FRONTISPIECE. Harold Dorsey. p. HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. BY MARY DWINELL CHELLIS, ATJTHOB OF " TWO BOYS SAVED," " THINGS COMMMON AND UNCOMMON,' " OLD MILL," " DEACON SIMS' PRATEKS," SIC. BOSTON: CONGREGATIONAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY, BEACON STREET. COPYRIGHT, 1881, BY CONGREGATIONAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY. BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, 4 PEAK. STREET. CONTENTS. CHAPTF.H PAGE I. COMFORTED 5 II. Ax AFTERNOON EXCURSION 25 III. THE SUNDAY MEETING 45 IV. WISHING . . CO V. A BEAUTIFUL WOULD 78 VI. NORAH BORINE . 96 VII. THE FIRST PRAYER 115 VIII. Miss SPERRY > . . 130 IX. A SUMMER VACATION , . . 148 X. CAMPING OUT 166 XI. THE OLD HOME 186 XII. THE CHOPPER 205 XIII. Miss SPERRY'S COUSIN , . 224 4 CONTENTS. CHAPTEB> PAGE XIV. THE BRIGHT SIDE 240 XV. THE PEOPLE'S LIBRARY 256 XVI. HAROLD DORSET IN SCHOOL 272 XVII. BORN TO BE A LEADER 290 XVIII. A VINE CLAD COTTAGE 305 XIX. A DISAPPOINTED OLD MAN 319 XX. THE FRAGMENTS OF A WILL 337 XXI. GOOD NEWS 350 XXII. MANY CHANGES 366 HAROLD DORSEY'S FORTUNE. CHAPTER I. COMFORTED. IT was a bright day when the new teacher came to -us," said Mrs. Rady, as she talked with Miss Austen. " She comes to our rooms of an evening and sits with us like one of our own, 'though she's a lady, the same as yourself." " I am glad you like her," was replied. "I think we are getting some fine people about us." " You may well say that, Miss, with your- self and young master to the fore. It's get- ting like what it was in the old master's time, only with a difference I can't explain. There's 5 6 HAROLD DOESEY'S FORTUNE. good cloth making, too ; not a stroke of poor work done on the place." Mr. Bumstead made the same remark while calling attention to some recent im- provements ; reiterating the prophecy that they would soon be "making piles of money." " Mr. Elliot thinks of the land, but you can well afford to leave the fields fallow." "It does not seem to me we can afford such waste," answered Miss Austen. " If the prosperity of a country depends upon its ag- riculture, we must contribute our share. Mr. Elliot thinks we can derive a*good income from the land, and his opinion is worthy of consideration." " That it is. There's not much but he un- derstands, and there's not a better man than he is. It goes against me to see him doing the work he does, 'though he's a gentleman all the same." " Nothing can make him other than a gen- tleman, so long as he abstains from intoxicat- ing drink." " And that will be as long as he lives. He COMFORTED. 7 has changed while you were away, and he says he has help now, he never had before. He can't be doing his work better ; but you will know he's happier the minute you see him. There he is, coming with Harold. He was busy last evening with a plan of the land, and likely, by this time, every rod of it is set down to growing something. Mr. Stuart says you will decide about it all." One who saw Mr. Elliot then for the first time would never have dreamed what he had been only a year before. Harold remembered him as he craved shelter from a storm which closed a day as bright and beautiful as that they were now enjoying. Drenched with rain, travel stained, and famishing, was the wanderer who accepted, with humble grati- tude, the hospitality he received. As for Richmond Elliot, he had little time to indulge in retrospective thoughts. The present demanded his attention. Had Aus- tenville been his to have and hold during his natural life, he could not have calculated its 8 HAROLD DORSET S FORTUNE. resources, or computed its possible income more carefully. At Miss Austen's request he accompanied her home, and laid before her the plan of which Mr. Bumstead had spoken. From this she learned more of her estate than she could have learned in many long, toilsome walks. " I am satisfied to leave the entire manage- ment with you," she said, at length, to her companion. " I suppose you will choose to take Harold as an assistant." " It will be best for him to work out of doors," was replied. " He would be like a caged bird if he was confined within four walls." " I am glad you have such a care of him, Mr. Elliot. I am sure he will repay you." " I have been paid in advance for all I can ever do for him. Mr. Dorsey was my friend when I was in the greatest need. I was in a far more pitiable condition than when I came here. There and here I have received help for soul and body." COMFORTED. 9 " You have come out on the Lord's side, Mr. Elliot?" " I have, Miss Austen ; " and the tone in which this reply was made more than compen- sated for its brevity. " I am very thankful. I never feared that you would exert an active influence against religion in this 'community ; but I knew that your example would have great power. My brother lived to see that his skepticism was without reason, and his most cherished beliefs without foundation." " Thank God that he did, and that I, too, have lived to see the same. I look upon the world with different eyes now that I recognize God's hand in all things. Nature is a bounti- ful mother, but she is heartless. But pardon me, Miss Austen, I am trespassing upon your tune, and forgetting my duty." " Far from that, Mr. Elliot. We have not yet spoken of Miss Greenleaf. You are satis- fied with her as a teacher? " " Indeed I am. She has accomplished more since she came here than most teachers would 10 HAROLD DOESEY'S accomplish in a year. I am constantly won- dering how, with so few facilities for