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TORONTO: WILLIAM BRIGGS, Wesley Buildings. Montreal : C. W. COATES. Halifax : S. F. HUKSTIS 1898. !:| 'III ENTRnKDorcordinK to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand ciKht hundred and ninetyeiKht. by W.ul.am Br.oos, at the Department of AKriculture. WHO TO ■ear one 9, at the flDre. Doctor jBccIcq OF LONDON, ONTARIO WHO STKKTCHETH OUT HER HANI) TO TIIK I'OOR AND REACHETH FORTH HER HANDS TO THE NEEDY THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH GREAT RESl'ECT BY Cbe Butbor. m I or V] I X XI XT X X\ XV XVI] xi: ATr: CONTIiNTS. onAPTBR I. The Parson aok .... II. Mil. Oldtimk-an Unkxj'K(Tki) Gi kst HI. Thk Sui'UEMK Akkkction IV. A Timely Waumn,; V. The Itinehancv Horse . - VI. NlCODEMA ..... VII. Brave Benjamin - . . . . VIII. Home ...... IX. Parental Matters . . . . X. Impressions - . . . . XI. Mutual Confidences - . . . XII. Caste - - . . . XIII. The Auistochacy - - . . . XIV. Betrayed ...... XV. Some Prec ious Thincs .... XVI. MiSMATED ...... XVII. Restitution - XVIII. Pledges- ...... XIX. Fact, not Fancy - - . . . Pacx 11 17 27 41 63 63 73 8li 93 107 117 125 135 143 151 159 171 181 191 A Tribute of Love to the Memory of the late Frances E. Willard ----- 203 il \\ i / ba( hill me Ileal ter its tab FACES THAT FOLLOW. CHAPTER I. Zl)c Ipareonacjc. AROUND the word parsonage gather ^ a host of recollections which brinL^ back vividly from the dusty past pictures hung in the lengthening galleries of memory — associations that to a lon<'- habitant thereof are insepara])le from the term itself The stereotyped i)arlor, with its row of cane-seated chairs ; the centre - table, whose ample circumference in- 12 Faces that Follow. H fi! fringed the rights of the public, and had to ])e cut down to a tolerable minimum. The climax of comfort and elegance was reached by the horse-hair sofa. The one who sought repose on its shiny and slip- [)ery bosom found it had a miraculous power of changing one's centre of gravity. Last, but not least, was the carpet, which was not excelled by Solomon in all his glory. The final great division of the wheat and tares, the sheep and goats — in fact, the great gulf fixed — was suggested by the glaring contrast and irreconcilable differences of the red and green striped cari)et. Nevertheless, a parsonage is a sacred place. Into it once drifted the newly- wedded. In those lialcyon days the pro- saic was not distinguished from the poetic. Out of it have gone after years of loving service for the Christ a w orn- out man and wife w^ith bowed heads, in whose hearts Hope and Faith are wdiis- The Parsonage. 13 pering : " Wo know that if our earthly house of this tabernaele were dissolved. we have a build Uli )f (lod, an h not House made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Over its threshold have surged life and death. Youth has looked out of its win- dows towards the future glory, and old agfe has dwelt in peaceful retrospection by its fireside. When Benjamin and I find ourselves surrounded by new faces, and confronted by fresh problems whose solutions relate to God and humanity, we kneel down and ask for the principal thing, '' That which cannot be gotten for gold ; that which is above the })rice of rul)ies ; that which the topaz of Ethiopia does not equal ; that which is first })ure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to oe entreated, full of mercy arid good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy ; that which God r. ©Ibtinte— Hn 1nncJ:pcctc^ (5ue6t IVrOTWITHSTANDING a larder •^ ^ that is sadly in need of replen- ishing, a feeling- of false security comes over the busy parsonage housewife on a dark wet morning. Benjamin had de- parted on an indehnite absence, but re- turned just at dinner-time with a guest, our neighboring clergyman. A hasty mental survey of the pantry shelves revealed a ham shank, potatoes of a small size, two pieces of pie, one egg, one 20 Faces thai Folloxv. m dish of'ai)plo saiico, three pieces of dried sponge cake, and some jam. Circum- stances considered, my greeting was cordial. At dinner the conversation turned ahuost inunediately to the (piestion of woman's position in the Church and in the world. "Mr. Ordinary," said Mr. Oldtimc, addressing himself exclusively to Benja- min, " I take no pleasure in the present outlook. We are living in dangerous times, in times fraught with tremendous issues, and we must put on the hrahes, or we shall have you, sir, iii the kitchen and Mrs. Ordinary in the study. Such a dis- tribution of duties, sir, as is tlierel)y implied is against the Bible. There will be no room for us men anywhere directly, sir. Just think of it ! We shall have women lawyers, women preachers, women doctors, the offices of both Church and State manned by women," Mr. Oldtime. 21 Benjamin and I (^ould not supiH'css a hearty laugh at this i)ara(h)xit'a] })i'()si)eet. No smile, however, reaehed the lii)s of our guest. He saw advaneing a mighty host, elamorous for the robes of his saered otiice. He heard the groans of lawyers, - von before what your ideas are ui)()n this suhject." I caught the corner of J>(;njamin's eye as he coughed and cleared his throat. Then he lifted his eyebrows and imckered his mouth, all of which I interpreted to mean, " Susannah, do be discreet. I pray you do not take such advantage of this opportunity that will leave the im- pression that you have not been well trained by me." The thought of the dinner had been a heavy burden, l)ut that was now^ removed, at least from my mind, and I was pre- pared to give my undivided attention to the question under discussion. L, ■':■ lilt', Oldtimc. 23 " I am j^Iad you tliink wonuMi luiv(; somcidcas, Mr. Oidtiinc. Tlio inf'i ivnco natunilly is tliat we have some ln'ains, contaiuin;^* l)()tli ;;ray and uliitc matter. 1 ihouj^ht you liad concludtMl that ln'ain was a noun of tlic masculiuc i^ciidcr. It is noccssai'y lor the j^ratification of this era, calliug', as it docs, for ' [)i'oof ! proof!' tliat woman should demonstrate* to the world that mentally she is on a piano with man. The very class who arrogantly [)roelaimed her inferiority is the very (;lass who now call vociferously, ' Stop ! You are taking what is oui's, not by right of superiority, but by right of lo!ig and undisputed possession.' " " Woman has come out of great tribu- lation, and prefers a crust, if it means independence, rather than the luxuries of dependence and the sacrifice of her womanhood. Woman began the bread- and-l^utter conflict from necessity ; she 24 Faces that Follow, now wages it for the pleasure which comes from carrying her own weight with her own wings. Think of a wife as a com})anion to a man who spends live nights out of six at his lodge or clul^ ; her whom God has endowed with all the rights of equality. It is too late in the nineteenth century to turn the tide that is carrying woman onward on its white crest to the destiny that is in the plan of the world's Redeemer for her, viz., to enter every door in the Church. " The central truth of our Christianity, that the Saviour is risen indeed, was first made known to a woman. The angelic voi(;e commanded the woman to go and tell his disciples. The Master himself commissioned her to ' Go tell my breth- ren.' She was the evangelist of the resurrection, and it was her exalted privi- lege to direct the founders of the Chris- tian Church. For centuries Satan has Mr. Oldtime. 25 I )oen countermanding- tln^ order * Go tell my brethren,' but the la]).se of two thou- sand years has not been al)le to drown the voice that spoke, * Peace, be still ! ' to the waves of stormy Galilee. Woman, recognizing that voice of authority, is throwing off the prejudices of the years, and tells even the lirethren the news of a risen Saviour. " Peter, explaining the day of Pente- cost to the asseml)led multitudes, re- peated the Prophet Joel : * On my ser- vants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy.' There is no C'hurch in ('hristendom that has been able to keej) the majority of her members silent. '' Your own Church, Mr. Oldtime, allows her to take part in the service^ of song, and sometimes the responses would be lacking if the women kept silent." Mr. Oldtime said gallantly, as \\i\ rose 1'^ 26 J^aces that Follozu. to go : - Really, Mrs. Ordinary, I will have to run, or I will I)e soundly con- verted, as you Methodists say. As it is, I promise you my hostilities towards the work of Christian women shall cease." Long ere this Benjamin had disappeared, but to this day he takes the credit of Mr. Oldtime's conversion. I will Y coii- s it is, (Is the lease." oared, )f Mr. THE SUPREME AFFECTION. 1 lian pci'f wer lion I oft tlie CHxVl»TEK 111. Cbe Supreme Bffection. THE supreme affection is a theme that never loses its charm. A])ra- liam, Isaac and Jacob would l)e awful personages, belonging to a dim anticpiity, were it not for the life-giving touch of home love. From their day to this, tlie last decade of the nineteenth century, love has lifted the soul to the highest pinnacle of human joy, or cast it down into the de})ths of misery. The words of an old song : *' I've just been learning the lesson of life, The sad, sad lesson of loving," Faces thai Follow. often comes l)ack Jis from the vantage ground of a parsonage we take oliserva- tions. Wlien Benjamin grows mysterious, and liints tliat he might eonlide in me if a woman were only al)Ie to keej) a secret, I know he has something on his mind wliich lie cannot keep to himself, and that something is an a])proaching wed- ding. The amount of a wedding fee never takes Benjamin ])y suri)rise. He is an ex})ei't on estimates of that nature, even though I claim the fees evei'y time. How- ever, I l)egin to estimate the chances for weal or woe for those directlv interested. Will this marriage l)ea failure? AVill the (md l)e what it is now fondly anticipated to be ? These questions I always ask myself, though Benjamin says the main thing is to get married. He is very hope- ful tliat marriage will unite pocket-books as well as hearts. to SUll IS The Supreme AJfeclion. 31 " \V1k) is that (IriviiiL;- at siicli a pace up to tlic Squire's?" 1 inquired, one hriglit summer day. Beujamiu positively asserts that if euri- osity were persouilied it would he iu the Conn of a woman. Idle euriosity, he<;'ot- ten l)y a elose scrutiny of movements at my nei. E c >/. O c c 1 '* in marriage. I know how highly Etiu'l c\stcems you, Mrs. Ordinary." Benjamin gave me a touching look which spoke volumes. The meaning of it was : " Do not lose a good wedding fee." '' It is difficult to give advice, Susannah, at this stage," IJenjamin said, blandly. I laughed and said, " You think I am very charitable, Mr. Skinner, and can afford to give away advice ; but, seriously, have you counted the cost of getting married ? " " Oh, yes ; indeed I have," and he (h-ew his chair nearer to signify that we were now upon congenial ground. " My ex- penses are not less than $17 a week. I have tried a housekeeper, but the exi)ense of the waste and destruction was some- tliing frightful. Then an unmarried man must have his hand open for the claims of society and for chui'ch entei'prises. All this henceforth will be saved. 