The four girl?. Fajrc 12. 
 
FOUR GIRLS 
 
 AT 
 
 CHAUTAUQUA 
 
 
 B Y 
 
 PANSY. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "ESTER REID," "JULIA REID," "THREE PEO 
 PLE," "THE KING S DAUGHTER," "WISE AND OTH 
 ERWISE," " HOUSEHOLD PUZZLES," " CUNNING 
 WOKKMEX,""GltA;NDPA S DARLINGS," &c. 
 
 
 
 ^Boston: 
 Published by <D. Motkrop & Co. 
 
 (Dover, Jf. H.: G. T, (Day & Co. 
 
 . . ; ; , - *: ,.-. "** 
 

 Copyright, 1876, by D. LOTHROP Co. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCED 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE QUESTION DISCUSSED . 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ENTERING THE CURRENT .... 87 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FAIRPOINT 51 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 UNREST 69 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FEASTS 84 
 
 M150478 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TABLE TALK 100 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " AT EVENING TIME IT SHALL BE BRIGHT" 115 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FLEEING 129 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOW THE " FLITTING " ENDED . . 143 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 HEART TOUCHES . ^ . . . . 160 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 FLOSSY AT SCHOOL 175 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 "CROSS PURPOSES." . . . .187 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE NEW LESSON 202 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 GREAT MEN .... 216 
 
CONTENTS. 5 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A WAR OF WORDS 230 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 GETTING READY TO LIVE .... 247 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE SILENT WITNESS .... 259 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 AN OLD STORY 273 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 PEOPLE WHO, " HAVING EYES, SEE NOT" 287 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A " SENSE OF DUTY." .... 301 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 ONE MINUTE S WOKE . . . .316 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 " I VE BEEN REDEEMED" .... 331 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 SWORD THRUSTS . 346 
 
6 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 SERMONS IN CHALK .... 361 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 * 
 
 " THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM" . . 376 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 UNFINISHED MUSIC 391 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 MENTAL PROBLEMS 404 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 WAITING 419 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 SETTLED QUESTIONS 434 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END . , . 449 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE END OF THE BEGINNING . 463 
 
FOUR GIELS AT CHAUTAUQUA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCED. 
 
 URIE MITCHELL shut the door with a 
 bang and ran up the stairs two steps at a 
 time. She nearly always banged doors, and was 
 al \vays in a hurry. She tapped firmly at the door 
 just at the head of the stairs ; then she pushed it 
 open and entered. 
 
 " Are you going ? " she said, and her face was 
 all in a glow of excitement and pleasure. 
 
 The young lady to whom she spoke measured 
 the velvet to see if it was long enough for the 
 
 hat she was binding, raised her eyes for just an 
 
 (7) 
 
* -Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 instant to the eager face before her, and said: 
 " Good-morning." 
 
 " Ruth Erskine ! what are you trimming your 
 hat for? Didn t it suit? Say, are you going? 
 Why in the world don t you tell me ? I have 
 been half wild all the morning." 
 
 Ruth Erskine smiled. " Which question shall 
 I answer first? What a perfect interrogation 
 point you are, Eurie. My hats never suit, you 
 know; this one was worse than usual. This 
 velvet is a pretty shade, isn t it ? Am I going to 
 Chautauqua, do you mean ? I am sure I don t 
 know. I haven t thought much about it. Do 
 you really suppose it will be worth while ? " 
 
 Eurie stamped her foot impatiently. " How 
 provoking you are ! Haven t thought of it, and 
 here I have been talking and coaxing all the 
 morning. Father thinks it is a wild scheme, of 
 course, and sees no sense in spending so much 
 money; but I m going for all that. I don t 
 have a frolic once in an age, and I have set my 
 lieart on this. Just think of living in the woods 
 for two whole weeks I camping out, and doing 
 all sorts of wild things. I m just delighted." 
 
 Miss Erskine sewed thoughtfully for some sec* 
 ends, then she said : 
 
Introduced. 9 
 
 " Why, there is nothing in the world to hinder 
 my going if I want to. As to the money, I sup 
 pose one could hardly spend as much there as at 
 Long Branch or Saratoga, and of course I should 
 go somewhere. But the point is, what do I 
 want to go for?" 
 
 "Why, just to be together, and be in the 
 woods, and live in a tent, and do nothing civil 
 ized for a fortnight. It is the nicest idea that 
 
 ever was." 
 
 "And should we go to the meetings?" Miss 
 Erskine asked, still speaking thoughtfully, and 
 as if she were undecided. 
 
 " Wh} T , 3 r es, of course, now and then. Though 
 for that matter I suppose father is right enough 
 when he says that precious few people go for 
 the sake of the meetiugs. He says it is a grand 
 jollification, with a bit of religion for the back 
 ground. But for that matter the less religion 
 they have the better, and so I told him." 
 
 At this point there was a faint little knock at 
 the door, and Eurie sprang to open it, saying as 
 she went : " That is Flossy, I know ; she al \virys 
 gives just such little pussy knocks as that." 
 The little lady who entered fitted her name per- 
 
10 Four Girls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 fectly. She was small and fair, blue-eyed, flossy 
 yellow curls lying on her shoulders, her voice 
 was small and sweet, almost too sweet or too 
 soft, that sort of voice that could change when 
 slight occasion offered into a whine or positive 
 tearfulness. She was greeted with great glee 
 by Eurie, and in her more quiet way by Miss 
 Erskine. 
 
 " Pm going," she said, with a soft little laugh," 
 and she sank down among the cushions of the 
 sofa, while her white morning dress floated 
 around her like a cloud. " Charlie thinks it is 
 silly, and Kit thinks it is sillier, and mamma 
 thinks it is the very silliest thing I ever did yet ; 
 but for all that I am going that is, if the rest 
 of you are." Which, by the way, was always 
 this little Flossy s manner of speech. She was 
 going to do or not to do, speak or keep silent, 
 approve or condemn, exactly as the mind which 
 was for the time being nearest to her chose to 
 sway her. 
 
 " Good ! " said Eurie, softly clapping her 
 hands. " I didn t think it of you, Flossy ; I 
 thought you were too much of a mouse. Now, 
 Ruth, you will go, won t you ? As for Marion, 
 
Introduced. " 11 
 
 there is no knowing whether she will go or not. 
 I don t see how she can afford it myself any 
 more than I can ; but, of course, that is her own 
 concern. We can go anyway, whether she does 
 or not only I don t want to, I want her along. 
 Suppose we all go down and see her; it is Sat 
 urday, she will be at home, and then we can be 
 gin to make our preparations. It is really quite 
 time we were sure of what we are going to do." 
 By dint of much coaxing and argument Ruth 
 was prevailed upon to leave her fascinating 
 brown hat with its brown velvet trimmings, and 
 in the course of the next half hour the trio were 
 on their way down Park Street, intent on a call 
 on Miss Marion Wilbur. Park Street was a 
 simple, quiet, unpretending street, narrow and 
 short ; the houses were two-storied and severely 
 plain. In one of the plainest of these, wearing 
 an unmistakable boarding-house look, in a back 
 room on the second floor, the object of their 
 search, in a dark calico dress, with her sleeves 
 rolled above her elbows, had her hands im 
 mersed in a wash-bowl of suds, and was doing 
 up linen collars. She was one of those misera 
 ble creatures in this weary world, a teacher in a 
 
12 Four Girls at (Jhautauqua. 
 
 graded school, and her one day of rest was filled 
 with all sorts of washing, ironing and mending 
 work, until she had fairly come to groan over 
 the prospect of Saturday because of the burden 
 of work which it brought. She welcomed her 
 callers without taking her hands from the suds ; 
 she was as quiet in her way as Ruth Erskine 
 was in hers. 
 
 This time it was Flossy who asked the impor 
 tant question : " Are you going ? " 
 
 Marion answered as promptly as though the 
 question had been decided for a week. 
 
 " Yes, certainly I am going. I thought I told 
 you that when we talked it over before. I am 
 washing out my .collars to have them ready. 
 Ruth, are you going to take a trunk ? " 
 
 Ruth roused herself from the comtemplation 
 of her brown gloves to say with a little start : 
 
 "How you girls do rush things. Why, I 
 haven t decided yet that I am going." 
 
 " Oh, you ll go," Marion Wilbur said. " The 
 question is, are we to take trunks or, rather, 
 are you to ? because I know I shall not. I m 
 going to wear my black suit. Put it on on 
 Tuesday morning, or Monday is it that we start ? 
 
Introduced. 13 
 
 and wear it until we return. I may take it off, 
 to be sure, while I sleep, but even that is uncer 
 tain, as we may not get a place to sleep in ; but 
 for once in my life I am not going to be bored 
 with baggage." 
 
 " I shall take mine," Ruth Erskin said with 
 determination. " I don t intend to be bored by 
 being without baggage. It is horrid, I think, to 
 go away with only one dress, and feel obliged to 
 wear it whether it is suited to the weather or 
 not, or whatever happens to it. Eurie, what are 
 you laughing at?" 
 
 " I am interested in the phenomena of Marion 
 Wilbur being the first to introduce the dress 
 question. I venture to say not one of us has 
 thought of that phase of the matter up to this 
 present moment." 
 
 While the talk went on the collars and cuffs 
 were carefully washed and rinsed, and presently 
 Marion, with her hands only a trifle pinker for 
 the operation, was ready to lean against a chair 
 and discuss ways and means. Her long appren 
 ticeship in school-rooms had given her the habit 
 of standing instead of sitting, even when there 
 was no occasion for the former. 
 
14 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 If these four young ladies had been creatures 
 of the brain, gotten up expressly for the purpose 
 of illustrating extremes of character, instead of 
 being flesh and blood creations, I doubt whether 
 they could have better illustrated the different 
 types of young ladyhood. There was Ruth Ers- 
 kine, dwelling in solitary grandeur in her royal 
 home, as American royalty goes, the sole daugh- 
 er, the sole child indeed of the house, a girl who 
 had no idea of life except as a place in which to 
 have a serenely good time, and teach everybody 
 to do as she desired them to. Money was a 
 commonplace matter-of-course article, neither to 
 be particularly prized nor despised ; it was con 
 venient, of course., and must be an annoyance 
 when one had to do without it ; but of that, by 
 practical experience, she knew nothing. Yet 
 Ruth was by no means a " pink-and- white " girl 
 without character; on the contrary, she had 
 plenty of character, but hitherto it had been 
 frittered away on nothings, until it looked as 
 much like nothing as it could. She was the 
 sort of person whom education and circumstan 
 ces of the right sort would have developed into 
 splendor, but the development had not taken 
 

 Introduced. 15 
 
 place. Now you are not to suppose that she was 
 uneducated ; that would be a libel on Madame 
 La Fonte and her fashionable seminary. She had 
 graduated with honor ; taken the first prizes in 
 everything. She knew all about seminaries ; so 
 do I ; and if you do, you are ready to admit that 
 the development had not come. There is con 
 stantly occurring something to take back. While 
 I write I have in mind an institution where the 
 earnest desire sought after and prayed for is the 
 higher development, not alone of the intellect, 
 but of the heart : where the wonderful woman 
 who is at its head said to me a few years ago : 
 
 " If a lady has spent three years under my care, 
 and graduated, and gone out from me not a 
 Christian, I feel like going down on my knees in 
 bitterness of soul, and crying, Lord, I have 
 failed in the trust thou didst give me." But the 
 very fact that the word " wonderful " fits that 
 woman s name is proof enough that such institu 
 tions as hers are rare, and it was not at that sem 
 inary that Ruth Erskine graduated. She was 
 spending her life in elegant pursuits that meant 
 nothing, those of them which did not mean worse 
 than nothing, and the only difference between 
 
16 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 her and a hundred others around her was that 
 she knew perfectly well that they all amounted 
 to nothing, and didn t hesitate to say so, there 
 fore she earned the title of " queer." At the 
 same time she did not hesitate to lead the whirl 
 around this continuous nothing, therefore she 
 occupied that perilous position of being liked 
 and admired and envied, all in one. Very few 
 people loved her, and queerly enough she knew 
 that too, and instead of resenting it realized that 
 she could not see why they should. She was, 
 moreover, remarkably careful as to her leading 
 after all, and those who followed were sure of 
 being led in an eminently respectable and fash 
 ionable way. Her most intimate friend was 
 Eurie Mitchell, which was not strange when one 
 considered what remarkable opposites in charac 
 ter they were. Eureka J. Mitchell was the re 
 spectable sounding name that the young lady 
 bore, but the full name would have sounded ut 
 terly strange to her ears, the wild little word 
 "Eurie" seeming to have been made on purpose 
 for her. She was the eldest daughter of a large, 
 good-natured, hard-working, much-bewildered 
 family. They never knew just where they be- 
 
Introduced. 17 
 
 longed. They went to the First Church, which 
 for itself should have settled their position, since 
 it was the opinion of most of its members that it 
 was organized especially that the " first families " 
 might have a church-home. But they occupied 
 a very front seat, by reason of their inability to 
 pay for a middle one, which was bad for " posi 
 tion," as First Church gentility went. What 
 was surprising to them was how they ever hap 
 pened to have the money to pay for that seat ; 
 but, let me record it to their honor, they always 
 happened to have it. They were honest. They 
 ought to have been called " the happen family," 
 by reason of their inability to tell how much or 
 how little they might happen to have to live on, 
 whether they could afford three new dresses 
 apiece or none at all. The fact being that it 
 depended on the amount of sickness there was 
 in Dr. Mitchell s beat whether there were to be 
 luxuries or simple bare necessities, with some 
 wonderment as to how even those were to be 
 paid. 
 
 Eurie was the most light-hearted and indiffer 
 ent of this free-and-easy family, who always had 
 roast turkey when it was to be had, and who 
 
18 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 could laugh and chat merrily over warmed-up 
 meat and johnny-cake, or even no meat at all, 
 when such days came. How she ever came to 
 think that she could go to Chautauqua was a 
 matter of surprise to herself ; but it happened to 
 have been a sickly summer among the wealthy 
 people, and large bills had come in the next 
 thing was to spend them. Chautauqua was a 
 silly place to do it in, to be sure ; that was Dr. 
 Mitchell s idea, and the family laughed together 
 over Eurie s last wild notion; but for all that 
 they good-naturedly prepared to let her carry it 
 out. Just how full of fun and mischief and 
 actual wildness Eurie was, a two-weeks sojourn 
 at Chautauqua will be likely to develop ; for be 
 fore that conversation at Marion s was concluded 
 they decided that they were really going. Why 
 Marion went, puzzled the girls very much, puz 
 zled herself somewhat. She was her own mis 
 tress, had neither father to direct nor sister to 
 consult. She had an uncle and aunt who lived 
 where she called " home," and with whom she 
 spent her vacations, but they were the poorest 
 of hard-working country people, who stood in 
 awe of Marion and her education, and by no 
 
Introduced. 19 
 
 means ventured to interfere with her plans. 
 Marion was as independent in her way as Ruth 
 was in hers, but they were very different ways. 
 Ruth, for instance, indulged her independence in 
 the matter of dress, by spending a small fortune 
 in looking elegantly unlike everybody else, and 
 straightway created a frantic desire in her set to 
 look as nearly like her as possible. But no one 
 cared to look like Marion, in her severely plain 
 black or brown suits, with almost and sometimes 
 quite no trimmings at all on them. It was 
 agreed that she looked remarkably well, but so 
 unlike any one else they didn t see how she 
 could bring herself to dressing so. She laughed 
 when this was hinted to her, and got what com 
 fort she could out of the fact that she was con 
 sidered " odd." In a certain way she ruled 
 them all, Ruth Erskine included, though that 
 young lady never suspected it. The queerest 
 one of this company was little Flossy Shipley 
 queer to be found in just such company, I mean. 
 She was the petted darling of a wealthy home, 
 a younger daughter, a baby in their eyes, to be 
 loved and cherished, and allowed to have her 
 own sweet and precious way, even when it in- 
 
20 Fvur Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 eluded such a strange proceeding as a two weeks 
 in the woods, all because that strange girl in the 
 ward school that Flossy had taken such an unac 
 countable fancy for was going. This family were 
 First Church people, too, and capable of buying 
 a seat very near the centre, in fact but a fe\v re 
 moves from the Erskine pew, which was, of 
 course, the wealthy one of the church. The 
 Shipley pew was rarely honored by all the mem 
 bers of the family, and indeed the pastor had 
 no special cause for alarm if several Sundays 
 went by without an appearance from one of them. 
 A variety of trifles might happen to cause such 
 a state of things, from which you will infer that 
 they were not a church-going family. Anothei 
 strange representative for Chautauqua ! 
 
 Now how did those four girls come to be 
 friends? Oh, dreadful! You don t expect me 
 to be able to account for human friendships I hope, 
 especially for school-girl friendships ? There is 
 no known rule that will apply to such idiosyn- 
 cracies. They had been in school together; 
 even Marion Wilbur, with the indomitable en 
 ergy which characterized her, had managed one 
 term of Madame La Fonte s enormous bills, and 
 
Introduced. 21 
 
 with the close of the terra found herself strangely 
 enough drawn into this strange medley of char 
 acter that moved in such different circles, and 
 jet called themselves friends. You are to un 
 derstand that though the same church received 
 these girls on Sunday, yet the actual circle in 
 which their lives whirled was as unlike as possi 
 ble. The Erskines were the cream, cultured, 
 traveled, wealthy, aristocratic as to blood and as 
 to manners, literar}^ in the sense that they bought 
 rare books, and knew why they were rare. The 
 Mitchells had a calling acquaintance with their 
 family because Dr. Mitchell was their Chosen 
 physician, but that came to pass through an ac 
 cident, and not many of the doctor s patrons were 
 of just the same stamp. This family never went 
 to the Erskine entertainments, never were in 
 vited to go to the other entertainments starting 
 from the same circle, yet they had their friends 
 and many of them. The Shipley s were free-and- 
 easy, cordial, social, friendly people, who bought 
 many books and pictures, and were prominent in 
 fairs and festivals, and were popular everywhere, 
 but were not, after all, of the Erskine stamp. 
 Finally came Marion, alone, no position any 
 
22 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 where, save as she ruled in the most difficult 
 room in the most difficult ward in the city. A 
 worker, known to be such ; a manager, recog 
 nized as one who could make incongruous ele 
 ments meet and marshal into working order. In 
 that capacity she found her place even in the 
 First Church, for they had fairs and festivals, 
 and oyster suppers, and other trials even in the 
 First Church ; and there was much work to be 
 done, and Marion Wilbur could work. 
 
 And these four girls were going to Chautau- 
 qna were to start on Monday morning, August 
 2, 1875. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE QUESTION DISCUSSED. 
 
 EV. DR. DENNIS and Rev. Mr. Harri 
 son met just at the corner of Howard 
 and Clinton Streets, and stopped for a 
 chat. Dr. Dennis was pastor of the First Church, 
 and Mr. Harrison was pastor of the Fourth, and 
 some of the sheep belonging to these respective 
 flocks supposed the two churches to be rivals, 
 but the pastors thereof never thought of such a 
 thing. On the contrary, they were always get 
 ting up excuses for coming in contact with each 
 other ; and woe to the work that was waiting for 
 each when they chanced to meet of a morning 
 on some shady corner. 
 
 "You are to be represented, I hear, at the 
 coming assembly," said Mr. Harrison, as they 
 shook hands in that hearty way which says, as 
 
 (23) 
 
24 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 plainly as words, " How very glad I am to seo 
 you!" 
 
 Dr. Dennis shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Such a representation!" he said. "If the 
 entire congregation had been canvassed, it would 
 have been impossible to have made more curious 
 selections. I do wish we could have some real 
 workers from the different churches." 
 
 " Miss Erskine isn t a member of the church, 
 is she?" 
 
 " None of them are members, nor Christians ; 
 nor have they an atom of interest in any such 
 matters. They are going for pure fan, and 
 nothing else." 
 
 "Now perhaps they will happily disappoint 
 you by coming back with a wholesome interest 
 aroused in Sunday-school work, and will really 
 go into the work for themselves." 
 
 " I don t want them," Dr. Dennis said, stoutly. 
 "I wouldn t give a dime for a hundred such 
 workers; they are an injury to the cause. I 
 want Sunday-school workers who havo a personal, 
 vital sense of the worth of souls, and a consum 
 ing desire to see them converted. All other 
 Sunday-school teaching is aimless. 
 
TJie Question Discussed. 25 
 
 Mr. Harrison looked thoughtful. 
 
 " We haven t many such, I am afraid," he said, 
 gravely ; but I agree with you in thinking that 
 they should at least be Christians. Still, I sup 
 pose that it is not impossible that some one of 
 these ladies may be converted." 
 
 "Not at Chautauqua," Dr. Dennis said, as one 
 who had looked into the matter and knew all 
 about it. " I am not entirely in sympathy with 
 that meeting, anyway ; or, that is, I am and I am 
 not, all at once. I think it would be a grand 
 place for you and me. I haven t the least doubt 
 but that we would be refreshed, bodily and men 
 tally, and, for that matter, spiritually. If the 
 whole world were converted I should vote for 
 Chautauqua with a loud voice ; but I am more 
 than fearful as to the influence of such meetings 
 on the masses the unconverted world. They 
 will go thqre for recreation. Their whole aim 
 will be to have a glorious frolic away from the 
 restraints of ordinaiy home-life. They will have 
 no interest in the meetings, no sympathy with 
 the central thought that has drawn the workers 
 together, and the tendency will be to frolic 
 through it all. 
 
26 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " The trutli is, there will be such a mixing of 
 things that I actually fear the effect will be 
 wholesale demoralization. At the same time I 
 am interested in the idea, and am watching it 
 with anxietjr. Since I have heard of the delega 
 tion from my own church I have been more con 
 vinced still of the evil influences. It makes me 
 gloomy to think of the fruitful field such a place 
 will be for the fertile brain of that little Eurie 
 Mitchell. She is too wild now for civilized life. 
 The four walls of the church and the sacred 
 associations connected with the building serve 
 to keep her only half controlled when she is act 
 ually attending Sabbath service. There will be 
 nothing to control her in the woods, and she will 
 lose what little reverence she possesses. I tell 
 you, the more I think of it, the more certain I 
 am that for such people these great religious jubi 
 lees, holding over the Sabbath, do harm." 
 
 " You put it more gently than our friend Mr. 
 Archer," Mr. Harrison said, smiling. " He is in 
 a condition of absolute scorn. He gives none of 
 them credit for honesty or genuine interest. He 
 says it is a running away from work, a regular 
 shirking of what they ought to be doing, and go- 
 
The Question Discussed. 27 
 
 ing off into the woods to have a good time, and, 
 by way of gulling the public, they pretend to 
 season it with religion." 
 
 Dr. Dennis laughed. 
 
 " That sounds precisely like him, and is quite 
 as logical as one could expect, coming from that 
 source," he said, indifferently. " Why doesn t it 
 occur to his dull brain, that thinks itself such a 
 sharp one, that the leaders thereof are men re 
 sponsible to no one save God and their own con 
 sciences for the way in which they spend their 
 time ? There is nothing earthly to hinder their 
 going to the woods, and staying three months if 
 they please to do so." 
 
 " Oh, but I have left out one of the important 
 reasons for the meeting. It is to make money; 
 a grand speculation, whereby the fortunes of 
 these same leaders are to be made at the expense 
 of the poor victims whom they gather about 
 them." 
 
 Again Dr. Dennis shoulders went upward in 
 that peculiar but expressive shrug. 
 
 " Of all the precarious and dangerous ways of 
 making a fortune, I should think that went 
 ahead," he said, still laughing. " What an idea 
 
28 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 now I Shouldn t } r ou suppose people with com 
 mon sense would have some faint idea of the 
 immense expenses to be involved in such an 
 undertaking, and the tremendous risks to be 
 run ? If they succeed in meeting their expenses 
 this year I think they will have cause for rejoic- 
 
 ing." 
 
 " The point that puzzles me," Mr. Harrison 
 said, "is what particular commandment would 
 they be breaking if they should actually happen 
 to have twenty-five cents to put in their pockets 
 when the meeting closed ; though, as you say, I 
 doubt the probability. But they force no one to 
 come ; it is a matter for individual decision, and 
 they render a fair equivalent for every cent of 
 money spent ; at least, if the spender thinks it 
 is not a fair equivalent he is foolish to go ; so 
 why should they not make enough to justify them 
 in giving their time to this work ? " 
 
 " Of course, of course," assented Dr. Dennis, 
 heartily ; " they ought to ; none but an idiot 
 would think otherwise." 
 
 It is to be presumed that both these gentlemen 
 had gotten so far away from the name that was 
 quoted as holding these views as to forget all 
 
The Question Discussed. 29 
 
 about him, else they certainly would nob have 
 been guilty of calling a brother minister an idiot, 
 however much his arguments might suggest the 
 thought. 
 
 " But," continued Dr. Dennis, " my trouble 
 lies, as I said, in the results. I have no sort of 
 doubt that great good will be done, and I have 
 the same feeling of certainty that harm will be 
 done. Take it in my own church. We are so 
 situated, or we think ourselves so situated, that 
 not a single one of the earnest, heaity workers 
 who would come back to us with a blessing for 
 themselves and us, is able to go ; instead, we 
 have four representatives who will turn the whole 
 thing into ridicule, and dish it up for the enter 
 tainment of their friends during the coming 
 winter. 
 
 " That Miss Erskine seems to have a special 
 talent for getting up Thursday evening enter 
 tainments, to invite our people who are supposed 
 to be interested in the prayer-meeting, but who 
 rarely fail to make it convenient to go to the 
 party. I imagine a bevy of them being enter 
 tained by Eurie Mitchell. She can do it, and 
 she is looking forward to just that sort of thing, 
 
30 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 for I heard her rejoicing over it. That girl will 
 be injured by Chautauqua; I know it as well as 
 though I already saw it ; and the question with 
 me is, whether the amount of evil done will not 
 overbalance the good. At the same time I am 
 inconsistent enough to wish with all my heart 
 that I could be there." 
 
 " What about Miss Shipley ? Perhaps relief 
 will come to you from that quarter." 
 
 Those shoulders again. 
 
 " She is nothing in the world but a little pink 
 feather, and she blows precisely in the direction 
 of the strongest current ; and Satan looks out for 
 her with untiring patience that the wind shall 
 blow in the exact direction where it can do her 
 the most harm. Going to Chautauqua with the 
 influences that will surround her, with Miss Ers- 
 kine and Miss Wilbur on the -one side, and 
 Eurie Mitchell on the other, will be the very 
 best thing that Satan can do next for her, and 
 he doubtless knows it." 
 
 " I do not know Miss Wilbur at all. Is she 
 also one of } T our flock ? " 
 
 Dr. Dennis face was dark and sad. 
 
 " She is an infidel," he said, decidedly. " She 
 
The Question Discussed. 31 
 
 does not call herself such ; she wouldn t like to 
 be known as such, because it would be likely to 
 affect her position in the school. But the name 
 is rightly hers, and she would do less harm in the 
 world if she owned it." 
 
 " It is an extraordinary representation, I de 
 clare," Mr. Harrison said, a little startled. " I 
 have been half inclined to be envious of you 
 because you were to hear so directly from the 
 meeting, but I believe on the whole I shall be 
 quite as well off without any delegates as you 
 will with them." 
 
 " Better, decidedly. I am distressed at the 
 whole thing. It will result disastrously for them 
 all, you mark my words." 
 
 And having settled the affairs at Chautauqua, 
 apparently beyond all repeal, the brethren shook 
 hands again and went to their studies. 
 
 Meantime the express train was giving occa 
 sional premonitory snorts, and the four }~ouog 
 ladies who had been so thoroughly discussed were 
 in various stages of unrest, waiting for the mo 
 ment of departure. A looker-on would have 
 been able to come to marked conclusions con 
 cerning the different characters of these young 
 
32 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ladies, simply from their manner of dress. 
 Flossy Shipley was the one to look at first. That 
 was a very good description of her usual style 
 something to look at. She had chosen for her 
 traveling dress a pale, lavender cashmere, of that 
 delightful shade that resents a drop of water as 
 promptly as a drop of oil. It was trimmed with 
 a contrasting shade of silk, and trimmed pro 
 fusely ; yards of gathered trimming, headed by 
 yards of flat pleating, and that in turn headed 
 by yards of folds. The dainty sack and hat, and 
 the four-buttoned gloves, were as faultless as to 
 fit and as delicate in color as the dress. In short, 
 Miss Flossy looked as though she might be ready 
 for an evening concert. Moreover, she felt as if 
 she were, or at least she had an uncomfortable 
 consciousness as to clothes. She kept a nervous 
 lookout for the lower flounce whenever the crowd 
 of people surged her way, and brushed vigor 
 ously at the arm of the seat she had chosen ere 
 she dared to rest her arm on it. Evidently she 
 had given herself over to the martyrdom of 
 thinking of and caring for clothes during this 
 journey, and I don t know whether there is a 
 greater martyrdom made out of a trifle than 
 
: 
 
 The Question Discussed. 33 
 
 that. It was one of Flossy s besetting sins, this 
 raying herself in glory, and making wrinkles 
 in her face in the vain attempt to keep so. Not 
 that she was particularly anxious to save the 
 wear and tear, only she hated to look spotted 
 and wrinkled, and she could never seem to learn 
 the simple lesson of wearing the things best 
 suited to the occasion. 
 
 Standing near her, toying carelessly with her 
 traveling fan, and looking as though the thought 
 of dress was something that had passed ut 
 terly by her, was Miss Erskine. She looked like 
 one of those ladies whom gentlemen in their wis 
 dom are always selecting, pointing them out as 
 models. "So tasteiul and appropriate, and 
 withal so simple in their dress." 
 
 Let me tell you about her dress. It was plain 
 dark brown, precisely the shade of brown that 
 the fashion of the season required. It was of 
 soft, lusterless silk. It was very simply made, 
 almost severely plain, as Miss Erskine knew be 
 came a traveler. In fact, elegant simplicity 
 marked her entire toilet,, everything matched, 
 everything was fresh and spotless, and arranged 
 with an eye to remaining so. I am willing to 
 concede that she was faultlessly dressed, and it 
 
34 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 was a real pleasure to see her thus. But I am 
 also anxious to have the gentlemen understand 
 that that same simple attire represented more 
 money than two wardrobes like Flossy Shipley s. 
 It is often so with those delightfully plain and 
 simple dresses that attract so many people. In 
 fact, it might as well be admitted, since we are 
 on that subject, that elegant simplicity is some 
 times a very expensive article. 
 
 Eurie Mitchell was neither particularly ele 
 gant nor noted for simplicity, yet her dress was 
 not without character. We see enough of that 
 sort to become familiar with what it means, Its 
 language is simply a straightened purse, necessi 
 tating the putting together of shades that do 
 not quite harmonize, and trimming in a way that 
 will cover the most spots and take the least ma 
 terial. That was Eurie s dress. Skirt of one 
 kind and overdress of another. A very econom 
 ical fashion, and one not destined to last long, be 
 cause of its economy, and the fact that very ele 
 gant ladies rather curl their lips at it, and call it 
 the u patchwork style." Eurie from necessity 
 rather than choice adopted it, and it was also her 
 misfortune rather than her taste that the colors 
 
The Question Discussed. 35 
 
 were too light to be really according to the 
 mode. Her gloves were of an entirely different 
 shade from the rest of the attire, and were mended 
 with a shade of silk that did not quite match. 
 Altogether, Ernie s dress did not suit Miss Ers- 
 kine. But, for that matter, neither did it suit 
 herself, with this difference, that it was, after 
 all, a matter of minor importance to her. 
 \ Miss Wilbur s dress can be disposed of in a 
 single sentence : It was a black alpaca skirt, not 
 too long, and severely plain, covered to within 
 three inches with a plain brown linen polonaise ; 
 her black hat with a band of velvet about it, 
 fastened by a single heavy knot, and her some 
 what worn black gloves completed her toilet, and 
 she looked every inch a lady. The very people 
 who would have curled their aristocratic lips at 
 Ernie s attempt at style, turned and gave Miss 
 Wilbur a second thoughtful respectful look. 
 
 There was a Mr. Wayne who deserves atten 
 tion. He possessed himself of Miss Erskine s 
 fan, and played with it carelessly, while he said : 
 
 "You are a queer set. What are you all go 
 ing off there for, to bury yourselves in thewoods ? 
 I don t believe one of you has an idea what you 
 
36 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 are about. And it is the very height of the sea 
 son, too." 
 
 " That is the trouble," Miss Ersldne said, with 
 a little toss of her handsome head. " We are 
 sick of the season, and want to get away from 
 it. I want something new. That is precisely 
 what I am going for." 
 
 " I have no doubt you will find it," and the 
 gentleman gave a disdainful shrug to his shoul 
 ders. " Out in the backwoods attending a halle 
 lujah meeting ! I am sure I envy you." 
 
 "You don t know what we will find," Eurie 
 Mitchell said, with a defiant air. " Nor what 
 may happen to us before we return. We may 
 meet our destinies. I have no doubt they are 
 lurking for us behind some of the trees. Just 
 you meet the evening train of Wednesday, two 
 weeks hence, and see if you can not discover the 
 finger of fate having been busy with us. Won 
 derful things can happen in two weeks." 
 
 Just then the train gave its last warning howl, 
 and Mr. Wayne made rapid good-bys, a trifle 
 more lingering in the case of Miss Erskine than 
 the others, and with that prophetic sentence still 
 ringing in his ears he departed. And the four 
 girls were actually en route for Chautauqua. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 ENTERING THE CURRENT. 
 
 * s a ( l ueer thought, not to say a start- 
 ling one, what very trifles about us are 
 constantly giving object lessons on our charac 
 ters. Those four girls, as they arranged them 
 selves in the cars for their all-day journey con 
 veyed four different impressions to the critical 
 looker-on. In the first place they each selected 
 and took possession of an entire seat, though 
 the cars were filling rapidly, and many an anx 
 ious woman and heavily laden man looked re 
 proachfully at them. They took these whole 
 seats from entirely different stand-points Miss 
 Erskine because she was a finished and selfish 
 traveler; and although she did not belong to 
 
 that absolutely unendurable class, who occupy 
 
 (37) 
 
38 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 room that is not theirs until a conductor inter 
 feres, she yet regularly appropriated and kept 
 the extra seat engaged with her flounces until 
 she was asked outright to vacate it by one more 
 determined than the rest. She hated company 
 and avoided it when possible. Flossy Shipley 
 was willing, nay, ready, to give up her extra 
 seat the moment a person of the right sort ap 
 peared ; not simply a cleanly, respectable indi 
 vidual they might pass by the dozens but 
 one who attracted her, who was elegantly dressed 
 and stylish looking. Flossy would endure being 
 crowded if only the person who did it was styl 
 ish. Miss Wilbur was indifferent to the whole 
 race of human beings ; she cared as little as pos 
 sible whether a well-dressed lady stood or sat ; 
 so far as she was concerned they were apt to do 
 the former. She neither frowned nor smiled 
 when the time came that she was obliged to 
 move; she simply moved, with as unconcerned 
 and indifferent a face as she had worn all the 
 time. As for Eurie Mitchell, she took an entire 
 seat, as she did most other things, from pure 
 heedlessness ; any one was welcome who wanted 
 to sit with her, and whether it was a servant 
 
Entering the Current. 39 
 
 girl or a princess was a matter of no moment. 
 These various shades of feeling were nearly as 
 fully expressed in their faces as though they had 
 spoken ; and yet they did not in the least com 
 prehend their own actions. This is only an il 
 lustration ; it was so in a hundred little nothings 
 during the day. Not a window was raised or 
 closed for their benefit, not a turn of a blind 
 made, that a close student of human nature 
 could not have seen the distinct and ruling dif 
 ferences in their temperaments, no matter from 
 what point of the compass they started. In the 
 course of time they reached East Buffalo. 
 
 "Now for our dinners!" Eurie said, as the 
 whistle shrieked a warning that the station was 
 being neared. " What are we going to do ? " 
 
 " We are going to eat them, I presume, as 
 usual," Miss Erskine said in her most indifferent 
 tone. I should explain that long before this the 
 girls had grown weary of the separate seats, and 
 by dint of much planning and the good-natured 
 removal of two fellow passengers to other seats 
 had accomplished an arrangement that should 
 naturally have been enjoyed from the begin 
 ning : that of a turned seat, and being their own 
 seat-mates. 
 
40 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 "But I mean," Eurie said, in no wise quenched 
 by what was a common enough manner in Miss 
 Erskine, " are we to get a lunch, or are we to go 
 in to a regular dinner ? " 
 
 "If you mean what /am going to do, I shall 
 most assuredly have a regular dinner, as you 
 call it. I have no fancy for eating things thrown 
 together in a bag." 
 
 " The bag will be the most economical process 
 for all that," Eurie said, laughing at Miss Ers- 
 kine s disdainful face. 
 
 " I presume very likely ; but as I did not start 
 on this trip for the purpose of studying social 
 economy, I shall vote for the dinner." 
 
 " And I shall take to the bag method," Eurie 
 said, decidedly. Opposition always decided her. 
 So it did Flossy, though in a different way ; she 
 was sure to side with the stronger party. 
 
 "It would be pleasanter for us all to keep to 
 gether," she began in a doubtful tone, looking 
 first at Miss Erkine and then at Eurie. 
 
 * But since, according to Euiie s and my de 
 cided differences, it is impossible for us to do 
 the "better" thing, which of the two worse 
 things are you going to do ? " This Miss Ers- 
 
Entering the Current. 41 
 
 kine said with utmost good nature, but with 
 utmost determination as much as it would 
 have taken to carry out a good idea in the face 
 of opposition. 
 
 " Oh, I think I ll go with you." Flossy said 
 it hastily, as if she feared that she might appear 
 foolish in the eyes of this young lady by having 
 fancied anything else. 
 
 " Very well then ii remains for Marion to 
 choose her company," Eurie said, composedly. 
 
 Marion held up a paper bundle. 
 
 "It is already chosen," she said, promptly. 
 "It is a slice of bread and batter, with a very 
 thin slice of fat ham, which I never eat, and a 
 greasy doughnut, the whole done up in a brown 
 paper. This is decidedly an improvement on 
 the bag dinner (which you think of going after) 
 in an economical point of view ; and as I am a 
 student of social and all other sorts of economy, 
 not only on this trip but on every other trip of 
 mine in this mortal life, I recommend it to you; 
 at least I would have done so if you had asked 
 me this morning before you left home." 
 
 Eurie made a grimace. 
 
 " I might have brought a splendid lunch from 
 
42 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 home if I had only thought of such a thing," she 
 said, regretfully. "My thoughts always come 
 afterward." 
 
 " And it is quite the mode to take lunches 
 with you when they are elegantly put up," 
 Flossy said, regretfully, as she prepared to fol 
 low Huth. w I wonder we never thought of it. 
 
 This last remark of Flossy s set the two girls 
 left behind into a hearty laugh. 
 
 " Do you suppose that when Flossy has to die 
 she will be troubled lest it may not be the fashion 
 for young ladies to die that season ? " Eurie 
 said, looking after the pretty little doll as she 
 gathered her skirts about her anxiously; for, 
 whatever other qualifications East Buffalo may 
 have, cleanliness is not one of them. 
 
 " No," Marion answered, gravely, " not the 
 least danger of it, because it happens to be the 
 fashion for ladies to die at all seasons ; it is the 
 one thing that never seems to go out. I am 
 heartily glad that we have one thing that remains 
 absolute in this fashionable world." 
 
 Eurie looked at her thoughtfully. 
 
 " Marion, one would think you were religious 
 sometimes," she said, gravely. " You make 
 such strange remarks." 
 
Entering the Current. 43 
 
 Marion laughed immoderately. 
 
 " You ridiculous little infidel I " she sa id, as soon 
 as she could speak. " You do not even know 
 enough about religion to detect the difference 
 between goodness and wickedness. Why, that 
 was one of my wickedest remarks, and here you 
 are mistaking it for goodness. My dear child, 
 run and get your paper bag before it is time to 
 go ; or will you have my slice of ham and half 
 this doughnut? The bread and butter I want 
 myself." 
 
 The freshness and novelty of this journey wore 
 away before the long summer afternoon began to 
 wane ; the cars were crowded and uncomforta 
 ble, and the cinders flew about in as trying a way 
 as cinders can. 
 
 None of the girls had the least idea where they 
 were going. They knew, in a general way, that 
 there must be such a place as Chautauqua Lake, 
 as the papers that they chanced to come in con 
 tact with had been full of the delights of that 
 region for many months ; and, indeed, a young 
 man, earnest, enthusiastic and sensible, who 
 stopped over night at Dr. Mitchell s, and had 
 been a delighted guest at the Chautauqua Asseni- 
 
44 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 bly a year before, had sown tlie first seeds that 
 resulted in this trip. 
 
 lie of course could tell the exact route and 
 the necessary steps to be taken ; but it had been 
 no part of Eurie s wisdom to ask about the jour 
 ney thither ; she knew how many boats were on 
 the lake, arid what kind of fish could be caught 
 in it, but the most direct way to reach it was a 
 minor matter. So there they were, simply blun 
 dering along, in the belief that the railroad offi 
 cials knew their business, and would get them 
 somewhere sometime. 
 
 As the day waned, and the road became more 
 unknown to them, and their weariness grew upon 
 them, they fell to indulging in those stale jokes 
 that young ladies will perpetrate when they don t 
 know what else to do. As they declared, with 
 much laughter, and many smart ways of saying 
 it, that Chautauqua was a myth of Eurie s brain, 
 or that she had been the dupe of the fine young 
 theological student who had chanced her way, 
 and that the search for paradise would come to 
 naught, perhaps it was not all joking ; for, as 
 the hours passed and they journeyed on, hearing 
 nothing about the place of which for the last 
 
Entering the Current. 45 
 
 few weeks they had thought so much, a queer 
 feeling began to steal over them that there really 
 was no such spot, and that they were all a set of 
 idiots. 
 
 " I thought we should have been there by 
 this time, and regularly established at house 
 keeping," Marion said, as they picked up baskets 
 and bundles and prepared to change cars ; " and 
 here we are making another change. This is the 
 third this afternoon, or is it the thirteenth ? and 
 who knows where Brocton is or what it is? Is 
 anybody sure that it is in this hemisphere? 
 Eurie, you are certain that your theological stu 
 dent did not cross the Atlantic in order to reach 
 his elysium ? " 
 
 " Brocton is here," Eurie said, as they climbed 
 the steps of the car. " I see the name on that 
 building yonder ; though whether 4 here is 
 America or Asia I am unable to say. I think 
 we have come overland, but it is so long since 
 we started I may have forgotten." 
 
 But at this point they checked their nonsense 
 and began to get up a new interest in existence. 
 They were among a different class of people 
 earnest, eager people, who seemed to have no 
 
46 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 thought of yawns or weariness. Camp-stools 
 abounded, with here and there a bundle looking 
 like quilts and pillows. Every lady had a water 
 proof and every man an umbrella, and the tails 
 was of " tents," and " division meetings," ano 
 "the morning boats," with stray words likp 
 "Fairpoint" and " May ville " coming in ever> 
 now and then, These two words, the girls knew, 
 had to do with their hopes ; so they began to 
 feel revived. 
 
 " I actually begin to think there is some foun 
 dation for Ernie s wild fancies after all," Marion 
 whispered, " or else this is another party of luna 
 tics as wild as ourselves ; but they are a large 
 and respectable party ; I m rather hopeful." 
 
 In two minutes more the railroad official who 
 speaks in the unknown tongue yelped something 
 at either door, and thereupon everybody got up 
 and began to prepare for an exit. 
 
 " Do you think he said Mayville? " questioned 
 Eurie with a shade of anxiety in her voice. 
 She had been the leader of this scheme, and she 
 felt just a trifle of responsibility. 
 
 "Haven t the least idea," Marion said, com 
 posedly gathering her wrappings ; " it sounded 
 
Entering the Current. 47 
 
 as much like any other word you happen to think 
 of as it did like that, but everybody is going, and 
 Flossy and I are determined to be in the fashion, 
 so we go too." 
 
 At the door dismay seized upon Flossy. A 
 light drizzly rain was falling. Oh, the lavender 
 suit ! and her waterproof tucked away in her 
 trunk, and everybody pushing and trying to pass 
 her. 
 
 "Never mind," Marion said, with utmost good 
 nature, " here is mine ; I haven t any trunk, so it 
 is handy ; and it has rained on my old alpaca for 
 ages ; can t hurt that, so Avrap yourself up and 
 come along, for I believe in my heart that this 
 is Mayville." 
 
 " This way to the Mayville House," said the 
 gentlemanly official, touching his hat as politely 
 as though they had been princesses. Why cali t 
 hotel subordinates more often show a little com 
 mon politeness? This act decided the location 
 of these four girls in a twinkling ; they knew 
 nothing about any of the hotels, and, other 
 things being equal, anybody would rather go to 
 a place to which ihey had been decently invited 
 than to be elbowed and yelled at and forced. 
 
48 Four Girls at CJiautauaua. 
 
 "Water and rest and tea did much to restore 
 them to comfort, and as they discussed matters 
 in their rooms afterward they assured each other 
 that the Mayville House was just the place to 
 stop at. A discussion was in progress as to the 
 evening meeting. Miss Erskine had taken down 
 her hair and donned a becoming wrapper, and 
 reposed serenely in the rocking-chair, offering 
 no remark beyond the composed and decided, 
 " I am not going over in the woods to-night by 
 any manner of means ; that would be enough if 
 I were actually one of the lunatics instead of a 
 mild looker-on." 
 
 "I haven t the least idea of going, either," 
 Eurie said, sitting on a stool, balancing her 
 stockinged feet against Ruth s rocker. " Not 
 that I mind the rain, or that it wouldn t be fun 
 enough if I were not so dead tired. But I tell 
 you, girls, I have had t<? vrork like a soldier to 
 get ready, and having the* care of such a set as 
 you have been all day has been too much for me. 
 A religious meeting would just finish me. I m 
 going to save myself up for morning. You are 
 a goosie to go, Marion. It is as dark as ink, and 
 is raining. What can you see to-night ? " 
 
Entering the Current. 49 
 
 " I tell you I ve got to go," Marion said, as she 
 quietly unstrapped her shawl. "I earn my 
 bread, as you are very well aware, by teaching 
 school ; but my butter, and a few such delica 
 cies, I get by writing up folks and things. I ve 
 promised to give a melting account of this first 
 meeting, and I have no idea of losing the chance. 
 Flossy Shipley, you may wear my waterproof ev 
 ery minute if you will go with me. It is long 
 "enough to drag a quarter of a yard, and a rain 
 drop can not get near enough to think of you." 
 
 " But it is so damp," shivered Flossy, looking 
 drearily out into the night, "and so dark, Mar 
 ion, I am afraid to go." 
 
 "Plenty of people going. What is there to 
 be afraid of? We go down from here in a car 
 riage." 
 
 "I wouldn t go, Flossy," chimed in a voice 
 from the rocker and one from the ottoman. 
 
 " It will be very damp there," pleaded Flossy, 
 who did like to be accommodating. 
 
 " You may have ten thicknesses of my shawl 
 to sit on," urged Marion. " Come, now, Flossy 
 Shipley. I didn t have the least idea of coaxing 
 those other girls to go, for every one knows they 
 
50 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 are selfish and will do as they please ; but I did 
 think you would keep me company. It really 
 isn t pleasant to think of going alone." 
 
 The end of it was that Flossy, done up in a 
 cloak twice too large for her, went off looking 
 like the maityr that she was, and Eurie and 
 Ruth staid in their room and laughed over the 
 ridiculousness of Flossy Shipley going out in the 
 night and the rain, in a lavender cashmere, to 
 attend a religious meeting 1 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FAIKPOINT. 
 
 was not so very dark after all, nor so 
 disagreeable as she had imagined. She 
 sat curled up in a heap on the deck of the Col. 
 Phillips, looking with interested eyes on the 
 groups of people, who, despite the rain and dark 
 ness, were evidently on their way to Chautau- 
 qua. Marion had gone to the other side of the 
 boat and was looking over into the water, rested 
 and interested in spite of herself by the novelty 
 of the scene around her. The fellow-passengers 
 seemed not to be novices like themselves, for as 
 their talk floated to the girls it had sentences 
 like these : 
 
 " Last year we stopped in the village, but this 
 
 time we are going to be right on the ground." 
 
 (51) 
 
52 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " Last year it rained, too ; but rain makes no 
 difference at Chautauqua." 
 
 " They are all last year s people," said Marion, 
 coming over to Flossy s side. " That speaks 
 well for the interest, or the fun, doesn t it ? 
 Now what do you suppose takes all these people 
 to this place ? " 
 
 "/ don t know," Flossy said thoughtfully. 
 " I never thought much about it. Perhaps some 
 of them came just as I did, because the girls 
 were coming and asked me to. I m sure I 
 haven t the least idea what else I came for." 
 
 Marion looked down on the little creature 
 done up in water-proof, with a half-pitying 
 laugh. 
 
 "You are a good little mouse,"she said patroniz 
 ingly. " I never remember doing anything with 
 out a motive somewhere. It must be refreshing 
 to forget that important individual now and 
 then." 
 
 "Oh, I don t," Flossy said, simply. "Of 
 course I came for the good time I would have. 
 But then, you know, 1 would never have thought 
 of coming if the rest of you hadn t." 
 
 Another laugh from Marion. 
 
Fair point. 53 
 
 " You let others do your thinking for you^" she 
 said, with just a touch of contempt, covered by 
 the gayety of the tone. " Well, it is much the 
 easier way. If I could find anyone to undeatake 
 the task, I should like to try it for myself." 
 
 Flossy s answer was a little scream of delight, 
 for they were coming upon fairy -land ; the lights 
 of Fail-point were gleaming in the soft distance, 
 and very fairy-like they looked shining among 
 the trees. The sound of music on the steamer 
 mingled charmingly with the peal of the bells 
 from the shore. Marion looked on the scene 
 with quiet interest. Flossy s face took a pink 
 glow ; she liked pretty things. As for those who 
 had been at Chautauqua the year before, they 
 gathered at the vessel s side as those gather who, 
 after a long and tiresome journey, realize that 
 they are nearing home. They were eager and 
 excited. 
 
 " The dock is better," said one. 
 
 " Yes, and the passage way is larger," chimed 
 in his nearest neighbor. 
 
 " Oh, everything is on an improved scale this 
 year," said still a third, speaking confidently. 
 
 " The meeting can t be any better," spoke a 
 
54 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 quiet-faced woman, with a decided voice, " that 
 is simply impossible." 
 
 Marion laughed softly. 
 
 " Hear the lunatics !" she said, bending to give 
 Flossy the benefit of her words. "They are 
 just infatuated ; they think this is the original 
 Garden of Eden, with that wretched Eve left 
 out. If she were here I would choke her with 
 a relish." This last in a muttered undertone, too 
 low for even Flossy, and with a darkening face. 
 
 Meantime the boat rounded the point, the 
 plank was laid, and the feet of the eager passen 
 gers touched the shores of Chautauqua. Some 
 detention about tickets, arising from a misunder 
 standing of terms, made our girls lose sight and 
 sound of the rest of the boat-load, and when they 
 passed within the railing they found themselves 
 suddenly and strangely alone. A few lights 
 glimmered in the trees, enough to point the way, 
 and from the cottages near at hand streams of 
 light shot out into the darkness ; but 110 sound 
 of footsteps, no sight of human being appeared. 
 
 " Over the river, on the hill, 
 Another village lieth still," 
 
 quoted Marion, gravely. Then : 
 
Fair point. f 55 
 
 " I say, Flossy, what does it all mean ? Are 
 \ve among a party of witches, do you suppose? 
 Where could those congenial spirits so suddenly 
 have conveyed themselves away, I wonder ? 
 The road isn t broad, but it most decidedly isn t 
 straight. Only behold that long, long, long array 
 of damp and empty seats I Where are the faith 
 ful now, do you suppose ? " 
 
 " There isu t any meeting here to-night, and 
 we might have known there wouldn t be," Flossy 
 said, peevishly, beginning to grow not only dis 
 enchanted but half frightened. u I was never in 
 such a queer place in my life ! Those white 
 seats all look like ghosts. What could have 
 possessed you to come to-night ? Of course they 
 wouldn t have meeting in the rain ! Marion, do 
 let us go back ; I am frightened out of my 
 wits!" 
 
 " You blessed little simpleton! " said Marion, 
 gaily. " What on earth is there to be fright 
 ened over? Not pine seats and lamplight, 
 Burely, and there is nothing more formidable 
 than that so far." 
 
 "I wish with all my heart that I were safely 
 lack in the hotel, where I would have been if 
 
56 % Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 you had not coaxed me away," sighed, or rather 
 whined, poor Flossy, shivering with chilliness or 
 nervousness, and added : " Corne, Marion, do let 
 us go back with that boat. It can t have started 
 yet." 
 
 Marion grasped her hand firmly, and spoke 
 like a commander : 
 
 " Flossy Shipley, don t you go to getting nerv 
 ous and acting like a simpleton, for I won t 
 have it. As for that boat, it is hlaf way to May- 
 ville by this time, and I am glad of it. Do you 
 suppose I am going to make an ignominious re 
 treat now, when we have got so far advanced? 
 Not a bit of it. Jf there is no meeting, we will 
 go where there ought to be one, since it was ad 
 vertised, and not a word said about rain. It 
 isn t likely they stay out-doors when it actually 
 pours. Very likely they go in somewhere and 
 have a prayer-meeting. So now compose your 
 nerves and walk fast, for if the spot is within 
 walking distance I am going to find it. I tell 
 you I am to get ten dollars at least for writing 
 up this meeting, and I am going to write it if 
 there is one to write about. If there isn t I shall 
 have to make up one. I dare say I could make 
 
Fair point. 57 
 
 it interesting. I ll put you in if I do, and 3-011 
 shall be Mrs. Fearful in Pilgrim s Progress, 
 you know if you don t stop shivering and walk 
 faster." 
 
 During this time they had really been making 
 as rapid progress as the up-hill way and their 
 doubt of the road would allow. Flossy made 
 no reply to this harangue, for the reason that a 
 sudden turn in the path brought them into bright 
 light and the sound of a rin inner voice. 
 
 o o o 
 
 " There ! " whispered Marion as the mammoth 
 tent came in view. "What did I tell you? 
 "What do you think of that for a prayer-meet 
 ing ? " And then she, too, relapsed into silence, 
 for the ringing tones of the speaker s voice were 
 distinct and clear. They made their way rapidly 
 and silently under the tent, down the aisle half 
 way down then a gentleman beckoned them, 
 and by dint of some pushing and moving secured 
 them seats. Then both girls looked about them 
 in astonishment. Who would have supposed 
 that it rained ! Why, there were rows and rows 
 and rows of heads, men and women, and even 
 children. A tent larger than they had imagined 
 could be built and packed with people. 
 
58 Four Girls at Cfiautauqua. 
 
 Marion s tongue was uncontrollable. She waa 
 barely seated before she began her whispered 
 comments : 
 
 " That man who is speaking is Dr. Vincent. 
 Hasn t he a ringing voice ? It reminds me of a 
 trumpet. He likes to use it, I know he does ; 
 he has learned to manage it so nicely, and with 
 an eye to the effect. You will hear his voice 
 often enough, and you just watch and see if you 
 don t learn to know the first echo of it from any 
 other." 
 
 " Perhaps he won t be here all the time to use 
 his voice," whispered back Flossy, without much 
 idea what she was saying. The novelty of the 
 scene had stolen her senses. 
 
 Marion laughed softly. 
 
 " You blessed little idiot ! " she said, " don t 
 you know that he manufactured Chautauqua, 
 root and branch ?Or if he didn t quite manufact 
 ure the trees he looked after their growth, I 
 dare say. Why, this meeting is his darling, his 
 idol, his best beloved. Hear him speak ? I 
 guess you will. I should like to see a meeting 
 of this kind that didn t hear from him. It will 
 have to be when he is out of the body." 
 
Fairpoint. 69 
 
 "How do you know about him?" whispered 
 Flossy, struck with sudden curiosity. 
 
 " I ve written him up," Marion said, briefly. 
 " I ve had to do it several times. Oh,I m a veteran 
 at Sunday-school meetings. But he is the hard 
 est man to write about that there is among them, 
 because you can never tell what he may happen 
 to say or do next. It will never do to jump at 
 his conclusions, and slip in a neat little sentence 
 of your own as coming from him if }~ou don t 
 happen to have taken very profuse notes, because 
 as sure as you do he will spring up in some tire 
 some meeting in less than a week and unsay ev 
 ery single word that you said. He said " 
 
 At this point a poor martyr, who had the mis 
 ery to sit directly in front of these two whisper 
 ers, turned and gave them such a look as only a 
 man can under like circumstances, and awed 
 them into five minutes of quiet. It lasted until 
 Dr. Eggleston was announced. Then Marion s 
 tongue broke loose again : 
 
 "lie is the Hoosier Schoolmaster. Don t 
 you know we read his book aloud at the semi 
 nary? Looks as though he might have written 
 it, doesn t he ? Let s listen to what he says. He 
 
GO Four Girls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 always says a word or two that a body can re 
 port ; very few of them do." 
 
 This is a fair specimen of the way in which 
 Miss Wilbur buzzed through that meeting that 
 wonderful meeting, that Flossy Shipley will re 
 member all her life. She made no answer to 
 Marion s comments after a little, and the pink 
 flush glowed deeper on her face. She was won 
 derfully interested indeed she was more than 
 interested. There was a strange feeling of pain 
 at her heart, a sort of sick, longing feeling that 
 she had never felt before, to understand what all 
 these people meant, to feel as they seemed to 
 feel. 
 
 The Christian world is more to blame for the 
 unspoken infidelity that thrives in its circles 
 than is generally supposed. Flossy Shipley had 
 been in many religious meetings, but she had 
 really never in her life before been among a large 
 gathering of cultured people, who were eager 
 and excited and happy, and the cause for that 
 eagerness and that happiness been found in the 
 religion of Jesus Christ. I do not say that there 
 had never been such meetings before, nor that 
 there have not been many of them. I simply 
 
Fair point. 61 
 
 say that it was a new revelation to Floss} r , and 
 she had been to the church pray er-mee ting at 
 home several times. Whether that church may 
 have been peculiar or not I do not say, but Flossy 
 had certainlj r failed to get the idea that prayer- 
 meetings were blessed places ; that the people 
 who went there from week to week found 
 their joy and their rest and their comfort there. 
 She began to have an unutterable sense of want 
 and longing creeping over her; she stole shy 
 glances at Marion to see if she felt this, but Mar 
 ion was absorbed just then in catching the speak 
 er s last sentence and writing it down. Her face 
 expressed nothing but business earnestness. 
 Speech-making concluded, there came the " cove 
 nant service." 
 
 " I wonder what that is supposed to be ? " 
 whispered Marion. " It sounds like something 
 dreadfully solemn. I hope they are not going 
 to have any scenes. Revivals are not fashiona 
 ble except in the winter." 
 
 "Marion, dont!" Flossy said, in an earnest 
 undertone. The gay, and what for the first 
 time struck her as the sacrilegious words, chilled 
 her. And for almost the first time in her life she 
 
62 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 uttered an unhesitating remonstrance. Some 
 thing in the tone surprised Marion, and she 
 looked curiously down at her little companion, 
 but said not another word. 
 