acquir- ing knowledge, she has learned so much. She must have improved every moment of time, and made the most of every advantage. She might be an artist; but she is only a plain working-woman, distrustful of her own abili- ties, and somewhat timid in regard to meet- ing Miss Austen." " She will soon forget her timidity." " I think she will, Miss Austen ; " and no gentleman could have bowed himself from the presence of a lady with more easy grace than did Richmond Elliot. Not many days after this conversation Alice Greenleaf was seated at the old-fashioned desk appropriated to her use, while a troop of chil- dren waited without that they might have the pleasure of walking home with her. She had forgotten her surroundings, and was thinking of the past, when Jessie Elliot appeared, and half whispered : " Miss Austen is coming. She is almost here ; and I guess she is coming to see you. COMFORTED. 11 AVc children better go. She will want you all to herself." Miss Greenleaf did not move from the posi- tion she had occupied until the door was opened and her name pronounced. " Miss Austen," she responded ; and two hands were clasped as these women looked each into the face of the other. That both found their previous opinions somewhat at fault was not strange ; yet, as they conversed, they were not long in dis- covering that they had many sympathies in common. " I have heard Jessie Elliot speak of your home, and I know you must have regretted leaving it," said the visitor, when they had talked a little of the school and its interests. " I did ; but now that mother is gone there is not so much to keep me there. Then I have left some one in my cottage who will enjoy it. I should not like to have it occu- pied by strangers. Everything in it and about it has a history for me. Every vine and tree and shrub seems like a friend." 12 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. " Did you plant them all yourself? " " With two exceptions, I did. There were two scraggy apple-trees growing in the lot when I bought it. They were all, except such bushes as usually grow in a neglected pasture. The house was unfinished, so that I had the pleasure of finishing it to suit my own taste ; and some of the work I did with my own hands. I could not afford to hire it done." " But how could you do it yourself? I never saw a woman do such work." " It is no harder than much of the work women do. If I wanted a shelf or a stand, I made it, and I learned to use tools quite handily." " That is an accomplishment it will be hardly necessary for you to use here." " I presume not, Miss Austen, but I was very anxious to have a pleasant, attractive home ; and, in order to have it, I was obliged to make the most of everything I could com- mand." " Pleasant, attractive homes are the great COMFORTED. 13 need of the world, and they can be secured with less money than most people count nec- essary." " Certainly they can, Miss Austen. I wish, sometimes, I could get together a few of the people who think, because they are poor, they can have nothing pretty. I should like to tell them my experience. I have done some things my neighbors thought extrava- gant ; yet those very things repaid me four- fold. If I bought a book, I was usually obliged to save the price from some article of dress, or do some extra piece of work after my regular working-hours. But I am talking too much of myself. I forgot that you are almost a stranger, and that you have lived very differently from the way in whicL I have lived." "I had forgotten it myself," replied the visitor frankly. " I have been interested in all you have told me, and I shall consider it a personal favor if you will give our people the benefit of your experience. I have been differently situated from you, but I have de- 14 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. pended much upon myself, and can, there- fore, sympathize with you." In their mutual forgctfulness the conversa- tion was continued until a glance at her watch reminded Miss Greenleaf that she would be expected at her boarding place, when they started homeward. " If birds would but stay their flight that we might study them, how much we should gain," she said, as they caught the flash of an oriole's plumage. " We must take them on the wing, as we take the golden opportunities of our lives," responded Miss Austen. " It seemed to be my opportunity when I decided to start up the mill here." " And mine when the school was offered to me." "I trust it will prove so, Miss Greenleaf; and that you will feel at home with us. There is so much to be done here we need all the help we can obtain. You have seen Harold Dorsey?" " Several times." COMFORTED. 15 " And I know you must be interested in him." "More than in any other person I have ever seen. I had a long talk with him one evening when he was going home from his work. I had been in the woods alone, and I asked him the name of a vine I had in my hand. It was new to me, but he said it was very common where he used to live. He has a well-trained eye." " And a generous, loving heart. I hope you will cultivate his acquaintance. He has not had many to care for him. There is Norah Borine too. She is another who needs the influence of judicious friends. "We must all work together here. You will al- ways be a welcome guest at my house, and you can count upon my friendship. Now, I will not detain you longer. Good-evening." Harold Dorsey was at work where he saw the two as they separated ; and a glimpse of his earnest face reminded Miss Greenlcaf