1 can 46 Faces that FoUoiu. keep a wife on just half my present expenditure. I have figured it over again and again, and know to half a dollar the current expenses. I shall order every- thing and pay for it. I shall reduce the cost of living, for I shall have everything in my own hands. Yes, I have counted the cost." *' Oh, I understand, Mr. Skinner, you and Ethel are to be made one ; but vou are the one." His face was a study. It was like the face of one who had caui^ht the first glimpse of himself in a mirror after an attack of smallpox. Benjamin walked and was troubled v/ith a cough, but I determined to go bravely on, and said, ''Mr. Skinner, when a l)usiness man finds that he needs a partner, he seeks until he finds a suital)le one, l)ut he knows perfectly well that the preferences and interests of that ])artner A Titnely Warning. 47 must be consulted. The assets cand lial)il- ities of each is known to the other. I'or mutual benefit there nuist be mutual co-oi)eration, confidence and counsel. Should not the wishes and interests of a wife be more carefully considered than those of a mere partner in business ? The lather and mother of the girl you wish to marry entered u})on their married life with the understanding that married life had for its symbol a golden ring, and that the wife was just as nuich a comple- ment of that circle as the man. Their interests are identical. They vowed to love and honor each other, and that vow was not idle words, spoken over clasped hands to be forgotten before the amen of the marriage ceremony was pronounced. They have kept their vow for nearly half a century, and it is not strange that they have been loath to let their daugliter enter u})on a marriage which they have cause 48 Faces that Foliozu. to fojir will l)(j a one-sided eontraet. The law of the land reeognizes the elainis of a wife after lier husband is dead ; surely that which gives her a claim when her husband is dead should give her a claim while he is living. Do not marry a woman simply to save a housekeeper's wages, unless you make lier understand tliat is wdiat she is engaged for as your wife, and do not fail to pay her her wages. That woman, whose business you have just settled, was ignored all the twenty- five years of her married life. Why was it that the tears of joy she shed after her huslmnd's death were shed when she knew all the money was her own. You know she was not able to spend twenty- five cents without first consulting him and humbly asking for that amount. God said : " It is not good for man to be alone : Let us make him a helpmeet," a com- panion, a counsellor. There is no selfish- rl Timely Warning. 49 ncss in God's purpose. Woman was a now creation, a different creation, but a creation of equality. *' God gave man dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every cree})ing thing that creepeth upon the earth, and there his dominion ceases. It may seem a small thing for a man to hold the purse strings, but it may be a si)rinj: that will swell on its onward way to a raging, imj)assable river in its effect." Benjamin had been making frequent jaunts to the front door, and was evi- dently trying to study the face of nature. Ikit he feared I might be too personal. The bare possibility of hinting that minis- ters' wives were not trusted with the pocket-book was enough. Mr. Skinner rose, and taking my hand, said with some agitation, "• I thank 4 50 Faces that Follow. you, Mrs. Ordinary. I never saw until now that I had been contenii)hitin^ intro- ducing into my liome the tragedy enacted in my father's house. My mother was a living martyr, and yet she tricMl to shield my father from the disrespect of his children." In the evening-tide a girlish figure, with a bright face, came Hitting into the old parsonage. " Dear Mrs. Ordinary," she exclaimed, " James has made father and mother so happy. He was manly enough to relate the conversation of this morning. I thought I could, after marriage, correct those little things that father and mother did not like in him. It would break my heart if my husband did not treat me as father does mother in money matters. I have never been accustomed to give an account of every cent. Father always trusted to my judgment and common T .-/ Timely Warning. 51 sense, and this made nie careful not to nuM'it his (lisa[)pi'oval." The wedding day eanie, l)i'ight and ('liarmini)utation of our fellow-laborers, and very uncomfortable, because Benjamin and Fan would make the same mistake. •:6 6o Faces that Follow, In every neighborhood there are places known as the minister's home. The women who preside there are often the angels of the churches. Their zeal has no waning towards the servants who come in His name to feed the Church of God — women to whom the Master will say, " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my Ijrethren, ye have done it unto me." One of these dear women said, when saying good-bye to Mr. Ordinary, " I can never think of another minister as I do of you." Some years afterwards, recalling this remark, she smilingly added, " Min- isters are like children : the last is loved the best because he needs our help and sympathy." Yet our host and hostess were of those who do good unto all men, but especially unto those who are of the household of faith. A foolish word might have caused a lasting prejudice. The Itinerancy Horse. 6i ye yM The time passed so pleasantly that I was surprised at the rapidity of its liight. I gave Benjamin the aceustomed hint to hasten our departure, by touching his foot lightly under the table. A repeti- tion called forth the remonstrance : " I am not Boaz ; do not make too free with my corn, Mrs. Ordinary." In vain I tried to cover my confusion and Ben- jamin's obtuseness by gazing under the table for some feline, but 13enjamin had scored another triumph. On our way home, referring to the gossij) we had heard, I reproachfully said, " I try to profit by the mistakes of others, but you do not seem to care." Turning to me with an incredulous look, Benjamin remarked, " My con- science ! you must be a paragon of per- fection by this time, Susannah." But thinking over the incidents of our visit, a sweet tender feeling caine over 62 Faces thai Follow. me, uniting my heart to tlio family in a l)()n(l which the hii)se of years lias only strengthened. No class of women arc loved more than ministers' wives. But O, tho bluHsod hope of iiniiiortulity, P.'irteil friends shull meet agfiin From the toils of nature free, Crowned with mercy, () how sweet Will eternal friendship be. in a only arc NICODEMA. CHArXEK VI. 1Rtco^cma. ONE briglit morning the purity of the air and the loveliness of the flowers temj)tc(l me to drop my unfin- ished work and go out to luxuriate in those things which God has provided so lavishly for our enjoyment. The odor of n moss rose brought to my jaded spirits a tecling of comfort. The fleecy cumulus ( ' tiids floating over the immeasurable depths of blue, the soft outline of the far-away horizon, suggesting the silent lips of a mighty sphinx that never reveals 66 Faces that Follow. its secret, the <^reen of tree and si i rub and grass, a God-given setting for the rainbow- tinted llowcrs, s})oke to my inmost soul tenderly. We are but fretful ehil(h*en, and God diverts us from our peevishness as a parent diverts a child with a lovely pic- ture — by the flaming sunset, the golden harvest, the rippling water, the majestic snow-capped mountain, the smiling plain. "As one whom his mother comforteth, so v/ill I comfort you." Even by nature God seeks to speak to the weak of strength, to the impure of that wliicli is pure. The click of the gate and a hurried step broke in upon my restful musings. Mrs. Hopewell was at my side. " Dear Mrs. Ordinary, I thought I might find you alone this morning," was her greeting, " and I have come like Nicodemus of old to ask, ' How can --'si*/ i* p See this beautiful rose."— />. 'j^V. 68 Faces that Foltow. these things be ? ' What is this new life ? " Reaching up I phicked the rose that had refreshed me, and holding it up, said : " See this beautiful rose ! The leaves, the calyx, the stem, are not life, but merely the phenomena by which we know that life exists. Botanical life is a profound secret. God made every tree, shrub and plant perfect before He put it into the ground. This is hard for the evolu- tionists. But it is the eternal word. Let the wise make the kernels of seed perfect, and surround them with the best environment for growth, but no waving harvest will gladden the eye. Man can- not make the tiniest blade of grass to grow, neither can he explain how the prismatic colors of the sun, the heat, the rain, the soil, paint the lily white and at the same time color the violet puri)le. ** Physical life eludes every pursuit Nicodema, 69 a e>' lilt except the pursuit of death. No an mist with his dissection has been to differentiate Hfe from the piilsal trembling body. So, too, spiritual life is a mystery. The Great Teacher explained it to Nicodemus as the wind blowing ' where it listeth, and we hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit.' Wo cannot bring our physical life within the cogni- zance of our bodily senses. Even the transmission of sensation from the nerves to the nerve centres, or of volition from the brain to the muscles of the bodv, is not a matter of experience, though the resultant is known in consciousness. The body is but a very thin covering of the soul. We are really more spirit than body, since the body is but a company of servants who serve the spirit. " We are so engaged with the things 70 Faces that Follow. that are seen and temporal, that we for- get they are of much less importance than those which are eternal and not seen. Man examines, explores, invents, con- (juers. Ask if his mightiest achievements satisfy him ? No, there is something ])eyon(l. The soul is caged and restless, confined within the limits of earthliness. She cries out for the sea of (lod's infini- tude in which to exercise her powers. " It w^ould be just as logical to assort that there is no soul, no spiritual life, ])ecause we cannot with the physical sense measure spirit, as to say this rose has no vegetal)le life because we cannot see it. ' If anv man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of Clod, or whether I speak of myself God holds >:3curely the secret of life, but He who called Lazarus from the tomb, He who delivered to the woman the startlintr revelation, * I am Nicod^ma. 7* not lis 'ak ret )m he [1111 I the Resurrection and tlie Life '; wlio said to the Jews, * Before .Vl)raliaiii was I am'; the Alpha who s])()ke and it was done, * who eomniaiided and it stood fast ' ; also