 The covenant service was the simplest of all 
 services; in fact, only the singing of a familiar 
 hymn and the offering of a prayer. But the 
 hymn was read first, in such solemn, tender, 
 pleading tones as it seemed to Flossy she had 
 never heard before ; and the singing rolled 
 around that great tent like the voices of the ten 
 thousand who sing before the throne at least 
 to Flossy s heart it seemed like that. The 
 prayer that followed was the simplest of all 
 prayers as to words, and the briefest public 
 pra}^er she ever remembered to have heard, and 
 it made her feel as nothing in life had ever done 
 before. She did not understand the cause for 
 her emotion ; she was not acquainted with the 
 Spirit of God; she did not know that he was 
 speaking to her softened heart, and calling her 
 gently to himself, so she felt ashamed of the 
 emotion that she could not help. She wiped 
 the tears away secretly, and was glad that the 
 night was dark and the need for haste great, for 
 

 Fair point. 63 
 
 the steamer s warning whistle could already be 
 beard. Marion talked on as they went down 
 the hill, not alone now but accompanied by 
 hundreds, talked precisely as she had before the 
 singing of those words and the prayer. " How 
 could she ? " Flossy wondered. " How could 
 anything look the same to her ? " The Spirit 
 had found no softened heart in which to leave a 
 message, and so had passed by. This, if Flossy 
 had known it, was the reason that Marion was 
 gay and indifferent. If either of them had fully 
 realized the reason for the different effect of the 
 meeting upon them, how startled the} would 
 have been ! It is not strange after all that a 
 service is not the same to one soul that it is to 
 another, when we remember that God speaks to 
 one and passes another. 
 
 The night was still heavy with clouds, not a 
 star to lighten the gloom ; a fine mist was fall 
 ing. It was Marion who shivered this time, and 
 said: 
 
 " It is a horrible night, that is a fact ; but I 
 am not sorry we went. That meeting will write 
 up splendid!}^ though it was too long; I will say 
 that in print about it. You must find some 
 
64 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. t 
 
 fault, you know, when you are writing for tho 
 public ; it is the fashion." 
 
 " Was it long ? " said Flossy, in an absent 
 tone. She had not thought of it in that way. 
 Then she went to the side of the boat again and 
 sat down in a tumult. What was the matter 
 with her? Where had her complacent, pretty 
 little content gone ? Would she always feel so 
 sad and anxious and unhappy, have such a long 
 ing as she did now ? If she had been wiser she 
 could have told herself that the trouble of heart 
 was caused by an unhealthy excitement upon 
 this question, and that this was the great fault 
 with religious meetings ; but she was not wise, 
 she did not think of such a reason. If it had 
 been suggested to her it is doubtful if, in her ig 
 norance, she would not have said : " Why, she 
 had been more excited at an evening party a 
 hundred times than she had thought of being 
 then ! " She actually did not know that eager 
 ness and zeal are proper enough at parties, but 
 utterly out of place in religion. Just in front 
 
 of her sat a young man who hummed in under- 
 
 
 tone the closing words of the covenant song. It 
 
 brought the tears again to Flossy s eyes. He 
 turned suddenly toward her. 
 
Pair-point. 65 
 
 u It was a pleasant service," he said. " Don t 
 you think so ? " 
 
 It was rather startling to be addressed by a 
 strange young gentleman, or would have been if 
 his voice had not been so quiet and dignified, as 
 if it were the most natural thing in the world to 
 compare notes with one who had just come out 
 irom the great meeting. 
 
 "I don t know whether it was or not," she 
 said, hurriedly. She could not seem to decide 
 whether she enjoyed it or hated it. 
 
 " It was blessed to me," the young man said, 
 in quiet voice ; and added in undertone, as if 
 speaking to himself only : " God was there." 
 
 " Do you feel that ? " said Flossy, suddenly. 
 " Then I wonder that you were not afraid." 
 
 He turned toward her a pleasant face and 
 said, earnestly : 
 
 "You would not be afraid of your father, 
 would you ? Well, God is my Father, my rec 
 onciled Father;" And then, after a moment, he 
 added : " If I were not at peace \vith him, and 
 had reason to think that he was angry with me, 
 then it would be different. Then I suppose I 
 ehomld be afraid ; at least I think it would be 
 veasonable to be." 
 
66 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Flossy spoke out of the fullness of a troubled 
 heart : 
 
 " I don t understand it at all. I never wanted 
 to, either, until just to-night ; but now I want to 
 feel as those people did when they sang that 
 hymn." 
 
 Marion came quickly up from the other side. 
 
 " Flossy," she said, with sudden sharpness, 
 " come over here and watch the track of the 
 boat through the water." And as Flossy me 
 chanically obeyed, she added : " What a foolish, 
 heedless little mouse you are ! I wonder that 
 jour mother let you go from her sight. Don t 
 you know that you mustn t get up conversations 
 with strange young men in that fashion ?" 
 
 Flossy had not thought of it at all : but now 
 she said a little drearily, as if the subject did not 
 interest her : 
 
 "But I have often held conversations with 
 strange young men at the dancing-hall, } T OU 
 know, and danced with them, too, when every 
 thing I knew about them was their names, and 
 generally I forgot that." 
 
 Marion gave a light laugh. 
 
 " That is different," she said, letting her lip 
 
Fairpomt. 67 
 
 curl in the darkness over the folly of her own 
 words. " What is proper at a dance is very im 
 proper coming home from prayer-meeting, don t 
 you see ? " 
 
 " What do you think ! " she said the minute 
 they were in their rooms. " There was I, lean 
 ing meditatively over the boat, thinking sol 
 emnly on the truths I had heard, and that 
 absurd little water-proof morsel was having a 
 flirtation with a nice young man. Here is one 
 of the fruits of the system I What on earth was 
 he saying to you, Flossy ? " 
 
 " Don t ! " said Flossy, for the second time 
 that evening. " He wasn t saying any harm." 
 
 The whole thing jarred on her with an inex 
 pressible and to her bewildering pain. She had 
 always been ready for fun before. 
 
 " That girl is homesick, or something," Marion 
 said, as she and Eurie went to their rooms, leav 
 ing Flossy with Ruth, who prefered her as a 
 room-mate to either of the others because she 
 could keep from talking. 
 
 " I haven t the least idea what is the matter, 
 but she has been as unlike herself as possible. 
 I hope she isn t going to get sick and spoil our 
 
68 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 fun. Plow silly we were to bring her, anyway. 
 The baby hasn t life enough to see the frolic of 
 the thing, and the intellectual is miles beyond 
 her. I suspect she was dreadfully bored this 
 evening. But, Eurie, there is going to be some 
 splendid speaking done here. I shouldn t won 
 der if we attended a good many of the meet- 
 ings." 
 

 CHAPTER V. 
 
 TJNKEST. 
 
 LOSSY went to the window and stood 
 looking out into the starless night. The 
 pain in her heart deepened with every 
 moment. 
 
 " If there was only some one to ask, some one 
 to sa} r a word to me," she sighed to herself. "It 
 seems as though I could never go to sleep with 
 this feeling clinging to me. I wonder what can 
 be the matter ? Perhaps I am sick and am go 
 ing to die. It feels almost like that, and I am not 
 fit to die I am afraid. I wonder if Ruth Ers- 
 kine is afraid to die ? I have almost a mind to 
 ask her. I wonder if she ever prays? People 
 who are not afraid of death are always those 
 who pray. Perhaps she will to-night. I feel as 
 
 though I wanted to pray ; I think if I only knew 
 
 (CO) 
 
70 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 how it would be just the thing to do. If she 
 kneels down I meau to go and kneel beside her." 
 
 These were some of the thoughts that whirled 
 through her brain as she stood with her nose 
 pressed to the glass. But Ruth did not pray. 
 She went around with the composed air of one 
 who was at peace with all the world; and when 
 her elaborate preparations for rest were con 
 cluded she laid her head on her pillow with 
 out one thought of prayer. 
 
 " Why in the name of sense don t you come to 
 bed ? " she presently asked, surveying with curi 
 ous glance the quiet little creature whose face 
 was hidden from her, and who was acting en 
 tirely out of accordance with anything she had 
 ever seen in her before. " What can you possi 
 bly find to keep you gazing out of that window ? 
 It can t be called star-gazing, for to my certain 
 knowledge there isn t a single star visible ; in 
 fact, I should say nothing could be visible but 
 the darkness." 
 
 For a minute Flossy made no answer. She 
 did not move nor turn her head ; but presently 
 she said, in a low and gentle voice : 
 
 " Ruth, should you bo afraid to die ? " 
 

 Unrest. 71 
 
 " To die ! " said Ruth ; and I have no means 
 of telling you what an astonished face and voice 
 she had. " Flossy Shipley, what do you mean ? " 
 
 " Wiry, I mean that" said Flossy, in the same 
 quiet tone. " Of course we have got to die, and 
 everybody knows it ; and what I say is, should 
 you be afraid if it were to-night, you know ? " 
 
 " Humph ! " said Ruth, turning her pillow 
 and waiting to beat it into shape before she spoke 
 further. " I haven t the least idea of dying to 
 night." 
 
 " But how can you be sure of that ? You 
 might have to die to-night, you know people do 
 sometimes." 
 
 " I know one thing, am perfectly certain of it, 
 and that is, that you will take cold standing 
 there and making yourself dismal. You are 
 shivering like a leaf, I can see you from here. 
 If that is all the good to be gotten from the re 
 ligious impressions that they harp about being 
 so great here, the less religion they have the bet 
 ter, and there is quite little enough you may be 
 sure." Saying which, Ruth turned her pillow 
 again and her head, so that she could not see the 
 small creature at the window. She was unac- 
 
72 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 countably rasped, not to say startled, by her 
 question, and she did not like to be startled ; she 
 liked to have her current of life run smoothly. 
 
 As for Flossy, she gave a great sigh of disap 
 pointment and unrest, and turned slowly from 
 the window. She had vaguely hoped for help 
 of some sort from Ruth, and as she lay down on 
 her prayerless pillow she said to herself, " If she 
 had only knelt down I should certainly have 
 done so, too ; and perhaps I might have been 
 helped out of this dreadful feeling." Yet so ig 
 norant was she of the way that it never once 
 occurred to her to kneel alone and pray. 
 
 No more words were spoken by those two 
 girls that night, but each lay awake for a long 
 time and tossed about restlessly. Ruth had been 
 most effectually disturbed, and try as best she 
 could it was impossible to banish the memory of 
 those quiet words : "You might have to die to 
 night ; people do, you know." To actually have to 
 do something that she had not planned to do, 
 and was not quite ready for, would be a new ex 
 perience to this girl. Yet when would she be 
 ready to plan for dying? At last she grew 
 thoroughly vexed, and vented her disgust on the 
 
Unrest. 73 
 
 " religionists" who got up camp-meeting excite 
 ments for the purpose of turning weak brains 
 like Flossy Shipley s. After that she went to 
 sleep. 
 
 " Flossy Shipley, for pity s sake don t rig your 
 self up in that awful cashmere ! It rains yet, 
 and you will just be going around with five 
 wrinkles on your forehead all day, besides spoil 
 ing your dress." 
 
 It was morning, and the door of communication 
 between the two sleeping-rooms being thrown 
 open the four girls were in full tide of talk and 
 preparation for Fairpoint. Flossy, though kept 
 her strangely quiet face and manner ; the 
 night had not brought her peace ; she had tossed 
 restlessly for hours, and when at last she slept it 
 was only to be haunted with troubled dreams. 
 "With the first breath of morning she opened her 
 eyes and -felt that the weight of yesterday was 
 still pressing on her heart. 
 
 " What shall I wear ? " she asked, in an absent, 
 bewildered way of Eurie, who had objected to 
 the cashmere. 
 
 " I m sure I don t know. Didn t you bring 
 anything suited to the rain ? Let me go fishing 
 
74 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 in that ponderous trunk and see if I can t find 
 something." 
 
 The " fishing " produced nothing more suitable 
 than a heavy black silk, elaborately trimmed, and 
 looking, as Eurie phrased it, " elegantly out of 
 place." 
 
 Through much confusion and frolicking the 
 four were at last entering the grounds at Chau 
 tauqua. By reason of their superior knowledge 
 Marion and Flossy led the way, while the others 
 followed eagerly, looking and exclaiming. 
 
 "I ll tell you what it is, girls," Eurie said, 
 eagerly. " Let s come over here and board. 
 We ll have a tent or a cottage. A tent will be 
 jollier, and it will be twice as much fun as to 
 stay at the hotel." 
 
 There being no dissenting voice to this propo 
 sal, they started in much glee to look up a home ; 
 only Flossy demurred timidly. 
 
 " Can t we go to the meeting, girls, and look 
 for the tent afterward ? The meeting has com 
 menced ; I hear them singing." 
 
 " It s nothing in the world but a Bible service," 
 Eurie said. "That man at the gate handed me 
 a programme. Who wants to go to a Bible ser- 
 
Unrest. 75 
 
 vice ? We have Bibles enough at home. We 
 want to be on hand at eleven o clock, because 
 Edward Eggleston is to speak on The Paradise 
 of Childhood. My childhood was anything but 
 paradise, but I am anxious to know what he will 
 make of it." 
 
 Flossy succumbed, of course, as every one ex 
 pected she would ; and the party went in search 
 of tents and accommodations. It was no easy 
 matter to suit them, as the patient and courteous 
 President found. 
 
 " I don t like the location of any one of them," 
 Ruth Erskine said. Of course she was the 
 hardest to suit. " Why can t we have one of 
 those in that row on the hill ? " 
 
 " Those are the guest tents, ma am." 
 
 " The guest tents ? " Eurie exclaimed, in sur 
 prise. " I wonder if they entertain guests here ! 
 Who are they ? " 
 
 " Why, those who have been invited to take 
 part in the exercises, of course. You did nob 
 suppose that they paid their own expenses and 
 did the work besides, did you ? " 
 
 This explanation was given by Marion, who, 
 by virtue of her experience as reporter was bet- 
 
76 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ter versed in the ways of these great; gatherings 
 than the others. 
 
 " What an idea ! " Eurie said. " Fancy being 
 a guest and speaking at this great meeting ! 
 Being a person of distinction, you know ; so that 
 people would be pointing you out, and telling 
 their neighbors who you were. 
 
 " There goes Miss Mitchell. She is the lead 
 ing speaker on Sunday-school books. How does 
 that sound? Only, on the whole, I should 
 choose some other department than Sunday- 
 school books; they are all so horridly good 
 the people in them, I mean that one can t get 
 through with more than two in a season. I tried 
 to read one last week for Sunday, but I aban 
 doned it in despair." 
 
 This was an aside, while Ruth was question 
 ing the President. She was looking dismayed. 
 
 " Can t we have one of the tents on that side, 
 near the stand ? " 
 
 " Those were taken months ago. This is a large 
 gathering, you know." 
 
 " I should think it was ! Then, it seems, we 
 must go back to the hotel. I thought you would 
 be glad to let us have accommodations at any 
 price." 
 
Unrest. 77 
 
 The gentlemanly President Lere carefully re- 
 pi essed an amused smile. Here were people 
 who had evidently misunderstood Chautauqua. 
 
 " Oh, yes," he said, 4i we can give }*ou accommo 
 dations, only not the very best, I am sorry to 
 say. Our best tents were secured many months 
 ago. Still, we will do the best we can for you, 
 and I think we can make you entirely comfort 
 able." 
 
 " People have different ideas as to the mean 
 ing of that word," Miss Erskine said, loftily. 
 
 Then she moved to another tent, over which 
 she exclaimed in dismay : 
 
 " Why, the bed isn t made up ! Pray, are we 
 to sleep on the slats ? " 
 
 " Oh, no. But you have to hire all those 
 things, you know. Have you seen our bulletin ? 
 There are parties on the ground prepared to fit 
 up everything that you need, and to do it very 
 reasonably. Of course we can not know what 
 degree of expense those requiring tents care to 
 incur, so we leave that matter for them to decide 
 for themselves. You can have as many or as 
 few comforts as you choose, and pay accord- 
 ingly." 
 
78 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " And are all four of us expected to occupy 
 this one room ? " There was an expression of 
 decided disgust on Miss Erskine s face. 
 
 " Why, you see," explained the amused Pres 
 ident, " this tent is designed for four ; two good- 
 sized bedsteads set up in it ; and the necessity 
 seems to be upon us to crowd as much as we can 
 conveniently. There will be no danger of im 
 pure air, you know, for you have all out-doors to 
 breathe." 
 
 " And you really don t have toilet stands or 
 toilet accommodations! What a way to live ! " 
 
 Another voice chimed in now, which was the 
 very embodiment of refined horror. 
 
 44 And you don t have pianos nor sofas, and the 
 room isn t lighted with gas ! I m sure I don t 
 see how we can live I It is not what we have 
 been accustomed to." 
 
 This was Marion, with the most dancing eyes 
 in the world, and the President completed the 
 scene by laughing outright. Suddenly Ruth 
 discovered that she was acting the part of a sim 
 pleton, and with flushed face she turned from 
 them, and walked to a vacant seat, in the oppo 
 site direction from where they were standing. 
 
Unrest. 79 
 
 " We will take this one," she said, haughtily, 
 without vouchsafing it a look. " I presume it is 
 as good as any of them, and, since we are fairly 
 into this absurd scrape we must make the best 
 of it." 
 
 " Or the worst of it," Marion said, still laugh 
 ing. "You are bent on doing that, I think, 
 Ruthie." 
 
 By a violent effort and rare good sense Ruth 
 controlled herself sufficiently to laugh, and the 
 embarrassment vanished. There were splendid 
 points about this girl s character, not the least 
 among them being the ability to laugh at a joke 
 that had been turned toward herself. At least 
 the effect was splendid. The reasons, therefore, 
 might have been better. It was because her 
 sharp brain saw the better effect that her ability 
 to do this thing immediately produced on the 
 people around her. But I shall have to confess 
 that a poise of character strong enough to grace 
 fully avert unpleasant effects arising from causes 
 of her own making ought to have been strong 
 enough to have suppressed the causes. 
 
 The question of an abiding-place being thus 
 Bummarily disposed of, the party set themselves 
 
 
80 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 to work with great energy to get settled, Marion 
 and Eurie taking the lead. Both were used to 
 both planning and working, and Marion at least 
 had so much of it to do as to have lost all desire 
 to lead unnecessarily, and therefore everything 
 grew harmonious. 
 
 There was a good deal of genuine disgust in 
 Ruth s part of it, though, her eyes having been 
 opened, she bravely tried to hide the feeling 
 from the rest. But you will remember that she 
 had lived and breathed in an atmosphere of ele 
 gant refinement all her life, accepting the luxu 
 ries of life as common necessities until they had 
 really become such to her, and the idea of doing 
 without many things that people during camp 
 life necessarily find themselves obliged to do 
 without was not only strange to her but exceed 
 ingly disagreeable. The two leaders being less 
 used to the extremes of luxury, and more indif 
 ferent to them by nature, could not understand 
 and had little sympathy with her feeling. 
 
 " We shall have to go back after all to the 
 hotel," Eurie said, as she dived both hands into 
 the straw tick and tried to level the bed. " We 
 have too fine a lady among us ; she cannot sleep 
 
Unrest. 81 
 
 on a bedstead that doesn t rest its aristocratic 
 legs on a velvet carpet. She doesn t see the 
 fun at all. I thought Flossy would be the silly 
 one, but Flossy is in a fit of the dumps. I never 
 saw her so indifferent to her dress before. See 
 her now, bringing that three-legged stand, with 
 out regard to rain ! There is one comfort in this 
 perpetual rain, we shall have less dust. After 
 all, though, I do-n t know as that is any improve 
 ment, so long as it goes and makes itself up into 
 mud. Look at the mud on my dress ! That 
 tent we were looking at first would have been 
 ever so much the best, but after Ruth s silliness 
 I really hadn t the face to suggest a change I 
 thought we had given trouble enough. She 
 makes a mistake ; she thinks this is a great ho 
 tel, where people are bound to get all the money 
 they can and give as little return, instead of its 
 being a place where people are striving to be as 
 accommodating as they can, and give everybody 
 as good a time as possible." 
 
 In the midst of all this talk and work they 
 left and ran up the hill to the Tabernacle, where 
 the crowds were gathering to hear Dr. Eggleston. 
 It was a novel sight to these four girls ; the great 
 
82 Four Crirls at Climtauqua. 
 
 army of eager, strong, expectant faces; the 
 ladies, almost without an exception, dressed to 
 match the rain and the woods, looking neither 
 tired nor annoyed about anything looking 
 only in earnest. To Ruth, especially, it came 
 like a revelation. She looked around her with 
 surprised eyes. There were intellectual faces 
 on every hand. There was the hum of conver 
 sation all about her, for the meeting was not } r et 
 opened, and the tone of their words was differ 
 ent from any with which her life had been 
 familiar ; they seemed lifted up, enthused ; they 
 seemed to have found something worthy of 
 enthusiasm. As a rule Rutli had not enjoyed 
 enthusiastic people ; they had seemed silly to 
 her; and you will admit that there is a silly 
 side to the consuming of a great deal of that 
 trait on the dress for an evening party, or the 
 arrangement of programmes for a fancy concert. 
 Just now she had a glimmering fancy that there 
 might be something worthy of arresting and 
 holding one s eager attention. 
 
 " They look alive," she said, turning from 
 right to left among the rows and rows of 
 faces. " They look as though they had a good 
 
Unrest. 8c 
 
 deal fco do, and they thought it was worth 
 doing." 
 
 Then, curiously enough, there came suddenly 
 to her mind that question which she had ban 
 ished the night before, and she wondered if these 
 people had all really answered it to their satis 
 faction. 
 
 Flossy took a seat immediately in front of the 
 speaker. She was hungry for something, and 
 she did not know what to call it something 
 that would set her fevered heart at rest. As for 
 Marion and Eurie, they hoped with all their 
 hearts that the " Hoosier Schoolmaster " would 
 give them a rich intellectual treat, at least Marion 
 was after the intellectual. Eurie would be con 
 tented if she got the fun, and a man like Dr. 
 Eggleston has enough of both those elements to 
 make sure of satisfying their hopes. But would 
 he bring something to help Flossy ? 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FEASTS. 
 
 doesn t look in the least as I thought 
 he did." It was Eurie who whispered 
 this, and she nudged Marion s arm by way of 
 emphasis as she did it. 
 Marion laughed. 
 
 " How did you think he looked ? " 
 " Oh, I don t know rough, rather." 
 Whereupon Marion laughed again. 
 " That is the way some people discriminate," 
 she whispered back. "You think because he 
 wrote about rough people he must be rough ; 
 and when one writes about people of culture 
 and elegance you think straightway that he is 
 
 the personification of those ideas. You forget, 
 (84) 
 
Feasts. 85 
 
 you see, that the world is full to the brim with 
 hypocrisy; and it is easier to be perfect on 
 paper than it is anywhere else in this world." 
 
 " Or to be a sinner either, according to that 
 view of it." 
 
 "It is easy enough to be a sinner anywhere. 
 Hush, I want to listen." 
 
 For which want the people all about her must 
 have been very thankful. Our young ladies 
 gave Dr. Eggleston their attention at the mo 
 ment when he was drawling out in his most 
 nasal and ludicrous tones the hymn that used to 
 be a favorite in Sunday-schools ninety years 
 ago: . 
 
 " Broad is the road that leads to death, 
 And thousands walk together there, 
 
 But wisdom shows a narrow path, 
 With here and there a traveler." 
 
 The manner in which part of these lines were 
 repeated was irresistibly funny. To Eurie ifc 
 was explosively so ; she laughed until the seat 
 shook with mirth. To be sure, she knew noth 
 ing about modern Sunday-schools ; for aught 
 that she was certain of, they might have sung 
 that very hymn in the First Church Sunday- 
 
86 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 school the Sabbath before ; and it made not the 
 least atom of difference whether they did or 
 not ; the way in which Dr. Eggleston was put 
 ting it was funny, and Eurie never spoiled fun 
 for the sake of sentiment. Presently she looked 
 up at Marion for sympathy. That young lady s 
 eyes were in a blaze of indignation. What in 
 the world was the matter with her? Surely 
 she, with her hearty and unquestioning belief in 
 nothing, could not have been disturbed by any 
 jar ! Let me tell you a w r ord about Marion. 
 Away back in her childhood there was a mem 
 ory of a little dingy, old-fashioned kitchen, one 
 of the oldest and dreariest of its kind, where 
 the chimney smoked and the winter wind 
 crawled in through endless cracks and crannies ; 
 where it was not always possible to get enough 
 to eat during the hardest times ; but there was 
 a large, old-fashioned arm-chair, covered with 
 frayed and faded calico, and in this chair sat 
 often of a winter evening a clean-faced old man, 
 with thin and many-patched clothes, with a 
 worn and sickly face, with a few gray hairs 
 straggling sadly about on his smooth crown; 
 and that old man used often and often to drone 
 
Feasts. 87 
 
 out in a cracked voice and in a tune pitched too 
 low by half an octave the very words which had 
 just been repeated in Marion s hearing. What 
 of all that? Why, that little gloomy kitchen was 
 Marion s memory of home ; that old, tired man 
 was her father, and he used to sing those words 
 while his hand wandered tenderly through the 
 curls of her brown head, and patted softly the 
 white forehead over which they fell ; and all of 
 love that there was in life, all that the word 
 " tenderness " meant, all that was dear, or sweet, 
 or to be reverenced, was embodied in that one 
 memory to Marion. Now you understand the 
 flashing eyes. She did not believe it at all ; she 
 believed, or thought she did, that the " broad " 
 and " narrow " roads were all nonsense ; that go 
 where you would, or do what you would, all the 
 roads led to death; and that was the end. But 
 the father who had quavered through those lines 
 so many times had staked his hopes forever on 
 that belief, and the assurance of it had clothed 
 his face in a grand smile as he lay dying a 
 smile that she liked to think of, that she did not 
 like to hear ridiculed, and to her excited imagin 
 ation Dr. Eggieston seemed to be ridiculing the 
 faith on which the hymn was built. 
 
88 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " They are more thorough hypocrites than I 
 supposed," she saici, in scorn, and hardly in un 
 dertone, in answer to Eurie s inquiring look. 
 "I don t believe the stuff myself, but I always 
 supposed the ministers did. I gave some of 
 them at least credit for sinceritj^, but it seems it 
 is nothing but a fable to be laughed to scorn." 
 
 " Why, Marion ! " Eurie said, and her look 
 expressed surprise and dismay. " He is not 
 making fun of religion, you know ; he is simply 
 referring to the inappropriateness of such hymns 
 for children." 
 
 " What is so glaringly inappropriate about it 
 if they really believe the Bible? I m sure it 
 says there that there are two roads, one broad 
 and the other narrow ; and that many people 
 are on one and but few on the other. Why 
 shouldn t it be put into a hymn if it is desirable 
 to impress it ? " 
 
 " I m sure I don t know," Eurie said, unac 
 customed to being put through a course of logic. 
 "Only, you know, I suppose he simply means 
 that it is beyond their comprehensions." 
 
 " They must have remarkably limited compre 
 hensions then if they are incapable of undei- 
 
Feasts. 89 
 
 standing so simple a figure of speech, as that 
 there are two ways to go, and one is harder and 
 safer than the other. I understood it when it 
 was sung to rne and I was a very little child 
 and believed it, too, until I saw the lives of 
 people contradict it ; but if I believed it still I 
 would not make public sport of it." 
 
 At this point Huth leaned forward from the 
 seat behind and whispered : 
 
 " Girls, do keep still ; you are drawing the at 
 tention of all the people around you and disturb 
 ing everybody." 
 
 After that they kept still ; but the good doc 
 tor had effectually sealed one heart to whatever 
 that was tender and earnest he might have to 
 say. She sat erect, with scornful eyes and glow 
 ing cheeks, and when the first Hush of excite 
 ment passed off was simply harder and gayer 
 than before. Who imagined such a result as 
 that? Nobody, of course. But how perfectly 
 foolish and illogical ! Couldn t she see that Dr. 
 Eggieston only meant to refer to the fact that 
 literature, both of prose and poetry, had been 
 improved by being brought to the level of child 
 ish minds, and to reprove that way of teaching 
 
90 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 religious truth, that leaves a somber, dismal im 
 pression on 3 outhful hearts ? Apparently she 
 could not, sinco she did not. As for being ab 
 surd and illogical, I did not say that she wasn t. 
 I am simply giving you facts as they occurred. 
 I think myself that she was dishonoring the 
 memory of her father ten thousand times more 
 than any chance and unmeant word of the 
 speakers could possibly have done. The only 
 trouble was, that she was such an idiot she did 
 not see it ; and she prided herself on her powers 
 of reasoning, too ! But the world is full of idi 
 ots. She sat like a stone during the rest of the 
 brilliant lecture. Many things she heard because 
 she could not help hearing ; many she admired, 
 because it was in her to admire a brilliant and 
 charming thing, and she could not help that, 
 either ; but she could shut her heart to all ten 
 derness of feeling and all softening influences, 
 and that she did with much satisfaction, deliber 
 ately steeling herself against the words of a man 
 because he had quoted a chance line that her 
 father used to sing, while she lived every day of 
 her life in defiance of the principles by which 
 her father shaped his life and his death ! Verily, 
 the ways of girls are beyond understanding. 
 
Feasts. 91 
 
 Eurie enjoyed it all. When Dr. Eggleston 
 told of the men that, as soon as their children 
 grew a little too restless, had business down 
 town, she clapped her hands softly and whis 
 pered : 
 
 " That is for all the world like father. Neddie 
 and Puss were never in a whining fit in their 
 lives that father didn t at once think of a pa 
 tient he had neglected to visit that day, and 
 rush off." 
 
 She laughed over the thought that women 
 were shut in with lit tie steam engines, and said : 
 
 " That s a capital name for them ; we have 
 three at home that are always just at the very 
 point of explosion. I mean to write to mother 
 and tell her I have found a new name for them." 
 
 When he suggested the blunt-end scissors, 
 and the colored crayons with which they could 
 make wonderful yellow dogs, with green tails 
 and blue eyes, her delight became so great that 
 she looked around to Ruth to help her enjoy it, 
 and said : 
 
 " You see if I don t invest in a ton of colored 
 crayons the very first thing I do when I get 
 home ; it is just capital 1 So strange I never 
 thought of it before." 
 
92 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " You did not think of it now," Ruth said, in 
 her quiet cooling way. " Give the speaker 
 credit for his own ideas, please. Half the world 
 have to do the thinking for the other half al 
 ways." 
 
 " That is the reason so much is left undone, 
 then," retorted Eurie, with unfailing good hu 
 mor, and turned back to the speaker in time to 
 hear his description of the superintendent that 
 was so long in finding the place to sing that the 
 boys before him went around the world while he 
 was giving the number. 
 
 " Slow people," said she, going down the hill 
 afterward. " I never could endure them, and I 
 shall have less patience with them in future than 
 ever. Wasn t he splendid? Rath, you liked 
 the part about Dickens, of course." 
 
 " A valuable help the lecture v/ill be to your 
 after-life if all you have got is an added feeling 
 of impatience toward slow people. Unfor 
 tunately for you they are in the world, and will 
 be very likely to stay in it, and a very good sort 
 of people they are, too." 
 
 It was Marion who said this, and her tone was 
 dry and unsympathetic. 
 
Feasts. 93 
 
 Enrie turned to her curiously. 
 
 " You didn t like him," she said, " did you ? 
 I am so surprised ; I thought you would think 
 him splendid. On your favorite hobb}^ too. I 
 said to myself this will be just in Marion s line. 
 She has so much to say about teaching children 
 by rote in a dull and uninteresting way. You 
 couldn t forgive him for reciting that horrid old 
 hymn in such a funny way. Flossy, do you 
 suppose you can ever hear that hymn read again 
 without laughing? What was the matter, Mar 
 ion ? Who imagined you had any sentimental 
 drawings toward Watts hymns ? " 
 
 "I didn t even know it was Watts hymn," 
 Marion said, indifferently. " But I hate to hear 
 any one go back on his own belief. If he hon 
 estly believes in the sentiments of that verse, and 
 they certainly are Bible sentiments, he shouldn t 
 make fun of it. But I m sure it is of no conse 
 quence to me. He may make fun of the whole 
 Bible if he chooses, verse by verse, and preach a 
 melting sermon from it the very next Sabbath ; 
 it will be all the same to me. Let us go in 
 search of some dinner, and not talk any more 
 about him." 
 
94 Four Girls at Chauiauqua. 
 
 " But that isn t fair. You are unjust, isn t she, 
 Ruth ? I say he didn t make fun of religion, as 
 Marion persists in saying that he did." 
 
 " Of course not," Ruth said. " A minister 
 would hardly be guilty of doing that. He was 
 simply comparing the advanced methods of the 
 present with the stupidity of the past." 
 
 And obstinate Marion said then he ought to 
 get a new Bible, for the very same notions were 
 in it that were when she was a child and learned 
 verses. And that was all that this discussion 
 amounted to. Nobody had appealed to Flossy. 
 She had stood looking with an indifferent air 
 around her, until Marion turned suddenly and 
 said: 
 
 " What did the lecture say to you, Flossy ? 
 Eurie seems very anxious to get out of it some 
 thing for our special needs, as they say in 
 church. What was yours ? " 
 
 Flossy hesitated like a timid child, flushed 
 and then paled, and finally said, simply : 
 
 " I have been thinking ever since he spoke it 
 of that one sentence, Rock-firm, God-trust, has 
 died out of the world. I was wondering if it 
 were tiue, and I was wishing that it wasn t." 
 
Feasts. 95 
 
 All the girls looked at each other in astonished 
 silence ; such a strange thing for Flossy to sa} r . 
 
 " What of it ? " said Marion, presently. 
 " What if it has ? or, rather, what if it were 
 never in the world ? " 
 
 " It wasn t that side of it that I thought about. 
 It was what if it were." 
 
 " And what then ? " 
 
 " Why, then, I should like to see the person 
 who had it, just to see how he would seem." 
 
 Marion laughed somewhat scornfully. 
 
 " Curiosity is at the bottom of your wise 
 thought, is it ? Well, my little mousie, I am 
 amazingly afraid you are destined never to dis 
 cover how it will seem. So I wouldn t puzzle 
 my brains about it. It might be too much for 
 them. Shall we go to dinner ? " 
 
 You should have seen our four young ladies 
 taking their first meal at Chautauqua ! It was 
 an experience not to be forgotten. They wenb 
 to the Ci hotel." This was a long board building, 
 improvised for the occasion, and filled with as 
 man}*- comforts as the necessities of the occasion 
 could furnish. To Miss Erskine the word 
 * 4 hotel" had only one sort of association. She 
 
96 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 had been a traveler in her own country only, 
 and it had been her fortune to be intimate only 
 with the hotels in large cities, and only with 
 those where people go whose purses are full to 
 overflowing. So she had come to associate with 
 the name all that was elegant or refined or lux 
 urious. 
 
 When the President of the grounds inquired 
 whether they would have tickets for the hotel or 
 one of the boarding-houses, Miss Erskine had 
 answered without hesitation : 
 
 " For the hotel, of course. I never have any- 
 thing to do with boarding-houses. They are al 
 most certain to be second rate." 
 
 Said President kept his own counsel, think 
 ing, I fancy, that here was a girl who needed 
 some lessons in the practical things of this life, 
 and Chautauqua hotels were good places in 
 which to take lessons. 
 
 Imagine now, if you can, the look of this 
 lady s face, as they made their way with much 
 difficulty down the long room, and looked about 
 them on either side for seats. 
 
 " A hotei> indeed ! " she said, in utter con 
 tempt and disgust, as one of the attendants sig- 
 
Feasts. 97 
 
 naled them and politely drew back the long 
 board seat that did duty in the place of chairs, 
 and answered for five, or, if you were good na- 
 tured and crowded, for six people. He was just 
 as polite in his attentions as if the unplaned seat 
 had been a carved chair of graceful shape and 
 pattern. One would suppose that Ruth might 
 have taken a hint from his example. But the 
 truth is, she belonged to that class of people who 
 are so accustomed to polite attentions , that it is 
 only their absence which calls forth remark. 
 
 " The idea of naming this horrid, dirty old lum 
 ber-room a hotel ! " and she carefully and dis 
 dainfully spread her waterproof cloak on the 
 seat before she took it. 
 
 Eurie s merry laugh rang out until others 
 looked and smiled in sympathy with her fun, 
 whatever it was. 
 
 " What irf the world did you expect, Ruthie ? 
 I declare, you are too comical ! I verily believe 
 you expected Brussels carpets, and mirrors in 
 which you could admire yourself all the while 
 you were eating." 
 
 " I expected a hotel" Ruth said, in no wise 
 diminishing her lofty tone. " That is what is 
 
98 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 advertised, and people naturally do not look for 
 so much deception in a religious gathering. 
 This is nothing in the world but a shanty." 
 
 Chautauqua was doing one thing for this 
 young lady which surprised and annoyed her. 
 It was helping her to get acquainted with her 
 self. Up to this time she had looked upon her 
 self as a person of smooth and aven tempera 
 ment, not by any means easily ruffled or turned 
 from herquiet poise. She had prided herself on 
 her composed, gracefully dignified way of receiv 
 ing things. She never hurried, she never was 
 breathless and flushed, and apologetic over some 
 thing that she ought or ought not to have done, 
 which was a chronic state with Eurie. She never 
 was in a thorough and undisguised rage, as Mar 
 ion was quite likely to be. She was, in her own 
 estimation, a model of propriety. All this until 
 she came to Chautauqua. Now, great was her 
 surprise to discover in herself a disposition to be 
 utterly disgusted with things that to Marion 
 were of so little consequences as to be unno 
 ticed, and that to Eurie were positive sources 
 of fun. 
 
 Doubtless you understand her better than she 
 
Feasts. 99 
 
 did herself. The truth is, it is a comparatively 
 easy matter to be gracious and courteous and 
 unruffled when everything about you is moving 
 exactly according to your mind, and when you 
 can think of nothing earthly to be annoyed 
 about. There are some natures that are deceiv 
 ing their own hearts in just such an atmosphere 
 as this. They are not the lowest type of nature 
 by any means. The small, petty trials that 
 come to every life are beneath them. If it rains 
 when they want to walk they can go in a hand 
 some carriage, and keep their tempers. If their 
 elegant new robes prove to be badly made they 
 can have them remodeled and made more ele 
 gant with a superior composure. In just so far 
 are they above the class who can endure noth 
 ing in the shape of annoyances or disappoint 
 ment, however small. The fact is, however, 
 that there are petty annoyance, not coming in 
 their line of life, that would be altogether too 
 much for them. But of this they remain in 
 graceful ignorance until some Chautauqua brings 
 the sleeping shadows to the surface. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TABLE TALK. 
 
 IIAT is your private explanation of the 
 word hotel ?" Marion asked. She 
 was in an argumentative mood, and it made al 
 most no difference to her which side of the ques 
 tion she argued. " Webster says it is a place to 
 entertain strangers, but you seem to attach some 
 special importance to the term." 
 
 Is that all that Webster says ?" 
 
 The questioner was not Ruth, but a man who 
 sat just opposite to them at the table, and while 
 he waited for his order to be filled watched with 
 amused eyes the four girls who were evidently 
 in a new element. He was not a young man, and 
 
 his gray hairs would have arrested the pertnesa 
 (100) 
 
Table Talk. 101 
 
 of the reply on Marion s tongue at an}>- other 
 time than this, but you remember that she was 
 not in a good mood. She answered promptly ; 
 
 " Yes, sir, he says ever so many things. In 
 fact, he is the most voluminous author I ever 
 read." 
 
 The gentleman laughed. The pertness seemed 
 to amuse him. 
 
 " Didn t I limit my question ? " he said, pleas 
 antly. " He is voluminous, and what a sensible 
 book he has written. I wish all authors had 
 given us so much information. But I meant, is 
 that all he says about hotels ? Doesn t he jus 
 tify your friend just a little bit in her expecta 
 tions ? " 
 
 " I m sure I don t know," Marion said, amused 
 in turn at the good-natured interest which the 
 elderly gentleman took in the question. " He 
 has said so much that I haven t had time to di 
 gest it all. If you have, won t you please en 
 lighten me as to his wisdom on this subject?" 
 
 " 4 Especially one of some style or pretensions, " 
 quoted the old gentleman, " so Webster adds. 
 You see I am interested in the subject," and he 
 laughed pleasantly. " I have been looking it up, 
 
Girls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 which must be my apology for addressing you 
 young ladies, if so old a man as I must apologize 
 for being interested in girls. The fact is, I had 
 occasion to talk with a young man yesterday who 
 took the people to task most roundly for that 
 very name, on the ground that they had no right 
 to it that it was a misnomer. I Lave been 
 struck with the thought that nothing is trivial, 
 not even the name that happens to be chosen for 
 a house where one waits for his dinner," with a 
 strong emphasis on the word " wait," which Eu- 
 rie understood and laughed over. 
 
 " Except the remarks that people make about 
 such things," Marion said, answering the first 
 part of the sentence and bestowing a wicked 
 glance on Ruth. " They are trivial enough. Did 
 you agree with the young gentleman ? " 
 
 " No. I thought it all over and consulted 
 Webster, as I said, and came to the conclusion 
 that in view of this being a more pretentious 
 house than either of the others they had a right 
 to the word. Webster doesn t say what degree 
 of pretension is necessary, you know." 
 
 The lifting of Ruth s eyebrows at this point 
 was so expressive that all the party laughed. 
 
Table Talk. 103 
 
 But the old gentleman grew grave again in a 
 moment, as he said : 
 
 "But the thought that impressed me most was 
 what a very perfect system of faith the religion 
 of Jesus Christ is ; how completely it commends 
 itself to the human heart, since the very slight- 
 ess departure from what is regarded as strictly 
 true and right, when it is done by a Christian 
 (society or individual), is noticed and com 
 mented upon by lookers-on ; they seem to know 
 of a certainty that it is not according to the 
 Spirit of Christ." 
 
 This last sentence struck Marion dumb. How 
 fond she was of caviling at Christian lives ! 
 Was she really thus giving all the time an un 
 conscious tribute to the truth and purity of the 
 Christian faith ? 
 
 It was a merry dinner, after all, eaten with 
 steel forks and without napkins, and with plated 
 spoons, if you were so fortunate as to secure 
 one. The rush of people was very great, and, 
 with their inconvenient accommodations, the 
 process of serving was slow. 
 
 Marion, her eyes being opened, went to study 
 ing the people about her. She found that court- 
 
104 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ecus good-humor was the rule, and selfishness 
 and ungraciousness the exception. Inconven 
 iences were put up with and merrily laughed 
 over by people who, from their dress and man 
 ners, could be accustomed to only the best. 
 
 Marion took mental notes. 
 
 " They do not act in the least like the mass of 
 people who stop at railroad eating-houses for 
 their dinner; they are patient and courteous 
 under difficulties ; they did not come here for 
 the purpose of being entertained ; if they did 
 the accommodations wouldn t satisfy. " 
 
 There was another little thing that interested 
 Marion. As the tables kept filling, and those 
 who had been served made room for those who 
 had not, she found herself watching curiously 
 what proportion of the guests observed that 
 instant of silent thanks with covered eyes. It 
 was so brief, so slight a thing, I venture that 
 scarcely a person there noticed it, much less 
 imagined that there was a pair of keen gray eyes 
 over in the corner looking and calculating con 
 cerning them. 
 
 " What if they all had to wear badges," she 
 said to herself, " badges that read I am a Cluis- 
 
Table Talk. 105 
 
 tian, I wonder how many of them it would in 
 fluence to different words than they are speak 
 ing, or to different acts? I wonder if they do 
 all wear them ? I wonder if the distinction is 
 really marked, so one looking on could detect 
 the difference, though all of them are strangers ? 
 I mean to watch during these two weeks. The 
 proper study of mankind is man. Very well, 
 Brother Pope, a convenient place for the study 
 of man is Chautauqua. I ll take it up. Who 
 knows but I may learn a new branch tb teach 
 the graded infants in Ward No. 4." 
 
 Ruth did not recover her equanimity. She 
 was rasped on every side. Those two-tined 
 steel forks were a positive sting to her. She 
 shuddered as the steel touched her lips. She 
 had no spoon at all, and she looked on in utter 
 disgust while Eurie merrily stirred her tea with 
 her fork. When the waiter came at last, with 
 hearty apologies for keeping them waiting for 
 their spoons, and the old gentleman said cor 
 dially, " All in good time. We shall not starve 
 even if we get no spoons," she curled her lip 
 disdainfully, and murmured that she had always 
 been accustomed to the conveniences of life, and 
 found it somewhat difficult to do without them. 
 
106 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 When one is in the mood for grumbling there 
 is no easier thing in the world than to find food 
 for that spirit, and Ruth continued her pastime, 
 waxing louder and more decided after the genial 
 old man had left their neighborhood. 
 
 O 
 
 " What is the use in fault-finding ? " Eurie 
 said at last, half petulantly. She was growing 
 very tired of this exhibition. "What did you 
 expect ? They are doing as well as they can, 
 without any doubt. Just imagine what it must 
 be to get conveniences together for this vast 
 crowd. They did not expect anything like such 
 a large attendance at first ; I heard them say so ; 
 and that makes it harder to wait upon them. 
 But of course they are doing just as well as they 
 can, and we fare as well as any of them." 
 
 " Don t you be so foolish as to believe that," 
 Ruth said, with a curling lip. " If you could 
 see behind the scenes you would soon discover 
 something very different. That is why it is so 
 provoking to me. Let people who cannot afford 
 to pay any better take such as they can get. 
 But what right had they to suppose that we had 
 not the money to pay for what we wish ? Tin 
 sure Fm not a pauper 1 You will find that there 
 
Table Talk. 107 
 
 is a place where the select few can get what they 
 want, and have it served in a respectable man 
 ner, and I say I don t like it ; I have been accus 
 tomed to the decencies of life." 
 
 Just behind them the talk was going on un 
 ceasingly, and one voice, at this point, rising 
 higher than the others, caught the attention of 
 our girls. Eurie turned suddenly and tried to 
 catch a glimpse of the speaker. Something in 
 the voice sounded natural. A sudden move 
 ment on the part of the gentleman between 
 them and she caught a glimpse of the face. She 
 turned back eagerly. 
 
 " Girls, that is Mrs. Schuyler Germain ! " 
 
 " Where ? " Ruth asked, with sudden interest 
 in her voice. 
 
 " Over at that table, in a water-proof cloak 
 and black straw hat, and eating boiled potatoes 
 with a steel fork. What about being behind the 
 scenes now, Ruthie ? " 
 
 To fully appreciate this you must understand 
 that even among the Erskines to get as high as 
 Mrs. S chuly er Germain was to get as high as 
 the aristocracy of this world reached ; not that 
 she lived in any grander style than the Erskines, 
 
 
108 Four Girls at Chautauqua* 
 
 or showed that she had more mone} r , but every 
 one knew that her bank accounts were very 
 heavy, and, besides, she was the daughter of Gen. 
 Wads worth Hilly er, of Washington, and the 
 great-granddaughter, by direct descent, of one of 
 England s noblemen. She was traveled and 
 cultivated, and all but titled through her young 
 est daughter. 
 
 Could American ambition reach higher ? And 
 there she sat, at a table made of pine boards, 
 eating boiled potatoes with a two-tined steel 
 fork I Could English nobility sink lower ! Ruth 
 looked over at her in quiet surprise for a mo 
 ment, and then gave her head its haughty toss 
 as she met Eurie s mischievous eyes, and said : 
 
 " It is not an aristocracy of position here, 
 then. The leaders keep all their nice things and 
 places for themselves. That is smaller than I 
 supposed them to be." 
 
 At this particular moment there was an up 
 rising from the table just behind them. Half a 
 dozen gentlemen leaving their empty plates, and 
 in full tide of talk, making their way down the 
 hall. The girls looked and nudged each other 
 as they recognized them. The younger of the 
 
Table Talk. 109 
 
 two foremost had a face that can not easily be 
 mistaken, and Eurie, having seen it once, did 
 not need Marion s low-toned, " That is Mr. Yin- 
 cent." And Ruth herself, thrown off her guard, 
 recognized and exclaimed over Dr. Hodge. 
 
 This climax was too much for Eurie. She 
 threw down her fork to clap her hands in softly 
 glee.* 
 
 " Oh, Ruthie, Ruthie ! How has your dismal 
 castle of favoritism faded ! Yonder is the Queen 
 of American society eating pie at this very in 
 stant with the very fork which did duty on her 
 potato, and here goes the King of the feast, wip 
 ing his lips on his own handkerchief instead of a 
 damask napkin." 
 
 It was at this moment, when Ruth s follies 
 and ill humors were rising to an almost unbear 
 able height, that her higher nature asserted it 
 self, and shone forth in a rich, full laugh. Then, 
 in much glee and good feeling, they followed the 
 crowd down the hill to the auditorium. 
 
 For the benefit of such poor benighted beings 
 as have never seen Chautauqua, let me explain 
 that the auditorium was the great temple where 
 the congregation assembled for united service. 
 
110 Four Girls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 Such a grand temple as it was ! The pillars 
 thereof were great solemn trees, with their 
 green leaves arching overhead in festoons of 
 beauty. I don t know how many seats there 
 were, nor how many could be accommodated at 
 the auditorium. Eurie set out to walk up and 
 down the long aisles one day and count the 
 seats, but she found that which so arrested her 
 attention before she was half-way down the cen 
 tral aisle that she forgot all about it, and there 
 was never any time afterward for that work. I 
 mean to tell you about that day when I get to 
 it. The grand stand was down here in front of 
 all these seats, spacious and convenient, the pil 
 lars thereof festooned with flags from many 
 nations. The large piano occupied a central 
 point ; the speaker s desk at its feet, in the cen 
 ter of the stand ; the reporters tables and chairs 
 just below. 
 
 " I ought to have one of those chairs," Marion 
 said, as they passed the convenient little space 
 railed off from the rest of the audience. " Just 
 as if I were not a real reporter because I write 
 in plain good English, instead of racing over the 
 paper and making queer little tracks that only 
 
Table Talk. Ill 
 
 one person in five thousand can read. If I were 
 not the most modest and retiring of mortals I 
 would go boldty up and claim a seat." 
 
 "What is to be next?" Ruth asked. "Are 
 we supposed to be devoted to all these meet 
 ings? I thought we were only going to one 
 now and then. We won t be alive in t\ro 
 weeks from now if we pin ourselves down here." 
 
 "In the way that we have been doing," 
 chimed in Eurie. " Just think, here we have 
 been to everj^ single meeting they have had yet, 
 except the one last night and one this morning." 
 
 " We are going to skip every one that we pos 
 sibly can," said Marion. " But the one that is 
 to come just now is decidedly the one that we 
 can t. The speaker is Dr. Calkins, of Buffalo. 
 I heard him four years ago, and it is one of the 
 few sermons that I remember to this day. I 
 always said if I ever had another chance I 
 should certainly hear him again. I like his sub 
 ject this afternoon, too. It is appropriate to my 
 condition." 
 
 "What is the subject?" Flossy asked, with a 
 sudden glow of interest. 
 
 " It is what a Christian can learn from a 
 
112 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 heathen. I m the heathen, arid I presume Dr. 
 Calkins is the Christian. So he is to see what 
 he can learn from me, I take it, and naturally I 
 am anxious to know. Flossy isn t interested in 
 that; I can see it from her face. She knows 
 she isn t a heathen she is a good proper little 
 Christian. But it is your duty, my dear, to find 
 what you can learn from me." 
 
 " What can he possibly make of such a sub 
 ject as that? " Ruth asked, curiously. " I don t 
 believe I want to hear him. Is he so very tal 
 ented, Marion ? " 
 
 " I don t know. Haven t the. least idea 
 whether he is what you call talented or not. 
 He says things exactly as though he knew they 
 were so, and for the time being he makes you 
 feel as though you were a perfect simpleton for 
 not knowing it, too." 
 
 " And you like to be made to feel like a per 
 fect simpleton? Is that the reason you re 
 solved to hear him again ? " 
 
 " I like to meet a man once in a while wiio 
 knows how to do it, and for the matter of that I 
 wouldn t mind being made to feel the truth of 
 the things that he says, if one could only stay 
 
Table Talk. 113 
 
 made. It isn t the fault of the preaching that it 
 all feels like a pretty story and nothing else ; it 
 is the fault of the wretched practicing that the 
 sheep go home and do. It makes one feel like 
 being an out-and-out goat, and done with it, 
 instead of being such a perfect idiot of a sheep." 
 
 At this point the talk suddenly ceased, for the 
 leaders began to assemble, and the service com 
 menced. Ruth and Marion exchanged comic 
 glances when they discovered the " heathen " of 
 the afternoon to be Socrates. And Marion pre- 
 sentty whispered that she was evidently to play 
 the character of the old fellow s wife, and Eurie 
 whispered to them both : 
 
 " Xow I want to know if that horrid Zantippe 
 was Socrates wife I Upon my word I never 
 knew it before. She wasn t to blame, after all, 
 for being such a wretch." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " Marion whispered 
 back, with scornful eyes. "Socrates was the 
 grandest old man that ever lived." 
 
 " Pooh ! He wasn t. He didn t know any 
 more than little mites of Sunday-school children 
 do nowdays. I never could understand why his 
 philosophy was so remarkable, only that he lived 
 
114 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 in a heathen country and got ahead of all the 
 rest, but if he were living now he would be a 
 pigmy." 
 
 " I wish he were," Marion said, with her eyes 
 still flashing. " I would like to see such a life 
 as he lived." 
 
 This girl was a hero worshiper. Her cheeks 
 could burn and her eyes glow over the grand 
 stories of old heathen characters, and she could 
 melt to tears over their trials and wrongs. And 
 yet she passed by in haughty silence the sub 
 lime life that of all others is the only perfect one 
 on record, and she had no tears to shed over the 
 shameful and pitiful story of the cross. What 
 a strange girl she was ! I wonder if it be possi 
 ble that there are any others like her ? 
 

 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 "AT EVENING TIME IT SHALL BE BRIGHT." 
 
 a 
 
 ^ 
 
 ig MEANTIME Flossy Shipley came to no 
 place where her heart could rest. She 
 went through that first day at Chautauqua in a 
 sort of maze, hearing and yet not hearing, and 
 longing in her very soul for something that she 
 did not hear that is, she did not hear it dis 
 tinctly and fairly stated, so that she could grasp 
 it and act upon it ; and yet it was shadowed all 
 around her, and hinted at in every word that 
 was uttered, so that it was impossible to forget 
 that there was a great something in which the 
 most of these people were eagerly interested, and 
 
 which was sealed to her. 
 
 (115) 
 
116 Four Gfirls at (Jhautauqua. 
 
 She felt it dimly all the while that Dr. Eg- 
 gleston was speaking ; she felt it sensibly when 
 they sang ; she felt it in the" chance words that 
 caught her ear on every side as the meeting 
 closed bright, fresh words of greeting, of glad 
 ness, of satisfaction, but every one of them con 
 taining a ring that she could hear but not copy. 
 What did it mean ? And, above all, why did 
 she care what it meant, when she had been happy 
 all her life before without knowing or thinking 
 anything about it ? 
 
 As they went down the hill to dinner, she 
 loitered somewhat behind the others, thinking 
 while they talked. As the throng pressed down 
 around them there came one whose face she 
 instantly recognized ; it belonged to the young 
 man who had spoken to her on the boat the 
 evening before. The face recalled the earnest 
 words that he had spoken, and the tone of rest 
 ful satisfaction in which they were spoken. His 
 face wore the same look now interested, alert, 
 but at rest. She coveted rest. It was clear that 
 he also recognized her, and something in her 
 wistful eyes recalled the words she had spoken. 
 
 " Have you found the Father s presence y et ? " 
 
"At Evening Time it Shall be Bright" 117 
 
 lie asked, with a reverent tone to Ins voice when 
 
 
 
 he said " the Father," and yet with such evident 
 trust and love that the tears started to her eyes. 
 
 She answered quickly : 
 
 " No, I haven t. I cannot feel that he is my 
 Father." 
 
 They went down the steps just then, and the 
 crowd rushed in between them, so that neither 
 knew what had become of the other ; only that 
 chance meeting; he might never see her again. 
 Chautauqua was peculiarly a place where peo 
 ple met for a moment, then lost each other, per 
 haps for all the rest of the time. 
 
 " I may never see her again," Evan Roberts 
 thought, " but I am glad that I said a word to 
 her. I hope in my soul that she will let Him 
 find her." 
 
 If Flossy could have heard this unspoken sen 
 tence she would have marveled. " Let Him find 
 her ! " Why, she was dimly conscious that she 
 was seeking for Him, but no such thought had 
 presented itself as that God was really seeking 
 after her. 
 
 She went on, still falling behind, and trying to 
 hide the rush of feeling that the simple question 
 
118 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 had called forth. She was very quiet at the 
 dinner table ; she was oblivious to steel forks or 
 the want of spoons ; these things that had hith 
 erto filled her life and looked of importance to 
 her had strangely dwindled ; she was miserably 
 disappointed; she had looked forward to Chau 
 tauqua as a place where she could have such a 
 " nice " time. That word " nice " was a favorite 
 with her, and surely no one could be having a 
 more wretched time than this ; and it was not 
 the rain, either, over which she had been miser 
 able all day yesterday, nor her cashmere dress ; 
 she didn t care in the least now whether it cleared 
 or not ; and as to her dress, she had torn her 
 silk twice, and it was sadly drabbled, but she 
 did not even care for that ; she wanted what ? 
 Alas for the daughter of nominally Christian 
 parents, living among all the privileges of a cul 
 tured Christian society, she did not know what she 
 wanted. 
 
 Dr. Calkins had one eager listener. If he 
 could have picked out her earnest, wistful eyes 
 among that crowd of upturned faces he would 
 have let old Socrates go, and given himself heart 
 and soul to the leading of this groping soul into 
 
"At Evening Time it Shall be Bright." 119 
 
 fho light. As it was he hovered around it, 
 touching the subject here and there, thrilling 
 .her with the possibilities stretching out before 
 her ; but he was thinking of and talking all the 
 while to those who had reached after and secured 
 this " something " that to her was still a shadow. 
 Now and then the speaker brought the quick 
 tears to her eyes as he referred to those who had 
 followed the teaching of his lips with sympa 
 thetic faces and answered the appeal to their 
 hearts with tears ; but her tears were different 
 from those they were the tears of a sick soul, 
 longing for light and help. 
 
 The entire party ignored the evening meeting. 
 Marion declared that her brain whirled now, so 
 great had been the mental strain ; Ruth was 
 loftily indifferent to any plan that could be got 
 ten up, and Eurie s wits were ripe for mischief; 
 Flossy s opinion, of course, was not asked, nobody 
 deeming it possible that she could have the 
 slightest desire to go to meeting. In fact, Eurie 
 put their desertion on the ground that Flossy 
 had been exhausted by the mental effort of the 
 day, and needed to be cheered and petted. She 
 on her part was silent and wearily indifferent; 
 
120 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 she did not know what to do with her heavy 
 heart, and felt that she might as soon walk down 
 by the lake shore as do anything else ; so down 
 to the shore they went, and gave themselves up 
 to the full enjoyment of the novel scene an 
 evening in the woods, great, glowing lights on 
 every side, great companies of people passing to 
 and fro, boats touching at the wharves and send 
 ing up group after group to the central attrac 
 tion, the grand stand ; singing, music by thou 
 sands of voices ringing down to them as they 
 loitered under the trees on the rustic seats. 
 
 " I declare, it must be nice in heaven for a lit 
 tle while." 
 
 It was Eurie who made this somewhat startling 
 discovery and announcement after a lull had 
 fallen upon their mirth. 
 
