as they neared the -door where Red Handed Mike stood among a knot of -his fellows. As Gilbert and Eph passed them, Mike -exclaimed in a tone loud enough to be heard throughout -the hall: “I told Brother Gib he’d better not let -them d——d niggers in here.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Gilbert turned and faced him. “That is not fit -language for this place, and I don’t want any more of -it.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You don’t, eh?” cried Mike with a sneer. “I -rather guess I’ve as good a right to say what I please -as any d——d nigger.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Leave the room at once, or I shall be compelled -to have you put out.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“You will? Take a little of that first, won’t you?” -and drawing back the bully, flaming with passion, sent -a heavy blow of his fist into Gilbert’s face. With a -panther-like leap Gilbert evaded the blow, and instantly -closed his fingers in a vise-like grip around his -opponent’s throat. Struggling and clutching with the -fierceness of a tiger at the long, lithe fingers closing in -upon his throat like bands of steel, with his tongue -lolling on his chin, his face growing black, and his eyes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>starting from their sockets, Mike was forced by Gilbert -against the wall, who held him there as he cried, “Call -the cops, boys!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Hold him fast!” “Bully for you, Brother Gib!” -“Make him ax yer parding!” yelled the crowd.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I shall some other day,” answered Gilbert. “Just -now I’ll keep my fingers on him till the cops get him.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>A moment later “Red Handed Mike,” crestfallen -and sulky, was passed over to the care of a couple of -policemen, and Gilbert turned to the men who had -gathered around him and said, with a grim appreciation -of its underlying humor:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Boys, I am going to talk to you to-night on the -beauty of peace.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>He walked quietly and quickly up the aisle, but had -not yet mounted the platform when a tremendous -cheer broke from the audience. Men threw their hats -in the air, and women waved their handkerchiefs as -the story of “the fighting parson,” as they then and -there dubbed him, passed from lip to lip.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>Two years passed by; years that brought increasing -strength and prosperity to the Society of Universal -Brotherhood, and gave it a recognized standing as an -important factor in the structure of social reform. -Dealing primarily with the fundamental truth of human -relationship, and resolutely adhering to the application -of those principles to all the conduct of life, it -soon established a method of reason which, if primitive, -still satisfied the highest aspirations of the -heart. In Red Handed Mike Gilbert had won, after -long proof of the value of brotherly kindness and forbearance, -one of his most earnest co-workers, and it -was no uncommon sight to behold the two side by -side at political, social, and semi-religious gatherings, -endeavoring to promulgate in quiet ways the truths -which had become inherent parts of their daily thought -and work. To Antoine alone, of all the members of -the little circle, the years had brought apparent -change. Increasing stature and added health had -given him greater comeliness of form, while the once -pale, thoughtful face was now enlivened by the glow -of color and sparkle of happiness. The parting of -Herbert and Elsie had been a great grief to the lad, -for love and gratitude to both had built in fancy a -glowing future for them. In numberless little ways -<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>he had endeavored to show his sympathy and appreciation, -and to Herbert he had taken to writing long -letters descriptive of the lives and pursuits of the old -circle; but avoiding with intuitive delicacy any direct -reference to Elsie. The progress of the society was -therefore an open book to Herbert, who, wandering -restlessly over the continent of Europe, hungrily -awaited the coming of Antoine’s letters in the fond -hope of gleaning even in imagination some news of -Elsie. The two years of his wanderings had been but -a record of growing discontent. His prosperous life -had never before known a serious rebuff, and his love -for Elsie had been the one and only love of his life. -Try as he might in his anger and disapproval, he -could never shut out the memory of the dark eyes and -the piquant face, now sparkling with gayety or quivering -with the pathos of grief. All her little crudities of -speech, her high-tragedy airs, her inimitable mimicry, -and her tender flower-like caresses, dwelt so deep within -his heart that they were constant companions of his -waking and sleeping hours. He grew old and irritable -under the pressure of grief and disappointment, and -Helen Mason declared that “a mummy from the Catacombs -couldn’t be more unsociable.” They wandered -together up the Nile, Herbert declaring his intention -of tracing it to its source and joining Stanley in the -heart of the Dark Continent.