said, ' I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.' lie it is who has promised, ' To them who ])y jiatient con- tinuance in well-doing seek for glory and immortalitv' eternal life." Mrs. Hopewell, picking up the rose which had fallen forgotten on my knee, looked into my face with a bright gleam in her dark eyes, and said, softly, " One thing I know, that whereas I was ])lind, now I see." At that moment the sound of Fan's t;lear ringing hoofs on the rojidbed l)elow reminded us that tlu^ noon hour had arrived. Siiringing to my feet, I stopjKMl a moment to explain my action. " Mr. Ordinary is a man, my dear, and before 72 Faces that Follow. dinner he wears a pair of blue spectacles, and sometimes he says we are only a very Ordinary ftimily. After dinner he adjusts on his beaming countenance a rose-tinted pair. * Yes,' he says, ' we are the Ordi- nary family, but an extra-Ordinary one.'" les, sts :ecl di- BRAVE BENJAMIN. CIIAPTKU vir. i Brave Benjamiiu GOD lias 1)01111(1 the homo to the Church with bonds such that few seek to sunder them. In the old dispcMi- sation the child was received into the visible Church. To-day, those of whom Christ said, " Suffer them to come unto me, for of such is the kin^^doni of heaven," arc received by the simple rite of baptism. The child is taken to the church ; the beloved pastor takes it in liis arms, prays for the blessing of Heaven to be bestowed, and, in the name of the IIolv % i 76 Faces that Follow, Trinity, the cliild receives its name, which remains with it for life, and may be for eternity. Later, when life takes on a deeper meaning-, we seek again the consecrated man and the ordinance of the Chnrch as we plight our faith, each to the other, both Church and State uniting their benediction. Through the Church ('hrist speaks again to the toiling multitude, saying, '' Take no anxious thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment ? Behold the fowls of the air : they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they ? " It is also the privilege of the Church to Brave Benjamin, 77 soften tlio grim grip of death and to lighten the tomb witli the rays of a lio|)e- ful revehition. It is lier i)rivilege to pour in the Bahn of (lilead — " They shall not return to us, but we shall go to them ; " " lie that belie\x'th on me, though he were dead yet shall he live." These are the blessed messages of Christ to the heart-broken mourner. The Holy Spirit has taught the lips of the dying to ex- claim, '' For I know that my lledeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : and though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another." The duties of the sacred office often point a finger along a path that takes courage to })ursue. The leader of men has to listen for the re- assuring voice which whispers, " Have not 1 commanded thee, be strong and of 7S Juices that Folliru>. a ;4'<)()(l c*(»iii';i^i;'('; he not afraid, iicitlici* 1)0 tlioii (lisniaycd, tor the Loi'd tliy (lod is with thcH' wliithci'sot'vcr tlioii •^ocst." A slia(h)\v lay upon llic usually suuny iac'c of HiMiJanu'n. I hasU'iiiMl tlu' \)\v- paratiou tor diuiuT, l)ut as we sat at the tahlo I discovered I had misread the cause. " Susannah, our neighl)()rs have lost theii' last child, and the doctor pro- nounces the disease l)lack di[)htheria. The stricken mother is left alone to per- form the last loviuii' services that human hands can do for their dead. They wish me to bury him this afternoon." (j)uite enough had been said to startle me. l.(NUiin<;" on her father's shoulder, her blue eyes filled with sym[)athetic tears, was oui* darling, our Mary. In that moment 1 forgot all the gracious ])rovi- dences of the vears. Infectious diseases had ra«ied around our dwellinL!'. While Brave Hcnjaiuin. nsiii}^ ov(M'y availaldi' prccnution, iJcnjji- . mill had j^oiu^ forth lo (hity iiiilliiich- iiigly, and wc had coinc throiij^h uu- Hcathod. " HiMijamin, arc yon not for^^cttlii^' your own family ? lU'sides, tlicsc people are notofonr particular tlock. Voiir family are in just as mneli daiij^er as the family of their own i)astoi'." " Susannah, if he had more faith, and if we had more faith, we would have less fear. I am not afraid of any harm com- ing to \\\(\ and mine throuj^h doing my duty." At the aj)pointed hour, IJenjamin, true to his conviction of dutv, went to the house of mourninji'. The undertaker had already arrived, hut the thought of his children kept him from crossing the threshold. After a short service in the house, the father an'0u are in society ? " A wife should be both the foundation and the topmost arch, the Home. 89 qiiocn and iino])triLsive servitoi- of lior own home. In my own })articiilar little kingdom there is occasionally an inchoate rebel- lion, led on by lienjann'n. Monotony, it is safe to say, never «'\ists in domestic life, unless either the husband or wife is a nonentity. But with strongly developed individuality it is wiser to look for dis- agreements in opinion, and afterwards the bliss of agreeing, that is, not agree to differ, but disagree to agree. On such occasions I remind Benjamin, with care- fully chosen and tender words, of my higher origin. Man was formed from the dust of the earth, but woman from his rib. Benjamin retaliates by holding up a garment full of rents and minus buttons, saying, '' Man is just what woman makes him." " That is true, Benjamin, but you were c c "5 11 E ti & M c (/I E IIo7)ie. 91 % C o 1) E D. W c o 4; fasliioiKul wlioii von trll into niv liands. I have liad only tlic polishing to do." Tlie assertion tliat he liad been nii(UM'- p)ing a vij^orons pi'oeess of niai'vellons iMn)rovement nneonscionslv, causcMl a hnrst of langhter so liearty and so lon^- that 1 thonglit it wise to <^atlier ii[) my i'i<'litH and dignities and lay them aside for a more eonvenient and imposing o[)- portunity of impressin^^ tlu^n npon ii're- pressible I^enjamin. Yet mider the eano})y of (iod's heaven the sweetest and happiest plaee is home, where true loval liearts are united in saered bonds, (Nirthlv and divine. E 'c oa IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. ^^ , <^<'x 1.0 I.I J|50 2.5 IIIIIM 12.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 111'-^^ < 6" — ► Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 6^ ■■V PARENTAL MATTERS. CHAPTER IX. 1;: parental fIDattcre. MRS. ORDINARY, did I ever tell you about our great sorrow ? " The eyes of the questioner filled with tears as she continued, with a pathetic tremble in her voice, **A bright light went out and left our home in darkness when Minnie died. She was our baby, not quite four years old. I cannot ex- plain how it happened that I never told her myself about Jesus and His love for little children, nor of that beautiful heaven-home which He had gone to 96 Faces that Follow. prepare for her. I must have thought her too young to understand, and did not realize until she was slipping away how readily the mind of a child entertains thoughts of God and immortality. " One day she was taken seriously ill, and from the first the doctor gave us very little hope. To my great surprise Minnie realized her condition, and said repeatedly, ' Don't let your baby die. I don't want to die, mamma.' " With breaking heart I said, * Darling, Jesus loves little children. He has a beautiful home and garden, and so many dear little children are there.' I can never forget the white frightened face, the convulsive clasp of the baby hand that clung to mine for safe keeping; the weak pleading voice, growing strong with terror as she lisped, * No ! no ! mamma, I am not acquaint with Jesus ; don't let your baby die ! Hold my hand, don't let me go ! ' Parental Matters. 97 " In my agony I cried to God, as only a mother can cry for a child in trouble, that my child might feel underneath her the everlasting arms. He who had said, * Suffer the little children to come unto me,' stood again by the bedside of suffer- ing. The dying ear of this tender lamb of His fold heard the voice of the Good Shepherd, and was ready to leave father and mother for the shelter of His bosom. In a moment a radiant smile of peace transfigured her face. The little fingers unloosened their grasp as she sweetly said, 'Jesus has my hand now. Bye- bye, papa, mamma.' I have never for- given myself, Mrs. Ordinary, for neglect- ing to introduce my child to Jesus." In the evening hour, when the last honey-laden bee seeks the hive and the little chicks are nestling close to the mother's heart, safely brooded under her downy wings, and when snowy eyelids 7 98 Faces that Follow. droop drowsily to the sootliinjjj swinjjf of the rockers, let the lullaby, sung so softly and tenderly, be a story, oft-ro- peated, of the gentle Jesus ; of the city where the sun never sets and the flowers never fade. A practical, living, child- like faith banishes fear. " Where are you going, Mary ?" said a little girl to her dying companion. " I am going to Jesus," Mary answered. Putting her arms gently about Mary's neck, she said, " If you are going to Jesus give my love to Him." Love is the keynote of heaven. Love is also the qualification of citizenship therein. God's royal law is only fulfilled by love. Love is the child's natural en- vironment. Their smiles and kisses, their encircling arms and constant demand for sympathy, and their own ready sympathy, all presuj)pose the existence ui such an atmosphere. Parental Matters. 99 The little seed having life in it, the green blade it sends up will be greeted l»y the warming sun ; so the child looks instinctively for an all-pervading love. The only way in which to bring up a child in the way he should go is to take his hand and walk with him in the straight path that leads to the throne of God. Parental authority sometimes ex- ercises itself in scohling along, frightening along, whipping along, and the parents wonder at the crooked steps. One mother sought to bring up her boy in the nurture and admonition of the Lord by boxing his cars with the Bible, and giving him twenty verses to learn out of it, as a pun- ishment. The remedy was ai)plied exter- nally, and given internally, but it wounded instead of healing. An ugly scar was the result, not on his head, but on his heart. He overcame his repugnance to the Book of books, but never carried his . "boxing his ears with the Bible."