 " Have you been there to see ? " illogically 
 asked Marion, as she threw a tiny stone into 
 the water and watched the waves quiver and 
 ripple. 
 
 Eurie laughed. 
 
 " Not quite, but this must be a little piece of 
 it this music, I mean. I am almost tempted 
 to make an effort after the real thing. How ex- 
 
"At Evening Time it Shall be Bright" 121 
 
 quisitely those voices sound ! I m very certain 
 I should enjoy the music, whether I should be 
 able to get along with the rest of the programme 
 or not. What on earth do you suppose they do 
 there all the time, anyway ? " 
 
 " Where ? " 
 
 " Why, in heaven, of course ; that is what I 
 was talking about. I believe you are half 
 asleep, Flossy Shipley ; you mustn t go to sleep 
 out here ; it isn t quite heaven yet, and you will 
 take cold. Honestly, girls, isn t it a sort of won 
 derment to }-ou how the people up there can em 
 ploy their time ? In spite of me I cannot help 
 feeling that it must be rather stupid ; think of 
 never being able to lie down and take a nap ! " 
 
 " Or read a novel," added Marion. " Isn t that 
 your favorite employment when you are awake, 
 Eurie ? I m sure I don t know much about the 
 occupations of the place $ I m not posted ; there 
 is nothing about it laid down in our geography ; 
 and, in fact, the people who seem to be expect 
 ing to spend their lives there are unaccountably 
 mum about it. I don t at this moment remember 
 hearing any one ever express a downright opin 
 ion, and I have always thought it rather queer. 
 
122 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 I asked Nellie Wheden about it one day wlien 
 she was going on about her expected tour in 
 Europe. She had bored me to death, making 
 me produce all my geographic and historic lore 
 for her benefit ; and suddenly I thought of an 
 expedient for giving myself a little peace and a 
 chance to talk about something else. Come^ 
 Nellie, I said, one good turn deserves another. 
 I have told you everything I can think of that 
 can possibly be of interest to you about Europe ; 
 now give me some information about the other 
 place where you are going. You must have 
 laid up a large stock of information in all these 
 years. " 
 
 " What on earth did she say ? " Kuth asked, 
 curiously, while Eurie was in great glee over the 
 story. 
 
 " She was as puzzled as if I had spoken to her 
 in Greek. What in the world can you be talk 
 ing about ? she said. I m not going anywhere 
 else that I know of. My head has been full of 
 Europe for the last year, and I haven t talked 
 nor thought about any other journey. Well, I 
 enlightened her as to her expectations, and what 
 do you think she said ? You wouldn t be able 
 
 
"At Evening Time it Shall be Bright" 123 
 
 to guess, so I ll tell you. She said I was irrev- 
 erent, and that no one who respected religion 
 would ask such questions as that, and she actu 
 ally went off in a huff over my wickedness. So, 
 naturally, I have been chary of trying to get 
 information on such reverent* subjects ever 
 since." 
 
 "Whereupon all these silly young ladies 
 laughed long and heartily over this silly talk. 
 Flossy laughed with the rest, partly from the 
 force of habit and partly because this recital 
 struck her as very foolish. Every one of them 
 saw its inconsistent side as plainly as though 
 they had been Christians for years ; more plainly, 
 perhaps, for it is very strange what blinded eyes 
 we can get under certain systems of living the 
 religious faith. 
 
 Presently the society of these young ladies 
 palled upon themselves, and they agreed one with 
 another that they had been very silly not to go 
 to meeting, and that another evening they would 
 at least discover what was being said before they 
 lost the opportunity for getting seats. 
 
 " Stupid set ! " said Eurie " who imagined that 
 the crowd would do such a silly thing as to rush 
 
124 Four G-irls at Chautauquz. 
 
 to that meeting, as if there were nothing else to 
 do but to go flying off for a seat the moment the 
 Dell rings ? I thought there would be crowds 
 out here, and we would make some pleasant 
 acquaintances, and perhaps get a chance to take 
 a boat ride." 
 
 And so, in some disgust, they voted to bring 
 the first day at Chautauqua to a sudden close and 
 try tent life. 
 
 Silence and darkness reigned in the tent 
 where our girls had disposed of themselves. It 
 was two hours since they had come in. It took 
 more than an hour, and much talking and more 
 laughter, not to mention considerable grumbling 
 on Ruth s part, before everything was arranged 
 to their satisfaction or, as Ruth expressed it, 
 " to their endurance " for the night. 
 
 Three of the girls were sleeping quietly, their 
 fun and their discontents alike forgotten, but 
 Flossy tossed wearily on her bed, turned her 
 pillow and turned it back again, and sought in 
 vain for a quiet spot. With the silence and the 
 darkness her unrest had come upon her again 
 with tenfold force. She felt no nearer a solu 
 tion of her trouble than she had in the morning ; 
 
"At Evening Time it Shall be Bright 125 
 
 ID fact, the pain had deepened all day, and the 
 only definite feeling she had about it now was 
 that she could not live so ; that something must 
 be done ; that she must get back to her home 
 and her old life, where she might hope to forget 
 it all and be at peace again. 
 
 Into the quiet of the night came a firm, manly 
 step, and the movement of chairs right by her 
 side, so at least it seemed to her. All unused to 
 tent life as she was, a good deal startled she 
 raised herself on one elbow and looked about her 
 in a frightened way before she realized that the 
 sounds came from the tent next to theirs. Be 
 fore her thoughts were fairly composed they were 
 startled anew ; this time with the voice of 
 prayer. 
 
 Very distinct the words were on this still 
 night air ; every sentence as clear as though it 
 had really been spoken in the same tent. Now, 
 there was something peculiar in the voice ; clearly 
 cut and rounded the words were, like that of a 
 man very decided, very positive in his views, and 
 very earnest in his life. There was also a mod 
 ulation to the syllables that Flossy could not 
 describe, but that she felt. And she knew that 
 
126 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 she had heard that voice twice before, once on 
 the boat the evening before and once as they 
 jostled together in the crowd on their way to 
 dinner. 
 
 She felt sorry to be unwittingly a listener to 
 a prayer that the maker evidently thought was 
 being heard only by his. Savior. But she could 
 not shut out the low and yet wonderfully dis 
 tinct sentences, and presently she ceased to wish 
 to, for it became certain that he was praying for 
 her. He made it very plain. He called her 
 " that young girl who said to-day that she could 
 not think of thee as her Father ; who seems to 
 want to be led by the hand to thee." 
 
 Did you ever hear yourself prayed for by an 
 earnest, reverent, pleading voice ? Then per 
 haps you know something of Flossy s feelings as 
 she lay there in the darkness. She had never 
 heard any one pray for her before. So destitute 
 was she of real friends that she doubted much 
 whether there were one person living who had 
 ever before earnestly asked God to make her his 
 child. 
 
 That was what this prayer was asking. She 
 lifted the white sleeve of her gown, and wiped 
 
"At Evening Time it Shall be Bright." 127 
 
 away tear after tear as the pleading voice Trent 
 on. Very still she was. It seemed to her that 
 she must not lose a syllable of the prayer, for 
 here at last was the help she had been seeking, 
 blindly, and without knowing that she sought, 
 all this long, heavy day. Help ? Yes, plain, 
 clear, simple help. How small a thing it seemed 
 to do ! " Show her her need of thee, blessed 
 Jesus," thus the prayer ran. And oh ! hadn t 
 he showed her that? It flashed over her troub 
 led brain then and there : " It is Jesus that I 
 need. It is he who can help me. I believe he 
 can. I believe he is the only one who can." 
 This was her confession of faith. " Then lead 
 her to ask the help of thee that she needs. Just 
 to come to thee as the little child would go to 
 her mother, and say, Jesus, take me ; make me 
 thy child. " Only that ? Was it such a little, 
 little thing to do ? How wonderful ! 
 
 The praying ceased, and the young man who 
 had remembered the stranger to whom God had 
 given him a chance to speak during the day, all 
 unconscious that other ear than God s had heard 
 his words of prayer, laid himself down to quiet 
 sleep. Flossy lay very still. The rain had 
 
128 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ceased during the afternoon, and now some sol 
 emn stars were peeping in through the chinks in 
 the tent and the earth was moon-lighted. She 
 raised herself on one elbow and looked around 
 on her companions. How soundly asleep they 
 were ! 
 
 Another few minutes of stillness and irresolu 
 tion. Then a white-robed figure slipped softly 
 and quietly to the floor and on her knees, and a 
 low-whispered voice repeated again and again 
 these words : 
 
 " Jesus, take me ; make me thy child." 
 It wasn t very long afterward that she lay 
 quietly down on her pillow, and earth went on 
 exactly as if nothing at all had happened knew 
 nothing at all about it even the sleeper by her 
 side was totally ignorant of the wonderful tab 
 leau that had been acted all about her that eve 
 ning. But if Eurie Mitchell could have had one 
 little peep into heaven just then what would her 
 entranced soul have thought of the music and the 
 enjoyment there ? For what must it be like 
 when there is "joy in the presence of the angel 
 in heaven " ? 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FLEEING. 
 
 HE next morning every one of them ran 
 awa J fr m the meeting. The way of it 
 was this : as they came up from breakfast and 
 stood at the tent-door discussing the question 
 whether they would go to the early meeting, 
 Mrs. Duane Smithe passed, glanced up at them 
 carelessly, then looked back curiously, and at 
 last turned and came back to them. 
 
 "I beg pardon," she said, "but isn t this Miss 
 Erskine ? It surely is ! I thought I recognized 
 your face, but couldn t be sure in these strange 
 surroundings. And you have a party with you ? 
 How delightful ! We were just wishing for 
 more ladies. I really don t think it is going to 
 rain much to-day, and we have a lovely prospect 
 in view. You must certainly join us." 
 
 (129) 
 
180 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Then followed introductions and explanations. 
 Mrs. Duane Smithe was a Saratoga acquaintance 
 of Ruth. Erskine, and was en route for James 
 town for the day. 
 
 " Where is Jamestown ? " queried Eurie, who 
 was a very useful member of society, in that she 
 never pretended knowledge that she did not 
 possess, so that you had only to keep still and 
 listen to the answers that, were made to her 
 questions in order to know a good deal. 
 
 " It is at the head of this lovely little lake, or 
 at the foot, I m sure I don t know which way co 
 call it, and it is nothing of consequence, of 
 course, but the ride thither is said to be charm 
 ing, and we are going to take a lunch, and pic 
 nic in a private way, just for the fun of getting 
 together, you know, in a more social manner 
 than one can accomplish in this wilderness of 
 people. Isn t it a queer place, Miss Erskine? 
 I am dying to know how you happened to come 
 here." 
 
 Ruth arched her eyebrows. 
 
 " I confess it is almost as strange as what 
 brought you here," she said, smiling. 
 
 " I can answer that in an instant. I have a 
 
.Fleeing. 181 
 
 ridiculous nephew here, who thought that a 
 week of meetings from morning to night would 
 be just a trifle short of paradise, so what did he 
 do but smuggle us all off this way. I shall find 
 it a bore, of course, and the only way to get 
 through with it is to have little pleasure excur 
 sions like the one we propose to-day." 
 
 Now you know as much about Mrs. Duane 
 Sruithe as though I should write about her for a 
 week. It is strange how little we have to say 
 before we have explained to people not only our 
 intellectual but our moral status. Our girls, you 
 will remember, had as little regard for the meet 
 ings as girls could have, and they had by this 
 time begun to feel themselves in a strange at 
 mosphere, without acquaintances or gentlemanly 
 attentions, so it took almost no persuasion at all 
 to induce them to join Mrs. Smithe s party, com 
 posed of two young ladies and four young gen 
 tlemen. It would be difficult to explain to you 
 what a disappointment the decision to spend the 
 day in frolic, instead of going to the meetings, 
 was to Flossy. All the morning her heart had 
 been in a great flutter of happiness over the 
 beautiful day that stretched out before her. To 
 
132 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 meet those earnest, eager people again, to hear 
 those hymns, to hear the voice of prayer all 
 about her, to hear the constant allusions that 
 were so strange and so saddening to her yester 
 day, and that now she understood, how blessed 
 it would be ! She had gone about the bewil 
 derments of her toilet in a tent with a serenely 
 happy face, and almost unawares had hummed 
 the refrain of a tune that had already shown it 
 self a favorite at Chautauqua. 
 
 "Flossy is like herself this morning," Eurie 
 said, as she heard the happy little song. " I 
 think she has recovered from her home-sick- 
 ness." 
 
 Tents are not convenient places in which to 
 make private remarks. Flossy overheard this 
 one and smiled to herself. Yes, she had gotten 
 over her home-sickness she had found home. 
 She gave a little exclamation of dismay as she 
 heard the plannings for the da}^ and said : 
 
 " But, Ruth, what about the meetings ? " 
 
 " Well," Ruth had said, with her most pro- 
 vokingly nonchalant air, " I haven t made any 
 inquiry, but I presume they will continue them 
 all day just the same as if we were here. I 
 
Fleeing. 133 
 
 don t think they will change, the programme on 
 our account." 
 
 And Eurie had added, mischievously: 
 
 "Flossy is afraid it is not the aristocratic 
 thing to do, not to stay to all the meetings." 
 
 " Oh, as to that," Mrs. Smithe had said (she 
 was one of those interesting people who always 
 take remarks seriously), " I assure you it is 
 what the first people, on the ground are doing. 
 Of course none of them would be so absurd as 
 to think of attending meetings all the time. 
 The brain wouldn t endure such a strain." 
 
 " Of course not," Marion had answered with 
 gravity. "My brain is already very tired. I 
 think yours must be exhausted." 
 
 Flossy meditated a daring resolution to stay 
 behind and take her " rest " in the way she cov 
 eted ; but the impossibility of explaining what 
 would appear to the others as merely an ill- 
 natured freak, and occasion no end of talk, de 
 terred her, and with slow, reluctant steps she 
 followed the merry group down to the wharf. 
 
 If those people had stopped long enough to 
 think of it, this disposal of themselves would 
 Lave had its ludicrous side. Certainly it was a 
 
1C4 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 strange fancy to ?un away twenty miles with 
 lunches done up in paper in search of a picnic, 
 when Chautauqua was one great picnic ground, 
 stretching out before them in beauty and conven 
 ience. But the entire group belonged to that 
 class of people for whom the fancy of the mo 
 ment, whatever it may be, has infinite charms. 
 
 There was plenty of room on the Colonel 
 Phillips. Very few people were traveling in 
 that direction. 
 
 "It is really queer," the Captain was over 
 heard to say, " to take a party away from the 
 grounds at this hour of the day." 
 
 " What an enthusiastic set of people they are 
 about here," Eurie said to Mr. Rawson, one of 
 Mrs. Smitbe s party, as they paced the deck to 
 gether. " The people all talk and act as though 
 there was nowhere to go and nothing to do but 
 attend those meetings. For my part it is a real 
 relief to have a change in the programme." 
 
 " Do you find it so ? " he asked. " Well, now, 
 [ don t agree with you. I think this proceeding 
 iis a real bore. My respected aunt is always 
 getting up absurd freaks, and this is one of 
 them, and the worst one, in my opinion, that 
 
Fleeing. 135 
 
 she has had for some time. I wanted to go to 
 those meetings to-day some of them, at least. 
 One isn t obliged to be there every minute. 
 But it looks badly to run away." 
 
 Eurie eyed him closely. 
 
 "Are you the good nephew that your aunt 
 said thought these meetings only a step below 
 paradise ? " she asked, at last. " I wonder you 
 would consent to come." 
 
 Mr. Rawsou flushed deeply. 
 
 " I am not the good nephew at all," he said, 
 trying to laugh. "The good one wouldn t 
 come. My aunt tried all her powers of persua 
 sion on him in vain. But the truth is her elo 
 quence, or her persistence, proved too much for 
 me, though I don t like the looks of it, and I 
 don t feel the pleasure of it, and I am afraid I 
 shall make anything but an agreeable addition 
 to the party. Now that is being frank, isn t it, 
 when I am walking the deck with a }*oung 
 lady?" 
 
 "I don t see why that circumstance should 
 make it a surprising thing that you are frank. 
 But I am very sorry for you ; perhaps you 
 might prevail on the Captain to put you off 
 
136 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 now, and let you swim back; you could get 
 there in time for the sermon. Is there to be a 
 sermon? What is it you are so anxious to 
 hear?" 
 
 " All of it," he said gloomily. " I beg your 
 pardon for being in so disagreeable a mood ; it is 
 defrauding you out of some of your expected 
 pleasure to have a dismal companion. But as I 
 have commenced by being frank I may as well 
 continue. I am dissatisfied with myself. I 
 ought not to have come on this excursion. The 
 truth is, I meant to make Chautanqua a help to 
 me. I need the help badly enough. 1 am in 
 the rush and whirl of business all the time at 
 home. This is the only two weeks in the year 
 that I am free, and I wanted to make it a great 
 spiritual help to me. I know very well that 
 merely hovering around in such an atmosphere 
 as that at Chautauqua is a help to the Christian, 
 and I came with the full intention of taking in 
 all that I could get of this sort of inspiration, 
 and it chafes me that so early in the meeting I 
 have been led away against my inclinations by u 
 little pressure that I might have resisted, and 
 done no harm to any one. My cousin had the 
 
Fleeing. 137 
 
 same sort of influence brought to bear on him, 
 and it had no more effect on him than it would 
 on a stone." 
 
 lie stopped, and seemed to give Eurie a 
 chance to answer, but she was not inclined, and 
 he added, as if he had just thought his words an 
 implied reproach : " I can understand how, to 
 you young ladies of comparative leisure, with 
 plenty of time to cultivate the spiritual side of 
 your natures, it should seem an unnecessary and 
 perhaps a wearisome thing to attend all these 
 meetings; but you can not understand \vhatit 
 is to be in the whirl of business life, never hav 
 ing time to think, hardly having time to pray, 
 and to get away from it all and go to heaven, as 
 it were, for a fortnight, is something to be cov 
 eted by us as a great help." 
 
 Once more he waited for Eurie s answer, but 
 it was very different from what he had seemed 
 to expect. 
 
 " You might just as well talk to me in the 
 Greek language ; I should understand quite as 
 well what you have been saying ; I don t think 1 
 have any spiritual side to my nature ; at least it 
 has never been cultivated if I have ; and Chau- 
 
138 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 tauqua to me is just the place in which to have 
 a good free easy time ; go where I like and stay 
 as long as I like ; and for once in my life not be 
 bound by conventional forms. If heaven is any 
 thing like that I shouldn t object to it ; but I m 
 sure your and my idea of it would differ. There, 
 I ve been frank now, and shocked you, I know. 
 I see ib in every line of your face. Poor fellow ! 
 I don t know what you will do, for there isn t a 
 single one of us who has the least idea what you 
 mean by that sort of talk, unless you have some 
 young ladies of a different type in your party, 
 and from their manner I rather doubt it." 
 
 She had shocked him. He looked not only 
 pained but puzzled. 
 
 " 1 am very sorry," he stammered. " I mean 
 surprised. Yes, and disappointed. Of course I 
 am that. I think I had imagined that it was 
 only Christians who could be attracted to Chau 
 tauqua at all ; I mean to come to stay through 
 all the services." 
 
 " Your aunt, for instance ? " Eurie said, in 
 quiringly. 
 
 " My aunt is a Christian," he answered, " and 
 a sincere one, too, though I see for some reason 
 
Fleeing. 139 
 
 you don t think so. There are degrees in Chris 
 tianity, Miss Mitchell, just as there are in amia 
 bility, or culture, or beauty." 
 
 " Mr. Rawsou ! " called a voice from the other 
 end at this moment, and he in obedience to the 
 call found Eurie a seat near some of her party 
 and went away, only stopping to say, in low- 
 tones : 
 
 " I ain sorry it is all Greek to you ; you 
 would enjoy understanding it, I am sure." 
 
 It so happened that those two people did not 
 exchange another word together that day, but 
 Eurie had got her thrust when and where she 
 least expected it. She had taken it for granted 
 that not a single fanatic was of their party. In 
 the secret of her wise heart she denominated all 
 the earnest people at Chautauqua fanatics, and 
 all the half-hearted people hypocrites. Only 
 she, who stood outside and felt nothing, was 
 sincere and wise. 
 
 Meantime Marion had undertaken a strange 
 task. Mr. Charlie Flint was the gentleman 
 who had drawn his chair near her, and said, as 
 he drew a long breath : 
 
 "It is exceedingly pleasant to breathe air 
 
140 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 once more that isn t heavy with psalm singing 
 I think they are running that thing a little ton 
 steep over there. Who imagined that they 
 were going to have meeting every minute in 
 the day and evening, and give nobody a chance 
 to breathe ? " 
 
 " Have they exhausted you already ? " Marion 
 asked.. "Let me see, this is the morning of the 
 second day, is it not ? " 
 
 " Oh, as to myself, I was exhausted before I 
 commenced it. I am only speaking a word for 
 the lunatics who think they enjoy it. I am one 
 of the victims to our cousin s whim. He ex 
 pects to get me converted here, I think, or some 
 thing of that sort." 
 
 " I wouldn t be afraid of it," Marion said, in 
 disgust. " I don t believe there is the least dan- 
 ger." 
 
 Mr. Charlie chose to consider this as a compli 
 ment, and bowed and smiled, and said : 
 
 " Thanks. Now tell me why, please." 
 
 " You don t look like that class of people who 
 are affected in that way." 
 
 He was wonderfully interested, and begged at 
 
Fleeing. 141 
 
 once to know why. Marion had it in her heart 
 to say, "Because they all look as though they 
 had some degree of brain as well as bod} ," but 
 even she had a little regard left for feelings ; so 
 she contented herself with saying, savagely : 
 
 " Oh, they, as a rule, are the sort of people 
 who think there is something in life worth doing 
 and planning for, and you look as though that 
 would be too much trouble." 
 
 Now, Mr. Charlie by no means liked to be 
 considered devoid of energy, so he said : 
 
 " Ob, you mistake. I think there are several 
 things worth doing. But this eternal going to 
 meeting, and whining over one s soul, is not to 
 my taste." 
 
 " You think that it is more worth your while 
 to take ladies out to ride and walk, and carry 
 their parasols and muffs for them, and things of 
 that sort. Since we are made for the purpose 
 of staying here and showing our fine clothes for 
 all eternity, of course it is foolish to have any 
 thing to do with one s soul, that can only last 
 for a few years or so ! " 
 
 She hardly realized herself the intense scorn 
 
142 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 there was in her voice, and as for Charlie Flint, 
 he muttered to himself: 
 
 " Upon my word, she is one of them ; of the 
 bitterest sort, too ! What in creation is she do 
 ing here? Why didn t she stay there and 
 preach ? " 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 HOW THE " FLITTESG " ENDED. 
 
 for Ruth, Erskine if she had been asked 
 whether she was enjoying the day, she 
 would hardly have known what answer 
 to make ; she could not even tell why the excur 
 sion was not in every respect all that it had 
 promised in the morning. She had no realization 
 of how much the atmosphere of the day before 
 lingered around her, and made her notice the 
 contrast between the people of yesterday and the 
 people of to-day. Mrs. Sniithe, if she were a 
 Christian, as her nephew insisted, was one of the 
 most unfortunate specimens of that class for 
 Ruth Erskine to meet ; because she was a woman 
 who entered into pleasure and fashion, and 
 
 entertainments of all sorts, with zest and energy, 
 
 (143) 
 
144 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 and only in matters of religious interest seemed 
 to lose all life and zeal. 
 
 Now Ruth Erskine, calm as a summer morn 
 ing herself over all matters pertaining to the 
 souls of people in general, and her own in par 
 ticular, was yet exceedingly fond of seeing other 
 people act in a manner that she chose to consider 
 consistent with their belief ; therefore she de 
 spised Mrs. Smithe for what she was pleased to 
 term her " hypocrisy." At the same time, while 
 at Saratoga, she had quite enjoyed her society. 
 They rode together on fine mornings,, sipped 
 their " Congress " together before lunch, and at 
 tended hops together in the evenings. Now the 
 reason why Mrs. Smithe s society had so sud 
 denly palled upon her, and the words that she 
 was pleased to call " conversation" become such 
 vapid things, Rath did not know, and did not for 
 one instant attribute to Chautauqua ; and yet 
 that meeting had already stamped its impression 
 upon her. From serene, indifferent heights she 
 liked to look down upon and admire earnest 
 ness ; therefore Chautauqua, despite all her dis 
 gust over the common surroundings and awk 
 ward accommodations, had pleased her fancy and 
 
How the "Flitting" Ended. 145 
 
 arrested her attention more than she herself 
 realized. It was her fate to be thrown almost 
 constantly with Mrs. Smithe during the day, and 
 before the afternoon closed she was surfeited. 
 She heartily wished herself back to the grounds, 
 and found herself wondering what they were 
 singing, and whether the service of song was 
 really very interesting. 
 
 One episode in her day had interested her, and 
 she could not tell whether it had most amused or 
 annoyed her. One of their party was convers 
 ing with a gentleman as she came up. Sue had 
 just time to observe that he was young and fine- 
 looking, when the two turned to her, and she 
 was introduced to the stranger. 
 
 " You are from Chautauqua? " he said, speak 
 ing rapidly and earnestly. " Grand meeting, 
 isn t it? Going to be better than hist } ear, I 
 think. Were you there ? No ? Then you don t 
 know what a treat you are to have. I m 
 very sory to lose to-day. It has been a good 
 day, I know. The programme was rich ; but a 
 matter of business made it necessary to be away. 
 It is unfortunate for me that I am so near home. 
 If I were two or three hundred miles away, 
 
146 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 where the business couldn t reach me, I should 
 get more "benefit. Miss Erskine, what is your 
 opinion of the direct spiritual results of this gath 
 ering ? I do not mean upon Christians. No one, 
 of course, can doubt its happy influence upon 
 our hearts and lives. But I mean, are you hope 
 ful as to the reaching of many of the uncon 
 verted, or do you consider its work chiefly 
 among us ? " 
 
 Such a volley of words? They fairly poured 
 forth! And the speaker was so intensely in 
 earnest, and so assured in his use of that word 
 " we," as if it were a matter that was entirely 
 bej^ond question that she was one of the magic 
 " we." She did not know how to set out to work 
 to enlighten him. In fact, she gave little thought 
 to that part of the matter, but, instead, fell to 
 wondering what was her idea whether she did 
 
 O 
 
 expect to see results of any sort from the 
 great gathering, and that being the case, what 
 she expected ? " Spiritual results," she said to 
 herself, and a smile hovered over her face 
 what were " spiritual results ? " She knew nothing 
 about them. Were there any such things? Eu- 
 rie Mitchell, had such a question occurred to her 
 
How the "Flitting" Ended. 147 
 
 would have asked it aloud at once and enjoyed 
 the sense of shocking her auditor. But Huth 
 did not like to shock people ; she was too much 
 of a lady for that. 
 
 " What proportion of that class of people are 
 here, do you think ? " she said, at last. " Are 
 not the most of them professing Christians.? " 
 
 44 Precisely the question that interests me. I 
 should really like to know. I wonder if there is 
 no way of coining at it ? We might call for a 
 rising vote of all who loved the Lord ; could we 
 not ? Wouldn t it be a beautiful sight ? a great 
 army standing up for him ! I incline to youi 
 opinion that the most of them are Christians, or 
 at least a large proportion. But I should very 
 much like to know just how far this idea had 
 touched the popular heart, so as to call out those 
 who are not on the Lord s side." 
 
 " They would simply have come for the fun of 
 the thing, or the novelty of it," she said, feeling 
 amused again that almost of necessity she was 
 speaking of herself and using the pronoun " they." 
 What would this gentleman think if he should 
 bring about that vote of which he spoke and 
 happen to see her among the seated ones? 
 
148 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " A wolf in sheep s clothing he would sup 
 pose me to be," she said to herself. " But I am 
 sure I have not told him that I belong to the 
 4 we at all. If he chooses to assume things in 
 that way, it is not my fault." 
 
 Apparently he answered both her expressed 
 sentence and her thought : 
 
 " I do not think so," he said, earnestly. " I 
 doubt if any have come simply for fun or for 
 novelty. There are better places in which to 
 gratify both tastes. I believe there is more actual 
 interest in this subject, even among the uncon 
 verted, than many seem to think. They are rea 
 sonable beings. They must think, and many of 
 them, no doubt, think to good purpose. It may 
 not be clear even to themselves for what they 
 have come; But I believe in some instances, to 
 say the least, it will prove to have been the call 
 of the Spirit." 
 
 Again Ruth felt herself forced to smile, not at 
 the earnestness she liked that, but there was 
 her party, and she rapidly reviewed them 
 Marion, with her calm, composed, skeptical 
 views, indifferent alike to the Christian or un 
 christian way of doing things ; Eurie, who lived 
 
Sow the "Flitting" Ended. 149 
 
 and breathed for the purpose of having what in 
 wild moments she called " a high time ; " Flossy 
 with her dainty wardrobe, and her dainty wa}*s, 
 and her indifference to everything that demanded 
 thought or care. Which of them had been 
 " called by the Spirit " ? There was herself, and 
 for the time she gave a little start. What had 
 she come to Chautauqua for? After all she was 
 the only one who seemed to be absolutely with 
 out a reason for being there. Marion s avowed 
 intention had been to make some money ; Eurie s 
 to have a free and easy time ; Flossy had come 
 as she did everything else, because " they " did. 
 But now, what about Ruth Erskine ? She was 
 not wont to do as others did, unless it happened 
 to please her. What had been her motive ? It 
 was strange to feel that she really did not know. 
 What if this strange speaking young man were 
 right, and she had been singled out by the Spirit 
 of God! The thought gave her a thrill, not of 
 pleasure, but of absolute, nervous fear. What 
 did she know of that gracious Spirit? What 
 did she know of Christ ? To her there was no 
 beauty in him. She desired simply to be left 
 alone. She was silent so long that her compan- 
 
150 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ion gave her a very searching review from under 
 his heavy eyebrows, and then his face suddenly 
 lighted as if he had solved a problem. 
 
 " May I venture to prophesy that you have 
 some friend here whom you would give much 
 to feel had been drawn here by the very Spirit; 
 of God ? " He spoke the words eagerly and 
 with earnestness, but with utmost respect, and 
 added, " If I am right I will add the name to my 
 list for special prayer. Do not think me rude, 
 please. I know how pleasant it is to feel there 
 is a union of desire in prayer. I have enjoyed 
 that help often. We do not always need to 
 know who those are for whom we pray. God 
 knows them, and that is the needful thing. 
 Good-evening. I am glad to have met you. It 
 is pleasant to have additions to our list of fellow- 
 heirs." 
 
 How bright his smile was as he said those 
 words ! And how thoroughly manly and yet 
 how strikingly childlike had been his words and 
 his trust ! Ruth watched him as he walked rap 
 idly away to overtake a friend who had just 
 passed them. Do you remember a certain gen 
 tleman, Harold Wayne by name, who had walked 
 
How the "Flitting" Ended. 151 
 
 with them, walked especially with Ruth, down 
 to the depot on the morning of departure, who 
 had toyed with her fan and complained that he 
 could not imagine what they were going to bury 
 themselves out there for? Ruth thought of him 
 now, and the contrast between his lazily exquis 
 ite air and drawling words and the fresh, earnest 
 life that glowed in this young man s veins 
 brought a positive quiver of disgust over her 
 handsome face. There was no shadow of a 
 smile upon it now. Instead, she felt a nameless 
 dread. How strange the talk had been ! To 
 what had she committed herself by her silence 
 and his blunders ? /She pray for any one ! What 
 a queer thing that would be to do. She anxious 
 that any one should be led by the spirit of God ! 
 The spirit of God frightened her. For whom 
 would this young man pray ? Not certainly for 
 any friend of hers ; yet he would put the name 
 of some stranger in his prayers. He was thor 
 oughly in earnest, and he was the sort of a man 
 to do just what he said. God, he had said, 
 would understand whom he meant. For whom 
 would God count those pikers? For her? 
 And that thought also frightened her. 
 
152 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " They are all lunatics, I verily believe, from 
 the leaders to the followers," she said in irrita 
 tion, and then she wished herself at home. Dur 
 ing the remainder of the day she was engaged in 
 trying to shake off the impression that the 
 stranger had left upon her. Go where she 
 would, say what she might, and she really ex 
 erted herself to be brilliant and entertaining, 
 there followed her around the memory of those 
 great, earnest eyes when he said, " I will add the 
 name to my list for special prayer." What 
 name ? lie knew hers. He would say, doubt 
 less, " Her friend for whom she was anxious." 
 But the one to whom he pra} 7 ed would know 
 there was no such person. What would He do 
 with that earnest praj^er? For she knew it 
 would be earnest. She was not used to theolog 
 ical mazes, and if ever a girl was heartily glad 
 when a day of pleasuring was over, and the boat 
 had touched again at the Chautauqua wharf, it 
 was Ruth Erskine. 
 
 As for Flossy, it so happened that Charlie 
 Flint, after Marion had startled and disgusted 
 him, sought refuge with her. She was pretty 
 and dainty, and did not look strong-minded ; 
 
Sow the "Flitting" Ended. 153 
 
 not in the least as if her forte was to preach, so 
 he made ready to have a running fire of small 
 talk with her. 
 
 Tliis had been Flossy s power in conversation 
 for several years. He had judged her rightly 
 there. But do }~ou remember with whom her 
 morning had commenced? Do you know that 
 all the day thus far she had seemed to herself to 
 be shadowed by a glorious presence, who walked 
 steadily beside her, before her, on either hand, 
 to" shield, and help and bless ? 
 
 It was very sweet to Flossy, and she was very 
 happy ; happier than she had ever been in her 
 life. She smiled to herself as the others chatted, 
 she hummed in undertone the refrain of a hymn 
 that she had caught in a near tent that morn 
 ing : 
 
 " I am so glad that Jesus loves me." 
 
 Wasn t she glad ! "Was there any thing better to 
 find in all this world than the assurance of this 
 truth? She felt that the thought was large 
 enough to fill heaven itself. After that, what 
 hope was there for Charlie Flint and his small 
 talk ? Still, he tried it, and if ever he did hard 
 work it was during that talk. Flossy was sweet 
 
154 Four Grirls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 and clieeiy, but preoccupied. There was a tan- 
 talizingly pleasant smile on her face, as if her 
 thoughts might be full of beauty, but none of 
 them seemed to appear in her words. She did 
 not flush over his compliments, nor was she dis 
 turbed at his bantering. 
 
 He got out of all patience. 
 
 " I beg pardon," he said, in his flippantly gal 
 lant wa} r , "but I m inclined to think you are 
 very selfish; you are having your enjoyment all 
 to yourself. To judge by the face which you 
 have worn all day your heart is bubbling over 
 with it, and yet you think about it instead of 
 giving me a bit." 
 
 Flossy looked up with a shy, sweet smile that 
 was very pleasant to see, and the first blush he 
 had been able to call forth that day glowed on 
 her cheeks. Was it true ? she questioned within 
 herself. Was she being selfish in this, her new 
 joy ? Ought she to try to tell him about it ? 
 Would he understand ? and could she speak 
 about such things, anyway? She didn t know 
 how. She shrank from it, and yet perhaps it 
 would be so pleasant to him to know. No, oa 
 the whole, she did not think it would be pleas- 
 
How the "Flitting" Ended. 155 
 
 ant. They had not talked of the meetings nor 
 of religious matters at all ; but for all that the 
 subtle magnetism that there is about some peo 
 ple had told her that Charlie Flint would not 
 sympathize in her new hopes and joys. 
 
 "Well, if that were so, ought she not all the 
 more to tell him, so that he might know that to 
 one more person Christ had proved himself a 
 reality, and not the spiritual fancy that he used 
 to seem to her? Flossy, you see, was taking 
 long strides that first day of her Christian expe 
 rience, and was reaching farther than some Chris 
 tians reach who have been practicing for years. 
 Something told her that here was a chance of 
 witnessing for the one who had just saved her. 
 She thought these thoughts much more quickly 
 than it has taken me to write them, and then 
 she spoke : 
 
 " Have I been selfish ? I do not know but I 
 have. It is all so utterly new that I hardly 
 know how I am acting; but it is true that rny 
 heart has been as light as a bird s all day. The 
 truth is, I have found a friend here at Chautau- 
 qua who has just satisfied me." 
 
156 Four G-irls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 "Have you indeed! " said Mr. Charlie, giving, 
 in spite of his well-bred effort to quell it, tin 
 amused little laugh. And in his heart he said, 
 " What a ridiculous little mouse she is ! I won 
 der if they have the wedding day set already, 
 and if she will announce it to me?" Then 
 aloud : " How very fortunate you have been ! I 
 wish I could find a friend so easily as that ! I 
 wonder if I am acquainted with him ? Would 
 you mind telling me his name ? " 
 
 And then Flossy answered just one word in a 
 low voice that was tremulous with feeling, and 
 at the same time wonderfully clear, and with a 
 touch of joy in it that would not be suppressed, 
 " Jesus." 
 
 Then it was that the exquisite young fop at 
 her side was utterly dumbfounded. He could 
 not remember ever before in his life being so com 
 pletely taken by surprise and dismay that he had 
 not a word to answer. But this time he said 
 not a single word. He did not even attempt an 
 answer, but paced the length of the deck beside 
 her in utter and confused silence, then abruptly 
 seated her, still in silence, and went hurriedly 
 
How the "Flitting" Ended. 157 
 
 away. Flossy, occupied with the rush of feeling 
 that this first witnessing for the new name 
 called forth, gave little heed to his manner, and 
 was indifferent to his departure. He was right 
 as to one thing. Her love was still selfish : it 
 was so new and sweet to her that it occupied all 
 her heart, and left no room as yet for the out 
 side world who knew not this friend of hers. 
 They were almost at the dock now, and the 
 glimmer of the Chautauqua lights was growing 
 into a steady brightness. As she stood leaning 
 over the boat s side and watching the play of 
 the silver waves, there brushed past her one 
 who seemed to be very quietly busy. One 
 hand was full of little leaflets, and he was drop 
 ping one on each chair and stool as he passed. 
 She glanced at the one nearest her and read the 
 title : " The True Friend," and it brought an in 
 stant flush of brightness to her face to under 
 stand those words and feel that the Friend was 
 hers. Then she glanced at the worker and rec 
 ognized his face, lie had prayed for her. She 
 could not forget that face. It was plain also 
 that his e}*es fell on her. lie knew her, and 
 something in her face prompted the low-toned 
 
158 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 sentence as be paused before ber : "Youbave 
 found tbe Father, I think." 
 
 And Flossy, with brightening eyes, answered, 
 quickly, " Yes, I have." 
 
 And then tbe boat touched at tbe wharf, and 
 the crowd elbowed their way out. 
 
 There were two opinions expressed about that 
 excursion by two gentlemen as they made their 
 way up the avenue. One of the gentleman was 
 clerical, and spectacled, and solemn. 
 
 " There go a boat-load of excursionists," he 
 said to his companion. 
 
 " They come, as likely as not delegates, from 
 some church or Sabbath-school, and the way 
 they do their work is to go off for a frolic and 
 be gone all day. I saw them when I left this 
 morning. That is a specimen of a good deal of 
 the dissipation that is going on here under the 
 guise of religion. I don t know about it ; some 
 times I am afraid more harm than good will be 
 done." 
 
 The other speaker was Mr. Charlie Flint, and 
 as he rushed past these two he said to his com 
 panion, " Confound it all ! Talk about getting 
 away from these meetings ! It s no use ; it can t 
 
How the "Flitting" Ended. 
 
 159 
 
 be done. A fellow might just as well stay here 
 and run every time the bell rings. I heard more 
 preaching to-day on this excursion than I did 
 yesterday; and a good deal more astonishing 
 preaching, too." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HEART TOUCHES. 
 
 gave her hair an energetic twist 
 as she made her toilet the next morning, 
 and announced her determination. 
 
 " This day is to be devoted conscientiously to 
 the legitimate business that brought me to this 
 region. Yesterday s report will have to be cop 
 ied from the Buffalo papers, or made out of my 
 own brain. But I m going to work to-day. I 
 have a special interest in the programme for this 
 The subject for the lecture just suits 
 
 (160) 
 
Heart Touches. 161 
 
 " What is it ? " Eurie asked, yawning, and 
 wishing there was another picnic in progress. 
 Neither heart nor brain were particularly inter 
 ested in Chautauqua. 
 
 " Why, it is The Press and the Sunday-school/ 
 Of course the press attracts me, as I intend to 
 belong to the staff when I get through teaching 
 young ideas." 
 
 " But what about the Sunday-school ? " Ruth 
 questioned, with a calm voice. " You can not 
 be expected to have any special interest in that. 
 You never go to such an institution, do you ? " 
 
 " I was born and brought up in one. But that 
 isn t the point. The subject to-day is Sunday- 
 school literature, I take it. The subject is 
 strung together, 4 The Press and the Sunday- 
 school, without any periods between them, and 
 I m exceedingly interested in that, for just as 
 soon as I get time I m going to write a Sunday- 
 school book." 
 
 This announcement called forth bursts of 
 laughter from all the girls. 
 
 " Why not ? " Marion said, answering the 
 laugh. " I hope you don t intimate that I can t 
 do it. I don t know anything easier to do. You 
 
162 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 just have to gather together the most improbable 
 set of girls and boys, and rack your brains for 
 things that they never did do, or could do, or 
 ought to do, and paste them all together with a 
 little good talk, and }~ou have your book, as 
 orthodox as possible. Do any of you know any 
 thing about Dr. Walden ? He is the speaker. 
 I presume he is as dry as a stick, and won t give 
 me a single idea that I can weave into my book. 
 I m going to begin it right away. Girls, I m go 
 ing to put you all in, only I can t decide which 
 shall be the good one. Flossy, do you suppose 
 there is enough imagination in me to make you 
 into a book saint? They always have a saint, 
 you know." 
 
 There was a pretty flush on Flossy s cheek, 
 but she answered, brightly : 
 
 " You might try, Marion, and I ll engage to 
 practice on the character, if it is really and 
 truly a good one." 
 
 * I had a glimpse of Dr. Walden," Eurie said, 
 answering the question. " He was pointed out 
 to me yesterday. He looked dignified enough 
 to write a theological revie\v. Pm not going to 
 hear him. What s the use ? I came for fun, 
 
Heart Touches. 163 
 
 and I m going in search of it all this day. I have 
 studied the programme, and there is just one 
 thing that I m going to attend, and that is Frank 
 Beard s chalk talk. I know that will be capi 
 tal, and he won t bore one with a sermon poked 
 in every two minutes." 
 
 So the party divided for the day. Marion and 
 Ruth went to the stand, and Flossy stra} r ed to a 
 side tent, and what happened to her you shall 
 presently hear. Eurie wandered at her fancy, 
 and enjoyed a "stupid time," so she reported. 
 
 Marion s pencil moved rapidly over the paper 
 almost as soon as Dr. Walden commenced, until 
 presently she whispered in dismay to Ruth : 
 
 " I do wish he would say something to leave 
 out ! This letter will be fearfully long. How 
 sharp he is, isn t he ? " 
 
 Then she scribbled again. Ruth had the ben 
 efit of many side remarks. 
 
 " My ! " Marion said, with an accompanying 
 grimace. "What an army of books! All for 
 Sunday-schools. Three millions given out every 
 Sunday ! Does that seem possible ! Brother 
 Hart, I m afraid you are mistaken. Didn t he 
 say that was Dr. Hart s estimate, Ruthie ? There 
 
164 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 is certainly a good chance for mine, if so many 
 are needed every week. I shall have to go right 
 to work at it. What if I should write one, Ruth, 
 and what if it should take, and all the millions of 
 Sunday-schools want it at once ! Just as likely 
 as not. I am a genius. They never know it 
 until afterward. I shall certainly put you in, 
 Ruthie, in some form. So you are destined to 
 immortality, remember." 
 
 " I wish you wouldn t whisper so much," whis 
 pered back Ruth. " People are looking at us in 
 an annoyed way. What is the matter with you, 
 Marion ? I never knew you to run on in such 
 an absurd way. That is bad enough for 
 Eurie ! " 
 
 " I m developing," whispered Marion. " It is 
 the reflex influence of Chautauqua that you 
 hear so much about." 
 
 Then she wrote this sentence from Dr. Wai- 
 den s lips : 
 
 " Every author whose books go into the Sab 
 bath-school is as much a teacher in that school as 
 though he had classes there. A good book is a 
 book that will aid the teacher in his work of 
 bringing souls to Christ. I have known the 
 
Heart Touches. 165 
 
 earnest teaching of months to be defeated by 
 one single volume of the wrong kind being 
 placed in the hands of the scholar." 
 
 Suddenly Marion sat upright, slipped her pen 
 cil and note-book into her pocket, and wrote no 
 more. A sentence in that address had struck 
 home. This determination to enter the lists as 
 a writer was not all talk. She had long ago de 
 cided to turn her talents in that direction as the 
 easiest thing in the line of literature, whither 
 her taste ran. She had read many of the stand 
 ard Sunday-school books ; read them with amused 
 eyes and curling lips, and felt entirely conscious 
 that she could match them in intellectual powei 
 and interest, and do nothing remarkable then. 
 But there rang before her this sentence : 
 
 "Every author whose books go into the Sab 
 bath-school is as much a teacher in that school 
 as though he had classes there." A teacher in 
 the Sabbath-school ! Actually a teacher. She 
 had never intended that. She had 110 desire to 
 be a hypocrite. She had no desire to lead astray, 
 Could she write a book that young people ought 
 to bring from the Sabbath-school with them, and 
 have it say nothing about Christ and heaven and 
 
106 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 the Christian life ? Surely she could not be a 
 teacher without teaching of these things. Mast 
 she teach them incidentally ? Was saying noth 
 ing about them speaking against them ? Dr. 
 Walden more than intimated this. 
 
 " After all," she said, speaking to Ruth as the 
 address closed, " I don t think I shall commence 
 my book yet." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Oh, because I am sacred." Then, impa 
 tiently, after a moment s silence, during which 
 they changed their seats, "I m disgusted with 
 Chautauqua! It is going to spoil me. I feel 
 my ambition oozing out at the ends of my toes, 
 instead of my fingers as I had designed. Every 
 body is so awfully solemn, and has so much to 
 say about eternity, it seems we can t whisper 
 to each other without starting something that 
 doesn t even end in eternity. But, wasn t he 
 logical and eloquent? " 
 
 "I don t know," Ruth said, absently. And 
 she wondered if Marion knew how true her 
 words were. Ruth had heard scarcely a word 
 of Dr. Walden s address since that last whisper, 
 So you are destined to immortality, reinem- 
 
Heart Touches. 167 
 
 her." Words spoken in jest, and yet thrilling 
 her through and through with a solemn mean 
 ing. She had always known and alwa}*s be 
 lieved this. She was no skeptic, yet her heart 
 had never taken it in, with a great throb of anx 
 iety, as it did at that moment. Was she being 
 led of the Spirit of God ? 
 
 The two merely changed their positions and 
 looked about them a little, and then prepared to 
 give attention to the next entertainment, which 
 was a story from Emily Huntington Miller. 
 Marion was the only one who was in the lea&t 
 familiar with her, she being the only one who 
 had felt that absorbing interest in juvenile liter 
 ature that had led her to keep pace with the 
 times. 
 
 " I m disposed to listen to her with all due re 
 spect and attention," she said, as she rearranged 
 herself and got out her note-book. " She is one 
 of the few people who seem not to have bidden 
 a solemn farewell to their common sense wheii 
 they set out to entertain the children. I have 
 read everything she ever wrote, and liked it, too. 
 I set out to make an idol of her in my more ju 
 venile days. I used to think that the height of 
 
168 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 my ambition would be attained if I could have a 
 long look at her. I m going to try it to-day, 
 and see if it satisfies me ; though we are such 
 aspiring and unsatisfied creatures that I strongly 
 suspect I shall go on reaching out for something 
 else even after this experience." 
 
 Very little whispering was done after that for 
 some time. Although Marion made light of her 
 youthful dreams, there was a strong feeling of 
 excitement and interest clustering around this 
 first sight of the woman whose name she had 
 known so long ; and something in the fair, sweet 
 face and cultured voice fascinated and held her, 
 much as she had fancied in her earlier days 
 would be the case. She frowned when she 
 heard the request to reporters to "lay aside 
 their pencils." She had meant to earn laurels 
 by reporting this delicious bit of imagery, set in 
 between the graver sermons and lectures ; but, 
 after all, it was a rest to give herself up to the 
 uninterrupted enjoyment of taking in every 
 word and tone taking it in for her own pri 
 vate benefit. "The Parish of Fair Haven." 
 How heartily she enjoyed it. The refined and 
 delicate, and yet keen and intense satire under- 
 
Heart Touches. 169 
 
 lying the whole quaint original stoiy, was of 
 just the nature to hold and captivate her. She 
 was just in the mood to enjoy it, too. For was 
 it not aimed at that class of people who awak 
 ened her own keenest sense of satire the so- 
 called " Christian world " ? She did not belong 
 to it, you know ; in her own estimation was en 
 tirely without the pale of its sarcasm ; stranded 
 on a high and majestic rock of unbelief in every 
 thing, and in a condition to be amused at the 
 follies of people who played at belief; and 
 treated what they played was solemn realities 
 as if they were cradle stories or nicely woven 
 fiction. There was no listener in all that crowd 
 who so enjoyed the keen play of wit and the 
 sharp home thrusts as did Marion Wilber. Ruth 
 was a little undecided what to think ; she did 
 not belong to the class who were hit, to be sure, 
 but her father always gave largely to missions 
 whenever the solicitor called on him : she had 
 heard his name mentioned with respect as one 
 of the most benevolent men of the day ; she did 
 cot quite like the very low and matter-of-course 
 place which Mrs. Miller s view of the mission 
 question gave him. According to the people of 
 
170 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Fair Haven, to give one s thousands to the cause 
 was tlie most commonplace thing in the world 
 not to do so was to be an inhuman wretch. 
 Ruth didn t quite like it in truth she was just 
 enough within the circle of modern Christianity 
 to feel herself slightly grazed by the satire. 
 
 "It is absurd," she said to Marion as they 
 went up the hill. " What is the sense in a 
 woman talking in that way? As if people, 
 were they ever so good and benevolent, could 
 get themselves up in that ridiculous manner ! 
 If we live in the world at all we have to have a 
 little regard for propriety. I wonder, if she 
 thinks one s entire time and money should be 
 devoted to the heathen ? " 
 
 Marion answered her with spirit. 
 
 " Oh, don t try to apologize for the folly that 
 is going on in this world in the name of relig 
 ion ! It can t be done, and sensible people only 
 make fools of themselves if they attempt it. 
 There is nothing plainer or more impossible to 
 deny than that church-members give and work 
 and pray for the heathen as though they were a 
 miserable and abominable set of brutes, who 
 ought to be exterminated from the face of tho 
 
Heart Touches. 171 
 
 earth, but for whom some ridiculous fanatics 
 called missionaries had projected a wild scheme 
 to do something ; and they, forsooth, must be 
 kept from starving somehow, even though they 
 had been unmitigated fools ; so the paltry col 
 lections are doled out, with sarcastic undertones 
 about the waste of money, and the sin of mis 
 sionaries wearing clothes, and expecting to have 
 things to eat after throwing themselves away ! 
 Don t talk to me ! I ve been to missionary so 
 cieties ; I know all about it. The whole system 
 is one that is exactly calculated to make infidels. 
 I believe Satan got it up, because he knew in 
 just what an abominable way the dear Chris 
 tians would go at it, and what a horrid farce 
 they would make of it all." 
 
 " It is a great pity you are not a Christian, 
 Marion. I never come in contact with any one 
 who understands their duty so thoroughly as 
 you appear to, and I think you ought to be 
 practicing." 
 
 Ruth said this calmly enough. She was not 
 particularly disturbed; she did not belong to 
 them, you know ; but for all that she was re 
 motely connected with those who did, and was 
 
172 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 just enough jarred to make her give this quiet 
 home thrust. Oddly enough it struck Marion 
 as it never had before, although the same idea 
 had been suggested to her by other nettled mor 
 tals. It was true that she had realized ho\v the 
 practicing ought to be done, and a vague wish 
 that she did believe in it all, and could work by 
 their professed standard with all her soul, flitted 
 over her. 
 
 Meantime Flossy was being educated. The 
 morning work had touched her from a different 
 standpoint. She had not heard Dr. Walden; 
 instead she had wandered into a bit of holy 
 ground. She began by losing her way. It is 
 one of the easiest things to do at Chautauqua. 
 The avenues cross and recross in an altogether 
 bewildering manner to one not accustomed to 
 newly laid-out cities ; and just when one imag 
 ines himself at the goal for which he started, 
 lo 1 there is woods, and nothing else anywhere. 
 Another attempt patiently followed for an hour 
 has the exasperating effect of bringing him to 
 the very point from which he started. Such an 
 experience had Flossy, when by reason of her 
 loitering propensities she became detached from 
 
Heart Touches. 173 
 
 her party, and tried to find her own way to the 
 stand. A whole hour of wandering, then a turn 
 into perfect chaos. She had no more idea where 
 she was than if she had been in the by-ways of 
 London. Clearly she must inquire the way. 
 She looked about her. It was queer to be lost 
 in the woods, and yet be surrounded by tents 
 and people. She stooped and peeped timidly 
 into a tent, the corner of which was raised to 
 admit air, and from which the sound of voices 
 issued. 
 
 " Come in," said a pleasant voice, and the 
 bright-faced hostess arose from the foot of her 
 bed and came forward with greeting, exactly as 
 though they had been waiting for Flossy all the 
 morning. <c \Vould you like to rest? Come 
 right in, we have plenty of room and the most 
 lovely accommodations," and a silvery laugh 
 accompanied the words, while the little lady 
 whisked a tin basin from a low stool, and dust 
 ing it rapidly with her handkerchief proffered 
 her guest a seat, with as graceful an air as 
 though the stool had been an easy-chair uphol 
 stered in velvet. The only other sitting-place, 
 th low bed. was full, there being three ladies 
 
174 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 tucked about on it in various stages of restful 
 work, for they had books and papers strewn 
 about, and each held a pencil poised as if ready 
 for action at a moment. 
 
 "I m afraid I intrude," Flossy said, sweetly; 
 " but the truth is, I have lost my friends and my 
 way, and I really am an object of pity, for I 
 have been wandering up hill and down, till my 
 strength is less than it was." 
 
 " Poor child ! " came sympathetically from the 
 bed, spoken by the eldest of the ladies, while 
 another rapidly improvised a fan out of the Sun 
 day-School Times, and passed it to her. 
 
 Meantime Flossy looked about her in secret 
 delight. Something about the air of the tent 
 and the surroundings, and an indefinite some 
 thing about every one of the ladies, told her as 
 plainly as words could have done that she was 
 among the workers ; that she had unwittingly 
 and gracefully slipped behind the scenes, and 
 had been cordially admitted to one of the work 
 shops of Chautauqua ; and there were so many 
 things she wanted to know I 
 
v 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 FLOSSY AT SCHOOL. 
 
 ^IIE hadn t the least idea who they were, 
 but, like an earnest little diplomatist, she 
 set to work to find out. 
 
 "I started for the auditorium," she said. " I 
 wanted to hear Dr. Walden, but he has had time 
 to make a long speech and get through since I 
 first started. I think it must be nearly eleven." 
 
 "No," they said laughing, "it is only half past 
 ten." Her wanderings had not been so long as they 
 seemed ; but it was hardly worth while to try to 
 hear anything from him now, she would not be 
 at all likely to get a seat ; and, besides, his time 
 was nearly over. She would better wait and go 
 down with them in time for .Mrs. Miller. 
 
 "We were obliged to miss Dr. Walden," the 
 elder lady explained. " We disliked to very 
 
176 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 much ; probably it was as instructive as any 
 thing we shall get ; but we had work that had to 
 be done, so we ran away." 
 
 " Do you have to bring work to Chautauqua 
 with you ? " Flossy asked, with insinuating 
 sweetness. " How very busy you must be ! I 
 would have tried to run away from my work for 
 two weeks if I had been you." 
 
 The bright little hostess laughed. 
 
 " Chautauqua makes work," she said, " and 
 somebody has to get ready for it. This lady beside 
 me expects an overwhelming Sabbath class here, 
 and much time has to be given to the lesson. 
 We lesser mortals are ostensibly going to help 
 her, but in reality we are going to look and see 
 how she does it." 
 
 " Have you found out ? " Flossy asked in a 
 little tremor of delight. This was what she 
 wanted, to know how to do it all. 
 
 The lady who had been pointed out as teacher 
 answered her quickly, so far as her words could 
 be said to be an answer : 
 
 " Are you a Sabbath-school teacher ? " 
 
 " No," Flossy said, flushing and feeling like a 
 naughty child whose curiosity had led her into 
 
Flossy at School. 177 
 
 mischief. " No, I am not anything, but I want 
 to be ; I don t know how to work at all in an}^ 
 way, but I want to learn." 
 
 " Are 3 ou looking for work to do for the Mas 
 ter ? " the same lady asked, with a sweet cheery 
 voice and smile, not at all as if this were a sub 
 ject which she must touch cautiously. 
 
 " Yes," Flossy said, her cheeks all in a glow. 
 " She did not know how to work, she had but 
 just found out that she wanted to ; indeed she 
 had but yesterday known anything of Him." 
 
 Then this unusual company of ladies came 
 with one consent and eager eyes and voices and 
 took her hand, and said how glad they were to 
 welcome her to the ranks. They knew she 
 would love the work, and the rewards were so 
 sure and so precious. All this was new and 
 strange and delightful to Flossy. Then they 
 began each eagerly to tell about their work ; 
 they were all infant or primary class teachers, 
 and all enthusiasts. Who that has to do with 
 the teaching of little children and attains to any 
 measure of success but is largely gifted with 
 this same element? They had been talking 
 over and preparing their lesson together, and 
 
178 Four Girls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 they talked it over again before the bewildered 
 Flossy, who had no idea that there was such a 
 wonderful story in all the Bible as they were 
 developing out of a few bare details. 
 
 " We had just reached the vital point of the 
 entire lesson," explained the leader, " the place 
 where every true teacher needs most help; 
 where, having arranged all her facts and got 
 them in martial order in her brain, she wants to 
 know the best way of making those facts of prac 
 tical present service to the little children who 
 will be before her, and at this point I think 
 every teacher needs to go to the fountain head 
 for help. We were just going to pray; you 
 would like, perhaps, to join us for just a few 
 moments." 
 
 "If she wouldn t intrude," Flossy said, tim 
 idly, in a tremor of satisfaction ; and then for 
 the first time in her life she bowed with a com 
 pany of her own sex, and heard the simple ear 
 nest voice of prayer. The words were startlingly 
 direct and simple, and Flossy, who had been full 
 of n^sterious awe on this question, and who 
 mucli doubted whether her timid whispers alone 
 in her tent could have been called prayer, was 
 reassured and comforted. 
 
Flossy at School. 179 
 
 If this were prayer, it was simply talking in 
 a sweet, natural voice, and in the most simple 
 and natural language, with a dear and wisf 
 friend. It was the most quiet and yet the most 
 confident way of asking for just what one 
 wanted, and nothing more. It was what Flossy 
 needed. 
 
 She took long strides in her religious educa 
 tion there on her knees ; and as they went out 
 from that tent and down the hill to the meeting, 
 there was born in her heart an eager determina 
 tion to enter the lists as a Sabbath-school teacher 
 the very first opportunity, and to pray her lesson 
 into her heart, having done what she could to 
 get it into her head. If her anxious and well- 
 nigh discouraged pastor could have been gifted 
 with supernatural and prophetic vision, and could 
 have seen that resolve, and, looking ahead, the 
 fruit that was to be borne from it, how would 
 his anxious soul have thanked God and taken 
 courage ! 
 