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I’m tired,” he said, “of civilization, and think of -returning to savagery, where ‘labor strikes’ and -‘bloated capitalists’ are unknown quantities.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“I think you’ve already reached that state,” Helen -<span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>retorted, “for I live in almost constant fear of having -my head snapped off.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, since I’m so nearly on the confines of cannibalism, -I think, to insure your safety, we will go back -to Paris.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>To Paris they accordingly directed their steps, -but the gay capital had no attractions for Herbert. -Indeed, he was more at peace lazily dreaming in the -land of the Pharaohs, for in the new republic he could -not altogether shut his ears to the cry of the people. -Thought seemed to be teeming, even in the effete -monarchies of the Old World, and when he and Helen, -in despair of enjoyment fled to the Russian capital, -even there nihilism and nationalism, dogged by the -visions of Siberian prisons and infuriated with the cry -of slaves in mine and factory, were in the very air they -breathed. It was in Russia that Herbert first set himself -to studying the conditions so productive of upheaval -as well as the worst forms of human cruelty. -To Helen’s intense fear he took to mingling with the -common people, and learning the reason for the -scarcely breathed, but only too apparent discontent -and rebellion.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“The people! The people! Away with the divine -right of kings!” This was the whispered shibboleth -of nihilists and nationalists alike in the courts -and wilds of Russia, and it swelled into a modulated -but well-defined chorus along the banks of the -Rhine, until it rang resonant and clear in the heart of -the new republic. At home, abroad, wherever he -journeyed, the echo of the world’s suffering and despair -<span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>was sure to reach him. But after all what was it -to him more than an episode of history, interesting as -a study of the conflict of ideas, the upheavals by revolution -and evolution? What part had he in forming -history, only as one of the many on whom the mantle -of existing orders must inevitably fall? With a good -deal of impatience he shook off the obtrusive question. -Every man must be his own savior and avenger in the -battle of existence. Elsie herself had preached the -independence of the individual. “True,” said Conscience, -“but did she preach that alone? Did she -not also believe in the fullest co-operation as a prop -and encouragement to individual effort? Was not her -life an epitome of the highest personal development, -morally at least, combined with the most unselfish desire -for the prosperity of others?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was a long battle between a selfishness born of his -environment, as well as what he considered the inherent -rights of individuals and classes, and conscience and -conviction. But the latter finally won the day, and -with an eagerness out of all proportion to his former -weariness and disgust with life, he set out for Paris -and London with the determination to investigate this -industrial question to its farthest limit. He was in -London on that great first of May, when over two -millions of men throughout the world laid down their -tools and quietly awaited the declaration of advancing -reason. He began to see that the principle of co-operation, -based, as it must ever be, on the simple lines -of equal opportunity and equal footing before the law, -held within its embracing bosom the solution of many -of the vexed and complex problems of sociology. It -<span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>was while in Paris, however, that he made the vital -discovery which gave direction and concentration to -his study of the industrial question. While rambling -with Helen in the purlieus of the great city, he chanced -upon a small community of neat flower-enveloped cottages -contiguous to an immense factory, and of which -they were evidently a part. Inquiry developed the -fact that the little village belonged to a manufacturer, -who had organized a colony of workingmen on an entirely -original plan, in which their comfort was coordinate -with the profits to be gained. The cottages -were rented to men with families at from one dollar and -a half to three dollars per month, with the result that -after long service they finally fell into the hands of the -occupants. The workingmen were insured against accident, -and their savings invested in the works at a -guaranteed six per cent per annum. Work was paid -for by the piece at remunerative wages, thus giving -the skilled workman the opportunity to realize on his -ability, and stimulating the unskilled to greater activity. -Imperfect work was