— p. 99. Parental Matters. lOI .ll 1 4\ V i.r 1.1 vU -4 )9. mother's Bible over his heart. The aeronaut tells us that after every other sound is lost, the voiee of a child rises above the smoke and clouds. It rises even to the throne of God. " Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you, that in heaven their anj^els do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." The sensitive spirit of the child is often wounded needlessly by eludings delivered in the presence of strangers. A neighbor once said to me, " My ner- vous system is completely shattered. If I whip Birdie or any of my children I feel so badly." I answered, " For years I have heard you punish some of your children every day, and have frequently thought that if you had been beating a dog as you beat your children the authorities would have had you appre- hended for cruelty to animals." Wf 102 Fares thai Follow. m " I am very sorry that you liavo been annoyed, Mrs. Ordinary," slic replied, in a tone so frosty as to indicate several degrees l)elow zero ; tlien added in a softer tone, " I do want my children to grow up to he good and useful men and women." " Do not think of me, Mrs. ('raig, but of your little ones. Thousands are suffer- ing to-. lU. 112 Faces that Follow. walked down tlie street with licr mother, "there is Mr. Harvey, and he is lifting his hat to you." " Look this way, child, we do not acknowledge him on the street," The gentleman was a neighbor, not only by location, but one according to the standard of the New Testament. Num- berless kind and neighborly deeds had been }>roffered by him, and received by this haughty woman and her fiimily, but when the eyes of the world were upon them he must be ignored. His bank account was small, and a greater offence was the unfashionable cut of his coat. A little girl of the same family, who, in spite of her careful diplomatic training, retained some of her childlike simplicity, said to a lady, " I must not call you auntie, for my ma says you are nobody. Your papa has no money in the Bank of Montreal. I call Mrs. Henry auntie, for Ituprcssions. 1 1 she has lots and lots of money;" and with a little laugh, she added, '' Ma and I make believe we love her, but 1 know ma does not, for she says so. Clara says it just makes the Parkers as jealous as ean be when we have such grand visitors ; so Sis and Clara and me, we all call her auntie." What kind of men and women may be expected from such training? When visiting in the home of a minister who held a high position, I noticed a little boy playing with his children. The lady of the house said, " I like to have Jamie play with my children. He has been carefully trained, and is a good boy. He is the son of our church janitor." I thought he was the son of a gentleman. Here was true nobility. "I do not understand how it is my children are not Christians," said a lady to a minister. A ring of the door-bell interrupted the conversation, and a lady 114 Faces that Foliozu. caller was shown into an adjoining parlor. A knowledge of all that was said was unavoidable. Every word came distinctly through the folding doors that divided the rooms. The hostess expressed herself as de- lighted to see her caller, and when the visitor rose to go she received a very pressing invitation to return. As the mother,* with her daughters, re-entered the room where the minister sat, she said, in an aggravated tone, " I never met such a woman as that one is for visiting, and wasting her own and other people's time. She is never in her own home." At the same time asking the good man to pray for her daughters. " No, madam," he replied ; " I cannot do so ; I am not surprised that your chil- dren are not Christians," and he very abruptly departed. Alas, Ite was right. This mother was anxious that her daugh- Inipressious. 115 ters might shine in the world, but utterly careless about their moral character. Next to the imi)ressions that are made upon us by the words and actions of those with whom we arc first surrounded are the im[)ressi()ns made by the first books. Alas for the medley of the pic- tured giants and fairies, and the senseless rigmarole of the rhymes ! "Little Blue Betty lived in a lane, She sold ale to gentlemen. Gentlemen came every day, And little Blue Betty hopped away. She hopped upstairs to make her bed, And tumbled down and broke her head." Picture books containing such distoi*- tions of both rhyme and reason are purchased ^rcely and given away indis- criminately. One little ])oy of my acquaintance, in his childish way, tries to classify fact and fancy. The poise of the mind is interrogatory. No matter if If ii6 I^^accs that Follow, tho story is "Jack the Giant-Killer," or the " Story of the Cross," the boy })ropoun(ls the question which rose to the lips of the vaciUating Pilate, " What is truth ? " The boy ever asks, " Is it a really one ? " When I liken this a^e to stage scenery, which has a good perspective, but is after all only a flat surface, Benjamin says, ** You are too antiquated, Susannah, for these times of make-believes." When will the false story and rhymes give place to sweet, true stories of this world's loveliness, taken from rippling brooks, ocean and river, flowers of ten thousand hues, the birds of song, the carrier pigeon, the parrot, the cockatoo, and animals of every kind ; all connected with living boys and girls, men and women, loving, tender, brave and true. Let us teach the truth in this nineteenth century. MUTUAL CONFIDENCES. »', CHAPTER XI. flDutual (tonfibencc6. THERE is a world-wide association existing without name, or rules, or pledge — none of these is needed to weld into unison. It is coeval with humanity, and inspiration promises that it will be found in eternity. It is the charmed circle of kindred spirits. Dissimilarity is sometimes the basis of union, but oftencr a similarity of circumstances and experi- ences draws us together. Missionaries in foreign fields know little of the petty jealousies that are I20 Faces that Follow. frequently exhibited among the different branches of the home churches. The isolation of their position forms a strong bond for union and sympathy. The social instinct in our nature is a God- given boon by means of which we are to lift and be lifted heavenward. A minis- ter's wife has a warm i)lace in my heart. "What troubles have we seen, What conflicts have we passed," was the thought that flitted through my mind as I greeted Mrs. Brown on one of the occasions of her few but pleasant visits. When we were comfortably seated in rocking chairs within whispering dis- tance of each other, as we did not wish to disturb Benjamin's after-dinner nap, Mrs. Brown said, with a twinkle in her eye, " I am just too tired for anything, Mtttual Confidences. 121 Mrs. Ordinary, but a little pardonable gossip." '*I am sure the moral atmosj)liere will not be shaken by your gossip, Mrs. Brown," I replied, in a tone evincing a more lively interest than I intended it should. " If I have your permission, Mrs. Ordi- nary, I shall feel safe. One day last week I had just sat down after dinner to sew, when Mrs. Meanly, one of our parishion- ers, came to spend the afternoon at the parsonage. For two hours she rehearsed personals enough, I think, to make the editor of a society paper happy for a month." " Fortunately for my peace of mind and the reputation of the circuit my thoughts were so engaged with planning for the supper, I have a very confused idea of the afternoon's talk, but remem- ber wishing that the provisions in the 122 Faces that Follow. pantry would expand with the elasticity of Mrs. Meanly's news. You know, Mrs. Ordinary, we have had extra expenses this quarter. The boys are growing and must be fed, clothed and educated. We are compelled to practise the strictest economy in order to make ends meet. Hot graham gems and bread and butter was the bill of fare for that evening. At last I excused myself, to get an opportunity to gather up my wits, and whatever else I could. I suddenly re- membered discovering that morning, while putting the pantry in order, a piece of suet. I had unwisely thrown it into the soap barrel. The barrel is a fixture, and I am short of stature. I dare not summon Mr. Brown to my aid. He would have exposed my dilemma and the way of escape as soon as Mrs. Meanly had finished her tea. After many unsuc- cessful efforts, in which I nearly lost my Mutual Confidences. 123 balance, and ran the risk of an untimely and unpoetical death, I managed to get up the suet. It was scraped and melted, and a pie produced for supper, beautiful to behold, and, what was more of a triumph of expediency, pleasing to the palate. " Mrs. Meanlv's comments on her visit to the minister's have not failed to travel back. ' My sakes alive ! It is good to be in a parsonage. They know nothing about making ends meet there. If you want delicious pastry, my advice is to go there. They be the place where the pastry is rich.'" In the quietude of the evening hour I confided in Benjamin, but the vim with which he wished Mrs. Meanly might know the source of the shortening made me fear that my confidence had been misplaced, and that the wish would be the father of the fact, to say nothing of 124 traces that Folloio. the danger of it getting into the pulpit ; for some tilings I have confided to him have been prochiimed from the pulpit- top if not from the house-top. ilpit ; him ilpit- CASTE. I if CHAPTER Xir. Ca6tc. MRS. MAXWELL and I were dili- gently quilting, each busy with her own thouglits. A knot in my visi- tor's thread broke the even swish of the thread as it was drawn through the tight- ened quilt. I noted mechanically that the obstinacy of the knot gave way with a resentful snap. Glancing up I found Mrs. Maxwell with uplifted hand and eyes, gazing vacantly, which was the ex- act position in which the struggle with the knot had left her. 128 Faces that Follow. Observing my look of inquiry, she asked abruptly, " What do you think of sets in churches ? " " If there come into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come also a poor mnn in vile raiment, and ye have resi)ect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place ; and say to the poor. Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool : are ye not there- fore partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts ? " I answered, quoting practical St. James. She replied : " I am perfectly disgusted with society, both in the church and out of it. At that wedding last week there was on ex- hibition, in a prominent place among the gifts, a sealskin sacque — five hundred dollars — from the bride's father. It was not really worth half that sum, and the sacque represented nothing but an ap- Caste. 129 parent and disgusting fraud." She con- tinued, with a sigh that evidently came from the depths of personal experience, '* It is a constant struggle to keep up appearances." " We are ourselves to blame, Mrs. Maxwell. We can assert our own indi- viduality within the range of our in- fluence. We are not compelled to move with the multitude, and imitate some one who in her turn is imitating some other. If necessary we have the privilege of standing alone on principle. The word * society,' used in a local sense, is hard to define. To some it means an elevation of the nostrils, and sudden but not serious loss of eyesight, in the acci- dental proximity of poor relations. Squire Purseproud requested his poverty-stricken niece not to address him as uncle, since his wife objected. God's rule fo^' society is the golden rule, but society says, * I Squire Purseproud requested his poverty-stricken niec; not to address him as uncle."