 In this mood came Flossy to listen to the story 
 of " The Parish of Fair Haven," as it flowed 
 down to her in Mrs. Miller s smooth-toned mu 
 sical voice. One who conies from her knees to 
 
180 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 listen is sure to find the seed if it has been put 
 in. Flossy found hers. 
 
 Often in the course of her young life she had 
 been at church and sat in the attitude of listener 
 while a missionary sermon was preached. She 
 had heard, perhaps, ten sentences from those 
 sermons, not ten consecutive sentences, but 
 words scattered here and there through the 
 whole ; from these she had gathered that there 
 was to be a collection taken for the cause of 
 Missions. Just where the money was to go, 
 and just what was to be done with it when it 
 .arrived, what had been accomplished by mis 
 sionary effort, what the Christian world was 
 hoping for in that direction all these things 
 Flossy Shipley knew no more about than her 
 kitten did. 
 
 Perhaps it was not strange then, that although 
 abundantly supplied with pin-money, she had 
 never in her life given anything to the work of 
 Missions. Not that she would not willingly 
 have deposited some of her money in the box for 
 whatever use the authorities chose to make of it 
 had she happened to have anj^ ; but young la 
 dies as a rule have been educated to imagine 
 
Flossy at School. 181 
 
 that there is one day in the week in which their 
 portnionnaies can be off duty. There being no 
 shopping to be done, no worsteds to match, no 
 confectionary to tempt what earthly use for 
 money ? So it was locked up at home. This, 
 at least, is the way in which Flossy Shipley had 
 argued, without knowing that she argued at all. 
 Now she was looking at things with new 
 eyes; the same things that she had heard of 
 hundreds of times, but how different they were ! 
 What a remarkable scheme it was, this cariying 
 the story of Jesus to those miserable ignorant- 
 ones, getting them ready for the heaven that 
 had been made ready for them ! The people 
 of " Fair Haven " did not appear to her like lu 
 natics, as they did to Ruth Erskine. She was 
 not, you will remember, of the class who had 
 argued this question in their ignorance, and 
 quie!ed their consciences with the foolish asser 
 tion that the church collections went to pay sec 
 retaries and treasurers and erect splendid public 
 buildings. She belonged, rather, to that less 
 hopeless class who had never thought at all. 
 Now, as she listened, her eyes brightened with 
 feeling and her cheeks glowed. The whole sub- 
 
182 Four G-lrls at Chautauqua. 
 
 lime romance of Missions was being mapped out 
 to her on the face of that quaint allegory, and 
 her heart responded warmly. 
 
 Curiously enough, her first throbs of conscience 
 were not for herself but for her father. The 
 portly gentleman who occasionally sat at the 
 head of the Shipley pew, and who certainly 
 never parted company with his pocket-book on 
 Sabbath or on any other day, did he give liberally 
 to Foreign Missions ? 
 
 She could not determine as to the probabilities 
 of the case. He was counted a liberal man 
 people liked to come to him to start subscrip 
 tions ; but Flossy felt instinctively that a sub 
 scription paper with her father s name leading it 
 was different, someway, from a quiet, baize-lined 
 box, and no noise nor words. She doubted 
 whether the cause had been materially helped 
 by him. 
 
 She lost some sentences of the story while she 
 planned ways for interesting her father and se 
 curing liberal donations from him ; and then she 
 was suddenly startled back to personality by 
 hearing some astounding statements from the 
 reader. 
 
Flossy at School. 183 
 
 " It would be so easy to drop into a household 
 box the price of an apple, or a paper, or a glass 
 of peanuts, and yet who does it? Why, there 
 are young ladies who will actually not give two 
 cents a week from the money that they waste ! " 
 
 The rich blood mounted in waves to Flossy s 
 forehead. Apples and papers were not in her 
 line, but peanuts! wasn t there a certain stand 
 which she passed almost daily on her way down 
 town, and did she ever pass it without indulging 
 in a glass of peanuts? Neither was that the 
 end. Why, once started on that list, and her 
 wastes were almost numberless. How fond she 
 was of cream dates, and how expensive they 
 were; and oranges, the tempting yellow globes 
 were always shining at her from certain windows 
 as she passed. 
 
 Oh, they were just endless, her temptations 
 and her falls in that direction only who had 
 ever supposed that there was any harm in this 
 lavish treatment of herself and of any friends 
 whom she happened to meet ? Yet it was true 
 that she had never given any money at all to the 
 work of sending the Bible to those who are 
 without it. 
 
184 Four Crirh at Chautauqua. 
 
 " They will not give two cents a week," said 
 Mrs. Miller. It was true : she had not given 
 " two cents a week," or even two cents a } T ear 
 she had simply ignored the existence of such 
 a need for money. True, she had not been a 
 Christian ; but she was surprised to see how lit 
 tle this refuge served her. 
 
 " I have been a human being," she told her 
 self, with a flush on her face, " and I ought to 
 have had sufficient interest in humanity to have 
 wanted those poor creatures civilized." 
 
 But there was another thrust preparing for 
 Flossy. The reader present! y touched upon one 
 item of expenditure common to ladies, namely, 
 kid gloves ; and made the bewildering state 
 ment that economy in this matter, to the degree 
 that needless purchases should be avoided, would 
 treble the fund In the missionary treasury ! It 
 could not be that from among that sea of faces 
 the speaker had singled out Flossy Shipley, and 
 yet that is the way it seemed to her. If there 
 was any one expense which stood out glaringly 
 above another in her list of luxuries it was kid 
 gloves. They must be absolutely immaculate as 
 to quality, shade and fit, and she remorselessly 
 
Flossy at School. 185 
 
 consigned them to the waste-bag at the first hint 
 of rip or change of color. IIo\v strange that 
 Mrs. Miller should have pitched upon just that 
 item, and what an amazing declaration to make 
 concerning it ! 
 
 It was very strange, had any one been looking 
 on to observe it, the manner in which this young 
 girl was being educated. It is doubtful if a 
 whole year of church work in the regular home 
 routine, listening to the stated, statistical sermon 
 of her pastor, that sermon which presupposes so 
 much more knowledge than people possess, would 
 have begun to do for Flossy what the strange, 
 fanciful, pungent story of " Fair Haven " did. 
 
 Before that hour was closed she had settled 
 within her resolute little heart a plan that should 
 henceforth put her in close communion and sym 
 pathy with mission work not exactly the plans 
 of operation, except that kid gloves and peanuts 
 took stern places in the background, but this 
 was simply the foundation for a resolute sj stem 
 of education, carried all through her future life. 
 
 What a pity it seems sometimes that people 
 can not read the hearts and watch the springs of 
 
186 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 action of those around them. If Mrs. Miller, as 
 she closed her paper and moved away from the 
 platform, could have seen the earnest purpose 
 glowing and throbbing in Flossy s heart, and 
 have known that it was born of words of hers, 
 what a glad and thankful heart would she have 
 carried back to her tent ! 
 
 Also, if the much troubled pastor at home 
 could have taken peeps into the future and seen 
 what Flossy Shipley s resolves would do for 
 Missions, how glad he would have been! 
 
 Perhaps it would be better to lay all the 
 troubles and the tangles down in the Hand that 
 overrules it all, and say, in peace and restful- 
 ness, " He knoweth the end from the beginning." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " CROSS PURPOSES. " 
 
 HEN people start out with the express 
 design of having a good time, irrespec 
 tive of other people s plans or feelings in short, 
 with a general forgetful ness of the existence of 
 others they are very likely to find at the close 
 of the day that a failure has been made. 
 
 It did not take the entire day to convince 
 Euiie Mitchell that Chantauqua was not the 
 synonym for absolute, unalloyed pleasure. You 
 will remember that she detached herself from 
 her party in the early morning, and set out to 
 find pleasure, or, as she phrased it, " fun." She 
 imagined them to be interchangeable terms. She 
 
 had not meant to be deserted, but had hoped to 
 
 (187) 
 
188 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 secure Ruth for her companion, she not having 
 the excuse of wishing to report the meetings 
 to call her to them. Failing in her, in case she 
 should have a fit of obstinacy, and choose to at 
 tend the meetings, Eurie counted fully upon 
 Flossy as an ally. Much to her surprise, and no 
 little to her chagrin, Flossy proved decidedly the 
 more determined of the two. No amount of 
 coaxing and Eurie even descended to the em 
 ployment of that weapon had the least effect. 
 To be sure, Flossy presented no more powerful 
 argument than that it did not look well to come 
 to the meeting and then not attend it. But she 
 carried her point and left the young searcher for 
 fun with a clear field. 
 
 Now fun rarely comes for the searching ; it is 
 more likely to spring upon one unawares. So, 
 though Eurie walked up and down, and stared 
 about her, and lost herself in the labyrinths of 
 the intersecting paths, and tore her dress in a 
 thicket, and caught her foot in a bog, to the 
 great detriment of shoe and temper, she still 
 found not what she was searching for. Several 
 times she came in sight of the stand; once or 
 twice in sound of the speaker s voice ; but hav- 
 
"Cross Purposes" 189 
 
 ing so determinate^ carried her point in the 
 morning, she did not choose to abandon her po 
 sition "and appear among the listeners, though 
 sorely tempted to do so. She wandered into 
 several side tents in hope of finding something 
 to distract her attention ; but she only found 
 that which provoked her. 
 
 In one of them a young lady and gentleman 
 were bending eagerly over a book and talking 
 earnestly. They were interesting looking peo 
 ple, and she hovered near, hoping that she had 
 at hist found the " children " who would " play " 
 with her a remembrance of one of her nursery 
 stories coming to her just then, and a ludicrous 
 sense of her resemblance to the truant boy who 
 spent the long, bright day in the woods search 
 ing for one not too busy to play. 
 
 But these two were discussing nothing of 
 more importance than the lesson for the coming 
 1 Sabbath; and though she hovered in their vicin 
 ity for some time, she caught only stray words 
 names of places in the far away Judean land, 
 that seemed to her like a name in the Arabian 
 Nights ; or an eager dissertation on the different 
 views of eminent commentators on this or that 
 
190 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 knotty point; and so engrossed were they in 
 their work that they bestowed on her only the 
 slightest passing glance, and then bent over their 
 books. 
 
 She went away in disgust. At the next tent 
 half a dozen ladies were sitting. She halted 
 there. Here at last were some people who, like 
 herself, were bored with this everlasting meet- 
 
 O 
 
 ing, and had escaped to have a bit of gossip. 
 Who knew but she might creep into the circle 
 and find pleasant acquaintances? So she drew 
 nearer and listened a moment to catch the sub 
 ject under discussion. She heard the voice of 
 prayer ; and a nearer peep showed her that 
 every head was bowed on the seat in front, and 
 one of the ladies, in a low voice, was asking for 
 enlightenment on the lesson for the coming Sab- 
 lath! 
 
 " What wonderful lesson can it be that is so 
 fearfully important ? " she muttered, as she 
 plunged recklessly into the mud and made her 
 way in all haste up the hill without attempting 
 any more tents. " Who ever heard such an ado 
 made about a Sunday-school lesson ? These 
 people all act as though there was nothing of any 
 
"Cross Purposes. 191 
 
 consequence anywhere but Sundaj -schools. I 
 guess it is the first time that such a, furor was 
 ever gotten up over teaching a dozen verses to a 
 parcel of children. I wonder if the people at 
 home ever make such a uproar about the lesson ? 
 I know some teachers who own up, on the way 
 to church, that they don t know where the lesson 
 is. This must be a peculiar one. I wonder how 
 I shall contrive to discover where it is ? The 
 girls won t know, of course. With all their 
 boasted going to meeting they know no more 
 about lessons than T do mj-self. I would really 
 like to find out. I mean to ask the next person 
 I meet. It will be in accordance with the fashion 
 of the place. Think of my walking down 
 Broadway of a sunny morning and stopping a 
 stranger with the querj^, Will you tell me where 
 the lesson is, please ? And at this point Eurie 
 burst into a laugh over the absurdity of the 
 picture she had conjured. 
 
 " But this is not Broadway," she said a mo 
 ment afterward, " and I mean to try it. Here 
 comes a man who looks as if he ought to know 
 everything. I wonder who he is ? I ve seen his 
 face a dozen times since I have been here. He 
 
192 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 led the singing yesterday. Perhaps he knows 
 nothing but sing. They are not apt to ; but his 
 face looks as though he might have a few other 
 ideas. Anyway, I ll try him, and if he knows 
 nothing about it, he will go away with a con 
 fused impression that I am a very virtuous 
 young lady, and that he ought to have known 
 all about it ; and who knows what good seed 
 may be sown by my own wicked hand ? " 
 
 Whereupon she halted before the gentleman 
 who was going with rapid strides down the hill, 
 and said, in her clearest and most respectful 
 tone : 
 
 " Will you be so kind as to tell me where the 
 lesson for next Sabbath commences? I have 
 forgotten just where ib is." 
 
 There was no hesitation, no query in his face 
 as to what she was talking about, or uncertainty 
 as to the answer. 
 
 " It is the fifth chapter, from the fifth to the 
 fifteenth verse, he said, glibly. u All fives, you 
 see. Easy to remember. It is a grand lesson. 
 Hard to teach, though, because it is all there. 
 Are you a teacher for next Sunday ? You must 
 come to the teachers meeting to-morrow morn- 
 
"Cross Purposes." 193 
 
 ing; you will get good help there. Glorious 
 meeting, isn t it ? I m so glad you are enjoying 
 it." And away he went. 
 
 Every trace of ill-humor had vanished from 
 Eurie s face. Instead, it was twinkling with 
 laughter. 
 
 " The fifth chapter and fifteenth verse " of 
 what ? Certainly she had no more idea than the 
 birds had who twittered above her head. How 
 entirely certain he had been that of course she 
 knew the general locality of the lesson. She a 
 teacher and coming to the teachers meeting for 
 enlightenment as to bow to teach the lesson ! 
 
 " I wonder who he is ? " she -said again, as 
 these thoughts flashed through her brain, and, 
 following out the next impulse that came to her, 
 she stopped an old gentleman who was walking 
 leisurely down, and said, as she pointed out her 
 late informant : 
 
 " What is that man s name, please ? I can t 
 recall it." 
 
 "That," said the old gentleman, "is Prof. 
 Sherwin, of Newark. Have you heard him 
 Bing? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
194 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " "Well, that is worth hearing ; and have you 
 heard him talk ? " 
 
 No." 
 
 " Well, he can talk ; you will hear him, and 
 enjoy it, too ; see if you don t. But I ll tell you 
 what it is, young lady, to know him thoroughly 
 you ought to hear him pray ! There is the real 
 power in a man. Let me know how a man can 
 pray and I ll risk his talking." 
 
 Eurie had got much more information now 
 than she had asked for. She ventured on no 
 more questions, but made all haste to her tent, 
 where, seated upon a corner of the bed, one foot 
 tucked under her while the unfortunate shoe 
 tried to dry, she sewed industriously on the zig 
 zag tear in her dress, and tried to imagine what 
 she could do next. Certainly they had long 
 days at Chautauqua. " I shall go to meeting 
 this afternoon," she said, resolutely, "if they 
 have three sermons, each an hour long; and 
 what is more, I shall find out where that Sun 
 day-school lesson is." 
 
 The next thing she did was to write a letter 
 to her brother Nellis, a dashing boy two years 
 her senior and her favorite companion in her 
 
"Cross Purposes." 19* 
 
 search for pleasure. Here is a copy of the let 
 ter: 
 
 " DEAR NEL: I wish you were here. Chau- 
 tauqua isn t so funny as it might be. There are 
 some things that are done here continually. In 
 the first place, it rains. Why, you never saw 
 anything like it ! It just can t help it. The 
 sun puts on a bland face and looks glowing in 
 tentions, and while you are congratulating your 
 next neighbor on the prospect, she is engaged 
 in clutching frantically after her umbrella to 
 save her hat from the first drops of the new 
 shower. Next, they have meetings, and there is 
 literally no postponement on account of the 
 weather. It is really funny to see the way in 
 which the people rush when the bell rings, rain 
 or shine. Nel, only think of Flossy Shipley go 
 ing in the rain to hear a man preach of the " In 
 fluence of the Press," or something of that sort! 
 It was good though, worth hearing. I went 
 myself, because, of course, one must do some 
 thing, and the frantic fashion of the place is to 
 go to meeting. At the same time I don t un 
 derstand Flossy : she is different from what she 
 
196 1 our Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ever was at home. I suppose it is the force of 
 the many shining examples all around her. You 
 know she always was a good little sheep about 
 following somebody s lead. 
 
 " Marion is reporting, and has to be indus 
 trious. She is queer, Nel ; she professes infidel 
 ity, you know ; and you have no idea how mad 
 she gets over anything that seems to be casting 
 reproach on Christianity (unless indeed she says 
 it herself, which is often enough, but then she 
 seems to think it is all right). 
 
 " Ruth keeps on the even tenor of her way. 
 It would take an earthquake to move that girl. 
 
 44 1 have had the greatest fan this morning. I 
 have been mistaken for a Sabbath-school teacher 
 who had the misfortune to forget at what verse 
 her lesson commenced ! You see I was cultiva 
 ting new acquaintances, and a Prof. Sherwin 
 gave me good advice. That and some other 
 things aroused my curiosity concerning that 
 same lesson, and I am going to find out where 
 it is. 
 
 44 Did you know that Sunday-school lessons 
 were such remarkable affairs ? The one for 
 next Sunday must comprise the most wonderful 
 
"Cross Purposes. 9 197 
 
 portion of Scripture that there is, for hundreds 
 of people on these grounds are talking about it, 
 and I stumbled upon a party of ladies this morn 
 ing who were actually praying over it ! 
 
 " Another thing I overheard this morning, 
 which is news to me, that all the world was at 
 work on the same lesson. That is rather fasci 
 nating, isn t it, to think of so many hundreds 
 and thousands of people all pitching into the 
 same verses on Sunday morning? It is quite 
 sentimental, too, or capable of being made so, 
 for instance, by a great stretch of your imagina 
 tion. Suppose you and me to be very deal 
 friends, separated by miles of ocean we will say, 
 and both devoted Sabbath-school teachers, isn i 
 that a stretch now? Such being the astonishing 
 case, wouldn t it be pleasant to be at work on 
 the same lesson? Don t you see? Lets play do 
 it. You look up the lesson for next Subbatlj 
 and so will I. Won t that have all the charm 
 of novelty ? Then give me the benefit of your 
 ideas acquired on that important subject, and I ll 
 do the same to you. Really, the more I think 
 of it the more the plan delights me. 1 wonder 
 how you will carry it out? Shall you go to 
 
198 Four Grirls at Chaictauqua. 
 
 Sunday-school ? What will the duir Doctor 
 say if he sees you walk into his Bible-class ? I 
 really wish I were there to enjoy the sensation. 
 Meantime I m going to look up an altogether 
 wonderful teacher for myself, and then for com 
 paring notes. My spirits begin to rise, they 
 have been rather damp all the morning, but I 
 see fun in the distance. 
 
 " We are to have a sensation this afternoon in 
 the shape of a troupe of singers called the Ten- 
 nesseeans negroes, you know, and they are to 
 give slave-cabin songs and the like. I expect to 
 enjoy it thoroughly, but you ought to see Ruth 
 curl her aristocratic nose at the thought. 
 
 " Such a vulgar idea ! and altogether inappro 
 priate to the occasion. She likes to see things 
 in keeping. If it is a religious gathering let 
 them keep it such, and not introduce negro min 
 strels for the sake of calling a low crowd to 
 gether, and making a little more money. 
 
 " Marion, too, shoots arrows from her sharp 
 tongue at it, but she rather enjoys the idea, just 
 as she does every other thing that she chooses to 
 call inconsistent when she happens to be the 
 one to discover it ; but woe to the one who com 
 ments on it further than she chooses to go. 
 
u Cross Purposes." 199 
 
 4 Flossy and I now look with utmost tolera 
 tion on the dark element that is to be intro 
 duced. I tell Ruth that I am really grateful to 
 the authorities for introducing something that a 
 person of my limited capacities can appreciate, 
 and Flossy, with her sweet little charitable voice, 
 has " no doubt they will choose proper things to 
 sing." That little mouse is really more agreea 
 ble than she ever was in her life ; and I am 
 amazed at it, too. I expected the dear baby 
 would make us all uncomfortable with her fiui- 
 fied whims ; but don t you think it is our lofty 
 Ruth who is decidedly the most disagreeable of 
 our party, save and except myself! " 
 
 This interesting epistle was brought to a sud 
 den close by an interruption. A gentleman 
 came with rapid steps, and halted before her 
 tent door, which was tied hospitably back. 
 
 " I beg pardon," he said, speaking rapidly, 
 "but this is Miss Rider?" 
 
 " It is not," Eurie answered, with promptness, 
 at which information he looked surprised and be 
 wildered. 
 
 " Isn t this her tent ? I am sorry to trouble 
 
200 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 you, but I have been sent in haste for her. She 
 is wanted for a consultation, and I was told I 
 would find her here. Perhaps I might leave a 
 message with you for her ? " 
 
 "It certainly isn t her tent," Eurie said, try 
 ing to keep down the desire to laugh, "and I 
 haven t the least idea where she is. I should 
 be glad to give her your message if I could, but 
 I never saw the lady in my life, and have no 
 reason to expect that pleasure." 
 
 Whereupon her questioner laughed outright. 
 
 " That is a dilemma," he said. " I appreciate 
 your feelings, for I am precisely in the same po 
 sition ; but the lady was described minutely to 
 me, and I certainly thought I had found her. I 
 am sorry to have interrupted } r ou," and he bowed 
 himself away. 
 
 A new curiosity seized upon Eurie the de 
 sire to see Miss Rider. "She must be one of 
 them," she soliloquized, falling into Flossy s way 
 of speaking of the workers at Chautauqua. " He 
 said she was wanted for a consultation. I won 
 der if she can be one of those who are to take 
 part in the primary exercises? She must be 
 young for such prominent work if she looks like 
 
" Cross Purposes." 
 
 201 
 
 me ; but how could lie know that since he never 
 saw her ? It is ve^ evident that I am to go to 
 Sunday-school next Sabbath anyhow, if I never 
 did before, for now I have two items of interest 
 to look up a lesson that is in the fifth chapter, 
 from the fifth to the fifteenth verse of something. 
 and a being called Miss Rider. ?: So thinking 
 she hastily concluded and folded her letter, ready 
 for the afternoon mail, without a thought or care 
 as to the seed that she had been sending away in 
 it, or as to the fruit it might bear; without the 
 slightest insight into the way she was being led 
 through seeming mistakes and accidents up to a 
 point that was to influence all her future. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE NEW LESSON. 
 
 URIE turned her pillow, thumped the 
 scant feathers into little heaps, and gave 
 a dismal groan as she laid her head back on it. 
 
 " It is very queer," she said, " that as soon as 
 ever I make up my mind to be orthodox, and go 
 to meeting every time the bell rings, I should be 
 dumped into a heap on this hard bed with the 
 headache. I haven t had a touch of it before." 
 
 " The way of transgressors is hard, " quoted 
 Marion, going on calmly with her writing. " If 
 you hadn t taken that horrid tramp yesterday 
 instead of going to meeting like a Christian, you 
 would have been all right to-day." 
 
 " I believe you sit up nights to read your Bi- 
 
 (202) 
 
The Neiv Lesson. 203 
 
 ble, so as to have verses to fling at people who 
 are overtaken in any possible trial or inconven 
 ience. You always have them ready. Didn t 
 you bring it with you, and don t you prepare a 
 list for each day s use ? " This was Eurie s half 
 merry, half petulant reply to the Bible verse that 
 had been " flung " at her. 
 
 Marion carefully erased a word that seemed to 
 her fastidious taste too inexpressive before she 
 answered : 
 
 44 1 don t own such an article as a Bible, my 
 child ; so your suspicions are entirely unfounded. 
 My earl}- education was not defective in that re 
 spect, however, and I confess that I find many 
 verses that seem to very aptly describe the ways 
 of sinful mortals like yourself." 
 
 Eurie raised herself on one elbow, regardless 
 of headache and the cloth wet in vinegar that 
 straightway fell off. 
 
 " You don t own a Bible ! " she said, in utter 
 surprise, and with a touch of actual dismay in her 
 voice. 
 
 " I am depraved to that degree, my dear little 
 saint. I conclude that you are more devoutly 
 inclined, and have one of your own. Pray how 
 many chapters a day do you read in it ? " 
 
204 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Eurie lay down again, and Flossy came with 
 the vinegar cloth and bound it securely on her 
 forehead. 
 
 " I don t read in it very often, to be sure," 
 Eurie murmured. " In fact I suppose I may as 
 well say that I never do. But then I own one, 
 and always have. I am not a heathen; and 
 really and truly it seems almost queer not to 
 have a Bible of one s own. It is a sort of mark 
 of civilization, you know." 
 
 Marion laughed good-naturedly. 
 
 " I never make a great deal of pretense in that 
 line," she said, gayly. " As for being a heathen, 
 that is only a relative term. According to Dr. 
 Calkins, they were more or less in advance of 
 us. I am one of the advanced sort. Ruth, 
 your toilet ought to be nearly completed ; I hear 
 that indefatigable bell." 
 
 " You are very foolish not to go this morning 
 and let your writing wait. We shall be certain 
 to have something worth listening to ; it is a 
 strange time to select for absence." This was 
 Ruth s quiet answer, as she pinned her lace ruf 
 fle with a gleaming little diamond. 
 
 " Diligent in business. There is another 
 
The New Lesson. 205 
 
 verse for you, my heathen," Marion said, with a 
 merry glance toward Eurie. " When you get 
 home and get the dust of years swept off from 
 your Bible, you take a look at it, and see if I 
 have not quoted correctly. And a good, sensi 
 ble verse ifc is. I have found it the only way in 
 which to keep my head above water. Ruthie, 
 the trouble is not with me, it lies with those 
 selfish and obstinate newspaper men. If they 
 would have the sense to let their papers wait 
 over another day I could go to the lecture this 
 morning. As it is, I am a victim to their indif 
 ference. If I miss a blessing the sin will be at 
 their door, not mine." 
 
 Eurie opened her heavy eyes and looked at 
 Flossy. 
 
 " Come," she said, " don t stand there mop 
 ping me in vinegar any longer. Are you 
 ready? lam realty disappointed.. I ve always 
 wanted to hear that man. I want to tell Nel 
 about him." 
 
 Flossy washed her hands, shook back the yel 
 low curls with an indifferent and preoccupied 
 air, and went to the door to wait for Ruth. She 
 had taken no part in the war of words that 
 
206 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 had been passing between Marion and Eurie, 
 but she had heard. And like almost everything 
 else that she heard during these days, it had 
 awakened a new thought and desire. Flossy 
 was growing amazed at herself. It seemed to 
 her that she must have spent her seven 
 teen years of life taking long naps, and this 
 Chautauqua was a stiff breeze from the ocean 
 that was going to shake her awake. The 
 special thought that had dashed itself at her 
 this morning was that she, too, had no Bible. 
 Not that she did not own one, elegantly done in 
 velvet and clasped in gold, so effectually clasped 
 that it had been sealed to her all her life. She 
 positively had no recollection of having ever sat 
 down deliberately to read the Bible. She had 
 " looked over " occasionally in school, but even 
 this service of her eyes had been fitful aud indif 
 ferent ; and as for her head pajdng any sort of 
 attention to the reading, it might as well have 
 been done in Greek instead of French, which 
 language she but dimly comprehended even 
 when she tried. But now she ought to have a 
 Bible. She ought not to wait for that velvet 
 covered one. A whole week in which to find 
 
The New Lesson. 207 
 
 what some of her orders were, and no way in 
 which to find them. Of course she could buy 
 one, but how queer it would seem to be going to 
 the museum to make a purchase of a Bible I 
 " They will wonder why I did not bring my own," 
 she murmured, with that life-long deference that 
 she had educated herself to pay to the " they " 
 who composed her world. And in another instance 
 the new-born feeling of respect and independence 
 asserted itself. " I can t help that," she said, 
 positively, shaking her curls with a determined 
 air ; " and it really makes no difference what 
 anybody thinks. Of course I must have a Bible, 
 and I only wish I had it for this morning, I shall 
 certainly get one the first opportunity." Then 
 she turned and said " good-morning " to the 
 pretty little lady who occupied the tent next 
 door, and between whom and herself a pleasant 
 acquaintance was springing up. 
 
 " Are you going to the lecture ? " Flossy, 
 asked and the small lady shook her head, with a 
 wistful air. 
 
 "Dear me, no! My young tyrant wouldn t 
 consent to that. I meant to take him down 
 with me and try him, but he has gone to sleep ; 
 
208 Four G-irh at Chautauqua. 
 
 and it is just as well, for he would have been 
 certain to want to do all the talking. He has 
 no idea that there is any one in the country who 
 knows quite as much as he does." It was said 
 in a half complaining tone, but underneath it 
 was the foundation of tender pride, that sho\ved 
 her to be the vain mother of the handsome ty 
 rant. Still it seemed to be Flossy s duty to con 
 dole with her. 
 
 "You miss most of the meetings, do you 
 not?" 
 
 " Three-fourths of them. You see it is incon 
 venient to have a husband who is reporter for 
 the press, and who must be there to hear. It is 
 only when he must write up his notes for publi 
 cation that I can get a chance ; and even then, 
 unless it is baby s sleepy time, it does me no 
 good. I am especially sorry this morning, for 
 Dr. Cuyler used to be my pastor. He married 
 me one summer morning just like this, and I 
 haven t laid eyes on him since. I should like to 
 hear his voice again, but it can t be done." 
 
 Now who would have imagined that, with all 
 the powers that were bestirring themselves to 
 come to Flosses education, it would have been 
 
The Neiv Lesson. 209 
 
 a rosy, crowing baby, in the unconsciousness of 
 a morning nap, that should have given her her 
 first lesson in unselfishness ? Yet he was the very 
 one. It flashed over Flossy in an instant from 
 some source. Who was so likely to have sug 
 gested it as the sweet angel who hovered over 
 the sleeping darling ? 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Adams, let me stay with baby, and 
 you go to hear Cuyler. It is a real pity that you 
 should miss him, when he is associated with your 
 life in this way. I never saw him ; and though, 
 of course, I should like to, yet I presume there 
 will be opportunities enough. I will be as care 
 ful of baby as if he were my grandson ; and if 
 he wakens I will charm him out of his wits, so 
 that it will never occur to him to cry." 
 
 Of course there was demurring, and profuse 
 expressions of thanks and declinatures all in a 
 breath. But Flossy was so winning, so eager, 
 so thoroughly in earnest ; and the little Mrs. 
 Adams did so love her old pastor, and did feel 
 so anxious to see him again, that in a very short 
 time she was beguiled into going in all haste ta 
 her tent to make a " go-to-meeting " toilet ; and 
 a blessed tiling it was that that sentence does not 
 
210 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 mean at Chautauqua what it does in Buffalo, or 
 Albany, or a few other places, else Dr. Cuyler 
 might have slipped from them before the neces 
 sary articles were all in array. It involved sim 
 ply the twitching off of a white apron, the settling 
 of a pretty sun hat for the sun actually shone ! 
 
 and the seizure of a waterproof, needed, if she 
 found a seat, to protect her from the damp boards 
 
 needed in any case, because in five minutes it 
 might rain and she was ready. 
 
 Ruth came to the door. 
 
 "Come, Flossy," she said; "where in the 
 world are you ? We shall be late." And said 
 it precisely as though she had been waiting for 
 that young person for half an hour. 
 
 Flossy emerged from the adjoining tent. 
 
 " I am not going." she said. " I have turned 
 nurse-girl, and have the sweetest little baby in 
 here that ever grew. Mrs. Adams is going in my 
 place. Mrs. Adams, Miss Erskine." 
 
 And as those two ladies walked away together 
 Mrs. Adams might have been heard to say : 
 
 u What a lovely, unselfish disposition your 
 friend has ! It was so beautiful in her to take 
 me so by storm this morning I I am afraid I was 
 
The New Lesson. 211 
 
 very selfish ; which is apt to be the case, I think, 
 when one comes in contact with actual unselfish 
 ness. It is one of the Christian graces that is 
 very hard to cultivate, anyway ; don t you think 
 so?" 
 
 Ruth was silent; not from discourtesy, but 
 from astonishment. It was such a strange ex 
 perience to hear an}- one speak of Flossy Shipley 
 as " unselfish." Jn truth she had grown up un 
 der influences that had combined to foster the 
 most complete and tyrannical selfishness exer 
 cised in a pretty, winning sort of way, but rooted 
 and grounded in her very life. So indeed was 
 Ruth s ; but she, of course, did not know that, 
 though she had clear vision for the mote in 
 Flossy s eyes. 
 
 Meantime Marion had staid her busy pen and 
 was biting the end of it thoughtfully. The 
 two tents were such near neighbors that the lat 
 ter conversation and introduction had been dis 
 tinctly heard. She glanced around to the girl 
 on the bed. 
 
 "Eurie," she said, "are you asleep, or are you 
 enjoying Flossy a last new departure?" 
 
 Eurie giggled. 
 
212 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " I heard," slie said. " The lazy little mouse 
 has slipped out of a tedious hour, and has a 
 chance to lounge and read a pleasant novel. I 
 dare say the mother is provided with them." 
 
 Then Marion, after another thoughtful pause : 
 
 " But, my child, how do you account for the 
 necessity of going to the neighbors and taking 
 the supervision of a baby in order to do that? 
 Flossy need not have gone to church if she 
 didn t choose." 
 
 " Yes she need. Don t you suppose the child 
 can see that it is the fashion of the place ? She 
 is afraid that it wouldn t look well to stay in the 
 tent and lounge, without an excuse for doing so. 
 If that girl could only go to a place where it was 
 the fashion for all the people to be good, she 
 would be a saint, just because they were." 
 
 " She would have to go to heaven," muttered 
 Marion, going on with her writing. 
 
 " And, according to you, there is no such 
 place ; so there is no hope for her, after all. Oh, 
 dear! I wonder if }*ou are right, and nothing is 
 of any consequence, anyhow ? " And the weary 
 girl turned on her pillow and tried not to think, 
 an effort that was hard to accomplish after a 
 week s experience at Chautauqua. 
 
The New Lesson. 213 
 
 Flossy sat herself down beside the sleeping 
 darling, and cast about her for something to 
 amuse or interest, her eyes brightening into 
 beauty as she recognized a worn and torn copy 
 of the Bible. Eurie would have been surprised 
 to see the eagerness with which she seized upon 
 the book that was to afford her entertainment. 
 She turned the leaves tenderly, with a new 
 sense of possession about her. Thie> Bible was a 
 copy of letters that had been written to her 
 words spoken, many of them, by Jesus himself. 
 Strange that she had so little idea what they 
 were ! Marion, with her boasted infidel notions, 
 knew much more about " The Book " than 
 Flossy with her nominal Christian education 
 and belief. She had no idea where to turn or 
 what to look for to help her. Yet she turned 
 the leaves slowly, with a delicious sense of hav 
 ing found a prize a book of instructions, a 
 guide book for her on this journey that she was 
 just beginning to realize that she was taking. 
 Someivhere within it she would find light and 
 help. The book was one that had been much 
 used, and had a fashion of opening of itself at 
 certain places that might have been favorites 
 
214 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 with the little mother. At one of those places 
 Flossy halted and read : " After this there was 
 a feast of the Jews. After what, I wonder? " she 
 said within herself. She knew nothing about 
 it. " Never mind, I will see pretty soon. This 
 is about a feast where Jesus was. And Jesus 
 went up to Jerusalem." Oh, how nice to have 
 been there, wherever that was." The ignorant 
 little thing had not the least idea where Jerusa 
 lem was, except that it was in that far away, 
 misty Holy Land, that had seemed as vague and 
 indefinite to her as the grave or as heaven. But 
 there came suddenly to her heart a certain 
 blessed analogy. 
 
 " If I were going to write an account of my 
 recent experiences to some dear friend that I 
 wanted to tell it to," she said, talking still to 
 herself, or to the sleeping baby, " I would write 
 it something like this : After this That 
 would mean ; let me see what it would mean. 
 Why, after that party at home, when I danced 
 all night and was sick. After this .there was a 
 feast of the Christian people at Chautauqua, and 
 Jesus went there. I could certainly write that, 
 for I have seen him and heard him speak in my 
 very heart." Then she went on, through the 
 
The New Lesson. 215 
 
 second verse to the third. " * In these lay a great 
 multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, with 
 ered, waiting for the moving of the water, " and 
 here a great swell of tears literally blinded her 
 eyes. It came to her so suddenly, so forcibly. 
 The great multitude here at Chautauqua 
 blind. Yes, some of them. Was not she? 
 How many more might there be ? Many of 
 whom she knew, others that she did not know, 
 but that Jesus did. Waiting without knowing 
 that they were waiting. With tears and smiles, 
 and with a new great happiness throbbing at her 
 heart, she read through the sweet, simple, won 
 derful story ; how the poor man met Jesus ; how 
 he questioned ; how the man complained ; and 
 how Jesus was greater than his infirmity. 
 Through the whole of it, until suddenly she 
 closed the book, her tears dried, and a solemn, 
 wondering, almost awe-struck look on her face. 
 She had got her lesson, her directions, her ex 
 ample. She could bear no more, even of the 
 Bible, just then. She said it over, that startling 
 verse that came to her with a whole volume of 
 suggestion: " And the man departed and told 
 the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him 
 whole: " 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 GEEAT MEN. 
 
 UTH ERSKINE, with her skirts gath- 
 erecl daintily around her, to avoid con 
 tact \\lth the unclean earth, made her way skill 
 fully through the crowd, and with the aid of a 
 determined spirit and a camp-chair secured a 
 place and a seat very near the stand. The little 
 lady who timidly followed in her lead was not 
 quite so fortunate, inasmuch as she had no 
 camp-chair, and was less resolved in her deter 
 mination to get ahead of those who had arrived 
 earlier; so she contented herself with a damp 
 seat on the end of a board, which was vacated 
 for her use by a courteous gentleman. 
 
 Ruth, you must understand, was not selfish in 
 (216) 
 

 G-reat Men. 217 
 
 this matter because she had planned to be, but 
 simply because it had never occurred to her to 
 be otherwise, which is one of the misfortunes 
 that come to people who are educated in a self 
 ish atmosphere. Ruth Erskine had come to this 
 meeting fully prepared to enjoy it. Dr. Cuyler 
 was a star of sufficient magnitude to attract her. 
 During her frequent visits to New York she had 
 heard much of but had never seen him. The 
 people whom she visited were too elegant in 
 their views and practices to have much in com 
 mon with the church which was so pronounced 
 on the two great questions of religion and tem 
 perance. Yet, even with them, Dr. Cuyler and 
 Dr. Cuyler s great church were eccentricities to 
 be tolerated, not ignored. Therefore Ruth had 
 had it in her heart to enjoy listening to him 
 sometime. The sometime had arrived. She 
 had dressed herself with unusual care, a cere 
 mony which seemed to be quite in the back 
 ground among the people who were at home at 
 Chautauqua. But someway it seemed to Ruth 
 that the great Brooklyn pastor should receive 
 this mark of respect at her hands ; so she had 
 spent the morning at her toilet and was now a 
 fashionable lady, fashionably attired for church. 
 
218 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 If the people who vouchsafed her a glance as 
 she crowded past indulged, some of them, in a 
 smile at her expense, and thought the simple 
 temple made of trees and grasses an inappro 
 priate surrounding to her silken robes and costly- 
 lace mantle, she was none the wiser for that, 
 you know, and took her seat, indifferent to them 
 all, except that presently there stole over her 
 the sense of disagreeable incongruity with her 
 outdoor surroundings; so Satan had the pleasure 
 of ruffling her spirits and occupying her thoughts 
 with her rich brown silk dress instead of letting 
 her heart be touched with the solemnity and 
 beauty of the grand hymn \\hich rolled clown 
 those long aisles. Satan has that everlasting 
 weapon, " What to wear, and what not to wear," 
 everlastingly at command and wonderfully un 
 der his control. But Ruth, in her way, was 
 strong-minded and could control her thoughts 
 when she chose ; so she presently shook off the 
 feeling of annoyance and decided to give her 
 self up to the influences of the hour. 
 
 By this time Dr. Cuyler appeared and was in 
 troduced. Ruth gave him the benefit of a very 
 searching gaze, and decided that he was the very 
 
I 
 Great Men. 219 
 
 man of all those on the platform whom she 
 would have selected as the speaker. Probably 
 if Dr. Cuyler had known this, and known also 
 that his personal presence entirely disappointed 
 her, he would not have been greatly discon 
 certed thereby. But his subject was one that 
 found an answering thrill in this young lady s 
 heart " Some Talks I Have Had With Great 
 Men." Ruth liked greatness. In her calm, 
 composed way she bow T ed before it. She would 
 have enjoyed being great. Celebrity in a ma 
 jestic, dignified form would have been her de 
 light. She by no means admitted this, as Eurie 
 Mitchell so often did. She by no means sought 
 after it in the small ways within her reach. 
 Small ways did not suit her ; they disgusted her. 
 But if she could have flashed into splendid 
 greatness, if by any amount of laborious study, 
 or work, or suffering, she could have seen the 
 way to world-wide renown she w r ould have 
 grasped for it in an instant. 
 
 The next best thing to being renowned one s 
 self was to have renowned people for friends. 
 This was another thing that Ruth coveted in si 
 lence. She wanted 110 one to know how ear- 
 
220 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 nestly slie aspired to, sometime, making the ac 
 quaintance of some of the great people not tin 
 vulgarly great, those who were in a sense. and| 
 in the eyes of a few, great because of the accil 
 dents of fortune and travel. She knew such by 
 the scores. Indeed, she had been in circles 
 many a time where she shone with that sort of 
 greatness herself. Perhaps it was for that rea 
 son that it was such a despised height to her. 
 But she meant the really great people of this 
 world people of power, people who moved the 
 masses by the force of their brains. Not one 
 such had she ever met to look upon as an ac 
 quaintance ; and here was this man telling off 
 the honored names by the score, and saying, 
 " My friend, Dr. Guthrie " " My good friend, 
 Thomas Carlyle " My dear brother, Newman 
 Hall." How would it seem to stand in intimate 
 relationship with one single gifted mind like 
 these, and was she destined ever to know by 
 actual experience ? 
 
 There was another reason why Ruth had de 
 sired to choose Dr. Cuyler to listen to rather 
 than some other names on the programme, be 
 cause, from the nature of his subject, she had 
 
G-reat Men. 221 
 
 indued it most unlikely that lie should have 
 
 JO / 
 
 bout him any arrows that would touch home to 
 ier. Not that she put it in that language ; she 
 lid not admit even to herself that any of the 
 solemn words that had been spoken at Chautau- 
 a had reference to her ; and yet in a vague, 
 itful way she was ill at ease. 
 
 She had moments of feeling that there was a 
 each of happiness possessed by these people of 
 which she knew nothing. Little side thrusts 
 md come to her from time to time in places 
 vhere she least expected them. That question, 
 .tasked by Flossy during her night of unrest, 
 f l Should you be afraid to die ? " hovered around 
 [this quietly poised young lady in a most unac- 
 |countable manner. All the more persistently 
 !did it cling because she could not shake it off 
 with the thought that it was silly. Common 
 sense told her that the strange, solemn shadow, 
 which came so steadily after men, and so surely 
 : enveloped one after another among the grandest 
 i intellects that the world owned, was not a thing 
 to pass over lightly. 
 
 , After all, why should she not be afraid of 
 death ? Then that strange gentleman who had 
 
222 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 persisted in ranking her among the praying peo 
 ple ! he had left his shadow. Why did she not 
 pray ? She wondered over this in a vague sort 
 of way; wondered how it seemed to kneel down 
 alone, and speak to an invisible presence ; won 
 dered if those who so knelt always felt as 
 though they were really speaking to God. 
 
 There were times when Ruth was exceedingly 
 disgusted with these perplexing thoughts, and 
 wanted nothing so much as to get away from 
 them. She resented this intrusion upon her 
 quiet. This day was one of those in which she 
 was impatient of all these things, and she had 
 made her toilet with great satisfaction, and said 
 within herself complacently : " We are to have 
 one hour at last devoted to this mundane sphere 
 and the mortals who inhabit it ; most of the 
 time these Chautauquans talk and act as though 
 earth was only a railroad station, where people 
 changed cars and went on to heaven. Dr. Cuy- 
 ler is going to refresh us with some actual living 
 specimens of humanity. He can t make a ser 
 mon out of that subject if he tries." 
 
 But Ruth Erskine had not measured the power 
 of the earnest preachers of Jesus Christ. As if 
 
Great Men. 223 
 
 Dr. Ciller could talk for an hour to thousands 
 of immortal souls, and leave Christ and heaven 
 and immortality out. 
 
 To Ruth these three words constituted a ser 
 mon, and she got them that day. Not that he 
 had an idea that he was preaching Christ, except 
 incidentally, as a man refers almost unconsciously 
 to the one whom he loves best in all the world 
 but Ruth knew he was. It came in little sud 
 den touches when she least expected it, when 
 heart and soul were wrought upon with some 
 strong enthusiasm by the splendid picture of a 
 splendid man as when he told of Spurgeon. 
 It was a glowing description, such as thrilled 
 Ruth, and made her feel that to have just one 
 glimpse of that great man, with his great mar 
 velous power over humanity, would be worth a 
 lifetime. 
 
 Suddenly the speaker said: "The secret of 
 that man s power lies, first, in his study of the 
 Bible." Ruth started and came down like a 
 bomb-shell from her wondrous height. The 
 Bible ! copies of which lay carelessly on every 
 table of her father s elegantly furnished house, 
 unstudied and unthought of. How very strange 
 
224 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 to ascribe the power of the great intellect to the 
 study of one book that was more or less familiar 
 to every Sunday-school boy. " Second, in short, 
 simple, homely language." Ruth smiled now. 
 Dr. Cuyler was growing absurd, as if it were not 
 the most common thing in the world to use sim 
 ple, homely language ! No Spurgeons could be 
 manufactured in that waj r , she was sure. " Third, 
 mighty earnestness to save souls." Here was a 
 point concerning which Ruth knew nothing. 
 
 Dr. Cuyler s manner put tremendous force 
 into the forceful words, and carried conviction 
 with them. She wondered how a really mighty 
 earnestness to save souls made a man appear ? 
 She wondered whether she had ever seen such a 
 GriQ ; she went rapidly over the list of her ac 
 quaintances in the church. She smiled to her 
 self a sarcastic, contemputous smile ; she had met 
 them all at parties, concerts, festivals, and the 
 like ; she had seen them on occasions when noth 
 ing seemed to possess them but to have a good time 
 like the rest of the world. 
 
 Like the rest of the world, Ruth reasoned and 
 decided from her chance meetings with the out 
 side life of these Christians, forgetting that she 
 
Great Men. 225 
 
 had never seen one of them in their closets be 
 fore God ; rather, she knew nothing about these 
 closets, nor the experiences learned there, and 
 could only reason from outside life. This being 
 the case, what a pity that her verdict of those 
 lives should have called forth only that contempt 
 uous smile ! Wandering off in this train of 
 thought, she lost the speaker s next point, but 
 was called back by his solemn, ringing close. 
 
 "Put these together, melt them down with 
 the love of Christ, and you have a Spurgeon. 
 God be thanked for such a piece of hand work 
 as he ! " 
 
 Another start and another retrospect. Did she 
 know any people who put these together ; who 
 made a real, earnest, constant study of the Bible 
 as school girls studied their Latin grammars, and 
 who were really eager to save souls because they 
 had the love of Christ in their hearts, and who 
 said so in plain simple language ? " Does he, I 
 wonder ? " she said to herself. " I wonder if his 
 sermons sound like that ? I should like to hear 
 him preach just once. Oh, dear ! if he isn t run 
 ning off to Moody and Sankey. It is a sermon 
 after all 1 " 
 
226 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 On the whole, Ruth was disgusted. Her brain 
 was in a whirl; she was being compelled to hear 
 sermons on every hand. She was sick of it. 
 They had been great men of whom she had 
 heard, and she admired them all ; she wanted 
 the secret of their power, but she didn t want it 
 to be made out of such commonplace material as 
 was in the hands of every child. She did not 
 know what she wanted only that she had come 
 out to be entertained and to revel in her love of 
 heroes, and she had been pinned down to the one 
 thought that real men were made of those who 
 found their power in their Bible and on their 
 knees. 
 
 The solemn, earnest, tender closing to this ad 
 dress did not lessen her sense of discomfort. Then 
 just beside her was carried on a conversation 
 that added to her annoyance. 
 
 " They are big men," a man said. He was 
 dressed in a common business suit; his linen 
 had not the exquisite freshness about it that her 
 fastidious eyes delighted in ; his hands looked as 
 though they might have been used to work that 
 was rough and hard ; his straggling hair was 
 sprinkled with gray, and there was not a striking 
 feature about him. 
 
Great Men. 227 
 
 " They are big men," he said, " and IVe no 
 doubt ifc is a big thing to know them, and talk 
 with them, and have a friendly feeling for each, 
 as if they belonged to him, but he knows a big 
 ger one than them, and the best of it is, so do 
 we. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, 
 is not to be compared to common men like 
 these." 
 
 And now Ruth s lips curled utterty. She was 
 an aristocrat without knowing it. She believed 
 in Christianity, and in its power to save the 
 poor and the commonest, but this insufferable 
 assumption of dignity and superiority over the 
 rest of the world, as she called it, was hateful to 
 her in the extreme. It would have startled her 
 exceedingly to have been told that she was 
 angry with the man for presuming to place his 
 Friend higher in the list of great ones than any of 
 those given that day ; and yet such was actually 
 her feeling. She swept her skirts angrily away 
 from contact with the man, and spoke so crustily 
 to the little lady who had come in her wake 
 that she moved timidly away. 
 
 Just at her left were two gentlemen shaking 
 hands. Both had been on the stand together ; 
 
228 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 she knew the faces of both, and one ranked just 
 a trifle higher in her estimation than any one at 
 Chautauqua. She edged a little nearer. She 
 lived in the hope of making the acquaintance of 
 some of these lights, just enough acquaintance 
 to receive a bow and a clasp of the hand, though 
 how one could accomplish it who was determined 
 that her interest in them should neither be seen 
 nor suspected, it would be hard to say ; but 
 they were talking in eager, hearty tones, not at 
 all as if their words were confidential at least 
 she might have the benefit of them. 
 
 " That was a capital lecture," the elder of the 
 two was saying. " Cuyler has had great advan 
 tages in his life in meeting on a familiar footing 
 so many of our great men. When you get 
 thinking of these things, and of the many men 
 whom you would like to know intimately, what 
 is the thought that strikes you most forcibly ? " 
 
 " That I am glad I belong to the royal fam 
 ily, and have the opportunity of knowing inti 
 mately and holding close personal relations with 
 Him who spake as never man spake. 
 
 The other answered in a rare, rich tone of 
 suppressed jubilance of feeling. 
 
Great Hen. 229 
 
 " Exactly ! " his friend said ; " and when you 
 can leave the fullness of that thought long 
 enough to take another, there is the looking for 
 ward to actual fellowship and communion not 
 only with him, but with all these glorious men 
 who are living here, and who have gone up yon 
 der. 
 
 Ruth turned abruptly away. The very 
 thought that possessed the heart of the plain- 
 looking man and that so annoyed her ; and these 
 two, whom to know was an honor, were looking 
 forward to that consummation as the height of 
 it all I 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A WAR OF WORDS. 
 
 ELL, why not?" she said, as she went 
 slowly clown the aisle. Of course all 
 these people would be in heaven to 
 gether, and why should they not look forward 
 to a companionship untrameled by earthly forms 
 and conventionalities, and uncumbered by the 
 body in its present dull and ponderous state ? 
 What a chance to get into the best society ! the 
 highest circle ! real best, too, not made up of 
 mone3 r , or blood, or dress, or any of the flimsy 
 and silly barriers that fenced people in and out 
 now. Then at once she felt her own inconsist 
 ency in growing disgusted with the plainly- 
 dressed, common-looking man. If he did really 
 belong to that " royal family," why not rejoice 
 
 (230) 
 
A War of Words. 231 
 
 over it ? Wasn t she the foolish one ? She by 
 no means liked these reflections, but she could 
 not get away from them. 
 
 " How do you do?" said a clear, round voice 
 behind her ; not speaking to her, but to some 
 one whom he was very glad to see, judging from 
 his tone. And the voice was peculiar ; she had 
 been listening to it for an hour, and could not 
 be mistaken; it belonged to Dr. Cuyler him 
 self. She turned herself suddenly. Here was 
 a chance for a nearer view, and to see who wa? 
 being greeted so heartily. It was the little lady 
 whose society had been thrust upon her that 
 morning by Flossy. And they were shaking 
 hands as though they were old and familiar ac 
 quaintances I 
 
 " It is good to see your face again," that same 
 hearty voice which seemed to have so much good 
 fellowship in it was saying. " 1 didn t know you 
 were to be here ; I m real glad to see you again, 
 and what about the husband and the dear 
 boy?" 
 
 At which point it occurred to Miss Ruth Ers- 
 kine that she was listening to conversation not 
 designed for her ears. She moved away sud- 
 
2o2 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 denly, in no way comforted or sweetened as to 
 her temper by tliis episode. Why should that 
 little bit of an insignificant woman have the 
 honor of such a cordial greeting from the great 
 man, while he did not even know of her exist 
 ence ? 
 
 To be sure, Dr. Cuyler had baptized and re 
 ceived into church fellowship and united in 
 marriage the little woman with whom he was 
 talking ; but Ruth, even if she had known these 
 circumstances, was in no mood to attach much 
 importance to them. 
 
 She wandered away from the crowd down by 
 the lake-side. She stopped at Jerusalem on her 
 way, and poked her parasol listlessly into the 
 sand of which the hills lying about that city 
 were composed, and thought : 
 
 " What silly child s play all this was ! How ab 
 surd to suppose that people were going to get 
 new ideas by playing at cities with bits of painted 
 board and piles of sand ! Even if they could get 
 a more distinct notion of its surroundings, what 
 difference did it make how Jerusalem looked, or 
 where it stood, or what had become of the 
 buildings?" 
 
A War of mrds. 233 
 
 This last, as it began dimly to dawn upon her, 
 that it was useless to deny the fact that even 
 such listless and disdainful staring as she had 
 vouchsafed to this make-believe city had located 
 it, as it had not been located before, in her 
 brain. 
 
 When she produced the flimsy question, 
 %l What difference does it make ? " you can see at 
 once the absurd mood that had gotten possession 
 of her, and } T OU lose all your desire to argue with 
 any one who feels as foolish as that. Neither 
 had Ruth any desire to argue with herself; she 
 was disgusted with her mind for insisting on 
 keeping her up to a strain of thought. 
 
 " A lovely place to rest ! " she said, aloud, and 
 indignantly, giving a more emphatic poke with 
 her parasol, and quite dislodging one of the 
 buildings in Jerusalem. " One s brain is just 
 kept at high pressure all the time." 
 
 Now, why this young lady s brain should have 
 been in need of rest she did not take the trouble 
 to explain, even to herself. She sat herself 
 down presently under one of the trees by the 
 lake-side and gave herself up to plans. She was 
 tired of Chautauqua ; of that she was certain. 
 
234 Four Crifls at CTiautauqua. 
 
 It stirred her up, and the process was uncom 
 fortable. Her former composed life suited her 
 taste better. She must get away. There was 
 no earthly reason why she should not go at once 
 to Saratoga. A host of friends were already 
 there, and certain other friends would be only 
 too glad to follow as soon as ever they heard of 
 her advent in that region. Before she left than 
 rustic settee under the trees she had the pro 
 gramme all arranged. 
 
 " We will get through to-morrow as we best 
 can," she said, sighing over the thought that to 
 morrow being the Sabbath would perforce be 
 spent there, "and then on Monday morning 
 Flossy and I will just run away to Saratoga and 
 leave those two absurd girls to finish their ab 
 surd scheme in the best way they can." 
 
 And having disposed of Flossy as though she 
 were a bit of fashionable merchandise without 
 any volition of her own, Ruth felt more com 
 posed and went at once to dinner. 
 
 There came an astonishing interference to this 
 planning, from no other than Flossy herself. To 
 the utter amazement of each of the girls, she 
 quietly refused to be taken to Saratoga ; nor did 
 
A War of Words. 235 
 
 she offer any other excuse for this astonishing 
 piece of self-assertion than that she was having 
 a good time and meant to finish it. And to this 
 she adhered with a pertinacity that was very be 
 wildering, because it was so very new. Marion 
 laughed over her writing, to which she had re 
 turned the moment dinner was concluded. 
 
 " That is right, Flossy," she said, " I m glad to 
 see Chautauqua is having an effect of some sort 
 on one of us. You are growing strong-minded; 
 mind isn t a bad thing to have ; keep to }^ours. 
 Ruth, I am astonished at you; I shall have to 
 confess that you are disappointing me, my child. 
 Now, I rather expected this dear little bit of lace 
 and velvet to give up, conqured, in less than a 
 week, but I said to myself, Ruth Erskine has 
 pluck enough to carry her through a month of 
 camp-life, and here you are quenched at the end 
 of four days." 
 
 " It isn t the camp-life," Ruth said, irritably. 
 "I am not so much a baby as to care about those 
 things to such a degree that I can t endure them, 
 though everything is disagreeable enough ; but 
 that isn t the point at all." 
 
 Marion turned and looked at her curiously. 
 
230 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " What on earth is the point then ? What 
 has happened to so disgust you with Chautau- 
 qua?" 
 
 " The point is, that I am tired of it all. It is 
 unutterably stupid ! I suppose I have a right 
 to be tired of a silly scheme that ought never to 
 have been undertaken, if I choose to be, have I 
 not, without being called in question by any 
 one ? " 
 
 And feeling more thoroughly vexed, not only 
 with the girls, but with herself, than ever she re 
 membered feeling before, Ruth arose suddenly 
 and sought refuge under the trees outside the 
 tent. 
 
 Marion maintained a puzzled silence. This 
 was a new phase in Ruth s character, and one 
 hard to manage. 
 
 Flossy looked on the point of crying. She 
 was not used to crossing the wills of those who 
 had influence over her, but she was very deter 
 mined as to one thing : she was not going to 
 leave Chautauqua. 
 
 " Nothing could tempt me to go to Saratoga 
 just now," she said, earnestly. 
 
 " Why ? " asked Marion, and receiving no 
 
A War of Words. 237 
 
 answer at all felt that Flossy puzzled her as 
 much as Rath had done. However, she set her 
 self to work to restore peace. 
 