of the interview to which reference has been made. He had been shy at first, speaking 16 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. only in reply to direct questions ; but, after a little while, his reserve vanished, and he talked freely of his old life. " It wasn't like anything you can know," he said seriously. " I don't think anybody else ever lived so. I didn't care as much for flowers and plants and trees as I did for the living things ; but sometimes, when T was tired and lonesome, I would lay my head down among them and cry, because I wanted somebody to comfort me." " And were you comforted ? " asked his companion. " Sometimes ; and sometimes I felt all the worse. When I could hear the growing sound it seemed as though I had company." " What is the growing sound? " "I can't describe it exactly ; but when every- thing is growing, if you put your ear down to the ground, you can hear a low humming. It is very low, and very soft, but it is plain as can be. I asked grandsir about it, but he didn't explain it to me. I think I shall know sometime." COMFORTED. 17 " We all have much to learn." "Yes, ma'am ; I have a great deal to learn, and this is just the place to learn it. There are Miss Austen, and Mr. Stuart, and Mr. Elliot, and you, and all the people about here. Every one knows more than I do. I have nobody else." " I am all alone, too, Harold. My mother died a few weeks ago." " But you had her once, Miss Greenleaf, and I never had any mother at all. I never belonged to anybody but grandsir, and he never said he loved me." " Did you always live with him ? " " I suppose so ; 'though when I go into the great house it seems as if I had seen one like it before, with pictures and carpets. Likely I dreamed about it." "Did you go to school?" " Not much. Grandsir taught me himself, and I read everything I could get. That was not much, but I am reading now." " And you are happy here ? " " Yes, ma'am ; everybody is happy here, 2 18 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. and I have a good home. I liked the woods, but I grew tired of wanting to know what I couldn't find out. There was an old man came 'round once in a while gathering roots and herbs, and I used to go with him, so I learned some of their names. I got some, too, for myself, and grandsir sold them." " Then you could earn your living in the woods." " Yes, ma'am ; but it is not always pleas- ant. There is hard work, and sometimes rain and snow and cold. But now everything is coming to new life, just as I am since I read the Bible." "Then this is your spring-time, and soon it will be summer. Then comes autumn and winter." " And after that, Miss Greenleaf ? " " A glorious resurrection for those who have done their work well here on earth." These words came back to Harold again and again as he applied himself to the tasks before him. Each day some duty confronted him, and each day he strove to do his best. COMFORTED. 19 The arrival of Mason Stuart was a marked event which, as yet, he hardly appreci- ated. They had exchanged greetings, and the visitor had given him some slight assist- ance in his work, but it was not according to his custom to spend his employer's time in talking. For this reason Mason thought him unsocial, complaining that " he wouldn't say anything, only what he couldn't help." " You must wait until you find Harold at leisure before you make up your mind in re- gard to him," said Miss Austen, who was sure to hear a report of her nephew's opinions. " I don't see why that need make any dif- ference about his talking," was replied. " I can work just as fast when I am talking. Rufe and I keep our tongues running all the time when we are working together. I guess, though, it does take considerable wind, and perhaps Harold isn't used to it. Anyway, there must be more to him than there is to most fellows. But, Margie, I' have been dis- appointed since I came here. There is Harold, and then there is Norah. I offered to carry a 20 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. pail of water for her this morning, qnd I spoke as politely as I know how, but she didn't an- swer me a word. She snatched up the pail and hurried off as if she was angry. I thought at first I never would speak to her again, but I have changed my mind. I shall talk to her, and I shall carry water for her. It isn't natural for a girl to act so, and she must learn better. She is as different as can be from Jessie Elliot, but I mean to be good friends with both of them." "You have my best wishes for your suc- cess." " Then I am all right. I had a peep into Mr. Elliot's cottage to-day. I was going by and he spoke to me. Ed was with me. How everybody looks up to Ed, auntie. I don't believe I shall ever get quite used to it. He takes right hold of work too. I never ex- pected it of him. I have been glad every minute to-day that we lost that ten thousand dollars. This is a grand place, and to-mor- row, if you are willing, I will put on some of my patched clothes, and help Robert about COMFORTED. 