—/). 1^0. Casic, 131 niec; havo a rule vastly suporior, and it is 'Look out for sell'!' Christ said, MFo that findeth his lifo shall lose it; aid lio that losoth his life for my sake, shall lind it.' Man indulges self, and God's law of service to others is lightly set aside. The Siiuire lived a life of frivolity and i)leasiire, and now disease and a dread of death are his constant com- panions. An infidel sought to argue with a Christian. The good man said, * Answer me two ([uestions, and my faith shall stand or fall by your answers. First, if all mankind were like you, and believed as you do, what kind of a world do you think this would be V He was not ready to answer. My next question was : ' If all the world were Christians according to the teachings of Jesus Christ what kind of a world would this l)e V ' Well,' he answered slowly, ' if the principles of the New Testament were lived it would mean the brotherhood of man in earnest.' > ?> 132 Faces that Follow. For some moments there was silence in the room. The mind of each had flown off" on the wings of imagination, and we were having a wonderful vision of this world with self dethroned and Christ reigning, when Mrs. Maxwell broke the spell. " You know English life, Mrs. Ordi- nary ; tell me something of life in that country." I heard the undertone of a soul that rebelled against the circumscribed sur- roundings. " We have been talking about society and classes," I replied cheerfully, "and as it is an easy task to classify society there, we will begin with the upper ten. The royal household, noblemen and ladies of title, gentlemen of Norman blood, are the acknowledged nobility on British soil. London in the time of Christ was a fish- ing village ; now it is a city of millions. Caste. ^ZZ and presents a drama into which enter all peoples and classes on the face of the earth. In November the fashionable season begins. Balls, parties, operas, concerts involve society in a whirl of ex- citement. The streets are crowded with a bewildering procession of every variety of conveyance. There is the chariot of our beloved Queen, drawn by eight cream- colored horses, with postillions, outriders and a troop of Life Guards, selected from every regiment of the British army, all in polished steel armor, with drawn swords, and mounted on splendid sleek black horses. There is also the coster- monger, with his donkey, or perhaps push cart. Once I had a glimpse into the inner life of one who ])elongcd to the ex- clusive circle of the English nobility." Mrs. Maxwell dropped her thimble into her pocket and rose. " I must go, dear Mrs. Ordinary, but to-morrow I will be back to quilt and hear the story." 1 1 34 Faces that Follow. Laughingly I said I had an eye to busi- ness, and intended the story should be a continued one. My laugh died away, for coursing through my brain were thoughts of God's beautiful law, which is righteous alto- gether, and the frustrating of it is all the trouble. God's law of marriage was recklessly put aside all through the ages, and the destruction of nations can be traced to this one source. What are we to-day ? Do we want to know the law of God ? We have it ; these are the words of Christ : *' Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives : but from the beginning it was not so." God's unalterable law is, One man, one loife. " Man turning from his God brings endloss night, Where thou canst read no morals, find no friend." of THE ARISTOCRACY. IS, w: CHAPTER XIII. Zbc Hrtetocrac^* THE next afternoon the story and the quilting were continued. " I was invited to lunch with her lady- ship. On entering the mansion I was not impressed by the grandeur alone, but also with the solidity and comfort of all the appointments. Pavings of mosaic, pillars of exquisite design, tropical plants of rarest beauty combined to speak of a refined culture untrammelled in following its leadings. She led me to a boudoir 138 Faces that Follow. where luxury had gathered a tribute from the whole world. Wich elosed doors she unburdened her aehing heart, and uncovered a grinning, mocking ske'aton. " Mrs. Ordinary, you mi\ :. e thought me happy when you saw m J li. .Gotten Row with my children and a' tendan^^s. The porter's wife at the Lodge is a hapi y '^/leen in comparison to me. My life has been one of bitterest sorrow, and of physical suffering of such a nature that shame made me hide it as a leper his sores. Years ago his lordship deserted his wife and his home. The only tie he recognizes is the children. He spends half an hour every day with them. His sceptical teachers have de- stroyed him. My indisposition is the excuse given to society for all his com- l)any going to his sister's, Lady A — .' " As she spoke she drew off a pair of The Aristocracy. 139 oiled silk gloves and showed me her once beautiful hands. Let us drop the curtain on this painful scene, Mrs. Maxwell. The next was a funeral i)assing with great pomp to the burying-ground. His lordship may have flattered himself that this was the final act in the drama ; l>ut in the final scene the 'sun will become black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon become as blood, the stars of heaven shall ftill, and the heavens wall depart as a scroll, when it is rolled together, and on the great white throne shall sit the Judge, before whom the dead, both great and small, shall stand, and the books shall be oi)ened, and every man shall be judged according to his works.' " Great day ! " Where, where for shelter shall the j^uilty fly." " The next class is the aristocracy. It is quite the foshion to deride the aristoc- 140 Faces that Follow. racy, but the aristocracy of gold, or lard, or wheat, or oil is often grotesque in comparison with the aristocracy of birth, in that the last takes its position naturally, while the other arrogates to itself many things that arc foreign and ftircical in the extreme. Christian culture cannot be acquired from books. Schools do not teach it. It is free from ostentation or pride of birth. " The followers of Christ in this class recognize an equality of which the most zealous democrat never dreamed. He says * I am as good as any man.' Christ says, * In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.' It was our privilege to find many of them who counted themselves debtors, both to the Greeks and to the barbarians. Mr. Ordinary called upon a gentleman of this class, soliciting help for a poor man. The Aristocracy. 141 He gave him $250.00. When thanked he answered, ' Not at all. Thank you, sir, for coming and giving me the privi- lege. Come again if you need more.' This gentleman held his position in trust, and distributed half a million a year in charity. " The third class might be called the aristocracy of brain. This class owe their position, not to birth, but to mental endowment and acquirement. It in- cludes doctors, bankers, officers, minis- ters, teachers, lawyers, municipal officers, merchant princes and others of like voca- tions. ''The fourth is the aristocracy of muscle. It is comprised of small trades- men, mechanics, laborers. It is a great army of honest, hard-working toilers. They are of the common people who heard Christ gladly. Then there is the ii 142 Faces that Folloiv. siibmorj^ed tenth of all, fiiniishing" a problem for the fishers of men. '* ' Where'er wo meet a liunian form Less favored than our own, Remember 'tis our Ijrother worm, Our neighbor or our son. Pass him not unheeded by ; Perhaps we can redeem His soul from endless misery ; Go near and speak to him.' " i;^- a BETRAYED. , I CHAPTER XIV. " T T E that is without sin ainong you, -^ A let him first cast a stone at her." How some of the popuhir theories of this boasted nineteenth century pale before the white Hght of Divine truth. For a man to commit certain sins is bad enough, but how much more for a woman, is a sentence uttered frequently by lips that should be employed in dis- seminating the inspired truth of one standard of purity. Tremendous incon- sistency. 10 146 Faces that Follow. Mothers, are you always sure that the man with the handsome ftice who comes into your home assured of a welcome, and turns your daughter's music with a jewelled hand, is not morally leprous ? Are you sure that money, or position, or a fascinating personality, are not received with a careless or even intentional blind- ness for manhood \ Thy son's future wife must be above reproach. Ask not less for thy son, but demand more for thy daughter. I have not grown too old or too pro- saic to recognize the signs of mutual love. It is one of those self-evident facts, needing no proof. I knew that }'oung Gardner loved Miss Proud, and that his love was returned. Miss Proud was a wealthy orphan, living with her brother. Dr. Proud. Colonel De was a fre- quent and courted guest at the Doctor's. Dame Rumor had been casting unfavor^ Betrayed. 147 able reflections upon the Colonel's char- acter. Mrs. Proud, the Doctor's wife, indig- nantly asserted that there was no truth in the imputations, and then, after the illogical manner of women, added, " Any- way he had only been sowing his wild oats." '' Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap," was a truth that had not found lodgment here. • This gentle- man's make-up was perfect; he could sing with the same pathos one of our beautiful hymns or a proftine song. One day a number of us, including Mrs- Proud and her sister-in-law, were in the vestry arranging for an entertainment when Mr. Gardner found us. The smile of pleasure with which he greeted us was soon quenched by Mrs. Proud remarking, in what Benjamin calls a church whisper, as she turned her back, " We want only our own set here. I will not work with 148 Faces that Follow. any other." A fashionable idler and libertine could obtain admission into this set of virtuous women, but not this manly young fellow. His offence was he was only a clerk. Some months afterwards Miss Proud called, requesting a few moments of con- versation. " I wish, Mrs. Ordinary, that I had had the courage to ask for your counsel before this. Through the influence of others I have blighted my own prospects. I loaned my money to Harry and he has lost it in speculation. Now he makes me feel my dependence. I have foolishly given Mr. Gardner to understand that he must not think of me because of his social standing. Last month I felt des- perate and went to the city and had my fortune told. The man I saw said there was trouble for me, and all he said is coming true. Since then at times I lose Betrayed. 