 " This letter is done," she said, gayty, folding 
 ler manuscript. " It is a perfectly gushing ac 
 count of yesterday s meeting, for some of which 
 am indebted to the Buffalo reporters ; for I 
 lave given the most thrilling parts where I 
 wasn t present. Now I m going to celebrate. 
 Dome in, Ruth, we are of the same mind pre- 
 isely. I would gladly accompany you on the 
 fternoon train to Saratoga with the greatest 
 pleasure, were it not for certain inconveniences 
 connected with my pocket-book, and a desire to 
 replenish it by writing tip this enterprise. But 
 ince we can t go to Saratoga, let s }*ou and I go 
 ;o Mayville. It is a city of several hundred in 
 habitants, six or eight, certainly, I should think ; 
 and \ve can have an immense amount of fun out 
 of the people and the sights this afternoon, and 
 scape the preaching. I haven t got to write an 
 other letter until Monday. Come, shall we take 
 the three o clock boat ? " 
 
 . Neither of these young ladies could have 
 told what possible object there could be in leav- 
 
288 Four Girls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 ing the lovely woods in which they were camped 
 and going off to the singularly quiet, uninterest 
 ing little village of Mayville, except that it was, 
 as they said, a getting away from the preaching 
 though why two young ladies, with first-class 
 modern educations, should find it so important 
 to get themselves away from some of the first 
 speakers in the country they did not stop to ex 
 plain even to themselves. However, the plan 
 came to Ruth as a relief, and she unhesita 
 tingly agreed to it ; so they went their ways 
 Flossy to the afternoon meeting (since Eurie de 
 clared herself so far convalescent as to be en 
 tirely able to remain alone) and the two of the 
 party who had prided themselves up to this 
 time on their superiority of intellect down to the 
 wharf to take the boat for Mayville. 
 
 The ride thither on the lovely lake was almost 
 enough to excuse them for their folly. But the 
 question what to do with themselves afterward 
 was one that burdened them during all that long 
 summer afternoon. They went to the Mayville 
 House and took a walk on the piazza, and the 
 boarders looked at them in curiosity, and won 
 dered if it were really a pleasanter walk than 
 the green field* over at Chautauqua. 
 
A War of Words. 239 
 
 They ordered dinner and ate it at the general 
 table with great relish, Ruth rejoicing over this 
 return to civilized life. One episode of the table 
 must be noted. Opposite them sat a gentleman 
 who, either from something in their appearance, 
 or more probably from the reasonable conclusion 
 that all the strangers who had gathered at the 
 quiet little village were in some way associated 
 with the great gathering, addressed them as be 
 ing part of that great whole. 
 
 44 You people are going to reap a fine harvest, 
 pecuniarily, to-morrow ; but how about the 
 fourth commandment ? You Christians lay great 
 stress on that document whenever a Sunday read 
 ing-room or something of that sort is being con 
 templated, don t you ? " 
 
 The remark was addressed to both of them, 
 but Ruth was too much occupied with the 
 strangeness of the thought that she was again 
 being counted among " Christian people " to 
 make any answer. Not so Marion. Her eyes 
 danced with meriment, but she answered with 
 great gravity : 
 
 " We believe in keeping Iwly the Sabbath day, 
 of course. What has that to do with Chautau- 
 
240 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 qua? Haven t 3^011 consulted the programme 
 and read : c No admission at the gates or 
 docks ?" 
 
 The gentleman smiled incredulously. 
 
 " I have read it" he said, significantly, " and 
 doubtless many believe it implicitly. I hope 
 their faith won t be shaken by hearing the re 
 turns from tickets counted over in the even- 
 ing." 
 
 There was a genuine flush of feeling on Mar 
 ion s face no\v. 
 
 " Do you mean to say," she asked, haughtily, 
 " that you have no faith in the published state 
 ment that the gates will be closed, or do } T OU 
 mean that the association have changed their 
 minds? Because if you have heard the latter, I 
 can assure you it is a mistake, as I heard the mat 
 ter discussed by those in authority this very 
 morning ; and they determined to adhere rigidly 
 to the rules." 
 
 " I have no doubt they will, so far as lies in 
 their power," the gentleman said, with an at 
 tempt at courtesy in his manner. "But the 
 trouble is, the thing is absurd on the face of it. 
 If I hold a ticket for an entertainment, which 
 
A War of Words. 241 
 
 the Association have sold to me, it is none of 
 their business on what day I present it, provided 
 the entertainment is in progress. They have no 
 right to keep me out, and they are swindling me 
 out of so much money if they do it." 
 
 " You have changed your argument," Marion 
 said, with a flash of humor in her eyes. " You 
 were talking about the amount of money that 
 the Association were to earn to-morrow, not the 
 amount which you were to lose by not being al 
 lowed to come in. However, I am wiling to 
 talk from, that standpoint. If }*ou hold the sea 
 son ticket of the Association, and are stopping 
 outside, you will be admitted, of course. It is 
 held to be as reasonable a way to go to church 
 as though you harnessed your horses at home 
 and drove, on the Sabbath, to your regular place 
 of worship. But you buy no ticket/ar the Sab 
 bath, and none is received from you ; and if you 
 choose not to go, the Association neither. makes 
 nor loses by the operation, and, so far as money 
 is concerned, is entirely indifferent which you 
 decide to do. What fault can possibly be found 
 with such an arrangement ? " 
 
 " Well," said the gentleman, with a quiet pos- 
 
242 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 itiveness of tone, " I haven t a season ticket, and 
 I don t mean to buy one, and I mean to go down 
 there to meeting to-morrow, and I expect to get 
 in." 
 
 " I dare say," Marion answered, with glowing 
 cheeks. " The grounds are extensive, you know, 
 and they are not walled in. I haven t the least 
 doubt but that hundreds can creep through the 
 brush, and so have the gospel free. There is 
 something about he that climbeth up some 
 other way being a thief and a robber ; but, of 
 course, the writer could not have had .Chautau 
 qua in mind ; and even if it applies, it would be 
 only stealing from an Association, which is not 
 stealing at all, you know." 
 
 " You are hard on me," the gentleman said, 
 flushing in his turn, and the listeners, of whom 
 there were many, laughed and seemed to enjoj 
 the flashing of words. " I have no intention of 
 creeping or climbing in. I shall present the 
 same sort of ticket which took me in to-day, and 
 if it doesn t pass me I will send you a dispatch 
 to let you know, if you will give me your ad 
 dress." 
 
 "And if you do get in, and will let me know, 
 

 A War of Words. 243 
 
 I will report at once to the proper authorities 
 that the gate-keepers have been unfaithful to 
 their trust," said Marion, triumphantly. 
 
 " But, my dear madam, what justice is there 
 in that ? I have paid my money, and what 
 business is it to them when I present my ticket? 
 That is keeping me out of my just dues." 
 
 " Oh, not a bit of it ; that is, if you can read, 
 and have, as you admit, read their printed state 
 ment that you are not invited to the ground on 
 Sunday. Your fifty-cent ticket will admit you 
 on Monday. And you surely will not argue 
 that the Association has not a right to limit the 
 number of guests that it will entertain over the 
 Sabbath?" 
 
 " Yes, I argue that it is their business to let 
 me in whenever I present their ticket." 
 
 Marion laughed outright. 
 
 " That is marvelous ! " she said. " It is wicked 
 for them to receive payment for your coming in 
 on the Sabbath, and it is wicked for them not to 
 let you in on your ticket. Realty, I don t see 
 what the Association are to do. They are com 
 mitting sin either way it is put. I see no way 
 out of it but to have refused to sell you any 
 
244 Four Girls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 tickets at all. Would that have made ifc 
 right?" 
 
 The laugh that was raised over this innocently 
 put question seemed to irritate her new ac 
 quaintance. He spoke hastily. 
 
 " It is a Sabbath-breaking concern, viewed in 
 any light that you choose to put it. There is no 
 sense in holding camp-meetings over the Sab 
 bath, and every one agrees that they have a de 
 moralizing effect." 
 
 "Do you mean me to understand you to think 
 that the several thousand people who are now 
 stopping at Cbautauqua will be breaking the 
 Sabbath by going out of their tents to-morrow 
 and walking down to the public service?" 
 
 The bit of sophistry in this meekly put ques 
 tion was overlooked, or at least not answered, 
 and the logical } r oung gentleman asked : 
 
 " If they think Sabbath services in the woods 
 FO helpful, why are they not consistent? Let 
 them throw the meeting open for all who wish 
 to come, making the gospel without money and 
 without price, as they pretend it is. . Why isn t 
 that done?" 
 
 * Well, there are at least half a dozen reasons. 
 
A War of Words. 245 
 
 I wonder you have not thought of one of them. 
 In the first place, that, of course, would tempt 
 to a great deal of Sabbath traveling, a thing 
 which they carefully guard against now by re 
 fusing to admit all travelers. And in the sec 
 ond place, it would give the Chautauqua people 
 a great deal to do in the way of entertaining so 
 large a class of people. As it is, they have quite 
 as much as they care to do to make comfortable 
 the large company who belong to their family. 
 And in the third place But perhaps you do 
 not care to hear all the reasons ? " 
 
 He ignored this question also, and went back 
 to one of her arguments. 
 
 " They don t keep travelers away at all, even 
 by your own admission. What is to hinder 
 hundreds of them from coming here to-d&y and 
 buying season tickets in order to get in to-mor 
 row?" 
 
 lie had the benefit of a most quizzical glance 
 then from Marion s shining eyes before she an 
 swered. 
 
 " Oh, well, if the people are really so hunger 
 ing and thirsting for the gospel, as it is dis 
 pensed at Chautauqua, that they are willing to 
 
246 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 act a lie, by pretending that they are members 
 who have been and are to be in regular attendance, 
 ami then are willing to pay two dollars and a 
 half for the Sunday meeting, I don t know but I 
 think they ought to be allowed to creep in. 
 Dop tyou?" 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 GETTING KEADY TO LIVE. 
 
 MID the laughter that followed this re 
 tort the company rose up from the table 
 and went their various ways, to meet, perhaps, 
 again. 
 
 * " How on earth do you manage to keep so 
 thoroughly posted in regard to Chantauqua af 
 fairs ? One would think you were the wife of 
 the private secretary. I shouldn t have known 
 whether the gates were to be opened or closed 
 to-morrow." 
 
 This from Ruth as the two girls paced the 
 long piazza while waiting for the carriage which 
 was to take them to the boat ; for, having ex 
 hausted the resources of Mayville for entertain 
 ment, they were abaut to return to Chautauqua. 
 
 (247) 
 
248 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Marion laughed. 
 
 "I m here in the capacity of a newspaper 
 writer, please remember," she answered promptly, 
 "and what I don t know I can imagine, like the 
 rest of that brilliant fraternity. I am not really 
 positive about a great many of the statements 
 that I made, except on the general principle that 
 these people belong to the class who are very 
 much given to doing according to their printed 
 word. It says on the circulars that the gates 
 will be closed on the Sabbath, and I dare say 
 they will be. At least, we have a right to as 
 sume such to be the case until it is proven 
 false." 
 
 " What class of people do you mean who are 
 given to doing as they have agreed ? Christian 
 people, do you refer to ? " 
 
 " Well, yes ; the sort of Christians that one 
 meets at such a gathering as this. As a rule, 
 the namby-pamby Christians stay away from 
 such places ; or, if they come, they float off to 
 Saratoga or some more kindred climate. I beg 
 your pardon, Ruthie, that doesn t mean you, you 
 know, because you are not one of any sort." 
 
 "Then do you take it to be their religion 
 
Getting Ready to Live. 249 
 
 which inclines you to trust to their word, with 
 out having an individual acquaintance with 
 them ? " 
 
 Marion shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " Oh, bother !" she said, gayly, "you are not 
 turning theologian, or police detective in search 
 of suspicious characters, are you ? I never pre 
 tend to pry into my notions for and against peo 
 ple and things ; if I was betrayed into anything 
 that sounded like common sense I beg your 
 pardon. I am out on a frolic, and mean to have 
 it if there is any such thing." 
 
 "Well, before you go back into absolute non 
 sense let me ask you one more question. Do 
 you really feel as deeply as you pretended to 
 that man, on all these questions of the Chau- 
 tauqua conscience ? I mean, is it a vital point 
 in your estimation whether people go there to 
 church on Sunday or not ? " 
 
 Marion hesitated, and a fine glow deepened on 
 her face as she said, after a little, speaking with 
 grave dignity : 
 
 " I do not know that I can explain myself to 
 you, Ruth, and I dare say that I seem to you 
 like a bundle of contradictious ; but it is a real 
 
250 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 pleasure to me to come in contact with people 
 who have earnest faith and eager enthusiasm 
 over anything, and principle enough to stand by 
 their views through evil and good report. In 
 this way, and to a great degree, this meeting is 
 * positive delight to me, though I know person 
 ally as little about the feeling from which they 
 think their actions take rise as any mortal can. 
 Does that answer satisfy you, my blessed mother 
 confessor ? or are you more muddled than ever 
 over what I do, and especially over what I do not 
 believe ? " 
 
 " If I believed as much as you do I should 
 look further." 
 
 lluth said this with emphasis ; and there was 
 that in it which, despite her attempts to throw it 
 off, set Marion to thinking, and kept her wonder 
 fully quiet during their return trip. 
 
 On the whole, the flight to Mayville was not 
 viewed entirely in the light of a success. Ruth 
 had been quiet and grave for some time, when 
 she suddenly spoke in her most composed and 
 decided voice : 
 
 ".I shall go to Saratoga on Monday, whether 
 any one else will or not ; I shall find plentj of 
 
Getting Ready to Live. 251 
 
 friends to welcome me, and I shall take the 
 morning train from here," 
 
 But she didn t. 
 
 Meantime Flossy s afternoon had been an un 
 interrupted satisfaction to her. She attended the 
 children s meeting, and it was perfectly amazing 
 to her newly awakened brain how many of the 
 stories, used to point truths for the children, 
 touched home to her. 
 
 Dr. Huiibut, of Plainfield, seemed to have 
 especially planned his address for the purpose 
 of hitting at some of the markedly weak points 
 in her character, though no doubt the good man 
 would have been utterly amazed had he known 
 her thoughts. 
 
 She listened and laughed with the rest over 
 the story of the poor tailor who promised a coat 
 to a customer for one, two and three weeks, 
 heaping up his promises one on the other until 
 he had a perfect pyramid of them, only to top 
 ple about his ears. She heard with the rest the 
 magnificent voice ring out the solemn conclu 
 sion : 
 
 " Children, he did not mean to lie. He did 
 not even think he was a liar. He only broke his 
 promises." 
 
252 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 They all heard, and I don t know how man} 
 shivered over it, but I do know that to Flossy 
 Shipley it seemed as if some one had struck her 
 an actual blow. Was it possible that the easy 
 sentences, the easy promises, to " write," to 
 " come," to " bring this," to " tell that," made so 
 gracefully, sounding so kindly, costing so little 
 because forgotten almost as soon as her head was 
 turned away, actually belonged in that list de 
 scribed by the ugly word "lie." Flossy had 
 been a special sinner in this department of po 
 lite wickedness because it just accorded with her 
 nature ; such promises were so easy to make, and 
 seemed to please people, and were so easy to 
 forget. Like the tailor, she hadn t meant to be 
 a liar, nor dreamed that she was one. 
 
 But her wide-open ears took it all in, and her 
 roused brain turned the thought over and over, 
 until, be it known to you, that that girl s happy 
 pastor, when he receives from her a decided, 
 " Yes, sir, I will do it," may rest assured that 
 unless something beyond her control intervenes 
 she will be at her post. 
 
 So much did Dr. Hurlbut accomplish that af 
 ternoon without ever knowing it. There were 
 
Getting Ready to Live. 253 
 
 many things done that afternoon, I suspect, that 
 only the light of the judgement day will reveal. 
 Cher the stor} 7 " of the two workmen, who each 
 resolved to stick to a certain effort for six 
 months, and did it, the one earning thereby a 
 patent right worth thousands of dollars, and the 
 other teaching a little dog how to dance to the 
 whistling of a certain tune, Flossy looked unut 
 terably sober, while the laughter swelled to a 
 perfect roar around her. It was hard to feel 
 that not "six months" only, but a dozen }*ears 
 of intelligent life, were gone from her, and she 
 had not even taught a dog to dance a jig ! That 
 was the very way she put it in her humility; 
 and I do not say that she placed it too low, be 
 cause really I don t know that Flossy Shipley 
 had ever had even so settled a purpose in life as 
 that ! She had simply fluttered around the edge 
 of this solemn business that we call living. 
 
 Bat along with the sober thought glowed the 
 earnest purpose : given another dozen years to 
 my young lady s life and they will bear a differ 
 ent record ; and whatever they bear, Dr. Ilurl- 
 burt will be in a sense responsible for, though he 
 never saw her and probably never will. Verily, 
 
254 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 this living is a complicated bewildering thing! 
 Well for us that all the weight of the responsi 
 bility is not ours to bear. 
 
 There was still another story, and over it 
 Flossy s lips parted, and her eyes glowed with 
 feeling. That wonderful machine that the most 
 skillful workmen tried in vain to repair, that 
 was useless and worthless, until the name of the 
 owner was found on it, and he was sent for, then 
 indeed it found the master-hand, the only one 
 who could right it ; she did not need Dr. Hurl- 
 but s glowing application. "So He who made 
 us, and engraved his name, his image, on our 
 bodies, can alone take our hearts and make 
 them right." 
 
 Flossy listened to this and the sentences that 
 followed, thrilling her heart with their power 
 and beauty thrilling as they would not have 
 done one week ago, for did she not know by 
 actual experience just how blessed a worker the 
 great Maker was? Had she not carried her 
 heart to him, and had he not left his indelible 
 impression there? Oh, this was a wonderful 
 meeting to Flossy one that she will never for 
 get one that many others will have reason to 
 
G-etting Ready to Live. 255 
 
 remember, because of the way in which she list 
 ened. But was it nob strange, the way in which 
 her education was being cared for ? 
 
 After tea she stood at the entrance of the 
 tent, looking out for the girls looking out, 
 also, on the cool, quiet sunset and the glory 
 spread everywhere, for there had been sunshine 
 that day, part of the time, and there was a clear 
 sun setting. Under her arm she held the treas 
 ure which she had in the morning determined to 
 possess a good, plain, large-print Bible, not at 
 all like the velvet-covered one that lay on her 
 toilet-stand at home, but such as the needs of 
 Bible students at Chautauqua had demanded, 
 and therefore much better fitted for actual ser 
 vice than the velvet. 
 
 Among the many passers-by came Mrs. Srnythe. 
 She halted before Flossy. 
 
 " Good-evening. I thought your party must 
 have left. I haven t seen you since Thursday. 
 Haven t you been fearfully bored ? We are go 
 ing to leave on Monday morning going to 
 Saratoga. Don t some of you want to join us ? 
 
 44 1 don t know," Flossy said, thoughtfully 
 mindful of Ruth and her plan that had not 
 
256 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 worked. " It is possible that Miss Erskine may. 
 Do your entire party go ? " 
 
 " Oh, not my nephew, of course ! Nothing 
 could tear him away. He is perfectly charmed 
 with all this singing and praying and preaching, 
 but I confess it is too much of a good thing for 
 rne. I am not intellectually inclined, I like the 
 music very well, and some of the addresses arc 
 fine ; but there is such a thing as carrying meet 
 ings to excess." 
 
 At this point she turned quickly at the sound 
 of a firm -step behind her, and greeted a young 
 man. 
 
 " Speak of angels and you hear their wings, or 
 the squeak of their boots," she said. " We were 
 just talking about } r ou, Evan. My nephew, Mr. 
 Roberts, Miss Shipley. I believe you have never 
 met before." 
 
 Had they not ! There was a heightened flush 
 on the cheek of each as they shook hands. It 
 was clear that each recognized the other. 
 
 " Are we strangers ? " he asked, with a bright- 
 smile, speaking so low that Mrs. Smythe, whose 
 attention had already wandered from them to a 
 group who were passing, did not hear the words. 
 
G-etting Ready to Live. 257 
 
 " On tlie contrary, I think we are related, though 
 I do not know that we have happened to hear 
 each other s names before." 
 
 Flossy understood the relationship sons and 
 daughters of one Father for she knew this was 
 the } T oung man who had twice questioned her 
 concerning her allegiance to that Father. Also, 
 she remembered him as the only one whom she 
 had ever heard pray for her. 
 
 Mrs. Symthe called out a gay good-evening to 
 them, and joined a party of friends, and Mr. 
 Roberts leaned against a tree and prepared to 
 cultivate the acquaintance of his newly-found 
 relative. 
 
 " You have one of those large, sensible-look 
 ing Bibles, I see," he said. " I have been very 
 much tempted, but I could not make myself feel 
 that I really needed one." 
 
 " I really needed mine," Flossy said, smiling. 
 "I left my Bible at home. I had not such a 
 thought as bringing it along. I feel now as if I 
 had a treasure that I didn t know how to use. 
 It is quite new to me. I don t know where to 
 read first, but I suppose it makes no difference." 
 
 " Indeed it does make great difference/ he 
 
258 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 said, smiling 1 , " and you will enjoy finding out 
 Low to read it. Chautauqua is a good place for 
 such a study, and the Bible reading this evening 
 is an excellent place to commence. Are you 
 going ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed ! " Flossy said, with brightening 
 eyes. " I have been looking forward to it all 
 day. I can t think what a Bible reading is. Do 
 they just read verses in the Bible?" 
 
 " Yes," he said, smiling. " It is just Bible 
 verses, with a word of explanation now and then 
 and a little singing. Bat the Bible verses are 
 something remarkable, as you will see. It is 
 nearly time for service. Are you ready ? Shall 
 we walk down and secure seats? " 
 
 So they went down together in the early twi 
 light, and took seats under the trees amid the 
 glowing of brilliant lights and the soft sound of 
 music coming from the piano on the stand. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE SILENT WITNESS. 
 
 HAT Bible reading ! I wish I could 
 make it appear to you as it did to Fossy 
 Shipley. Not that either, because I trust that 
 the sound of the Bible verses is not so utterly 
 new to you as it was to her rather, that it 
 might sound to you as it did to the earnest-souled 
 young man who sat beside her, taking in every 
 word- with as much eagerness as if some of the 
 verses had not been his dear and long-cherished 
 friends ; nay, with more eagerness on that ac 
 count. 
 
 Do you know Dr. Parsons, of Boston ? It v> T as 
 he who conducted that reading, and his theme 
 
 was, " The Coming of the Lord." 
 
 (250) 
 
260 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Let me give you just a few of the group 
 ings as he called them forth from his congregation 
 under the trees, and which he called " the Lord s 
 own testimonies to his coming :" 
 
 " Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour 
 your Lord doth come." " Therefore, be ye also 
 ready ; for in such an hour as ye think not the 
 Son of man cometh." " Watch therefore, for ye 
 know neither the day nor the hour wherein the 
 Son of man cometh." "Take ye heed, watch 
 and pray: for ye know not when the time is." 
 
 Four solemn warnings from the Head of the 
 vineyard. They reached to Flossy s very soul, 
 and she had that old well-known thrill of feeling 
 that almost every Christian has some time ex 
 perienced. 
 
 " If /had only been there ; if He had spoken 
 such words to me, I could never, never have for 
 gotten, or been neglectful. If I could only have 
 heard Him speak ! " And as if in answer to this 
 longing cry Dr. Parsons himself read the next 
 solemn sentence, read it in such a way that it 
 almost seemed as if this might be the sacred gar 
 den, and Himself standing among the olive-trees 
 speaking even to her : 
 
The Silent Witness. 261 
 
 "And what I say unto you I say unto all, 
 Watch." Here, then, was her direction from His 
 own lips. Though centuries had passed since 
 He spoke them they echoed down to her. She 
 was not overwhelmed ; she was not crushed by 
 the new and solemn sense of her calling that 
 flowed over her. The Lord himself was there 
 in every deed, and whispered in her ear, " It is 
 I, be not afraid." And her heart responded sol 
 emnly, " A} r e, Lord, I feel thy presence ; I have 
 been sleeping, but I am awake, and from hence 
 forth I will watch." 
 
 That Bible reading was like a whole week of 
 theological study to Floss}^. It was not that she 
 learned simply about the blessed assurance, the 
 weight of testimony amounting to an absolute 
 certaint} r , concerning the coming of the Lord. 
 But there were so many truths growing out 
 from that, so many incentives to be up and doing ; 
 for she found before the reading closed that one 
 must not only watch, but in the watching work ; 
 and there were so many reasons why she should, 
 and so many hints as to the way and the time. 
 Then there was, also, the most blessed discovery 
 that the Bible was not a book to treat like an 
 
262 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 arithmetic. That one must read through the 
 Book of Genesis, and then go on to Exodus, a 
 chapter to-day, two chapters to-morrow, and per 
 haps some da} r s, when one was not in too great 
 a hurry and could read very fast, take half a 
 dozen chapters, and so get through it. But she 
 learned that there were little connecting links of 
 sweetness all the way through the book ; that 
 she had a right to look over in Revelation for 
 an explanation of something that was stated in 
 Deuteronomy. She did not learn all this, either, 
 at this one time ; but she got a vivid hint of it, 
 strong enough to keep her hunting and pulling 
 at the lovely golden thread of the Bible for long 
 years to come. 
 
 There were special points about the closing 
 verses that throbbed in her heart, and awakened 
 purposes that never slept again. It was the gen 
 tleman who sat beside her who read the solemn 
 words of the verse : 
 
 " But the day of the Lord will come as a thief 
 in the night ; in which the heavens shall pass 
 away with a great noise, and the elements shall 
 melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the 
 works that are therein shall be burned up. See- 
 
The Silent Witness. 263 
 
 ing then that all these things shall be dissolved, 
 what manner of persons ought ye to be in all 
 holy conversation and godliness ? " 
 
 His voice was very earnest, and his face had 
 an eager look of solemn joy. 
 
 From it she felt the truth that while the words 
 w^hich he had been reading w r ere full of solem 
 nity, and while he felt the sense of responsibility, 
 there was also that in them which filled his heart 
 with great joy, for when that time should come 
 would not he be with his Lord ? 
 
 Again, when a little later he gave the closing 
 verses of this wonderful lesson, reading them 
 from her Bible, because in the dimness the print 
 was larger and clearer than his own, they made 
 the conclusion of the whole matter : 
 
 " Ye are the children of light, and the children 
 of the day; we are not of the night, nor of tho 
 darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do oth 
 ers, but let us watch and be sober." 
 
 He marked it with his pencil as he finished 
 reading, and as he returned the book to her 
 keeping he said with a smile : 
 
 "We will, shall \ve not?" 
 
 And it felt to Flossy like a convenant, wit- 
 
Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 nessed by the Lord himself. But Dr. Parsons, 
 you know, knew nothing of all this. Chautau 
 qua was the place for sowing the seed ; they 
 could only hope that the Lord of the vineyard 
 was looking on and watching over the coming 
 harvest; it was not for their eyes to see the 
 fruits. 
 
 Sunday morning at Chautauqua ! None of all 
 the many hundreds who spent the day within 
 the shadow of that sweet and leafy place have 
 surely forgotten how the quaint and quiet beauty 
 of the place and its surroundings fell upon them ; 
 they know just how the birds sang among those 
 tall old trees; they know just how still and blue 
 and clear the lake looked as they caught glimpes 
 of ifc through the quivering green of myriad 
 leaves; they know just how clearly the Chau 
 tauqua bells cut the air and called to the wor 
 ship. It needs not even these few words to re 
 call the place in its beauty to the hearts of those 
 who worshiped there that day ; and for you who 
 did not see it nor feel its power there is no use 
 to try to describe Chautauqua. Only this, it is 
 a place to love and look back to with a sort of 
 sweet and tender longing all your lives. 
 
The Silent Witness. 265 
 
 Our girls felt somewhat of the sacredness of 
 the place ; at least they went around with a more 
 decided feeling that it was Sunday than they 
 had ever realized before. Three of them did. 
 
 To Flossy this day was like the revelation of 
 a new heaven and a new earth. Her first Sun 
 day in Christ ! 
 
 There was no sunshine, neither was there rain. 
 Just a hush of all things, and sweetness every 
 where. 
 
 After breakfast Ruth and Marion lolled on 
 their cots and studied the programme, while the 
 other two made hasty toilets, and announced 
 their intention of going to Sunday-school. 
 
 "What in the name of sense takes you?" 
 queried Marion, rising on one elbow, the better 
 to view this strange phenomena. 
 
 " Why I have a mission," Eurie said. "About 
 three thousand people have been talking all this 
 week abo*ut teaching a fe\v Bible verses to some 
 children to-daj*, and I am going to find out what 
 they are, and what is so wonderful about them. 
 Besides, I was taken, for a being named Miss 
 Rider, and on inquiry I find her to be what they 
 call an infant-class teacher, so I am going to hunt 
 
2G6 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 her up and see if we look alike and are affin 
 ities." 
 
 Flossy chose to make no answer at all, and 
 presently the two departed together to attend 
 their first Sabbath-school since they were known 
 as children. As they passed a certain tent Eu- 
 rie s ready ears gained information from other 
 passers-by : 
 
 " This is where the little children are ; Miss 
 Rider is going to teach them." 
 
 Eurie halted. 
 
 " I m going in here," she said, decidedly, to 
 Flossy. " That is the very lady I am in search 
 of." And seeing Flossy hesitate, she added: 
 " Oh, you may go on, it is just as well to divide 
 our forces ; we may each have some wonderful 
 adventure. You go your way and I will go 
 mine, and we ll see what will come of it." 
 
 The tent was full apparently ; but that spirit 
 which was rife at Chautauqua, aifd which 
 prompted everybody to try to look out a little 
 for the comfort of everybody else, made a seat 
 full of ladies crowd a little and make room for 
 her. Rows and rows of little people with smiling 
 faces and shining eyes ! It was a pretty sight. 
 
The Silent Witness. 267 
 
 Eurie gave eager attention to the lady who was 
 talking to them, anji laughed a little to herself 
 over the dissimilarity of their appearance. 
 
 " Hair and eyes and height, and everything 
 else, totally unlike me I " she said. " She is older 
 than I, too, ever so much. She doesn t look as 
 I thought Miss Rider would." 
 
 But what she was saying proved to be very 
 interesting, not only to the little people, but to 
 Eurie. She listened eagerly. It was important 
 to discover what had been so stirring the Sun- 
 da} -school world all the week. She was not 
 left in doubt ; the story was plainly, clearly, fas 
 cinatingly told ; it was that tender one of the 
 sick man so long waiting, waiting to be helped 
 into the pool ; disappointed year after year, until 
 one blessed day Jesus came that way and asked 
 one simple question, and received an eager an 
 swer, and gave one brief command, and, lo ! the 
 work was done ! The long, long years of pain 
 and trial were over ! Do you think this seemed 
 like a wonderful story to Eurie ? Do you think 
 her cheeks glowed with joy over the thought of 
 the great love and the great power of Jesus? 
 
 Alas, alas ! to her there was no beauty in him. 
 
268 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 This simple tender story did not move her as the 
 commonplace account of a common sickness and 
 common recovery given in a village paper would 
 have done. The very most that she thought of 
 it was this : " That Miss Eider has a good deal 
 of dramatic power. How well she tells the 
 story ! But dear me ! how stupid it must be. 
 What is the use of taking so much trouble for 
 these little midgets? They don t understand 
 the story, and of what use would it be to them 
 if they did? Something that happened to some 
 body hundreds of years ago." 
 
 But now her attention was arrested by the 
 sound of a very loud whisper just behind her, 
 given in a childish voice. "Miss Rider, Miss 
 Rider," the child was saying, and emphasizing 
 her whisper by a pull at a lady s dress. Eurie 
 turned quickly ; the dress belonged to a young, 
 fair girl, with fresh glowing face and large 
 bright eyes, that shone now with feeling as she 
 listened eagerly to this story, and to the com 
 ments of the children concerning it. Then she 
 in turn whispered to the lady nearest her: 
 " Is it Miss Rider who is teaching ? " 
 "No, it is Mrs. Clark, of Newark. That is 
 Miss Rider leaning against a post." 
 
The Silent Witness. 269 
 
 Then Eurie looked back to her. "She is no 
 older than I," she murmured ; " indeed not so 
 old, I should think. Her hair must be exactly 
 the color of mine, and we are about the same 
 height. I wonder if we do look in the least 
 alike ? What do I care ! " Yet still she looked ; 
 the bright face fascinated her. The little child 
 had won the lacty s attention ; and the lips and 
 yes, and indeed the whole face, were vivid with 
 nimation as she bent low and answered some 
 roubled question, appealing to the diagram on 
 he board, and making clear her answer by rapid 
 estures with her fingers. The lady beside 
 urie volunteered some more information. 
 " Miss Rider was to have taught this class, I 
 card. I wonder why she didn t ? " 
 " I don t know," Eurie answered, briefly, 
 en she looked back at her again. "She is 
 jealous," she said to herself. " She was to have 
 ,ught this class this morning, and by some 
 lundering she was left out, and she is disgusted. 
 She will say that such teaching as this amounts 
 nothing ; she could have done it five times as 
 veil : or, if she doesn t say that last, she will 
 -hink it and act it. I have no doubt these 
 
270 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 rival teachers cordially hate each other, like pol 
 iticians." 
 
 Nevertheless that fresh young face, with its 
 glow of feeling, fascinated her. She kept look 
 ing at her; she gave no more attention to the 
 lesson. What was it, after all, but an old stor 
 that had nothing to do with her ; the fact that it* 
 was taken from the Bible was proof enough of li 
 that. But she watched Miss Rider. The ses-J 
 sion closed and that lady pressed forward to as4 
 sist in giving out papers. The crowd pushed 1 
 the willing Eurie nearer to her, so near that shell 
 could catch the sentence that she was eagerly 4 ! 
 saying to the lady near her. 
 
 "Isn t Mrs. Clark delightful? It was such aj 
 beautiful lesson this morning. I think it is suchi; 
 a treat and such a privilege to be allowed tof 
 listen to her. Yes, darling," this last to another j 
 little one claiming a word, " of course Jesus caiiji 
 hear you now, just as well as though you stood 
 here. He often says to people, Wilt thou be 
 made whole ? He has said so to you this morn- 
 
 B>g." 
 
 Eurie turned away quickly. She had had 
 her lesson. It wasn t from the Bible, nor yei 
 
 
The Silent Witness. 
 
 271 
 
 did she find it in those hundred little faces so 
 eager to know the story in all its details. Jt 
 was just in that young face not so old as hers, so 
 bright, so strong, so thoroughly alert, and so 
 thoroughly enlisted in this matter. The vivid 
 contrast between that life and hers struck Eurie 
 with the force of a new revelation. 
 
 She went to the general service under the 
 trees ; she heard a sermon from Dr. Pierce, so 
 full of power and eloquence that to many who 
 heard it there came new resolves, new purposes, 
 new plans. I beg her pardon, she did not listen ; 
 she simply occupied a seat and looked as though 
 she was a listener. 
 
 But the truth was, she had not learned yet to 
 listen to sermons. The very fact that it was a 
 sermon made it clear to her mind that there was 
 to be nothing in it for her ; this had been her ed 
 ucation. In reality, during that hour of worship 
 she was engaged in watching the changeful play 
 of expression on Miss Rider s face, as her eyes 
 brightened and glowed with enthusiasm or trem 
 bled with tears, according as the preacher s 
 words roused or subdued her. 
 
 Well, Eurie had her lesson. It was not from 
 
272 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 the Bible, it was not from the preacher s lips, 
 except incidentally, but it was from a living 
 epistle. " Ye shall be witnesses of me," was the 
 promise of Christ in the long ago, just before 
 the cloud received him out of sight. Is not that 
 promise verified to us often and often when we 
 know it not ? 
 
 Miss Rider had no means of knowing as she 
 sat a listener that Sabbath morning that she was 
 witnessing for Christ. But she was just as 
 surely speaking for him as though she had stood 
 up amid that throng and said : " I love Jesus." 
 " Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord." And 
 the poet has said : " They also serve who only 
 stand and wait." Blessed are those in whom 
 the waiting and the service go together. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 AN OLD STORY. 
 
 MEANTIME Flossy, deserted by her com 
 panion, made her way somewhat timidly 
 down to the stand, amazed by the great congre 
 gation of people who had formed themselves into 
 a Sunday-school. With all their haste the girls 
 had gotten a very late start. The opening exer 
 cises were all over, and the numerous teachers 
 were turning to their work. Strangely enough, 
 the first person whom Flossy s eye took in dis 
 tinctly enough for recognition was Mr. Roberts. 
 lie had recognized her, also, and was coming 
 toward her. 
 
 " How do you do this morning ? " he said, 
 holding out his hand. " Do you know I have a 
 
 mission for you ? There are two boys w r ho seem 
 
 (273) 
 
274 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 to belong to nobody, and to have nothing in 
 common with this gathering, except curiosity. 
 The superintendent has twice tried to charm 
 them in, but without success they will come 
 no further than that tree. I think they have 
 slipped in from the village, probably in a most 
 unorthodox fashion, and what I am coming at is, 
 will you go out under the tree to them and be 
 guile them into attending a Sabbath-school for 
 once in their lives ? They look to me as though 
 it was probably a rare occurrence." 
 
 Now you are not to suppose that this invita 
 tion came to Flossy with the same sound that it 
 would have had to you, if Mr. Roberts had come 
 to you that Sabbath morning and asked } T OU to 
 tell those two boys a Bible story. It is some 
 thing that you have probably been doing a good 
 deal of, all your grown-up life, and two boys at 
 Chautauqua are no more to }*ou than two boys 
 anywhere else, except that there is a delightful 
 sensation connected with having a class-room 
 out in the open air. But imagine yourself sud 
 denly confronted by Dr. Vincent, and asked if 
 you would be so kind as to step on the platform 
 and preach to five thousand people, from a text 
 
An Old Story. 275 
 
 that he would select for you I Now you have 
 something of an idea as to how this request felt 
 to Flossy. A rare glow spread all over her face, 
 and she looked up at her questioner with eyes 
 that were quivering in tears. 
 
 " You do not know what you are saying," she 
 said, in low and trembling voice. " I have not 
 been to a Sabbath -school in seven years, and I 
 never taught anybody anything in my life." 
 
 It was true that he did not know. It seemed 
 to him such a very little thing that he had asked. 
 However, he spoke gently enough as one who 
 was courteous, even when he could not quite 
 comprehend. 
 
 " Then is not to-day a good time to commence ? 
 You will surely never have a better opportu 
 nity." 
 
 But she shook her head, and turned quite 
 away from him, -walking down among the trees 
 where no people were. Her joy was all gone, 
 and her pleasant time. She had meant to go to 
 Sabbath-school; to sit down quietly in some 
 body s class and learn, oh I a very great deal, 
 during the next hour. Now she was all stirred 
 up, and and could not go anywhere. 
 
276 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 As for Mr. Roberts, he went back to the large 
 class who were waiting for him. And those 
 two boys hovered around the edge of that feast 
 like hungry creatures who yet had never learned 
 to come to the table and take their places. 
 Flossy looked at them ; at first indignantly, as 
 at miserable beings who had spoiled her pleas 
 ure ; then she became fascinated by their bright, 
 dirty faces and roguish ways. She edged a 
 little nearer to them. Boys she was afraid of; 
 she knew nothing about them. Had they been 
 a little older, and been dressed well, and been 
 of the stamp of boys who knew how to bring 
 her handkerchief to her when she dropped it, 
 she would have known what to say to them. 
 But boys who were not more than twelve or 
 fourteen, and who were both ragged and dirt} , 
 were new phases of life to her. 
 
 " Why don t you go to Sunday-school ? " she 
 questioned at last, with a timid air. She could 
 at least ask that. They were not the least 
 timid as to answering ; the older and the dirtier 
 of the two turned his roguish eyes on her and 
 surveyed her from head to foot before he said : 
 
 " Why don t you ? " 
 
An Old Story. 
 
 277 
 
 Flossy was unprepared for this question, but 
 she answered quickly and truthfully : 
 
 " Because I am afraid to go." 
 
 Both boys stared, and then laughed, and the 
 other younger one said: 
 
 " So be we." 
 
 " I suppose we are both very silly," Flossy 
 said. "But I have not been to Sunday-school 
 for so long that I have forgotten all about it. 
 Let s have one of our own that we are not afraid 
 to go to." 
 
 And she sat bravely down on the stump at 
 her feet; her niood had changed very suddenly; 
 only yesterday she had read a verse in that 
 Bible, and it thrilled her then, and caine to hei 
 now: 
 
 " The man departed and told the Jews that it 
 was Jesus who had made him whole." 
 
 Suppose she were the man, and these were the 
 Jews, could she not say to them, "He has made 
 me whole"? She could tell them about that 
 pool, and about the sick man. It wouldn t be 
 teaching in Sunday-school, but it would be do 
 ing the best thing that she could. 
 
 It suddenly occurred to her to wonder where 
 
278 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 the lesson was that was being taught this morn 
 ing, and she consulted the lesson leaf that Mr. 
 Roberts had left in her hand. The glow on her 
 face deepened and spread as she recognized the 
 very story which had so filled her heart the day 
 before ! What if the great Physician had actu 
 ally selected her to tell of that miracle of healing 
 to these two neglected ones ! Surely they were 
 not so formidable as the Jews ! But how in the 
 world to begin was a bewilderment. Clearly 
 she must decide at once if she was to have any 
 class, for her two boys began to look about 
 them, and show signs of flight. 
 
 " Did you ever hear about a wonderful spring 
 that used to cure people ? " 
 
 "Lots of em. I used to live right by one 
 that cured the rheumatiz." 
 
 " But this one would cure other things, only 
 it wouldn t cure people all the time. There was 
 just one time in the year when it would do it ; 
 and then the one that got in first was the only 
 one cured." 
 
 Her listeners looked skeptical. 
 
 " What was that for ? " queried the bolder of 
 the two. " Why didn t it cure but one ? " 
 
blic must decide ut once." 1 a 
 
An Old Story. 279 
 
 "I don t know," Flossy said. "There are 
 ever so many things that I know that I can t tell 
 why they are so. For instance, I don t know 
 why that spring you have been telling me about 
 cures the rheumatism, but I know it does, for 
 you told me so." 
 
 "No more do I," the boy said, promptly, hav 
 ing in his heart a rising respect for the young 
 teacher and her story." 
 
 Then this ne\v beginner, with the air of a di 
 plomatist, told all the details of this wonderful 
 cure, without once mentioning the name of either 
 person or place. An innate sense of the human 
 heart told her that " Jerusalem " and " Jesus " 
 were both probably connected in the minds of 
 these two with the Bible, and their appearance 
 told her that they were likely to be skeptical as 
 to the interest of Bible stories. But, like all ig 
 norant persons, there was a credulous side to 
 their nature. It is surprising what marvelous 
 stories people are prepared to receive and credit, 
 provided only that they do not come from the 
 Bible, with a " Thus suith the Lord " to vouch 
 for them. Then, indeed, they are apt to become 
 "unreasonable" and "improbable. Presently 
 
280 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 her boys volunteered some remarks and asked 
 some questions. 
 
 " Jolly ! that fellow must Lave felt good : I 
 guess he wanted to run all around the country 
 and tell about it. Where was this spring, and 
 what was the man s name that cured him ? " 
 
 The other chimed in : " Yes, and how did he 
 do it? That s what I m after. And is he dead? 
 cause I don t hear of no such cures now-days." 
 
 Then was Flossy tremulous of heart. She 
 had become eagerly interested in her story and 
 her boys. Would the charm that she had 
 woven be broken the moment they knew the 
 story s origin? But of course she must tell 
 them, for what good else would the story do ? 
 
 " He is dead," she said, slowly, answering the 
 last question first. " That is, he is what you call 
 dead. But, of course, you know as well as I do 
 that that doesn t mean what it seems to ; it 
 means simply that he doesn t live in the same 
 place that he once did. He went to heaven to 
 live ever so many years ago." 
 
 She waited to feel the effect of this announce 
 ment. The boys were silent and grave. They 
 hud evidently heard of heaven, and had some 
 
An Old Story. 281 
 
 measure of respect for the name. The new- 
 teacher did not know what to say next. The 
 boys helped her. The younger one drew a 
 heavy sigh. 
 
 " Well, all I ve got to say is, I wish he was 
 alive now," he said, in a regretful tone, " cause 
 my mother has been sick longer than thirty-eight 
 years ; she has been sick about all her life, and 
 she is real bad now, so she can t walk at all. I 
 s pose he could cure her if he was here." 
 
 "I suppose he could cure her now." Flossy 
 said this slowly, reverently, looking earnestly at 
 the boy, hoping to convey to him a sense of her 
 meaning. He looked utterly puzzled. Light 
 began to dawn on the face of the older boy. 
 
 " She s been tellin us one of them Bible sto 
 ries," he said, speaking not to Flossy, but to his 
 companion, and assuming an injured air, as if a 
 wrong had been done them. 
 
 Flossy spoke quickly : 
 
 " Of course I have. I thought you wanted to 
 hear something that really happened, and not a 
 made-up story." This seemed to b e an appeal 
 to their dignity, and they eyed her reflectively. 
 
 " How do you know it happened ? " ventured 
 the younger one. 
 
 
282 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Flossy gave a rapid and animated answer. 
 
 " There are about a hundred reasons why I 
 know it ; it would take me all day to tell you 
 half of them. But one is, that I read it in a 
 book which good men who know a great deal, 
 and who have been studying all their lives to 
 find out about it, say they know is true ; and I 
 believe what they tell me about Washington and 
 Lincoln and other men whom I never saw, so I 
 ought to believe them when they tell me about 
 this man." 
 
 " But there s one thing you don t know. You 
 don t know that he can cure folks now, and he 
 don t do it. This was spoken with a quiet posi- 
 tiveness, and with the air that said, " That can t 
 be disputed, and you know it can t." 
 
 Flossy hesitated just a moment; the glow on 
 her face deepened and spread. Then she an 
 swered in much the same tone that the boy had 
 used: 
 
 " I know he can, and I have good reason for 
 knowing. I ll tell you a secret; you are the 
 very first persons I have told about it, but he 
 has cured me. I have been sick all my life j 
 when I came here to Chautauqua I was sick. I 
 
An Old Story. 283 
 
 could not do anything that I was made to do, 
 and I kept doing things all the time that were 
 not meant for me to do, but he has cured me." 
 
 The boys looked at her in absolute incredu 
 lous wonder. 
 
 " Was you sick in bed when you came ? " 
 ventured one of them at last. 
 
 "No; it is not that kind of sickness that I 
 mean. That is when the body is sick, the body 
 that when the soul goes away looks like nothing 
 but marble, can not move, nor feel, nor speak ; 
 that isn t of much consequence, you know, be 
 cause we are sure that the soul will go away 
 from it after awhile. It is this soul of mine that 
 is going to live forever that was cured." 
 
 "How do you know it was?" came again 
 from these wondering bo} r s. Flossy smiled a 
 rare, bright smile that charmed them. 
 
 " If yours had been cured you would not ask 
 me that question," she said ; " }*ou would know 
 how I know it. But I can t tell you how it is : 
 don t you know there are some things that you 
 are sure of that you can t explain? You are 
 sure you can think, aren t. you ? but how would 
 you set to work to explain to me that you are 
 
284 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 sure ? The only way that you can know how is 
 by going to this doctor and getting cured ; then 
 you will understand." 
 
 "I d like him if he would cure folks bodies" 
 began the boy who had a sick mother, speaking 
 in a doubtful, somewhat dissatisfied tone 
 
 . He does," Flossy said, quickly. "Don t 
 people s bodies get well sometimes? and who 
 can cure bodies except the one who made them ? 
 If you want your mother cured you ought to try 
 him. If she is to be made well you may be sure 
 that he can do it ; but why should he so long as 
 you do not care enough about it to ask him ? " 
 
 There was a rush and a bustle among the . 
 crowds in the distance. Sunday-school session 
 was over, and the great company were moving 
 for seats for the morning service. The boys 
 took the alarm and fled, each glancing back to 
 nod and smile at the bright apparition who had 
 told them a story. Flossy picked up her Bible ; 
 she had not needed to use it during this talk. 
 The story of Bethesda had burned itself so into 
 her heart with that morning reading that she 
 had no need to look at it again. She gave a 
 thoughtful little sigh. 
 
An Old Story. 285 
 
 "I don t know about that being teaching," 
 she said within her heart, " but I certainly told 
 them about Jesus, and I told them it was Jesus 
 who had made me whole. I made my. own 
 experience witness for me to that degree. If 
 that is what they mean by teaching I like to do 
 it. I mean to go to Sunday-school just as soon 
 as I get Lome, and if I find out that they just 
 tell about things as they are in the Bible I can 
 do it. I can make the boys listen to me, I 
 know." 
 
 Bright little fairy that she was ! There was 
 a new glow about her face. She was waking tcr 
 the thought that there was such a thing as power 
 over people s brains. No danger but she will 
 use her knowledge. Let me tell you another 
 thing that Chautauqua did for her. It planted 
 the seed that shall blossom into splendid teach 
 ing. There was one teacher who gave many 
 glances that morning to the little group around 
 that old tree stump. Mr. Roberts, from his 
 point of observation, not far away, watched this 
 scene from beginning to end. It fascinated him. 
 He saw the timid beoinnin and the ever- in- 
 
286 
 
 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 creasing interest, until, when Flossy closed her 
 Bible and arose, he turned his eyes from her 
 with a quiet smile in them, and to himself he 
 said : " Unless I am very greatly mistaken she 
 has found something that she can do." 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 PEOPLE WHO, " HAYING EYES, SEE NOT. 
 
 IRLS ! " said Eurie, as she munched a 
 doughnut, which she had brought from 
 the lunch-table with her, and lounged on a camp- 
 chair, waiting for. the afternoon service, " do you 
 know that Flossy taught a class in Sunday-school 
 this morning ? " 
 
 " Taught, a class ! " repeated both Marion and 
 Ruth in one voice, and with about equal degrees 
 of amazement. 
 
 44 She did, as true as the world. That is, she 
 must have been teaching. The way of it was 
 this: I went to see the little midgets exhibit 
 
 themselves, and when I came out of the tent 
 
 (287) 
 
288 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 and walked over toward the stand, there sat 
 Flossy on that old stump just back of the stand, 
 and before her were two of the roughest-looking 
 boys that ever emerged from the backwoods. 
 They were ragged and dirty and wild ; and as 
 wicked little imps as one could find, I am sure. 
 Flossy was talking to them, and she had a large 
 Bible in her lap and one of those Lesson Leaves 
 that they flutter about here so much; and 
 well, altogether it was an amazing sight! She 
 was certainly talking to them with all her 
 might, and they were listening ; and it is my 
 opinion that she was trying to play Sunday- 
 school teacher, and give them a lesson. You 
 know she is an imitative little sheep, and always 
 was." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " Ruth said, and she seemed to 
 speak more sharply than the occasion warranted. 
 "Just as if Flossy Shipley couldn t have any 
 thing to say to two bo} r s but what she found in 
 the Bible ! Little she knows what is in it, for 
 that matter. I suppose she wandered out that 
 wa} r because she did not know what else to do 
 with herself, and talked to the boys by way of 
 
People Who, " Having Eyes, See Not." 289 
 
 amusement. She has often amused herself in 
 that way, I am sure." 
 
 " Ah, yes ; but these specimens were rather 
 too youthful and dirty for that sort of amuse 
 ment, and she had a Bible in her lap." 
 
 " What of that ! Bibles are as common as 
 leaves here. I found two lying on the seat 
 which I took this morning. People seem to 
 think the art of stealing has not found its way 
 here." 
 
 " Flossy is changed," interrupted Marion. 
 " The mouse is certainly different from what 1 
 ever saw her before; she seems so quiet and 
 self-sustained. I thought she was bored. Why, 
 I expected her to hail a trip to her dear Sara 
 toga with absolute delight! She belongs to 
 just the class of people who would find the in 
 tellectual element here too strong for her, and 
 would have to flutter off in that direction in 
 self-defense. Ruthie, you have the temper of an 
 angel not to fly out at me for bringing in Sara 
 toga every few minutes. It isn t with malice 
 aforethought, I assure you. I forget your pro 
 jected scheme whenever I speak of it ; but you 
 must allow me to be astonished over Flossy s re- 
 
290 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 fusul to go with you. Something has come over 
 the mousie that is not explainable by any of the 
 laws of science with which I am acquainted." 
 
 " Don t trouble yourself to apologize, I beg. 
 I hope j^ou do not think I am so foolish as to 
 care anything about } r our hints as to Saratoga. 
 Of course I recognize my right in this world to 
 be governed by my own tastes and inclinations. 
 I have enjoyed that privilege too long to be dis 
 turbed by trifles." This from Ruth ; but I shall 
 have to admit that it was very stiffly spoken, and 
 if she had but known it, indicated that she did 
 care a great deal. In truth she was very sore 
 over her position and her plans. She who had 
 prided herself on her intellectuality bored to the 
 veiy point of leaving, and Flossy, who had been 
 remarkable for nothing but flutter and fashion, 
 actually so interested that she could not be 
 coaxed into going away ! What ivas it that in 
 terested her ? That was the question which in 
 terested and puzzled Ruth. She studied over it 
 during all the time that Marion and Eurie were 
 chatting about the morning service. 
 
 Flossy was different ; there was no shutting 
 one s eyes to that fact. The truth was that she 
 
People Who, " Having Eyes, See Not." 291 
 
 had suddenly seemed to have little in common 
 with her own party. She certainly said little to 
 them ; she made no complaints as to inconven 
 iences, even when they amounted to positive an 
 noyances with the rest of the party; she had 
 given up afternoon toilets altogether, and in fact 
 the suhject of dress seemed to be one that had 
 suddenly sunken into such insignificance as to 
 cease to claim her theughts at all. 
 
 Grave changes these to be found in Flossy 
 Shipley. Then, too, she had taken to wander 
 ing away alone in the twilight ; daring the short 
 spaces between services she was nowhere to be 
 found, but the Chautauqua bell brought her 
 back invariably in time to make ready for the 
 next service. " There is certainly more to the 
 little mouse than I ever expected before. If 
 Chautauqua wakes our wits as it has Flossy s 
 we shall have reason to bless the day that Dr. 
 Vincent invented it." This Ruth heard from 
 Marion as she roused herself from her reverie tc 
 give attention to what the girls were saying. 
 They had got back to a discussion of Flossy 
 again. It was a subject that someway annoyed 
 Ruth, so she dismissed it, and made ready for 
 the afternoon meeting, whither they all went. 
 
292 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 To Marion the morning sermon had been an 
 intellectual treat. She had a way of listening 
 to sermons that would have been very disheart 
 ening to the preacher if he had known of it. 
 She had learned how to divest herself of all per 
 sonality. The subject was one that had nothing 
 to do with her; the application of solemn truths 
 were for the people around her who believed in 
 these things, but never for her ; so she listened 
 and enjoyed, just as she enjoyed a book or a 
 picture, just as if she had no soul at all, nothing 
 but an intellect. 
 
 It was very rare indeed that an arrow from 
 anj r one s quiver touched her. But there was 
 one single sentence in Dr. Pierce s sermon that 
 was destined to haunt her. Said he : " When 
 the blind man was questioned he couldn t argue, 
 he didn t try to ; but he could stand up there 
 before them and say, Whereas I was blind, now 
 I see ; make the most of that. And wasn t it 
 an unanswerable argument? There is no argu 
 ment like it. When men are honest and earnest 
 and spiritual in Wall S,treet, it tells." 
 
 Now that w r as just the kind of sentence to de 
 light Marion s heart. The inconsistencies of 
 
People Who, "Having Eyes, See Not" 29b 
 
 Christians was one of her very strong points ; 
 she saw them bristling out everywhere, and she 
 looked about her with a satisfied smile on her 
 face that so large a company of them were get 
 ting so sharp a thrust as this. 
 
 And suddenly their flashed across her brain 
 an utterly new thought. " Whereas I was 
 blind, now I see." " Perhaps," she said to her 
 self perhaps I am blind. What if that should 
 be the only reason why these things are not to 
 me as they are to others. How do I know, 
 after all, but their may really be a spiritual 
 blindness, and that it may be holding me ? How 
 do I know but that the reason some of these 
 poor ignorant people whom I meet are so firm in 
 their belief of Christ and heaven is because they 
 have had just this experience ? 
 
 " Whereas I was blind, now I see ! How can 
 I possibly tell but that this may be the case ? I 
 wonder what I do think anyway ? Do I really 
 think that all these men gathered here are either 
 deceived or deceivers ? One or the other they 
 must be and either position is too silly to sus 
 tain or else I must be blind. If there should 
 be such a thing as seeing, and I discover it too 
 
294 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 late ! If there is a too late to this thing, and 1 
 do not find it out simply because I am blind, 
 what then? The sun shines, of course, though 
 I dare say an entirely blind man doesn t believe 
 it. Doesn t have an idea anyway what it is 
 how can he ? " 
 
 Over and over did she revolve this sentence, 
 and look at it from every attainable standpoint. 
 No use to try to shut it off, back it came. All 
 the clatter with which she had amused herself 
 during the interval between meetings had not 
 banished it. No sooner was she seated under 
 those trees waiting for the afternoon service 
 than the thought presented itself for her to con 
 sider. 
 
 " I wonder if there are different degrees of 
 moral blindness ? " she said, suddenly. " Peo 
 ple who can see just enough to enable them to 
 keep constantly going the wrong way, so that 
 they are no better off than the blind, except 
 that they admit that there is such a thing as 
 seeing. The thing is possible, I suppose." 
 
 Ruth turned and looked at her wondering! y. 
 
 " What are you talking about ? " she asked at 
 last. 
 
People Who, "Having Eyes, See Not" 295 
 
 " I m moralizing," Marion said, laughing. 
 ;i You yourself suggested that train of thought. 
 I was wondering which of us was right in our 
 notions, you or I ; and, for all practical purposes, 
 what difference it made." 
 
 " You are too high up for me to follow. I 
 haven t the least idea what you mean." 
 
 u Why, I tell you I was contrasting our condi 
 tions. Let me see if I have a right view of 
 them. Don t you honestly think that there is a 
 God, and a heaven, and a hell, and that to escape 
 the one place and secure the other certain efforts 
 upon your part are necessary ? " 
 
 " Why, of course I think so. I have never 
 made any pretense of disbelieving all these 
 things. I think it is foolish to do so." 
 
 "Exactly. Now for one question more : Have 
 you made the effort that you believe to be nec 
 essary ? " 
 
 " Have you been hired as an exhorter ? " Ruth 
 said, trying to laugh. " Why, no, I can not say 
 that I have." 
 
 " Well, then, suppose you and I should both 
 die to-night. / don t believe any of these 
 things ; you do, but you don t practice on your 
 
296 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 belief. Then, according to your own view, you 
 will be lost forever ; and, according to that same 
 view, so shall I. Now, practically, what differ 
 ence is there between us? So if it is really 
 blindness, why may not one be totally blind as 
 well as to have a little sight that keeps one all 
 the time in the wrong way ? " 
 
 " I dare say we are quite as well off," Ruth 
 said, composedly; "only I think there is this 
 point of difference between us. I think your 
 position is silly. I don t see how any one who 
 has studied Paley and Butler, and in fact any 
 of the sciences, can think so foolish a thing as 
 you pretend to. One doesn t like to be foolish, 
 even if one doesn t happen to be a Christian." 
 
 " Foolish ? " Marion repeated, and there was a 
 fine glow on her face. " Don t you go and talk 
 anything so wild as that ! If there is any class 
 of people in this world who profess to be sim 
 pletons, and act up to their professions, it is you 
 people who believe everything and do nothing. 
 Now just look at the thing for a minute. Sup 
 pose you say, 4 There is a precipice over there, 
 and every whiff of wind blows us nearer to it ; 
 we will surely go over if we sit here ; we ought 
 
People Who, " Having Eyes, See Not." 297 
 
 to go up on that hill ; I know that is a safe 
 place, and } r et you sit perfectly still. And sup 
 pose I say, I don t believe there is any such 
 thing as a precipice, and I believe this is just as 
 safe a place as there is anj^where, and Jsit still. 
 Xow I should like to know which of us was act 
 ing the sillier ? " 
 
 " You would be," Ruth said, stoutly, " if 3^011 
 persisted in disbelieving what could be proved 
 to you so clearly that no person with common 
 sense would think of denying it." 
 