21 his work, so he can take a tramp with me in the afternoon." " I am perfectly willing, but I had planned an excursion for the afternoon, and intended to invite you and Robert to go with me." Jessie and Norah Borine were included in this invitation, and the latter was especially delighted. Of course she would go, and she made all possible haste with her work. A lit- tle before noon she found time to look in upon Jessie, and express her pleasure. " We shall have the rarest time," she ex- claimed joyously. " Of course we shall," was replied. "There will be six of us, so we can't help having a good time. I wish Harold was going too." " Six ! Are those boys going ? " " Yes. Miss Austen wouldn't go without Mason, and of course Robert would want to go." " Then I won't go a step. I don't like boys. They arc always in the way, wanting girls to give up to them. They needn't come where I am. I can carry all the water I 22 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. want, and this afternoon I shall go to the woods alone." " O Norah, I shouldn't think you would do so. You won't like it half as well as go- ing with us ; and I don't think it would be polite to Miss Austen, after she asked you." " I can't help it. I won't go with boys." Saying this in a sharp, peremptory tone, Norah sprang through the open door, with- out pausing to look back. A horse was rush- ing furiously down the street, and frightened by the unexpected danger, she ran blindly into his very path. Had not some one interposed to save her she must have been seriously, if not fatally, injured. As it was, Edward Stuart saw the situation, and hastened to her rescue. Harold Dorsey arrested the progress of the frightened animal, and before the dan- ger was really comprehended it no longer ex- isted. Norah was unhurt, but she lay helpless in the arms of her preserver, who carried her home and laid her upon the homely lounge, which was the one article of luxury COMFORTED. 23 this home could boast. Here she opened her eyes, and after looking around for a moment covered her face with her hands and wept convulsively. Mrs. Borine came soon, and having heard exaggerated reports of the affair, needed to be soothed and comforted before she could do anything for her child. " And to think it was Mr. Stuart saved my Norah ! " she cried. " Whatever could I do without her? Oh, Miss Greenlcaf, you don't know ; " and she rocked to and fro in the vain attempt to express the emotions of her heart. " There is One who knows all about it, and who has you in his keeping," was replied. " You are indebted to Mr. Stuart, but not to him alone." " Who else ? " asked Norah wonderingly. "Your Heavenly Father, who always watches over you." " I know, Miss Greenleaf. I am sorry I have made so much trouble. I don't see what made me run the wrong way." At this Mrs. Borine knelt beside the 24 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. lounge, and clasping her child in a close embrace, allowed her tears to flow freely. When she raised her head they were alone. Directly, however, Jessie came in, all the more anxious and eager from having so long restrained herself. "I thought I had better wait," she said. " Mr. Stuart told me. Isn't he good? " " The very best of anybody ; the very best," answered Norah. "He might have been killed, and I not worth a hundredth of him." "But he isn't hurt a bit, nor you either, and everybody is so glad. Now, I will stay at home with you this afternoon." "But I am going," was the quick reply. "I have changed my mind, and I want to go. Miss Greenleaf says I can, and I wouldn't miss it for anything." AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 25 CHAPTER H. AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. THE afternoon was all which had been anticipated. The excursionists revelled in sights and sounds, not all have eyes to see or ears to hear. Every flower had a beauty of its own ; while every whistle or song of bird touched some echoing chord in the hearts of those who listened. Norah Borine was thinking so earnestly that she would not have spoken even if alone with Jessie Elliot. She enjoyed all which the others enjoyed, and yet there was an under- current of thought and feeling having no ref- erence to what was around her. She wan- dered away by herself, and sat down upon a stone covered with gray lichens. There were flowers within reach of her hand, but she did not pluck them. The sound of voices became 26 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. less ana less distinct. She looked up to the blue sky as if she would pierce its mysteries. Miss Greenleaf had told her that she was in- debted to God for the preservation of her life. She could not go beyond that simple state- ment. She could not reason concerning it. " O Norah, I have wondered ever so much where you could be," said Jessie, com- ing up to her. We children are going over to the back side of the lot. Will you go with us, or are you too tired? " " I aint tired. I want to go." ft Then come right along. How many things there are to see, and how long it would take to count them all ! " " There are too many to count. Nobody can ever know how many there are." "Nobody in the world," suggested Jessie. " There aint, anybody else." There is God. You didn't think of Him. His home is in Heaven, but He is in the world all the same. He knows exactly how many things there are, and just where they grow. He knows how many blades of grass AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 27 there are in all the fields, and how many grains of sand there are on the sea-shore. c Father says, now he has begun to think about it, it seems to him the strangest that God should know about the little things." " I don't believe it. It aint likely God would care for such things," exclaimed Norah in an indignant tone. " How can you say so," replied Jessie. " The Bible says the very hairs of your head are all numbered, and not a sparrow falls to the ground without his notice." " AVho says so ? How do you know ? " " The Bible