rigidly rejected at the expense -of the employee, thereby insuring the greatest -carefulness and exactness. The streets of the little -village were handsomely paved, an ornate concert hall -and good school-houses adding to the attractiveness of -the picture. The unmarried workmen were able to -secure comfortable lodgings at three cents per day, -and a restaurant provided meals at prices just paying -expenses. Discontent was an unknown quantity, -while rosy-cheeked children and plump matrons were -living proof of the beneficence of the system. In fact, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span>situations were eagerly sought after and rarely vacated -save by death or disaster. The profits of the -establishment were not, of course, enormous, like so -many similar institutions where human lives are sacrificed -on the altar of greed; but being moderate yet -afforded a safe permanent investment, which was never -affected by strikes or lockouts, and which in the zeal -and affection of the community for its employer relieved -the burden of care and anxiety under which -capital so often groans in less favored circles. After -weeks of investigation, Herbert concluded that here -was the middle ground on which capital and labor -must meet before either can achieve an unbroken line -of progress. Making himself and Helen acquainted -with the owner and promulgator of all this thrift and -contentment, and beholding him in his charming home, -surrounded by luxuries, and with his daily comings -and goings lighted by the smiles and affection of his -people, Herbert found his own ambition fired to be -the originator and center of a similar community. He -realized that the outlay at first would be enormous, -involving his whole fortune, and that the most arduous -and exacting labor would be demanded of him in its -execution. But here under the balmy skies of France -was the living prosperous proof that business and sentiment, -so universally divorced by popular clamor, may -be united in a harmonious and prolific marriage. For -the first time within the last two years, Herbert -dropped his taciturnity and discussed the project with -Helen, who strangely enough had become as infatuated -with the little community as had Herbert himself.</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>“After all, Herbert,” she said plaintively one day, -“I believe having your own way all the time is like -living on honey—it palls on the appetite very soon.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert glanced up quickly. “Are you turning philanthropist -too?” he asked with a touch of satire in -his tone.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, it is in the air,” she answered resignedly, -“and I don’t see how one can help being infected.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Bravo! Helen, you take the disease charmingly! -Shall we go back to America to establish a new Eden?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“On one condition, and that is—to take me in as -equal partner.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My sweet sister!” cried Herbert ecstatically as -he sprang from his chair and caught her around the -waist. “Do you really mean it?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Truly; and, Herbert,” and with tears in the eyes -upraised, to his she added brokenly, “if—if that little -saint, Elsie, Alice Houghton writes me about, can be -induced——”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“There!” Herbert’s face hardened as he placed -his hand on his sister’s lips. “Say no more on that -subject. I appreciate your generosity, but hope died -long ago.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Two days later they were on the ocean homeward -bound, and with the zeal of new-born ambition were -deep in their project almost before they returned the -greeting of their friends. Some two weeks after their -arrival the C—— <cite>Sunday Herald</cite> contained a notice of -the purchase of a large tract of land in the northwestern -part of the city, including the subdivision known -as “Idlewild,” by Herbert Lynn, Esq., who proposed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>the erection of a mammoth shoe factory to be managed -after a method which he had investigated abroad, and -believed to be not only the safest investment for capital, -but one yielding the largest returns from the -standpoint of the philanthropist.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Mr. Lynn,” the article went on to say, “is the -pioneer in this form of enterprise, and feeling that -there is no reason other than inexcusable greed for -the occurrence of so much idleness, suffering, destitution, -vice, ignorance, and penury in so many departments -of American labor, he proposes a plan of co-operation, -now working harmoniously and profitably -in France, which will no doubt do much toward solving -some vexed industrial conflicts.