 " Humph ! " said Marion, settling back ; " in 
 that case I think there would be very little chance 
 for each to accuse the other of folly ; only I con 
 fess to you just this, Huth Erskine, if you could 
 prove to me that there was a precipice over there, 
 and that we were being carried toward it, and 
 that the hill was safe, 1 know in my very 
 soul that I should get up and go to that hill. I 
 would not be such a fool as to delay, I know I 
 wouldn t." 
 
 " You are frank," Ruth said, and her face was 
 flushed. " I ani sure I don t see why }~ou don t 
 make the attempt and decide for yourself, if you 
 feel this thing so deeply. I think there ought 
 
298 Four Girls at CJtautauqua. 
 
 to be a prajrer-meeting on your account. If 1 
 knew Dr. Vincent I would try to have this thing 
 turned into a regular camp-meeting time, then 
 you would doubtless get all the help you need." 
 
 Marion laughed good-humoredly. 
 
 " Don t waste your sarcasm on me," she said, 
 cheerily; "keep your weapons for more impress 
 ible subjects. You know I am not in the least 
 afraid of any such arguments. I have been talk 
 ing downright truth and common sense, and you 
 know it, and are hit ; that is what makes you sar 
 castic. Did you know that was at the bottom 
 of most sarcasm, my dear ? " 
 
 " Do hush, please. These people before us 
 are trying hard to hear what the speaker is say- 
 ing." 
 
 This was Ruth s answer ; but she had had her 
 sermon ; and of all the preachers at Chautauqua 
 the one who had preached to her was Marion 
 Wilbur, the infidel school-teacher ! It was her 
 use of Dr. Pierce s arrow that had thrust Ruth. 
 She gave herself up to the thought of it all dur 
 ing that wonderful afternoon meeting. Very 
 little did she hear of the speeches, save now and 
 then a sentence more vivid than the rest; her 
 
People Who, "Having Eyes, See Not." 299 
 
 brain was busy with new thoughts. Was it all so 
 very queer? Did it look to others than Mar 
 ion a strange way to live ? Did she actually be 
 lieve these things for which she had been con 
 tending ? If she did, was she in very deed an 
 idiot ? It actually began to look as though she 
 might be. She was not wild like Eurie, nor in 
 tense and emotional, like Marion ; she was still 
 and cold, and, in her way, slow ; given to weigh 
 ing thoughts, and acting calmly from decisions 
 rather than from impulse. It struck her oddty 
 enough now that, having so stoutly defended the 
 cardinal doctrines of Christian faith, she should 
 have no weapons except sarcasm with which to 
 meet a bold appeal to her inconsistency. 
 
 " When I get home from Saratoga," she said, 
 at last, turning uneasily in her seat, annoyed at 
 the persistency of her thoughts, " I really mean 
 to look into this thing. I am not sure but a 
 sense of propriety should lead one to make a 
 profession of religion. It is, as Marion says, 
 strange to believe as we do and not indicate ifc 
 by our professions. I am not sure but the right 
 thing for me to do would be to unite with the 
 church. There is certainly some ground for the 
 
300 Four G-irls at (Jhautauqua. 
 
 thrusts that Marion has been giving. My posi 
 tion must seem inconsistent to her. I certainly 
 believe these things. What harm in my saying 
 so to everybody ? Rather, is it not the right 
 thing to do ? I will unite with the church from 
 a sense of duty, not because my feelings happen 
 to be wrought upon by some strong excitement. 
 I wonder just what is required of people when 
 they join the church ? A sense of their own de 
 pendence on Christ for salvation I suppose. I 
 certainly feel that. I am not an unbeliever in 
 any sense of the word. I respect Christian peo 
 ple, and always did. * Mother used to be a 
 church-m ember ; I suppose she would be now if 
 she were not an invalid. Most of the married 
 ladies in our set are church-members. I don t 
 see why it isn t quite as proper for young ladies 
 to be. I certainly mean to give some attention 
 to this matter just as soon as the season is over 
 at Saratoga. In the meantime I wonder when 
 there is a train I can get, and if I couldn t tele 
 graph to mother to send my trunks on and have 
 them there when I arrived." 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 A "SENSE OF DUTY." 
 
 is not so easy to get away from one s 
 self as you might think, if you never had 
 occasion to try it. Ruth Erskine who 
 honestly thought herself on the high road to 
 heaven because she had decided to offer herself 
 for church-membership as soon as she returned 
 from Saratoga did not find the comfort and 
 rest of heart that so heroic a resolution ought to 
 have brought. 
 
 It was in vain that she endeavored to dismiss 
 the subject and try to decide just what new cos 
 tume the Saratoga trip would demand. If she 
 could only have gotten away from the crowd of 
 
 people and out of that meeting back to the quiet 
 
 301 
 
302 Four Girls at Cliautauqua. 
 
 of her tent, she might have succeeded in arrang 
 ing her wardrobe to her satisfaction ; but she 
 was completely hedged in from any way of es 
 cape, and the inconsiderate speakers constantly 
 made allusions that thrust the arrow further into 
 her brain ; I am not sure that it could have been 
 said to have reached her heart. 
 
 " Who is to blame that you can not all be ad 
 dressed as workers for Christ? Who is your 
 Master ? Why do you not serve him ? " 
 
 These were sentences that struck in upon her 
 just as she was deciding to have a new summer 
 silk, trimmed with shillings of the same mater 
 ial a shade darker. 
 
 " Workers ! " 
 
 She did not know whether the speaker gave 
 a peculiar emphasis to that word, or whether it 
 only sounded so to her ears. Did this resolution 
 that she had made put her among the workers? 
 What was she ready to do ? Teach in the Sab 
 bath-school ? Involuntarily she shrugged her 
 shoulders; she did not like children; tract dis 
 tributing, too, was hateful work, and out of style 
 she had heard some one say. What wonderful 
 work was to be done ? She was sure she didn t 
 
A "Sense of Duty: 303 
 
 know. Sewing certainly wasn t in her line ; she 
 couldn t make clothes for the poor ; but, then, 
 she could give money to buy them with. Oh, 
 yes, she was perfectly willing to do that. And 
 then she tried to determine whether it would be 
 well to get a new black grenadine, or whether a 
 black silk would suit her better. She had got 
 it trimmed with four rows of knife pleating, 
 headed with puffs, when she was suddenly re 
 turned to the meeting. 
 
 Somebody was telling a story ; she had not 
 been given sufficient attention to know who the 
 speaker was, but he told his story remarkably 
 well. It must have been about a miserable lit 
 tle street boy who was sick, and another misera 
 ble street boy seemed to be visiting him. 
 This was where her ears took it up : 
 " It was up a ricketty pair of stairs, and an 
 other, and another, to a filthy garret. There lay 
 the sick boy burning with a fever, mother and 
 father both drunk, and no one to do anything or 
 care anything for the boy who was fighting 
 with death. Ben, said his dirty-faced visitor, 
 bending over him, 4 you re pretty bad ain t you ? 
 Ben, do you ever pray ? * No, says Ben, turn- 
 
304 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ing fevered eyes on the questioner: I don t 
 know what that is. Did you know there was 
 a man once named Jesus Christ? He come to 
 this world on purpose to save people who are go 
 ing to die. Did you ever be told about him ? 
 4 No ; who is he ? * Why, he is God ; you have 
 to believe on him. I don t know what you 
 mean. Why, ask him to save 3 r ou. When 
 you die you ask him to take you and save you. 
 I heard about him at school. Will he do it ? 
 4 Yes, he will sure. Them sa}<s so as have 
 tried him. Silence in the garret, Ben with his 
 face turned to the wall the fever growing less, 
 the pulse growing fainter : suddenly he turns 
 back. c I ve asked him, lie said ; I ve asked 
 him, and he said he would. 
 
 Ruth looked about her nervously. People 
 were weeping softly all around her. Marion 
 brushed two great tears from her glowing cheeks, 
 and Ruth, with her heart beating with such a 
 quickened motion that it made her faint, won 
 dered what was the matter with every one, and 
 wished this dreadful meeting was over, or that 
 she had gone to Saratoga on Saturday. 
 
 It was hard to go back to the puffs on that 
 
A " Sense of Duty." 305 
 
 grenadine dress in the midst of all this, but with 
 a resolute struggle she threw herself back into 
 an argument as to whether she would stop on 
 her way to make purchases, or run down to Al 
 bany as soon as she was comfortably settled at 
 her hotel. Mr. Bliss was the next one who 
 roused her. 
 
 You have never heard him sing ? Then I am 
 sorry for you. How can I tell you anything 
 about it? You should hear Ruth tell it ! How 
 his voice rolled out and up from under those 
 grand old trees ; how distinctly every word fell 
 on your ear, as distinctly as though you and he 
 had been together in a little room alone, and he 
 had sung it for you. 
 
 " This loving Savior stands patiently 
 Though oft rejected, 
 
 Calls again for thee. 
 Calling now for thee, prodigal, 
 Calling now for thee ; 
 Thou hast wandered far away, 
 But he s calling now for thee." 
 
 What was the matter with everybody ? Was 
 this an army of prodigals who had gathered un- 
 
806 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 der the trees this Sabbath afternoon ? Turn 
 where she would they were wiping away the 
 tears ; she felt herself as if she could hardly keep 
 back her own ; and yet why should she weep? 
 "What had that song to do with her ? She cer 
 tainly was not a prodigal ; she had never wan 
 dered, for she had never professed to be a Christ 
 ian. 
 
 What strange logic, that because I have never 
 owned my Father s love and care, therefore I 
 am not a wanderer from him I 
 
 Ruth did not understand it ; she felt almost 
 provoked ; had she not decided this very after 
 noon and for the first time in her life that it was 
 fitting and eminently the proper thing to do to 
 unite with the church, and had she not deter 
 mined upon doing it just as soon as the season 
 was over ? What more could she do ? Why 
 could she not now have a little peace? If 
 this was the "comfort" and "rest" that the 
 Christians at Chautauqua had been talking 
 about for a week, she was sure the less she had 
 of them the better, for she never felt so uncom 
 fortable in her life. Nevertheless, she adhered 
 to her resolution. 
 
A " Sense of Duty." 307 
 
 So settled was she that it was the next proper 
 thing to do that she staid at home from the meet 
 ing that evening to write a letter to Mr. Wayne, 
 the gentleman who you will perhaps remember, 
 accompanied the girls to the depot on the morn 
 ing of their departure, and expressed his disgust 
 with the whole plan. 
 
 As this is the first religious letter Miss Ruth 
 Erskine ever wrote, you shall be gratified with a 
 copy of it : 
 
 { DEAR HAEOLD : 
 
 I am alone in the tent this evening the girls 
 have all gone to meeting ; but I, finding it ex 
 haustive, not to say tiresome, to be so constantly 
 listening to sermons, have staid at home to write 
 to you. I have something to tell you which I 
 know will please you. I am going to start for 
 Saratoga to-morrow morning. I think I shall 
 take the 10:50 train. Now don t you make up 
 your mind to laugh at me and say that I have 
 grown tired of Chautauqua sooner than any of 
 the rest. It is true enough. 
 
 "You know my mode of life and my enjo} r ments 
 are necessarily very different from Eurie s and 
 
308 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Marion s. Those two naturally look upon this 
 place as an escape from every-day drudgery ; in 
 short, as an economical place in which to enjoy 
 a vacation and see a good deal of first-class so 
 ciety ; for there are a great many first-class peo 
 ple here, there is no denying that. Not many 
 from our set, you know, but a great many cele- 
 braties in the literary world that it is really very 
 pleasant to see. 
 
 " I am not sorry that I came ; if for nothing else 
 I am glad to have come on the girls account ; 
 they would hardly have ventured without me, 
 and it is a real treat to them. 
 
 " You will wonder what has become of poor lit 
 tle Flossy, and want to know whether she is go 
 ing to follow me to Saratoga as usual, but the 
 little sprite refuses to go ! I fancy Marion has 
 been teasing her; you know she is very suscept 
 ible to ridicule, and it suits Marion s fancy to 
 amuse herself at the expense of those people 
 who weary of Chautauqua. She lias attempted 
 something of the kind on me, but, of course I am 
 indifferent to any such shafts, having been in the 
 habit of leading, rather than following, all my 
 life. It seems natural, I suppose, to do so still. 
 
A "Sense of Duty." 309 
 
 I think well of Chau tan qua. It is a good place 
 for people to come who have not much money to 
 spend, and who like to be in a pleasant place 
 among pleasant people ; and who enjoy fine mu 
 sic, and fine lectures, and all that sort of thing, 
 and are so trammelled by work and small means 
 at home that they cannot cultivate these tastes. 
 But, of course, all these things are no treat to 
 me, and I do not hesitate to tell } r ou that I am 
 bored. There is too much preaching to suit my 
 fancy not real preaching, either, for we haven t 
 had what you could call a sermon until to-daj r , 
 but lectures, which constantly bring the same 
 theme before you. 
 
 " Now } ou are not to conclude from this that I 
 do not believe in preaching, and Sunday, and all 
 that sort of thing; on the contrary, I believe 
 more fully in them all than I did before I came. 
 In fact I have this very afternoon come to a de 
 termination which ma} r surprise } T OU, and which 
 is partl} r the occasion of my writing this letter, 
 in order that you may know at once what to ex 
 pect. Harold, as soon as the season is over, and 
 I get back home, I am going to unite with the 
 church ? Have I astonished you ! I am going 
 
310 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 to do this from a conviction of duty. You need 
 not imagine that I have been wrought up to 
 such a pitch of excitement that I don t know 
 what I am about. I assure you there is nothing 
 of the kind. I have simply concluded that it is 
 an eminently proper thing to do. So long as I 
 believe fully in the church and in religion, and 
 wish to sustain both by my money and my in 
 fluence, why should I not say so? That is a 
 very simple and altogether proper way of saying 
 it, and saves a good deal of troublesome explana 
 tion. I wonder that I haven t thought of it be 
 fore. 
 
 " I do not mind telling you that it was some 
 remarks of Marion s that first suggested the pro 
 priety of this thing to me. You know she is an 
 infidel and I am not ; and she intimated what is 
 true enough, that I lived exactly as though I 
 thought just as she did ; so in thinking it over I 
 concluded it was true, and that my influence 
 ought to be with the church in this matter. Now 
 you know, Harold, that with me to decide is to 
 do ; so this is as good as done. I should like ifc 
 Very well if you choose to come to the same con- 
 
A Sense of Duty: 9 311 
 
 elusion and unite at the same time that I do. I 
 am sure Dr. Dennis would be gratified. I don t 
 know why we shouldn t be willing to have it 
 known where we stand ; and I know you respect 
 the church and trust her as well as I do myself. 
 
 " I told Marion to-day " I did not see how a 
 person with brains could be an infidel," or some 
 thing to that effect and I don t . I think that 
 is such a silly view to take of life. Just as if 
 everything could come by chance ! And if God 
 did not make everything, who did ? I have no 
 patience with that sort of thing, and I am glad 
 to remember that 3-011 have no such tastes. 
 
 " By the wa} r , are the Arnotts in Saratoga ? I 
 hope not, for they are such fanatics there is no 
 comfort in meeting them, and yet one has to be 
 civil. 
 
 44 Seems to me you do not enjoy the opera as 
 well as usual, nor the hops either. What is the 
 matter ? Do you really miss me ? If there is 
 airy such foolish fancy in your heart as that, pre 
 pare to enjoy yourself next week, for I shall be 
 with you at every one of them after Tuesday. It 
 will take me until then to get something decent 
 to wear. 
 
312 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " I hear the girls coming up the hill, and I must 
 
 leave you. 
 
 "Au revoir, 
 
 ? RUTH." 
 
 Folding and addressing this epistle with a sat 
 isfied air, and still full of the spirit which had 
 prompted her to write a religious letter, Ruth, 
 finding that Marion had come in alone, and that 
 Flossy and Eurie were still loitering up the hill, 
 gave herself the satisfaction of communicating 
 her change of views. 
 
 " I have been thinking a good deal about what 
 you said this afternoon, Marion, and there is 
 truth in it. I do not think as you do, and I 
 ought to take some measures to let people know 
 it. I have the most perfect respect for and con 
 fidence in religion, and I mean to prove it by 
 uniting with the church. I have decided to at 
 tend to that matter as soon as I get home again 
 after the season is over. I am surprised at my 
 self for not doing so before, for I certainly con 
 sider it eminently proper, in fact a duty." 
 
 Now, it was very provoking to have so relig 
 ious a sentence as this received in the manner 
 that it was. Marion tilted her stool back against 
 
A "Sense of Duty." 313 
 
 the bed, and gave herself up to the luxury of a 
 ringing laugh. 
 
 " Realty," Ruth said, " you have returned 
 from church in a very hilarious mood ; something 
 very funny must have happened ; it can not be 
 that anything in my sentence had to do with your 
 amusement." 
 
 " Yes, but it has," squealed Marion, holding her 
 sides and laughing still. " Oh, Ruthie, Ruthie, 
 you will be the death of me ! And so you think 
 that this is religion ! You honestly suppose that 
 standing up in church and having your name 
 read off constitutes Chris tianity ! Don t do it, 
 Ruthie ; }*ou have never been a hypocrite, and 
 I have always honored you because you were not. 
 If this is all the religion you can find, go without 
 it forever and ever, for I tell you there is not a 
 single bit in it." 
 
 Her laughter had utterly ceased, and her voice 
 was solemn in its intensity. 
 
 " I don t dnow what you mean in the least," 
 Ruth said, testity. " You are talking about 
 something of w r hich you know nothing." 
 
 "So are you. Oh, Ruthie, so are you ! Yes, 
 I know something about it; I know that you 
 
314 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 liaveu t reached the A, B, C, of it. Why, Ruthie, 
 do you remember that story this afternoon ? Do 
 you remember that little boy in the garret, how 
 he turned his face to the wall and asked God to 
 save him ? Have you done that ? Do you hon 
 estly think that you, Ruth Erskine, have any 
 thing to be saved from ? Don t you know the 
 little fellow said, -He answered Has He an 
 swered you ? Why, Ruth, do you never listen 
 to the church covenant? How does it read: 
 4 That it is eminently fit and proper for those 
 who believe that God made them to join the 
 church ? Ruth Erskine, you can never take 
 more solemn vows upon you than you will have 
 to take if you unite with the church, and I beg 
 you not to do it. I tell you it means more than 
 that. I had a father who was a member of the 
 church, and he prayed oh, how he prayed ! 
 He was the best man who ever lived on earth ! 
 Every one knew he was good ; every one thought 
 lie was a saint ; and it seems to me as though I 
 could never love any God who did not give him 
 a happier lot than he had as a reward for his 
 holy life. But do you think he thought himself 
 good ? I tell you he felt that .no one could be 
 
A " Sense of Duty." 315 
 
 more weak and sinful and in need of saving than 
 lie was. Oh, I know the people who rnuke up 
 churches have more than this in them. I think 
 it is all a deception, but it is a blessed one to 
 have. I know these people at Chautauqua have 
 it, hundreds of them. I see the same look in 
 their faces that my father had in his, and if I 
 could only get the same delusion into my heart 
 I would hug it for my blessed father s sake ; but 
 don t } T OU ever go into the church and subscribe 
 to these things that they will ask of you until 
 you have felt the same need of help and the 
 same sense of being helped that they have. If 
 you do, and there is a God, I would rather stand 
 my chance with him than to have yours." 
 
 And Marion seized her hat and rushed out into 
 the night, leaving Ruth utterly dumbfounded. 
 
CHAPTER XXIL 
 
 ONE MINUTE S WOKK. 
 
 * 
 
 , ARION struck out into the darkness, car 
 ing little winch way she went ; she had 
 rarely been so wrought upon ; her veins seemed 
 to glow with lire. What difference did it make ? 
 she asked herself. If there was nothing at all in 
 it, why not let Ruth amuse herself by joining the 
 church and playing at religion ? It would add 
 to her sense of dignity, and who would be hurt 
 by it? 
 
 There was a difficulty in the way. Turn 
 where she would, it confronted Marion during 
 these days. There was a solemn haunting "if" 
 that would not be put down. What (fall these 
 
 things were true ? She by no means felt so as- 
 (316) 
 
One Minute s Work. 317 
 
 sured as she had once done ; indeed, the founda 
 tions for her disbelief seemed to have been 
 shaken from under her during the last week. 
 
 Remember, she had never spent a week with 
 Christians before in her life ; not, at least, a 
 week during which she was made to realize all 
 the time that they were Christians ; that they 
 stood on a different platform from herself. 
 
 Now, as she tramped about through the dark 
 ening woods, meeting constantly groups of peo 
 ple on their way home from the meeting, hear 
 ing from them snatches of what had been said 
 and sung, she suddenly paused, and so vivid was 
 the impression that for long afterward she could 
 not think of it without feeling that a voice must 
 certainly have spoken the words in her ear. Yet 
 she recognized them as a sentence which had 
 struck her from Dr. Pierce s sermon in the morn 
 ing. 
 
 " God honors his gospel, even though preached 
 by a bad man ; honors it sometimes to the sav 
 ing of a soul. But think of a meeting between 
 the two I the sinner saved and the sinner lost, 
 who was the means cf the other s salvation." It 
 had thrilled Marion at the time, with her old 
 
318 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 questioning thrill : What if such a thing were 
 possible ! Now it came again. 
 
 She stood perfectly still, all the blood seeming 
 to recede from and leave her faint with the 
 strange solemnity of the thought ! What if she 
 had this evening been preaching the gospel to 
 Ruth ! What if the words of hers should lead 
 Ruth to think, and to hunt, and to find this light 
 that those who were not blind if there were 
 any such succeeded in finding! What if, as 
 a result of this, she should go to heaven ! and 
 what if it were true that there was to be a judg 
 ment, and they two should meet, and then and 
 there she should realize that it was because of 
 this evening s talk that Ruth stood in glory on 
 the other side of the great gulf of separation I 
 What kind of a feeling would that be ? 
 
 " Oh, if I only knew," she said aloud, sitting 
 suddenly down on a fallen log, "if I only knew 
 that any of these things were so ! or if I could 
 only get to imagining that they were, I would 
 take them up and have the comfort out of them 
 that some of these people seem to get, for I have 
 so little comfort in my life. It can not be that 
 it is all a farce, such as Ruth s horrid resolve 
 
One Minute s Work. 319 
 
 would lead one to think ; that is not the way 
 that Dr. Vincent feels about it ; it is not the way 
 that Dr. Pierce preached about it this morning ; 
 it is not the way that man Bliss sings about it. 
 There is more to it than that. My father had 
 more than that. If he could only look down to 
 night and tell me whether it is so, whether he is 
 safe and well and perfectly happy. Oh, it 
 seems to me if I could only be sure, sure be}*ond 
 a doubt that God did give an eternal heaven to 
 my father, I could love him forever for doing 
 that, even though there is a hell and I go to it." 
 
 Within the tent they were having talk that 
 would seem to amount to very little. Even 
 Eurie appeared to be subdued, and to have al 
 most nothing to say. Ruth was roused from the 
 half stupor of astonishment into which Marion s 
 unexpected words had thrown her by hearing 
 Flossy say, "Oh, Ruth, I forgot to tell }~ou 
 something ; Mrs. Smythe stopped at the door on 
 Saturday evening before you came home ; her 
 party leave for Saratoga tomorrow morning, and 
 she wanted to know whether any of us would 
 go with them." 
 
 "Did you tell her I was going? " Ruth asked, 
 
320 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 quickly. It was utterly distasteful to her to 
 think of having Mrs. Smythe s company. She 
 did not stop to analyze her feelings; she simply 
 shrank from contact with Mrs. Smythe and from 
 others who were sure to be of her stamp. 
 
 "No," Flossy said, "I did not know what you 
 had decided upon ; I said it was possible that 
 you might want to go, but some one joined us 
 just then and the conversation changed : I did 
 not think of it again." 
 
 " I am glad you didn t," Ruth said, emphatic 
 ally. " I don t want her society. I won t go 
 in the morning if I am to be bored with that 
 party ; I would rather wait a week." 
 
 " They are going in the morning train," Eurie 
 said ; " I heard that tall man who sometimes 
 leads the singing say so. He said there was 
 quite a little party to go, among them a party 
 from Clyde, who were en route for Saratoga. 
 That is them, you know ; nearly ail of them are 
 from Clyde. Oh, yes, the other man said ; 
 4 we must expect that. Of course there is a 
 froth to all these things that must evaporate to 
 ward Saratoga, or some other resort. There is a 
 class of mind that Chautauqua is too much for. 
 
One Minute s Work. 321 
 
 Think of that, Ruthie, to be considered nothing 
 but froth that is to evaporate ! " 
 
 " Nonsense ! " Ruth said, sharply. She seemed 
 to consider that an unanswerable argument, and 
 in a sense it is. Nevertheless Eurie s words had 
 their effect ; she began to wish that letter un 
 written, and to wish that she had not said so 
 much about Saratoga, and to wish that there 
 was some quiet way of changing her plans. 
 
 In fact, an utter distaste for Saratoga seemed 
 suddenly to have come upon her. Conversation 
 pulled after this ; Marion came in, and the four 
 made ready for the night in almost absolute 
 silence. The next thing that occurred was suf 
 ficiently startling in its nature to arouse them 
 all. It was one of those sudden, careless move 
 ments that this life of ours is full of, taking only 
 a moment of time, and involving consequences 
 that reached away beyond time, and death, and 
 resurrection. 
 
 " Eurie," Ruth had said, " where is your head 
 ache bottle that you boast so much of? I be 
 lieve I am going to have a sick headache." 
 
 "In my satchel," Eurie answered, sleepily. 
 She was already in bed. " There is a spoon on 
 that box in the corner; take a tea-spoonful." 
 
322 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Another minute of silence, then Eurie suddenly 
 raised her head from the pillow and looked 
 about her wildly. The dim light of the lamp 
 showed Ruth, slowly pulling the pins from her 
 hair. 
 
 u Did you take it?" she asked, and her voice 
 was full of eager, intense fright. "Ruth, you 
 didn t take it ! " 
 
 " Yes, I did, of course. What is the matter 
 with you ? " 
 
 "It was the wrong bottle. It was the lini 
 ment bottle in my satchel. I forgot. Oh, 
 Ruth, Ruth, what will we do ? It is a deadly 
 poison." 
 
 Then to have realized the scene that followed 
 you should have been there to see. Ruth gave 
 one loud shriek that seemed to re-echo through 
 the trees, and Eurie s moan was hardly less ter 
 rible. Marion sprang out of bed, and was alert 
 and alive in a moment. 
 
 " Ruth, lie down ; Eurie, stop groaning and 
 act. What was it ? Tell me this instant." 
 
 " Oh, I don t know what it was, only he said 
 that ten drops would kill a person, and she took 
 a tea-spoonful." 
 
 " I know where the doctor s cottage is," said 
 
One Minute s Work. 323 
 
 Flossy, dressing rapidly. "I can go for him." 
 And almost as soon as the words were spoken 
 she had slipped out into the darkness. 
 
 Ruth had obeyed the imperative command of 
 Marion" and laid herself on the bed. She was 
 deadly pale, and Eurie, who felt eagerly for her 
 pulse, felt in vain. Whether it was gone, or 
 whether her excitement was too great to find it, 
 she did not know. Meantime, Marion fumbled 
 in Flossy s trunk and came toward them with a 
 bottle. 
 
 " Hold the light, Eurie ; this is Flossy s hair- 
 oil. I happen to know that it is harmless, and 
 oil is an antidote for half the poisons in the 
 world. Iluth, swallow this and keep up cour 
 age ; we will save you." 
 
 Down went the horrid spoonful, and Marion 
 was eagerly at work chafing her limbs and rub 
 bing her hands, hurrying Eurie meantime who 
 had started for the hotel in search of help and 
 hot water. 
 
 That dreadful fifteen minutes! Not one of 
 them but that thought it was hours. They 
 never forgot the time when they fought so cou 
 rageously, and yet so hopelessly, with death. 
 
824 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Ruth did not seem to grow worse, bat she 
 looked ghastly enough for death to have churned 
 her for his victim ; and Flossy did not return. 
 Eurie came back to report a fire made and 
 water heating, and seizing a pail was about to 
 start again, when her eye caught the open 
 satchel, and a bottle quietly reposing there, 
 closely corked and tied over the top with a bit 
 of kid ; she gave a scream as loud as the first had 
 been. 
 
 "What is the matter now?" Marion said. 
 "Eurie, do have a little common sense." 
 
 " She didn t take it ! " burst forth Eurie. " It 
 is all a mistake. It was the right bottle. Here 
 is the other, corked, just as I put it." 
 
 Before this sentence was half concluded Ruth 
 was sitting up in bed, and Marion, utterly over 
 come by this sudden revulsion of feeling, was 
 crying hysterically. There is no use in trying 
 to picture the rest of that excitement. Suffice 
 it to say that the events of the next hour are not 
 likely to be forgotton by those who were con 
 nected with them. Eurie came back to her 
 senses first, and met and explained to the people 
 who had heard the alarm, and were eagerly 
 
One Minute s Work. 325 
 
 gathering with offers of help. There was rnuch 
 talk, and many exclamations of thankfulness and 
 much laughter, and at last everything was grow 
 ing quiet again. 
 
 "I can not find the doctor," Flossy had re 
 ported in despair. " He has gone to May ville, 
 but Mr. Roberts will be here in a minute with a 
 remedy, and he is going right over to May ville 
 for the doctor." 
 
 "Don t let him, I beg," said Marion, who was 
 herself again. u There is nothing more formida 
 ble than a spoonful of your hair-oil. I don t 
 know but the poor child needs an emetic to get 
 rid of that. Eurie, my dear, can t you impress 
 it on those dear people that we don t want any 
 hot water ? I hear the fourth pail coming." 
 
 It was midnight before this excited group set 
 tled down into anything like quiet. But the 
 strain had been so great, and the relief so com 
 plete, that a sleep so heavy that it was almost a 
 stupor at last held the tired workers. 
 
 Now, what of it all ? Why did this foolish 
 mistake of bottles, which might have been a 
 tragedy, and was nothing but a causeless excite 
 ment, reach so far with its results ? 
 
826 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Let me tell you of one to whom sleep did not 
 come. That was the one who but half an hour 
 before had believed herself face to face with 
 death! What mattered it to her that it was a 
 mistake, and death no nearer to her, so far as 
 she knew, than to the rest of the sleeping 
 world ? 
 
 Death was not annihilated he was only held 
 at bay. She knew that he would come, and 
 that there would be no slipping away when his 
 hand actually grasped hers. She believed in 
 death; she had supposed herself being drawn 
 into his remorseless grasp. To her the experi 
 ence, so far as it had led L y r, was just as real as 
 though there had been no mistake. 
 
 And the result? She had been afraid! All 
 her proper resolutions, so fresh in her mind, 
 made only that very afternoon, had been of no 
 more help to her than so much foam. She had 
 not so much as remembered in her hour of terror 
 whether there was a church to join. But that 
 there was a God, and a judgment, and a Savior, 
 who was not hers, had been as real and vivid as 
 she thinks it ever can be, even when she stands 
 on the very brink. 
 
One Minute s Work. 327 
 
 Oh, that long night of agony! when she tossed 
 and turned and sought in vain for an hour of 
 rest. She was afraid to sleep. How like death 
 this sleeping was! Who could know, when 
 they gave themselves up to the grasp of this 
 power, that he was not the very death angel 
 himself in disguise, and would give them no 
 earthly awakening forever ? 
 
 What should she do? Believe in religion? 
 Yes. She knew it was true. What then? 
 What had Marion said? Was that all true? 
 Aye, verily it was; she knew that, too. Had 
 she not stood side by side with death ? 
 
 The hours went bv and the conflict went on. 
 There was a conflict. Her conscience knew 
 much more than her tongue had given it credit 
 for knowing that afternoon. Oh, she had seen 
 Christians who had done more than join the 
 church ! She had imagined that that act might 
 have a mysterious and gradual change on her 
 tastes and feelings, so that some time in her life, 
 when she was old, and the seasons for her were 
 over, she might feel differently about a good 
 many things. 
 
 But that hour of waiting for the messenger of 
 
328 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 death, who, she thought, had called her, hud 
 swept away this film. "It is not teaching in 
 Sunday -school," said her brain. " It is not tract 
 distributing ; it is not sewing societies for the 
 poor; it is not giving or going. It is none of 
 these things, or any of them, or all of them, as 
 the case may be, and as they come afterward. 
 But first it is this question : Am I my own mis 
 tress ? do I belong to myself or to God ? will I 
 do as I please or as he pleases? will I submit my 
 soul to him, and ask him to keep it and to show 
 me what to do, or when and where to step ? " 
 
 The night was utterly spent, and the gray 
 dawn of the early sweet summer morning was 
 breaking into the grove, and still Iluth lay \\ ith 
 wide-open eyes, and thought. A struggle ? Oh 
 dear, yes ! Such an one as she had never imag 
 ined. That strong will of hers, which had led 
 not only herself but others, yield it, submit to 
 other leadership, always to question, Is this 
 right? can I go here? ought I to say that? 
 What a thing to do! But it involved that; 
 she knew it, felt it. She might have been blind 
 during the week past, but she was not deaf. 
 
 How they surged over her, the sentences from 
 
One Minute s Work. 329 
 
 one and another to whom she had listened ! 
 They were not at play, these great men. What 
 did it mean but that there was a life hidden 
 away, belonging to Christ? She felt no love in 
 her heart, no longing for love, such as poor little 
 Flossy had yearned for. She felt instead that 
 she was equal to life ; that the world was suffi 
 cient for her; that she wanted the world; but 
 that the world was at conflict with God, and 
 that she belonged to God, and that she should 
 give herself utterly into his hands. 
 
 Moreover, she knew there was coming a time 
 when the world, and Saratoga, and the season, 
 with its pleasures, would not do. There was 
 grim death ! he would come. She could not 
 always get away. He was coming every hour 
 for somebody around her. She must yes, she 
 must get ready for him. It would not do to be 
 surprised again as she had been surprised last 
 night. It was not becoming in Ruth Erskine to 
 live so that the sound of death could palsy her 
 limbs and blanch her cheek and make her sLad- 
 der with fear. She must get where she could 
 say calmly: "Oh, are ym here? Well, 1 am 
 ready." 
 
330 
 
 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 It was just as the sun which was rising in 
 glory forced its smiles in between the thick 
 leaves of the Chautauqua birds nests, and set 
 all the little birds in a twitter of delight, that 
 Ruth raised herself on her elbow and said aloud, 
 and with the force that conies" from a determined 
 will that has decided something in which there 
 has been a struggle : 
 
 "Iwftdoit." 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 " I VE BEEN KEDEEMED." 
 
 HAT about Saratoga? " was Eurie s first 
 query as she awoke to life and talk 
 again on that summer morning. " Do you think 
 you will take the 10 : 50 train, Ruth ? " 
 
 Ruth gave nothing more decided than a wan 
 smile in answer, and in her heart a wonder as to 
 what Eurie would think of her if she could have 
 known the way in which her night was passed. 
 
 " She is more likely to stay in bed," Marion 
 said, looking at her critically. " You will never 
 think of trying to travel to-day, will you, Ruth? 
 Dear me ! how you look ! I have always heard 
 that hair oil was weakening, but I did not know 
 
 (331) 
 
832 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 its effects were so sudden and disastrous ! " And 
 tlien every one of these silly girls laughed. The 
 disaster of the night before had reached its irre 
 sistibly comic side to them. Only Ruth shiv 
 ered visibly ; it was not fanny to her. 
 
 It was a very eventful day. She by no means 
 relished the character of invalid that the girls 
 seemed determined ought to be forced upon her, 
 and at the same time she had not the least idea 
 of going to Saratoga. Strangely enough, that 
 desire seemed to have utterly gone from her. 
 She had not slept at all, but she arose and dressed 
 herself as usual, with only one feeling strong 
 upon her, and that was a determination to carry 
 out the decision to which she had so recently 
 come, and she had not the least idea how to set 
 to work to carry it out. She went with the rest 
 to the large tent to hear Mrs. Clark s address to 
 primary class teachers. 
 
 " I m not a primary class teacher, and not 
 likely to be, but I am a woman, and gifted with, 
 the natural curiosity of that sex to know what a 
 woman may have to say in so big a place as this. 
 I don t see how she dares to peep." This was 
 Eurie s explanation of her desire to go to the re 
 ception. 
 
"I ve Been Redeemed" 333 
 
 Ruth went because to go to meeting seemed 
 to be the wisest way that she knew of for cany- 
 ing out her decision ; and a good time she had. 
 She had not imagined that teaching primary 
 classes was such an art, and involved so much 
 time and brain as it did. She listened eagerly 
 to all Mrs. Clark had to say ; she followed her 
 through the blackboard lessons with surprise and 
 delight, and she awoke at the close of the hour 
 to the memory that, although she had been inter 
 ested as she had not imagined it possible for her 
 to be on such a theme, she had done nothing 
 toward her determination to make a Christian of 
 herself, and that she knew no more how to go to 
 work than before. 
 
 " When I do find out how to be one I know I 
 will go to work in the Sabbath-school ; I have 
 changed my mind on that point." This she told 
 herself softly as they went back to dinner. 
 
 It was a strange afternoon to her. She be 
 came unable to interest herself heartily in the 
 public services ; her own heart claimed her 
 thought. It was noticeable also that for the first 
 einie Chautauqua chose this day in which to be 
 saetaphysical and scientific, to the exclusion of 
 
334 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 personal religion. Not that they were irrelig 
 ious, not that they for a moment forgot their po 
 sition as a great religious gathering ; but there 
 was an absence of that intense personal element 
 in the talk which had so offended Ruth s taste 
 heretofore, and she missed it. 
 
 She wandered aimlessly up and down the 
 aisles, listening to sentences now and then, and 
 sighing a little. They were eloquent, they were 
 helpful ; she could imagine herself as being in a 
 state to enjoy them heartily, but just now she 
 wanted nothing so much as to know what to do 
 in order to give herself a right to membership 
 with that great religious world. Why should 
 Chautauqua suddenly desert her now when she so 
 much needed its help ? 
 
 " If I knew a single one of these Christian peo 
 ple I would certainly ask them what to do." 
 This she said talking still to herself. She had 
 come quite away from the meeting, and was 
 down in one of the rustic seats by the lake side. 
 It struck her as very strange that she had not in 
 timate acquaintance with a single Christian. 
 She even traveled home and tried to imagine 
 herself in conversation on this subject with some 
 
"I ve Been Redeemed" 335 
 
 of her friends. To whcm could she go? Mr. 
 Wayne ? Why, he wouldn t understand her in 
 the least. What a strange letter that was which 
 she wrote him ! Could it be possible that it was 
 written only yesterday ? How strange that she 
 should have suggested to him to unite with the 
 church! How strange that she should have 
 thought of it herself ! 
 
 There came a quick step behind her, and a 
 voice said, " Good-evening, Miss Erskine." She 
 turned and tried to recall the name that belonged 
 to the face of the young man before her. 
 
 " You do not remember me ? " he said, inquir 
 ingly. " I was of the party who went to James 
 town on the excursion." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Flint," she said, smiling, and hold 
 ing out her hand. " I beg pardon for forgetting ; 
 that seems about a month ago." 
 
 " So it does to me ; we live fast here. Miss 
 Erskine, I have been looking for your party ; I 
 couldn t find them. Isn t Miss Shipley in your 
 tent? Yes, I thought so. Well, I want to see 
 her very much. I have something to tell her 
 that I know will give her pleasure. Perhaps you 
 would take a message for me. I want her to 
 
336 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 know that since last week, when she told me of 
 her Friend who had become, so dear to her, I 
 have found the truth of it. He is my Friend 
 now, and I want to thank her for so impressing 
 me with a desire to know him that I could not 
 give it up." 
 
 Ruth looked utterly puzzled. Something in 
 the young man s reverent tone, when he used the 
 word " Friend, " suggested that he could mean 
 only the Friend for whom she herself was in look 
 ing ; and yet Flossy Shipley ! What had she 
 to do with him? 
 
 " Do you mean," she said, hesitatingly, and 
 yet eagerly, for if he indeed meant that here 
 was one for whom she had been looking ; " do 
 you mean that you have become a Christian ? " 
 
 "It is such a new experience," he said, his 
 face flushing, " that I have hardly dared to call 
 myself by that name ; but if to be a Christian 
 means to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and to 
 have given one s self, body and soul, to Lis ser 
 vice, why then I am assuredly a Christian." 
 
 This was it. There was no time to be lost. 
 She had spent one night of horror, she could not 
 endure another, and the day was drawing to its 
 
Tve Been Redeemed: 337 
 
 end. To be sure she felt no terror now, but the 
 night might bring it back. 
 
 "How did you do it?" she asked, simply. 
 "How?" The very simplicity of the question 
 puzzled him. " Why, I just gave myself up to 
 his keeping ; I resolved to take a new road and 
 follow only where he led. Miss Shipley was the 
 one who first made me think seriously about 
 this matter ; and then I went to the service thnt 
 evening, and everything that was said and sung, 
 was said and sung right at me. I was just 
 forced into the belief that I had been a fool, and 
 I wanted to be something else." 
 
 " Miss Shipley ! " Ruth said, brought back by 
 that name to the wonderment. " You are mis 
 taken. You can not mean Flossy. She isn t a 
 Christian at all. She never so much as thinks 
 of such things." 
 
 " Oh, you are mistaken." He said it eagerly 
 and positively. " On the contrary, she is the 
 most earnest and straightforward little Christian 
 that I ever met in my life. Why, I never had 
 anything so come to my soul as that little sen 
 tence that she said about having found a Friend? 
 I know it is the same one. I have seen her with 
 
388 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 you siDce, but not near enough to address. Her 
 name is Flossy ; I heard her called so that day 
 on the boat." 
 
 " Flossy ! " Ruth said it again, in a bewilder 
 ing tone, and rising as she spoke. " I am going 
 to find her ; I want to understand this mystery. 
 I will give her your message, Mr. Flint, but I 
 think there is a mistake." Saying which she 
 bade him a hasty good-afternoon, for the flutter 
 of a scarlet shawl had reached her eyes. No 
 one but Flossy wore such a wrap as that. She 
 wanted to see her at once, and she didnt want 
 Mr. Charlie Flint to be along. She went for 
 ward with rapid steps to meet her, and slipping 
 an arm within hers, they turned and went slowly 
 back over the mossy path. 
 
 " Flossy, I want you to tell me something. I 
 have heard something so strange ; I think it is 
 not so, but you can tell me. I want to know if 
 you think you are a Christian? " 
 
 I wonder if Flossy has any idea, even now, 
 how strangely Ruth s heart beat as she asked 
 that simple question. It seemed to involve a 
 great deal to her. She waited for the answer. 
 
 There was no hesitation and no indecision 
 
" I ve Been Redeemed: 339 
 
 about Flossy s answer. Her cheeks took a pink 
 tint, but her voice was clear. 
 
 "I know I am, Ruth. I do not even have to 
 speak with hesitancy. I am so sure that Christ 
 is my Friend, and I grow so much surer of it 
 every day, that I can not doubt it any more than 
 I can doubt that I am walking down this path 
 with you." 
 
 And then, again, Ruth s astonishment was in 
 part lost in that absorbing question : 
 
 " How did you get to be one ? " 
 
 " It is a simple Jittle story," Flossy said. And 
 then she began at the beginning and told her 
 little bit of experience, fresh in her heart, dating 
 only a few days back, and full to the brim with 
 peace and gladness to her. 
 
 " But I don t see," Ruth said, perplexed. " I 
 don t find out what to do. I want to be told 
 how to do it, and none of you tell me ; you seem 
 to have just resolved about it, and not done any 
 thing. I have gone so far myself. Such a night 
 as last night was, Flossy ! Oh, you can never 
 imagine it ! " 
 
 And then she told her story, as much of it as 
 could be told ; of the horror and the thick dark- 
 
340 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ness that had enveloped her she could only hint. 
 
 What an eager flash there was in Flossy s 
 bright eyes as she listened. 
 
 " When you said that ! " she began, eagerly, 
 as Ruth paused. " When you said, 4 1 will do 
 it. What then? Did you feel just as you did 
 before?" 
 
 " No," Ruth said, " not at all. The night had 
 gone by that time. As I looked about me I 
 realized that it was daylight, and I fancied that 
 my feelings were the result of a highly excited 
 state of nerves. But the resolve was not to be 
 accounted for in any such way. I meant that. 
 The horror, though, of which I had been telling 
 you was quite gone. It was as if there had been 
 a fearful storm, with the constant roll of thunder, 
 and suddenly a calm. I hadn t the least feeling 
 of fear or dread, and I haven t had all day ; but 
 to-night I may have the very same experience." 
 
 t% No, you will not," Flossy* said, her voice 
 aglow with feeling and with joy. " Oh, Ruthie, 
 Ruthie ! There is no night ! You have got be 
 yond" it. I tell you, you have come into God s 
 light! And isn t it blessed? You are a Chris 
 tian now." 
 
"Ive Been Redeemed: 341 
 
 " But," protested Ruth, utterly bewildered, 
 " I do not understand you, and I don t think you 
 understand yourself. In what way am I differ 
 ent from what I was yesterday? How can I be 
 lost in God s sight one moment and accepted the 
 next ? " 
 
 " Easily ; oh, so easily ! Don t you see ? Why, 
 if I had been coaxing you for a year to give me 
 something, and you had steadily refused, but if 
 suddenly you had said to me, Yes. I will ; I 
 have changed my mind; I will give it to } T OU, 
 wouldn t there be a difference ? Wouldn t I 
 know that I was to have it? And couldn t I 
 thank you then, and tell you how glad I was, 
 just the same as though I had it in my hand ? 
 It is a poor little illustration, Ruthie, but it is 
 true that God has been calling you all your life, 
 and if you have all the time been saying No, 
 up to that moment when you said solemnly, 
 meaning it with all your heart, I will, I tell 
 you it makes a difference." 
 
 I can not describe to you how strangely all 
 this sounded to Ruthie. Up to this moment she 
 had not realized in the least that the Lord was 
 asking her simply for a decision, and that hav- 
 
842 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ing solemnly given it, the work, so far as she was 
 concerned, was done, and the new relations in 
 stantly commenced. She thought it over that 
 sudden calming of heart that sense of resolve 
 of determination, so strong, and yet so quiet. 
 She remembered what a strange day it had been. 
 How she had tried to keep before her mind the 
 horror of the night, and had not been able. 
 
 She went on talking with Flossy, telling her 
 about Charlie Flint, noticing the happy tears 
 that glistened in Flossy s eyes as she received 
 her message, taking in the murmured words, 
 " To think that Christ would honor such a fee 
 ble little witnessing as that!" and realizing even 
 then that it would be very blessed to have one 
 say to her, " You have been the means of lead 
 ing me to think about this thing." Why should 
 she care, though, whether people thought about 
 this thing or not ? Yesterday she didn t. Dur 
 ing all the talk she kept up this little undertone 
 of thought, this running commentary on her sud 
 den change of views and feelings, and wondered, 
 and wondered, could it be possible that she was 
 utterly changed? And yet, when she came to 
 think of it, wasn t she ? Didn t she love Christ ? 
 
" I ve Been Redeemed." 343 
 
 And then it struck her as the strangest thing in 
 the world not to love him. How could any one 
 be so devoid of heart as that? Why, a mere 
 man, to have done one-half of what Christ had 
 done for her, would have received undying love 
 and service. 
 
 As they walked they neared the stand, and 
 there came just at that moment a burst of music, 
 one of those strange, thrilling tunes such as none 
 but the African race ever sing. The words 
 were familiar, and yet to Ruth they were new : 
 
 " There is a fountain filled will blood, 
 
 Drawn from Immanuel s veins, 
 And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, 
 Lose all their guilty stains." 
 
 A sinner I Was she, Ruth Erskine, a sinner? 
 Yesterday she had not liked it to be called a 
 prodigal. Bat to-day, oh yes. Was there a 
 greater sinner to be found than she? Plow long 
 she had known this story ! How long she had 
 known and believed of a certainty that Jesus 
 Christ lived and died that she might have salva 
 tion, and yet she had never in her life thanked 
 him for it ! Nay, she had spurned and scorned 
 
844 Four G-irls <tt Chautauqua. 
 
 his gift ! So much worse than though she had 
 not believed it at all ! For then at least she 
 could not have been said to have met him with 
 the insult of indifference. 
 
 Then the chorus swelled out on the still air. 
 Only those who heard it under the trees at 
 Chautauqua have the least idea how it sounded ; 
 only those who hear it, as Ruth Erslune did, can 
 have the least idea how it sounded to her. 
 
 "I ve been redeemed, I ve been redeemed ! " 
 
 Over and over the strain repeated. Now in 
 clear soprano tones, and anon rolled out from 
 the grand bass voices. And then the swelling 
 unison: 
 
 " I ve been redeemed 
 Been washed in the blood of the Lamb." 
 
 The girls had stopped, and almost held their 
 breaths to listen. They stood in silence while 
 verse after verse with its triumphant swell of 
 chorus rolled out to them. The great tears 
 gathered slowly in Ruth s eyes, until, as the last 
 echo died away, she turned to Flossy, and her 
 voice was clear and triumphant: 
 
Been Redeemed." 345 
 
 " I believe I have. Flossy, I believe I have. 
 It is a glorious thought, and a wonderful one. 
 It almost frightens me. And yet it thrills me 
 with perfect delight. The fountain is deep 
 enough for us all for them and for me. I 
 have " been redeemed," and if God will help me 
 I will never forget it again." 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 SWOED "THEUSTS. 
 
 , Y the next morning it became clear to our 
 girls that a change of programme was a 
 necessity. Ruth had by no means recovered 
 from her shock and the sleepless night that fol 
 lowed, and some of the comforts of invalidism 
 must be found for her. At the same time she 
 utterly repudiated the idea of Saratoga, which 
 was now urged upon her ; it had lost its charms ; 
 neither would she go home. 
 
 " I have decided to stay until the very last 
 
 meeting," she said, with quiet determination. 
 (346) 
 
Sword Thrusts. 347 
 
 Flossy laughed softly ; she knew what charms 
 Chautauqua had taken on, but the others sup 
 posed it to be a whim, resulting from the ridicule 
 she had suffered because of the Saratoga scheme. 
 
 After many plans were discussed it was finally 
 decided that Flossy and Ruth should seek quar 
 ters at the hotel in Mayville, Ruth coming over 
 to the meetings only when her strength and her 
 fancy dictated, and haying some of the luxuries 
 of home about her. It seemed to fall naturally 
 to Flossy s lot to accompany her ; indeed, a bar 
 rier was in the way of either of the others being 
 chosen. The hotel arrangement, when one took 
 into consideration the numerous boat-rides to and 
 from the ground, was by no means an econom 
 ical proceeding, and as Flossy and Ruth were the 
 only ones who were entirely indifferent to the 
 demands of their purses, it must of necessity be 
 them. 
 
 Neither of them was disposed to demur ; there 
 had never been much congeniality between these 
 two, but they had been friendly, and now there 
 was a subtle bond of sympathy which made them 
 long to be together. So, during the next morn 
 ing hours, those two were engaged in packing 
 
348 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 their effects and preparing for a flitting to the 
 Mayville House. Meantime Marion and Eurie, 
 having stood ardund and looked on until they 
 were tired, departed in search of something to 
 interest them. 
 
 "It is too early for meeting," Marion said. 
 " There is nothing of interest until 1 1 o clock. 
 I m sorry we missed Mrs. Clark. 1 like to. look 
 at her and listen to her ; she is just bubhliug 
 over with enthusiasm. One can see that she 
 thinks she means it. If I were a Sunday-school 
 teacher I should be glad I was here, to hear her. 
 I think it has been about the most helpful thing 
 I have heard thus far; helpful to those who in 
 dulge in that sort of work, I mean." 
 
 " I wonder what those normal classes are like ? " 
 Eurie said, studying her programme. "We 
 haven t been to one of those, have we ? What 
 do you suppose they do ? " 
 
 Marion shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " They are like work," she said. " Working 
 hours, they are named ; and I suppose some hard 
 thinking is done. If I didn t have to teach 
 school six hours out of every day at home I 
 might be tempted to go in and listen to them ; 
 
Sword TJirusts. 849 
 
 but I came here to play, you see, and to make 
 money; they are not good to report about. Peo 
 ple who stay at home and read the reported let 
 ters don t want to hear any thing about the actual 
 work ; they want to know who the speaker was 
 and how he looked, and whether his gestures 
 were graceful, and if it is a lady above all, 
 how she was dressed ; if they say anything re 
 markably sarcastic or irresistibly funny you may 
 venture to report it, but not otherwise, conse 
 quently reporting is easy work, if }~ou have not 
 too much conscience, because what you didn t 
 see you can make up. 
 
 At the end of this harangue she paused sud 
 denly before a tent, whence came the sound of a 
 firm and distinct voice. 
 
 " What is this ? " she said, and then she lifted a 
 bit of the canvas and peeped in. " I m going in 
 here, after all," she said, withdrawing her head 
 and explaining. " This is a normal class, I guess. 
 That man from Philadelphia what is his name ? 
 Tyler? Yes, that is it J. Bennet Tyler is 
 leading. I like him ; I like his voice ever so 
 much ; he makes you hear, whether you want to 
 
350 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 or not. Then, somewa} T , you get a kind of a no 
 tion that lie not only believes what he say* but 
 that he knows it is so, and that is all there is 
 about it. I like to meet such people now and 
 then, because they are so rare. Generally peo 
 pie act as though you could coax them out of 
 their notions in about twenty minutes if you 
 tried when they are talking about religious 
 subjects, I mean. Obstinacy is not so rare o 
 trait where other matters are concerned. LetV 
 go in." 
 
 " What is the subject this morning ? " Etirie 
 asked, following her guide around to the entrance, 
 somewhat reluctantly. She was in no mood for 
 shutting herself inside a tent, and being obliged 
 to listen whether she wanted to or not. But 
 Marion was in one of her positive moods this 
 morning, and must either be followed or deserted 
 altogether. 
 
 Mr. Tyler was reading from a slip of paper as 
 they entered. This was the sentence he read: 
 
 " Difficulties in interpretation which arise from 
 certain mental peculiarities of the student. Some 
 minds, and not by any means the strongest or 
 
Sword Thrusts. 351 
 
 noblest, must always see the reason for every 
 thing." 
 
 Marion gave Eurie a sagacious nod of the 
 head. 
 
 " Don t you see ? " she said. " Now, by the 
 peculiar way in which he read that, he made be 
 lieve it was me he meant. And, by the way, I m 
 not sure but he is correct. 1 must say that I 
 like a reason for things. But what right has he 
 to say that that is an indication of a weak mind? " 
 
 " He didn t say so," whispered Eurie. 
 
 " Oh, yes he did ; it amounted to that. There 
 is where his peculiar use of words comes in. 
 Thaf man has studied words until he handles 
 them as if they were foot-balls, and were to go 
 exactly where he sent them." 
 
 " He is looking this way. The next thing you 
 know he will throw some at us for whispering." 
 
 This was Eurie s attempt to quiet Marion s 
 tongue. That or some other influence had the 
 desired effect. She whispered no more, and it 
 was apparent in a very few minutes that she had 
 become intensely interested in the theme and in 
 the way it was being handled. An eager exam 
 ination of the programme disclosed what she be- 
 
352 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 gaii to suspect, that the subject was, " Difficul 
 ties in the Bible." Her intellectual knowledge 
 of the Bible was considerable ; and having read it 
 ever since she could remember, with the express 
 purpose of finding difficulties, it was not surpris 
 ing that she had found them. . 
 
 Something, either in the leaders manner of 
 drawing out answers, or the peculiar emphasis 
 with which he contrived to invest certain words, 
 had the effect to cause Marion to feel as though 
 she had been very superficial in her reasoning 
 and childish in her objections. She grew eager ; 
 her brain, accustomed to work rapidly and fol 
 low trains of thought closely, enjoyed the keen 
 play of thought that was being drawn forth. 
 
 But there was more than that ; almost uncon- 
 ciously to herself this subject was assuming vital 
 proportions to her ; she did not even herself re 
 alize the intensity of the cry in her heart, " If I 
 only knew whether these were so ! " Presently 
 the voice which had once before struck her as 
 being so peculiar in its personality sounded dis 
 tinctly down the long tent. 
 
 " Remember the conditions under which the 
 Bible promises clear apprehension of the truth." 
 
Sword Thrusts. 353 
 
 It chanced at least that is the way in which 
 we use language it chanced that Mr. Tyler s 
 eyes as he repeated these words rested on Marion. 
 Speaking of it afterward she said : 
 
 " So far as the impression made on me was con 
 cerned, it was the same as though he had said : 
 4 Do you understand what an idiot you have been 
 not to take that cardinal point into consideration 
 at all ? Open your Bible and read, and see how 
 like a weak-minded babe you are. " 
 
 Beside her lay a Bible just dropped by some 
 one who had been called out. Following out 
 the impulse of the moment she turned to the ref 
 erence, and her clear voice gave it distinctly : 
 
 " If any man will do his will, he shall know of 
 the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I 
 speak of myself. * 
 
 The effect of this simple, straightforward and 
 reasonable proposition, on sounding back to her 
 spoken by her own voice, was tremendous. Very 
 little more of the talk did she hear. A thrust, 
 from God s own sword had reached her. What 
 a fool she had been ! What right had she to 
 presume to give an opinion before applying the 
 test? Had not the most common-place state- 
 
354 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ments a right to be tried by their own tests? 
 Yet she had never given this simple direction a 
 thought. 
 
 So this was the Bible promise ? " He shall 
 know." Not that these things are so, but a more 
 logical, more satisfactory statement to the nat 
 ural heart. He shall judge for himself whether 
 these things be so ; follow the directions, and 
 then judge by your experiences after that 
 whether these things be true or false. Could 
 anything be more reasonable ? 
 
 " I shall never dare to say that I don t believe 
 the Bible again, for fear some one will ask me 
 whether I have applied the test, and if I have 
 not what business have I to judge. That man 
 now, if I should come in contact with him, which 
 I shall endeavor not to do, would be sure to ask 
 me. He has almost the same as asked it now, 
 before all these people. He has a mysterious 
 way of making me feel as though he was talking 
 for my confusion and for nobody else." 
 
 This Marion told to herself as she eyed the 
 leader, half sullenly. He had strangely disturbed 
 her logic and set her refuge in ruins. 
 
 " Let s go," she said suddenly to Eurie. " I 
 
Sword Thrusts. 355 
 
 am tired of this ; 1 have had enough, and more 
 than enough." But the hour was over, and she 
 had had all that was to be secured from that 
 source. 
 
 All the younger portion of the congregation 
 seemed to be rushing back up the lull again, and 
 inquiry developed the fact that Mrs. Clark was 
 to meet the primary workers in the large tent. 
 It was wonderful how many people chose to con 
 sider themselves primary workers? At least 
 they rushed to this meeting, a great army of 
 them, as though their one object in life, was to 
 learn how successfully to teach the little ones. 
 Our girls all met together in the tent. Ruth 
 and Flossy had finished their preparations, but 
 had concluded to wait until afternoon service. 
 
 " I declare if you are not armed with a pencil 
 and paper. Have you been seized with a mania 
 for taking notes?" This Eurie said to Iluth. 
 " Now I m going to get out my note book too. 
 Here is a card it will hold all 1 care to write 
 1 dare say. Let me see, who knows but I shall 
 go to teaching in Sabbath-school one of these 
 days ! I am going to make a list of the things 
 which according to Mrs. Clark, we shall need." 
 