says so. I read it there. Didn't you ever read it ? " " No, I never did." " I will show it to you sometime. It is easy to think that God made the ocean, and the rivers, and the mountains, but I don't wonder it seems strange to you about the blades of grass and grains of sand, if you never thought of it before." " I never did think of it. How could I, when I didn't know anything about it? Is it 20 HAROLD DORSET S FORTUNE. the same God Miss Greenleaf said took care of me this morning ? " " There isn't but one God," answered Jes- sie. " He is so great, and wise, and strong, there couldn't be another." " He is a great ways off." " No, Norah ; that is another strange thing about Him. He is everywhere at the same time. He is right beside you this minute, and he knows just what you are thinking." A startled look in the child's face revealed her astonishment as she glanced around, and then, without speaking, walked rapidly for- ward. Miss Austen and Miss Greenleaf improved the time, when the younger members of the party were absent, to talk of personal matters. They were to work together for the general good, and in order to do this to the best ad- vantage some consultation was necessary. " Our people are kind and ordinarily intel- ligent, yet many of them need to learn that there is something required in life beyond providing for the wants of the body," said AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 2\) Miss Austen at length. "This must be done. There is no avoiding it, but it should not be allowed to absorb the whole of life. The homeliest w^ork may be glorified, and there may be something of refinement in the humblest home." " I know that is true," replied Miss Green- leaf. " I think, too, there are a great many people struggling after some refinement, and dissatisfied without it, when they hardly know why they are troubled." " I have seen such people ; and it would take so little to make them happy, it seems almost wicked not to give them that little. I have seen a poor woman made rich by the pos- session of a geranium growing in a cracked sugar-bowl. She said it was company for her; and so it was, because it responded to a want of her nature. One can exist in a room with four bare walls, but I should pity the person who desired nothing better. The asparagus and peacock's feathers I have so often seen adorning a plain little mirror al- ways appeal to my sympathy. Something 30 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. better could be done by the hands that ar- ranged them if those hands had been trained to do the bidding of a cultivated taste.'' " I never thought of asparagus and peacock's feathers in that way, Miss Austen, but I re- member when I was very ambitious to pos- sess both." " And you achieved that ambition long ago." " Oh, yes ; and for a time 1 greatly en- joyed my good fortune. It is easy to attain some well defined purpose, but Avhen the mind is reaching on and on into limitless space, one is liable to be discouraged." "Yet this reaching on and on is our greatest encouragement. When we have reached our ideal there will be no more for us." "I shall never attain to mine. When I was a child I was always wondering about things no one explained to me, and I am wondering still about manv of them. You O - must have had a great deal of help, Miss Austen." AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 81 " I have, and now I wish to help others. There are Norah Borine, and her mother and grandmother. I long to do something for them. They are quite by themselves, which makes it difficult to reach them ; but happily the hearts of the three are centered in one. Xorah represents the entire family ; so that whoever can influence her can influence all." " She will repay a large outlay of effort. She is an uncommon child, with uncommon talents. Jessie is quick to learn, and she has fine tastes ; but, with a little assistance, Xorah will make a path for herself, and out of the beaten track too. She will never be a common working-w r oman like her mother." " I hope not ; and I hope she will not be a Catholic like her mother. I believe in the largest freedom of conscience and the utmost toleration, but Norah needs a different re- ligion from that of forms and ceremonies. The religion of Christ w r ould transform her. When she first came here she acted as if she felt that every hand was against her, and I 32 HAEOLD DORSET'S FOETUXE. feared it would require a long time to win her confidence." " I can always win the children ; and then, you know, Miss Austen, that but for my bit of a cottage and the lot around it, I am as poor in worldly goods as Mrs. Borine, and she knows it. I am as used to patching and darn- ing as she is." " But it is done more neatly, and therein is the difference. In this, as in everything else, Nature gives us a perfect example. She never does her work clumsily, or roughly. Often she covers the most unsightly places with so beautiful a screen as to make them lovely. When she patches, she does it artistically. A decaying tree, after a time, is covered with such a luxuriant growth of mosses and vines that we forget to be sorry it has fallen. So, I suppose, people might beautify their homes, until an observer would forget the absence of paint and plaster." " That reminds me of the first English ivy I ever saw. It was in a very poor house, but it climbed the wall and crept along the AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 33 rafters as freely as if it was growing out of doors. The people of the