149 and into not fence consciousness. The Colonel and Harry say it is weakness and nervousness and that I shall soon be all right. Mrs. Ordinary, you look so strangely. Don't you want to hear about my trouble? " "Yes, dear; but I am really shocked to hear an intelligent girl like you con- fess yourself^ a victim of superstition. How much better it would have been in simple faith to have said, ' My times are in His hand.' You are not compelled to cast Mr. Gardner's love aside and marry another man against your will." ''Oh, Mrs. Ordinary," she exclaimed, with a blanched look of despair ; *' there is nothing but blackness and darkness for me forever. You have not asked what trouble is coming to me." I thought she referred to the ignorant fortune-teller's prediction, and strove to dispel her fears. " Hush, my child, a bright future may I50 Faces that Follow. yet be yours. Discredit every word that man said. Ask God to forgive you, and give the future into His care." Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Proud and his wife. Turning to his sister he said playfully, " I hope Mrs. Ordinary has a balm for your malady." Addressing me he said, " I would give my best horse to know what is troubling Jessie. She is not her bright self at all." Two days later Jessie's body was found floating in the river. Was she insane ? Was there insanity in the family? No, she was drugged ! It was a premeditated act. One day the betrayed and the betrayer shall meet again, and " Shall not the judge of all the earth do right ? " Knowest thou the value of a soul ? It outweighs all created things. SOME PRECIOUS THINGS. ■J ■^ .* o CHAPTER XV. ^ o Some iprccioue G^binga. VALUE in this world is only known relatively. " What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? " Christ brings the value of all material posses- sions and all intellectual acquirements inta sharp contrast with the worth of a soul. We are instructed in God's book to be on the alert for the really valuable. We are to think on the things which are true, honest, just, pure, lovely. " To obey is better than sacrifice." A minister's wife has one advantage over 154 Faces that Follow, the minister — she can visit outside his parish. A neighbor's son, whose life had been very promising, had studied for the ministry, and was taken sick at college. He removed to the sunny south, con- tinued to fail, and at length was brought home. This young man from his youth up had borne an irreproachable character, yet I had reason to fear that he had not come in by the " Door," but had climbed up some other way. I called to see him, but was told his own church would see to him. Yet my desire to see him con- tinued. But why intrude again, I said to myself He must be all right. Then God said, *' All souls are mine." I under- stood, and went immediately to see him. I found him attended by a fellow-student. I read to him the 23rd Psalm, which pleased him. As our conversation went on, his dying eyes were fixed on me with 1 1i "l. Two of us knelt at the bedside."— />. loO. 156 Faces that Folloiv. an unrest I shall nevei' forget. Panting for breath, he said, " I am all wrong. I have been building on my own good works. I do not know the Shepherd's voice. I have been climbing up another way." " Charlie," exclaimed the student, *' I am just there, too. Christ to me is only a figure in history." It was a supreme moment to each of us. These two souls wanted to be right. Two of us knelt at the bedside and told the Good Shepherd all about it. The two young men let go their good deeds and bad deeds, and entered by the Door into the sheepfold. Both were honest souls seek- ing light. Charlie lingered awhile, then left us. His closing words were, " I fear no ill. I know whom I have believed." His request was that Mr. Ordinary should bury him and preach his funeral sermon. On saying good-bye to the student, I felt sure that as he had entered good Some Precious Things,. 157 by the Door into the sheepfold, lie would go in and out and find pasture. We shall meet them in the morning. A ring at the door of a doetor's house was answered l)y his daughter. A man, sullen, ragged, of thirty years or more, stood upon the door-step. Everything about him indicated the losing side of life's battle. He was invited within to partake of a wholesome meal. A few kindly words melted his reticence. He was a gentleman's son. At the age of eighteen he ran away from home because he had been unjustly beaten by his tutor. Pride sealed his lips and forbade his return. On account of the total failure of his life he was contemplating suicide ; but, like the widow of Zarephath, whom Elijah found gathering two sticks to dress her handful of meal, so that she and her son might eat and die, he had resolved to ask for a meal first. It was 158 Faces that Follow. the case of a soul being saved from death. He l)ecame a successful medical mission- ary in the aftertime. •'God movoH in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform." The trial of our faith is much more precious than gold that perishes. Speak- ing to a sculptor of the uncertainty of all things here, he answered, "My studio is my heaven. Just at present I have no idea of leaving it." An accident ended his artistic career. During the darkness of the ensuing days he learned to walk by faith alone. A great surprise awaits him in the glorious Beyond. Some day he will behold the lines and curves of perfect character, chiselled by the Master's hand ; and the deathless, most beautiful workmanship was done in darkest days. The work of the arti.st proves beyond a doubt the existence of man's soul. I MISMATED. CHAPTEE XVL flDientatc^ BENJAMIN docs love to impart information, especially to his wife. In some unguarded moments I give him the prized opportunity. " * Thou shalt not i)lough with an ass and an ox together.' What do you make out of that text, Benjamin ? " " Make out of it ! Don't you see it may have a significant meaning in rela- tion to social life. Look closely, Susan- nah, and discover, if you can, any fitness or equality in such an arrangement," u < l62 Faces that Folloiu. Nodding his head wisely, and compress- ing his lips as if to keep back knowledge beyond my depth, he walked away. I could not help smiling at the absurd mental picture his words suggested. '' What an awkward pair, and with what discomfort their work is accomplished," I exclaimed aloud to myself. There was the big ftit ox and diminutive ass pull- ing away. Se2)arate, or equally mated. ipress- \^ledge ibsurd :ested. what Ml," I was pull- ated, Mtsmated. i6 they do their allotted task easily and well, but the yoking of them together was not in the plan of the Creator. Yes, Benjamin was right. This homely, incon- gruous mismating of the text had its unlovely counterpart in social life. There was the case of James and May. The church on the hill was her church, and Down Street meeting-house was his. They were seldom absent, until they were yoked together. One Sabbath morning the young wife was trying to adjust her head gear properly, but May was nerv- ous. Taking her hat off', she threw it on the table, saying, as she did so, '' I wish I had my liberty again." Covering her face with her liands, she wept bitterly, and tried to feel she had been wronged. What was this cloud on the matrimonial horizon ? Only a few words spoken by the young husband that morning, words which should have ])een spoken before the marriage contract was entered into. 164 Faces that Follow. " May, I am a Baptist, and you will never make me anything else." For thirty years the cloud of denomi- national difference hung over that home, and was not even dispersed by the death of the wife, but was still present in the lives of the children. Religious bigotry has slain the peace of thousands. For husband and wife both to be orthodox is not enough. Humanity is so small that a difference, even if it is in non-essentials, may become a bone of contention, and make married life a jeal- ous struggle for the recognition of the supposed rights of each. To decide who is to give up all that is dear in church associations from child- hood is not the prerogative of any out- sider. This decision is sacred to the two interested. The pa' id belongs to the one who for mutual advantage makes the sacrifice. Mismated. 165 The injunction "Be ye not unequally yoked together " is sometimes disregarded by even the ministry. The Rev. James Allgood thought he saw an ideal wife in Miss Bliss. Her parents were people of the world, and her religious training had not been what he might have desired, but if she became his wife he could influence her in the right direction. He did speak to her concerning her personal salvation. Pier answer plainly revealed a total ignor- ance of the new birth. He measured her by the standard of his love and admira- tion, and not by God's requirements. Marriage does not work miracles, and marriage revealed to both the inequality of the yoke they bore. She had no real interest in his work, only a mechanical regard. "It is our living," she would say. His home was orderly ; his personal appearance irreproachable ; but the life 166 Faces that Follow. for her was drudgery. The knowledge that the evenings spent in her father's house were spent in the social dance and in card-playing clouded his life. He re- minded her once that this course of conduct was a poor example for others. She retorted, " I am not going to mope my life away with a set of melancholy people. You knew my manner of life before we were engaged." She was not strong physically, and in assisting in the great preparations for her brother Jack's wedding, she overtasked her strength, and brought on a coughing spell, during which she ruptured a blood- vessel. Mr. Allgood hastened to the bedside of the woman he loved, but not one word did he speak to her. Perfect quiet was her only chance of recovery. For hours she lay in the balance between life and death. During his long watch he knelt beside her, holding her hand and pressing it to his lips. Mtsmated. 167 The wild surging of thought, rushing find plunging through his brain, almost maddened him. ''My wife, dying un- saved, and I forbidden to speak to her." Once he groaned, " My darling wife, are you saved ? " He was silenced and cautioned not to say anything that might agitate her, as that would be fatal. She revived a little. Bending over her he asked, " Darling, are you better ? " '' Yes, I am a little better. Bring the children ! " They were so occupied with the thought of the coming wedding, the gravity of the situation was not realized. The oldest girl was crying because her dress was not finished. The mother, with a look of in- expressible pain, requested them to be taken away, saying, " I have given too much attention to their outward appear- ance and they have learnt the lesson too well." 1 68 Faces that Follow. Turning her dying eyes upon her grief- stricken husband she said faintly, " Once I thought you were the best man I had ever met, but when you asked me to be your wife, I concluded if you could make me your life companion you were no better than I was, and Ihe ministry with you was a mere profession. If you had only turned away from me and been true to your convictions of right, it might have been different with both of us. Once I was moved to accept God's offer of eter- nal life, but did not decide finally. All my days have been given to the world, and it is now too late to change." " No, Carrie ! Let us pray to the Lord to forgive us both. He is merciful and long-suffering." "• Promise me, James, that during the short time I have to live you will not trouble me with useless prayers." She gradually sank into a stupor, which Mismated. 