 
356 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 True to her new fancy, she scribbled industri 
 ously during the session, and showed her card 
 with glee as they left the tent. 
 
 "I ve a complete list," she said. "If any of 
 you go into the business I can supply you with 
 the names of the necessary tools. Look I 
 
 " A blackboard. 
 
 " A picture roll. 
 
 " A punch ! 
 
 " Cards. 
 
 " Brains ! 
 
 44 Blank book. 
 
 " Children. 
 
 " More brains I 
 
 " That last item," she said, reflectively, " is the 
 hardest to find. I had no idea so much of that 
 material was necessary. Now let me see what is 
 on your papers." This even Marion stoutly re 
 sisted. And Flossy quietly hid hers in her 
 pocket, saying with a smile : 
 
 " Mine is simply a list of things needful for 
 such work." 
 
 If she had shown her paper it would have as 
 tonished Eurie, and it might have done her good. 
 This was what she had written : 
 
Sword Thrusts. 357 
 
 "What I need in order to be a successful 
 teacher. 
 
 "Such a forgetfullness of self as shall lead me 
 to think only of the little ones and their needs, 
 
 " Such a love for Christ as shall lead me to 
 long after every little soul to lead it to him." 
 
 As for Marion her paper contained simply this 
 sentence, carefully written out in German text 
 as if she had deliberated over each letter ; 
 
 " If any man will do his will, he shall know 
 of the doctrine, whether it be of God." 
 
 They went in a body to hear Dr. Hatfield. 
 
 " I want that lecture," Marion said, " ; Perils 
 of the Hour/ I m very anxious to know what 
 my peril is. I know just what is hovering over 
 every one of you, but I can t quite make up my 
 mind as to my own state. Perhaps the distin 
 guished gentleman can help me." 
 
 And he did. He had selected for one of the 
 perils that which was embodied in the following 
 ringing sentence : 
 
 " The third peril is the prevelancy of skeptic 
 ism. A class of scientists have discovered that 
 there is no God ! What the fool said in his heart 
 they proclaimed on the house-top ! " 
 
358 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Eurie looked over at her, smiling and mis 
 chievous, and said in anything but a softly whis 
 per, " That means you, my dear." 
 > But Marion did not hear her; she was ab 
 sorbed in the intense scathing sentences that fol 
 lowed. Of one thing she presently felt assured, 
 that whoever was right or whoever was wrong 
 in this matter, Dr. Hatfield believed with all the 
 intensity of an intense educated intellect that 
 God ruled. Was it probable that he had met 
 the condition, done his will, and so knew of the 
 doctrine ? That was an hour to be remembered. 
 Eurie ceased to whisper or to frolic ; there was 
 too much intensity, about the speaker s manner 
 not to claim her attention. She listened as she 
 was not in the habit of listening. She could 
 give you a detailed account even now of that 
 hour of thought; so could I, and I am awfully 
 tempted ; but, you see, it is only Tuesday, and 
 the girls have six more days to spend at Chau 
 tauqua. 
 
 Both Ruth and Flossy got their crumb to 
 think over. They discussed it at the hotel that 
 evening. 
 
 " I tell you, Flossy, if Dr. Hatfield is correct 
 
Sword Thrust*. 359 
 
 you and I have tremendous changes to make in 
 our way of spending the Sabbath ; and I have 
 actually prided myself on the way in which I 
 respected the day ! " 
 
 Aod Ruth laughed as if that were so strange 
 a thought, now that it was hardly possible to 
 think that she could have entertained it. 
 
 "I know," Flossy said; "and he can not but 
 be right, for he proved his position. I am glad 
 I heard that address. But for him, I know I 
 should never have thought of my influence in 
 some places where I now see I can use it. Ruth 
 you will be struck with one thing. Now, Chau- 
 tauqua is like what Madame C s school might 
 have been, so far as study is concerned. Every 
 day I have a new lesson, one that startles me so I 
 I feel that there must be some mistake, or I 
 would have heard of or thought of some of these 
 things before. And yet they sound so reason 
 able when you come to think them over, that 
 presently I am surprised that I have not felt 
 them before. Ruthie, do you think Eurie and 
 Marion have any interest at all ? " 
 
 "No," said Ruth, positively, "I know Marion 
 
360 
 
 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 hasn t. It was only the other evening that she 
 talked more wildly if anything than before." 
 
 About this time Marion, alone in her tent, said 
 again, as she had said a dozen times during the 
 last few days: "If I only knew!" And this 
 time she added, " If I only knew how to know I " 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 SEEMONS IN CHALK. 
 
 OW, see here, Marion Wilbur, wake up 
 and give me your attention. I want to 
 make a speech ; I ve caught the infection. It s 
 queer in a place where there is so much speech- 
 making done that I can t have a chance to ex 
 press my views." 
 
 " I m all attention," Marion answered, turning 
 on her pillow, and giving Eurie a sleepy stare. 
 " What has moved you to be eloquent ? Give 
 me the subject." 
 
 " The subject is the reflex influence of preach- 
 (361) 
 
862 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 ing ! It may have different effects on different 
 natures. Its eflect on mine has been marked 
 enough. I m thoroughly surfeited. I don t 
 want to hear another sermon while I am here, 
 and I don t mean to. They are all sermons. 
 The subject may be scientific, literary or artistic, 
 and it amounts to the same thing ; they contrive 
 to row around to the same spot from whatever 
 point they start. Now, I came here for fun, and 
 I m being literally cheated out of it. So the ap 
 plication of my remark is, I ve learned since I 
 have been here always to have an application to 
 everything, and this time it is that I won t go 
 any more. I ve studied the programme care 
 fully, and I have selected just what I am going 
 to do. That Mrs. Knox has a reception this 
 morning. I ve heard about her before ; she is 
 awfully in earnest, and awfully good. Oh, I 
 haven t the least doubt of it ; but, you see, I 
 don t want to be good, nor to have such an un 
 comfortable amount of goodness about me." 
 
 " She is said to be one of the most successful 
 Sabbath-school teachers here ; and I heard a 
 gentleman say last night that her primary class 
 was a regular training school for young ladies in 
 
Sermons in Chalk. 363 
 
 Christian work. You know she has ever so 
 many teachers under her." 
 
 " I can t help that. I ain not one of them, I 
 im thankful to say. What do I care whether 
 she is successful or not ? That won t help me 
 my. I know all about her. They say the 
 young ladies in her classes are invariably con 
 verted before they have been under her in 
 fluence long. So if you want to be converted 
 you have only to go to Elmira and join her 
 class; but as for me, I am not in the mood for 
 that experience yet, and I am not going near 
 her." 
 
 " What are you going to do then ? " 
 " Just what I please ! That is what I came 
 for. Just think of the absurdity of we four 
 girls rushing to meeting at the rate we have 
 been doing for the last week. What do you 
 suppose the people at home would think of us ? 
 Why, I didn t expect to hear any of their ser 
 mons when I came. I as good as promised 
 Flossy that I would frolic about with her all the 
 time, and now the absurd little dunce acts as if 
 she were under a wager to be on the ground 
 every time the bell rings I I ve declared off. I 
 
864 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 
 can tell you to an item just what I am going to 
 
 hear. There is a performance to come off this 
 afternoon some time that I shall be ready for. 
 I loitered behind the King tent last night, and 
 heard him say so. That Frank Beard is going 
 to give his chalk talk caricatures : that I shall 
 hear, and especially see. It will be hard work 
 to poke a sermon into that. I guess that is to 
 be this afternoon ; it is to be some time soon, 
 anyway, and I shall watch for it. Then there is 
 to be another extra. Mrs. Miller is going to 
 read a story. I can give you the title of it. I. 
 didn t sit on that horrid stump in the dark lis 
 tening to Dr. Vincent for nothing. It is to be 
 Three Blind Mice. Now it stands to reason 
 that a story with such a title will not be very 
 far above my intellectual capacit}^ and it can t 
 very well develop into a sermon, or close with a 
 prayer-meeting. Then I m going to the concert 
 by the Tennesseeans ; their jargon won t hurt 
 me ; and, of course, I shall attend the Presi 
 dent s reception. I must have a stare at him 
 and that is every solitary meeting I am going to 
 attend. I ve heard the last preaching that I 
 mean to for some time." 
 
Sermons in Chalk. 365 
 
 Now this was what Eurie Mitchell said. Let 
 me tell you a little bit about what she thought. 
 She was by no means so indifferent, nor so bored 
 as she would have Marion understand. She was 
 by no means in the state of mind that Ruth had 
 been, or that Marion was. No doubts as to the 
 general truth of all the vital doctrines of Christ 
 ianity had ever troubled her. She accepted 
 without question the belief of the so-called 
 Christian World. Neither was she bewildered 
 as to what constituted Christian life. No vague 
 notion that to unite herself with some church 
 would let her into the charmed circle had ever 
 befogged her brain. 
 
 On the contrary, she knew better than many 
 a Christian does just what the Christian profes 
 sion involved, and just how narrow a path ought 
 to be walked by those professing to follow 
 Christ. In proportion to the keenness of her 
 sarcasm over blundering, stumbling Christians, 
 had her eyes been open to what they ought to 
 be. 
 
 There was just this the matter with Eurie. 
 She knew so well what religious professions in 
 volved that she wanted to make none. She 
 
866 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 hated the thought of self-abnegation, of bridling 
 her eager tongue, of going only where her en 
 lightened conscience said a Christian should go, 
 of looking out for and calling after others to go 
 with her. She wished deliberately to ignore ifc 
 all. Not forever, she would have been shocked 
 at the thought. Some time she meant to give 
 intense heed to these things, and then indeed 
 the church should see what a Christian could be ! 
 But not now. 
 
 There were a hundred things laid down in her. 
 programme for the coming winter that she knew 
 perfectly well were not the things to do or say, 
 provided she were a Christian, and she deliber 
 ately wished to avoid the fear of becoming one. 
 Just here she was afraid of the influence of 
 Chautauqua. 
 
 How was it possible to attend these meetings, 
 to listen to these daily, hourly addresses, teeming 
 either directly or indirectly with the same 
 thought, personal consecration, without feeling 
 herself drawn within the circle? She would 
 not be drawn. This was her deliberate conclu 
 sion, therefore her determination. 
 
 It was almost well for her that she could not 
 
Sermons in Chalk. 367 
 
 realize on what fearfully dangerous ground she 
 was treading ! I wonder if those over whom 
 the Lord says, " Let them alone," are ever con 
 scious at the time that the order has gone forth, 
 and that they are to feel their consciences press 
 ing home this matter no more ? 
 
 " Well," said Marion, after turning this resolu 
 tion over in her mind for a few minutes, " I dare 
 say you will lose a good many things worth hear 
 ing ; but I have nothing to do with that only I 
 want you to go with me up to hear Mrs. Knox 
 this morning. I ve got to go, for I promised es 
 pecially to report her for the teachers at home, 
 and it is stupid to go alone. She won t preach, 
 and she won t bore you, and I want you to help 
 me remember items." 
 
 So, much against her will, Eurie was coaxed 
 into this departure from her programme, and 
 came back from the meeting in intense disgust. 
 
 "Talk about her not preaching," she said, vent 
 ing her annoyance on Marion \vhile she energet 
 ically brushed her hair. "Every fold of her 
 dress preached a sermon ! She makes me ache 
 all over, she is so powerfully in earnest ; and didn t 
 she hint what angels of goodness those girls of 
 
368 Four Girls at Cliautauqua. 
 
 hers were those teachers! I d like to know 
 how they could be anything else but good \\ ith 
 such an example at hand. Just think, Marion, 
 of having the brains that that woman has, and 
 the energy and tact and the skill of a general, 
 and then forcing it into a Sunday-school class 
 room for the teaching of a hundred little dots 
 that have just tumbled out of their cradles ! " 
 
 " Well, if she teaches them to tumble out on 
 the right side so that they will come up grand 
 men and women, what then ? Isn t that an am 
 bition worthy of her ? " 
 
 " Stuff and nonsense ! Don t you go to preach 
 ing. I shall go and drown myself in the lake if 
 I hear any more of it, and then one worthless 
 person will be out of the way. But don t you 
 dare to ask nae to go and hear that woman again ! 
 I won t give up my plans in life for hers, and 
 she needn t hint it to me. And, Marion Wilbur, 
 I am not going to listen to another man or woman 
 who has the least chance to fire words right a.t 
 me now mark my words." 
 
 Full of this determination she carried it out 
 during the afternoon, until the hour for Frank 
 Beard s caricatures ; then, secure from fear of 
 
Sermons in Chalk. 369 
 
 a sermon, she came gayly down and considered 
 herself fortunate to secure a seat directly in 
 front of the stand and in full view of the black 
 board. If you have never seen Frank Beard 
 make pictures you know nothing about what a 
 good time she had. They were such funny pict 
 ures ! just a few strokes of the magic era}- on 
 and the character described would seem to start 
 into life before you, and you would feel that you 
 could almost know what thoughts were passing 
 in the heart of the creature made of chalk. Eu- 
 rie looked, and listened, and laughed. The old 
 deacon who thought the Sunday-school was be 
 ing glorified too much had his exact counterpart 
 among her acquaintances, so far as his looks 
 were concerned. The three troublesome Sun 
 day-school scholars fairly convulsed her by their 
 life-like appearance. There was the little scamp 
 of a boy who was revealed by the dozen to any 
 one who took a walk down town toward the close 
 of the day ; the argumentative old man, with 
 his nose pointing out a flaw in your reasoning or 
 on the keen scent for a mistake ; and the pert 
 fourteen-year-old girl whose very nose, as it 
 
370 Four Girls at Cliautauqua. 
 
 slightly turned upward, showed that she knew 
 more than all the logicians and theologians in the 
 world. 
 
 This entertainment was exactly in Eurie s line. 
 If there was anything in the world that she was 
 an adept at it was looking up weak points in the 
 characters of other people ; and when the silly 
 girl with but two ideas one of them bows and 
 the other beaux lived and breathed before her 
 on the blackboard her delight reached its climax. 
 
 " She is the very picture of Nettie Arnold ! " 
 she whispered to Marion. " When I go home I 
 mean to tell her that her photograph was dis 
 played at Cliautauqua. She is just vain enough 
 to believe it ! " 
 
 Still the fun went on. Just a few bold, rapid 
 strokes, and some caricature breathed before 
 them, so real that the character was guessed be 
 fore the explanation was given, and the ground 
 rang with continued and overpowering roars of 
 laughter. 
 
 Into the midst of this entertainment came Dr. 
 Vincent, his face aglow with the exertion of 
 heaity laughter, every feature of it expressive of 
 
Sermons in ChaUc. 371 
 
 his hearty appreciation of this hour of recreation ^ 
 and yet every feature alive and alert with a 
 higher and more enduring feeling. 
 
 " Frank," he said, laying a friendly hand on 
 the artist s arm, " our time is almost up. Give 
 us the symbol of the teacher s work." 
 
 There was an instant of rapid motion, a few 
 skillful lines, and it needed no word of explana 
 tion to recognize the great family Bible. " Now 
 the symbol of the teacher s hope," and on one 
 page of the open Bible there flashed an anchor. 
 
 " No\v the symbol of his reward," and lo, there 
 rose up before them the solid wall, built brick 
 by brick. Dr. Vincent s voice was almost husky 
 with feeling, so suddenly had the play of his emo 
 tions changed, as he said : " Now we want the 
 the foundation." 
 
 How did Frank Beard do it with a dull col 
 ored crayon and a half-dozen movements of his 
 skillful arm ? How can I tell, except that God 
 has given to the arm wondrous skill ; but there 
 appeared before that astonished multitude a 
 foundation as of granite, and there rose from it, 
 as if suddenly hewed out before them, a clean- 
 cut solid shaft of gray, imperishable granite. 
 
372 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 One more dash of the wondrous crayon and the 
 shaft was done a solid cross ! 
 
 Prof. Sherwin was sitting, for want of a bet 
 ter position, on the floor of the stand. It was 
 the only available space. He had been looking 
 and enjoying as only men like Prof. Sherwin 
 can ; and now, as he watched the outgrowth of 
 this wonderful cross, as the last stroke was given 
 that made it complete, and a sound like a sub 
 dued shout of joy and triumph murmured through 
 the crowd, moved as by a sudden mighty im 
 pulse that he could not control, his splendid 
 voice burst forth in the glorious words : 
 
 Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in Thee." 
 
 And that great multitude took it up and rolled 
 the tribute of -praise down those resounding aisles 
 until people bowed themselves, and some of them 
 wept softly in the very excess of their joy and 
 thanksgiving. It was all so sudden, so unex 
 pected ; yet it was so surely the key-note to the 
 Chautauqua heart, and fitted in so aptly with 
 their professions and intentions. They could 
 
Sermons in Chalk. 373 
 
 play for a few minutes none could do it with 
 better hearts or more utter enjoyment than these 
 same splendid leaders but how surely their 
 hearts turned back to the main thought, the 
 main work, the main hope, in life and in death. 
 
 As for Eurie, she will not be likely to forget 
 that sermon. It almost overpowered her. 
 There came over her such a sudden and eager 
 longing to understand the depths from whence 
 such feeling sprung, to rest her feet on the same 
 foundation, that for the moment her heart gave 
 a great bound and said: "It is worth all the 
 self-denial and all the change of life and plans 
 which it would involve. I almost think I want 
 that rather than anything else." That misera 
 ble " almost ! " I wonder how many souls it has 
 shipwrecked? The old story. If Eurie had 
 been familiar with her Bible it would surely 
 have reminded her of the foolish listener who 
 said, while he trembled under the truth, " Almost 
 thou persuadest me to be a Christian." 
 
 Shall I tell you what came in, just then and 
 there, to influence her decision ? It was such a 
 miserable little thing nothing more than the 
 remembrance of certain private parties that 
 
374 Four Crirla at Chautauqua. 
 
 were a standing institution among " their set " 
 at home, to meet fortnightly in each other s par 
 lors for a social dance. Not a ball I oh, no, not 
 at all. These young ladies did not attend balls^ 
 unless occasionally a charity ball, when a very se 
 lect party was made up. Simply quiet evenings 
 among special friends, where the special amuse 
 ment was dancing. 
 
 " Dear me ! " you say, " I am a Christian, and 
 I don t see anything wrong in dancing. Wh}% I 
 dance at private parties very often. What was 
 there in that thought that needed to influence 
 her?" 
 
 Oh, well, we are not arguing, you know. This 
 is simply a record of matters and things as they 
 occurred at Chautauqua. It can hardly be said 
 to be a story, except as records of real lives of 
 course make stories. 
 
 But Eurie was not a Christian, you see ; and 
 however foolish it may have been in her she had 
 picked out dancing as one of the amusements not 
 fitting to a Christian profession. It is a queer 
 fact, for the cause of which I do not pretend to 
 account, but if you are curious, and will investi 
 gate this subject, you will find that four fifths of 
 
Sermons in CTialJc. 375 
 
 the people in this world who are not Christians 
 have tacitly agreed among themselves that dan 
 cing is not an amusement that seems entirely 
 suited to church-members. If you want to get 
 at the reason for this strange prejudice, question 
 some of them. Meantime the fact exists that 
 Eurie felt herself utterly unwilling to give up the 
 leadership of those fortnightly parties, and that 
 the trivial question actually came in then and 
 there, while she stood looking at that picture of 
 the cross ; and in proportion as her sudden con 
 viction of desire lost itself in this whirl of in 
 tended amusement did her disgust arise at the 
 thought that she had been actually betrayed into 
 listening to another sermon I 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 " THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM." 
 
 .ARION went alone to the services the 
 next morning. It was in vain that she 
 assured Eurie that Miss Morris was going to 
 conduct one of the normal classes, and that she 
 had heard her spoken of as unusually sparkling. 
 Eurie shook her head. 
 
 " Go and hear her sparkle, then, by all means ; 
 I won t. Now that s a very inelegant word to 
 use, but it is expressive, and when / use it you 
 may know that I mean it; I am tired of the 
 whole story, and I have been cheated times 
 enough. Look at yesterday I It was a dozen 
 prayer-meetings combined. No, I don t get 
 caught this morning." 
 
 " But the subject is one that will not admit 
 (376) 
 
44 Their Works Do Follow Them." 377 
 
 of sermonizing and prayer-meetings this morn 
 ing, Marion pleaded ; " I am specially interested 
 it. It is 4 How to win and hold attention. 
 If there is anything earthly that a ward school 
 teacher needs to know it is those two items. I 
 expect to get practical help." 
 
 " You needn t expect anything earthly ; this 
 crowd have nothing to do with matters this side 
 of eternity. As for the subject not admitting 
 of sermonizing, look at the subject of blackboard 
 caricatures. What came of that? " 
 So she went her way, and Marion, who had 
 seen Miss Morris and had been attracted, looked 
 her up with earnest work in view. She had an 
 ambition to be a power in her school-room. 
 Why should not this subject help her ? 
 
 The tent was quite full, but she made her way 
 to a corner and secured a seat. Miss Morris was 
 apparentty engaged in introducing herself and 
 apologizing for her subject. 
 
 " I tried to beg off," she said ; " I told them 
 that the subject and I had nothing in common; 
 that I was a primary class teacher, and in that 
 line lay my work. But there is no sort of use 
 in trying to change Dr. Vincent s mind about 
 
878 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 anything, so I had to submit. But for once in 
 my life I remind myself of Gough. I once 
 overheard him in conversation with a committee 
 on lectures. They were objecting to having him 
 lecture on temperance, and pressing him to name 
 some other subject. Choose what subject you 
 please, gentlemen, he said at last, 4 and I ll lect 
 ure on it, but remember what I say will be on 
 temperance. So they have given me this sub 
 ject and I have engaged to take it, but I want 
 you to remember that what I say will be on pri 
 mary class-teaching." 
 
 By this time Miss Morris had the sympathy 
 of her audience, and had awakened an interest 
 to see how she would follow out her programme, 
 and from first to last she held their attention. 
 Certain thoughts glowed vividly. I don t know 
 who else they influenced, but I knew they roused 
 and startled Marion, and will have much to do 
 with her future methods of teaching. 
 
 " Remember," said the speaker, " that you can 
 not live on skim-milk and teach cream ! " The 
 thought embodied in that brief and telling sen 
 tence was as old as time, and Marion had heard 
 it as long ago as she remembered anything, but 
 it never flashed before her until that moment. 
 
Tlieir Wo?ks Do Follow Them." 379 
 
 What an illustration ! She saw herself teach 
 ing her class in botany to analyze the flowers, to 
 classify them, to tell every minute item concern- 
 Ing them, and she taught them nothing to say 
 concerning the Creator. Was this " skim-milk " 
 teaching ? She knew so many ways in which, 
 did she but have this belief concerning heaven, 
 and Christ, and the judgment, in her heart, she 
 could impress it upon her scholars. She had 
 aimed to be the very cream of teachers. Was 
 she? She came back from her reverie, or, 
 rather, her self-questioning, to hear Miss Morris 
 say : 
 
 " Why, one move of your hand moves all cre 
 ation ! and as surely does one thought of your 
 soul grow and spread and roll through the uni 
 verse. Why, you can t sit in your room alone, 
 and think a mean thought, or a false thought, 
 or an unchristian thought, without its influencing 
 not only all people around you, not only all peo 
 ple in all the universe, but nations j T et unborn 
 must live under the shadow or the glory that the 
 thought involves." 
 
 Bold statements these I But Marion could 
 follow h^r. Intellectually she was thoroughly 
 
880 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 posted. Had she not herself used the illustra 
 tion of the tiny stream that simpered through 
 the home meadow and went on, and on, and on, 
 until it helped to surge the beaches of the ocean ? 
 But here was a principle involved that reached 
 beyond the ocean, that ignored time, that sought 
 after eternity. Was she following the stream? 
 Could she honestly tell that it might not lead 
 to a judgment that should call her to account for 
 her non-religious influence over her scholars? 
 Marion was growing heavy-hearted ; she wanted 
 at least to do no harm in the world if she could 
 do no good. But if all this mountain weight of 
 evidence at Chautauqua proved anything, it 
 proved that she was living a life of infidelity, for 
 the influence of which she was to be called into 
 judgment. 
 
 No sort of ue to comfort herself with the 
 thought that she talked of her peculiar views to 
 no one ; it began to be evident that the things 
 which she did not do were more startling than 
 the things which she did. 
 
 On the whole, no comfort came to her troubled 
 soul through this morning session. To herself 
 she seemed precisely where she was when she 
 
" Their Works Da Follow Them" 381 
 
 went into that tent, only perhaps a tiifle more 
 impressed with the solemnity of all things. 
 
 But, without knowing it, a great stride had 
 been taken in her education. She was not again 
 to be able to say : " I injure no one with my be 
 lief ; I keep it to myself." "No man live th to 
 himself." 
 
 The verse came solemnly to her as she went 
 out, as though other than human voice were re 
 minding her of it, and life began to feel like an 
 overwhelming responsibility that she could not 
 assume. When one begins to feel that thought 
 in all its force the next step is to find one who 
 will assume the responsibility for us. She met 
 Ruth on her way up the hill. 
 
 " Flossy has deserted me," Ruth explained as 
 they met; "Ernie carried her away to take a 
 walk. Are }-ou going to hear about John Knox ? 
 I am interested in him chiefly because of the 
 voice that is to tell of him to-day ; I like Dr. 
 Hurlburt," 
 
 Marion s only reply was : " I don t see but you 
 come to meeting quite as regularly, now that 
 you are at the hotel, as you did when on the 
 grounds." 
 
382 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Then they went to secure their seats. I ain 
 not to attempt to tell you anything aboui :ne 
 John Knox lecture ; indeed I have given (. ver 
 telling more about the Chautauqua addre&ses. 
 It is of no sort of use. One only feels like be 
 moaning a failure after any attempt to repeat 
 such lectures as we heard there. Besides, I am 
 chiefly interested at present in their effect on 
 our girls. 
 
 They listened these two, and enjoyed as 
 people with brains must necessarily have done. 
 But there was more than that to it ; there were 
 consequences that will surely be met again at 
 the last great day. 
 
 Ruth, as she walked thoughtfully away, said 
 to herself : " That is the way. Live the truth. 
 It is a different day, and the trials and experi 
 ences are different, but life must be the same. 
 It is not the clay for half-way Christianity nor 
 for idling; I will be an earnest Christian, or I 
 will not dishonor the name and disgrace the 
 memory of such men as Knox by claiming to be 
 of their faith." 
 
 While Marion, as she turned her flushed 
 cheeks hastily away from Ruth, nut willing to 
 
Their Works Do Follow Them." 383 
 
 show one who knew nothing about this matter, 
 save that it was expedient to join a church, had 
 gotten one foot set firmly toward the rock. 
 
 " The power that enabled that man to live 
 that life was certainly of God," she thought. 
 " It must be true. God must be in communi 
 cation with some of the souls that have lived. 
 Is he now, and can I be one of them? Oh, I 
 wonder if there are a favored few who have 
 shone out as grand lights in the world and have 
 gone up from the world to their reward ? And 
 I wonder if there is no such thing now ? If the 
 blundering creatures who call themselves by his 
 name are nothing but miserable imitations of 
 what was once real ? 
 
 44 Such lives as that one can understand ; but 
 how can I ever believe that Deacon Cole s life 
 is molded by the same influence, or, indeed, that 
 mine can be ? Must I be a Deacon Cole Christ 
 ian if I am one at all ? " 
 
 The afternoon clouded over, and a mincing 
 little rain began to full. Marion stood in the 
 tent door and grumbled over it. 
 
 44 1 wanted to hear that Mr. Hazard," she said ; 
 "I rather fancy his face, and I fancy the name 
 
Four Crirls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 of his subject. I had a curiosity to see what he 
 would do with it, and here is this rain to hin 
 der." 
 
 Ruth and Flossy had come over for the day, 
 and were waiting in the tent. 
 
 " Haven t you been at Chautauqua long 
 enough to catch one of its cardinal rules, never 
 to stay at home for rain ? " Flossy said. 
 
 Marion looked around at her. She was put 
 ting on her rubbers. 
 
 " Are you really going ? " She asked the 
 question in great surprise. " Why, Flossy, it is 
 going to rain hard ! " 
 
 " What of it ? " said Flossy, lightly. " I have 
 waterproof, and rubbers, and umbrella, and if it 
 gets to be too wet I can run to a tent." 
 
 " If you were at home you wouldn t think of 
 going to church. Why, Flossy Shipley, I never 
 knew you to go out in the rain! I thought 
 you were always afraid you would spoil your 
 clothes." 
 
 " That was because I had none already spoiled 
 to wear," Flossy answered, cheerily; "but that 
 difficulty is obviated ; I have spoiled two dresses 
 since I have been here. This one now is indif- 
 
" Their Works Do Follow Them: 385 
 
 ferent to the rain, and will be for the future. I 
 have an improvement on that plan, though; I 
 mean to have a rainy-day dress as soon as 1 get 
 home. Come, it is time we were off." 
 
 " I believe I am a dunce," Marion said, slowly. 
 " I think it is going to rain hard ; but as I have 
 to go, at home, whether it rains or shines, I sup 
 pose I can do it here. But if this were a congre 
 gation of respectable city Christians, instead of 
 a set of lunatics, there wouldn t be a dozen out." 
 
 They found hundreds out, however. Indeed, 
 it proved to be difficult to secure seats. That 
 address was heard under difficulties. In the 
 first place it would rain; not an out-and-out 
 hearty shower, that would at once set at rest the 
 attempt to hold an out-door meeting, but an ex 
 asperating little drizzle, enlivened occasionally 
 by a fe\v smart drops that seemed to hint busi 
 ness. There was a constant putting up of um 
 brellas and putting them down again. There 
 was a constant fidgeting about, and getting up 
 and sitting down again, to let some of the more 
 nervous ones who had resolved upon a decided 
 rain escape to safer quarters. Half of the peo 
 ple had their heads twisted around to get a peep 
 
386 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 at the sky, to see what the clouds really did 
 mean, anyway. 
 
 Our girls had one of the uncomfortable posts. 
 Arrived late, they had to take what they could 
 get, and it was some distance from the speaker, 
 and their sight and sound were so marred by the 
 constant changes and the whirl of umbrellas 
 that Marion presently lost all patience and gave 
 up the attempt to listen. She would have de 
 serted altogether but for the look of eager atten 
 tion on Flossy s face. Despite the annoyances, 
 she was evidently hearing and enjoying. It 
 seemed a pity to disturb her and suggest a re 
 turn to the tent; besides, Marion felt half 
 ashamed to do so. 
 
 It was not pleasant to give tacit acknowledg 
 ment to the fact that poor little, unintellectual 
 Flossy was much more interested than herself. 
 She gave herself up to an old and favorite em 
 ployment of hers, that of looking at faces and 
 studying them, when a sudden hush that seemed 
 to be settling over the hither to fidgety audience 
 arrested her attention. 
 
 The speaker s voice was full of pathos, and so 
 quiet had the place become that every word of 
 
" Their Works Do Follow Them" 387 
 
 his could be distinctly heard. He was evidently 
 in the midst of a story, the first of which she had 
 not heard. This was the sentence, as her ears 
 took it up : 
 
 "Don t cry, father, don t cry! To-night I 
 shall be with Jesus, and I will tell him that you 
 did all you could to bring me there ! " 
 
 What a tribute for a child to give to a father s 
 love ! Flossy, with her cheeks glowing and her 
 eyes shining like stars, quietly wiped away the 
 tears, and in her heart the resolve grew strong 
 to live so that some one, dying, could say of her : 
 " I will tell Jesus that you did all you could to 
 bring me there ! " 
 
 Do you think that was what the sentence said 
 to Marion ? Quick as thought her life flashed 
 back to that old dingy, weather-beaten house, 
 to that pale-faced man, with his patched clothing 
 and his gray hairs straggling over on the coarse 
 pillow. Her father, dying her one friend, who 
 had been her memory of love and care all these 
 long years, dying and these were the last 
 words his lips had said : 
 
 " Don t cry, little girl father s dear little 
 girl. I am going to Jesus. I shall be there in 
 
388 Four G-irls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 a little while. I shall tell him that I tried to 
 have you come ! " 
 
 Oh, blessed father ! How hard he had tried 
 in his feebleness and weakness to teach her the 
 way ! How sure he had seemed to feel that she 
 would follow him ! And how had she wandered ! 
 How far away she was ! Oh, blessed Spirit of 
 God, to seek after her all these years, through 
 all the weak and foolish mazes of doubt, and in 
 difference, and declared unbelief still coming 
 with her down to this afternoon at Chautauqua, 
 and there renewing to her her father s parting 
 word. 
 
 She had often and often thought of these 
 words of her father s. In a sense, they had been 
 ever present with her. Just why they should 
 come at this time, bringing such a sense of cer 
 tainty about them to her very soul that all this 
 was truth, God s solemn, real, unchangeable 
 truth, and force this conviction upon her in such 
 a way that she was moved to say, " Whereas I 
 was blind, now I see," I can not tell. 
 
 Why Mr. Hazard was used as the instrument 
 of such a revelation of God to her I can mt 
 
" Their Works Do Follow Them: 389 
 
 tell. Perhaps he had prayed that his work at 
 Chautauqua that rainy afternoon might, in some 
 way, be blessed to the help of some struggling 
 soul. Perhaps this was the answer to his 
 prayer unheard, unseen by him, as many an 
 answer to our pleading is, and yet the answer as 
 surely comes. Who can tell how this may be ? 
 I do not know. I know this, that Marion s 
 heart gave a great sobbing cry, as it said : 
 
 "Oh, father, father! if your God, if your 
 Christ, will help me, I will I wilUry to come." 
 
 It was her way of repeating the old cry, " Lord, 
 I believe, help thou mine unbelief." And 1 do 
 kuo\v that it is written, " Blessed are the dead 
 which die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, 
 saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their la 
 bors ; and their works do follow them." It was 
 fifteen years that the weary father had been rest 
 ing from his labors, and here were his works fol 
 lowing him. 
 
 I have heard that Mr. Hazard said, as he folded 
 his papers and came down from the stand that 
 afternoon, " It was useless to try to talk in such 
 a rain, with the prospect of more every minute. 
 
390 Four G-irh at Chautauqua. 
 
 The people could not listen. It would have 
 been better to have adjourned. Nothing was ac 
 complished." Much he knew about it, or will 
 know until the day when the secrets of all hearts 
 shall be revealed 1 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 UNFINISHED MUSIC. 
 
 EANTIME, tbis da} r , which was to be so 
 fraught with consequences to Marion, 
 was on Eurie s hands to dispose of as best she 
 could. To be at Chautauqua, and to be bent on 
 having nothing whatever to do with any of the 
 Chautauqua life, was in itself a novel position, 
 The more so as she felt herself quite deserted. 
 The necessity for reporting served Marion as an 
 excuse for attending even those meetings which 
 she did not report ; and the others having gone 
 
 to Mayville to live, this foolish sheep, who was 
 
 (391) 
 
392 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 \vithin the fold, and who would not be of it, 
 went wandering whither she would in search of 
 amusement. 
 
 After Marion left her she made her way to 
 the museum, and a pleasant hour she spent; one 
 could certainly not desire a more attractive spot. 
 She went hither and thither, handling and ad 
 miring the books, the pictures, the maps, the 
 profusion of curiosities, and, at the end of the 
 hour, when the press of visitors became too 
 great to make a longer stay agreeable, she de 
 parted well pleased with herself that she had 
 had the wisdom to choose such a pleasant resort 
 instead of a seat in some crowded tent as a list 
 ener. 
 
 Coming out, she walked down the hill, and on 
 and on, watching the crowds of people who 
 were gathering, and wishing she had a pro 
 gramme that she might see what the special at 
 traction was that seemed to be drawing so 
 many. 
 
 At last she reached the wharf. The Assem 
 bly steamer was lying at her dock, her jaunty 
 flags flying, and the commotion upon her decks 
 betokening that she was making ready for a voy- 
 
Unfinished Music. 393 
 
 age. The crowd seemed greater there than at 
 any other point. It would appear that the spe 
 cial attraction was here, after all. She under 
 stood it, and pushed nearer, as the ringing notes 
 of song suddenly rose on the air, and she recog 
 nized the voices of the Tennesseeans. 
 
 This was a great treat : she delighted in hear 
 ing them. She allowed herself to be elbowed 
 and jostled by the throng, reaching every mo 
 ment by judicious pushing a place where she 
 could not only hear but see, and where escape 
 was impossible. The jubilant chorus ceased, 
 and one of those weird minor wails, such as their 
 music abounds in, floated tenderly around her. 
 
 It was a farewell song, so full of genuine 
 pathos, and so tenderly sung, that it was in vain 
 to try to listen without a swelling of the throat 
 and a sense of sadness. Something in the way 
 that the people pressed nearer to listen sug 
 gested to Eurie that it must be designed as a 
 farewell tribute to somebody, and presently 
 Prof. Sherwin mounted a seat that served as a 
 platform and gave them a tender informal fare 
 well address. In every sentence his great, warm 
 heart shone. 
 
394 Four Girls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 "I am going away," he said, "before the 
 blessed season at Chautauqua is concluded. I 
 am going with a sad heart, for I feel that oppor 
 tunities here for work for the Master have been 
 great, and some of them I have lost. And yet 
 there is light in the sadness, for the work that 
 I can not do will yet be done. I once sat be 
 fore my organ improvising a thought that was in 
 my heart, trying to give expression to it, and I 
 could not. I knew what I wanted, and I knew 
 it was in my heart, but how to give it expression 
 I did not know. A celebrated organist came up 
 the stairs and stood beside me. I looked around 
 to him. Can t you take this tune, I said, just 
 where I leave it, and finish it for me as I have it 
 in my heart to do ? I can t give it utterance. 
 Don t you see what I want ? " 
 
 " Perhaps I do, he said, and he placed his 
 fingers over my fingers, on the same keys that 
 mine were touching, and I slipped out of the 
 seat and back into the shadow, and he slipped 
 into my place, and then the music rolled forth ! 
 My tune, only I could not play it. Pie was 
 doing it for me. So, though I may have failed 
 in my work that I have tried to do here, the 
 
Unfinished Music. 395 
 
 great Master is here, and I pray and I hope and 
 I believe that he will put his grand hand upon 
 my unfinished work and in heaven I shall meet 
 it completed. " 
 
 What was there in this to move Eurie to 
 tears ? She did not know Prof. Sherwin that 
 is, she had never been introduced to him but 
 she had heard him sing, she had heard him pray, 
 she had met him in the walk and asked where 
 the Sunday-school lesson was, and he had in part 
 directed her directed her in such a way that 
 she had been led to seek further, and in doing so 
 had met Miss Ryder, and in meeting her had 
 been interested ever since in studying a Chris 
 tian life. Was this one of Prof. Sherwin s unfin 
 ished tunes ? Would he meet it again in heaven ? 
 
 A very tender spirit took possession of Eurie 
 an almost irresistible longing to know more 
 of this influence, or presence, or whatever name 
 it should be called, that so moved hearts, and 
 made the friends of a week say farewell with 
 tears, and yet with hopeful smiles as they spoke 
 in joy and assurance of a future meeting. 
 
 Prof. Sherwin and his friends embarked, and 
 the dainty little steamer turned her graceful 
 
896 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 head toward Mayville, and slipped away over 
 tlie silver water. Eurie made no attempt to get 
 away from the throng who pressed to the edge 
 of the dock to get the last bow, the last flutter 
 of his handkerchief. She even drew out her 
 own handkerchief and fluttered ifc after him, and 
 received from him a special bow, and was almost 
 decided to resolve to be present in joy at that 
 other meeting, and to make sure this very day 
 of her title to an inheritance there. Almost ! 
 
 Going back she met Ruth and Flossy. She 
 seized eagerly upon the latter. 
 
 " Come," she said, " you have been to meet 
 ings enough, and you haven t taken a single 
 walk with me since we have been here, and 
 think of the promises we made to entertain each 
 other." 
 
 Flossy laughed cheerfully. 
 
 "We have been entertained, without any 
 effort on our part," she said. Nevertheless she 
 suffered herself to be persuaded to go for a walk, 
 provided Eurie would go to Palestine. 
 
 " What nonsense ! " Eurie said, disdainfully, 
 when Flossy had explained to her that she had a 
 consuming desire to wander along the banks of 
 
Unfinished Music. 397 
 
 the Jordan, and view those ancient cities, his 
 toric now. " However, I would just as soon 
 walk in that direction as any other." 
 
 There was one other person who, it transpired, 
 would as soon take a walk as do anything else 
 just then. He joined the girls as they turned 
 toward the Palestine road. That was Mr. Evan 
 Roberts. 
 
 " Are you going to visit the Holy Land this 
 morning, and may I be of your party ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " Yes," Flossy answered, whether to the first 
 question, or to both in one, she did not say. 
 Then she introduced Eurie, and the three walked 
 on together, discussing the morning and the 
 meetings with zest. 
 
 " Here we are, on Jordan s stormy banks, " 
 Mr. Roberts said, at last, halting beside the 
 grassy bank. " I suppose there was never a 
 more perfect geographical representation than 
 this." 
 
 "Do you really think it has any practical 
 value? " Eurie asked, skeptically. Mr. Roberts 
 looked at her curiously. 
 
 " Hasn t it to you ? " he said. " Now, to me, 
 
398 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 it is just brimful of interest and value ; that is, as 
 much value as geographical knowledge ever is. 
 I take two views of it. If I never have an act 
 ual sight of the sacred land, by studying this 
 miniature of it, I have as full a knowledge as it 
 is possible to get without the actual view, and if 
 I at some future day am permitted to travel 
 there, why well, you know of course how 
 pleasant it is to be thoroughly posted in regard 
 to the places of interest that you are about 
 to visit; every European traveler understands 
 that." 
 
 " But do you suppose it is really an accurate 
 outline ? " Eurie said, again, quoting opinions 
 that she had read until she fancied they were 
 her own. 
 
 Again Mr. Roberts favored her with that pe 
 culiar look from under heavy eyebrows a look 
 half satirical, half amused. 
 
 " Some of the most skilled surve}^ors and trav 
 eled scholars have so reported," he said, care 
 lessly. "And when you add to that the fact 
 that they are Christian men, who have no spe 
 cial reason for getting up a wholesale deception 
 for us, and are supposed to be tolerably reliable 
 
Unfinished Music. 399 
 
 on all other subjects, I see no reason to doubt 
 the statement." 
 
 On the whole, Eurie had the satisfaction of 
 realizing that she had appeared like a simple 
 ton. 
 
 Flossy, meantime, was wandering delightedly 
 along the banks, stopping here and there to read 
 the words on the little white tablets that marked 
 the places of special interest. 
 
 "Do you see," she said, turning eagerly, 
 " that these are Bible references on each tablet ? 
 Wouldn t it be interesting to know what they 
 selected as the scene to especially mark this 
 place?" 
 
 Mr. Roberts swung a camp-chair from his arm, 
 planted it firmly in the ground, and drew a Bible 
 from his pocket. 
 
 "Miss Mitchell," he said, "suppose you sit 
 down here in this road, leading from Jerusalem 
 to Bethany, and tell us what is going on just 
 now in Betbau} r , while Miss Shipley and I sup 
 ply }*ou with chapter and verse." 
 
 " I am not very familiar with the text-book," 
 Eurie said. " If } T OU are really in the village 
 yourselves you might possibly inquire of the in- 
 
400 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 habitants before I could find the account." But 
 she took the chair and the Bible. 
 
 "Look at Matthew xxi. 17, Eurie," Flossy 
 said, stooping over the tablet, and Eurie read : 
 
 " And he left them, and went out of the city 
 into Bethany ; and he lodged there. " 
 
 " That was Jesus, wasn t it ? Then he went 
 this way, this very road, Eurie, where you are 
 sitting! " It was certainly very fascinating. 
 
 "And stopped at the house on which you 
 have your hand, perhaps," Mr. Roberts said, 
 smiling at her eager face. 
 
 " That might have been Simon s house, for in 
 stance." 
 
 " Did lie live in Bethany ? I don t know any 
 thing about these things." 
 
 " Eurie, look if you can find anything about 
 him. The next reference is Matthew xxvi." 
 
 And again Eurie read : 
 
 " Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the 
 house of Simon the leper. " 
 
 " The very place ! " Flossy said, again. " Oh, 
 I want so much to know what happened then ! " 
 
 "Won t Miss Mitchell read it to us?" Mr. 
 Roberts said, and he arranged his shawl along 
 

 Unfinished Music. 401 
 
 the ground for seats. "Since we have really 
 come to Bethany, let us have the full benefit of 
 it. Now, Miss Shiplej T , take a seat, and we will 
 give ourselves up to the pleasure of being with 
 Jesus in Simon s house, and looking on at the 
 scene." 
 
 So they disposed of themselves on the grass, 
 and Eurie, hardly able to restrain a laugh over 
 the novelty of the situation, and }-et wonderfully 
 fascinated by the whole scene, read to them the 
 tender story of the loving woman with her 
 sweet-smelling ointment, growing more and 
 more interested, until in the closing verse her 
 voice was full of feeling. 
 
 " Verily I say unto you, "Wheresoever this 
 gospel shall be preached in the whole world, 
 there shall also this, that this woman hath done, 
 be told as a memorial of her/ " 
 
 " Think of that ! " said Mr. Roberts. " And 
 here are we, eighteen hundred years afterward, 
 sitting here in Bethany and talking of that same 
 woman still! Miss Mitchell, are you going to 
 do something for Christ that shall be talked over 
 a thousand years from now? There is a chance 
 for undying fame." 
 
402 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " Doubtful ! " Eurie said, but she did not 
 smile ; her face was grave. 
 
 " Or, better still, are you going to do such 
 work for Christ that, hundreds of years after, 
 your influence will be silently living and work 
 ing out its fruit in human hearts ? " 
 
 " It is altogether more likely that I shall do 
 nothing at all." 
 
 " Out of the question," he said, with a grave 
 smile. " Either for or against, every life must 
 be, whether we will it or not. 4 He that is not 
 with me is against me, was the word of the 
 Master himself, and as long as eternity lasts the 
 fruit of the sowing will last." 
 
 " That is a fearfully solemn thought," Flossy 
 said, earnestly. 
 
 Mr. Roberts turned toward her a face aglow 
 with smiles now. 
 
 " And a wondrously precious one," he said, 
 and Flossy answered him in a low tone : 
 
 " Yes, I can see that it might be." 
 
 Now, the actual fact is, that those three people 
 wandered around that far-away land until the 
 morning vanished and the loud peal of the Chau- 
 tauqua bells announced the fact that the feast of 
 
Unfinished Music. 403 
 
 intellect was over, and it was time for dinner 
 They went from Bethany to Bethel, and from 
 Bethel to Shechem, and they even climbed 
 Mount Hermon s snowy peak, and looked about 
 on the lovely plain below. In every place there 
 was Bible reading, and Eurie was the reader, and 
 it was such a morning thai; she will remember for 
 all time. 
 
 " Pray, who is this Mr. Roberts ? " she asked, 
 as they parted company at the foot of the hill. 
 " Where did you make his acquaintance ? " 
 
 " He is Mrs. Smythe s nephew," Flossy said. 
 "She introduced me to him the other evening." 
 
 "The other evening! You seemed to be as 
 well acquainted as though you had spent the 
 summer together." 
 
 "Some people have a way of seeming like 
 friends on short acquaintance," Flossy said, with 
 grave face and smiling eyes. 
 
 " You two missed a good deal by your folly 
 this morning," Ruth said, as they met at dinner. 
 " We had a grand lecture." 
 
 "So had we," answered Eurie, significantly, 
 and that was every word she vouchsafed con 
 cerning the trip to Palestine. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 MENTAL PEOBLEMS. 
 
 R. DEEMS," said Ruth, looking up from 
 her programme with a thoughtful air. 
 " I wonder if he is a man whom I have any spe 
 cial desire to hear ? " 
 
 You must constantly remember the entire ig 
 norance of these girls on all names and topics 
 that pertained to the religious world. Ruth 
 knew indeed that the gentleman in question was 
 a New York clergyman; that was as far as her 
 knowledge extended. 
 
 " His subject is interesting," Flossy said. 
 
 "I don t think it is," said Eurie. "Not to 
 (404) 
 
Mental Problems. 405 
 
 ine, anyhow. Nature and I have nothing in 
 common, except to have a good time together if 
 we can get it. She is a miserably disappointed 
 jade, I know. What has she done for us since 
 \ve have been here except to arrange rainy 
 weather? I m going to visit his honor the 
 mummy this morning, and from there I am 
 going to the old pyramid ; and I advise you to 
 go with me, all of you. Talk about nature 
 when there is an old fellow to see who was ac 
 quainted with it thousands of years ago. Na 
 ture is too common an affair to be interested 
 in." 
 
 " Oh, are you going to the museum ? " said 
 Flossy. " Then please get me one of the Bliss 
 singing books, will you ? I want to secure one 
 before they are all gone. Girls, don t you each 
 want one of them to take home ? The hymns 
 are lovely." 
 
 " I don t," said Eurie, " unless he is for sale to 
 go along and sing them. I can t imagine any 
 thing tamer than to hear some commonplace 
 voice trying to do those songs that he roars out 
 without any effort at all. What has become of 
 the man ? " 
 
406 Four 6rirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " He has gone," said Marion. " Called home 
 suddenly, some one told me. His singing is 
 splendid, isn t it ? I don t know but I feel 
 much as you do about the book. Think of hav 
 ing Deacon Millar try to sing, 4 Onty an armor- 
 bearer I I don t mind telling you that I felt 
 very much as if I were being lifted right off my 
 feet and carried up somewhere, I hardly know 
 where, when I heard him sing that. I was com 
 ing down the hill, away off, you know, by the 
 post-office no., away above the post-office, and 
 he suddenly burst forth. I stopped to listen, 
 and I could hear every single word as distinctly 
 as I can hear you in this tent." 
 
 "Hear!" said Eurie, "I guess you could. I 
 shouldn t be surprised if they heard him over at 
 Mayville, and that is what brings such crowds 
 here every day. Did you ever see anything like 
 the way the people come here, anyhow?" 
 
 "I don t feel at all as yon do," said Flossy, 
 going back to the question of singing-books. 
 " After we get let down a little, Only an 
 armor-bearer will sound very well even from 
 common singers. It has in it what can t be 
 taken out because a certain voice is lost; and 
 
Mental Problems. 407 
 
 the book is full of other and simpler pieces, and 
 lovely choruses, that people can catch after one 
 healing." 
 
 " Flossy is going home to introduce it into the 
 First Church," Eurie said, gravely. 
 
 Flossy s cheeks flushed. 
 
 " I had not thought of that," she said, simply ; 
 " perhaps we can. In any case get me a couple, 
 Eurie." 
 
 The discussion on the morning service ended 
 in a division of the party. Ruth, who had come 
 over early on purpose to attend, was obliged to 
 succumb to a feeling of utter weariness and lie 
 down. 
 
 Eurie steadily refused to go to the platform 
 meeting, assuring them that she knew Dr. Deems 
 would be "as dry as a stick ; all New York min 
 isters were." 
 
 So Flossy and Marion went away together, 
 Marion with her note-book in the hope of get 
 ting an item for a newspaper letter that must be 
 written that afternoon. 
 
 They were late, and almost abandoned in de 
 spair the hope of getting within hearing, until a 
 happy thought suggested a seat on the platform 
 
408 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 stair at the speaker s back. There was a "crack" 
 there, Marion said, into which they presently 
 crept. 
 
 The address was already commenced. Marion 
 listened at first with that indifferent air that a 
 face wears when its owner perforce commences 
 in the middle of a thing, and has to wait his way 
 to a tangible idea of what is being said. 
 
 There was not long waiting, however. Her 
 eyes began to dilate and her face to glow ; she 
 was almost a worshiper of eloquence, and surely 
 no one ever sat for two hours and listened to a 
 more unbroken flow of rich, glowing words, shin 
 ing like diamonds, than fell lavishly around the 
 listeners that Friday morning at Chautauqua. 
 But a few minutes and Marion s pencil began to 
 move with speed. This was the thought that 
 had thrilled her : 
 
 " First, light ; then liberation from chaos ; then 
 grass ; and then God stopped his work and gazed 
 with delight on the picture he had drawn. 
 Think what a picture it must have been I There 
 was nothing but rocks ground down ^ hen 
 God said, 4 Earth, grow ! Then straightway the 
 mother power fell down upon the earth, life pulsed 
 
Mental Problems. 409 
 
 in her veins, and the baby shoot of grass sprang 
 .up, and the rocky earth wrapped herself in her 
 garment of emerald, and God, stopping his work, 
 said, Useful, beautiful ! " 
 
 When the speaker touched upon the doctrine 
 of the resurrection Marion s pencil paused, and 
 she leaned eagerly forward to get a glimpse of 
 his face. That doctrine had seemed to her 
 doubting heart the strangest, wildest, most hope 
 less of the Christian theories. If clear light 
 could shine on that, could there not on any 
 thing? Her face was aglow with interest not 
 only, but with anxiety. 
 
 This morning, for the first time in her life, she 
 could be called an honest doubter. She had 
 fancied herself able to believe anything of which 
 her reason had been convinced ; but she found, 
 to her surprise and dismay, that so fixed had the 
 habit of unbelief become, it seemed impossible 
 to shake it off, and that she needed to be con 
 vinced and reconviuced ; that her questionings 
 came in on every hand, seized upon the smallest 
 point, and tormented her without mercy. What 
 about this strange story of the resurrection ? 
 
 As she listened a subdued smile broke over 
 
410 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 her face a smile of sarcasm. How very ab 
 surdly simple the argument from nature was, 
 how utterly unanswerable ! And after the sen 
 tence, " Tell me how that wonderful field of 
 waving grain came from the bare kernels of corn, 
 and I will tell you how my blessed baby shall 
 rise an angel," Marion said in tone so distinct 
 that it struck on Flossy s ear like a knell, " What 
 a fool ! " Not the speaker, as the dismayed and 
 disappointed Flossy supposed, but herself. 
 
 " The measure of every man is his faith," said 
 Dr. Deems. " The greatest thing a human being 
 can do is not to perceive, nor to compare, not to 
 reason^ but to believe." And again Marion 
 smiled. If this were true what a pigmy she 
 must be ! She began to more than suspect that 
 she was. 
 
 " Don t waste time," said the Doctor, " in try 
 ing to reconcile science and the Bible. Science 
 wasn t intended to teach religion. The Bible 
 wasn t intended to teach science ; but wherever 
 they touch they agree. God sends his servants 
 scientific men all abroad through nature to 
 gather facts with which to illustrate the Bible." 
 
 Marion began to write again, but it was only 
 
Mental Problems. 411 
 
 in snatches here and there ; not that there was 
 not that which she longed to catch, but she 
 could not write it the sentences just poured 
 forth ; and how perfectly aglow with light and 
 beauty they were ! This one sentence she pres 
 ently wrote : 
 
 " In the black ink of his power God wrote the 
 Book of nature ; in the red ink of his love he 
 wrote the Bible ; and all this power is to bring 
 us all to this love. Oh, to rest in arms like these ! 
 Are they not strong enough ? " 
 
 Suddenly Marion closed her book and slipped 
 her pencil into her pocket ; she could not write. 
 And although she thrilled through every nerve 
 over the majestic sentences that followed and 
 was carried to a pitch of enthusiasm almost be 
 yond her control, when the jubilant thunder of 
 thousands of voices rang together in the matchless 
 closing words, " Blessing, and glory, and thanks 
 giving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto 
 our God, forever and ever. Amen." She made 
 no further attempt to write ; her heart was full ; 
 there rang in it this eager cry, u Oh, to rest in 
 arms like these!" Strong enough? Aye, in 
 deed ! Doubts were forever set at rest. The 
 
412 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 Maker of all nature could be none other than 
 God, and the God of nature was the God of the 
 Bible. Jt was as clear as the sunlight. Reason 
 was forever satisfied, but there lingered yet the 
 hungering cry, " Oh, to rest in arms like these ! " 
 
 And Flossy said not a word to her of the rest 
 ing place. Not because she had not found it 
 strong and safe ; not because she did not long to 
 have her friend rest there, but because of that 
 despairing murmur in her heart. " What is the 
 use in saying any tiling? Had she not heard 
 with her own ears Marion s sneering sentence in 
 the face of the unanswerable arguments that had 
 been presented?" I wonder how often we turn 
 away from harvest fields that are ready for the 
 reader because we mistake for a sneer that which 
 is the admission of a convicted soul ? 
 
 By afternoon Ruth was rested and ready for 
 meeting; if the truth be known it was her 
 troubled brain which had tired her body and 
 obliged her to rest. She had begun to take up 
 that problem of " Christian work." The plat 
 form meeting of the evening before, and, more 
 than anything else, Dr. Niles address, had fanned 
 her heart into a flame of desire to do something 
 
Mental Problems. 413 
 
 for the Master. But what could she do? She 
 and Flossy had talked it over together after they 
 reached their room at the hotel; in fact they 
 talked away into the night. 
 
 "I don t know," Flossy said, with a little 
 laugh, "but I shall have to depend on the 4 un 
 conscious influence which I exert to do ray 
 work for me. I don t know of anything which 
 I can actually do. Dr. Niles made a great deal 
 of that." 
 
 " Yes," Ruth said, " but you see, Flossy, the 
 people whose unconscious influence does any good 
 are the ones after all who are moving around try 
 ing to do something. I don t feel sure that he 
 lets the unconcious influence of the drones amount 
 to much, unless it is in the wrong scale. Dr. 
 Kiles made a good deal of that^ you remember." 
 
 " Don t you like him ever so much, Ruth ? " 
 
 " Wh}~, yes," Ruth said again, turning her pil 
 low wearily. " I liked him of course ; how could 
 I help it? But, after all, he made me very un 
 comfortable. I seem to feel as though I must 
 find something to do. I have a great deal of 
 time to make up. I tell you what it is, Flossy, 
 I wish you and I could do something for those 
 
414 Four Crirls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 two girls. Isn t it strange that they are not in 
 terested ? " 
 
 " But they are not." Flossy said it as posi 
 tively as if she could see right into their hearts. 
 " I think Marion is worse than ever ; and as for 
 Eurie, she won t even go to the meetings, you 
 know." 
 
 " I know. Perhaps we would only do harm 
 to try. But what can we do ? I am sure I 
 don t see anything. And don t you know how 
 clearly Dr. Niles made it appear that there was a 
 special work for each one ? " 
 
 So they discussed the question, turning it over 
 and over, and getting almost no light, coining to 
 feel themselves very useless and worthless 
 specks on the sea of life, until late in the night 
 Flossy said : 
 
 " I ll tell you what it is, Ruth, we must just 
 ask for work little bits of work, you know 
 and then keep our eyes open until it comes. I 
 know of things I can do when I get home." 
 
 " So do I," said Ruth, " but I want to begin 
 now." 
 
 Silence for a few minutes, and then Flossy 
 asked : 
 
Mental Problems. 415 
 
 " Ruthie, have you written to Mr. Wa} T ne ? " 
 
 " No," said Ruth, her cheeks flushing even in 
 the darkness. " I wrote a long letter just be 
 fore this canie to me, but I burned it, and I ana 
 glad of it." 
 
 Then they went to sleep. But the desire for 
 the work did not fade with the daylight. Flossy 
 had even been tempted to say a humble little 
 word to Marion, but had been deterred by the 
 sound of that sneer of which I told }*ou ; and 
 Ruth, lying on her bed, had revolved the sub 
 ject and sent up- many an earnest prayer, and 
 went out to afternoon service resolved upon 
 keeping her eyes very wide open. 
 
 The special attraction for the afternoon was a 
 conference of primary class teachers. They 
 were out in full force, and were ready for any 
 questions that might fill the hearts and the 
 mouths of eager learners. Our girls had each 
 their special favorites among these leaders. 
 Ruth found herself attracted and deeply inter 
 ested in every word that Mrs. Clark uttered. 
 Marion was making a study of both Mrs. Kuox 
 and Miss Morris, and found it difficult to tell 
 which attracted her most. Even Eurie was 
 
416 Four Girls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 ready for this meeting. She had never been 
 able to shake off the thought of Miss Rider, and 
 her eager enthusiasm in this work, while Flossy 
 had been fascinated and carried away captive by 
 the magnetic voice and manner of Mrs. Par 
 tridge. 
 
 " She makes me glow," Flossy said, in trying 
 to explain the feeling to the calmer Ruth. " Her 
 life seems to quiver all through me, and make 
 me long to reach after it; to have the same 
 power which she has over the hearts of wild un 
 cared-for children." 
 
 And Ruth looked down on the exquisite bit 
 of flesh and blood beside her, and thought of her 
 elegant home and her elegant mother, and of all 
 the softening and enervating influences of her 
 city life, and laughed. How little had she in 
 common with such a work as that to which Mrs. 
 Partridge had given her soul ! 
 
 Keeping her eyes open, as she had planned to 
 do, this same Flossy saw as she was passing down 
 the aisle the hungry face of one of her boys, as 
 she had mentally called the Arabs with whom 
 her life had brushed on the Sunday morning. 
 The word just described it still, a hungry face, 
 
Mental Problems. 417 
 
 like one hanging wistfully around the outskirts 
 of a feast in which he had no share. Flossy lefc 
 go her hold of Ruth s arm and darted toward 
 him. 
 
 " How do you do ? " she said, in winning voice, 
 before he had even seen her. " I am real glad 
 to see you again. If you will come with me I 
 will get a seat for you. A lady is going to speak 
 this afternoon who has five hundred boys in her 
 class in Sunday-school." 
 
 Now the Flossy of two weeks ago, if she could 
 have imagined herself in any such business, would 
 have been utterly disgusted with the result, and 
 gone away with her pretty nose very high. 
 
 The boy turned his dirty face toward her and 
 said, calmly : 
 
 " What a whopper ! " 
 
 The experience of a lifetime could not have an 
 swered more deftly : 
 
 " You come and see. I am almost certain she 
 will tell us about some of them." 
 
 Still he stared, and Flossy waited with her 
 pretty face very near to his, and her pretty hand 
 held coaxingly out . 
 
 "Come," she said again. And it could not 
 
418 
 
 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 have been more to the boy s surprise than it 
 was to hers that he presently said: 
 
 " Well, go ahead. I can scud if I don t like 
 it. I ll follow." 
 
 And he did. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 WAITING. 
 
 required Flossy s eyes and heart both to 
 keep watch of her boy during the progress 
 of that meeting. The novelty of the scene, the 
 strangeness of seeing ladies occupying the speak 
 er s stand, kept him quiet and alert, until Mrs. 
 Partridge, that woman with wonderful power 
 over the forgotten, neglected portion of the 
 world, arrested all his bewildering thoughts and 
 centered them on the strange stories she had to 
 tell. 
 
 Did you ever hear her tell that remarkable 
 
 story of her first attempt at controlling that re- 
 
 (419) 
 
420 Four Girls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 markable class wliicli came under her care, many 
 years ago, in St. Louis ? It is full of wonder 
 and pathos and terror and fascination, even to 
 those who are somewhat familiar with such ex 
 periences. But Flossy and her boy had never 
 heard, or dreamed of its like. No, I am wrong ; 
 the boy had dreamed of scenes just so wild and 
 daring, but even he had not fancied that such 
 people ever found their way to Sunday-schools. 
 
 Peanuts, cigars, a pack of cards, and a bowie- 
 knife ! Imagine yourself, teacher, to be seated 
 before your orderly and courteous class of boys 
 next Sunday morning and find them transformed 
 into beings represented by such surroundings as 
 these ! It was Mrs. Partridge s experience. 
 How fascinating that story is! That one incor 
 rigible boy, the one with the bowie-knife, the 
 one who would make no answer to her questions, 
 show no interest in her stories, ignore her very 
 presence and go on with his horrible mischief, 
 until it even came to a stabbing affray right there 
 in the class-room I 
 
 Imagine her meeting that boy ten years after 
 ward, when he was not only a man, but a gentle 
 man ; not only that, but a Christian ; and not 
 
Waiting. 421 
 
 only that, but a working Christian, superintend 
 ing a mission Sunday-school, giving his best en 
 ergies and his best time to work like that ! 
 Think of being told by him that the determina 
 tion to amount to something was taken that 
 morning, ten years before, when he seemed not 
 to be listening nor earing ! What is ten years 
 of Christian work when we can hope for such re 
 sults as that ! 
 
 Flossy had forgotten her charge; her face was 
 all aglow ; so was her heart. She knew more 
 about Christian work than she did an hour be 
 fore. She had learned that \ve must take the 
 step that plainly comes next to be taken, no 
 matter for the darkness of the day and the ap 
 parent gloom of the future. Work is ours ; re 
 sults are God s. This life business is divided. 
 Partnership with God. Nothing but the work to 
 do ; so that it is done to the utmost limit of our 
 best, the responsibility is the Lord s. That was 
 blessed ! She could dare to try. 
 
 Meantime the boy. He had listened in utmost 
 silence, and with eyes that never for an instant 
 left the speaker s face ! When the spell was 
 broken he drew a long sigh, and this was his 
 mighty conclusion: 
 
422 Four Girls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 " That chap was enough sight meaner than I d 
 ever be, and yet he got to be some ! I ll be 
 blamed if I don fc see what can be done in that 
 line I " 
 
 A small beginning ; so small that on Flossy s 
 face it excited only smiles. She was ignorant, 
 you know. To Mrs. Partridge that sentence 
 would have been worth a wedge of gold. But 
 it is possible that Flossy s first simple little reach 
 after work may have fruit to bear. 
 
 It is difficult to begin to tell about that next 
 day at Chautauqua. There was so much crowded 
 into it that it would almost make a little book of 
 itself. The morning was spent by a large class 
 of people in a state of excited unrest and expect 
 ancy. The sensible ones by the hundreds, and 
 indeed I suppose I may say by the thousands, 
 went to the morning service, as usual, and heard 
 the children s sermon, delivered by Dr. Newton ; 
 and those who did not, and who afterward had 
 the misfortune to fall in with those who did, be 
 moaned their folly in not doing likewise. On 
 the whole, the children, and those who had 
 brains enough to become children for the time 
 being, were the only comfortable ones at Chau 
 tauqua that Saturday morning. 
 
Waiting. 423 
 
 The president was coming ! So, apparently, 
 was the rest of the world ! Oh, the throngs and 
 throngs that continually arrived ! It of itself 
 was a rare and never-to-be-forgotten novelty to 
 those who had never in their lives before seen 
 such a vast army of human beings gathered into 
 a small space, and all perfectly quiet and v correct, 
 and even courteous in their deportment. 
 
 " Where are the drunken men ? " said Marion, 
 looking around curiously on the constantly in 
 creasing throng. " We always read of them as 
 being in great crowds." 
 
 * Yes, and the people who swear," added Eu- 
 rie. " I haven t heard an oath this morning, and 
 I have roamed around everywhere. I must say 
 Chautauqua will bear off the palm for getting 
 together a most respectable-looking, well-be 
 haved rabble ! That is what I overheard a 
 sour-looking old gentleman, who doesn t approve 
 of having a president or of letting him come" 
 to a religious meeting, I don t know which 
 say would rush in to-daj~. It certainly is a re 
 markably orderly rush/ Girls, look at Dr. 
 Vincent! I declare, Chautauqua has paid, just 
 to watch him ! He ought to be the president 
 
424 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 himself. I mean to vote for him when female 
 suffrage comes in. Or a king ! Wouldn t he 
 make a grand king ? How he would enjoy or 
 dering the subjects and enforcing his laws! 
 
 " All of which he seems able to do now," Mar 
 ion said. " I don t believe he would thank you 
 for a vote. His realm is large enough, and he 
 seems to have willing subjects." 
 
 " He has go-ahead-a-tive-ness." Eurie said. 
 "What is the proper word for that, school- 
 ma am ? Executive ability, that s it. Those are 
 splendid words, and they ought to be added to 
 his name. I tell you what, girls, I wish we 
 could cut him up into seven men, and take him 
 home with. us. Seven first-class men made out 
 of him and distributed through the towns about 
 us would make a new order of things." 
 
 All this was being said while they were scram 
 bling with the rest of the world down to the au 
 ditorium to secure seats, for the grand afternoon 
 had arrived, and people had been advised to be 
 " in their seats as soon after one o clock as they 
 could make it convenient." 
 
 "How soon will that be, I wonder?" Mar 
 ion said, quoting this sentence from Dr. Via- 
 
Waiting. 426 
 
 cent s advice given in the morning, and holding 
 up her watch to show that it was five minutes of 
 one. 
 
 " It looks to me as though those deluded be 
 ings who arrive here at one o clock will have 
 several hours of patient waiting before they will 
 make it convenient to secure seats. Just stand 
 a minute, girls, and look ! It is worth seeing. 
 Away back, just as far as I can see, there is noth 
 ing but heads ! The aisles are full, and space 
 between the seats, and the office is full, and the 
 people are just pouring down from the hill in a 
 continuous stream. To look that way }-ou 
 wouldn t think that any had got down here 
 yet ! " 
 
 Now I really wish I had a photograph of that 
 gathering of people to put right in here, on this 
 page ! Many of them would have looked much 
 better at this point than they did after four 
 hours of patient Avaiting. How that crowd did 
 fidget and fix and change position, as far as it 
 was possible to change, when there was not an 
 inch of unoccupied space. How they talked and 
 laughed and sang and grumbled and yawned, 
 and sang again ! 
 
426 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 It was a tedious waiting. It had its irresisti 
 bly comic side. There were those among the 
 Chautauqua girls who could see the comic side 
 of things with very little trouble. The material 
 out of which they made some of their fun might 
 have appeared very meager to orderly, decorous 
 people. But they made it. 
 
 What infinite sport they got out of the fidgety 
 lady before them, who could not get herself and 
 her three children seated to her mind ! Those 
 ladies who labored so industriously in order that 
 the nation s flags, draping the stand, should float 
 gracefully over the nation s chief, were an al 
 most inexhaustible source of amusement to our 
 girls. 
 
 "Look!" said Eurie, "that arrangement 
 doesn t suit ; some of the stars are hidden ; see 
 them twitch it ; it will be down ! Now that one 
 has it looped just to her fancy. No ! I declare, 
 there it comes down again ! The other one 
 twitched it this time ; they are not of the same 
 mind. Girls, do look ! It is fun to watch them ; 
 they work as though the interests of this meet 
 ing all turned on a light arrangement of that 
 flag." 
 
Waiting. 427 
 
 By this time the attention of the girls was en 
 gaged, and the number of witty remarks that 
 were made at the expense of those flags would 
 no doubt have disconcerted the earnest workers 
 thereat could they have heard them. 
 
 The hours waned, and the president did not 
 arrive. The waiters essayed to sing, but to lead 
 such an army of people was a difficult task, es- 
 peciali} r when there was no one to lead. Such 
 singing ! 
 
 " We came out ahead, anyhow ! " said Flossy, 
 stopping to laugh. 
 
 Five or six thousand people had finished their 
 verse, while five or six thousand in the rear were 
 in the third line of it. 
 
 " We need Mr. Bliss or Mr. Sherwin or some- 
 lody" said Ruth. " What a pity that they have 
 all gone, and Dr. Tourjee hasn t come ! I thought 
 he was to be here." 
 
 Presently came a singer to their rescue. The 
 girls did not know who he was, but he led well, 
 and the singing became decidedly enjoyable. 
 Suddenly he disappeared, and. they went back 
 again into utter confusion. They stopped sing 
 ing and began to grumble. 
 
428 Four G-irls at Cliautauqua. 
 
 " Queer arrangements, anyhow," said a smij-- 
 looking man in front. " Why didn t they have 
 a speaker ready to address this throng, instead 
 of keeping us waiting here with nothing to en 
 tertain us ? " 
 
 " I know it," said Marion, briskly, addressing 
 herself to her party. " Dr. Vincent has not used 
 his accustomed foresight. He ought to have 
 known that the presidential party would be 
 three hours late, and filled up the programme 
 with speeches, especially since there has been 
 such a dearth of speech-making during the past 
 two weeks. We are really hungry for an ad 
 dress ! I don t know who would have under 
 taken the task, however, unless they sent for 
 Gabriel or some other celestial. I know I have 
 no desire to listen to a coaimon mortal." 
 
 Before them sat a lady absorbed in a book. 
 During the singing she joined heartily, and when 
 Dr. Vincent came, on one of his numerous jour 
 neys to try to encourage the crowd with the in 
 formation that the party waited for had not yet 
 arrived, she looked and listened with the rest, 
 but always with her finger between the leaves, 
 as if the place was too interesting to be lost. 
 
Waiting. 429 
 
 Ernie s curiosity rose to such a pitch that she 
 leaned forward for a peep at the title-page, and 
 drew back suddenly. It was a copy of the 
 Teacher s Bible ! 
 
 A silence fell upon the company near the 
 front, broken suddenly by an old lady who 
 leaned lovingly toward her chubby -faced grand 
 son, and said : 
 
 "Frankie, you must look in a few minutes 
 and you will see the President of the United 
 States." 
 
 " That is good news, anyhow 7 ," spoke forth a 
 rough-looking, good-natured man near by, and 
 the listeners, who were in that excited state of 
 weariness and waiting that they were ready to 
 laugh or cry as the slightest occasion offered, 
 burst forth into roars of laughter, which rang 
 back among the crowds behind and enticed 
 them to join, though I suppose not twenty of the 
 laughers knew what the joke was, if indeed there 
 was one. 
 
 A sudden rush. Some one occupied the 
 stand. A notice. 
 
 " A telegram ! " said a ringing voice. " For 
 Mrs. C. G. Hammond. Marked * Death 1 " 
 
430 Four Grirls at Cliautauqua. 
 
 A sympathetic murmur ran through the great 
 company, as they moved and wedged and fell 
 back, and did almost impossible things, to make a 
 road out of that dense throng of humanity for 
 the one to whom the president had suddenly be 
 come an insignificance. 
 
 Just then came the "Wyoming Trio." Bless 
 ings on them, whoever they are. Nothing ever 
 could have fitted in more splendidly than they 
 did just there and then. And the singing rested 
 and helped them all. 
 
 Now a sensation came in the shape of a poem 
 that had been written for the occasion, and was 
 to be learned to sing in greeting to the presi 
 dent. How they rang those jubilant words 
 through those old trees ! Tender, touching 
 words, with the Cliautauqua key-note quivering 
 all through them. 
 
 " Greet him ! Let the air around him 
 
 Benedictions bear ; 
 Let the hearts of all the people 
 
 Circle him with prayer." 
 
 " I wonder if he realizes what a blessed thing 
 t is to be circled with prayer?" said she of the 
 Teacher s Bible, turning a thoughtful face upon 
 
Waiting. 431 
 
 the four girls who had attracted her attention. 
 
 " I wonder who Mary A. Lathbury is ? " said 
 Eurie, reading from the poem. " She is a poet, 
 whoever she is. There isn t a line in this that 
 is simply rhyme. I doubt if the president ever 
 had such a rhythmical tribute as that." 
 
 " She is the lady with blue eyes and curls who 
 designs the pictures in that charming child s 
 paper which flutters around here. I have for 
 gotten the name of it, but the pictures are little 
 poems themselves." 
 
 This was Flossy s bit of information. 
 
 " Which designs them, the blue eyes or the 
 curls?" Marion asked, gravely. And then these 
 four simpletons burst into a merry laugh. 
 
 Still the president did not appear. The audi 
 ence had exhausted their resources and their good 
 humor. Ominous grumblings and cross faces 
 began to predominate. Some darkly hinted that 
 he was not coming at all, and that this was a de 
 sign to draw the immense crowd together. No 
 body -believed it, but many were in a mood to 
 pretend that they did. 
 
 " I never believed in this thing," ssaid a tall, 
 dark-faced, solemn-featured man, speaking in a 
 
432 Four Girls at Chaulauqua. 
 
 voice loud enough to interest the crowd in front. 
 " This sensation business I don t believe in ! 
 What do we want of the president here ! Who 
 cares to see him ? I don t like it; I believe it is 
 all wrong, turning a religious meeting upside 
 down for a sensation, and I told them so." 
 
 Our friend Marion, you will remember, was 
 gifted with a clear voice and a saucy tongue. 
 
 " If he doesn t like it," she said, quickly, " and 
 doesn t want to. see- the president, why do }^ou 
 suppose he has kept one of the best chairs for 
 four mortal hours ? Don t you think that is self 
 ish?". 
 
 Which sentence caused ripples of laughter all 
 about them, and quenched the solemn-visaged 
 man. 
 
 But it was growing serious, this waiting. It 
 was a great army of people to be kept at rest, 
 and though they had been quiet and decorous 
 enough thus far, it was not to be presumed that 
 they were all people governed by nice shades of 
 propriety. Would the disappointment break forth 
 into any disagreeable demonstrations 9 Dr. Vin 
 cent had done what he could ; he had appeared 
 promptly on the arrival of dispatches, and given 
 
Waiting. 433 
 
 the latest news that the telegraph and the tele 
 scope would send. But what can any mortal 
 man do who has arranged for people to come 
 who do not come, except wait for them with 
 what patience he can command. 
 
 At this ominous moment he appeared before 
 them again. Not a notice this time ; something 
 which shone in his eyes and quivered in every 
 vein and rang in his trumpet-like voice. Thia 
 what he said. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 SETTLED QUESTIONS. 
 
 [ EAR FRIENDS : I should bear a bur 
 den on my conscience, if I did not come 
 to you to-day with the 4 old, old story. 
 
 " Over the tent which has been prepared for the 
 President of the United States there glows, done 
 in evergreen, this single word, rest . 
 
 " As I pass it, I am reminded of another and a 
 different rest: the rest from every burden, 
 every anxiety, every pain, every sin ; who has 
 rested in those everlasting arms? There is com 
 ing a day when all this throng of human life 
 gathered here shall wait for the coming of the 
 
 King. Yea, even the King of kings. Should 
 (434) 
 
Settled Questions. 435 
 
 that time be to-day, who is ready ? Do you 
 know his power? Do you know his grace? Do 
 you know his love? Through the atonement of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, every one of yo u may 
 have that King for your father; I am commis 
 sioned, this day, to bring this invitation to each 
 one of you ; Come unto me all ye that are 
 heavy laden, and I will give }-ou rest. Will 
 you come ? * * * * Pardon this interruption 
 no, I \vill not ask your pardon : it is never an in 
 terruption to bring good news from the King to 
 his subjects. I will not weary you with a long 
 presentation ; I have only this message : -yon 
 are all invited to come to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and be saved from every possible calamity ; you 
 are all invited to come now. I am going to ask 
 the Tennesseeans to sing one of my favorites : 
 
 " Brother, don t stay away ; 
 
 For my Lord says there s room enough, 
 
 Room enough in the heaven for you. " 
 
 Never were tender words more tenderly sung I 
 Never did they steal out upon the hearts of a 
 more hushed and solemn audience. That match- 
 
436 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 less word of gospel had touched home. There 
 were those in the crowd who had never realized 
 before that the invitation was for them. 
 
 Following the hymn came another, suggested 
 also by Dr. Vincent: "Steal away to Jesus." 
 It is one of the sweetest as well as one of the 
 strangest of African melodies ; and as the ten 
 der message floated up among the trees, a strange 
 hush settled over the listeners; many tears were 
 quietly wiped away from eyes unused to weeping. 
 
 " Now sing 4 Almost persuaded, " said Dr. Vin 
 cent, his own voice tremulous with his highly 
 wrought feeling. Many voices took that up. 
 Even the Chautauqua girls sang, all but Eurie. 
 With the sentence : 
 
 " Seems now some soul to say, 
 
 Go, spirit, go thy way ; 
 Some more convenient day 
 
 On thee I ll call." 
 
 Flossy turned her anxious, appealing eyes on 
 Eurie, but she was laughing merrily over the at 
 tempt of a feeble old man near her to join in 
 the song, and Flossy whispered sadly to Ruth : 
 
Settled Questions. 437 
 
 " Earie has not even as much interest as that." 
 
 The spell of the message and the music lin- 
 gerefl, even after Dr. Vincent had gone again. 
 There was no more grumbling ; there was very 
 little laughing; a subdued spirit seemed to 
 brood over the great company. 
 
 " We could almost have a revival, right here," 
 said one thoughtful man, looking with searching 
 eyes, up and down the sea of faces. 
 
 " I tell you, no grander opportunity was ever 
 more grandly improved than by those few words 
 of Dr. Vincent s. They touched bottom. He 
 will meet those words again with joy, or I am 
 mistaken." 
 
 But the waiting was over ; suddenly the Chau- 
 tauqua bells began to peal ; strains of martial 
 music, and the roll of drums, mingled with the 
 booming of cannon ; and almost before they were 
 aware, even after all their waiting, twenty thou 
 sand people stood face to face with their nation s 
 chief. 
 
 "When the president s head appears above 
 this platform, I hope it will thunder here," had 
 been Dr. Vincent s suggestion several hours be 
 fore. 
 
 Thunder I That was no comparison ! I hope 
 
438 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 even lie was -satisfied. Then how that song of 
 greeting rung out ; tender still, even in its 
 power: " Let the hearts of all the people cir 
 cle him with prayer." No better gift for him 
 than that. 
 
 After the cheering and the singing, and the 
 very brief speech from the president himself, 
 came the address of welcome by Dr. Fowler of 
 Chicago. His first sentence sent the multitude 
 into another storm of cheers. Said he : " The 
 work that I thought to do, has been done by 
 twent} r thousand people." How could they help 
 doing it again after that ? Chautauqua had not 
 dropped her colors in this plan of an afternoon 
 given to the president. 
 
 The address of welcome from first to last rang 
 with the gospel inviUtiou, " come ; " no better 
 word than that even for their chief ; " honor to 
 whom honor is due," quoted the speaker, and 
 then followed his graceful tribute, but it closed 
 with a tender, dignified, earnest appeal to the 
 President of the United States to rest in the 
 same refuge, to enlist under the same flag, to be 
 loj^al to the same Chief, whom they were met to 
 serve. 
 
 " Out of my heart," said he: " as a man who 
 
Settled Questions. 439 
 
 recognizes God as the supreme ruler of us all, I 
 bid you come with us, and we will do you good, 
 for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Is 
 rael." 
 
 Poor Eurie ! What a place she had chosen if 
 she desired to hear no more preaching. What 
 were all these exercises, but sermons, one after 
 the other, strong warm unanswerable appeals to 
 be loyal to the Great Chief? Certainly Dr. 
 Deems was not the man to forget the Greater in 
 his greeting to the under ruler ; nor did he. 
 
 " Let me speak to you in closing," said he, 
 " to you and to this assembly, out of my heart. 
 We shall never all stand together again, until 
 that great white throne shall stop in mid heav 
 ens, and we shall stand to meet the Chiefest of 
 all chiefs. O men and brethren, shall we not 
 all prepare to meet there ? Mr. President, every 
 day prayer is made for you ; we are hoping to . 
 meet with you in heaven. Brave men who 
 stood beside you in the late war, and have gone 
 on ahead, are hoping to greet you there. May 
 you have a good life, a happy life, a blessed life ; 
 and may other tongues more eloquent than mine, 
 more eloquent than even my brother s who pre- 
 
440 Four Girls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 ceded me, bid you welcome one day to the gen 
 eral assembly of the first born. Arnen and 
 amen." 
 
 What could better close the matchless greet 
 ings than to have the Tennesseeans circle round 
 their president and sing again that ringing cho 
 rus : 
 
 " I ve been redeemed, 
 Been washed in the blood of the Lamb." 
 
 "I don t know what will become of the 
 grumblers," Marion said as they rested in various 
 stages of dishabille, and talked the exciting scenes 
 over. " They have been shamefully left in the 
 lurch ; they were going to have this affair a de 
 moralizing dissipation from first to last, unwor 
 thy of the spirit of Chautauqua. And if more 
 solemn, or more searching, or more effective 
 preaching could be crowded into an afternoon 
 than has been done here, I should like to be 
 shown how. What do you think of your choice 
 of entertainments, Eurie? You thought it would 
 be safe to attend the president s reot-plion, you 
 remember." 
 
 "I don t tell all I think," Eurie answered 
 
Settled Questions. 441 
 
 and then she went out among the trees. 
 
 Truth to tell, Eurie had heard that from which 
 she could not get away. Dr. Vincent s words 
 were still sounding, " you are invited to come to 
 Jesus and be saved ; you are invited to come 
 now." There had been nothing to dissipate that 
 impression, everything to deepen it, and the 
 thought that clung and repeated itself to her 
 heart was that plaintive wail : 
 
 " Almost persauded, now to believe." 
 
 That was certainly herself ; she felt it, knew 
 it ; in the face of that knowledge think how sol 
 emn the words grew : 
 
 " Almost will not prevail, 
 Almost is but to fail ; 
 Sad, sad that bitter wail, 
 Almost, but lost ! 
 
 Was that for her, too ? In short, Eurie out 
 there alone, among the silent trees, felt and ad 
 mitted this fact : that the time had actually come 
 to her when this question must be decided, either 
 for or against, and decided forever. 
 
442 Four Girls at Ohautauqua. 
 
 Sunday morning at Chautauqua ! A white 
 day. There can be none of all that throng who 
 spent the 15th day of August, 1875, in that sacred 
 place, who remember it without a thrill. A per 
 fect day ! Glorious and glowing sunshine every 
 where ; and beauty, such perfect beauty of lake 
 and grove ! The God of nature smiled lovingly 
 on Chautauqua that morning. 
 
 Our girls seemed to think that the perfect day 
 required perfection of attire, and it was notice 
 able that the taste of each settled on spotless 
 white, without color or ornament, other than a 
 spray of leaves and grasses, which one and an 
 other of them gathered almost without knowing 
 it, and placed in belt or hair. Outward calm, 
 but inward unrest, at least so far as some were 
 concerned ; Marion Wilbur among the number. 
 
 It was a very heavy heart that she carried that 
 day. There was no unbelief; that demon was 
 conquered. Instead there was an overpowering, 
 terrible certainty. And now came Satan with 
 the whole of her past life which had turned to 
 sin before her, and hurled it on her poor shrink 
 ing shoulders, until she felt almost to faint be 
 neath the load ; she lay miserably on her bed, 
 
Settled Questions. 443 
 
 and thought that she would not add to her bur 
 den by going to the service, that she knew al 
 ready too much. But an appeal from Flossy to 
 keep her company, as the others had gone, had 
 the effect of changing her mind. 
 
 Armed each with a camp-chair, they made 
 their way to the stand, after the great congrega 
 tion were seated. A fortunate thought those 
 camp-chairs had been ; there was not a vacant 
 seat anywhere. 
 
 Marion placed her chair out of sight both of 
 stand and speaker, but within hearing, and gave 
 herself up to her own troubled thoughts, until 
 the opening exercises were concluded and the 
 preacher announced his text : " The place that 
 is called Calvary." 
 
 She roused a little and tried to determine 
 whose voice it was, it had a familiar sound, but 
 she could not be sure, and she tried to go back 
 to the useless questionings of her own heart; 
 but she could not. She could never be deaf to 
 eloquence ; whoever the speaker was, there was 
 that in his very opening sentences which roused 
 and held her. Whatever he had to say, whether 
 or not it was anything that had to do with her, 
 
444 Four Girls at Cliautauqua. 
 
 she must listen. Still the wonderment existed 
 as to which voice it was. 
 
 But when he reached the sentences : " Jump 
 the ages ! Come down here to Chautauqua Lake 
 to-day, O Son of God ! O Son of Man ! O Son of 
 Mary I When the prophet of old said, " He 
 shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be 
 satisfied," did he look along the centuries and 
 see the gathered thousands here, who have just 
 sung, Tell me the old, old story ? What 
 story? Why, the story of the place that is called 
 Calvary ! " Marionleaned forward and addressed 
 the person next to her. 
 
 " Isn t that Dr. Deems ? " she said. 
 
 " Yes indeed ! " was the answer, spoken with 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 And Marion drew back, and listened. That 
 sermon ! Marion tried to report it, but it was 
 like trying to report the roll of the waves on the 
 Atlantic ; she could only listen with beating 
 heart and flushing cheek. Presently she list 
 ened with a new interest, for the divisions of the 
 subject were : " God s thought of sin," and 
 " God s thought of mercy." Though the morn 
 ing was warm, she shivered and drew her wrap 
 
Settled Questions. 445 
 
 closer about her. " God s thought of sin I She 
 was in a mood to comprehend in a measure what 
 a fearful thought it might be. 
 
 " Some men," said the speaker, " make light 
 of sin." Yes, she had done it herself. " Where 
 shall we learn what God thinks of it? On Si 
 nai? No. God spoke there in thunder and 
 lightning, till the very hills shook and trembled. 
 
 " And what were they doing down below ? 
 Dancing around a golden calf ! I tell you it is 
 only at Calvary that we can learn God s idea of 
 bin. For at Calvary, because of sin, God the 
 Father surrendered his communion with God 
 the Sou, and on Calvary God died ! Will God 
 ever forgive sin ? Many a one has carried that 
 question around in his soul until it burned 
 there." 
 
 Now you can imagine how Marion tried no 
 more to write ; thought no more about elo 
 quence ; this question, which had become to her 
 the one terrible question of life, was being looked 
 into. 
 
 " How will we find out ? Go by science into 
 nature, and there s no proof of it ; God never 
 forgives what seems to be the mistake of even a 
 reptile ! " 
 
446 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 I cannot tell you about the rest of that sermon. 
 I took no notes of it ; my notes ended abruptly 
 in the middle of a sentence ; one cannot write 
 out words that are piercing to their hearts. I 
 doubt if even Marion "Wilbur can give you any 
 satisfactory account of the wording of the sen 
 tences. And yet Marion Wilbur rose up at its 
 close, with cheeks aglow not only with tears, 
 but smiles ; and the question, Will God ever 
 forgive sin ? " she could answer. 
 
 There was a place where the burden would 
 roll awa} T . "At the place called Calvary." She 
 knew it, believed it, felt it, why should she 
 not? She had been there in very deed, that 
 summer morning. He had seen again of the 
 travail of his soul, he was one soul nearer to be 
 ing satisfied. 
 
 There were other matters of interest: those 
 two Bibles, symbol of the Chautauqua pulse, 
 that were presented to the nation s highest offi 
 cer ; the address which accompanied them 
 simple, earnest gospel; the hymn they sang, 
 everything was full of interest. But Marion let 
 it pass by her like the sound of music, and the 
 words in her heart that kept time to it all were 
 the closing words of that sermon : 
 
Settled Questions. 447 
 
 " Here I could forever stay, 
 Sit and sing my life away. 
 This is more than life to me, 
 Lovely, mournful Calvary." 
 
 It was so, all day. She went to the afternoon 
 service ; she listened to Dr. Fowler s sermon, 
 not as she had ever listened to one before ; the 
 sermon for the first time was for her. When 
 people listen for themselves, there is a difference. 
 She felt fed and strengthened ; she joined in the 
 singing as her voice had never joined before ; 
 they were singing about her Saviour. Then she 
 went back to her tent. 
 
 " I am not going to-night," she said to the 
 girls. " I am full, I want nothing more to-day. 
 
 " Preached out, I declare ! " said Eurie. " Are 
 you going to write out your report for the pa 
 per ? I wouldn t, Marion. I would go to the 
 meeting. I am going." 
 
 " No," said Marion in answer to the question, 
 and smiling at the thought. How strange it 
 would seem to her to spend this Sabbath even 
 ing thus. How many had she so spent I 
 
 " 1 am glad to-morrow is the last day," she 
 
448 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 said, sinking into a chair ; " I want to go home." 
 And Flossy and Ruth looked at each other, 
 and sighed. How well these girls understood 
 one anotl er! Why can t people be frank and 
 speak so that they can be understood ? 
 
 Suppose Marion had said : " No, I am not go 
 ing to write my report, I am going to pray." 
 Suppose she had said ; " Yes, I want to go home 
 to practice" 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 
 
 T is a troublesome fact that, even when 
 people are very much interested, and 
 very eager over important themes, commonplace 
 and comparatively trivial duties, will intrude, 
 and insist upon being done at that moment. 
 For instance, our girls were obliged to spend the 
 whole of Monday morning in packing their 
 trunks and satchels, returning their furniture, 
 settling for their tents, and the like ; in short, 
 breaking up housekeeping and getting ready to 
 go back to the civilized world. , Flossy and Ruth 
 
 dispatched their part at the hotel promptly and 
 
 (449) 
 
 
450 Four Girls at CJiautauqua. 
 
 came over to the grounds to help the others. 
 They discussed the meeting while they worked. 
 
 " if we hadn t been idiots," Marion said, " we 
 should have attended that normal class and been 
 graduating, this morning, instead of being down 
 here, at work at our trunks and unknown to 
 fame." 
 
 "Well, you wouldn t go," Ruth answered. 
 " Don t you know you declared that was too 
 much like work, and }^ou hadn t an idea of learn 
 ing anything ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Marion. " I remember a great 
 many things I have said, that I would quite as 
 soon forget." 
 
 By dint of eager bustling from one point to 
 another, the work was accomplished by noon, 
 and all the girls were ready for the afternoon 
 service, which all seemed equally eager to at 
 tend. When they reached the stand they looked 
 about them in surprise and dismay. 
 
 " Everybody is gone I " said Flossy, " only 
 look I There are ever so many unoccupied 
 seats ! " 
 
 Marion laughed. 
 
 " And ever so many that are occupied," she 
 
The Beginning of tfu Svd. 451 
 
 said. " My child, you Lave bccu so used to 
 counting audiences by the thousands, that six 
 teen or seventeen hundred people look rather 
 commonplace to you. However, there are more 
 than that number here, I think." 
 
 ]t soon became a matter of small importance, 
 whether there were few or many, so long as 
 they had the good fortune to be there them 
 selves, and to have the company of Dr. Ebov 
 Tourje e. 
 
 Now it so happened that among these feu) 
 girls there were two to whom God had given 
 special gifts: though neither of them had evei 
 considered that there were such things as gifts 
 from God, which they were bound to use in his 
 (service. 
 
 There was Ruth Erskine, who had capabilities 
 for music in the ends of her fingers, that would 
 have almost entranced the angels. What did 
 she do with her talent? Almost nothing. She 
 hated the sickly sentimentalities \\hich, set to 
 music, find their way into fashionable parlors by 
 the score. She was not in the society that knew 
 of, or craved, the higher, grander kind of music ; 
 and because she did, and did not know it, she 
 
452 Four G-irls at Chautauqua. 
 
 simply palled of the kind within her reach and 
 let her gift lie waste. 
 
 Then there was Marion, whose voice was sim 
 ply grand, both in power and tone. What had 
 she done with her voice ? Sung by the hour to 
 the old father whose tender memory lingered 
 with her to-day : less than nothing with it since ; 
 no one knew she could sing ; she hated singing 
 in school, she never went anywhere else ; so only 
 occasionally could the four walls of her upper 
 back room have testified that there was a talent 
 buried there. 
 
 Did Dr. Tourje e travel from Boston to Chau 
 tauqua for the purpose of inspiring and educa 
 ting these two girls. I don t suppose he knew 
 of their existence, but that makes no difference, 
 they are working out his lecture all the same ; in 
 fact it is nearly a year since these Chautauqua 
 girls came home, and if you have any sort of de 
 sire to know what Chautauqua theories develop 
 into, when put to the test, please keep a sharp 
 lookout for " The Chautauqua Girls at Home." 
 
 As the familiar talk on music went on, Ruth, 
 with her eyes aglow, began to plan in her own 
 heart, first what she might do, and presently 
 
The Beginning of the End. 453 
 
 what she would do. And Marion, at the other 
 end of the seat, went through the same process ; 
 neither imagining that these same doings would 
 bring them together, and lead to endless other 
 doings. But that is just the way in which life 
 is going on every where, who imagined that 
 what you did yesterday, would lead your neigh 
 bor to do what he has done to-day ? 
 
 " Luther said : Next to theology, I place 
 sacred music/ " This was the sentence that 
 started a train of thought for Ruth. After 
 that, she listened in order that she might work. 
 
 " Never use an interlude in church, I pray 
 God that I may be forgiven for the fiddle-faddle 
 that I have strummed on organs, in the name of 
 interludes." 
 
 This, delighted Marion, she hated interludes. 
 She hated quartette choirs. She had steadily 
 refused to be beguiled into one, by the few who 
 knew that she could sing, so, when Dr. Tourgce 
 said : " Think of the grand old hymn, From all 
 that dwell* below the skies, let the Creator s praise 
 arise, being warbled by one voice, a grand chorus 
 of four coming in on the third line ! " 
 
 Marion was entirely in sympathy with him, and 
 
454 Fours Girts at Chautauqua. 
 
 eager for work in the way in which he pointed 
 out. It was an enjoyable afternoon in every re 
 spect. But to "our girls" it was much more 
 than that, it was an education. Every one of 
 them got ideas which they were eager to put in 
 practice ; and they saw their ways clear to prac 
 tise them to some purpose. When the service 
 was over, and the audience moved away, a sense 
 of sadness and loiiliness began to creep over 
 man} , snatches of remark could be heard on all 
 sides. 
 
 "Where is Dr. Fowler?" 
 
 " Gone : went this morning." 
 
 " Where is the Miller party ? " 
 
 " Oh, they went some time ago." 
 
 " When did the president leave ? " 
 
 "It s all about go, " Eurie said: "Look! 
 How they are crowding down to the boat; and 
 only a stray one now and then coming up from 
 there. Who would have supposed it could make 
 as feel so forlorn ? I am glad we are not to be 
 at the morning meeting. I am not sure but I 
 should cry of homesickness. I say, girls, let s go 
 to Palestine." 
 
 Which suggestion was greeted with delight, 
 
TJie Beginning of the End. 455 
 
 and they immediately went. A great many 
 were of the same mind. Mr. Vanlennep in full 
 Turkish dress, was leading the way, and giving 
 his familiar lecture on the to him familiar 
 spots. The girls stood near him by the sea of 
 Galilee, and heard his tender farewell words, 
 and his hope that they would all meet on the 
 other side of Jordon. It was hard to keep back 
 the quiet tears from falling. 
 
 They climbed Mount Hermon in silence, and 
 looked over at Mount Lebanon, they came back 
 by the way of Cesarea, and turned aside to take 
 a last look at Joppa, down by the sea. In almost 
 total silence this walk back was accomplished. 
 What was the matter with them all? 
 
 Mr. Roberts had joined them, and he and 
 Flossy walked on ahead. But their voices were 
 subdued and their subject to judge from their 
 faces, quieting, to say the least. Then they all 
 went to take their last supper at Chautauqua. 
 Not one of them grumbled over anything. In 
 deed, they all agreed that the board had certainly 
 improved very much during the last few days, 
 and that it was really remarkable that such a 
 throng of people could have been served so 
 
456 Four Grirls at Chautaugua. 
 
 promptl}- and courteously, and on the whole, so 
 well, as had been done there. Still, it was 
 strange to have plenty of elbow room, and to see 
 the waiters moving leisurely up and down the 
 long halls ; no one in haste, no one kept waiting. 
 
 As they rose from table, a gentleman passed 
 through ; they had passed each other every day 
 for a week ; they had no idea what his name was, 
 and I suppose he knew as little about them. But 
 he* paused before them : 
 
 " Good-bye," he said. And held out his hand, 
 " I hope we shall all meet at the assembly up 
 there ! " 
 
 " Good-bye," they answered, and they shook 
 hands. None of them smiled, none of them 
 thought it strange ; though they had never been 
 introduced I It was the Chautauqua brother 
 hood of feeling. But after two weeks of experi 
 ence and much practice in that line, it was im 
 possible to rid onesself of the feeling that one 
 must hurry down to the stand in order to secure 
 seats; so they hurried, and had a new experi 
 ence ; they were among the first twenty on the 
 ground. 
 
 "The audience will be utterly lost to-night 
 
Tke Beginning of the End. 457 
 
 in this immense array of seats ; " Flossy said in 
 dismay. "Doesn t it feel forlorn?" But they 
 took their seats, and presently came Miss Ryder 
 and seated herself at the piano in the twilight, 
 and the tunes she played were soft and tender 
 and weird. 
 
 u Every note says c goodbye, " said Ruth, and 
 she gave a little sigh. Presently, the calcium 
 lights began to glow, as usual, and meantime 
 though everybody was supposed to have let tj 
 still, the people came from somewhere ; and at 
 last, dismayed voices began to say : 
 
 " Why ! Did you ever see the like ! I thought 
 we should surely get good seats to-night ? Where 
 do all the people come from." 
 
 " Look ! Marion," said Eurie. " What would 
 Dr. Harris think of such a congregation as this J 
 They could not get into our church, could they? * 
 But just then the hymn claimed attention : 
 
 " My days are gliding swiftly by." 
 
 How swiftly these days had glided away. 
 How full they had been 1 During the prayer 
 that followed, all heads bowed, and the silence 
 that fell upon them made it seem that all hearts 
 
458 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 joined. Dr. Vincent was the first speaker 
 His manner and voice had changed. Both were 
 subdued; he looked like a man who had been 
 lifted up for a great mental strain and was grad 
 ually letting down again to earth. 
 
 " We are coining toward the close," he said. 
 " We are more quiet than we have been here be 
 fore. Familiar faces and forms that have moved 
 in and out among these trees, for two weeks 
 past, have gone. Only a few hours and we are 
 going ; only a few hours and utter silence will 
 fall upon Chautauqua." 
 
 "Oh dear!" murmured Eurie, "\vhywill he 
 be so forlorn ! I don t see why I need care so 
 much ! Who would have supposed I could ! " 
 
 " Hush I " said Marion, and she surrepti 
 tiously wiped away a tear. "A love feast," Dr. 
 Vincent said they were going to have, for that 
 last evening ; it was very much like that. The 
 farewell from Canada came next; the speaker 
 said he had been " thawed out," meant to have 
 America annexed to Canada ! Indeed they had 
 already been annexed; in heart and soul! 
 "Who s who?" said he, and "what s what? 
 Who knows?" There was just enough of the 
 
The Beginning of the End. 459 
 
 comical mixed with the pathetic in this address 
 to steady many a tremulous heart. 
 
 Dr. Presbry followed in much the same strain, 
 closing, though, with such a tender tribute to 
 some who had been at the assernbty the year be 
 fore, and had since gone to join the assembly 
 that never breaks up, that the tears came to the 
 surface again. But those blessed Tennesseeans 
 just at that point made the grounds ring with 
 the chorus, " Oh jubilee ! jubilee 1 the Christian 
 religion is jubilee ! " and followed it with : " I ve 
 been a long time in the house of God, and I ain t 
 got weaiy yet." 
 
 By that time our girls looked at each other 
 with faces on which tears and smiles struggled 
 for the mastery. 
 
 " Shall we laugh, or cry ? " whispered Eurie, 
 and then they giggled outright. But they 
 sobered instantly and sat upright, ready to 
 listen, for the next one who appeared on the 
 platform was Dr. Deems. 
 
 He, too, commenced as if the spell of the part 
 ing was upon him. "He was too tired," he 
 said, " to make a short speech. Some one asked 
 Walter Scott why he didn t put a certain book 
 
460 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 of Ins into one volume instead of five. And lie 
 said lie hadn t time. It took five weeks to pre 
 pare a speech three minutes long. And then lie 
 warmed, and grew with his subject until the 
 beautiful thoughts fell around them like pearls. 
 Not only beautiful, but searching. 
 
 "No man," said he, "dares to make a care 
 less speech at Chautauqua, there are too many 
 to treasure it up, to plant it again." Of course 
 he knew nothing about those girls, and. how 
 much seed they were gathering which they 
 meant to plant; but they gathered it, all the 
 same. lie dropped his seeds with lavish hand. 
 This was one that took root in Marion s brain 
 and heart : 
 
 " There are so many side influences that are 
 unconscious, that the only safe way for one to 
 do is to let no part of himself ravel, but to keep 
 himself round and thorough, and healthy to the 
 core." 
 
 After that, Marion s pencil, on which I have to 
 depend for my notes, gave up in despair. " I 
 couldn t keep track of that man I " she said, when 
 J complained. "There was no more use to try 
 than there would be to count these apple bios- 
 

 The Beginning of the End. 461 
 
 soms," for it was this spring, and we were stand 
 ing in an apple orchard, and a perfect shower of 
 the white, sweet-smelling things came fluttering 
 round our heads. But after he calmed down a 
 little, as she called it, she tried to write again ; 
 and I copy this : 
 
 " Brethren : This meeting will convert some 
 of the most thoughtful people of this generation : 
 men who come here not knowing by personal 
 experience the power of this thing, men who 
 walk thoughtfully up and down these aisles, 
 looking on, will say : 4 There are scholars here, 
 there are men of genius, of great brain power, 
 there are men and women here of every variety 
 of temperament, and attainment, held together 
 for fourteen days by one common bond, and the 
 perseverance, the solemnity, the hilarity, the 
 freedom, the naturalness, the earnestness of this 
 meeting will so impress them that they will 
 know that there is a miracle holding us, a super 
 natural strength. 
 
 " May I give you to-night one word more of 
 gospel invitation? Come, go with us, you who 
 do not understand this matter for yourselves, go 
 with as, and we will do you good. Will you go 
 to your rooms to-night and make the resolve 
 
 
462 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 that shall write your names in God s book of 
 life ? The recording angel has a trembling hand 
 this minute, waiting for your answer. Wear) 
 one, so young and yet so tired, come, come, come 
 now." 
 
 Marion, with cheeks burning, and eyes very 
 bright and earnest, looked around her: Eurie 
 sat next to her, she seemed unmoved, there was 
 no sign of tears to her bright eyes, but she was 
 looking steadily at the speaker. 
 
 "Never mind!" Marion said within herself, 
 and there came to her an eager desire to begin 
 her practice, to do something ; what if it were 
 utter failure, would the fault be hers ? 
 
 Following the sudden leading that she had 
 learned no better than to call c impulse she said 
 in -a quick low whisper: "Eurie, won t youl" 
 And she held her breath for the answer, and 
 could distinctly feel the beating of her own 
 heart. Eurie turned great gray astonished eyes 
 on her friend, and said in a firm quiet voice : " I 
 have. I settled that matter on Saturday. Have 
 you?" 
 
 And then those two girls, each with the won 
 derful surprise ringing music in her heart, were 
 willing to have that meeting over. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE END OP THE BEGINNING 
 
 L T was almost over. Dr. Deems sat down 
 id the hush of hearts, and all the people 
 seemed to feel that no more words were needed. 
 Yet, the next moment, they greeted Frank 
 Beard with joy, and prepared themselves with 
 great satisfaction to listen to what he had to say. 
 Frank Beard was one of Chautauqua s favorites. 
 People had not the least idea that they could 
 be beguiled into laughter ; hearts were too ten 
 der for that ; yet you should have heard the 
 bursts of mirth that rang there for the next five 
 minutes ! Frank Beard was so quaint, so orig 
 inal, so innocent in his originality, so pure and 
 
 " (463) 
 
464 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 high-toned, even in his fun, and they liked him 
 so much that every heart there responded to his 
 mirth. The roars of laughter reached as high as 
 the music had done, but a little while before. 
 
 Yet, when people s hearts are tender, and full, 
 it is strange how near laughter is to tears ! Just 
 a sentence from the same lips and the hush fell 
 on them again. 
 
 Frank Beard had brought his heart with him 
 to Chautauqua, and he was evidently leaving 
 some of it there. The touching little story of 
 his dream about his mother brought out a 
 flutter of handkerchiefs, and made tear-stained 
 faces. And when he, simply as a child, tenderly 
 as a large-souled man, trustfully as only a Chris 
 tian can, said his farewell, and told of his joyful 
 hope of meeting them all in the eternal morning, 
 absolute stillness settled over them. 
 
 So many last words one and another came 
 just a word, just "good-bye," until we meet 
 again; maybe here, next year, maybe there, 
 where good-byes are never heard. Finally came 
 Dr. Vincent, his strong decided voice breaking 
 the spell, and helping them to realize that they 
 were men and women with work to do : 
 
The End of the Beginning. 465 
 
 " Now, my friends," he said, " we really must 
 go home ; it is hard to close ; I know that, no 
 one knows it better : we have closed a good many 
 times, and it won t stay closed. The last word 
 has been said over and over again. I said it my 
 self, some time ago, and here I am again : we 
 must just stop, never mind the closing ; we will 
 sing a hymn, and go away, and next year we will 
 begin right here, where we left it." 
 
 But he didn t "stop," and no one wanted him 
 to. His voice grew tender, and his words were 
 solemn. The last words that he would ever 
 speak to many a soul within sound of his voice ; 
 it could not be otherwise. You can imagine bet 
 ter than I could tell you what Dr. Vincent s 
 message would be at such a time as that. 
 
 Breaking into it, came the shrill sound of the 
 whistle. The Col. Phillips the last boat for 
 the night was giving out its warning. The 
 Chautauqua bells began their parting peal. Not 
 even for his own convenience would that marvel 
 of punctuality have the bells tarry a moment 
 behind the hour appointed. 
 
 Our girls looked at each other and made signs, 
 and nodded, and began to slip quietly out. They 
 had arranged to spend the night at the Mayvilla 
 
406 Fours Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 House, and take an early train. Many others 
 were softly and reluctantly moving away. They 
 were very quiet during that last walk down to 
 the wharf. Glorious moonlight was abroad, and 
 the water shone like a sheet of silver. 
 
 As they walked, the evening wind brought to 
 them the notes of the last song which the throng 
 at the stand were singing. A clear, ringing, yet 
 tender farewell. It floated sweetly down to 
 them, growing fainter and fainter as the distance 
 lengthened, until, as they stepped on board the 
 boat, they lost its sound. There were many 
 people going the same way, but there was little 
 talking. There are times when people, though 
 they may be very far from unhappiness, have no 
 desire to talk. Once on deck, Marion turned 
 and clasped both of Eurie s hands. 
 
 " I have had such a blessed surprise to-night I " 
 she said, with glowing face. "I did not think 
 of such a thing! O Eurie, why didn t you tell 
 me?" 
 
 " You cannot begin to be as surprised as I 
 am," Eurie said. "I thought you were miles 
 away from such a thing. Why didn t you tell 
 me ? " 
 
 lluth and Flossy were leaning over, watching 
 
The End of the Beginning. 467 
 
 the play of the water against the boat s side. 
 
 " What about those two ? " Eurie said, nod 
 ding her head toward them. 
 
 Marion sighed. 
 
 " Ruth is very far from understanding any 
 thing about it," she said ; " at least the last time 
 I talked with her she knew as little about the 
 Christian life as the veriest heathen so far at 
 least as personal duty was concerned." 
 
 "When was that?" 
 
 " Wh}^, a week ago ; more than a week." 
 
 " How long is it since you settled this question 
 for yourself?" 
 
 " Since yesterday," Marion said, blushing and 
 laughing. " Eurie, you would do for a cross- 
 questioner." 
 
 " And I have been on this side since Satur 
 day," Eurie answered, significantly. "A great 
 many things can happen in a week." 
 
 At this point, Ruth turned and came towards 
 them. She looked quiet and grave. 
 
 "It is a year, isn t it? since we stood here to 
 gether for the first time," she said. " At least 
 I seorn to have had a year of life and experience. 
 Do you know, girls, I have something to tell 
 
468 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 you : I thought to wait until we reached home, 
 but I have decided to-night that I will riot. I 
 am sorry that I have not told you before. 
 Marion, don t you know how like a simpleton I 
 talked, a week ago last Saturday night? I want 
 to tell you that I was a fool ; and was talking 
 about that of which I knew nothing at all. I 
 want to assure you that there is a safe place, 
 that I know it now by actual experience, I have 
 gone to the mountain and it is sure and safe ; 
 and, oh, girls, I want you both to come so 
 much." 
 
 " I know the mountain;" Marion said, reach 
 ing out, and clasping Ruth s hand. " The name 
 of it is Calvary, it is safe, and it is sufficient for 
 us all. Ruthie, we three are together in this 
 thing." 
 
 What those girls said to each other then and 
 there is sacred to them. But if I could, I would 
 tell you something of the joy they felt. 
 
 Flossy still leaned over the railing, a small 
 quiet speck in the moonlight. Marion kept 
 turning her head in her direction. " Our poor 
 little Flossy would not understand much about 
 this experience, I suppose," she said at last; 
 
The End of the Beginning. 469 
 
 " she is such a child, and yet, I don t know 
 sometimes I have fancied that she thinks more 
 than we give her credit for. That at least she 
 has lately." 
 
 " Let us tell her, anyway," Eurie, said, " we 
 can t know what good it may do. If we had not 
 been so dreadfully afraid of each other, during 
 the last few da}^s, we might have helped each 
 other a good deal ; for my part, I have learned a 
 lesson on which I mean to practice." 
 
 Ruth looked up quickly, a rare smile in her 
 eyes ; she opened her lips to speak to them, then 
 seemed to change her mind and raised her voice : 
 " Flossy ! " And Flossy came at her call. 
 
 " Come here," Ruth said, withdrawing her 
 hand from Marion s, and winding her arm around 
 the small figure beside her. 
 
 " Flossy, the girls have had our very experi 
 ence all by themselves, and they want to know 
 how long it is since you began to think about 
 this matter for yourself." 
 
 Flossy turned her soft blue eyes on Marion. 
 
 " The very night we came, Marion, and you 
 made me come to the meeting in the rain, you 
 remember ? I heard that which I knew would 
 
470 Four Crirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 never let me rest again, until I understood it, 
 and had it for my own. But I was very igno 
 rant, and foolish, and I blundered along in the 
 dark for three mortal days! After that Jesus 
 found me, and I have known since what it is to 
 live in the light." 
 
 "A Christian experience of ten whole days ! " 
 Eurie said. Of course she was the first one to 
 rise from her surprise and get possession of her 
 tongue. 
 
 " Flossy, you have had a chance to get a good 
 way ahead instead of being behind, as we thought. 
 You will have to show us the wa}^." 
 
 " Isn t this just wonderful ! " broke forth Mar 
 ion, suddenly, an overwhelming sense coming 
 over her, of the new relations that they four 
 would henceforth bear to each other. " Why, 
 girls, what would they say up there at the stand, 
 if they could know what has come to each of 
 us! I almost feel like going back and telling 
 them all. Just think what a delight it would 
 be to Dr. Vincent, and Dr. Deems, and, oh, to 
 all of them. Isn t it queer to think how well 
 we know them all, and they are not aware of our 
 existence ? " 
 
The End of the Beginning. 471 
 
 " I don t believe people will have to wait to 
 bo introduced to each other when they get to 
 heaven," Eurie said ; " that is one of the first 
 things I am going to do when I get there ; hunt 
 up some of these Chautauqua people and culti 
 vate their acquaintance." 
 
 This sentence gave Flossy a new thought: 
 " We are really all going to heaven ! " 
 She said it precisely as you might speak of a 
 trip to Europe on which your heart had long been 
 set. 
 
 "We are just as sure of it as though we were 
 there this minute ! Girls, don t you know how 
 nice we thought it would be to be together at 
 Chautauqua for two whole weeks? Now think 
 of being together, there, for a million years I " 
 But the thought which filled Flossy s heart with 
 a sweet song of melody, and wreathed her face 
 in glad smiles, was such an overwhelming one 
 to Marion, so immense with power and possibil 
 ity, that it seemed to her to take her very breath ; 
 she turned abruptly from the rest and walked to 
 the vessel s side to still the throbbing of her 
 heart. 
 
 Meantime the boat had been filling with pas- 
 
472 Four Girls at Chautauqua. 
 
 sengers, and now she was getting under way. 
 Still the hush continued ; the people stood closely 
 around the railing, on the Chautauqua side, and 
 looked lovingly back at the fair point of land 
 that lay before them in glowing moonlight. 
 Presently a leading voice began to sing : 
 
 " There s a land that is fairer than day, 
 And by faith we can see it afar ; 
 For the Father waits over the way 
 To prepare us a dwelling-place there. 
 We shall meet in the sweet by and by, 
 On that beautiful shore in the sweet by and by, 
 We shall meet on that beautiful shore." 
 
 Before the chorus was reached, every voice 
 that could sing at all must have taken up the 
 strain. Marion, for the first time in years gave 
 a hint of the full compass of her powers, mak 
 ing Ruth turn suddenly towards her, with a 
 brightening face, for she saw how the singing 
 and the playing could fit into each other, and do 
 good service. 
 
 On and on stole the vessel through the silver 
 water. The courteous captain came around 
 quietly for his tickets, and to one and another 
 
The End of the Beginning. 473 
 
 with whose faces he had grown familiar he said : 
 " We shall miss 3-011 : the Col. Phillips has been 
 proud of carrying you all safely back and forth. * 
 
 One said to him in return : " I hope, captain, we 
 shall all laud at last safe in the harbor." And 
 the captain bowed his answer in silence. It 
 would have been hard to speak words just then. 
 
 But ever and anon that leading voice took up 
 words of song. 
 
 Still the song that best seemed to suit all 
 hearts was that tender " By and b}*," and as the 
 lights along the Chautauqua shore grew dim it 
 rose again in swelling volume : 
 
 " We shall meet, we shall sing, we shall reign, 
 In the land where the saved never die ; 
 We shall rest free from sorrow and pain. 
 Safe at home in the sweet by and by." 
 
 Then the refrain, repeated and re-repeated, 
 until, as the last lingering note of it died away, 
 the boat touched at the wharf, and looking back, 
 they saw that the Chautauqua lights were out, 
 and silence and darkness had Fail-point. 
 
 " Good-bye," Marion said, and she bowed to 
 wards the distant shore ; she was smiling, but 
 her lips were quivering. 
 
474 Four Grirls at Chautauqua. 
 
 " We shall meet in the sweet by and by, M 
 Flossy quoted, but her voice trembled. 
 
 " There is a chance to do grand work first, 
 that the final meeting may be infinitely larger, 
 because of us." 
 
 This the leading voice in the singing said, as 
 he held out his hand to say good-bye. And 
 us they took it some of the girls noticed for the 
 first time that it was Mr. Roberts ; as for Flossy, 
 she had known it all the time. 
 
 " We are going to try to do some of the work, 
 Mr. Roberts," Eurie said ; " I have found the 
 road to Bethany since I saw you, the real road, 
 and we are going to try and keep it well trod 
 den." 
 
 He was shaking hands with Flossy, as Eurie 
 spoke, and he still held her hand while he an 
 swered : " Good news ! There is plenty of work 
 to do. It is well that Chautauqua has gathered 
 in new reapers. I am coming to your city, next 
 \vinter; I shall want to help you. Good-bye." 
 
 THE END. 
 
FROM DIFFERENT STANDPOINTS. 
 
 By Pansy and Faye Huntington. 12mo. Price $1.50. 
 Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., 
 
 If there is any better writer of Sunday School books than 
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is one of th most popular 
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