house told me they never trained it at all. They let it grow its own way, only taking care that it had plenty of water and did not freeze. They brought it from England, so it seemed to them like a bit of the old home, and kept their hearts warm." " Then it performed a ministiy of love. Anything which keeps our hearts warm is a positive blessing ; and those who earn their daily bread by hard hand-labor especially need this blessing. I wish to give our peo- ple a sense of this need, and then help them to satisfy it." Here the conversation was interrupted, and after some delay in starting, the party turned their faces homeward, carrying with them fragrant spoils and pleasant memories which more than compensated them for their fatigue. "It is good to be here," remarked Miss Austen, that evening, to Edward Stuart, with whom she had been reviewing the events of the day, and making preparations 34 HAKOLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. for Sabbath duties. " I would not have be- lieved any place, except the old house, could seem so much like home to me. I wonder if you are really sure of your own identity." " I sometimes half doubt it. I know I have gained immensely. As Mason says, I didn't know there was so much in me. But no other one among us has changed as has Mr. Elliot. "We shall lose him before many years. Somebody will want him in a more responsible position, and bid high for him. He and Harold Dorsey will soon outgrow us." " Let them, and we will bid them God speed if they leave us. I am anxious to hear Mr. Elliot in our meetings." " You will have the privilege. He is to take charge of the meeting to-morrow even- ing, and he told me he should attend church through the day. Mr. Gleason is greatly encouraged. He said, yesterday, that our Thursday-evening meetings had done more to set people to thinking about God than all the positively religious talk they had heard in twenty years. ' In some way,' said he, AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 35 ' everything was traced back to the divine Creator.' " " That is as it should be ; and as soon as the evenings are longer we will resume our Thursday meetings. There are not many, however, who can be moved as Mr. Elliot and Harold." " The wonder is that two like them could be found in so small a place as this. Few have their capacity, and fewer still have the sensibility possessed by Harold. He is re- markable in -every way." How heartily Mrs. Peavey would have en- dorsed this sentiment ! Such a good, trusty boy as he was ; and yet she knew he was for more than this, although he interested himself in the humblest details of their home life ; never so tired or so much engrossed in study as to be unmindful of her comfort. On Saturday evening, when returning from his work, he stopped for some roots this friend had desired, and while looking for them found a rare flower he wished he could irive to Miss Grecnleaf. 36 HAROLD DORSEY'S FORTUNE. " Carry it to her to-morrow," said Mr. Peavey. " Put it in water, and it will keep fresh." '" I know it Avill ; but I was not sure it would be right to carry it," replied Harold. " Just as right as it is to carry pinks and caraway to meeting," responded the old man, as he glanced at his wife with a smile. " That is right," she said, returning the smile. " My grandmother and my mother always carried pinks and caraway, and they were good women. We mean to keep Sun- day as near right as we can, Harold, and I'm sure it will be all right for you to carry the flower to Miss Greenleaf." Alice Greenleaf was in her room, burdened with a sense of loneliness, and longing for a sight of the brown cottage where she had spent so many busy, happy years. Looking back, her life seemed long, as if she had already passed its meridian. Nothing had occurred to induce this despondency, and yet she was seldom so depressed. " I must forget myself," she said, half AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 37 aloud, and presently there came an oppor- tunity for doing this in a way she had not expected. Her reception of Harold Dorsey was most cordial, and her admiration for the flower he placed in her hand more than repaid him for the effort he had made to conquer his em- harrassment, at what seemed to him at the last moment absolute presumption. If Mrs. Wilder had not called to him he would have retreated, even after he had reached the door. " I was feeling very lonely, and I am very glad you thought to come to me," said his hostess. "There is always something good coming to us, but our want of faith for the future makes us unhappy. We ought never to be discouraged." " That is what Mr. Peavey says, and he must know," was replied. "I presume he does. He has lived to be old, and his faith must sometimes have been sorely tried." " He says there are dark days for every- body ; but I am not looking for them now. I 38 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. have been thinking all day of what Mr. Elliot is going to read at the meeting this evening. I learned it early this morning." " What is it, please ? Are you willing to repeat it to me ? " :t Yes, ma'am ; I would like to. The verses are in the sixth chapter of Matthew. They begin at the twenty-fourth verse, and go through the chapter." In a clear, distinct tone he recited this Bible lesson, so plain in its teachings, so beautiful in its illustrations, and so conclu- sive in its arguments. If God so watches over the fowls of the air, and clothes the earth with verdure, His care must surely ex- tend to us who have souls of infinite value. " We must not forget that. It was just what I needed to hear," remarked his com- panion, when the last word had been uttered. " But you must have known it long ago." " I knew it long ago, but I arn sometimes in danger of forgetting it." " I wish I had known it long ago. But I AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 39 never read it until lust winter, the day I was sixteen years old." To the surprise expressed at this, Harold Dorsey responded by telling of the promise made to " grandsir," which he had so relig- iously kept. w It was very strange," said Miss Greenleaf. " It is all strange about me. /don't know, but God does. I am glad he knows. That is what comforts me. I was wondering what the lilies were like this morning. They grew in the fields." " Yes ; and they were of various colors. You must have seen lilies ? " " Yes, ma'am ; but they were mostly in the water. I think they are the handsomest. God made them all." " Every one." " And the grass too. I never thought much about the grass, but I shall look at it close now." "It will pay for close looking, and best when it is in blossom." "Does it blossom?" 40 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. " Certainly. If not, how could there be grass seed ? " "I never thought; but, of course, there must be flowers. How much there is to learn ! And the Bible at the foundation of it all ! It tells about so many things besides the way we ought to live, and love God. I used to think it didn't tell about anything else. Mr. Elliot says it's the grandest book in the world, when you read it with the right spirit. He will talk well to-night. He always does, and I love to hear him." It was a peculiarity with Harold that when he became interested in conversation he talked with great freedom, seemingly unconscious of any disparity between himself and his com- panion. So now he was only anxious to re- receive the instruction and sympathy of which his quick intuition assured him. He might even have forgotten that he intended going elsewhere had not another reminded him of this. Only after much solicitation had Mr. Elliot consented to lead the meeting that Sabbath AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 41 evening, and it was only after earnest prayer for guidance, and a careful study of the pas- sage to be read, that he entered the hall. The attendance was large. People were anxious to see and hear the man who sat so long with bowed head, they feared they were to be dis- appointed. At length he arose, designated a hyrnn, and began to sing. Both hymn and tune were fa- miliar, so that all joined in the service of song. Then was offered a prayer, short, sim- ple, and fervent. The scripture lesson was next read, reverently, as one reads a message from some dear friend who has passed within the veil. Mindful of the younger members of the audience, he talked at some length of the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field ; mingling something of natural science with the most sacred religious truth. Last, and greatest, he repeated Christ's assertion : " Ye cannot serve God and mammon." " Our Saviour's words ; and better than all who have since lived, lie knew whereof he 42 HAROLD DORSE Y'S FORTUNE. affirmed. He knows all things, and needs not that any should tell Him. He sees our hearts. He knows our most secret thoughts. We may deceive others, but He is never de- ceived. He has seen myriads of human beings grasping the world with one hand while extending the other for blessings God has promised to those who love and obey Him. " I never attempted this ; not because I was too sincere and conscientious, but be- cause I was so wilfully blind and sinful. No other here has wandered so far from the right path as I ; no other has so much to be for- given ; but, thanks be to God, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. " I have scoffed at this blessed truth. I have despised the Bible. I have been rec- reant to the most sacred obligations. But now I feel and know that the dear old Bible is true, and that the religion it teaches is the only hope of the world. I am not worthy to speak of these holy things in your presence, yet I must give my testimony to the truth ; AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION. 43 and God grant we may all so live, that at last we shall stand before His throne justified and sanctified through Him who gave His life a ransom for many." The speaker resumed his seat, and again bowed his head, when, to relieve the intensity of feeling by some general expression, Ed- ward Stuart began a song of praise. For a little time the richest, fullest voice was missed ; and then it helped to swell the melody, which, like a glad outpouring of mutual joy, brought nearer and closer all hearts. The meeting was then open, and all were invited to say a word for Christ. Mason Stuart looked his astonishment when his brother arose and expressed the same con- fident faith which had characterized Mr. El- liot's remarks. Miss Austen followed. Then others ; some just starting in a Christian life ; some young and some old; some intelligent and some ignorant. Miss Greenleaf had never taken part in such a meeting, but she did so now, and thus assumed her rightful place. The hour was fully occupied, and 44 HAROLD DORSET'S FOBTUXE. the time for closing the meeting had arrived, when Mason sprang to his feet, and, in his usual frank, earnest manner, said : " I don't know certain that I am a Chris- tian, but I can't remember when I didn't pray. I love God and the Saviour, and I try to serve them. I love them, and I am not ashamed to say that I am afraid of doing wrong. If there is a boy or girl here who hasn't chosen Christ, let me tell you you are making a great mistake. There is nothing like the Bible and prayer for keeping a fellow straight, and I mean to stick to both." THE SUNDAY MEETING. 45 CHAPTEE in. THE SUNDAY MEETING. NOTHING could be added, and surely no one would wish to take from the effect of this short, manly speech. The meeting closed, and the people went their way to talk of what they had heard. " Mason, my dear boy, you have made me very happy," said his aunt, when they were alone together. "I don't think I had ex- pected you to speak as you did." " Do you mean, Margie, that you don't think I act like a Christian ? " " No ; that is not what I mean at all. I think you are a good, conscientious boy, and I have always known you were a praying boy. I have no doubt that you are a Chris- tian ; but I had not thought of you as one who would help keep up the interest of our meet- 4G HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. ings. So I was happily surprised, and I am very glad you talked." " Well, I am glad I did, too ; and I am glad you are glad. I couldn't help it very well. I wanted to tell how I felt, and I thought may be there was some boy or girl there who would like to know. You were no more surprised at my speaking than I was at Ed's. I knew he was good, as folks say, but I didn't know he was an out and out Christian till this evening. I tell you, Mar- gie, I* was proud of him, and the people seemed to think what he said was of conse- quence. It was worth losing that money just to have him what he is. I am not like him, and we shall do different work in the world, but we can both of us do right. You know old Deacon Goddard, Margie, and what a dear, good old man he is, and how everybody loves him ? " " Yes, I know all that, Mason." " Well, last winter, something you wrote to me set me to thinking whether I was a Christian, and, finally, I made up my mind THE SUNDAY MEETING. 47 that if I was, I ought to be like Deacon God- dard. So I went over to his house and told him about it. Now what do you think he did?" " I don't know, only I am sure he must have given you some very good advice." " He did, but that came afterwards. He just opened his mouth and laughed as hard as he could laugh, till it seemed as though he never was going to stop. At first I felt like crying. I thought he was making fun of me. But after a minute I began to laugh too. It was a funny time for a fellow who went to talk with a deacon about religion. But pretty soon he reached out his arms and drew me up close to him, and talked to me as good and loving as you could. He said I was a boy and he was an old man, and I couldn't be like him if I tried ever so hard. He said I ought not to be either. He said I must be a boy Christian, and serve God in a boy's way ; and if I asked God to help me I could do my own work just right. Is that what you think, Margie?" 48 HAROLD DORSE Y'S FORTUNE. " Certainly it is. I don't wonder Deacon Goddard laughed. The idea of your being like him ! Did you go home satisfied ? " " Yes, Margie, I did, and I have gone along since then without worrying. He helped me a good deal, 'though I never said anything in meeting before. I guess our minister wouldn't like to have me talk in his meetings. I have talked to Rufus Brown a good deal, and I think he is all right, but nobody knows it except his mother and me. I liked your meeting. I don't see why peo- ple don't have such everywhere, instead of the dull, prosy ones, where the men and women act as though they all wanted to go to sleep. I wish Norah had been there. Don't you suppose she will go sometime ? " " I hope she will." "I mean she shall. I have found out that when I don't see how I am going to bring things 'round to suit me, and I am sure it would do good to have them brought 'round, the best thing I can do is to pray." " And are your prayers always answered ? " THE SUNDAY MEETING. 49 " Not always exactly as I calculated. But I know God's way is best, so that makes it all the same to me, You know I love Rufe Brown, and I have tried to help him. I kept wishing he could have more money, and at last I prayed for it. I didn't make any con- ditions either. I never do. I think that is one reason why people don't get answers to their prayers. I talked with Deacon Goddard about that, and he said, if we wanted anything enough to really pray for it, we should be willing to do our part towards bringing it about, and not try to make any conditions with God. So I prayed that Rufe might have some money, and my prayer was an- swered. I never thought the money was to come in the way it did ; as the price of my life. Now I am going to pray for Norah Borine in real earnest." Edward Stuart came in, and glancing at the flushed face of his young brother, judged rightly that there had been sufficient excite- O v ment for one day. " You are tired," he said gently. 50 HAROLD DORSET'S FORTUNE. " It won't hurt a fellow to be tired, if he is only happy enough to make up for it. I am ever so glad you are a Christian. It will be the making of you ; " and big tears rolled down the boy's cheeks. Margaret Austen went out softly ; her own eyes dimmed, and her heart so stirred that she needed to carry her joy where she had so often carried her grief. Meanwhile, Norah Borine was passing through a strange experience. The incident which ha