169 ended in death. New scenes availed not with the bereaved Imsband to wipe out the bitter memories of the false step, the neglected opportunity, the last con- versation, the death. Awful as this case was, thousands in the Christian world are repeating it and will do so as long as they leave out the " not " of the command, ''Be ye not un- equally yoked." Benjamin says I am away behind this ultra- wise age. This is true. But I know it is a ftict in science that light and darkness will not mix. I also know by inspired truth that righteous- ness hath no fellowship with unrighteous- ness, and what communion hath light with darkness ? Let us not refuse to journey with the Lord's people through the wilderness to the heavenly Caanan. RESTITUTION. it CHAPTER XVll. IReetitutlon. EARLY one Monday morning, Ben- jamin left home to l)c away for some days. Shortly afterwards a man called at the parsonage, requesting to see the minister. He api^eared to be in trouble, and greatly disappointed not to find Benjamin at home. I inquired if I could take his message. He looked undecided, and then said, " I am in need of help and instruction. Do you think you can hel}) me ? " I was impressed with the man's evident wretchedness of mind, and promised to ive whatever aid I could. ''He appeared to be in trouble."—/'. 173. Restitution. 175 R\ " Will you listen to a story of cruelty, sin and crime ? Yesterday your husl^and preached a sermon on restitution. The truth touched me so deeply that I came to ask how I ever could make restitution. I won the heart and hand of a lovely girl. I was in business, and she invested her little store, one thousand dollars, in my business. She believed me to be a moderate user of intoxicating drink, but I deceived her, and every day I drank, in moderation at first, but the appetite grew and must be satisfied. At the end of two years I was a hard drinker. *' Once I had been drunk for two da vs. On my return my wife met me at the door with words of reproach. Our boy was ill when I left home, and I had neglected to send the doctor, although charged to do ^o. Now he was worse. I was so intoxicated that T sank down into a drunken stupor. How long it was before I woke I do not know. I stag- 1 76 Faces that Follozu. gered to my feet and followed a neighl)or into Willie's room. His mother was beside him, pale and tearless. The white suffering face on the pillow sobered me. In one terrible moment I realized mv brutal condition, i/y ftital neglect. '''Papa!' whispered the parched lips, ' I am going home to Jesus. Mamma says there will be no whiskey there, and when you come you will always stay with us, won't you ? ' " I took the little hand and with un- availing tears and kisses promised never to touch another drop if he would only get well again. It w^as not long before the fluttering heart ceased to beat. Willie was gone from the shadows of a drunk- ard's home. Taking niy wife into my arms I promised in the presence of God to redeem the past. My God ! and she believed me," he exclaimed, as he rose and walked across the floor. Presently he continued, in a calmer Restitution, ^77 Dighlior )r was D white ed me. ;ed mv 3(1 lips, lamma [•e, and ly with ith un- [ never id only before Willie drunk- ito my )f God nd she le rose calmer tone : '' My business had suffered, and I was in financial trouble. My wife's mother came to the rescue with her all. A little daughter was given to us, and it did seem for a time as if our totteriuir home would stand firm once again. But the horrible appetite for alcohol never left me. I ])roke my vows and drank and drank. Wife, child, home, business, were forgotten. When our baby Lucy vvas eleven I left home on a three weeks' debauch. On my return I found the house strangely silent. On my wife's face was the same look that it wore when Willie died. I was only sober enough to realize the sickening result of my late excess, and called coarsely to my wife to pull off my boots. She raised a warning finger and pointed to the stair. " ' What is it ? ' I growled. " ' Lucy is dying. Make haste or we will be too late.' " A fiend nuist have possessed me. ■ 78 Faces that Follow. With (li'unlvon inconsistency 1 charged her witli killing my cliildrcn, and, adding an oath, I kicked her. She tottered, and then seemingly recovering from the l)low, quietly left the room. For hours I slept the drunkard's sleep, and awoke to lind a dead daughter and a dying wife. I knelt by my wife's bedside, and implored her forgiveness. She smiled, pressed my hand, and said, 'Ask God, Herbert, to forgive you.' I cried aloud in my agony, ' I am a murderei', and no murderer can enter the kingdom.' " With a few whispered words, the soul took its flight. The girl said, * I saw master kick my misti'ess, and she said Oh ! and went to Lucy's room.' There was a post-mortem, but the verdict at the incpiest left me free in the sight of the law. ' How can I make restitu- tion V " he asked, w^ith bitter tears. How I wished Benjamin was home to counsel this soul in agony. I besought tma^i.,- Restitution. 179 harged adding h1, and \ blow, [ slept bo 11 nd ife. I iplored scd my lert, to agony, •or can Is, the :iid, ' I nd she room.' verdict ight of restitu- 3mc to ^sought him to confess his sin to God, and implore His mercy for forgiveness. "But it is too late to make restitu- tion ? " " Not to make restitution to your wife's mother for the money borrowed and wasted," I urged. We knelt in prayer, but when we rose he said, " There is no mercy for me. I am not worthy." " You will never be saved by your own merit. God says, ' Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'" I repeated many encouraging promises made by the loving Father to erring but repentant luunanity. Before leaving he experienced the peace which comes from forgiveness, but not the joy of salvation. He left a message of thankfulness for Benjamin's timely serni(»n, and beggid me to double my diligence in temperance work. With the words, ''Oh, il tjie i8o Faces that Follow, boys were only pledged not to tamper with the accursed thing," he departed, with a brand worse than that of Cain, for parts unknown. '' Restitution," I muttered, as I watched him down the ^mth, " what restitution can a man make to God for prostituting His precious gifts of seed, sunshine, shower and fertile soil." The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. Man is responsible for what he sows and reaps and the use he makes of it. To sow rye and barley expressly for the distillers to manufacture liquor, this certainly means to make drunkards. Kestitution, can it be made ? Can these men " bring back the land marks they have removed, the flocks they have vio- lently taken away, the clothing they have taken from the poor, the sheaves from the hungry. Men groan from out of the city and the soul of the wounded crieth out." tamper sparted, 'ain, for matched ititution tituting mshine, fulness vliat he akes of ssly for or, this nkards. n these is they ve vio- ij have 'om the he city h out." PLEDGES. ■ CHAinKIl XVIIl. DON'T you tliink it is (loj;ra(lin^>; to sign a pledge, Mrs. Onliiiary ? " inquired Mrs. Mcanwell. " Do 3^ou think the man who gives your husband a promissory note degrades himself ? " answering question with ques- tion. I continued, " If you sell your property to your dearest friend he requires the deed of you as a i)ledge of his undisturbed possession. Why, then, is it degrading to i)le(lge ourselves not to drink ? " 1 84 Faces that Follow. " But I believe in moderation. My fatlier and grandfather always used spirituous liquors in moderation." " You are now objecting to total absti- nence, not to pledging. The farther back the moderate use runs in the family the more need for you to break the chain of heredity, lest the becjueathed appetite demands more than moderation. We hear much of those men who can take a glass or let it alone, but the proof is wanting. We have yet to sec a man of this class let it alone. He always takes it, and the ranks of the drunkard are continually replenished from those of the moderate drinker. *' A lady and myself were out on a temperance pledge crusade. We were very anxious to get the name and influ- ence of a certain judge. We were received with kind words, and he fain would liavc had us depart w^ith only his My I , Pledges. 185 good wishes. TTo assured us he was capable of keepin^^ liimself in check, as his father and {^n'andfather before him. " ' Yes,' said my companion, ' but there may be some following you who may not be able to do so.* '' A change came over the judge's lace. His lips tried to move, and when he could command his voice it trembled as he said, ' Ladies, I will sign your pledge. I have a clever, ambitious son, })ut lie gets drunk, and he learned to drink at his father's table. It is only a pledge, but there is a great deal in it.' " A barrister refused to sign the pledge, and I have seen him with his toes out of his boots, his wife at work to support her ftimily. Afterwards he did sign. To-day he supports them in comfort. "A Sunday-school teacher invited his class to a social evening at his home. Before leaving the boys were offered a IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1^' j5a 25 2.2 18 1-25 1.4 1.6 •• 6" ► V] <^ /] VI %. /# /^ ^V'^ 7 Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 d w iV \\ ^9) V 6^ ■<> '% w 1 86 /^aces that Follow. glass of wine. Some refused because they were pledged not to drink. The teacher said, * You need not be afraid ; have confidence in yourselves, and you will be neither cowards nor slaves.' One boy drank the wine. I saw him fall from the position of a judge and fill a drunk- ard's grave. It is the genial men and women, with the warm shake of the hand and welcome to their home, who can take a glass and stop, whom we fear most for our boys. " I found a girl of sixteen drunk and took her home. I begged of the parents to sign a pledge with the daughter. The mother was willing, but the father said he would not degrade himself by signing a pledge. I saw that girl afterwards in prison. 'If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn to death and^hose that are ready to be slain. If thou sayest. Behold we know it not, doth not he that Pledges. 187 pondereth the heart, consider it, and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it, and shall not he render to every man according to his works.' "A young woman, the mother of six children, came into the parsonage one day. She was in a state of frenzy and said, 'Save me from the demon drink.' Her husband said when he came home from his work he would find his children neglected, and his wife on the floor in a drunken torpor. We tried to persuade them to take the pledge. She did so, but he would not. He said he had no appetite for more than his glass of beer, and he would have it as long as he lived. She broke her pledge. The odor of her husband's beer aroused the appetite. * I would walk twenty miles,' she said, ' to ' get it.