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Following this was a short history of the colony on -the edge of Paris and its plan of operations. Elsie -read the article with swimming eyes, and impulsively -kissed the insensate bearer of such good news. She -had not seen Herbert since his return, and this was -the first intimation of his project which she had received -from any one. How beautiful the world grew -all at once! How much there was in life to hope for, -work for, enjoy! Suffering humanity under Herbert’s -fostering care—ah, how could it be other than happy? -To live in the light of those sunny blue eyes—how she -envied the prospective inhabitants of that social paradise. -But the weeks grew into months, and Herbert -made no effort to renew his old standing in the little -circle. His name was rarely mentioned to Elsie, although -she learned from Lizzette that he had appropriated -one of the handsomest residences included in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span>his purchase of Idlewild, and had taken Lizzette from -her market gardening to preside over his bachelor establishment. -Voluble as Lizzette had always been, -she was now suspiciously silent, unless she had a bit -of gossip to offer regarding the interest taken in the -proposed work by Alice Houghton. Antoine, happy -as a bird in the new home and the exceptional progress -he was making in music, took especial care to -avoid the mention of Herbert’s name, although Elsie -often intercepted a wistful glance of commiseration -in his dark eyes. Why were they all so silent? she -often asked her longing heart. Did they think she -had no courage? Did they fancy her a Lily Maid of -Astolat who needs must die for love? Well, they -should see she could be brave and work on through a -long life, and make no sign of heart-break! So with -renewed earnestness, never sparing a moment for -much-needed rest, she toiled on, earning her daily bread -and giving the helping hand to all who needed it. -Margaret’s watchful eyes noted with pain how thin -and transparent the once rounded face was growing, -what an intent light burned within the old laughter-loving -eyes, and how feverish was her application to -her work.</p> - -<p class='c009'>It was a year before the great co-operative shoe -factory was in running order, and on the evening of -the first day of regular work, Herbert, flushed and -elated over the promised success of his plan, was driving -hurriedly along the street, on his way to visit -Helen and report progress. Glancing up suddenly he -encountered the gaze of Elsie’s eyes as she paused for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span>a second on the crossing. Heavens! How white -and frail she looked! What caverns those great dark -eyes had grown to be! Was she dying and nobody -to tell him?</p> - -<p class='c009'>So preoccupied was he with these hurried thoughts -that he passed on, failing to return the slight salutation -she had made. A moment later he drew rein, but -Elsie had disappeared from view. He turned and followed -in the direction she had taken, but she was nowhere -to be seen. He had been working of late like -the traditional galley-slave, curbing his impatience in -the thought of the offering he could one day lay at -her feet, and now, like a phantom of her old blithe, -rosy-cheeked self, she had crossed his path, and the -dark eyes had seemed to speak the despairing words, -“Too late! Too late!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Lashing his horse into a white foam, in absolute defiance -of the ordinance against fast driving, he rushed -a few moments later in upon Margaret with the frightened -question:</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Where is Elsie? Why has nobody told me she -was dying?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>The question seemed almost brutal in its abruptness, -and Margaret staggered as if struck by a blow.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Forgive me, Margaret,” cried Herbert piteously. -“I passed her just now, but lost her again, looking -so frail and wan—did you not know? Have you not -seen?”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Ah, yes,” moaned Margaret. “But I had no medicine -for a breaking heart. A spirit like hers soon -burns out the fires of a frail body.”</p> - -<p class='c009'><span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>It was some time later that the door opened suddenly -and Elsie, pale, trembling with the exertion -of climbing the stairs, and with eyes veiled in the -shadow of utter despair, stood on the threshold.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Herbert was at her side in an instant. “Elsie! -Elsie!” he cried. “Love is master. I’ve come back -to you, strengthened, purified, ennobled at your hands. -Do not scorn the gift now. It is richer than all else -I ever offered you.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>But Elsie had no answer to make. For the first -time in her life she fainted, and lay a veritable picture -of death in Herbert’s arms. “Dear God,” he cried, -“not this! Not now with our work all before us! -Let me keep her lest I grow slothful in the service of -her dear Master!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Down on his knees beside the frail form, chafing -the thin hands and with the tears chasing each other -in torrents over his face, Herbert knelt, too frightened, -too heart-broken to be of any service in Margaret’s -hasty efforts at resuscitation.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Joy seldom kills, and Elsie slowly came back to life -and love with the shadow of the old smile on her lips.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Herbert,” she whispered as, still faint, but supremely -happy, she rested her head on his shoulder, -“the old wilful, independent Elsie is dead, and I want -to prove to you hereafter how patient and submissive -I can be.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, then,” said Herbert, after one of those eloquent -silences which “the world that dearly loves a -lover” can readily interpret—“well, then, I’m going to -take you at your word; for to-morrow at high noon, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span>in society vernacular, I shall be here with license, -priest, Helen, and all the rest of us, prepared to hear -a very meek ‘I will’ from those white lips.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“But I have no wedding-gown!”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Put on your best calico,” said Herbert composedly. -“So long as I can see you wear that glad light in -your eyes and the old happy smile on your lips, I shall -always feel that you are clothed in radiant attire.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>One evening several days after the wedding, Gilbert -came home to Margaret with an inscrutable smile on his -face. “Margaret,” he said composedly, “I have come -to the conclusion that your occupation as home-maker -is about gone.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>“What do you mean?” she cried aghast.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Well, Herbert has given me a place in the factory, -and he and Elsie insist that I make my future -home with them. It rather strikes me that you are -left out in the cold in consequence.”</p> - -<p class='c009'>Tears sprang to Margaret’s eyes, and with a heartbreaking -sob she buried her head in her arms as she -leaned against the table.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“My dear sister,” cried Gilbert quickly. “My joke -is rather rough I’ll admit; but I’ve a little excuse -for it.” And stepping to the hall door, he beckoned -mysteriously to some one standing there. Margaret -raised her head apprehensively, and saw Dr. Ely with -smiling face standing upon the threshold.</p> - -<p class='c009'>“Here is a gentleman,” said Gilbert soberly, “who -thinks he would like to have a home made for him.” -And with an ostentatious bang to the door he slipped -away.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span> - <h2 class='c006'>CONCLUSION.</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c008'>Of the remaining members of the little circle there -are but few words to speak. In Alice Houghton and -Helen Mason the Society of Universal Brotherhood -finds able coadjutors. Life becomes broader and -fairer to them as they realize the existence of a common -bond in humanity and a universal creed of -brotherly love.</p> - -<p class='c009'>Slowly, but surely, the seed sown in doubt, darkness, -and tribulation has begun to bear fruit, and Gilbert, -the powerful leader of the new movement, often -blesses the memory of the hours of sorrow and trial -which have made these helping influences spring from -a soil watered by tears and harrowed by privation. -Antoine’s violin and marvellous gift of improvisation -are the delight of an enthusiastic public, and Lizzette’s -brown face, with the wrinkles growing a little deeper -as the years go by, wears a look of supreme pride and -contentment as she contemplates his progress. A -cherished member of Herbert’s home, she is at once -housekeeper, friend, and companion.</p> - -<p class='c009'>The marriage of Herbert and Elsie is one of those -perfect unions in which oneness of spirit, heart, and -effort keep an unbroken bond. They have seen their -endeavors paying them a tenfold increase in the growing -tide of thought and prosperity overtaking the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span>workingmen and women and widening out into an irresistible -current of human kindness. Children have -come to them, endowed with the same warm, generous -natures, who are never so happy as when smoothing -a wrinkle out of papa’s tired brow, or making a -dimple come in mamma’s pretty cheek. Elsie, the -idol of her home, and beloved alike by the prosperous -circle of universal brotherhood, and the thrifty, contented -colony at Idlewild, often delights, with children -clinging to her skirts, and a crowing baby perched on -Herbert’s shoulder, half-laughingly, half-earnestly, to -proclaim him the founder and father of America’s -New Aristocracy of heart and brain.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>THE END.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c002'> - <li>Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A NEW ARISTOCRACY ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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