* ' And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died ? ' r*. 1 88 Faces that Follow. " Once I influenced a little boy to sign the pledge. Many years aftewards we visited his home. He had grown to honorable manhood. On the wall of his home was the pledge card, framed. His mother had taught him to prize it. She was a wise mother. I wish all mothers were like her. "No, Mrs. Meanwell, we cannot rid ourselves of our influence or from the responsibility of its results. We may refuse to sign a pledge, we mfiy grow grain for the distiller, and grapes for the wine merchant, we may lease our build- ing for the purpose of a hotel, and then, like Pilate, wash our hands and declare we are innocent of the crime of drunkard - maker, but ' Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plum- met: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies,' is the warning of God. I do wish the young Christian womanhood Pledges. 189 were doubly pledged — pledged not only not to touch alcohol themselves, but also pledged that the lips that touch Jt shall never touch theirs." I had the gratification of seeing Jennie Meanwell's name on a pledge card not long afterwards. She sat thinking for some time after signing her name. Then she said, " I have a confession to make to you, Mrs. Ordinary: the smell of brandy has been a temptation to me for years. This pledge prohibits. What about our sauce and mincemeat ? Cer- tainly we would not tempt in that way. Have you ever thought it remarkable, Mrs. Ordinary, that the first miracle the Saviour wrought was to turn water into wine?" "Mrs. Meanwell, the command was, * Fill the water-pots with water. Draw out now and bear unto the governor of the feast.' This Christ intends us to t iiv 190 Faces that Follow, \'% do. Fill the water-pots with water. If He, the Lord, turns it into wine, then we may use it without fear. I have been shocked to hear this miracle referred to as a reason why we should drink intoxi- cants, by men who turn God's beautiful water into poisonous drinks." ;er. If hen we e been rred to intoxi- sautiful FACT. NOT FANCY. , CHAPTER XIX. fact, Wot fmc^. T T is midnight, but he has not come. A The sad and lonely wife still keeps her weary vigil. She strives to cheer the long hours by thoughts of the little Jimmie who is growing up, she fondly dreams, into sober manhood, in spite of the shadow of a drunken father falling ever on his pathway. Alas for woman's hope ! The clock struck two ! "I must have slept!" she exclaimed, starting up. There were noisy voices on the street, uncertain 13 f^Y- 194 /^aces that Foilozv. steps stopped at the door ; a palsied hand fumbled for the latch. Tliis did not alarm her. A drunken husband, a faith- ful watching wife, is an old, old story. It scarcely causes a casual thought. To-night the old house is to shield another tragedy. The father was beating the boy home. He mingled senseless threats with oaths and imprecations. What had transpired ? Nothing startling! James was raving in delirium tremens^ the trembling madness ; that was all. The mother's cup was full, but what was that, she was only a woman. What could she do? She had no way of redressing her wrongs. Hope sprang up in her heart. " Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blest." She hastened to the legislative halls. " Surely when those wise men hear my Fact, not Fancy, '95 3(1 hand lid not a faith- * [1 story, t. ) shield beating enseless ications. :artling! tremens, all. it what What way of rang up breast; t." e halls, lear my pitiful story they will do something to protect me and mine. My husband is lost," she cried, ** his character is gone, but I want you to save my boys." The halls of the legislature rang with the laughter of the amused legislators. "My good woman, this is no place for you. It is not our business to protect your husband and l)oys from alcohol." " But my boys will be drunkards, like their father," she persisted. The matter was now more of a joke than ever. " Go home, my good woman. There are thousands of such cases. Yours is no exception." "Then, why do you license men to destroy and kill, with a horrible death ?" " It is well you women have no voice here. You are poor financiers. It is our business to provide the proper channels, and persons, for the inHow to our treas- ury of the drunkard's money. Why, my f,.u 196 Faces that Follow, <^oo(l woman, we are paid out of this revenue. You forget the bill of expense that would be incurred by compensating these men for the injury iliey would sustain in being deprived of the money spent by the husbands and sons of the country for drink." *' You say, sirs, that my case is no exception, but you make an exception of the liquor dealers. You will license as many men as will qualify themselves in every town to dispense drugs, to sell goods by auction, to practise law or medicine, but the profits of the liquor traffic are monopolized by the few, who, to say the least, are not of the highest type of manhood, and whose only qualifi- cation is a greed for easily earned money." " Madam, do not say so ; they are a respectable class of men." " By the advancement of the times, Fact, not Fancy, 197 , of this ' expense >ensating xj would e money s of the je IS no option of cense as selves in to sell law or e liquor ew, who, ! highest y^ qualifi- earned 3y are a e times, machinery and even workmen drop be- hind the age. No one talks of comi)en- sating such cases, for it is a recognized law that the few must sutter for the universal good. However, you propose again to make an exception of the liquor dealer. It took twenty million pounds to stop the English slave trade, but I would not take even that amount for my boy, my Jimmie. Who is to compensate me ? Every cent of this revenue is bap- tized with blood, that calls as loudly unto God for compensation as the blood of Abel." Jeers and laughter followed her down the corridor when she turned to go. That day, upon my knees, I read the history of Deborah. "God liveth," I cried, "and He has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty." Sisera's army was mighty. This drink army is mightier still. But our Captain is almighty. cA^v^^4 Jeers and laughter followed her down the corridor. "-P- ^97. ridor."— p. 197 Fact, not Fancy, 99 There fell, as it were, scales from my eyes, and I saw a mighty host, with flying banners, marshalled with the precision of an army ready for battle. On one banner I saw inscribed " W. C. T. U." The battle cry was : " For God, and home, and native land." Their company was divid- ed into many parts, and prepared to attack the enemy at every point. Fran- chise, Evangelistic, Narcotic, Press, Scien- tific Temperance, King's Daughters and Red Cross were the names of some of the subdivisions. On other banners were the words " Epworth League," *' Good Templars," *' Sons of Temperance." Classification of talent, followed by a corresponding dis- tribution of duties, was evident every- where. The armv at times was harassed by remarks like these : That woman's place was at home ; that women wasted time at conventions ; that women were immodest and fanatics in Christian work- 200 Faces that Follow, The army moves on to the enemy's citadel. The women on the watch-tower will be the first to catch the command '• " Shout, for the Lord has given you the city." " This is the victory that over- cometh the world, even our faith." With an effort I roused myself from my reverie. " Susannah Ordinary," said Benjamin, " do you suppose you are going to revo- lutionize the whole kingdom ? I tell you what you are doing — wearing yourself out. Sure as I have a pair of superannu- ated slippers on, I shall be left a widow- man if you persist in carrying this world on your shoulders ! " My gravity was gone. Before my vision were three pictures — a pair of old shoes, the widow-man, and the globe on my shoulders. I said, " Benjamin, I have been think- ing very sober thoughts about the day of Fact^ not Fancy. 20 1 enemy's h-tower nmand : you the t over- ilf from njamin, -0 revo- tell you ^ourself ?rannu- widow- 3 world re my ' of old obe on victory for the temperance hosts. We may be at home before it comes." And it seemed to us (for our hearts were very tender now) that conflicts, cares and pain were things of the past ; and thanksgiving tilled our hearts for the victories won in His name. And we rejoiced in the coming glory. The multi- tude, which no man can number, with their spotless robes made white in the blood of the Lamb, seemed not far away. And, as we listened, we heard: " Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reignoth ;" and " the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. » think- day of 1 . Hi TRIBUTE OF LOVE ,; TO MISS FRANCES E. WILLARD. , A TRIBUTE OF LOVE TO THE MEMORY OK THE I.ATE MISS FRANCES E. WILLARD "jfor <5oD aiiD 1bomc anO IRativc XanD. THIS Banner, held aloft so bravely by the beloved President of the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union, can never be allowed to fall to the ground. "No, never!" I hear coming from thousands of loyal American women. It was my privilege to meet Miss Willard many years ago. I loved the pure, noble woman. She had learned the true secret of a consecrated life. Reverently she wor- shipped her Redeemer and Lord. It was hers to minister, to give, and serve, with all the powers of her being. It was also hers to suffer and be strong. We thank God we ever knew Miss Frances Willard. It was her burning. ii 206 Miss Frances E. Willard. earnest, loving words that gave fresh impetus to our work for Temperance. She never knew how much it cost, nor of the scars deep and painful we have carried ever since. But when the books are opened she will know. When our hearts were sad and lonely at the loss of our loved one, her hand penned a letter to us of loving sympathy. It was Miss Willard who introduced the Christian women of America to the writer. After threo years' experience in a border city I came to this conclusion, that nowhere had I found more of the beautiful self -forgetful spirit, "Let each esteem other better than themselves," than I did in connec- tion with Miss Willard's co-workers. The last page of my book was closed when the message u«me to hand, " Miss Willard is dead." It seemed to me that this world could not spare one so unmistakably true, conscientiously right, with Heaven's own pure love as motive power. Yet to one fixed spot my spirit clings : I know that God is good, and it is all right. Good-bye, sweet loving spirit. We will look for thee among the " virgins who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth."