k -

 
 " Well, my friend, can I do anything for you? " Page 81.
 
 ECHOING AND RE-ECHOING. 
 
 BY 
 
 FAYE HUNTINGTON. 
 
 AUTHOR OF " THOSE BOYS," "DR. DEANE'S WAY," "MRS. 
 
 DEANE'S WAY," &c. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, 
 
 FRANKLIN ST., CORNER OF HAWLEY.
 
 LOTHROP St CO. 
 1878.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PACK. 
 
 i. BEGINNINGS 7 
 
 2. ECHOES FROM THE PAST 22 
 
 3. A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT 32 
 
 4. Miss ELMER'S SACRIFICE 42 
 
 5. FULFILLING THE LAW 53 
 
 6. HELEN'S OPPORTUNITIES 63 
 
 7. FOR CHRIST'S SAKE 75 
 
 8. A DINNER-TABLE TALK 86 
 
 9. GOING FORWARD 95 
 
 10. HELEN GETS AHEAD 105 
 
 ii. SEVERAL SURPRISED PEOPLE 115 
 
 12. HELEN'S PRONOUNS 128 
 
 iii. 
 
 2061S2G
 
 iv. CONTENTS. 
 
 13. "AND PETER" 142 
 
 14. THE END OF THE QUARREL 161 
 
 15. SURPRISES 175 
 
 16. CALLED EARLY 190 
 
 17. MRS. MOSHIER is DISTURBED 200 
 
 18. LEAVING THE RANKS 216 
 
 19. MR. HARLEY SPEAKS 229 
 
 20. HELEN AND TOM 242 
 
 21. HELEN DECIDES A QUESTION 255 
 
 22. CHRISTIAN GIVING 271 
 
 23. FRAGMENTS 284 
 
 24. UP THE MOUNTAIN 297
 
 " Speaking once upon the hill tops, hill after hill took up 
 the sound until the whole air was filled with my single 
 words, and it seemed as if a thousand voices more powerful 
 than my own were throwing back the words spoken by me. 
 So every minister ought to have a repeating church, and 
 every living heart in it ought to take up the sermon in its 
 essential truths, and reverberate it until the whole moral 
 air around him is full of echoing and re-echoing."
 
 ECHOING AND RE-ECHOING. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BEGINNINGS. 
 "GO WOEK TO-DAY IN MY VINEYARD." 
 
 WO young men, Robert Niles and New- 
 ton Clark, met as they were hurrying, 
 one up, the other down, George street. They 
 forgot their hurry, forgot that there was any busi- 
 ness in the world to need their attention, in 
 their surprise and pleasure. They had been 
 college classmates, and since the day of their 
 graduation they had not met until now, here on 
 the busy street. 
 
 " Well," said Newton Clark, " where from, 
 when, and for how long ? " 
 
 7
 
 8 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " From Chicago, yesterday, and probably for 
 years ; perhaps for all time," returned the other, 
 laughing ; then by way of explanation added : " I 
 expect to go in with Smith & Ryle. And now 
 may I ask of you where, what, and how ? " 
 
 " Oh, I am a fixture back here among the hills, 
 a staid, steady-going farmer, with a wife and a 
 baby. I am glad that you have come back to 
 stay." Then, as if a new thought bad come to 
 him : " I say, Bob, you are the very man we 
 want up in our neighborhood. I believe the 
 Lord brought about this meeting of ours, to-day, 
 for a purpose. It gives me a chance to get your 
 ear before you get crowded with other work." 
 
 " Well, what are you driving at ? " asked Mr. 
 Niles. 
 
 " Just this, we want a man to run a Sunday- 
 school up there in the Clarkson neighborhood. 
 There is a circuit of I don't know how many 
 miles, and not a single church-going man to be 
 found there. It is a grand opening for some one 
 who wants to work for the Lord." 
 
 " Humph ! why don't you step into it your- 
 self? " 
 
 " For several reasons," returned Mr. Clark.
 
 Beginnings. 9 
 
 " The principal one being that I have charge of 
 a school at the Hollow, and have not time to at- 
 tend to another unless I give up going to church. 
 Now if you will take that place I will take you 
 out as we go from the Sunday-school here, and 
 bring you back to the evening service. What 
 do you say, Bob ? " 
 
 " I say that I couldn't think of undertaking 
 such a thing," returned Bob Niles, with a sensa- 
 tion that was as near shame as anything. 
 
 " You don't mean to say that you have not 
 been used to it that is, to work of this sort? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " I do mean just that, Newton. So you see I 
 could not do it. I am not your man, after all ; 
 and you will have to conclude that if the Lord 
 had anything to do with our meeting to-day it 
 was for some other purpose." 
 
 " No," said Mr. Clark, " I shall not conclude 
 that just yet. Because- you have not is no rea- 
 son why you should not, and I will not take your 
 answer now. We will both turn the matter 
 over prayerfully, and I'll see you again." 
 
 " No use ; you may have my answer now. I'm
 
 10 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 sorry to refuse you, Newton. Ask me anything 
 in my line and I'll be ready to favor you." 
 
 And so after a little more pleasant talk the 
 friends parted. Newton Clark went on his way, 
 thinking sadly of that blessed winter season, five 
 years back, when Robert Niles and himself, with 
 many more, had dedicated themselves to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. It was remembering the 
 zeal of the young convert that had led him to 
 make the proposition from which his friend had 
 turned almost scornfully. But he said to him- 
 self: "I can but think that Bob only wants 
 rousing a little. He is a noble fellow, and I 
 can't help believing that the Lord has work for 
 him to do up there among the Clarkson people," 
 and he went home to pray for it. 
 
 Meantime Mr. Niles was concluding his ar- 
 rangements with Smith & Ryle, and saying to 
 himself: " That's just like Newt ; he is just the 
 same eager, over-zealous fellow that he used to 
 be. I knew he would turn out a fanatic some 
 day. Well, his religion means something. I 
 am afraid he misunderstood me. I hope he 
 didn't go off thinking that I am not with him in 
 heart, though I cannot take up the work he
 
 Beginnings. 11 
 
 thinks I ought." Why not ? This was the ques- 
 tion that presented itself forcibly to his mind, 
 and insisted upon being considered. Indeed, 
 wliy not ? There was no answer to fit the ques- 
 tion, and he was much disturbed by his failure 
 to satisfy himself. Of course lie would not, that 
 much was settled. He would do something, of 
 course. They would need money up there to 
 start a school, and Robert Niles actually thought 
 to settle the matter with his conscience by giv- 
 ing a few dollars from his thousands. Sabbath 
 morning came, and he went to the old familiar 
 church on Court street. There had been a 
 change of ministers in his five years' absence ; 
 he missed the dear old man who had long been 
 his pastor ; but he liked the face and manner of 
 the stranger, and prepared to listen to the ser- 
 mon, hoping to enjoy it. But when in clear, 
 distinct tones the pastor announced his text, 
 " Go work to-day in my vineyard," he almost 
 lost his self-possession, so surely did these words 
 seem meant for him. The preacher sought to 
 bring the truth home to the heart of every dis- 
 ciple of Christ, that work for the advancement 
 of his cause is a duty and a blessed privilege :
 
 12 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 that "we are called into God's vineyard not 
 merely to eat the fruit of it, nor simply to bask 
 in its pleasant shade, but first of all to work for 
 our Master ; called to follow Christ first on 
 earth, not first in heaven, not first in glory ; 
 first the cross, afterward the crown." It was 
 urged that each one should ask for himself, 
 " What wilt thou have me to do ? " and when 
 the answer should come, as it surely would if 
 sought in sincerity, that there be no shrinking 
 no shirking. 
 
 Mrs. Niles was an invalid not one of the 
 nervous sort, nor one, whose aches and pains 
 had absorbed her thoughts and interests. On 
 the contrary, she had a lively interest in the 
 world outside, and her children brought their 
 bits of news, their own pleasures, and also their 
 perplexities and trials, to " mother's room." 
 
 " Well, Robert," she said, as her son came in 
 from church, "how do you like our pastor? " 
 
 He hesitated. 
 
 " Well, mother, to tell the truth I haven't 
 thought about him. I have been fighting a bat- 
 tle. You know about Newt Clark's proposition ? 
 I was sure that I would not do it ; but to-day's
 
 Beginnings. 13 
 
 sermon made it clear that to shirk it is to sin. 
 I saw Clark this evening, and told him that I 
 would ride up there this week and look over the 
 ground." 
 
 Mrs. Niles smiled, and said : 
 
 " Well, Robert, I wish you God-speed. And 
 I can tell you that taking up work at once as 
 you are beginning }*our business life here will 
 make it much easier than if you had waited un- 
 til business cares absorbed your thoughts. Rob- 
 ert your father would have been glad." 
 
 But that sermon had its lesson for others be- 
 side Robert Niles. Mr. and Mrs. Norton Graves 
 lived a mile or two out of town. As they were 
 driving home Mr. Graves said : 
 
 " Well, Clara, the parson brought things pretty 
 close home to your folks to-day, didn't he ? " 
 
 Mr. Graves was not a Christian, and he was 
 a little bitter toward Christians in general, and 
 toward a few in particular. He liked to hear 
 what he called home thrusts from the pulpit. 
 For his part, so he was wont to express himself, 
 he thought that church-members needed plain 
 talk as well as sinners. He knew some that 
 were no better for their professions.
 
 14 Echoing and .Re-echoing. 
 
 While Mrs. Graves was a follower of Christ, 
 it must be confessed that hers was not that close 
 following which brings the disciple into the very 
 presence of the Master, and makes the life ra- 
 diant with the joy and peace that grows out of 
 the communion. Especially was she lacking ia 
 the grace of meekness, and her husband's raillery 
 generally irritated her. She would say : 
 
 " It is no excuse for you, Norton Graves, and 
 you know it. No matter how I live, you've got 
 to stand by yourself at last." To-day she an- 
 swered, softly : 
 
 " Yes, Norton, he did ; so close that I feel it, 
 and I am going to work. And I don't mean to 
 belong to the ' I go, sir ' family either. I am in 
 dead earnest." 
 
 " When are you going to begin ? " asked her 
 husband, good-humoredty. "Am I your first sub- 
 ject?" 
 
 "I ana going to begin just where Mr. Reid ad- 
 vised ; at home, in my own soul. I am going to 
 root out some of the weeds that have been 
 choking the growth of the good. You needn't 
 tell me there is a chance for hard work and
 
 Beginnings. 15 
 
 plenty of it. I know it ; and, Norton, there is 
 BO much to do that I shall need your help." 
 
 She said this as he helped her from the car- 
 riage, and as he drove over to the stables he said 
 to himself, or to his horse : 
 
 " Whew ! Who would have thought it ? Now 
 I suppose I shall have a pious wife in earnest. 
 Heretofore her religion has not caused a very 
 marked difference in our ways of thinking and 
 doing, but if she gets up an enthusiasm over it, 
 it might be inconvenient. I guess, upon the 
 whole, I'll keep quiet and not arouse any 
 stronger feeling by ridiculing her." 
 
 Meanwhile, in her own room, upon her knees, 
 Mrs. Graves was confessing her unfaithfulness 
 to her covenant vows, and asking direction as to 
 the way in which the Lord would have her 
 work. Could her husband have heard that 
 prayer he must have felt that there was a differ- 
 ence ; that though she had been influenced and 
 led by him so that she had for the time lost her 
 hold upon Christ, yet having been adopted into 
 the family of the Father, there was a difference 
 which, unless he would consent to receive the 
 renewing grace, would separate them forever.
 
 16 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 When they met at the dinner table they did not 
 renew the subject, he acting upon his resolution, 
 and she from dread of his sarcastic remarks. 
 But toward evening he said : 
 
 " Clara, would you like to go down town to 
 church this evening ? " 
 
 " Why, can we go ? " she replied, surprised, for 
 they, never went to church, evenings. 
 
 " Certainly we can. I suppose we might go 
 every Sunday evening if we tried," he said smil- 
 ing. If you are going to undertake that job you 
 spoke of you'll need all the help you can get," 
 he added with a wicked sort of laugh. 
 
 ".Z)0w', Norton," she said; then, hesitating, 
 " I'll tell you what I should like better than 
 going out Sabbath evenings. If I only could go 
 down to the Thursday evening prayer-meet ing I 
 It would be such a help," and there were tears 
 in her eyes. 
 
 " Why, Clara, I never objected to your going 
 to prayer-meeting." 
 
 " No, but I want you to go too," she said, 
 timidly. 
 
 " Oh ! I thought I'd be your next subject, but 
 I didn't expect you would get to me quite so
 
 Beginnings. 17 
 
 soon ; got that work in your own heart all done 
 already ? " 
 
 "Please, Norton, I want to tell you that as 
 our lives are so linked together that well, some 
 women might but for me, I can not grow 
 toward heaven unless the good seed is springing 
 up in your heart also." 
 
 He made no reply, but brought around the 
 carriage and they went to church, to the surprise 
 of several people ; among them was Mr. John 
 Graves, or Professor Graves, as he was desig- 
 nated. He knew the ways of his brother's fam- 
 ily so well that he wondered what unusual cir- 
 cumstance had brought them out in the evening, 
 and he said to his sister-in-law as they came out 
 of church : 
 
 " What in the world brought you from your 
 retirement on a Sabbath evening ? " 
 
 With a little surprised air she replied : 
 
 " Why, didn't you hear the sermon this morn- 
 ing?" ' 
 
 " Yes, I heard it, but I don't see the connec- 
 tion exactly." 
 
 "Don't you? Well, what is more natural 
 than being persuaded that we ought to work,
 
 18 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 that \ve should come to find out what to do, and 
 howto do it ? " said Mrs.Graves, not so lightly, but 
 the brother-in-law detected the undertone of 
 seriousness, and he replied, gravely : 
 
 " That is a good idea, Clara ; I hope you'll 
 make Norton think so. Good-night." 
 
 Professor Graves was the principal of the 
 high-school. He was a Christian man ; he 
 opened school with devotional exercises ; he was 
 particular about the deportment of his pupils, 
 looking after their moral interests. His pupils 
 liked him ; he was social and mingled much 
 with them in a free and easy way, but he had 
 never led one of them to Christ. That sermon 
 had set him to thinking, and going home that 
 evening, after the bit of a talk with his brother's 
 wife, he said to himself (he had no wife to talk 
 to): 
 
 "Well, 1 ought, I will." 
 
 The next morning he read the chapter as 
 usual, but there was a depth of feeling showing 
 itself in his voice, and he prayed, using accus- 
 tomed and familiar words. Yet how differently 
 they sounded ; even the scholars noticed it. And 
 when he said, "There will be a meeting for
 
 Beginnings. 19 
 
 praise and prayer in this room this evening ; I 
 hope to see many of you here ; I wish I could 
 meet you all here," a thrill of surprise ran 
 through the room. The surprise was not more 
 at the announcement than at the earnestness of 
 his invitation ; and there were many who re- 
 solved to attend the meeting, " just because the 
 Professor seemed so earnest about it." The 
 truth was, Mr. John Graves felt that he had 
 been an idler too long, and now he was going to 
 make up in zeal what he had lost by delay. 
 
 The minister and his wife had their bit of 
 talk about the sermon. He lay back on the 
 lounge weary and half discouraged ; she hover- 
 ing about was cheerful and hopeful. 
 
 " Why, Ralph," she said, " your people were 
 very attentive to-day ; really interested I thought, 
 and I never heard you preach with more power." 
 
 " Yes, they were attentive ; I seldom have 
 anything to complain of in that direction. Peo- 
 ple listen, criticise, perhaps even approve the 
 truth, then go away and forget all about the 
 meaning it has for them. They seem uncon- 
 scious of the fact that it has any reference to 
 their lives. Yes, they were attentive, but how
 
 20 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 many hearts were reached ? How many lives 
 will be effected by the truths presented to- 
 night ? That is the question." 
 
 " I am not sure that it is a question for you to 
 ask," she said, smiling. " Don't you see," she 
 continued, "it is your business to deliver your 
 message faithfully, and reverently I say it, is 
 it not the business of the Lord, your Leader, to 
 see to the hearts, to prepare them, by the work- 
 ing of the Spirit, for the truth ? It seems to me 
 that if we are Christ's servants, doing his work, 
 that we have no need to worry over the much or 
 the little that we seem to accomplish." 
 
 "I suppose you are right," replied the hus- 
 band. 
 
 " I think I am, for I remember you said some- 
 thing like that in one of your sermons a week or 
 two ago," she answered, laughing. " You told 
 us that God would see to results, and I took 
 courage and decided not to give up quite yet. 
 You told us not to be discouraged by a want of 
 appreciation or a lack of visible success, and 
 urged us to stand fast." 
 
 The minister laughed now. 
 
 " And all that did you so much good that you
 
 Beginnings. 21 
 
 are throwing it back at me. Well, I do believe 
 it all in my heart, but this poor human nature 
 gets the upper hand sometimes, and when it does 
 I am thrown off my balance. It is well that I 
 have somebody to help right np." 
 After a little silence he spoke again : 
 " Grace, I feel that hitherto I have not been 
 using all my powers in the service of Christ ; 
 hereafter /mean to do better work in the Lord's 
 vineyard."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ECHOES FEOM THE PAST. 
 " What shall we do that we might work the works of God." 
 
 OU remember Ralph Ried ? He is Abbie's 
 brother, and cousin of Ester. Ah ! now 
 you remember ! I thought you would if I spoke 
 of Ester. Since he went to Europe you have 
 lost sight of him, though you often wonder how 
 his character has developed, and if he grew to be 
 the sort of man he promised and you hoped. 
 Well, here he is, pastor of the Court Street 
 Church. You are watching now to see what 
 stand he will take upon those questions that vex 
 the souls of men who tremble before the threat- 
 
 22
 
 Echoes from the Past. 23 
 
 ened displeasure and opposition of what may be 
 the stronger, if not the truer side. "When you 
 knew him he was not a Christian, and } r ou ask 
 how it all has come about. The story of his con- 
 version would make a chapter by itself. The 
 little card which Ester took from the hanging 
 case in a fancy store as they were shopping one 
 day, and whose solemn message came with force 
 to Ester's heart, was picked up long after in a 
 deserted room of the Ried mansion, and with the 
 words, " I solemnly agree as God shall help me." 
 A flash of memory brought back to Ralph the 
 sorrowful scenes of those days of bereavement 
 which followed so closely upon that morning's 
 shopping. The card was dingy and the words 
 half defaced ; but prompted by the spirit within 
 that was reviving old associations, he studied 
 out the sentences : "To try to save at least 
 one soul each year." 
 
 " Dear me," he thought, " that was half a dozen 
 years ago. If I had adopted these resolutions 
 then Well, what if I had, whose soul might 
 I have saved ? Perhaps poor Tom Carter might 
 have been saved. That would have been some- 
 thing worth while, wouldn't it, now ? "
 
 24 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 "And yourself?" 
 
 Ralph Ried never got away from the thoughts 
 that were awakened by the words of the old 
 worn card, until they drew him to a decision 
 that changed not so much his outer life as the 
 motives and purposes of his living. 
 
 About that time he wrote to his sister: 
 
 " And now comes the question, how can I best 
 serve the Lord ? Time and money, and life it- 
 self, are his. How shall I best employ all for 
 his honor ? . . . Next week I expect to go with 
 Mr. Holmes to Chester to conduct a meeting. 
 We go as a delegation from the Y. M. C. A. You 
 are saying, l That is new work for Ralph.' Well, 
 it is ; yet it seems as though I had been doing 
 it for years, I am so happy in it. So glad, so 
 sure am I that the Lord is leading me, that I 
 have settled into a calm content, rea<ly to fol- 
 low whithersoever the path tendeth. Sure am 
 I that though it be by a way that I know not, it 
 will be the right way. I do not yet feel certain 
 that I ought to enter upon a course of theologi- 
 cal study, but it may be that this is the way." 
 
 Step by step the Lord was leading him on in 
 the way of preparation for the work of preaching
 
 Echoes from the Past. 25 
 
 the gospel. It was wonderful how the proud, 
 self-reliant young man submitted to be led. He 
 who had been accustomed to plan and execute 
 both for himself and others, gave himself up 
 with a glad submission to the leadership of One 
 higher than himself. And yet he grew in 
 strength and power, and those who had been 
 accustomed to trust him and lean upon him, 
 trusted him more implicitly and leaned more 
 securely upon his strong arm. 
 
 The first years of his ministry had gone by, 
 but he had lost none of his ardor. On the con- 
 trary, he grew more eager " more and better 
 work " was his own motto, and the one he was 
 trying to get others to adopt. 
 
 Going home from church one evening, Mrs. 
 Coville said, in a fretful tone : 
 
 " I'm sick of hearing Mr. Hied talk about 
 ' working Chilians.' I guess if he had as many 
 to cook and wash and mend for as I have he 
 would be glad to fall back on the text that says 
 we are saved by faith. I am sure I haven't any 
 time for Christian work, as he says. I'd look 
 pretty leaving my family while I went about 
 with tracts."
 
 26 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " But, Mrs. Coville," said her neighbor, who 
 was walking with her, " 3 T ou know there has al- 
 ways been a holding back upon the part of the 
 people here. There are some, like yourself, who 
 have very little time for work outside their own 
 homes, but there are others " 
 
 " Yes, I know," interrupted Mrs. Coville. 
 " There's the Elmer girls there's no reason 
 under the sun why they shouldn't take hold ; 
 but they won't, and Mr. Hied may preach about 
 it until he is gray, and he'll never get Rachel 
 Elmer -waked up." 
 
 " He won't if she doesn't go to church to hear 
 the preaching," laughed Mrs. Bates. 
 
 "It's a pity she shouldn't. She might take 
 hold of things. She just keeps at that everlast- 
 ing embroidery. I know what I'll do. I'll have 
 her out next Sunday, see if I don't," said Mrs. 
 Coville, emphatically. 
 
 Mrs. Bates smiled. It would not do to tell Mrs. 
 Coville that she was about to join the working 
 forces of the church in spite of her protests, and 
 if any one could coax Rachel Elmer out of her 
 shell it would seem to cover half a dozen ordi- 
 nary efforts. The " Elmer girls " lived alone in
 
 Echoes from the Past 27 
 
 a queer old house, of the sort that attract atten- 
 tion in these da}'s when to be popular is to be 
 an hundred years old. There were only these 
 two left. All the rest had looked their lust upon 
 the quaint old house, and for years the two sis- 
 ters had lived on together quietly, but not hap- 
 
 " I hate it, I do. This horrid stillness and 
 sameness will kill me," Lydia would exclaim as 
 they sat together in the long afternoons. 
 
 " Oh no ; not so bad as that, I hope," Miss 
 Rachel would reply, looking up from her em- 
 broidery and smiling placidly. 
 
 " I honestly believe it will," Lydia would say, 
 " or else I shall lose my senses. I cannot endure 
 it." 
 
 "I don't see what you mean at all," returned 
 the elder sister. " I am sure it is very pleasant 
 here. We have everything we need. If you 
 want new furniture you might get it I suppose. 
 I am satisfied with the old, but the parlors might 
 be refurnished," and Miss Rachel sighed at the 
 thought of giving up the quaint old chairs and 
 heavy mahogany sideboards.
 
 28 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " Ob, Rachel ! It isn't that at all. I like the 
 old things, but " 
 
 " What then ? I am sure it is very comfort- 
 able and quiet " 
 
 " Quiet ! I should think it was ! It is just 
 the quiet that distracts me. I'd rather live in a 
 cotton factory or an orphan-asylum than endure 
 this horrible stillness another day." 
 
 " Oh, Lydia, don't talk so wildly. If you would 
 only try to interest yourself in something. See, 
 this is almost done," holding up her work. 
 " Isn't it beautiful? It is four months since I 
 began it, but there is a great amount of work 
 on it." 
 
 " I should think so ! And what is it good 
 for ? " returned the other sister, contemptuously. 
 " I can tell you, Rachel, that I have more than 
 once been tempted to seize that rag and throw 
 it into the fire. Parlor furniture ! What do 
 we want of a parlor, anyway ? We never have 
 any company. Even the minister shuns us, and 
 no wonder. Such unsocial bodies as we are ! 
 I know one thing I will do. I'll get a croquet 
 set the next time I'll go to town."
 
 Echoes from the Past. 29 
 
 "A croquet set I Why, LydiaElmer, are you 
 crazy ? " 
 
 "Maybe. I told you I should be," said Lydia, 
 laughing now. " You wanted me to be interest- 
 ed in something. I leaned over the fence at 
 Mr. Coville's last night and watched the game, 
 and I think it is really a nice thing ; and I am 
 going to get a set." 
 
 " What an absurd thing ! Do you know, 
 Lydia Elmer, how old you are ? " 
 
 " Yes, ma'am," replied Lydia, demurely. 
 " Twenty-six next 10th day of October." 
 
 " And to talk of buying a game, as if you were 
 a child to be amused ! " 
 
 The conversation ended, as usual, by Lydia's 
 busying herself in a book, while Rachel put the 
 last stitches in the ivy pattern she was working 
 as a border for her screen. Presently there was 
 a light tap at the side door, and Mrs. Coville, 
 their nearest neighbor, entered. 
 
 " No ; I won't let you put away my things. 
 I'll just drop my sun-bonnet down here. I ran 
 over to invite you to go with me to Mr. Patter- 
 son's, to the sewing society. Husband says I 
 can have old Billy to drive if I can get any one to
 
 30 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 go with me, and I thought of you right away. 
 Mrs. Patterson is such a nice woman ; I know 
 you would enjoy going there, both of you." 
 
 Mrs. Coville had changed her plan of attack 
 and decided upon the sewing society as a pre- 
 liminary skirmish. Miss Rachel looked her sur- 
 prise. 
 
 "Thank you," she said, "but I don't think 
 we can go." 
 
 " Speak for 3'ourself, Rachel," interposed Ly- 
 dia. " I mean to accept Mrs. Coville's invitation. 
 For my part, I've just got to get out of this dull 
 place if only for one afternoon." 
 
 " I am sure that you will enjoy the ride, if you 
 will only consent to go," said Mrs. Coville, ad- 
 dressing the elder sister. " I don't go very often 
 myself, but I have taken a notion to go this 
 time and have you go with me." 
 
 I think Miss Rachel Elmer was surprised out 
 of herself, and if, when she returned to her 
 senses, she was soriy for having given her prom- 
 ise to go to the sewing society, she was too tena- 
 cious of her word to withdraw. And Mrs. Co- 
 ville departed, wondering at her easy victor}^. 
 
 " Now if they'll only put her in as directress
 
 Echoes from the Past. 
 
 31 
 
 or something," she said, as she hurried home, 
 fearing that her biscuits were burning, " I'll have 
 her out to prayer-meeting yet." 
 
 And 3^et Mrs. Coville was sick and tired of 
 Mr. Ried's talk about Christian work I
 
 CHAPTER IK. 
 
 A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT. 
 "YE SHALL BE WITNESSES UNTO ME." 
 
 ROFESSOR Graves shut and bolted the 
 door, and then he sat down to think. 
 Just what he was to do was a puzzle to him. 
 Of course he must make some sort of prepara- 
 tion for performing his part as the leader of 
 the meeting he had appointed. He was not 
 used to anything of that sort. To be sure, he 
 was quite regular at the weekly prayer-meeting, 
 and was generally ready to follow the leader 
 with "some remarks" when the meeting was 
 announced as "open," or to lead in prayer 
 32
 
 A Successful Experiment. 33 
 
 whenever called upon ; but he very reasonably 
 concluded that lie had undertaken something 
 very different from this. A boys' and girls' 
 meeting to be a success needs a skillful con- 
 ductor, he thought ; and as the hour drew near 
 he more and more doubted his ability. He even 
 contemplated asking Mr. Ried to come in and 
 take charge of the meeting ; then he remem- 
 bered that his work could not be done by his 
 pastor. One would not have supposed it possi- 
 ble that the dignified and self-contained professor 
 could have been so perturbed. 
 
 " I suppose they'll all be dumb as posts," he 
 said to himself ; " that is, if any of them come. 
 I ought to have appointed the meeting in the 
 small room. Half a dozen or so will feel forlorn 
 in that great chapel. I expect it will be like the 
 meeting Uncle Jotham led once. The minister 
 was absent, and there was only Uncle Jotham 
 and six or eight women. In that place it was 
 not allowed women to speak or pray in public. 
 So Uncle Jotham gave out a hymn, thanking 
 God that the sisters might sing ; then he prayed, 
 hoping that some brethren would come in soon ; 
 then they sang; afterward he read a chapter,
 
 34 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 and made some remarks ; still no brother came 
 to his aid ; they sang again ; still no help. Final- 
 ly, Uncle Jotham, grown desperate, said, 'We'll 
 close with the Doxology,' and they closed. ' That 
 was a meeting for " prayer and conference " 
 said Uncle Jo in telling of it. "I suppose," con- 
 tinued the professor, talking to the stove-pipe, 
 "that there is a way to draw out the young 
 people ; but how to do it, that is the question." 
 
 The professor was growing very anxious for 
 the success of his experiment, not because it was 
 of his originating, but because he had suddenly 
 grown anxious for the spiritual good of his pupils 
 and the progress of Christ's kingdom. It was 
 wonderful how important things seemed to him 
 now, which two d&ys ago he scarcely thought of. 
 He tried to select a passage of Scripture to 
 read, tried to frame a suitable opening, but his 
 thoughts got into a whirl, and he wondered if 
 he could be growing nervous. At last, with an 
 earnest prayer for help, he went down to the 
 school-house. Meeting one of the boys at the 
 gate, he said : 
 
 " Harry, I think we will do better to have our 
 meeting in the little room."
 
 A Successful Experiment. 35 
 
 " Think so, sir ? " said Harry. 
 
 " Why, yes ; we shall feel more sociable than 
 with a few of us in that great room. Don't you 
 think so ? " 
 
 " Maybe ; but if there should be a good 
 many ? " 
 
 " Oh, well, it isn't likely there'll be many. I'll 
 go and start a fire in the little room." 
 
 The fire didn't burn very well ; the professor 
 had to go to the wood-room and get more kin- 
 dling. Then the lamps were out of order and 
 had to be trimmed ; and while busy at this uncon- 
 genial work Mr. Graves heard the constant tread 
 of feet through the hall and up and down stairs ? " 
 
 " I think, sir," returned Harry, " that you will 
 find that it is all going up" 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Why, only that I haven't heard any one 
 come down ; but a good many have gone up," 
 said Harry. 
 
 "Let's go and see," said Professor Graves. 
 
 One moment he paused in the doorway of the 
 chapel ; then crossing to the desk, he bent his 
 head in silent thanksgiving. He scarcely hoped
 
 -6 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 *o meet a dozen, and here were forty of his 
 pupils ! 
 
 An hour earlier Helen Betson was in her 
 room ; the door was not bolted or even closed, 
 but stood wide open, and voices came up from 
 the dining-room below. Her father was saying : 
 
 " Where does Helen want to go to-night ? " 
 
 " To prayer-meeting at the school-chapel," re- 
 plied Mrs. Betson. 
 
 " That is a new thing, isn't it ? " asked the gen- 
 tleman. 
 
 " Which the prayer-meeting, or Helen's 
 wanting to go to one ? " 
 
 It was her brother Tom's voice now, and 
 Helen shivered. Was Tom going to make the 
 thing ridiculous, and so keep her from going ? 
 Because, if Tom laughed, that would spoil it for 
 Helen. That was the way so many things were 
 spoiled. She waited for her father's reply. 
 
 " Well, both," he answered, laughing a little. 
 "I never heard of a prayer-meeting at the school- 
 chapel, and Helen hasn't been in the habit of 
 going to such places of late, eh ? " 
 
 Helen's cheeks flushed. She recalled a win- 
 ter, three years ago, when for a time she had
 
 A Successful Experiment. 87 
 
 grown to be interested in prayer-meetings, and 
 when, as she thought, she had given her heart to 
 Christ. It was her cousin Dick who led her to 
 this point, and who was always her escort so 
 long as he remained in the family. Then he 
 went home, and there was no one to go with 
 her, and now it was a long, long time since 
 she had been to a prayer-meeting. She had not 
 been walking in the light, yet she clung to her 
 hope through Christ. Now and then a fling from 
 Tom's sarcastic tongue would cause her color to 
 rise. Tom said, in the height of her interest, 
 that it would not last, and afterward he delighted 
 to say, " I told you so." At tea-time Helen had 
 asked her mother's permission to go out that 
 evening, and, in reply to her question, had ex- 
 plained about the meeting, also stating that 
 Flora Niles was going also, and that her 
 brother would call for them and bring them 
 home. Her mother's consent gained, she went 
 up to her room to get ready. Presently Tom 
 left the dining-room whistling. She heard him 
 cross the hall to the hat-rack, but the opening of 
 the outer door she did not hear, though she was
 
 38 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 listening. Some way she felt that she should 
 breathe easier after he was gone. 
 
 " Helen," he called from below. 
 
 "Well, Tom, what is it?" Her voice was 
 steady, but her heart was throbbing with excite- 
 ment. 
 
 " Say, wouldn't your own brother do as well 
 as Flora Niles' brother?" 
 
 " Why, yes, a great deal better, only " 
 
 " Only you thought I wouldn't go. But I 
 have a mind to go to that meeting myself." 
 
 Helen came out of her room and leaned over 
 the railing. 
 
 " That will be splendid," she said ; " and say, 
 Tom, don't you suppose you could coax Willard 
 to go, because Clara says her father will not al- 
 low her to go out without Willard, and she wants 
 to go so badly ? " 
 
 Tom laughed. 
 
 " I'd look pretty going about trying to get 
 folks out to prayer-meeting ! Well, I'll see." 
 
 Helen was pretty sure that he would not only 
 see, but do. 
 
 As Professor Graves looked over the little 
 gathering he thought of all his pupils. Tom
 
 A Successful Experiment. 39 
 
 Betson and Willard Hunting were the last ones 
 he expected to see. But there they were, and 
 many others whose presence astonished him. 
 
 True, many of them came just to please the 
 Professor, or to see what it was all about, or be- 
 cause somebody else came ; and Professor Graves 
 understood this, and longed for power to interest 
 and hold them, and felt that no time should be 
 lost. 
 
 " Some of us," he said, " love the Saviour. 
 Let us speak freely and tell these others who 
 do not know this love what a blessed thing it is 
 
 to belong to Christ And now I 
 
 want to express my regret for the past; my 
 Christian friends, may I not say our regret ? If 
 some of these who do not know this blessedness 
 should be led to receive Christ, the first thing 
 they will ask will be, Why didn't you tell us 
 before ? Why did you let us go on so long in 
 that dangerous path ? For my own part I have 
 no answer but this : I have been so absorbed ill 
 endeavoring to advance you intellectually that I 
 have let the spiritual slip too much out of mind. 
 God grant that my awakening to a sense of my 
 neglect may not be too late."
 
 40 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 It was a solemn meeting, very different from 
 what any of them had anticipated. Even Helen 
 Betson found voice to say : 
 
 " I love the Saviour. I am sure I do. I wish 
 you would all come to him." 
 
 Her friend Flora said : 
 
 " I have been looking about since yesterday 
 for some work to do for Christ. Perhaps he 
 will give me something to do through this meet- 
 ing. I think it would be pleasant to work for 
 the Saviour." 
 
 The Professor said : 
 
 " I think if our pastor could know how many 
 hearts were reached by that sermon of yesterday 
 morning he would feel that his work was not in 
 vain." 
 
 Going home Tom said : 
 
 " I say, Helen, wasn't it awful hard work to 
 say that to-night ? " 
 
 " Why, no ; that is, it wouldn't have been if 
 you had been awa} r ," she said, between laughing 
 and crying. 
 
 " Whew ! I guess I'll look out how I offer to 
 be your escort next time," returned Tom, pleas- 
 antly.
 
 A Successful Experiment. 41 
 
 " Oh, I don't mean that I Tom, you know 
 you make such sarcastic speeches sometimes, but 
 I shall not be afraid of you any more. It seems 
 as if I had lived ten years since tea-time." 
 
 "I don't see any wrinkles," said Tom, looking 
 into her face. 
 
 " It is fret and worry that make wrinkles, I've 
 heard mother say, and that isn't the kind of living 
 I mean," said Helen ; then, speaking earnestly, 
 " Tom, I wish you would step over to the other 
 side. I want you. It is so hard to be alone," 
 and Helen's voice failed. 
 
 " Why, little sister, I believe you've really got 
 the missionary spirit upon you. I can't quite 
 see the way clear to what you ask, but you need 
 never be afraid of me. I will own to you that 
 I honor your religion more to-night than ever 
 before, and Professor Graves has risen in the 
 esteem of us boys by what he said to-night. I 
 have often made fun of your notion, but I will 
 say that the love that can stand three years in 
 the atmosphere of our home must be genuine, if 
 there's enough left to speak of as you did to-night." 
 
 Was Helen sorry that she had witnessed for 
 Christ?
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MISS ELMER'S SACRIFICE. 
 "HEBEIN is MY FATHEB GLORIFIED." 
 
 Eied's sermon from the text, " Go 
 work to-day in my vineyard," had 
 echoed and re-echoed throughout the congrega- 
 tion, and man}*, as we have noted, had been 
 stirred to life and activity. But activity needs 
 to be directed, and to give this directness was 
 the aim of the pastor from week to week ; and 
 those who had been incited to greater earnest- 
 ness came now regularly to the Thursday even- 
 ing meeting to gather up hints as to their ways 
 of working, and real practical talks they heard. 
 42
 
 Miss Elmer's Sacrifice. 43 
 
 Robert Niles, whose eloquent orations had been 
 something remarkable in college times, and who 
 was now a young man with fine literary tastes, 
 listened eagerly to the simple, straightforward 
 talks, that had in them no effort at oratorical 
 effect or literary finish ; yet it may be that they 
 were eloquent and finished, for Ralph Ried could 
 not easily be anything else. 
 
 They were all there young Niles, Helen 
 Betson and Professor Graves, as well as Mrs. 
 Coville, who had succeeded in her plan of getting 
 Rachel Elmer out to prayer-meeting. The 
 means she employed to bring about this result 
 were best known to herself. It was a strange 
 thing, for when had Rachel ever been seen at 
 prayer-meeting ? Indeed, she was very seldom 
 at church upon the Sabbath. She was a mem- 
 ber of the church, and had been since her early 
 girlhood. For years after she had grown to 
 womanhood the care of an invalid mother had 
 shut her off from general societ} 7 , and to a great 
 extent from church privileges; then her own 
 ill-health kept her much at home until the habit 
 became fixed, and she lived a lonely, unsocial 
 life. Her sister Lydia was at once her pet and
 
 44 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 her plague. Not that she petted her ; on the con- 
 trary, she fretted and scolded the younger sister, 
 to whom their quiet life was a torment. But, 
 notwithstanding the recluse life she led, here 
 she was sitting quietly beside Mrs. Coville, lis- 
 tening to words which she was certain were 
 meant for her ; not that she fancied the pastor 
 knew anything about her particular shortcom- 
 ings, or had any thought of her anyway, but she 
 herself knew that she was the unfruitful branch ; 
 and when the speaker in Bible language told of 
 the cutting off and casting away, she began to 
 look upon her own life to see if she could find 
 any fruit whatsoever, saying to herself that how- 
 ever small and unlovely the fruit, if any might 
 be found, it would prove her union with Christ. 
 It might be sour and crabbed fruit ; but if so, 
 there was hope in the words, " And every branch 
 that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may 
 bring forth more fruit." Speaking of this purg- 
 ing : " It is," said the pastor, " the lopping off of 
 hindrances, as the master of the vineyard pinches 
 off the overgrowth of leaf and shoot that fruit- 
 buds may develope and mature ; so the Hus- 
 bandman comes into our lives with his pruning-
 
 Miss Elmer's Sacrifice. 45 
 
 shears, and clips here and there of the over- 
 growth of that which to us seems to make life 
 more fair and symmetrical. Now it is a cher- 
 ished plan, a darling ambition, a joy, a hope, each 
 of which to us appears legitimate and laudable, 
 but which may be taking too much of the vital 
 force of our lives, thus hindering the develop- 
 ment of bud, flower and fruit." 
 
 Here Rachel lost a few sentences ; she was 
 thinking how her life had been narrowed down. 
 Surely the Husbandman had not forgotten to 
 prune closely. Again and again had she felt the 
 sharpness of this cutting off of joys, and still she 
 was not conscious of an increase of fruit. But 
 Mr. Ried was saying : 
 
 " Are we ready to enter upon this work, to take 
 up the pruniug-knife and lop off these habits of 
 living that dwarf the fruit? Are we ready to 
 put a limit to the growth of our affections, to our 
 ambitions, to all our plans of life ? To lop off 
 our pride, and self-indulgences, all self-will, 
 hatred and anger ? How many of us, I ask, are 
 willing to have our lives so clipped, and cut 
 back, and contracted, that there shall be nothing 
 in the way of a steady, grand and beautiful
 
 46 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 Christian development ? Habits of living, accus- 
 tomed ways, are the hardest to overcome. In 
 spite of the pruning strong shoots are continually 
 starting out, and the love of ease taking posses- 
 sion, the branch is likely to be fruitless. Let us 
 see to it that of us it may be said, ' Herein is my 
 Father glorified that ye bear much fruit; so 
 shall ye be my disciples.' May we all have this 
 mark of discipleship. Have you ? Have I ? " 
 
 "Havel?" 
 
 Miss Elmer walked home quietly enough. 
 Some people always preserve an outward calm 
 while the inside is anything but tranquil. Her 
 neighbors, Mrs. Coville and Mrs. Bates, carried 
 on a conversation full of kindly interest in each 
 other's families. 
 
 " Freddy didn't go to school to-day, Johnny 
 said," was a remark of Mrs. Bates which caught 
 Miss Elmer's ear. 
 
 " No," returned her friend, " the walk is too 
 long. I am sorry to have to keep him at home. 
 It was quite time he was put steadily at books. 
 I do wish we could have a school for small chil- 
 dren near us." 
 
 " We do need one," said Mrs. Bates.
 
 Miss Elmer's Sacrifice. 47 
 
 ** I don't suppose there is any hope of such a 
 thing. There are not scholars enough to make 
 it pay ; but there are half a dozen about Fred- 
 dy's age who really ought to be at school. Miss 
 Rachel, suppose you were to open a school for 
 little children ?" Mrs. Coville said this play- 
 fully, very much as she would say, " Pretty 
 moon, silver moon, come down to me," with 
 about as much thought as to results. Then she 
 continued : " I often feel that my childrens' 
 mental interests are being sacrificed to their 
 physical." 
 
 " And the rest of us feel the same thing," said 
 Mrs. Bates. " Some one of us ought to turn 
 teacher." 
 
 "Mrs. Patterson tells me that her Emma is 
 going to Boston to study the Kindergarten 
 methods, but that will come too late for our lit- 
 tle ones." 
 
 " Yes " Mrs. Coville spoke sadly "I sup- 
 pose it is all for the best ; but Freddy felt so 
 badly to-day that I cried with him. Good-night, 
 Rachel. I hope you enjoyed the meeting." 
 
 Late that night Miss Elmer turned wearily
 
 48 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 upon her pillow, and so restless was she that 
 Lydia exclaimed, petulantly : 
 
 " I declare, Rachel ! Prayer-meetings don't 
 seem to have a tranquillizing effect upon your 
 nervous system ! You'll wear yourself out turn- 
 ing over so often. You ought to have a patent 
 spring so you'd go over easy." 
 
 But Miss Elmer, had she chosen to reply, 
 would have said that the prayer-meeting had 
 nothing to do with it that her uneasiness grew 
 out of the talk to which she had listened on the 
 way home. She had not yet come to see that 
 the train of thought started at the meeting was 
 working up into practical shape helped on by her 
 neighbor's expression of need. 
 
 " It is all true," she considered while Lydia 
 slept, " and more too. These children around 
 here need to have sonlethiug done for them 
 quickly. Some of them are on the road to idle, 
 ignorant manhood, but I could not do that of all 
 things. I have no taste for it." 
 
 " But Christ pleased not himself." 
 
 Queer how her thoughts answered themselves. 
 
 " But it would be a real trouble. Children do 
 litter up a house so. They would have to come
 
 Miss Elmer's Sacrifice. 49 
 
 in at the front door, and I hate a littered entry." 
 
 " Christ pleased not himself." 
 
 " There's little Molly Severn, I'd have to take 
 her, and she is such a disagreeable child. I 
 could not endure to teach her. But why do I 
 think about it ? Of course, I won't do anything 
 of that sort. It would be very unpleasant." 
 
 " Christ pleased not himself." 
 
 "But how absurd it would be. One of the 
 Elmers ! Such an old family as ours. I ought 
 to consider the family name. School-teaching 
 would be a new thing for the Elmers. Dear me, 
 I don't believe I am myself to-night. If it were 
 not the most absurd thing in the world I would 
 try it, but I can not, so there's no use in think- 
 ing about it." 
 
 Miss Elmer did not find it easy to change the 
 current of her thoughts, and she could not get 
 rid of the one invariable answer to all her objec- 
 tions. 
 
 " Christ pleased not himself." 
 
 The next morning, at the breakfast table, she 
 said : 
 
 " Lydia, I am thinking that we might as well 
 start a little school."
 
 50 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 Lydia dropped her fork suddenly, and said in 
 a tone of alarm : 
 
 " Why, Rachel ! What do you mean ? Has 
 anything happened ? " 
 
 " A great many things happen every day, I 
 suppose," said Miss Elmer, composedly. 
 
 " To us, I mean to our money ? " almost 
 gasped Lydia. 
 
 " Oh, no, not that I have heard. I had not 
 thought of teaching for pay, though I suppose 
 that would be best, but I'll tell you about it," 
 and she proceeded to rehearse the talk of her 
 two neighbors. 
 
 It was not hard to gain Lydia's approval of 
 her scheme. Then followed two busy days, and 
 Miss Rachel was ready for her experiment. She 
 had lopped off pride and selfish ease, and the 
 fruit of self-denial was already developing. As 
 the half-dozen rollicking little creatures came 
 trooping into the house Lydia said : 
 
 " Well, I did say the other day that I would 
 rather live in an orphan-asylum, but I did not 
 think that I should be taken at my word." 
 
 There were plenty of people to wonder, and
 
 Miss Elmer's Sacrifice. 51 
 
 some to make ill-natured criticisms, but there 
 were some to rejoice, among them Mrs. Coville. 
 
 " How did you happen to think of such a 
 blessed thing?" she said one rainy afternoon, 
 coming over to bring an umbrella for Freddy. 
 
 Miss Elmer smiled as she pinned one boy up 
 in an old shawl, and wrapped a water-proof cape 
 around another, and tied a handkerchief about 
 the throat of a third. 
 
 " Well," she said, " it was the first thing that 
 came to me after that Thursday evening talk 
 about bearing fruit, and I had no time to waste 
 in looking for something more congenial I 
 mean that I fancied would be more congenial." 
 
 "Well," said Mrs. Coville, "since Freddy be- 
 came lame I have murmured a great deal, be- 
 cause of the distance from school. I did not 
 know what the Lord had waiting for my boy. I 
 have such a restful feeling about him now, and 
 to think I might have saved all that worry." 
 
 "And so it all came of her going to prayer- 
 meeting with me ! How the Lord pays us back, 
 even our smallest efforts ! " thought Mrs. Co- 
 ville, as she picked her way home through the 
 rain.
 
 52 
 
 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 And Miss Elmer, standing in the door, after 
 the last boy had gone, repeated, softly : 
 
 " Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear 
 much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FULFILLING THE LAW. 
 " BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS." 
 
 iRS. Coville was widowed ! Not a week 
 since the darkness fell so suddenly upon 
 her, and the bitterness of her lot she had scarcely 
 realized as yet, though she saw in prospect the 
 heaviness of the burden she must bear, and was 
 ready to sink under it. If things had only been 
 different she thought she could have borne her 
 loss better ; if her children had been older ; if 
 their circumstances had been less straightened, 
 or if the little they possessed had been different- 
 ly invested ; but as things were, such a load of 
 
 53
 
 54 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 responsibility rested upon her that she seemed to 
 have neither time nor strength for the luxury of 
 grief. She did not know that afterward she 
 would thank God for these imperative demands 
 upon her energies both of body and mind, realiz- 
 ing how gracious a Providence had thus kept 
 
 * 
 
 her from utter despair. She had not yet had 
 time to rally from the first shock, and she felt 
 dumb and paralyzed. She did not rebel ; her 
 faith kept her from that ; but her heart was sore 
 and sad ; and too weak and sick to walk to 
 church, she sat out the Sabbath hours with her 
 little ones clinging about her her fatherless 
 little ones ! God help her and them. Thank 
 God for such there is a precious promise. 
 
 That evening Mrs. Bates looked over the way 
 at her neighbor's dark windows, and she sighed 
 as she turned away. 
 
 " Dear me, Mrs. Coville is sitting over there 
 in the dark. Yes, to be sure, it is dark to her 
 all the same if she has a light. Poor woman I 
 That was good talk this morning about bearing 
 one another's burdens. I never thought how 
 much that took in. If people only would, how 
 much more happiness there might be in the
 
 Fulfilling the Law. 55 
 
 world. It is so much easier getting along with 
 some one to give a lift. But it won't do a bit of 
 good. There's John, now, he won't think of 
 anybody to help ; and as for me, I have all I can 
 do to carry my own burdens. How very tired 
 I am to-night. Seems to me I get tired very 
 easily. John, how did you like the sermon this 
 morning ? " 
 
 " First-rate," replied the husband. " None of 
 your high-flown preaching for me. One good, 
 practical discourse like that this morning will do 
 more good than a whole month of sermons like 
 Dr. La Salle's." 
 
 u I don't know about the good," returned his 
 wife. 
 
 " What do you mean ? Didn't you like it this 
 morning ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ; but as to the practical benefit of 
 sermons I am not sure that they amount to much. 
 We listen, and express ourselves edified ; but 
 whether we are really built up in good works is 
 doubtful. I don't think there is much working 
 out sermons." 
 
 "I don't know perhaps not. But I suppose
 
 56 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 we can not judge only so far as we are imme- 
 diately concerned," said Mr. Bates. 
 
 " And that's just it. I know I never carry 
 out any of bis ideas," and Mrs. Bates looked very 
 sober, though her husband smiled pleasantly 
 upon the little woman who had suddenly taken 
 her shawl from the closet and brought her over- 
 shoes to the fire. 
 
 "Where are you going?" he asked. 
 
 " I thought I would step over and speak a 
 word to Mrs. Coville, and if she can be persuaded 
 to go to church I will stay with the children 
 this evening. You may call as you go along." 
 
 Again Mr. Bates smiled, as he thought how 
 his wife's tender, loving sympathy would help 
 Mrs. Coville to lift her burden. 
 
 It was not in words the light and warmth 
 that Mrs. Bates brought into that dark and 
 cheerless home. Stepping softly, she lighted and 
 shaded the lamp, stirred the wood fire into a 
 flame ; and learning from Freddy, who followed 
 her in his limping gait, as she went to the kitchen 
 for wood, that they had not had supper, she set 
 her tin pot on the stove, and before Mrs. Coville
 
 Fulfilling the Law. 57 
 
 had time to remonstrate, she had a simple tea- 
 table spread. 
 
 " Now, my dears," she said, " bring your 
 mother's chair ; " and to the mother, " I knew 
 you wouldn't feel like doing much, so I brought 
 over a pot of cocoa and this cold chicken ; and 
 now I'll just get out your things if you'll let me, 
 for Mr. Bates is going to call for you to take you 
 to church this evening." 
 
 Of course Mrs. Coville objected, but her friend 
 said: 
 
 " It will be better for you. Lina, here, needs 
 to go." Speaking very tenderly : "you must re- 
 member your children ; and the sooner you take 
 up your new life the better for them." 
 
 The oldest boy was twelve years old, and 
 while his mother and Lina were gone to church, 
 and after Freddy and little Clara were asleep, 
 Mrs. Bates and Henry had a long, earnest talk ; 
 and Mrs. Coville never knew how much of the 
 strong, brave endeavor, and the tender care-taking 
 which her boy came to manifest, grew out of the 
 suggestions and encouragements of that same 
 little Mrs. Bates. And as Henry grew older, 
 and more and more lifted burdens from his
 
 58 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 mother's shoulders, and her friends congratulated 
 her now and then upon having so good a son, 
 neither of them realized how a word in sorrow 
 had been a fulfilling of the law, " Bear ye one 
 another's burdens." 
 
 But while Mr. Bates looked approvingly upon 
 his wife's little acts of kindness, and saw in them 
 a practical application of the morning's sermon, 
 what had he to do with it? Had it no meaning 
 for him ? 
 
 Very soon Mrs. Coville found herself in a 
 somewhat embarrassing position. Forms of the 
 law must be gone through with. Matters of ad- 
 ministration and guardianship must be attended 
 to ; and then came the question who would be 
 the friend in need to stand as her surety in these 
 things. Mr. Cramer, who had been loud in ex- 
 pressions of sympathy ? Not he. He did not 
 believe in a woman's undertaking any business 
 of this sort, anyway. She would better let some 
 man take the whole thing in charge, and pay 
 over to her such sums as should be left after it 
 was all settled. 
 
 " But the percentage is an item which I can 
 not afford to lose," said Mrs. Coville. " I can do
 
 Fulfilling the Law. 59 
 
 the business myself, and save more for my chil- 
 dren." 
 
 " But you ought not to undertake it. It is 
 not a woman's place," insisted Mr. Cramer. 
 
 This rebuff so dismayed the sad-hearted woman 
 that she had no courage to seek further for help. 
 But Rachel Elmer herself found out several of 
 their own church-members, and presented the 
 case. 
 
 " You know," she said to Mr. Hunting, " that 
 Mrs. Coville is a great manager ; she has uncom- 
 mon ability and great business capacity. I'd 
 sooner trust her than half the men who pretend 
 to be great financiers. If it were a man of ordi- 
 nary business talents who asked this of you, you 
 would not refuse." 
 
 Air. Hunting was well aware that Miss Elmer 
 knew that he had often lent his name to business 
 men, so he could not pleau. that it was not his 
 custom ; he could only smile blandly and ask to 
 be excused. 
 
 " Certainly, as you choose ; but if you can not 
 do this much for a sister in Christ, what are cove- 
 nant vows worth ? You are a rich man ; the lit- 
 tle that Mrs. Coville possesses would be as
 
 60 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 nothing to you, even if there were any risk. But 
 good-morning." 
 
 Miss Rachel was not discouraged. The next 
 man she met was Mr. Betson ; he, a man of the 
 world, was ready to put to shame this Christian 
 man, and the way out of Mrs. Coville's troubles 
 was shortened. Meantime Mr. Bates had been 
 thinking. Mrs. Coville's burdens were heavy. 
 Could he help her? He had done much. Was 
 more required of him ? He knew of her present 
 strait; should he step forward with an offer of 
 help ? What of the application of the Golden 
 Rule to this case ? What if it were his wife and 
 his children? And, too, he knew that his wife, 
 dear, loving, sympathizing little creature that 
 she was, had not one-half the business capacity 
 that Mrs. Coville possessed. In his heart he 
 knew that the risk was almost nominal ; but he 
 had never done sue' a thing, and had made it a 
 settled principle never to do it, and had prom- 
 ised his wife. But, then, this was a peculiar 
 case. Perhaps he had better talk it over with 
 Charlotte. She had spoken particularly of that 
 sermon what if, after all, it should bring forth 
 fruit in this way ? Suppose it was his own sister ?
 
 Fulfilling the Law. 61 
 
 But that was different. Was it ? Are we not 
 all one family in Christ Jesus ? Are we not 
 bound to do and care for each other in times of 
 need ? Have not these a right to expect, and 
 seek not only our sympathy but our aid ? What 
 would Christ have done ? Was this his oppor- 
 tunity to fulfill the law of love ? Why should 
 he do this thing ? There were richer men than he 
 in the neighborhood men more accustomed to 
 taking such responsibilities. Very well, will 
 you let another take the reward ? " Bear ye one 
 another's burdens." It was strange that this 
 opportunity of burden-bearing should have come 
 so closely upon the holding up of that command. 
 Was it ? or was it that the mind, having been 
 quickened upon the subject, the case seemed to 
 have unusual prominence ? Were not such op- 
 portunities, or, rather, similar ones, presenting 
 themselves every day ? Does not the Father, in 
 giving us the place of children in his family, give 
 us with it, almost daily, privileges of exercising 
 a self-sacrificing love, of doing a self-forgetting 
 work for him ? Mr. Bates revolved these and 
 other thoughts in his mind, and finally he said : 
 " Charlotte, if I do this in the name of the
 
 62 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 Lord Jesus, then shall the blessing of God be 
 upon it." 
 
 Thus helped by one and another, Mrs. Coville 
 took up her burden of living once more. It was 
 curious how many found opportunities for this 
 burden-bearing for the sake of Jesus Christ. 
 Through that long winter in her first struggle 
 alone with the world Mrs. Coville felt the way 
 smoother by the many little kindnesses of her 
 brothers and sisters. 
 
 And how Robert Niles and Helen Betson 
 found their opportunities we must leave for an- 
 other chapter.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 HELEN'S OPPORTUNITIES. 
 
 "AND SO FULFILL THE LAW OF CHBIST." 
 
 HE cold snap that had shriveled people 
 and plants alike, and set everybody 
 to grumbling, was over; the early morn had 
 melted away ; overcoats and water-proofs were 
 hung back in the closets, and smiles and cheer- 
 ful tones had taken the place of frowns and dis- 
 content, and dear, delightful Indian summer had 
 come to bless the earth. Sweet old age of the 
 year ! So near the last, and how bright and 
 tranquil ! Dull, dreary November holds in 
 keeping for us those few bright days bright 
 
 63
 
 64 Echoing and Re-eclioing. 
 
 though not clear ; a haze hangs over the hills and 
 fills the valleys, softening the picture of leafless 
 trees and brown bare fields. 
 
 The wise grown-up people are finishing all 
 their odd out-of-door jobs, while the younger 
 ones are drinking in as much as possible of the 
 brightness and beauty of the season. The chil- 
 dren tumbled in the drifts of fallen leaves, pelt- 
 ing each other with scarlet berries or brown 
 nuts. Almost every one was out of doors enjoy- 
 ing the sunshine. It seemed wrong to lose a bit 
 of it. But Helen Betson was very busy ; she 
 did not leave her desk at morning recess, though 
 her seat-mate and friend, Flora Niles, said : 
 
 " Do, Helen, do come out. It is such a bright 
 day it will do you good." 
 
 " I can't ; at least I would rather not. Christ- 
 mas will be here before I am ready for it ; so I 
 must improve the minutes;" and the shining 
 crochet-hook slipped in and out through the 
 meshes of scarlet wool. 
 
 " Well, if j'ou won't come, you won't, 5 ' and 
 Flora ran away. 
 
 The school-room was almost deserted. Only 
 Helen and Jenny Vosburgh were left. Jenny
 
 Helen's Opportunities. 65 
 
 was bending over her slate with wrinkles of 
 perplexity in her forehead ; she was not quick at 
 figures, and these algebra lessons were her daily 
 trial. Helen, watching, saw her write her equa- 
 tion, transpose, multiply, divide and reduce 
 again and again, erasing and going over the 
 work repeatedly. It was almost time for the 
 bell, when suddenly Jenny pushed away her 
 slate and dropped her head upon her arms with 
 a despairing exclamation. Someway Helen felt 
 that it was that thirteenth example which was 
 troubling Jenny ; she remembered how it both- 
 ered her, and how a hint or two from Tom had 
 set her right. Should she go and help Jenny? 
 It would not be any violation of rules to give to 
 Jenny the same kind of help that Tom had given 
 her. But her work ! She had denied herself 
 the pleasure of going out for the sake of her 
 mat. She really had not time ; she did not 
 often get her own lessons ahead so as to gain a 
 little time for fancy work. Jenny would get 
 along someway. It wouldn't be such a dreadful 
 thing if she did fail; it wouldn't be the first 
 time. Her tear-stained face had too often told 
 the story of imperfect recitations, and Professor
 
 66 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 Graves' consequent displeasure, for nothing so 
 tried the Professor's patience as a failure in a 
 mathematical recitation. 
 
 " But Jenny Vosburgh is not my friend par- 
 ticularly. I don't know why I should help her," 
 Helen argued with herself. "I can't help all 
 the girls that have trouble with their lessons." 
 " And because you can not relieve all the sor- 
 row in the world you refuse to help any," said 
 the better self that was trying to get uppermost. 
 " But I can't spend time. If I do it to-day I'll 
 have to do the same thing to-morrow, and so on 
 and on. What a bother ! " 
 
 Helen sat by a window that faced the street, 
 and looking out she saw Mr. Ried going up the 
 walk. He stopped to chat with Flora and the 
 other girls, and Helen wished that she had gone 
 out a word from the pastor was worth a great 
 deal to the young people. 
 
 " I like Mr. Ried," she said to herself. " What 
 a good sermon that was he gave us yesterday 
 morning. I wonder " Here the sound of 
 Jenny's pencil, as she renewed her perplexing 
 study, brought Helen back to the thought that 
 there was a burdened brain. " Bear ye one
 
 Helens Opportunities. 67 
 
 another's burdens." " Is this ray opportunity f " 
 
 " Jenny, what is the trouble ? You look sober 
 enough to match an owl." 
 
 " I don't seem to match him in wisdom if I do 
 in sober expression ; though I never could un- 
 derstand why owls were made the emblem of 
 wisdom. Anyway, I wish I had one here to 
 help me through this horrid equation," said 
 Jenny, half crying. 
 
 " I am not an owl, neither am I wise as they 
 are said to be ; but perhaps I can help you " said 
 Helen, going over to Jenny's desk. " Oh, it is 
 that one ! I remember that. Tom helped me. 
 The puzzle is " Here a few quick strokes of 
 the pencil, a suggestion or two as to signs, and 
 Jenny's face brightened with the sudden illumi- 
 nation of her mind, and Helen went back to her 
 work. 
 
 It was a little thing. Well, perhaps so ; bat 
 so is an acorn dropped in the earth. Little things 
 are not to be despised. A cup of cold water is 
 a little thing, yet what saith the Master of so 
 small a thing done in his name ? But really, 
 this was quite a bit of self-deniul on Helenas 
 part. In the first place, she had laid out just aa
 
 68 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 much work us she could accomplish before 
 Christmas by employing ever}' spare minute, and 
 she grudged every speck of the day, outside 
 lesson hours, given to other employments. Then 
 she hated bother ; she was naturally inclined to 
 be selfish in that one respect ; putting herself 
 out of the way for other people was not a part 
 of her creed ; and, besides, she had no patience 
 with dull people. Quick herself to see into 
 things, always perfect in recitations, it seemed to 
 her to be quite useless to try to help a dull 
 scholar. There always would be some to drag 
 along in a class ; and if you undertook to help 
 them they were sure not to know anything about 
 what they had gone over, and the rules might as 
 well be written in Greek for all the good such 
 scholars got out of them. Still, it was worth 
 something to Helen to see the bright face of 
 Jenny Vosburgh, as an hour later she stood be- 
 fore the blackboard working out with quick, 
 ready hand that same thirteenth example, to the 
 astonishment of better scholars in the class, who 
 for once had failed ; and Helen was glad of this 
 opportunity to bear another's burdens. 
 
 But other opportunities were coming to her.
 
 Helen's Opportunities. 69 
 
 It was that same afternoon. At recess there had 
 been a little commotion among the girls ; a 
 few of them stood chatting upon the doorstep ; 
 presently Minnie Gates joined the group, when 
 instantly a hush came over them ; one or two of 
 the more lofty turned away ; Flora Niles fell to 
 studying her history which she had in her hand. 
 Helen sat upon the topmost step with her inter- 
 minable crocheting ; she had been too much oc- 
 cupied with counting stitches to join in the con- 
 versation, but now she noticed the silence, and 
 looking up she saw the tears gathering in Min- 
 nie's eyes. Minnie Gates was carrying a burden 
 heavy for a young heart. Hers had been a happy 
 home until a year ago, when suddenly all its 
 brightness went out. The whole community 
 was shocked at the discovery that Mr. Gates 
 had been concerned in the bank defalcation, by 
 which so many had suffered, and the family 
 were sunk to the depths of wretchedness. The 
 guilty man fled, and mother and daughter were 
 left to breast the storm as best they could. 
 Minnie would say : " Mother, I could bear tho 
 hard work and the sacrifice of all our nice
 
 70 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 things, if it were not for the disgrace ; but that 
 is too hard." 
 
 Then Mrs. Gates would moan and bewail their 
 hard fate, until Minnie learned to bear her bur- 
 den of slights and scornful looks without com- 
 plaining. The school-girls did not mean to be 
 unkind ; at least some of them did not. There 
 were those to whom Minnie's poverty was far 
 more than her father's crime, and there were 
 others, who, like Flora Niles, turned with a pain- 
 ful feeling away from the daughter of a forger. 
 Neither Flora nor Helen had known much of 
 the girl ; but Helen's father had been one of the 
 heavy losers, and naturally Minnie shrank from 
 the daughter of one whom her father had 
 wronged ; and Helen herself had never felt 
 called upon to trouble herself about her school 
 mate in any way. But, to-day the sad, pleading 
 face haunted her. After the bell rang and they 
 all went in to their books, she kept thinking 
 about her, and the result of that thinking came 
 out after school. As Minnie went down the 
 street alone, as usual, Helen joined her, saying : 
 
 " I am going up Court street to-night. What 
 a lovely day this is. Haven't you enjoyed it ?
 
 Helens Opportunities. 71 
 
 I just feel like singing. But, dear me, the cold 
 weather will soon be here to stay." 
 
 " Yes," returned Minnie, almost too surprised 
 to speak, "and I dread it. I used to love the 
 winter; but it is different now." 
 
 " Well, I suppose we ought to make the most 
 of these days," replied Helen. " I'll tell you 
 what we will do if the pleasant weather lasts 
 until Saturday, we will go to the woods, a lot of 
 us girls, and have one more good time this year. 
 Won't we ? " 
 
 Minnie was surprised into a look of pleasure, 
 and an exclamation of 
 
 " Oh, delightful. I have not been to the 
 woods this fall, and I want to get some mold for 
 my geraniums." 
 
 " Do you keep plants ? " asked Helen. 
 
 " Only a few now." 
 
 " I have two lovely rose-bushes just alike. I'd 
 like to have you take one of them. They are 
 very thrifty none of your hot-house forced 
 plants. I'll get Tom to bring one around if you'd 
 like it?" 
 
 "Oh, thank you. I had a tea-rose, but it 
 faded away and died."
 
 72 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 Minnie spoke sadly, as if rose-bushes were not 
 the only things that had faded away and died. 
 
 " Are you going into the Ancient History 
 class ? " asked Helen. 
 
 "No I think not. I could take it up as 
 well as not, only " Minnie hesitated, and the 
 quick color mounted to her face. 
 
 " I knew the other girls of your class in United 
 States History were going to take it up. Pro- 
 fessor Graves makes it very interesting," said 
 Helen, who was one year in advance of Miiiijio 
 in the school course. 
 
 " Well," said Minnie, with a frankness which 
 Helen's pleasant, cordial manner called forth, 
 " to tell the truth, I cannot afford to buy a book. 
 They are quite expensive, you remember." 
 
 Helen Betson was visibly embarrassed, and 
 her companion wondered if her reference to their 
 parents had brought up afresh to Helen's mind 
 its cause, and if this was why the color mounted 
 to her cheeks and forehead. Helen had been 
 ready to give away her rose-bush ; but her be- 
 loved school-books, she had a habit of treasuring 
 them carefully r She could never endure to lend 
 them ; and when she had said, " Good-night " to
 
 Helen's Opportunities. 73 
 
 Minnie and gone Lome, she went straight to the 
 little book-case and looked them over. There 
 they were, from the little First Reader up to her 
 geometry and Latin grammar, a graduated row. 
 Should she take out the history and break the 
 line? 
 
 " How foolish I am," she reasoned. " But I 
 can't help it. It seems as if these books were a 
 part of me. If I had any money I mean .if it 
 were not so near Christmas, I would buy a new 
 one for Minnie ; and that wouldn't do, either ; 
 it would seem more like charity. It is real self- 
 ish of me. Minnie isn't to blame for her father's 
 villainy ; and she is such a splendid scholar, it 
 is a pity that she shouldn't go on with the class. 
 Poor child ! I suppose life is a burden to her at 
 the best, and I don't think we girls have any of 
 us helped to lighten it as we might. Well, I 
 will do this much, anyway." And this is the 
 note that Tom took around to Mrs. Gates' door : 
 
 DEAR MINNIE : I find that my old history 
 is almost as good as new. Will you take it and 
 go on with the class ? I shall be so glad to have
 
 74 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 you. I have no younger sisters to use it, you 
 know : so you can keep it from molding. 
 
 Lovingly, HELEN. 
 
 It was a little thing to walk home with a 
 schoolmate, and lend her an old, half-worn book. 
 So it was; but much grew out of it. First, 
 Minnie carried home a lighter heart ; then there 
 was a talk that Helen had with Flora Niles and 
 Clara Hunting, out of which grew kindly atten- 
 tions toward the lonely girl on the part of these 
 leaders, and thus the way was smoothed, and the 
 law of Christ fulfilled.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. 
 
 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus." 
 
 'OBERT Niles found his opportunities. 
 
 That Monday morning he called at the 
 parsonage ; he had a communication from his 
 mother to Mrs. Ried. Mrs. Niles did not hear 
 the sermon, but it may be that the thoughts 
 awakened by Flora's report of it had worked out 
 this result. Anyway, Robert was the bearer of 
 a note which ran thus : 
 
 DEAR MRS. RIED : Will you send over that 
 work basket which Flora saw in your room the 
 75
 
 76 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 other day ? My hands are not used to idleness, 
 and it will be a favor if you will furnish the 
 work for a little time. Don't refuse me. 
 
 Sincerely, EMMA NILES. 
 
 Robert waited in the little sitting-room, listen- 
 ing, meantime, to restless footsteps overhead. 
 Steps which he knew to be those of the pastor, 
 and he said to himself : " Mr. Ried is troubled ; 
 I know by the walk. I wonder if it is anything 
 I can help." To Mrs. Ried : 
 
 " How is Mr. Ried this morning ? " 
 
 " Oh, he is quite tired out. I think he is over- 
 worked. He made a great many calls last week, 
 and with those two funerals and the regular 
 Sabbath preparations, he is quite used up. 
 Won't you walk up to the study ? I think he 
 would like to see you." 
 
 In that half hour Mr. Niles gained some new 
 ideas as to his pastor's needs, and as to ways in 
 which his people might bear his burdens. And 
 as for the pastor, that restless walk had ceased, 
 and as he turned to take up his work again, its 
 tangled threads had somehow straightened, and 
 its pattern had grown brighter and less complex.
 
 For Christ's Sake. 77 
 
 And yet there had been no word of complaint or 
 hint of an overworked and burdened brain, on 
 the one hand, and no formal or sentimental ut- 
 terances of sympathy on the other such things 
 were unlike these strong-hearted men. But 
 there was the mingling of that under-current of 
 earnestness and unity of purpose which both 
 felt, though unexpressed. 
 
 It was at the next Thursday evening meeting 
 that Mr. Ried, after alluding to the deep relig- 
 ious feeling abroad in the community, said : 
 
 " I am weighed down with the burden of souls. 
 An overpowering sense of responsibility has 
 fallen upon me ! Who will share the work ? 
 Who will come to the help of the Lord against 
 the host of sin ? " 
 
 Robert Niles came to his feet with a ready 
 response. 
 
 " It seems to me," he said, " that the text from 
 which our pastor preached last Sabbath morning 
 is far-reaching enough to cover this ground 
 that we should not let him bear the burden of 
 souls alone. We ought certainly to feel an 
 anxiety for the salvation of others. We are 
 none of us free from responsibility in this matter.
 
 78 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 But this thought has come to me with force, 
 that when the burden rests with an unusual 
 pressure upon the heart of God's appointed ser- 
 vant, ought we not to be ready to stand by him 
 with our prayers, with our most earnest efforts, 
 upholding and assisting him in every possible 
 way to the furtherance of the cause of Christ. 
 To be practical, what shall we do ? Let us re- 
 lieve him from all necessity or worldly cares ; 
 then let us join him in personal labor for others 
 praying more continually arid more earnestly 
 for the upbuilding of the kingdom. Let us seek 
 for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost that we 
 may be strengthened in the faith, and be en- 
 abled to carry the burdens of others, as we are 
 commanded. Our pastor has a heavy burden of 
 pastoral work. We ought to help in that. 
 Though we shrink from it, it may be our duty to 
 seek out men and press home the claims of 
 the Christian religion. It may be our duty to 
 go from house to house carrying the warnings 
 and the invitations yes, and the promises of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Mr. Niles did not consider his duty done with 
 these words of exhortation. The next morning
 
 For Christ's Sake. 79 
 
 a boy left an envelope at the door of the parson- 
 age, containing fifty dollars in bank bills, with 
 only a line : 
 
 "Perhaps the enclosed may lift a burden. 
 
 Yours in Christ." 
 
 And his words re-echoed in other hearts, and 
 the pastor rejoiced in the kindly remembrances 
 of his people. But better still was the increased 
 earnestness and eagerness with which they 
 drank in the words of life, the readiness with 
 which they responded to his call for volunteers 
 to engage in active work. If he had doubted 
 the acceptability of his labor, he could do so no 
 longer; and, mutually encouraged and strength- 
 ened, pastor and people were moving forward to 
 meet boldly the enemies of Christ. 
 
 The next Sabbath morning Mr. Niles was 
 making a last study of the Sunday-school lesson 
 not as you may perhaps imagine, with com- 
 mentaries spread out before him, nor with the 
 HEEALD AND PRESBYTER even. The helps had 
 been laid aside, after careful study in days be- 
 fore, and now, with Bible and note-book only, he 
 was gathering up his thoughts for the business 
 of teaching.
 
 80 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 A message a queer message it was was 
 brought in. It was a crumbled and soiled bit of 
 paper, and in a hand that Robert Niles afterward 
 remembered as showing signs of culture, was 
 scrawled : 
 
 "For the love of Christ help a poor wretch, 
 without home, friends, or character." 
 
 The boy who brought this note, without date 
 or signature, said: 
 
 " It's a man down to the station-house, what 
 father took up last night, and I tell ye he's a 
 hard un to look at, he is ! " 
 
 "What does he want of me," asked Robert, 
 wonderingly. 
 
 " Dunno. ' Spect he wants some clothes and 
 things. He's awful hard up, I guess." 
 
 " Yes, no doubt," returned Mr. Niles, " but 
 why does he send to me ? " 
 
 " Dunno," said the boy again. " 'Spect as 
 how father told him on you, 'cause I heard the 
 old man that's father I mean say he saw 
 you give a man a dollar ' cause he hadn't any 
 fingers on his right hand, so he couldn't saw 
 brackets no more. He thinks a sight of you, 
 father does, and I heard that fellow down there
 
 For Christ's Sake. 81 
 
 say that if he could only start right on'ct, he 
 would go it all slick and smooth ; and so I kinder 
 think old dad told him maybe as how you'd be 
 the chap as would give him a lift." 
 
 Robert laughed a little at the boy's rigmarole, 
 and then he reflected. A glance at the note 
 " for the love of Christ," that decided him he 
 could not turn away from that appeal. He 
 would see what it meant. 
 
 A short brisk walk brought him to the station- 
 house, and there he found the forlorn specimen 
 of humanity who had appealed to him for help. 
 
 " Well, my friend, can I do anything for you ? " 
 
 The man looked up, and seemed to be taking 
 his measure, though he said nothing. 
 
 "You seeni to be in a little trouble ; what can 
 I do for you ? " repeated Robert Niles. " I be- 
 lieve you sent for me." 
 
 " Yes, the keeper here said you'd be the one 
 to do me a good turn if anybody would. The 
 truth is, I've sunken very low, and having gone 
 to the bottom I want to start upward again. If I 
 could, someway, get a little lift in the beginning, 
 I almost think I could climb up myself." 
 
 Mr. Niles looked at him. He was not a
 
 82 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 pleasant-looking object to look at, not a very en- 
 couraging subject for practical benevolent oper- 
 ations. His clothes were ragged and dirty, his 
 hair long and uncombed, while his countenance 
 bore the marks of dissipation. 
 
 " You think I don't look very much like 
 climbing. Well, I can't blame you for that look 
 of disgust that your face wears ; but let me tell 
 you, young man, that the Master, whom you 
 profess to follow, sat with the lowest. I used to 
 be his follower, too." 
 
 This, in a tone so sad and so helpless, that 
 Robert was touched. He sat down beside that 
 wretched man, and said, kindly : 
 
 " Tell me about it. How came you here, and 
 what do you wish me to do ? " 
 
 It was a long story. His name was William 
 Walters ; he was a German by birth, educated 
 at a German university, had been in the Crimean 
 war, and later in our war of the rebellion ; he 
 had been in almost every country upon the face 
 of the globe. His mother had taught him to 
 pray, and he really seemed to have known some- 
 thing of experimental religion, but in his wan- 
 derings he had fallen into sin, and here he was
 
 For Christ's Sake. 83 
 
 an inmate of the station-house, without a penny, 
 and, as he said, without a character ; but, seem- 
 ingly, desirous of forsaking sin, and taking up a 
 new life. Said he : 
 
 " I came in here last night, and soon after I 
 picked up this little paper. And, do you know, 
 it really seemed as if it were my very self that 
 was pictured there, and I saw and hated my 
 folly as I never did before. And now do you 
 think that I could reform ? But what's the use, 
 I'm sure I can not." 
 
 " Oh, yes ! you can, certainly." Then Robert 
 Niles spoke words of cheer words that seemed 
 for a moment to raise the spirits of the dejected 
 man, then he sank back. 
 
 " It's no use ; I have been the slave of strong 
 drink so long that I have no power left to resist 
 the tempter." 
 
 " There's strength in Christ," replied Robert. 
 
 " Not for me." 
 
 "Yes, for you for me and for you. Come, 
 go with me. I'll find you a place where you 
 will be free from temptation for the present." 
 
 " No, I can't go ; I've no claim upon you." 
 
 " But you must let me help you ; you sent for
 
 84 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 me, you remember. Besides, I am seeking to do 
 the will of Jesus Christ, and you know that he 
 always stretched out a helping hand." 
 
 " But it is of no use." 
 
 " You will grow stronger soon, and until you 
 do you may depend upon me to help you." 
 
 Finally, the stranger was persuaded to go with 
 his new friend, who took him first to his own 
 home, where he fitted him out with decent 
 clothes, then he left him in the " stranger's room." 
 In the evening he took him to church. The 
 next day he found him a comfortable room, and 
 employed him about the store for a few days, 
 until he could find work more suited to his ca- 
 pacity. And all winter he went back and forth 
 with this stranger that he might lead him safely 
 past the glittering saloons. 
 
 It was a hard struggle for William Walters, 
 but with tbe help of his friend he gained victor- 
 ies, and day by day grew in strength ; and gra- 
 dually he leaned less and less heavily upon Rob- 
 ert Niles, and trusting in Christ's power to keep 
 him from falling, he began to stand firmly by 
 himself. 
 
 But oh, how many, many times did that faith.-
 
 For Christ's Sake. 85 
 
 ful friend carry the burden of that soul to the 
 throne of grace ! Pie brought him sometimes to 
 talk with Mrs. Niles ; he spent whole evenings 
 in the homely little room at the boarding-house, 
 seeking in every way to uphold and encourage 
 the weak and erring brother. Happy for both 
 was the day when they could feel assured that 
 the reformation was complete. Then they felt 
 that the watching and the striving, and all the 
 weight of care and anxiety, had not been borne 
 in vain.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A DINNER-TABLE TALK. 
 
 " There is a way that seemeth right unto a man ; but the 
 end thereof are the ways of death." 
 
 OHN, will you take some of Clara's mince- 
 pie ? " asked Mr. Norton Graves, ad- 
 dressing the Professor, who was making a holi- 
 day of Saturday by spending it with his brother. 
 " Yes, thank you. That is," turning towards 
 the smiling hostess, " I suppose there's no brandy 
 in it ? " 
 
 " Not a drop ! " was the ready response. 
 " No," said Norton, " Clara has shut down 
 upon everything of that sort. She is a convert 
 to Mr. Ried's theories. For my part I should 
 86
 
 A Dinner-table Talk. 87 
 
 like him better if he were a little more liberal m 
 some of his views. But that is always the way , 
 people go to such extremes. Dr. Thornton says 
 that when they were in college together Ried 
 was as wild as any of the boys. (You know 
 what that means.) I'll warrant he was not 
 afraid of brandy pies then." 
 
 "Yes, I have heard it all," said the Professor; 
 "and I have also heard that he had a great shock 
 in the death of his brother, brother-in-law, or 
 some near relative, who was killed by the reck- 
 lessness of a drunken coachman, and that he has 
 ever since been a strong prohibitionist. I was 
 glad to hear him come out so boldly last Sabbath. 
 A great many have been wondering what stand 
 he would take ; but he left no room for specula- 
 tion on this point. His position was fully defined." 
 
 "Well," returned the brother, "for my own 
 part I was sorry. I don't think he has any call 
 to touch upon what properly belongs to political 
 speakers. Ministers have nothing to do with 
 legislation and law, nor with the subjects be- 
 longing to these departments." 
 
 The Professor smiled. 
 
 " You would narrowly circumscribe the duties
 
 88 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 of the ministerial office, and make the range of 
 subjects from which a minister may choose very 
 narrow." 
 
 " How so ? " 
 
 " Why, murder, theft, slander, perjury, fraud, 
 and a host of wickedness besides, have been 
 made subjects of legislation. Of course the 
 minister of the gospel has no business to preach 
 against any of these sins. The political men, the 
 lawyers, will take care of all such matters. 
 Strange if a pastor may not warn his flock, es- 
 pecially the young, against the beginnings of 
 falsehood, because there is a law against the ex- 
 treme of that sin. He may not warn against the 
 habit of backbiting and evil-speaking, because 
 the law provides a penalty in the case of the 
 slanderer. He may not caution that boy against 
 taking the advantage of his schoolmate in that 
 knife trade, because lawyers look after the cases 
 of defaulters." 
 
 " Now, John, you know you are talking non- 
 sense ! " said Norton, laughing. 
 
 " Am I ? I don't see how you make that out. 
 If a pastor may warn his people against these 
 sins for which the law provides a penalty,
 
 A Dinner-table Talk. 89 
 
 and if he may warn against those heart-sins 
 with which human law does not deal, why may 
 he not preach against that which gives occasion 
 for so much discipline in the Church of Christ, 
 which so hinders the success of the gospel which 
 they present? It is you who talk nonsense. 
 The truth is, ministers and Christian men have 
 left it to political men too long. If this liquor 
 traffic be an evil, then let's have warnings rung 
 out from every pulpit in the land." 
 
 " Well, I don't like such a thing just before 
 election," said Mr. Norton Graves. " I don't 
 like the phrase, 'Electioneering sermon. ' ' 
 
 The Professor laughed this time. 
 
 " Well, if you don't like it, why use it," 1 
 should never think of giving Mr. Ried's sermon 
 that designation. It does not apply in the least." 
 
 " Well, that is what the rabble call it," re- 
 turned his brother. 
 
 " The rabble ! Seems to me, Norton, you are 
 suddenly very sensitive to the opinions of the 
 rabble. If a lot of ruffians had planned to steal 
 into your house and do you an injury, you would 
 not mind the opinions of the rabble when Mr. 
 Ried made an outcry, though you might think
 
 90 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 he was overstepping the circumscribed limits of 
 his sphere if he interfered and gave you a note 
 of warning," with which bit of sarcasm the Pro- 
 fessor pushed his empty plate from him, and 
 rested his folded arms upon the edge of the 
 table. The hostess smiled, for she understood 
 what that meant. It was a trick of the Pro- 
 fessor when he had made up his mind that there 
 was a great deal to be said, and that the time 
 had come for saying it. 
 
 " See here, Norton, you are a temperance man." 
 
 " Yes ; but I am not a. fanatic." 
 
 " Thank you for the implication. If by a fa- 
 natic you mean one in dead earnest, I am a 
 fanatic, and I do not consider it an uncompli- 
 mentary appellation. As I was saying, you must 
 see that there is great need of direct legislation 
 against the traffic in intoxicating drinks. The 
 temperance people have reasoned, remonstrated 
 and persuaded ; and in spite of reason or re- 
 monstrance the traffic goes on. The dealers 
 will not be persuaded to abandon a money- 
 making business. The consumers will not be 
 persuaded to break away from that which holds 
 them by the power of appetite. And if we do
 
 A Dinner-table Talk. 91 
 
 succeed in helping now and then one to break 
 the fetters, there is the fresh recruit for the army 
 of drunkards to fill his place." 
 
 "Of course, John, I acknowledge the need of 
 legislation, but you go to such lengths." 
 
 "Yes, there is a difference in our ideas of 
 right legislation on this subject. You assume 
 that our acknowledged evil one which, if let 
 alone, would spread ruin and desolation through- 
 out the laud should be restricted. I ask that 
 it should be prohibited. You would limit its 
 power ; I would destroy it altogether. Think 
 of a law restricting and regulating theft, or 
 frauds ! It is the duty of a Christian people to 
 remove evil from their midst, not to protect it." 
 
 " But," said Mr. Norton Graves, " I doubt if 
 we have the right to destroy the business en- 
 tirely." 
 
 " Well, if you consider that we have laws 
 upon our statute books prohibiting nuisances, 
 and forbidding such uses of private property as 
 shall be to the injury of our neighbor ; and when 
 you consider how much greater a nuisance is 
 this liquor business than any you find mentioned, 
 and how much greater the injury inflicted by it,
 
 92 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 I think you will scarcely say we have no right 
 in this case. Surely, if we may prohibit the 
 lesser, we may the greater." 
 
 " Well, John, I did not know that you were 
 such an ardent advocate of the prohibition sys- 
 tem," said the brother. 
 
 " I don't think I was ever so decided until 
 lately. I see now that there is no middle course." 
 
 The conversation was protracted, and there 
 were two or three eager listeners. There was 
 Lydia Elmer, who had pitched upon this Satur- 
 day to visit her old friend Clara Graves. These 
 two had not outgrown their girlish intimacy, and 
 this was the one house where Lydia paid frequent 
 visits. Now, with glowing eyes and burning 
 cheeks, she took in every word of this talk of the 
 brothers. The echo of Mr. Ried's words readied 
 her ear and kindled an interest, and as the talk 
 went on, her friend joining, and Robert Niles, 
 who was also present, putting in a word now 
 and then, plans of working were suggested, and 
 though Lydia said nothing, great resolves were 
 taking shape in her heart. And, too, Robert 
 Niles found that his zeal was being kindled 
 into a fresh flame, and he carried some of it
 
 A Dinner-table Talk. 93 
 
 out to the Clarkson neighborhood ; and the few 
 words he dropped there awakening an intense 
 interest, to his utter astonishment he found him- 
 self besieged for a regular speech upon the fol- 
 lowing evening. His friend, Newton Clark, 
 looked on, listened and smiled, thinking " what 
 a good day it was for the Clarksou neighborhood 
 when I hit upon Bob for the place I " 
 
 But perhaps the strongest impression was 
 made upon a fourteen-year-old boy who sat a 
 silent listener during the dinner hour, or after 
 dinner hour. He was a nephew of the Graves 
 Brothers, who was a favorite with both uncles ; 
 but the boy liked better the lively, genial ways 
 of Uncle Norton, the more serious manner of the 
 other being less to his taste. But to-day, listen- 
 ing with eager, boyish interest to the discussion 
 of great principles, he said at last within 
 himself, " I declare, I do believe Uncle John 
 is right. When I am old enough I'll vote the 
 way he does. But, dear me," he added, "it 
 will all be over by that time. Slavery is used 
 up, and now if they go and finish up this liquor 
 business, what will be left for us boys to fight 
 for when we are men ? that's what I'd like to
 
 94 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 know." And from that hour Frank Thornton 
 set his face resolutely toward the point to which 
 all true Christian men are now looking, deter- 
 mined to be in the front of the battle, only fear- 
 ing that it would be " over and done." 
 
 " I don't think there is much accomplished by 
 that kind of preaching," remarked Mr. Hunting, 
 as he walked home from church that Sabbath 
 morning. 
 
 Well, perhaps not. 
 
 " I, too, have my doubts as to the good results 
 of that sermon," responded Mr. Graham. 
 
 So had Mr. Hied ; but he was content to leave 
 results with Him whose gospel he preached. 
 And could Messrs. Graham and Hunting, and 
 Mr. Ried himself, have heard its echoing and re- 
 echoing in the hearts and voices of some of the 
 congregation, they might have thought differ- 
 ently as to the practical results. "For thou 
 knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or 
 that."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 GOING FORWARD. 
 1 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." 
 
 ROFESSOR Graves walked up Court 
 street at a quicker pace than was usual 
 with him. After the close of the afternoon ses- 
 sion he had sauntered down to the post-office, 
 chatting with some of the boys, who were fond 
 of the grave man, who seemed to understand 
 them, sometimes better even than they under- 
 stood themselves. The evening mail brought 
 him a letter which surprised and perplexed him 
 considerably, and now he was hurrying home to 
 consider its proposition. It ran like this : 
 95
 
 96 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 DER MISTER PROFESSOR GRAVES: I've 
 ben thinkin' as how sumthing had orter to be 
 dun down here. We are under a hevy yok. 
 From the winder of mi hous is 14 rum-shops. I 
 mean places where the wicked stuff is sold and 
 delt out to men, women and children ; and 
 broils and fites is a goin' on evry uite. Now I 
 want sum of you Christian folks up there in the 
 village to cum down here and help pray away 
 the curse. I read as how the women out in 
 Ohio drove the rum-sellers all out with their 
 prayers, and I'se been praying ever since ; but 
 it's kinder discouragin' when one ignorant woman 
 is fightin' all alone agin such a mighty host. I 
 remember as how David went out alone to fight 
 the giant. But then, you know, he had a great 
 army behind him, and I kinder thinks that sorter 
 gin him courag. My man, he's the wust of 'em 
 all ; but Satan went out uv him the other night 
 just long enuf to let him promis that I mite hav 
 a meetin' here and he never breaks a promis ; 
 so if you will come, I promis you a clean floor 
 and a bit of a stool to sit on. I hearn as how 
 you talked good like in the boys' meetin', so I
 
 Going Forward. 97 
 
 makes bold to ask you to cum and help us pray 
 away the devil. Next Frida nite, at Tim Har- 
 ley's. Your obejint sarvent, 
 
 MARY HAELET. 
 
 Taking into account the paper, the spelling 
 and the penmanship, with the style of composi- 
 tion, this was altogether the most unique speci- 
 men of letter-writing that the Professor had ever 
 seen ; but he scarcely gave these details a 
 thought just then. The request was such a 
 strange one Tim Harley's ! How well he 
 knew the place ! It was down by the depot, a 
 little around the corner. Just a few days pre- 
 vious he had been called to a neighboring town 
 upon business, and returning by a late train he 
 swung himself from the platform, and by way of 
 a short cut passed around that same corner. 
 From one of the miserable tenement houses is- 
 sued the most horrible, brutal profanity he had 
 ever heard and through the curtainless window 
 Professor Graves saw a sight that made his 
 blood boil. It was the old, oft-rehearsed scene. 
 The drunken husband and father, bereft of every 
 spark of reason, making a brutal attack upon
 
 98 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 wife and children ; and the Professor hurried 
 on, not caring to linger, and not daring to enter 
 alone and defenceless. Hailing a policeman, he 
 was told that " it was nothing ; that thing was 
 always going on ; supposed they were used to 
 it ; ought to be by this time." And that man 
 was Tim Harley and now he was asked to 
 conduct a service in that drunkard's den ! It 
 was a presumptuous idea. Why, his life would 
 not be safe. What was a drunken man's prom- 
 ise worth ! Of course he could not think of 
 granting Mrs. Harley 's request. It did seem as 
 if something ought to be done ; but how and 
 who? Surely not himself. Could he take his 
 nice notions of propriety and decorum, his fas- 
 tidious tastes and delicate perceptions, down to 
 that Five Points of this young city ! This was 
 not the way he put it, of course ; but it was, 
 nevertheless, true that Professor Graves had 
 fastidious tastes and fine notions about many 
 things. Didn't Mrs. Lane, with whom he board- 
 ed, know that ! For was he not proud of his 
 two or three rare pictures, and did he not insist 
 upon certain arrangements in his room which 
 very much disturbed that lady, all so that those
 
 Going Forward. 99 
 
 pictures might hang in a good light? And did 
 she not buy a bread-slicer because the Professor 
 one day smiled at the unevenly cut slices ? and 
 didn't he always appear in shining linen and broad- 
 cloth upon which no speck of dust dared rest. Oh, 
 the Professor was very particular, and very fond 
 of order and system. It did not seem possible 
 that he could be called upon to go into that 
 dark, dingy quarter, and mix with those miser- 
 able wretches. Finally he went to see Mr. Ried. 
 
 " Well, Professor," said the pastor, with a 
 gleam of light in his face, when he had read the 
 queer letter. " I think this comes in answer to 
 my prayer. I have had my thoughts directed 
 toward that part of the city for some time, and 
 I could find no way of getting in there. Now 
 the Lord has opened the door " 
 
 " A narrow door, I must say," said the Pro- 
 fessor, a little gloomily. 
 
 " Even a crack would answer to put in a 
 lever," returned Mr. Ried. " Now I'll tell you 
 what to do ; just take Mr. Niles and two or 
 three more and go down there. Don't open a 
 meeting by reading a chapter of the Bible, nor 
 even by prayer, or, rather, sing a prayer. In
 
 100 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 fact I would sing most of the praying. There 
 are some good voices among these people. I 
 heard some in this same Harley's shop one day. 
 But you'll know how to do it. It shall be given 
 you what to say. Shall we carry the matter to 
 the Master, and ask him what and how? " 
 
 Still Professor Graves doubted. 
 
 " I do not see my way clear in this," he said. 
 
 "I suppose that was about what Jonah said," 
 returned Mr. Ried, "but none the less is it true 
 that he was sent by the Lord. My dear brother, 
 I think we do not often see the way clear very 
 far ahead. If you and I are sure that it is the 
 word of the Lord, that should suffice for us. I 
 suppose that we might all do more and better 
 work if we questioned less." 
 
 " Yes, I have no doubt of it," said Professor 
 Graves. " We profess to walk by faith, yet we 
 are very anxious to take long strides ahead. 
 There is not much faith about it when we are 
 determined to see things for ourselves." 
 
 " There has always been a fascination in the 
 story of the passage of the Red Sea," said the 
 Professor. " To think of that mighty host com- 
 ing down to the very edge of the water, in obe-
 
 Going Forward. 101 
 
 dience to the command, * Go forward,' knowing 
 not how God was to work their salvation, never- 
 theless obeying and going forward." 
 
 " And will every brother ' go forward ? ' 
 asked the pastor. 
 
 " Unquestioning ! " answered the Professor. 
 
 This was the close of a long conversation full 
 of plans and suggestions, and now the Professor 
 went out, strengthened for his work. 
 
 It might have been a month later when, meet- 
 ing Lydia Elmer at his brother's house, Professor 
 Graves said : 
 
 *' Miss Elmer are you a very busy woman ? " 
 
 " Indeed I am," she replied, promptly. 
 
 The gentleman looked somewhat doubtful, 
 and she went on. 
 
 " Why shouldn't I be a busy woman, I'd ask ? 
 Since Rachel opened her school and made such a 
 hobby of it, all the housekeeping falls upon me, 
 and, besides, I have to help bundle up the little 
 midgets when it rains, kiss their fingers when 
 they come in half-frozen, and look after their in- 
 terests and other people's affairs generally." 
 
 " Well," said the Professor, " if you are such 
 a busy person, you are exactly the one to lay
 
 102 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 more work upon. The people who have leisure 
 are the ones who will not part with it. I'd 
 never ask men or women with nothing to do 
 to break in upon their habit of do-nothingism 
 but those who are just overwhelmed with work 
 are the very ones who can always do a little 
 more." 
 
 " But what are you coming at ? " said Lydia, 
 slightly impatient. 
 
 " I'll come to it at once," returned the gentle- 
 man, "only let me first tell how my idea origi- 
 nated," and hereupon he proceeded to show her 
 his remarkable letter, and to give an account of 
 his work in that uncongenial quarter, telling of 
 that first evening, in the low, dark room where 
 Tim Harley lived ; of Tim Harley himself, who, 
 completely overcome by liquor, lay in the corner, 
 utterly unconscious that hymns were being sung 
 and prayers being offered. There were, per- 
 haps, a dozen persons present at that first meet- 
 ing. Since then they have been down every 
 week, and he was growing really interested ; and 
 now for his scheme, which was to open an even- 
 ing school. Lydia laughed a little at first, and 
 said within herself, " What a Quixotic scheme ; "
 
 Going Forward. 103 
 
 but as he unfolded his plans she grew interested 
 and was ready to promise her assistance. 
 
 " Of course we need some teachers," he went 
 on. " Can you manage to give two evenings a 
 week ? Those girls need to be taught every- 
 thing, I should judge." 
 
 Of course Lydia fell in with his ideas, though 
 she kept saying to herself, " What an absurd 
 thing to do. I declare, the people are taking up 
 ideas. I believe it is Mr. Ried. He is as full of 
 new-fangled notions as he well can be." A va- 
 cant room in the neighborhood having been se- 
 cured, and fitted up very simply and roughly 
 with seats and desks, the evening school opened 
 with about; twenty girls and boys as pupils. 
 And such a time as there was trying to organize ! 
 The girls were given over into Lydia Elmer's 
 care, and she soon found that it was true they 
 needed to be taught everything. She was pre- 
 pared with basted work, and as soon as she could 
 bring them into anything like order she gave 
 them a sewing lesson. Such a motley group as 
 they were. Some had made very commendable 
 efforts at fixing up ; others came in all their filth 
 and rags, but there they were, a dozen immortal
 
 104 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 souls, with just this one opportunity of learning 
 about God and Leaven, of the way to please the 
 one and gain the other. When Lydia Elmer 
 went home after that first evening's work I 
 think she felt a sense of responsibility, such as 
 she had never carried before ; and the prayer 
 she offered that night came nearer true prayer 
 than any she had uttered for years. It was a 
 pleading for a measure of wisdom to be given 
 her for a fitness for the work. 
 
 She had entered upon the work because the 
 Professor had inspired her with some of his own 
 enthusiasm, but now the work had entered into 
 her, had awakened her so thoroughly that she 
 was not likely to sleep again. Life was never 
 more to be a sameness and a weariness to Lydia 
 Elmer. A dozen new interests had sprung into 
 existence in the persons of those wild, unre- 
 strained girls. For the advancement of their 
 interests she labored and studied and prayed. 
 Meanwhile the pastor, in his study, thanked God 
 that one by one his people were coming to the 
 front.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HELEN GETS AHEAD. 
 'CHAEITT StTFFEBETH LONG, AJTD IS KEO).' 
 
 CAN not put up with this sort of man- 
 agement much longer ! " 
 Mr. Robert Niles spoke more excitedly than 
 accorded with his usual manner ; evidently some- 
 thing exasperated him to an unusual degree. To 
 his mother's softly put question he replied in a 
 slightly modified voice ; people were apt to use 
 a softer tone when conversing with Mrs. Niles. 
 " What is it ? " she asked. 
 " Oh, it is only Ryle ; But I really am tried 
 almost beyond endurance ; he pays no sort of at- 
 
 105
 
 106 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 tention to any of my suggestions, and sets at 
 defiance all the ordinary rules of courtesy, to say 
 nothing of the terms of our agreement." 
 
 " Why do you not expostulate with him ? " 
 asked Mrs. Niles. 
 
 " Expostulate ! As if I had not done that 
 until I fairly dread to speak to him of our busi- 
 ness relations." 
 
 " Why, is he inclined to be quarrelsome ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ; he is either provokingly indifferent 
 or just about to do whatever is suggested ; then 
 he goes off and does nothing at all." 
 
 "What does Mr. Smith say?" asked Mrs. 
 Niles. 
 
 " That is the worst of the whole business. His 
 patience has given out, and he declared that 
 if Kyle did not withdraw he would. Of course 
 he won't do that; but if I would consent he 
 would drive Ryle out of the concern before to- 
 morrow night." 
 
 The business firm of " Smith & Ryle " had 
 been principally "Smith" until Mr. Robert Niles 
 o.ame home aud threw his energies and consider- 
 able money into the concern, which was now 
 ' Smith & Niles," Mr. Ryle having by some un-
 
 Helen Gets Ahead. 107 
 
 fortunate private speculation exhausted his own 
 means as well as some of his partner's, was glad 
 to retire to a subordinate position in the firm 
 upon the admission of a new element in the per- 
 son of Mr. Niles. Mr. Ryle's business capacities 
 might have been good but for one unfortunate 
 characteristic a want of diligent application 
 stamped failure upon everything he undertook, 
 and it was this fault which so vexed the soul of 
 our friend Robert Niles. Just now the spring 
 elections were approaching, and Mr. Ryle was a 
 candidate for a somewhat lucrative office in the 
 gift of the people, and, like the mass of office- 
 seekers, was being swallowed in a vortex of po- 
 litical scheming. Business suffered even more 
 than usual, and, as we have seen, the patience of 
 both senior partners had given out. 
 
 Flora Niles had listened to the conversation of 
 her mother and brother for some time without 
 speaking, until Robert, in illustrating his causes 
 of vexation, mentioned some rather aggravating 
 circumstances, then she burst out: 
 
 " I declare Rob, I would not put up with 
 such things! It is a perfect shame! I just
 
 108 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 wonder that }^ou will let things go on so. I 
 know I wouldn't." 
 
 Mrs. Niles smiled at the outburst. 
 
 " My little girl has yet to learn that there are 
 better ways of doing things than just throwing 
 overboard the things that vex us. Sometimes 
 it may be our duty to carry our burden for a 
 time ; out of the patient bearing of a burden may 
 grow some good to ourselves or others." 
 
 " But people can't expect other folks to go 
 dragging them through the world while they pull 
 the other way, and if I were in Bob's place I 
 wouldn't try to help folks that won't help them- 
 selves." 
 
 " But, Flora," said her brother, turning to look 
 full in the face of the household darling, but not 
 like the mother, smiling at the indignant pro- 
 tests she had been uttering he was too thor- 
 oughly vexed and tried to smile " but, Flora, 
 what would he do ? He has no other depend- 
 ence." 
 
 " Well, if you can afford to do his work, and 
 your own too, and give him the benefit all the 
 same as if he did it, why, go ahead. I've no 
 mere breath to spare in commiseration."
 
 Helen Gets Ahead. 109 
 
 Miss Flora turned to " that horrid geometry " 
 with an air that said : " There, sir, I have given 
 you my best. Don't expect anything further 
 from me." 
 
 Mr. Niles sat looking into the fire, wearing a 
 perplexed and thoughtful expression. As he 
 rose to put on his overcoat before going to the 
 store, he said : 
 
 " Well, I don't know of any way except to get 
 clear of the fellow as soon as we can without 
 making a great stir." 
 
 Flora looked up quickly, and her face betrayed 
 just a gleam of the thought, " Just what I said." 
 
 Matters at the store went on very badly all 
 that week. The senior partner growled every 
 time he met Robert Niles, and that gentleman 
 felt himself growing desperate over the way 
 things were going, or rather the way they were 
 not going. 
 
 Saturday night, with its promise of rest, came 
 as a welcome respite, and with his vexations put 
 as far as possible from him, Mr. Niles went 
 through the Sabbath as usual. He had grown 
 into a habit of wondering what Mr. Hied would 
 have for him, or what he should be able to draw
 
 110 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 out of the sermon for himself. As we all know, 
 we are apt to find what we look for, so our friend 
 was always sure of his lesson. To-day he found 
 it in these words : " Charity suffereth long, and 
 is kind." The lesson of brotherly love was 
 pressed home to the hearts of the people. The 
 question, How long ought we to suffer evil at 
 the hands of others, and how far ought we to re- 
 sist the evil that others would do unto us ? was 
 well discussed, and it is certain that at least one 
 man who listened concluded that he had been 
 wanting in that charity that " suffereth long," 
 and, furthermore, had he been always kind? 
 
 Mr. Ryle was his brother in the Church. Was 
 he being true to his covenant vows? Ought he 
 not to bear with the infirmities of the weak one ? 
 Who would, if not himself? How did he know 
 but that his own example of steady, persistent 
 application to business might not in time have 
 its effect upon the weaker brother? Anyway, 
 would it not be well to bear a little longer ? 
 
 They were simple thoughts that were brought 
 out of this familiar text, illustrated and enforced 
 by the teachings and example of Christ. They 
 did not startle by their novelty, but by their
 
 Helen Gets Ahead. Ill 
 
 very simplicity and homeliness reached by a 
 direct line the heart which sought the truth 
 seeking to know and to do the will of Christ. 
 
 " Well, Flora," said Robert, as the two walked 
 home together, " I suppose you are ready with 
 a practical application of the sermon ? " 
 
 " Well, guess I'll have to give in, as they say, 
 on the Mr. Ryle question ; but, to tell the truth, 
 Rob, I think Mr. Ried does hit pretty close. I 
 couldn't help wondering if he could know of 
 some things that have happened at school lately. 
 Of course he couldn't ; but all the same the ser- 
 mon fitted closely." 
 
 " Did it ? " asked the brother, smiling. " Tell 
 me about it." 
 
 " Oh, there isn't much to tell ; only Helen and 
 I have been so vexed ! Helen has been just 
 as kind as she could be to Jenny Vosburgh, and 
 
 the hateful " Flora caught Robert's look, 
 
 and checked herself. " Well, I suppose I may 
 say she has been treating Helen unkindly, and I 
 have tried to persuade Helen to drop her en- 
 tirely." 
 
 "Well," said Robert, as Flora paused, "sup-
 
 112 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 pose you should drop her, as you call it, what of 
 it?" 
 
 " Why, you know that we why, Helen and 
 I well, Rob, you see that we rather lead the 
 rest." 
 
 Again Flora caught a queer look, that caused 
 her to hesitate and flounder, and stop altogether. 
 
 Robert laughed. " Charity vaunteth not it- 
 self," he repeated. 
 
 " Oh, you do catch a body up so," she said, 
 half vexed. 
 
 Well ? " Robert waited for the rest of 
 Flora's story, but it did not seem to be coming. 
 
 " Well ? " he repeated. 
 
 " I shan't tell you any more," she answered. 
 " I don't approve of evil speaking." 
 
 Robert did not mind losing the rest, knowing 
 as he did that Flora had made her application as 
 well as himself. 
 
 Helen was waiting at the gate, stopping a 
 moment only for a word of greeting. Robert 
 passed on, leaving the two girls together, sus- 
 pecting that they had something to say to each 
 other. 
 
 Flora swung her muff by the chords, and
 
 Helen Gets Ahead. 113 
 
 " wondered if it would raiii." Helen " didn't 
 know ; she hoped not." 
 
 Then suddenly Flora said : 
 
 " What about Jenny Vosburgh ? " 
 
 "I wonder if you've been thinking about her, 
 too ! " said Helen, looking up with a beaming 
 face. 
 
 "Yes, I was almost sure that Mr. Ried knew 
 about things at school," returned Flora. " Of 
 course he didn't, but I felt the hit all the same." 
 
 " So did I." Helen's words were uttered with 
 a touch of sorrow in them, and she added: 
 " Flora, we must be more patient with Jenny ; 
 perhaps we may win her love even yet. As for 
 that, I never cared for her love until to-day." 
 
 Flora looked a little surprised. " Well," she 
 said, " you have got farther than I have if you 
 have got to that point. I can't say that I am 
 longing for Jenny Vosburgh's love. She isn't 
 quite to my taste, but I do feel condemned about 
 her. Of course you and I ought to be above 
 minding such things." 
 
 Here Flora caught a look on Helen's face that 
 brought back Robert's slowly repeated sentence, 
 " Charity vaunteth not itself."
 
 114 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " Then we will not object to her joining the 
 Club ? " asked Helen. 
 
 " I can't, after this morning," returned Flora. 
 
 Half an hour later Flora met her brother at 
 the dinner-table. 
 
 " Did you and Helen fix it ? " he asked with 
 a meaning smile. 
 
 " Yes, we did," she answered, " only Helen 
 has reached out way beyond me in her applica- 
 tion." 
 
 " May I ask how ? " said Robert. 
 
 " She has gone to the ' hopeth all things.' " 
 
 " What conclusion have you come to with re- 
 gard to Mr. Ryle ? " asked Mrs. Niles that Mon- 
 day morning. 
 
 *' Just this," was the reply, " to suffer longer 
 and hope for improvement, though my resolve 
 to suffer is stronger than my * hope ' of a change 
 for the better." 
 
 "I advise you to go and talk with Helen," 
 said Flora saucily. "She is way ahead of you 
 in that direction, though 1 urn sure I don't know 
 how she got there." 
 
 " Helen is growing," said Mrs. Niles, signifi- 
 cantly.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 SEVERAL SURPRISED PEOPLE. 
 
 "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the 
 Lord." " The hand of the diligent maketh rich." 
 
 Ml 
 
 HEN Mr. Niles reached the store that 
 morning he found Mr. Ryle at his post. 
 This was quite unusual, at least of late. How- 
 ever, he betrayed nothing of his suprise, unless 
 it betrayed itself in the hearty " good-morning " 
 with which he greeted him, adding : 
 " You've the start of me this morning." 
 " Well, yes, a little. I thought I would get 
 these papers righted and send some letters off 
 by the early mail." 
 
 "All right," answered Robert, cheerily. "And 
 
 "5
 
 116 Echoing and Re-eclioing. 
 
 another thing, aren't we nearly out of bill- 
 heads?" 
 
 " Yes. I'll attend to that as I go to the ex- 
 press-office. You remember " (this last in reply 
 to a look of inquiry) " those packages of Allen's ; 
 are they to go this morning ? " 
 
 " To be sure ! I had forgotten that I " And 
 for a moment Robert Niles felt as if he had 
 changed places with Mr. Ryle. But, recovering 
 himself, he continued : " And while you are 
 about it, wouldn't it be well to have some letter- 
 heads printed ? " 
 
 " I think so ; and how would this do for the 
 form ? " pushing a sheet of paper toward Robert 
 as he spoke. 
 
 " That is good," was replied. Then Mr. Niles 
 walked on to his own desk, but presently he re- 
 turned. 
 
 " What about that business of Shepherd's ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " Oh, that is all right ; I saw Shepherd this 
 morning, and he said return the goods, so I sent 
 Tom over at once for fear he would change his 
 mind." 
 
 Mr. Niles once more walked down the length
 
 Several Surprised People. 117 
 
 of the store, this time in an utterly bewildered 
 state of mind. What had come over Mr. Ryle ? 
 At this rate the patience and long-suffering in 
 which he had schooled himself would not be 
 brought into use. Perhaps he was disappointed 
 and half vexed that he had been deprived of the 
 opportunity for the exercise of self-denial. 
 
 He waited for the arrival of the senior partner, 
 and most thoroughly enjoyed that gentleman's 
 look of surprise at seeing Mr. Ryle busy at work 
 at that hour. Then something prompted him to 
 make another suggestion ; perhaps he was de- 
 sirous of rinding out just how wide a range Mr. 
 Ryle's newly-developed interest in business had 
 taken. Anyway, as Mr. Ryle came in, after at- 
 tending to the business already planned, Robert 
 said: 
 
 " I suppose we ought to attend to the- renewal 
 of that policy in the Grand Company." 
 
 " Yes," was the prompt reply ; " I have thought 
 of that, and just now as I came up I met the 
 agent, and made an arrangement to meet him at 
 the office this afternoon. I wanted to consult 
 you about it ; I think there should be a reduc-
 
 118 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 tion of premium ; the risk is much lessened 
 since the date of the old policy. 
 
 Robert Niles was never more astonished in 
 his life. But this was not the end; it seemed 
 to be a day of marvels, all tending in one direc- 
 tion. Just before noon one of Mr. Kyle's politi- 
 cal friends came in. He entered into conversa- 
 tion with him, and presently Mr. Ryle was 
 heard to say : 
 
 " I can't go to-day." 
 
 " But the matter is urgent." 
 
 "So is business," returned Mr. Ryle. 
 
 " But this is business," said the other. 
 
 " Well, it's not like business that one is 
 pledged to." 
 
 "I don't know about that," said the friend. 
 " Seems to me you are pledged to this." 
 
 " I do not consider that I am," said Mr. Ryle. 
 " To tell the truth, I have done more of that sort 
 of thing in the past than I mean to in the future." 
 
 " Well," said the gentleman, " if you back 
 down in this way you may expect to lose the 
 election." 
 
 " Very true ; I may lose it, as you say ; and of 
 course I shall regret it ; but it will be more on
 
 Several Surprised People. 119 
 
 account of your disappointment than because of 
 my own loss. To tell the truth, the matter of 
 my success has diminished in importance within 
 twenty-four hours." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the friend, 
 puzzled and half angry. 
 
 Mr. Kyle hesitated. 
 
 " I don't know," he said, " that I can explain 
 myself very clearly." 
 
 " I should judge not," said the other. 
 
 " Well, my friend, you see it has come to seem 
 to me like this: Here's my regular business, 
 something that is permanent and reliable, and I 
 have no right to take my time out of the busi- 
 ness any more than as if it were so much money." 
 
 " But," urged his friend, " it is very near the 
 election now, and these last few days may turn 
 the scale if we are active." 
 
 " It's of no use to urge me," said Mr. Ryle. 
 " I have not time to spare for any more campaign 
 work." 
 
 " Of course you will do as you think proper," 
 said the other, coldly. " But it seems hardly 
 fair to your political friends to back down in this 
 fashion."
 
 120 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " I'm not backing down," replied Mr. Ryle. 
 " I simply say that I do not mean to neglect my 
 regular work for the sake of trying to influence 
 men who do not know their own minds." 
 
 " But suppose you should be elected after all, 
 what about your business in that case ? " 
 
 " Of course I should have to make some ar- 
 rangements to meet the necessity. But that 
 would be very different." 
 
 " Well, I must say that this is an unheard of 
 way of conducting a campaign ! But if this is 
 to be your course I must bid you good-morning." 
 
 Mr. Ryle resumed his pen, a perplexed ex- 
 pression rested upon his face, and he worked 
 nervously. Mr. Niles had been a curious spec- 
 tator during this interview, and was surprised as 
 well as relieved to see the visitor depart alone. 
 Had he been present at Mrs. Ryle's tea-table 
 that evening his astonishment must have been 
 augmented. 
 
 That little lady was a model housekeeper ; all 
 the appointments of the house were in excellent 
 taste, and surely an indulgent husband and father 
 would find it hard to denj'- any reasonable re-
 
 Several Surprised People. 121 
 
 quest, when so much pains was taken to make 
 home a comfortable and happy resting-place. 
 
 As Mrs. Ryle passed the puffy biscuit the 
 second time she remarked : 
 
 " Laura was in a little while ago to see if we 
 would go to the entertainment to-night." 
 
 Mr. Ryle did not reply immediately, and his 
 wife continued: 
 
 " I told her I would send word round after 
 tea." 
 
 Still Mr. Ryle was silent. He was not often 
 guilty of such a piece of rudeness. Mrs. Ryle 
 looked her astonishment. 
 
 " Well," she said, this time just a trifle of im- 
 patience giving a spirit to her words that was 
 not unbecoming, so her husband thought, as he 
 smiled back her answer to her " Well, what 
 word shall I send ? I'm not so very anxious to 
 go, but some answer must be sent." 
 
 Now, this meant that she had been very anx- 
 ious to go with her friends until that moment 
 when her husband's manner had discouraged 
 her. 
 
 Mr. Ryle understood this perfectly, and he
 
 122 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 sought to make amends for his fault in not re- 
 plying sooner. 
 
 u Well, Anna, I would like to go, but I do not 
 think I can get away from the store this evening. 
 How would it do if you were to go with Laura 
 and her husband?" 
 
 " Thank you, but I'm not in the habit of going 
 out with other people's husbands." 
 
 It must be confessed that Mrs. Kyle's reply 
 was somewhat tart, and as she was usually of a 
 sweet and sunny temper, this sharpness was the 
 more conspicuous. 
 
 " Perhaps I could come round later," said her 
 husband, mildly. 
 
 " Oh, no, I don't care to go without you." 
 
 " I'm sorry to have you miss it, but, really, 
 Anna, we are very much hurried just now at the 
 store." 
 
 " It's no matter," returned the lady, " but this 
 hurry has come on very suddenly, has it not ? " 
 
 There was a bit of sarcasm in this remark 
 which Mr. Ryle could not but feel, remembering 
 how few evenings he had spent at the store of 
 late." 
 
 " Well," my dear, he said, " I shall have to
 
 Several Surprised People. 123 
 
 / 
 
 confess that I have been rather negligent of 
 late, and now I shall have to make up for it." 
 
 Now, no one could have wondered at, or 
 blamed Mrs. Ryle if she had suggested that his 
 conscientious scruples came at a very inconvenient 
 time. It was queer that when she asked such 
 an unusual favor as an evening's pleasure to- 
 gether he should plead business as an excuse, 
 when she very well knew that he had been going 
 hither and thither almost every evening for 
 weeks, seemingly without a thought of the inter- 
 ference of business. But, growing ashamed of 
 her momentary ill-humor, to her credit be it told, 
 she held her peace. 
 
 Two or three days passed before Mr. Niles 
 ceased to be surprised at Mr. Ryle's regular at- 
 tention to business. Every morning he said to 
 himself, " I wonder how long it will last ? " 
 
 Every time any of Mr. Ryle's intimates came 
 in he fully expected to see them walking off 
 with their captive, but after a while it came to 
 be quite a matter of course that the two young 
 men should meet at an early hour and work to- 
 gether through the day. Then, after a time, a
 
 124 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 friendship sprung up between them which wa3 
 valuable to both. 
 
 Now, we must go back to that Sabbath even 
 ing when Robert Niles made such heroic re- 
 solves to bear, to suffer long, and to be kind 
 resolves which, while they did him good in the 
 making by awakening thoughts that never slum- 
 bered again, he was never called to put into use. 
 In regard to Mr. Ryle, the change in that gen- 
 tleman's habits seemed to be radical ; and Robert 
 often wondered how it came about. And as for 
 Mr. Smith, the senior partner, his occupation 
 was gone ; he had nothing to fret about. The 
 two young members of the firm kept everything 
 in such excellent order that there was not room 
 for the shadow of a criticism. 
 
 I think that I didn't mention that Mr. Niles 
 thought himself into a severe headache, and did 
 not go to church that Sabbath evening. Perhaps 
 some things which mystified him would have 
 been less puzzling had he listened to Mr. Ried's 
 evening sermon. Yet, as he was not one of 
 those people who are given to fitting the sermon 
 to other folks, it may be that he would have 
 been no wiser had he been there.
 
 Several Surprised People. 125 
 
 But what was more to the point, Mr. Ryle was 
 there, and fitted the sermon to himself. Mr. 
 Kied chose for his text the words which I have 
 set at the head of this chapter. He aimed to 
 show that a diligent attention to one's business 
 was a Christian duty. Said he : " In the divine 
 ordering of things it becomes necessary for a man 
 to spend a large proportion of his time and 
 strength in providing for the needs of the body. 
 And while we are exhorted not to be unduly 
 anxious about the things that pertain especially to 
 this life, we are constantly enjoined to be dili- 
 gent, and warned against slothfulness. How 
 shall we ' provide ;ill things honest ? ' How 
 shall we * distribute to the necessity of saints, or 
 be given to hospitality ? ' How shall we ' pay 
 tribute,' or 'render to all their dues,' unless we 
 do with might and energy the things set to us ? 
 Do not the very words of the sayings of Christ 
 imply much in this connection ? Does not the 
 text, ' we live not by bread alone,' prove that 
 while bread is not sufficient it is indispensable." 
 
 Mr. Ried found plenty of Scripture to bear 
 him out in his assertion that a man slothful in 
 business could never prosper ; that there is no
 
 126 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 such thing as a lazy Christian ; the two words 
 do not fit together ; they have no connection. 
 There were some plain home-thrusts which Mr. 
 Ryle felt keenly ; and yet they were put forth 
 with such evident good nature and friendliness 
 that there was no way but to take them home 
 and see if they could be made useful ; at least 
 this is what Mr. Ryle concluded to do. I am 
 not sure of that last. I suspect that the thoughts 
 advanced followed him home. Anyway, I am 
 certain that they staid with him and worked out 
 the man's salvation. 
 
 And, what if he did lose the election ? As 
 he came to see more clearly he thanked God 
 for the failure. And, by and by, when he had 
 grown stronger and become a power in the 
 world and in the church, people said, "How 
 that man is changed ? " and wondered as to the 
 cause. 
 
 And, yet, as Mr. and Mrs. Bates drove home 
 from the Sabbath evening service, that was 
 fraught with such results, the good man said, 
 with sadness in his tones, " It is all very true, 
 but I can't think why Mr. Ried should feel called 
 upon to preach such sermons, when there are so
 
 Several Surprised People. 127 
 
 many in our congregation who are still uncon- 
 verted ? " 
 
 " Yes," responded Mrs. Bates, and her tones 
 were, if possible, more sad than her husband's. 
 " Now if, to-night, he had only preached a stirring 
 sermon to the undecided, or something calculated 
 to arouse the thoughtless ? " 
 
 Well, what if he had ?
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 HELEN'S PKONOTTFS. 
 
 " SEEKETH NOT HEB OWIT " 
 
 ELL, I must say that Mr. Ried is making 
 a close thing of that thirteenth chapter 
 of 1st Corinthians." This was what Mr. Bates 
 said, and what others thought, after several prac- 
 tical lessons had been drawn from the words of 
 the apostle. " I don't quite understand our pas- 
 tor," he continued. " Now I have been looking 
 forward to this time with great hopes of a revival 
 in our church, and it does seem as if we needed 
 a different sort of preaching." 
 
 "Now, Mr. Bates," said Miss Elmer, "do you 
 128
 
 Helen's Pronouns. 129 
 
 mean to say that there was no religion in that 
 sermon ? " 
 
 Mr. Bates looked at his neighbor rather cu- 
 riously. There was always something behind 
 Miss Elmer's questions, as Mr. Bates had come 
 to know, and he had also learned to be cautious 
 in his replies. However, he thought it safe to 
 say: 
 
 "Why, certainly not j I would by no means 
 convey such an idea. On the contrary, it is the 
 best kind of religion, practical and quite in keep- 
 ing with the teachings of Christ himself; but 
 what I am anxious about is to have the truths 
 of the gospel sei before the unconverted in a 
 manner calculated to awaken." 
 
 " I think I understand you, Mr. Bates," replied 
 Miss Elmer, "but you will, I presume, admit 
 that we need to improve in the practice of these 
 Christian graces which have lately been set be- 
 fore us ? " 
 
 " Certainly, I am well aware that we are, as a 
 church, quite remiss in many of these duties. I 
 don't mean either to make the church carry my 
 individual shortcomings, so I will acknowledge 
 that I have more than once of late felt the close-
 
 130 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 ness of Mr. Ried's remarks. Now just one ques- 
 tion more : which will seem likely to be the 
 more successful method, that of leaving the 
 church to go on careless of these things while 
 our pastor tries to convince the world's people 
 that this religion which we exemplify so care- 
 lessly is very important to them ; or, that of 
 bringing the church up to a higher standard of 
 Christian action, teaching those of us who have 
 already believed how to carry out into every- 
 day living the truths we have accepted, thereby 
 fitting the church for the work whenever the 
 Spirit may visit us. As I understand the matter 
 of which you speak, a revival of religion must 
 be where there is religion to revive ; the revival 
 must be in the church, though when once we 
 are revived we may hope for a great ingathering. 
 So you see that I do not perceive that Mr. Ried's 
 present selection of topics is untimely." 
 
 " Nor I either," said Mrs. Graves ; " for my 
 part, I like these practical sermons, those that 
 come right into the life. I don't think I appre- 
 ciate what you call doctrinal preaching, but the 
 doctrine of daily duties I can understand. For 
 instance, when Mr. Ried says, ' Clara, you ought
 
 Helen's Pronouns. 131 
 
 not to fret when the bread sours, for either it is 
 your own fault, or one of those light afflictions 
 that are needful in the way of discipline.' ' 
 
 " Or when he tells you, as he did yesterday, 
 that you make too frequent use of the pronoun 
 ' V " suggested Mr. Graves, mischievously. 
 
 " Yes, that too," returned Mrs. Graves, em- 
 phatically ; " but I could fit that part to other 
 people," she added. 
 
 " No doubt ; I believe that you ladies have the 
 knack of fitting things and people," returned 
 her husband, still teasingly. 
 
 " Well," said Miss Elmer, " it seems to me 
 that we may all find something to take to our- 
 selves if we search for it." 
 
 " Yes, yes, no doubt," said Mr. Bates, " only, 
 well, couldn't we old Christians get on awhile 
 without attention, while the unconverted have 
 the truth brought home to them ? " 
 
 " Mr. Bates, isn't there to be a business meet- 
 ing of the church to-morrow evening ? " It was 
 Lydia Elmer who asked this question, with a 
 mischievous gleam in her eyes. 
 
 The Elmers, with Mr. and Mrs. Graves, were 
 spending the evening at Mr. Bates'. Rachel
 
 132 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 Elmer and their host had fallen into a somewhat 
 sober talk, with which the others were constant- 
 ly interfering in a merry way, though with 
 meaning behind their lively talk. They all un- 
 derstood Lydia's allusion to the business meet- 
 ing, and Mr. Bates laughed good-naturedly, 
 though it was a home thrust. 
 
 In his sermon from the text quoted above, Mr. 
 Hied had, in pointing out the ways in which 
 Christians sometimes seek their own^ referred to 
 the fact that in the secular matters of the church 
 it too often happens that there are those who 
 are unduly tenacious of their own opinions and 
 plans. Now, Mr. Bates, with many remarkably 
 good qualities, had this peculiarity. He was 
 very firm in his convictions that his own plans 
 were the best that could be brought forward ; 
 and, inasmuch as he had very carefully thought 
 out and thoroughly worked up all the details of 
 a plan for the settlement of the matter that was 
 to come before the church at the business meet- 
 ing referred to, this thrust of Lydia's was sharper 
 than Lydia herself suspected. 
 
 " I dread the meeting to-night," said Robert
 
 Helen's Pronouns. 133 
 
 Niles, the next morning, speaking to his 
 mother. 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " Oh, I am afraid that there will be a stormy 
 time ; there is sure to be so many conflicting 
 opinions about the matters to be discussed, and 
 of course somebody will be hurt." 
 
 " I can not see any necessity for that conclu- 
 sion," replied Mrs. Niles. 
 
 " Why, somebody's plans will have to be set 
 aside they will all be sure to have one." 
 
 " And you ? " 
 
 Mrs. Niles' tone was peculiar, and her son 
 understood it. He smiled in appreciation as he 
 replied: 
 
 " Well, of course I have my own ideas about 
 it, and I confess I can see but one way out of 
 the difficulty." 
 
 " So I supposed." 
 
 " Well, mother, I don't mean to be obstinate 
 in adhering to my own views, but being fully 
 convinced as I am " 
 
 " As Mr. Bates is, and as Mr. Crawford is, and 
 Professor Graves may be, and a dozen more, each 
 in their own way, what then? "
 
 134 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " Well, I suppose we can't all be right," said 
 Robert, still " 
 
 " Seeketh not her own," quoted Flora, not 
 looking up from her algebra. 
 
 That business meeting was without a prece- 
 dent in the whole history of the Court Street 
 Church. The matters were important, and there 
 was no lack of interest, and no lack of sugges- 
 tions; bub what had become of the tenacity 
 with which such men as Mr. Bates usually held 
 their views? What had become of Robert 
 Niles' convictions ? Were they all swallowed up 
 in that love "that seeketh not her own ? " The 
 seeming willingness to give the preference to 
 others that prevailed in the meeting gave courage 
 to one who generally kept his opinions in the 
 back-ground. Old Mr. Bradley was an unpre- 
 tending man, plain in manner and homely in 
 speech, \vho, though an officer in the church, 
 seldom advanced any plans in a meeting like the 
 present. He was too modest to push his ideas 
 and too sensitive to risk being utterly ignored ; 
 but to-night there seemed to be a chance for 
 him, and as he thought he discovered a fallacy 
 in the reasoning of those who had taken a part
 
 Helens Pronouns. 135 
 
 in the discussion, the old man laid before his 
 brethren his views. Actually there had been 
 times when some of those Christian men, over- 
 come by their excited feelings, would have 
 talked down their good Bro. Bradley ; he was 
 so old-fashioned in his ideas, they said. 
 
 But to-night, actuated by a sentiment that 
 was new, to some of them, at least (experiment- 
 ally new), they listened with deference, even 
 interest, to the unfolding of the propositions of 
 this unpopular brother ; and then, to the sur- 
 prise of everybodj', himself included, Mr. Bates 
 moved that the plan proposed by Bro. Bradley be 
 adopted. 
 
 That night Mr. Ried wrote a long letter to his 
 sister, Mrs. Sayles, from which I will copy a few 
 sentences : 
 
 " And now, dear Abbie, I think I may say I 
 see signs of better things. My people seem to 
 be awakening to a sense of the importance of 
 being religious, not only on the Sabbath and at 
 the family altar or prayer-meeting, but always 
 and everywhere. There is an increased atten- 
 tion, at least so it seems to me, to the cultivation 
 of the Christian graces, and a growing interest
 
 186 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 that prompts to the setting of one's self to the 
 work j for the making of sacrifices for the truth's 
 sake ; and there may be observed on the part of 
 some of the more thoughtful ones a desire for 
 higher attainments, a diligent seeking to know 
 more of the truth. These indications encourage 
 and lead me to look for the presence of the Spirit 
 in greater power. 
 
 " There are several of our younger friends here 
 whom I should like to have you know. The 
 sister of the young Mr. Niles reminds me of my 
 little sister Abbie as she was at sixteen ; that is 
 all I need say of my interest in her ; and her 
 chosen friend, Helen Betson, is a girl of great 
 promise. I am looking to see both of these 
 coming forward to unite with us ; they will be 
 great additions to the future working force of 
 our church. 
 
 " I am sure that you would be interested in the 
 work that is going on at our " Harley Mission," 
 as we have come to call it. Souls are being 
 saved down there saved from sin and degrada- 
 tion in this life saved through Christ's blood 
 for the life to come. It was a most unpromising 
 eld, but Professor Graves, with two or three
 
 Helen's Pronouns. 137 
 
 helpers, have done nobly in facing the difficul- 
 ties and overcoming them, or making them work 
 in for the furtherance of their efforts. And is 
 there not a great deal in that sometimes, the 
 forcing of unfavorable circumstances into your 
 own line of planning, or making your plans so 
 that the hindrances may become helps ? 
 
 " There is a young couple living a mile or two 
 out of town in whom I am much interested 
 Mr. and Mrs. Graves. The lady is a member of 
 our church, but her husband is not ; indeed, he 
 has been something of a scoffer. When I first 
 came here they came quite regularly to church on 
 Sabbath morning, always going home before Sun- 
 day-school, and not returning to evening service. 
 But of late they are always down for the second 
 service, and Mrs. Graves frequently comes in 
 for the prayer-meeting Thursday evening. Once 
 or twice her husband has come after her a few min- 
 utes before the meeting closed, and has taken a 
 seat by her side. It would have done you good 
 to have seen her face light up the first time that 
 occurred. I fancy that this lady's conscience 
 having been aroused, by what means I know 
 not, and a more consistent living following, her
 
 138 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 husband has been brought to wonder at and at 
 length respect that which he had heretofore only 
 scoffed at. And so much being accomplished, 
 may we not hope that he may come into the full 
 light of the truth ? 
 
 " Pray for us, Abbie, that the Holy Spirit may 
 be with us continually." 
 
 Meantime Helen Betsou had been having her 
 thoughts. Now, our friend Helen had one prom- 
 inent fault ; this must be confessed, and I do ifc 
 with reluctance, as she is a great favorite of 
 mine. Helen would persist in talking a great 
 deal : as Tom said, " she wanted to be heard." 
 Now Tom was very fond of his sister, but he 
 liked to tease her, and used to say provok- 
 ingly : 
 
 " There now, we'll listen to the lady Helen, 
 while she gives the pronoun ' I ' an airing." 
 
 No doubt it was very foolish of Helen to get 
 angry over Tom's good-natured teasing, but the 
 truth is she used to be very much vexed. I do 
 not suppose she realized at all how disagreeable 
 the habit was, and certainly she had no thought 
 that there could be anything in the Bible which 
 could be brought to bear upon that fault j there-
 
 Helenas Pronouns. 139 
 
 fore she was considerably startled to hear Mr. 
 Ried say that too frequent use of the pronouns 
 "1 " and " my " or " mine " might be counted as 
 a sin ; that it is a seeking of one's own that is 
 not a characteristic of that charity which is an 
 essential element of the Christian character ; 
 that a monopoly of the conversation and the os- 
 tentatious spreading out of one's plans, as well as 
 the persistent pushing foward the same these 
 were all in some sort a seeking of one's own. 
 These were new thoughts to Helen, and she took 
 them home with her. Indeed, Tom was not 
 likely to let so good an opportunity for teasing 
 Helen pass unimproved, so that, with his recalling 
 of it and the application which her own con- 
 science made, she was not in danger of losing the 
 lesson. 
 
 " That is the sixth time Helen has started out 
 with ' I,' and then broken off short," said Tom, 
 as they sat at the breakfast-table the next morn- 
 ing. " Saj^, is your ladyship about to turn over 
 a new leaf with the resolve to put personal 
 pronouns on it ? Let me tell you that you'll find 
 it awfully inconvenient. I wouldn't discard my 
 old friends so unceremoniously ; it seems sort o' 
 shabby."
 
 140 Echoing and Re-eclioing. 
 
 Helen's eyes flashed back an answer, though 
 she spoke no word. Tom rattled on : 
 
 " Do you suppose that Mr. Ried could have 
 come across that composition of j-ours ? Four- 
 teen 'I's' was quite a crowd for one page of let- 
 ter size, wasn't it, father ? " continued Tom. 
 
 "What are you talking about?" asked Mr. 
 Betson, puzzled. 
 
 " Oh, haven't you heard of Helen's wonderful 
 production ? " and Tom's eyes twinkled with 
 fun. " You see, Helen had been working a 
 cushion, dotting it all over with gilt beads to 
 brighten it up, and I suppose that gave her an 
 idea. When she read her essay over it seemed 
 rather dull, so she plumped down a lot of capital 
 I's, just to brighten it up to heighten the 
 effect, j^ou know." 
 
 " Well, we all know that Helen is somewhat 
 lavish of the use of that word and its compan- 
 ions," said Mr. Betson, " but I hope she will 
 outgrow the habit." 
 
 "Tom," said Helen, two hours later, as they 
 were going to school, " I am really going to turn 
 over a new leaf. I am not going to talk so 
 much. I think it is a bad habit, and I think I 
 will see if I "
 
 Helen's Pronouns. 141 
 
 " Six ! " said Tom, with the laugh all ready. 
 " My I how they rush after each other ! " 
 
 " Now, Tom, don't laugh at me. I am in 
 earnest," and all the way to school Helen talked 
 about her resolution. 
 
 " What are you laughing at? " she asked, sud- 
 denly noticing the look of amusement which 
 Tom's face wore. 
 
 "Nothing, only I was wondering when you 
 were to begin." 
 
 " Why, I have begun I When I get up I said 
 to myself, I am sure I " 
 
 " Only five of them so far ! " interrupted Tom, 
 with a merry laugh. " Well, Sis, we'll Jiave to 
 give that job up ; Helen Betson will surely be 
 too much for you." 
 
 Did she give up? Convinced of her fault, 
 brought to consider it as marring her Christian 
 character, as likely to hinder her usefulness, was 
 she likely to give up at one failure in her efforts 
 to overcome ?
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 "AND PETER." 
 
 " And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious 
 tmto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have 
 mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment; blessed 
 are all they that wait for him." 
 
 H E day was perfect ; it was a June day. 
 The most perfect days of all the year sure- 
 ly come to us in June. Old men and women who 
 dared not brave the storms of winter, to whom 
 the March winds and the fitful April weather 
 came with dread of rheumatic pains, these had 
 welcomed this morning bright with sunshine, 
 and with it the thought of again going to the 
 house of God. It was communion day at the 
 Court Street Church, and Helen Betson, with 
 
 her brother Tom, and Flora Niles, and, perhaps, 
 142
 
 And Peter. 143 
 
 a dozen more, came to join themselves to the 
 people of God. 
 
 The winter had not passed without a blessing 
 for this people ; and Mr. Bates himself had 
 ceased to criticise the preaching ; why should he 
 find fault when the presentation of the word had 
 been blessed, and members of his own house- 
 hold had been brought to Christ ? 
 
 When Tom Betson came to talk with his pas- 
 tor of his newly-found love, he said : 
 
 "It was that first meeting at the school-chapel 
 that put thoughts into my head that I could 
 never get away from." 
 
 " May I ask what was the particular circum- 
 stance that arrested your attention ? " 
 
 " Well," said Tom, " in the first place, Pro- 
 fessor Graves was so earnest, and his voice 
 sounded so deep, as if the thoughts came from 
 away below everything else, that I could not 
 help thinking that he meant it all ; and then 
 Helen ! why, Mr. Ried, I was never so startled 
 in all my life. I thought that she had given up 
 her notion of being a Christian, then to hear her 
 say those words ! It surprised me so ! I could
 
 144 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 never find any place to settle down until I found 
 out the secret of it all." 
 
 As for Helen herself, that Sabbath was a day 
 of exaltation. She seemed to be living in a 
 world above this ; and she thought that she 
 could never again be troubled by the vexations 
 of every-day living. What did all these petty 
 troubles amount to, anyway ? What were they 
 when compared with the glory of the over- 
 shadowing presence of Christ? Why should 
 one walking through life with a hand held fast 
 in the Saviour's grasp, mind the pebbles in the 
 path ? For the time at least she had risen above 
 the mists of doubt, and was dwelling in the 
 purer atmosphere of perfect trust. Would it 
 last, or would the realities of Monday bring her 
 back to the old level where the battle was going 
 on ? True, she wanted a part in the warfare. 
 She really meant always to be found where the 
 battle was the fiercest ; but it was the warfare 
 outside of which she was dreaming ; she fancied 
 that for herself the victory was won, nor thought 
 of the wild conflict yet to come. She would 
 fight against sin in the world, and Jbelp on the 
 day of Christ's triumph.
 
 And Peter. 145 
 
 When Mr. Ried said, just at the close of the 
 service : " Now let us in a few words of silent 
 prayer present the desire of our hearts to the 
 Father, that which we most earnestly long for, 
 remembering that the promise is unto us as we 
 abide in Christ, and as his words abide in us. 
 Shall we ask now ? " 
 
 Helen, bowing her head, lifted up her heart in 
 this wise : " Dear Saviour, I would live to do 
 some work for thee. Hear now my prayer and 
 accept the service I would offer." 
 
 She carried home with her the same conscious- 
 ness of having gained a higher ground than she 
 had ever trod before. Mr. Ried's words of 
 warning as to ho\v they might look for answers 
 to their requests fell unheeded upon her ear, or 
 at least she failed to comprehend him, and long 
 after the words came to her as a ray of light in 
 the darkness. 
 
 And Tom ! What had been his petition ? 
 With humility he prayed : " Dear Saviour, help 
 me to overcome my faults and make me fit to be 
 a minister. And oh ! I want most of all to have 
 father and mother know of thy love." 
 
 While Helen had vague notions of doing some
 
 146 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 great work for Christ, Tom had asked for 
 something specific. He went out of himself and 
 sought for others the gift of God's love. He had 
 not reached that point of joyful exaltation upon 
 which Helen stood, but his feet were firmly 
 fixed upon the rock, and he was less likely to be 
 disturbed by the jostlings of the outside affairs. 
 Tom was quick tempered and sarcastic, and he 
 realized that he had before him a hard fight if 
 he would overcome these besetting sins. Hence 
 his pra} r er for help. t 
 
 The answer to Helen's prayer was not to be 
 long delayed; already the messenger to fulfill 
 the request was casting its shadow over that 
 household, though in the hush of the Sabbath 
 none felt it ; it was in the gray twilight of the 
 morning that the first chill of the darkening 
 presence was felt. 
 
 A hurried step in the hall awoke Helen. ; then 
 she heard her mother say: "Tom, Tom, you 
 must go quickly for Dr. Vananden ! Your 
 father has a fit of some sort ; be quick." 
 
 Before Mrs. Betson had finished speaking, 
 Tom was hurriedly dressing, saying, " Yes, 
 mother," and then a tap at Helen's door :
 
 And Peter. 147 
 
 " Yes, mother, I hear, and I'm coming." 
 
 That was the beginning; all that day and 
 through days and nights that followed, they 
 watched beside the husband and father ; Dr. 
 Vanandeu had looked grave from the first. 
 
 " Overworked," he said ; " this must have been 
 coming on for some months ; how has he seemed 
 of late?" 
 
 And then Mrs. Betson remembered symptoms 
 of failing health ; in themselves so slight that 
 they had passed unnoticed ; how strange it 
 seemed to them all now that they had allowed 
 them to pass so ! So imminent was the danger, 
 and so fearful were they that every hour might 
 be the last, that neither Helen nor Tom thought 
 of going to school, for several days at least, and 
 when Mr. Betson rallied slightly, so that the 
 doctor said he might linger for a long time, but 
 gave them no encouragement as to recovery, 
 then the subject of school came up. 
 
 It was Helen's last year with Professor Graves, 
 and she was looking forward to Vassar or Hoi- 
 yoke; but of course she could not go away from 
 home at present ; and Tom poor Tom his 
 way seemed hedged right across ! It had all
 
 148 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 along been his father's intention to take Tom 
 into business with himself; and this had quite 
 suited Tom, until of late he had come to hope 
 that he might be permitted to serve the Lord by 
 publicl}'- ministering in his name, and only the 
 evening before he had spoken to his father about 
 going to college ; Mr. Betson was surprised, and 
 only said : 
 
 " Well, Tom, this is quite a new thought. I 
 must consider it ; it would suit me better to see 
 you a thorough-going business man ; certainly 
 that rather than a third-rate lawyer or minister ; 
 but we'll think about it." 
 
 So Tom had slept that night with a hopeful 
 heart ; he was almost sure what the decision 
 would be. But next morning changed all that, 
 and when Tom came to think of the matter 
 again, he saw how impossible going to school 
 would be, at least for a long time. Mr. Betson 
 was not a poor man ; doubtless he could well 
 have afforded to send both Tom and Helen away 
 to school, for a full collegiate course ; but they 
 both felt that while there was the slightest hope 
 that he might rally sufficiently to decide for 
 them, they could not urge their mother to make
 
 And Peter. 149 
 
 such an important move ; even if that question 
 could have been decided, how could they leave 
 their mother with the weight of care that rested 
 upon her ? 
 
 " No," said Tom, talking it over with Helen 
 for the fortieth time, " there is no use in think- 
 ing about it, not for me at least ; it may be a 
 little different with you ; father had never made 
 any definite plans for you, and it would not be 
 contrary to any expressed wisli of his if you 
 were to go to Vassar to-morrow." 
 
 "I know," said Helen ; "and more than that, 
 I am sure that he meant to have me go ; you 
 know what he said to Professor Graves about 
 my Latin ? " 
 
 " Yes," and Tom sighed over his own dis- 
 appointment ; they were walking home from 
 church, one August Sabbath, when this talk 
 took place of which I have given the conclusion. 
 Just here there w;is a quick step behind them, 
 then alongside, and Mr. Ried's voice : 
 
 " Glad to see you both out. I conclude that 
 your father is no worse to-day ? " 
 
 It was Helen who answered: "No, sir; 
 mother thought him a very little stronger this
 
 150 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 morning, and he spoke quite distinctly to me 
 when I carried him his breakfast. But then," 
 she added, sadly, " Dr. Vananden says that he is 
 liable to have another attack like the first, at 
 any time." 
 
 " Yes," returned the pastor, " and that makes 
 it the more imperative that we relax not our 
 efforts to draw him within the fold. Your 
 mother told me, yesterday, that she had learned 
 to pray while watching by your father's bedside. 
 With so many of you reaching out for God's 
 blessing, he cannot fail of being drawn into the 
 fold, if only you are faithful." 
 
 They were at the gate now, and their pastor 
 only added : " Be of good cheer ; remember the 
 promises are sure, and they are yours" 
 
 But Helen could not remember any that seemed 
 to help her ; she was passing through a dark val- 
 ley ; these summer days, in which she had ex- 
 pected to be making her preparations for a year 
 away at school, had been spent so differently ; 
 "just wasted," she would sometimes say to her- 
 self; if she could have done a share of the 
 nursing, but they had been forced to employ a 
 professional nurse who shared the task with her
 
 And Peter. 151 
 
 mother, so that it was only now and then a little 
 service that Helen was permitted to do ; arid she 
 grew weary of the long waiting that seemed so 
 purposeless ; not that it was an idle waiting, her 
 days were filled up with many distasteful duties, 
 duties which her mother had heretofore taken 
 upon herself, but which now fell upon Helen j 
 every young girl who has been accustomed to 
 take a share of the work of housekeeping will 
 understand just the little vexing things that so 
 tried Helen Betson during these days; and yet 
 it is these same little things that make up much 
 of the comfort of home, and had it not been for 
 Helen's faithful performance of these same hated 
 duties, Tom and the burdened mother must 
 have missed many comforts. Helen asked in 
 sincerity for some work for Christ, but her ideas 
 of the sort of service she was to render were 
 certainly quite different from the reality ; hence 
 her slowness in finding out that this was really 
 work set to her by the Master ; and was as much 
 a Christian service as was Lydia Elmer's work 
 at the Harley Mission, or Flora Niles' teaching 
 in the Home Sunday-school. It seemed to her 
 that all these months she had done nothing!
 
 152 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 Her heart was heavy with reflection ; she had 
 done her work patiently and well, but she had 
 not yet learned that the most acceptable service 
 is the unquestionable service ; and while she 
 was outwardly quiet, inwardly she rebelled at 
 the circumstances that closed about her. 
 
 So that while Tom rejoiced that a part at least 
 of his prayer was answered, when his mother 
 found her way to the cross, Helen saw as yet no 
 answer to her own desire, which she had put 
 into form on that Sabbath. Strange how she 
 could not see how she served in patient waiting ! 
 
 It was a trying day, that Thursday in the lat- 
 ter part of August; Mrs. Betson was busy all 
 the morning in the invalid's room ; the servant 
 had gone to a picnic, so that an unusual amount 
 of work fell to Helen's lot ; there was no end to 
 the breakfast dishes ; the fire went out ; the 
 milk for the custard curdled in the sauce-pan ; 
 Tom had one of his old teasing fits on and poked 
 around in Helen's way, saying the most vexing 
 things, upsetting the pie he tried to take from 
 the oven ; spattering water over the freshly- 
 ironed clothes on the rack, all the while keeping 
 up a laughing commentary upon things in gen-
 
 And Peter. 153 
 
 eral, and especially npon Helen's " uncomfort. 
 ableness." 
 
 Tom did not see Dr. Vananden's grave face 
 that morning as be came from the room up-stairs, 
 but Helen caught the look of pity and sympathy 
 as she met him in the hall, and understood him 
 when he said, with his hand resting upon her 
 shoulder : 
 
 "Dear child I we may not question." 
 
 Then it was true ? Her father would never 
 get well again ! Tom did not seem to realize 
 this ; and that morning his unusually merry 
 mood jarred upon Helen, but she could not tell 
 him, so she kept on through the day with the 
 grave face and sad heart which Tom was trying 
 to brighten. It was of no use, and finally he 
 went off and left her to her miserable self. She 
 knew she had " questioned " all along ; that she 
 questioned still. She had so wanted to be active 
 in Christ's service ! Why was this denied? 
 
 For several weeks she had been accustomed 
 to sit with her father for a couple of hours in 
 the afternoon, while the nurse went out for an 
 airing, and Mrs. Betson took her rest on the 
 couch within call. Sometimes she read to him ;
 
 154 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 at first he wanted to hear the daily paper, but 
 one day the paper could not be found. To 
 Helen's " I'm so sorry ! you will miss your read- 
 ing," Mr. Betson replied : 
 
 " Why, Helen, have we nothing else to read ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, plenty ; I only thought that you 
 cared most for the paper." 
 
 " Really, I care the least for that ; suppose 
 you begin with the New Testament, and read a 
 chapter every day." 
 
 So Helen ministered unto her father in holy 
 things all unconsciously giving to the words 
 she read a pathos and a meaning that somehow 
 found the way to the heart of the listener. First 
 he was interested in the story, for it must be 
 confessed that he was strangely ignorant of the 
 beautiful details of the history of that " wonder- 
 ful life." 
 
 After a few days he said, as Helen closed the 
 book at the end of the chapter, " Go on." And 
 so she read on, chapter after chapter. Some- 
 times she heard murmured comments, as "won- 
 derful ; " " can this be so ? " This afternoon she 
 came to Mark 16. She read : 
 
 " And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted ;
 
 And Peter. 155 
 
 ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified ; 
 he is risen ; he is not here ; behold the place 
 where they laid him. 
 
 " But go your way. Tell his disciples and 
 Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee; 
 there shall ye see him, as he said unto you." 
 
 " And Peter I " This was Mr. Betson's 
 comment. Again he repeated the word, "And 
 Peter!" That was all. Helen finished the 
 chapter, and turning to look at her father saw 
 that he seemed to be sleeping. Laying down 
 her book she sat watching and praying; for- 
 getting self and her desire to be the instrument 
 whom God should honor, she was never nearer 
 being thus honored. Once or twice the sick 
 man's lips moved, and his waiting daughter 
 caught the words, " And Peter ; " then again, 
 " But Peter denied him ! " 
 
 I do not know that the pastor had Helen 
 Betson in his thoughts that evening, but I am 
 sure there is one who had ; and who prompted 
 the thoughts which were presented. 
 
 She came out of a sad reverie to hear him 
 Mr. Ried say : 
 
 " It may not be just what you asked, or sought,
 
 156 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 or planned, but it must be the best for you be- 
 cause God has put it into your life, and he makes 
 no mistakes. Will you refuse the patient toil 
 he asks because he hath denied your choice ? 
 Are you sure that your chosen task might not 
 have proved too great for your strength ? May 
 it not be that the discipline of this strange, un- 
 sought work is but a preparation for some greater 
 toil, even your own choice, when you shall have 
 grown to its height? And to you who have 
 been praying for something very neaFyour heart, 
 and who see as yet no signs of an answer, let 
 me sajr, Look carefully over God's dealings, 
 review the path in which you have been led, 
 and see if more has not been given than has 
 been denied. After all, would you drop out of 
 your life that which has been given you to do 
 or enjoy, just for the chance to try your own 
 choice ? " 
 
 Would she ? Would Helen give up the 
 memory of those afternoon readings, and the 
 thrill of joy she felt at her father's evidently 
 growing interest in them, for any plan of her 
 own ? And the thought that took hold of her 
 with a firmer grasp was this, that " God makes
 
 And Peter. 157 
 
 no mistakes " not that she had ever doubted 
 God's all-wise power and knowledge. She 
 knew it all before ; now she felt it. 
 
 Tom had a message for his pastor that even- 
 ing. 
 
 " Father wished me to ask you to call a few 
 minutes on the way home, if convenient," he 
 said, after the meeting closed. 
 
 "Certainly I will, with pleasure. Is your 
 father worse ? " 
 
 " I think not ; but he seemed anxious to see 
 you to-night," said Tom. 
 
 Mr. Ried was a little surprised at the request, 
 for, though he had called frequently during Mr. 
 Betson's illness, it was not often that the sick 
 man was inclined to receive him. To-night he 
 was welcomed warmly by both the invalid and 
 his wife. 
 
 " I hope we have not troubled you very much," 
 said Mrs. Betson ; " but my husband was so very 
 anxious about it, that I ventured to send for 
 you." 
 
 "I wanted to see you," said Mr. Betson, "and 
 to-morrow might be too late. Twenty-five 
 years ago I set out to follow Christ. Like Peter,
 
 158 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 I promised to follow whithersoever he should 
 lead ; then, like Peter, I denied my Lord ! 
 And I have been denying him all these years so 
 emphatically that none of you have known that 
 I once professed to be his disciple! But this 
 afternoon this dear child read to me of the resur- 
 rection of Christ; and as she read, ' Go, tell his 
 disciples and Peter,' it came to me forcibly that 
 Peter had a special message sent to him ; then 
 it seemed to me as if this little girl was the mes- 
 senger sent to tell me that my Lord had risen, 
 and that I may be forgiven too." 
 
 He spoke slowly and with difficulty, he was 
 so weak and exhausted. But after resting a lit- 
 tle he continued : 
 
 " I sent for you, to-night, to ask you to estab- 
 lish an altar unto the Lord in this household. I 
 think that with Tom's help it can be kept up." 
 
 He looked inquiringly at Tom, who seemed 
 surprised at the proposition, but he answered, 
 promptly : 
 " We'll try." 
 
 "Yes," continued Mr. Betson, " I thought so." 
 After a pause he added ; " Perhaps I am wrong, 
 but I want to keep Tom for the little time I
 
 And Pettr. 159 
 
 shall sta}*, and then it may be that he will see 
 the way clear to enter upon a course of study 
 preparatory to the ministry." 
 
 Tom's heart gave a great bound. Was it to 
 be, after all ? Then, suddenly recalling the first 
 part of his father's last remark in which he re- 
 ferred to his leaving them as if that event were 
 not far in the future, his heart sank. Hud he 
 been blind that he had not seen the shadow 
 growing deeper ? All at once something upon, 
 which he had leaned was torn away, and he felt 
 himself growing dizzy with the thought that it 
 might be even now very close at hand. 
 
 Mr. Ried's voice as he led them in that conse- 
 crating prayer was solemn and tender, though 
 there was something of triumph in it as he 
 thanked the Lord that this entire family had 
 been led to make this dedication of their all. 
 
 A month later they were all gathered again in 
 the same room. Dr. Vananden was there, and 
 two or three friends and neiglbors. The end 
 had come. Mr. Betson had been an honorable 
 man, respected and loved by friends and neigh- 
 bors. He was kind and generous, ready to help 
 any whose need was brought to his notice ; yet
 
 160 Echoing and Re-eelioing. 
 
 in his last days he counted his life a failure, 
 waste, for he had lived without Christ. Said 
 he : "I have lived more in these last few weeks 
 than in all the years of my life ; " and yet these 
 had been weeks of weary helplessness, of sloAV 
 wasting, and benumbed powers ! 
 
 And Helen, could she fail to understand the 
 answer ? As to what should come next, she had 
 grown content to be led.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE END OF A QTJAEREL. 
 "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." 
 
 , WAY back in years that were gone there 
 had sprung up between certain mem- 
 bers of Court Street Church a dissension that 
 had seriously disturbed the peace and hindered 
 the growth of the church. Like all quarrels, its 
 origin was insignificant; indeed, it is doubtful 
 if any one of the persons implicated could have 
 given an exact account of the cause of the diffi- 
 culty ; but, however small the beginning, the 
 results were by no means trifling. Once or 
 twice the church as a body had taken hold of 
 161
 
 162 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 the matter, only to find it too unwieldy to be 
 handled by them. It had been handed over to 
 the consideration of a committee in the chuich, 
 who had handled it with no tender fingers ; then 
 it had been passed over to a committee out- 
 side, who, declaring that the scandal ought to 
 die, forthwith proceeded to execute their sen- 
 tence. But, alas ! that which they meant to be 
 a death-blow failed to touch the vital point, and 
 only served to rouse all the fury of the hunted 
 monster. True, there were times when the out- 
 ward peace was undisturbed, but all the time there 
 were bitter thoughts rankling in some hearts, 
 scornful or contemptuous sneers on the lips of 
 others, thoughts of revenge growing into shape 
 in the minds of those most aggrieved. It was 
 not a pleasant state of affairs, nor one that prom- 
 ised well for the progress of Christ's kingdom. 
 True, God had not altogether withdrawn from 
 them, as we have seen, the Spirit came among 
 them, and a few were lead to take up the duties 
 of a new life ; and the pastor hoped much from 
 this addition to the working force of the church. 
 Buthew r ell knew that with the weight of the 
 old trouble resting upon them they could not
 
 The End of a Quarrel 163 
 
 hope to rise to great heights. During the year 
 and a half that he had been with this church he 
 had labored earnestly to get the better of this 
 trouble ; not to get at the bottom of it ; he well 
 knew that an unearthing of all the old horrors 
 would only add to the horrid stench that con- 
 tinually diffused itself through the church. No, 
 indeed, nothing would ever be accomplished by 
 " getting at the bottom of it." Let the people, 
 with one accord, consent to bury the scandal 
 alive so deep that it could never see light again ! 
 That would be the only way to get rid of it ; 
 and in all his private talks, and his pulpit talks, 
 this had been his counsel ; but when did a peo- 
 ple who felt themselves outraged and insulted 
 find tliemselves able to bury the insult and rise 
 above the outrage, until first the spirit of love 
 had taken up its abode in their hearts ? 
 
 It was with pain that Mr. Ried learned of the 
 unforgiving spirit that was cherished, and the 
 spite that would now and then manifest itself. 
 In an hour of discouragement he said to his 
 wife : 
 
 " Had I known of the extent of this trouble 
 I would never have come here. There is no
 
 164 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 chance to work amid such continual draw- 
 backs." 
 
 "But, Ralph," replied the more hopeful wife, 
 M I am sure you have much to encourage. Look 
 at the work of Prof. Graves, and the earnest- 
 ness of Mr. Niles. Think of the stand that the 
 younger ones who have lately' joined us have 
 taken Tom Betson and Will Hunting ; and 
 how Helen Betson is growing, and Flora, too." 
 
 " Yes," returned Mr. Hied, " I do see how 
 Flora is ripening ; and it almost makes me sad. 
 I fear she is getting ready to go from us." 
 
 " I have thought of that," said Mrs. Ried, 
 sadly; "yet I do not know that we should be 
 sad at the thought. I know," she continued, 
 " what you mean; but I do not think that even 
 this trouble in the church is beyond the healing 
 power of love ; and, Ralph, I will tell you that 
 you may be encouraged to hope for this healing. 
 At our little Saturday afternoon meeting we 
 have made an agreement to pray specially for 
 this very thing, the removal of the accursed 
 quarrel from our midst." 
 
 " I hope," said the pastor, smiling, " that you 
 do not mean to pray for the death of any of the
 
 The End of a Quarrel. 165 
 
 belligerents? You know it has been said that 
 the trouble can never be entirety removed so 
 long as two or three of the leaders live." 
 
 " We do not so limit the power of oar Lord," 
 replied Mrs. Ried. 
 
 " You are right ; and will you thank the dear 
 sisters for their lesson of faith ? There is one 
 thing which is to me a cause of gratitude in all 
 this that is, the way in which the church, al- 
 most without exception, have stood by their pas- 
 tor. I have sometimes hoped that through their 
 love for me they might be brought nearer to- 
 gether ; but that seems to be a presumptuous 
 hope, for if their love for a common Lord and 
 Master would not in all these years have led 
 them to love each other, the regard for the ser- 
 vant of that Master would scarcely have such 
 influence." 
 
 Mrs. Ried smiled. 
 
 "But, my dear, why do they love you ? Is it 
 not because they see in you a servant of that 
 Master? Is it not because they see in you 
 something of the likeness of Christ ? And are 
 not the qualities which call forth their love those 
 which are the fruits of the Spirit ? And if your
 
 166 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 hope of leading them by a common love to love 
 each other were to be realized, would it not, 
 after all, be the love which is of Christ that 
 would thus bind their hearts together ? " 
 
 " It seems almost too much to hope," said Mr. 
 Ried ; " the men with whom the trouble origi- 
 nated are men of very decided opinions, and it 
 will be hard to convince either of them that they 
 have been in the wrong." 
 
 " Is anything too hard for God?" asked Mrs. 
 Ried. " I feel as you do that we cannot look 
 for a great ingathering while the church is in 
 this state. It seemed as if the blessing that ap- 
 peared to be so near us, lust spring, was largely 
 withheld, because of this thing so displeasing to 
 God, which we cherish in our midst. But we 
 are stronger now in numbers, and I hope in 
 faith ; and I confidently expect to see the salva- 
 tion of the Lord corning to this people." 
 
 The pastor smiled and seemed to gather 
 strength from his wife's hopeful mood ; and per- 
 haps, too, he gained a text and an inspiration for 
 the next Sabbath morning's sermon. I think 
 that some of those gray -headed men must have 
 overlooked that particular passage in their study
 
 The End of a Quarrel. 167 
 
 of the word ; and more than one sat uneasily in 
 his place during the listening to the strong, 
 searching questioning of the pastor and the ten- 
 der, loving appeal with which he closed. "By 
 this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if 
 ye love one another." This was his theme, and 
 he sought to show how this prominent character- 
 istic of the Christian should be exemplified ; how 
 hatred has no place among the graces ; and how- 
 Christians ought to seek to be at peace with all 
 men, and especially should they be at peace with 
 their brethren in the church. And how might 
 this be ? There must always be differences of 
 opinion ; sometimes disputes would arise ; some- 
 times hard, bitter feelings would find a place in 
 the hearts even of Christ's true followers ; some- 
 times a positive injury might even be done to a 
 brother how then? Might the injured one 
 seek revenge ? Not so ! Rather let him seek to 
 overcome evil with good. " Let it be remem- 
 bered," said the pastor, " that to seek to retaliate 
 is to be * overcome of evil ' ; that to cherish hard, 
 revengeful thoughts is to be ' overcome of evil '; 
 that to let your lips utter the bitterness that your 
 heart feels, to let your hand be staid from the
 
 168 Eclioing and He-echoing. 
 
 kind act, to refuse the cordial salutation, to 
 leave that brother's name out of your prayers, 
 any one, or all of these, is to be ' overcome of 
 evil.' How shall we overcome evil with good ? 
 Ah ! the heart overflowing with love needs not to 
 be told this. Does thine enemy hunger ? Does he 
 thirst ? supply his wants. It may be that his soul 
 is hungering and thirsting after this love which 
 you withhold. It may be that he would meet 
 you more than half-way ; but if not, your duty 
 remains the same ; if you would prove your dis- 
 cipleship ; if you would have the reward prom- 
 ised to him that overcometh ; if you would lighten 
 your heart of a heavy burden, and if you would 
 seek the prosperity of our beloved church, win 
 souls for Christ's kingdom. Then let it become 
 your first endeavor to overcome evil with good. 
 Remember that the first duty is to be reconciled 
 to thy brother, and if your heart is filled with 
 the love of Christ the reconciliation will be easy. 
 But does any one ask, ' Shall a man humble 
 himself to seek to be reconciled to one who, 
 having injured him, yet desires not to be 
 reconciled, who would spurn his advances ? ' 
 My dear friends, the command is the same ; and
 
 The End of a Quarrel. 169 
 
 remember that he that humbleth himself in the 
 sight of the Lord shall be lifted up. ' Beloved, 
 let us love one another ; for love is of God.' " 
 
 As the brief, earnest prayer, following the ser- 
 mon ended, and before Mr. Ried had time to 
 announce the closing hymn, a slight stir arrested 
 his attention as well as that of the congregation. 
 Slowly an old man rose, and all waited to hear 
 what Deacon Barnard had to say. His voice 
 trembled and his frame shook as though he were 
 palsied : 
 
 " My dear brethren and sisters,'' he said, 
 " there is no, time like the present, and I want to 
 say a few words now, if you will bear with me. 
 In days past I have been sorely hurt. My pa- 
 tience has been tried sometimes, my counsels 
 have been rejected, and I have been jealous of 
 the rights of others as well as my own; but 
 from this time I put all behind me and under 
 my feet. There is at this moment no ill-feeling 
 toward any one in the church or out. All that 
 has ever been done or said through all our long- 
 continued trouble I am going to recall no more. 
 And now I would crave the forgiveness of you, 
 all. There is only love in my heart. The love
 
 170 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 of Christ has, I trust, come in greater fullness 
 than ever before, and driven out all strife and 
 envying. Not even for the wrongs of others 
 have I any resentment. I am an old man I 
 can not expect to stay here much longer ; and I 
 would hope to see this church prosperous and 
 united again before I go. Dear brethren and 
 sisters, let us put behind us all bitterness ; let 
 all the old hardness be swallowed up in love. I 
 acknowledge that I have been hard and unfor- 
 giving. I have nursed my wrongs some of 
 them, no doubt, have been fancied wrongs, and 
 the real ones have been magnified but to-day 
 they all sink into insignificance, swallowed up 
 in the love, the brightness and glory of which 
 removes all darkness. Oh ! my friends, if it be 
 true that here we ' see through a glass darkly,' 
 and the glimpse we have of the glory of our 
 Saviour's love is so wondrous, so full of blessed- 
 ness, what will be the reality when we come to 
 know of the fullness of his love ? Dear brethren 
 and sisters, in all sincerity and humility I ask 
 your forgiveness, and I would extend the hand 
 of charity the token of good will to alL
 
 The End of a Quarrel 171 
 
 Let us love one another, that God may dwell in 
 us and his love be perfected in us." 
 
 The old man spoke slowly, his voice trembling 
 with age and choked with feeling. There were 
 many tearful eyes in the congregation, and stern 
 faces softened ; the silence that fell upon them 
 as Deacon Barnard sat down was broken by Pro- 
 fessor Graves. 
 
 " Let us pray," he said ; and then he led them 
 in a short, earnest appeal to the throne of grace, 
 asking that the spirit of love that had now 
 appeared in their midst might not depart from 
 them, but abide with them, inclining their hearts 
 to still further concessions, and uniting them in 
 every good work and holy endeavor. 
 
 As they went out from that morning's service 
 there were many handshakings and murmured 
 words of reconciliation ; many pressed forward to 
 grasp the hand of the old deacon, who had a 
 word of love for each. Meeting Mr. Cramer at 
 the door, he said : 
 
 " My brother, we have been in sympathy in 
 this long trouble ; are we in sympathy now ? " 
 
 Mr. Cramer did not reply very promptly, and
 
 172 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 his hesitancy was rightly interpreted as a dis- 
 sent. 
 
 " Well," said the old man, " I trust that God 
 will lead us all to a sense of our want. Bro. 
 Cramer, can you carry your hatred into the other 
 world? Oh, let the love of Jesus in, and your 
 ill-will can not stay ! " 
 
 This was the one theme the love of Christ ! 
 The dear old man had no other thought. " All 
 is swallowed up in his love." He repeated 
 these words again and again. 
 
 Mr. Bates was unusually quiet that Sabbath 
 afternoon. While his wife and the children 
 talked over the surprising events of the morning 
 he was silent. His dinner was almost untasted ; 
 he" went early to the barn to look after the even- 
 ing chores. Coming in he said to his son : 
 
 " I have harnessed the horse, and you may 
 drive down to church this evening ; I am going 
 to walk down early ; I want to see the deacon 
 for a few moments." 
 
 At the deacon's it was a word and a prayer. 
 Then Mr. Bates went on to Mr. Cramer's. Here 
 the strong man faltered. These two had, per- 
 haps, been the most obstinate ones of all con-
 
 The End of a Quarrel. 173 
 
 cerned in the difficult}-. How would Mr. Cramer 
 receive his advances? He had witnessed the 
 interview between the deacon and that gentle- 
 man, and saw that the heart of the other was 
 not softened. But he had left the old man 
 praying for them ; and though he trembled and 
 every nerve quivered, he went in. 
 
 " I have come to shake hands," he said. " Bro. 
 Cramer, will you give me your hand in forgive- 
 ness and Christian love ? " 
 
 Just as the organist softly played the invitation 
 to the evening service a thrill of surprise equal 
 to that of the morning' ran through the con^re- 
 
 o o o 
 
 gation. Mr. Bates and Mr. Cramer entered the 
 audience room together and took their seats in 
 Deacon Palmer's pew. What a song of thanks- 
 giving went up from the heart of the pastor as 
 in this act he read the end of their sad difficulty ! 
 And the choir proved equal to the occasion ; and 
 such a glad hosanua as rang out that evening 
 was not often heard in Court Street Church ! 
 There was a ring of gladness in all the service of 
 the evening. There was a glow upon the face 
 of more than one that was new and cheering. 
 A.t the close of the service, while the last
 
 174 Echoing and .Re-echoing. 
 
 hymn was being sung, Dr. Vananden entered at 
 the rear door, and whispered to Mr. Ried, for a 
 moment only. The gladness faded out of the 
 pastor's face, only to return as he listened to the 
 Doctor's communication. As the hymn was end- 
 ed Dr. Vauandeu stepped forward and said : 
 
 " Dear friends, I have sad news for you ; sad, 
 yet not unmixed with joy. Our dear old friend, 
 Deacon Barnard, has gone home. Not an hour 
 since I was summoned to his bedside. He was 
 stricken down suddenly, but not surprised. 
 Those of you who heard him this morning need 
 not to be told of his readiness to obey the call. 
 He left a tender, loving farewell for you all. 
 * Tell them,' he said, ' that I die happier for the 
 words I said this morning ; that I would only 
 emphasize them as my parting message.' When 
 almost gone we caught the whisper, ' To him that 
 overcometh ; and again, 'The love of Christ.' 
 Dear friends, let us not mourn. Our old friend's 
 work was done ; this morning's work was the 
 crowning of his long life. Now the Master has 
 called him to be where there is fullness of love. 
 Already he knows what that fullness is."
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 STJKPKISES. 
 
 " Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth, 
 hall ye nbt know it. I will even make a way in the wilder- 
 ness and rivers in the desert." 
 
 I WAY back among the hills was heard 
 the re-echoing of that sermon upon for- 
 giveness. Full of the spirit of love which had 
 been revived in his own heart Robert Niles went 
 out to his little Sunday-school in the Clarkson 
 neighborhood. From the first one or two fami- 
 lies stood aloof. Three years ago, when the 
 little country school-house where the Sunday- 
 school was held was built, Mr. Tyler, one of the 
 building committee, wanted the desks to face 
 the south, and Mr. Davis thought they ought to
 
 176 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 face the west. Both felt that the interests of a 
 nation hung upon the question. Mr. T}der, 
 having carried his point his children sat with 
 their faces turned toward the tropics ; while the 
 children of Mr. Davis trudged two miles in an- 
 other direction, not that they might drink in the 
 glories of the western sky, but that their father 
 might thus show his independent spirit ! As on 
 week days so on the Sabbath they were forbid- 
 den to set foot within the walls of the new 
 school-house. 
 
 Thinking of the neighborhood quarrel, and of 
 the children debarred from all religious privi- 
 leges by the obstinacy of the parents, and with 
 sadness remembering the gray-haired fathers 
 living without God, Robert Niles determined to 
 make an effort to bring about a change. It 
 seemed a great undertaking ; and the greatest 
 trouble, was to find a place to begin; at least 
 that was the first thought. Then he quickly 
 remembered that the place of prayer must be 
 the beginning of the Christian's undertakings if 
 they would be successful. To seek in the shadow 
 of the cross the wisdom and the strength needed, 
 to plead for the softening influences of the Spirit,
 
 Surprises. 177 
 
 that old antipathies might be swept away and 
 the hearts prepared for the entrance of better 
 thoughts and kinder feelings, was the first step ; 
 then how God smoothed the way I 
 
 Mr. Davis had been away from home for a 
 week. His card, stating the time of his return, 
 miscarried, and he arrived in town late in the 
 afternoon, to find no one to meet him. Too 
 late for the stage, and being unwilling to incur 
 the expense of a private conveyance, he started 
 to walk the three miles through the snow. It 
 certainly was not a pleasant prospect, and he 
 grumbled some, keeping a lookout for passing 
 sleighs. 
 
 " Can you attend to that business of Baker's 
 this afternoon ? " asked Mr. Smith, that day, 
 just before dinner, addressing Mr. Niles. 
 
 " I suppose I could," was the reply, " though 
 I would rather not. I was intending to ride out 
 of town, and if I do, I shall have no spare time." 
 
 Mr. Smith looked surprised and the least bit 
 annoyed. Robert Niles was not wont to set 
 aside business for the sake of rides out of town. 
 And the senior partner had a suspicion that
 
 178 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 upon this fact the interests of the firm were 
 hinged. 
 
 " I had not forgotten Mr. Baker," said Robert ; 
 " but it is a matter that does not demand im- 
 mediate attention." 
 
 "And your ride out of town?" queried Mr. 
 Smith, in a slightly bantering tone. 
 
 Robert smiled. 
 
 " Well, that might be postponed ; but I have 
 an impression that it ought not to be. And yet 
 I must confess that I have no very definite ob- 
 ject or point in view." 
 
 At this last frank admission Mr. Smith was 
 still more surprised. It was not like his partner 
 to have no definite plans. What had come over 
 him? 
 
 Robert laughed out at the look of disapproval 
 that spread over his friend's face. 
 
 " I suppose," he said, " you think I am talking 
 like a silly boy. I mean this ; I have an object 
 and a point to gain, and someway I have an im- 
 pression that my contemplated drive this after- 
 noon may further that plan ; and so I thought 
 to let Mr. Baker wait." 
 
 " Oh ; well, as for Baker, he can wait, of
 
 Surprises. 179 
 
 course. He said any time this week. But " 
 
 Mr. Smith hesitated, and Mr. Niles took up 
 the unfinished sentence : 
 
 " * Business first ! ' I know our motto ; and I 
 know, too, that you are laughing at me for fol- 
 lowing my * impressions.' And you and I will 
 hardly be likely to agree as to the source of 
 what we sometimes call a 'presentiment.' But 
 when we have sought for direction, it seems to 
 me that we have the right to expect it." 
 
 Mr. Smith was a Christian, I suppose. He 
 was a church member ; he always sat dignified 
 and stately at the head of his family pew, bow- 
 ing reverently in prayer, and sometimes joining 
 in the hymns: giving liberally, and frequently 
 attending the weekly prayer-meeting. He was 
 honest and just, in his own home cordial and 
 hospitable ; but of the warm, loving, sympathetic 
 Christianity that prompted Robert Niles to so 
 many 'activities, that led him out upon the bleak 
 hill-sides and filled his whole life with a radiant 
 kindness that warmed others and inspired them 
 to reach out and seek to draw others still within 
 the circle of life and joy of this sort of Chris- 
 tianity Mr. Smith knew little. Hence it was that
 
 180 Echoing and Re-eclioing. 
 
 he could not understand his junior partner. 
 However, not understanding him he trusted him, 
 both as to integrity and judgment, and seldom 
 criticised his movements ; so the young man 
 went in and out, strengthening this one in new 
 and nobler purposes, helping that one to sur- 
 mount some obstacle in the way of a purer life, 
 stretching out a hand to save the sinking, and 
 speaking words of encouragement to the weary 
 ones who were striving to climb upward. And 
 this afternoon Mr. Smith said nothing further, 
 only smiled upon his more enthusiastic friend, 
 who went his way, sure of some work to do. 
 
 Meantime Mr. Davis was wearily climbing the 
 hill. Strange that upon a road so frequented 
 there should be no one going that way with 
 whom he might catch a ride, as is the custom of 
 the country people. But presently his ear caught 
 the welcome sound of sleigh-bells, and in a mo- 
 ment looking back he saw coming around the 
 curve a light sleigh with a single occupant. 
 Drawing up as he was passing, the driver said, 
 in cheery tones : 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Davis, will you take a seat here ? 
 There is plenty of room/'
 
 Surprises. 181 
 
 Any other time Mr. Davis would have been 
 slow to accept the offer. He was accustomed to 
 class the young man, whom he only knew as 
 the Sabbath-school superintendent, among the 
 " school-house folks," and lie held no inter- 
 course with them. But to-night he was too 
 nearly exhausted to decline the offered relief ; 
 so, with a scarcely audible " Thank you," he 
 took the vacant place. 
 
 It was astonishing how the talk ran on. Mr. 
 Davis had just come from that part of the West 
 which Robert had made his home for three or 
 four years, and this gave them a topic to start off 
 with. The young man succeeded in making 
 himself so agreeable that Mr. Davis quite thawed 
 out before they reached the hill-top, and to his 
 own as well as Mr. Niles' surprise he said : 
 
 " You'll come in and warm up a little before 
 you take the ridge side ? It's blowing pretty 
 stiff up there." 
 
 Robert was quite read} 7 - to accept the invita- 
 tion, which he had been working for ; not that 
 he would not have been kind and agreeable had 
 there been no point to be gained he was al- 
 ways that. But doubtless his eagerness to ad-
 
 182 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 vance the cause he had undertaken gave an 
 added charm to his manner and an increased 
 force to his conversation. 
 
 "Thanks. I will stop a few moments. No, 
 don't call any one ; I'll just blanket the horse 
 and let him stand here." 
 
 As he reached the door it occurred to Mr. 
 Niles that the home-coming of the head of the 
 household, after a week's absence, might be 
 marred by the presence of a stranger ;* but it was 
 too late to act upon that reflection, and so warm 
 was the greeting which he received from the 
 lady who met them at the door, that he felt quite 
 at ease, and the thought of being an intruder 
 was quite banished. Mr. Davis was in high 
 spirits and rollicked about the house like a 
 school-boy. 
 
 " Say, wife ! " he called out, " have you any- 
 thing for supper ? I mean to keep this gentle- 
 man ; so, if you are short, you'd better set Lolly 
 to work. Give us a feast ; now there's a beauty." 
 
 The gentle-faced little woman smiled as she 
 replied : 
 
 "There's plenty already. Certainly, I sup-
 
 Surprises. 183 
 
 posed your friend would take tea with us, and I 
 sent John to take his horse to the stable." 
 
 Robert began his protest. This was more 
 than he looked for, this being taken right into 
 the heart of the family he had dreaded to ap- 
 proach. 
 
 "Not a word, now!" said the host. "You 
 see, my wife has taken possession of you. It 
 isn't often that we have any church people 
 among us ; so she means to make the most of the 
 honor," and he laughed good-naturedly, tossing 
 one of the children to the ceiling, and then saying : 
 " What has this good-for-nothing been doing 
 since I went away ? " 
 
 The house was full of children, from the little 
 one in the father's arms up to the half-grown 
 girl and the boy who was almost a man, and it 
 was not difficult for Mr. Niles to fall into a sort 
 of playful, confidential talk with one of the little 
 girls, a talk that naturally drifted to the Sunday- 
 school. 
 
 " I want to go awful bad," she said, " but pa 
 won't let us." 
 
 But pa did let them, fairly surprised into a 
 consent. This much gained, how to win the
 
 184 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 father himself became the next question, and it 
 was one not easy of solution. Indeed, the ready 
 consent which had just been given in regard to 
 the children had almost taken away the visitor's 
 breath, and he said to himself : " much being 
 gained, you ought to be willing to wait for the 
 rest." But something prompted him to make 
 one effort, and as he was leaving he said : 
 
 " Mr. Davis, I have made you quite a visit. 
 Now, will you return it next Sabbath afternoon ? 
 After the school session we are to have a meet- 
 ing for the older people who do not come to the 
 Sunday-school. Will you be there ? " holding 
 out his hand to say good-night as he asked the 
 last question. 
 
 Mr. Davis hesitated ; he seemed to be search- 
 ing for words in which to dress his refusal. 
 
 " Well," he said, " I ain't one of that sort. I 
 well, you see I " He wasn't getting on 
 very well, and he knew it, too, and the knowl- 
 edge that he was blundering confused him still 
 more. Finally he blurted out : " Well, I s'pose 
 you know that I hate some of them folks up 
 there ? I hain't never set foot inside that school- 
 house."
 
 Surprises. 185 
 
 " Well, my friend," interrupted Robert, pleas- 
 antly, " wouldn't this be a good occasion for the 
 first time ? You see you would be my invited 
 guest for the day or rather I should say the 
 Lord's, for we hope for his presence. Will you 
 come ? " 
 
 Now you remember, when Peter was impris- 
 oned, and prayer was made without ceasing for 
 him, how that, instead of being on the lookout 
 for his coming, his brethren could not believe 
 Rhoda when she told them that he for whom they 
 were even then praying stood at the gate. Their 
 lack of faith always seemed strange, and yet is it 
 not the way we pray ? We ask, we plead often- 
 times, we even agonize before God, and after 
 all we are overwhelmed with surprise when God 
 answers us, giving us just what we most desired. 
 And now, when in reply to the earnestly put 
 question Mr. Davis said with a laugh, " Well, I 
 s'pose I may as well say 111 be there, for I see 
 by your eye that you don't mean to let me off 
 without a promise." Robert Niles could scarcely 
 believe his own sense of hearing. I am sure he 
 would not have believed Rhoda ! 
 
 After he had driven away, Mr. Davis went out
 
 186 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 to look after things, and while feeding his horse 
 he began to think it all over. " What a fool I 
 am. Here I've been and promised ! Won't 
 Tyler and his set make a stir ? I don't see what 
 it is about the fellow, but I declare I believe he 
 could wind me round his little finger like a strip 
 of paper. And wasn't that queer that he told 
 about old Dea. Barnard ? The Deacon was dread- 
 fully set in his way. And to think that Bates 
 and Cramer have made up ! I remember when 
 that quarrel started ; it was when I was getting 
 out that lumber for Cramer's house. Cramer's 
 an awful set man, too. I wonder if Tyler would 
 meet me half-way ? Not he ; he is as stiff as a 
 mule. Well, I'll go to the meeting, as I prom- 
 ised ; but it will be the last. Suppose any of 
 the Tyler set should speak to me ? But they 
 won't ; they hate me as bad as I hate them ; 
 only if they should happen to speak, and Air. 
 Niles should be standing bj r , I would feel queer 
 to turn my back to them. I wonder if it is true 
 what the old man said, when he was dying, about 
 things seeming so little when a man comes to 
 die? The fellow has succeeded in making me
 
 Surprises. 187 
 
 feel awful uncomfortable. I don't believe I'll 
 go, after all." 
 
 I can not tell how many times the disturbed 
 mind of Mr. Davis traveled over the same 
 ground and arrived at the same conclusion. But 
 after all, the next Sabbath afternoon found him 
 at the school-house. Meantime Mr. Niles had 
 made one or two other visits, which were not 
 without effect ; and Mr. Davis was surprised, 
 not so much at being met by Mr. Tyler with a 
 hand outstretched as at the words that trembled 
 on his lips. 
 
 " Mr. Davis," he said, " I am glad to see you. 
 It is a late acknowledgment, but I will say that 
 you were right and we were wrong in the start- 
 ing. We could have warmed the room much 
 easier and more uniformly by following out your 
 ideas. Will you accept the acknowledgment 
 and be friends ? " 
 
 Mr. Davis' sensations at that moment were 
 strange. What could he say, what do, but ac- 
 cept the frank acknowledgment, shake hands 
 and be friends ? What did it mean? He would 
 never have owned up if he had been convinced 
 that he was wrong ! not a bit of it I and he
 
 188 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 was sure it was not like Mr. Tyler to do so. 
 The explanation came later. 
 
 "Will Brother Tyler lead us in prayer?" 
 asked the leader of the meeting. 
 
 And then Mr. Tyler's voice was heard in ten- 
 der, earnest thanksgiving and pleading. His 
 old enemy sat as one in a maze, and as other 
 voices took up the petition he grew more and 
 more bewildered. Later he rose and said : 
 
 " I would like to say a word. Some things 
 that I have heard here to-night have surprised 
 me. I find that things have been going on here 
 of which I knew nothiu'. I don't want you to 
 think that I have any notion of getting religious ; 
 but I will say there seems to me to be something 
 in a religion that leads a man to say, right out, 
 that he has been wrong. You take a man as 
 proud as Jack Tyler here, and there must be 
 some power in the thing, be it religion or some- 
 thing else, that will bring down sucli a man. I 
 am glad of all that has happened. I must say 
 that it is not pleasant to live on such terms with 
 your neighbors that you can't speak to them, and 
 are always shutting up their cattle and watching
 
 Surprises. 189 
 
 to see where they make a misstep ; so I am glad 
 to be friends with you all." 
 
 A few weeks afterward Mr. Davis came again 
 into the little meeting. This time he said, with 
 trembling voice : 
 
 " The first time I came among you I said that 
 I was glad to be at peace with you all ; but I 
 find that is not enough I need to be at peace 
 with God. I am trying to make my peace with 
 an offended Lord. Pray for me." 
 
 Robert Niles was learning to expect answers to 
 his prayers.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CALLED EARLY. 
 " I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." 
 
 OW God was preparing the way for the 
 manifestation of his power ! His peo- 
 ple were more prayerful ; with softened hearts 
 they recalled the last words of their old friend, 
 Deacon Barnard, and were drawn closer together, 
 filled with the glowing warmth of that love 
 which casts out all doubt, and fits the heart for 
 the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. They had a 
 growing faith in God's truth, in his power to do 
 for them all that they should ask, arid a longing 
 desire to see the salvation of the Lord. It seemed 
 
 190
 
 Called Early. 191 
 
 as if the preaching of the pastor had not died 
 away upon the air, but was still resounding in 
 the hearts and lives of his people. 
 
 Would the echoing reach the many hearts that 
 were yet closed and deaf to the call of the 
 Saviour ? 
 
 Some such question pastor and people were 
 asking themselves, coming together often to 
 pray and counsel with each other. 
 
 Meantime the newly-awakened spirit of love 
 was making a sure progress away back upon the 
 hill-side, and every evening in the week the 
 little school-house was crowded with an eager, 
 interested company. At first Robert Niles and 
 his friend Newton Clark led the meetings ; but 
 they found that it was indeed God's work. One 
 evening, when both were detained, a young man, 
 who had been led to Christ through Mr. Niles' 
 efforts, proved to have grace for the occasion, 
 and thereafter, though the people from Court 
 Street often went out to join their friends on the 
 hill, it was that they might catch something of 
 that spirit that was so manifestly present in the 
 dim, crowded place. One evening, as they rode 
 home, Mr. Hied said :
 
 192 Echoing and Re-echoing, 
 
 " I have been thinking how the work prospers 
 in all our mission fields. Prof. Graves told me 
 this morning that down there at Harley's there 
 are seven or eight who are desirous of leading a 
 different life, and out in the Tanner neighbor- 
 hood there is an unusual interest, while the 
 work up here is marvelous ; and yet, in the 
 home field, we see little fruit. Are we neglect- 
 ing things there in our zeal for this outside 
 labor?" 
 
 " I think not," returned Mr. Niles. " Excuse 
 me, but I think we do see signs of God's favor, 
 and this work on the outskirts may be but the 
 skirmishing with the enemy before the great 
 battle to be fought out at headquarters. I do 
 not think that the influences of the Sabbath be- 
 fore last are going to die away without a greater 
 blessing than we have yet received." 
 
 " The reconciliation of those who had so long 
 been enemies is certainly a great blessing, and 
 one to be profoundly grateful for ; yet I, too, 
 had looked for one to follow of another sort," 
 said the pastor, a little sadly. 
 
 Strange that neither of them thought to con-
 
 Called Early. 193 
 
 nect the work upon the hill with the events of 
 that to-be-remembered Sabbath ! 
 
 They rode on in silence for a time, a silence 
 which was broken by Mr. Ried, who asked with 
 a tenderness of tone : 
 
 " Do you think that Flora is growing weaker? " 
 
 "Yes, in body; but her spirit grows strong 
 each day. I think she is almost ready to go." 
 
 Robert's voice trembled. The sister who was 
 fading was very dear to them all. They would 
 miss the sunny-faced girl who always had a 
 bright word for everybody ; the invalid mother 
 would miss her ; the brother, to whom she had 
 been growing so companionable, would miss her ; 
 and of the friends outside the family circle, 
 Helen and Tom Betson would miss her perhaps 
 more than any one else. She had been Helen's 
 friend and confidant, and since the childhood 
 days, when Tom had tucked both the little girls 
 closely upon his sled and whirled them down 
 street to school, he had taken care of Flora and 
 made her almost as much his confidant as he did 
 his own sister. 
 
 Upon that Sabbath in June when Helen 
 prayed for "some work for Christ," and Tom
 
 194 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 asked for a blessing upon their parents, Flora, 
 sitting beside Helen, prayed : 
 
 " Make me more like thyself, dear Saviour. 
 May I day by day be growing into thy likeness." 
 
 That prayer was surely being answered daily. 
 Those who live in her presence watched the 
 ripening of her character ; and, Robert said, the 
 spirit grew strong in proportion as the body grew 
 weak. 
 
 It was three weeks after Deacon Barnard was 
 called home that Flora Niles went to be forever 
 with Christ. These were her oft repeated words, 
 " To be forever with Christ." 
 
 They had not thought it would be so soon. 
 Dr. Vananden hoped she might live until spring, 
 perhaps even longer ; but a sudden cold seemed 
 to hasten the end, and the prayer was answered, 
 the longing of her soul was " satisfied," for she 
 had awakened with His likeness ! 
 
 It was Thursday afternoon when they turned 
 from the little cemetery chapel where they left 
 the darling among the flowers and vines. Many 
 were the tributes offered to her memory as they 
 met at the chapel that evening tributes offered 
 in homely phrase and in well-made speech ;
 
 Called Early. 195 
 
 tributes true aud tender ; but truer and tenderer 
 than these was the tribute of tears, while no- 
 bler and of more worth than any other were 
 those of high resolve and firm purpose to follow 
 Him whom she had followed. Said the pastor: 
 
 " The going out of these two from among us 
 so nearly together, one in old age, looking back 
 upon a long life of service, and the other in 
 youth, just beginning the Christian life, leads us 
 to ask, When is there a time that the religion of 
 Christ is not just what we need ? The dear old 
 father in Israel found it a good thing to have in 
 that hour, when the messenger came suddenly 
 to call him to meet his God. Can you imagine 
 what that call would have been to that old man 
 had it found him with all the weight of sin, of 
 years of sin, upon him ? Would you wish to be 
 one to stand beside the death-bed of a man who 
 had lived and was dying in sin ? It has been 
 my sad duty to stand by one such and try to 
 present the truths of the gospel. May I never 
 be called upon to witness another such a death I 
 
 "And, friends, the dear young sister who has 
 just gone home found the love of Christ a very 
 precious gift. To her the call did not come sud-
 
 196 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 denly, as to our old friend; but none the less 
 did she rejoice that she had made Christ her 
 friend. She gave him her young life, doubtless 
 thinking to live to serve him here, may be for 
 long years, but in accepting her offering it was 
 the Master's will to fit it for his immediate pres- 
 ence. As she saw herself surely descending into 
 the dark valley do you think she was sorry that 
 her soul was safe in the Saviour's keeping ? Oh, 
 dear friends, who have not made her Saviour 
 your Saviour, will you take the first step to- 
 night ? Will you ? " 
 
 Some were ready to manifest their determina- 
 tion ; others carried away thoughts more serious 
 than was their wont. 
 
 Mr. Norton Graves put his wife into the sleigh 
 and drove home in absolute silence. Not until 
 his horse was cared for, the doors fastened for 
 the night, the stoves replenished, and he had 
 seated himself in his usual place, did he break 
 the silence. Looking up he caught his wife's 
 anxious look. With an effort he began : 
 
 " Clara, ever since that Sabbath when we 
 talked of Mr. Ried's sermon, and you said you 
 were going to begin to obey the command, ' Go
 
 Called Early. 197 
 
 work ' you remember how I laughed at you 
 I have been fighting against a power that is 
 mightier than I ; and to-night I have laid down 
 my arms. I would have spoken down there, 
 only I wanted to tell you first." 
 
 In an instant Clara Graves was at her hus- 
 band's side ! What thanksgivings filled the 
 heart of the wife ! She, too, remembered that 
 moment of silent prayer. 
 
 When Norton Graves' voice was first heard in 
 prayer a strange thrill ran through the lecture- 
 room. The scoffers and unbelievers saw that 
 their ranks were broken, and asked, Who shall 
 be the next to break away ? Norton Graves had 
 been one of their most powerful allies, an edu- 
 cated, cultivated gentleman, priding himself 
 upon his integrity, his high moral purposes, yet 
 denying the gospel of Christ. Some one said of 
 him in Rachel Elmer's hearing : 
 
 " Norton Graves is an honorable man. He'd 
 scorn to do a mean thing." 
 
 " Humph ! " was Miss Elmer's expressive re- 
 sponse. " Talk about meanness, when a man is 
 doing the meanest thing a man can do, denying 
 Christ 1 His whole life is a meanness I "
 
 198 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 Never had he seemed to his wife so grand, so 
 noble, as when he stood up in the chapel to con- 
 fess Christ ; and never had his scoffing friends 
 admired him more. 
 
 " Well, my brother, doubly so now," said the 
 Professor, grasping his hand, "God seems to 
 know how to take care of his own work, and is 
 quite able to raise up workers to fill the places 
 of those whom he calls to the new fields." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the other. 
 
 " Just this," replied the Professor : " I have 
 been thinking for some time of taking up the 
 work of a lay evangelist, and to-night it came 
 upon me that you and Clara might possibly carry 
 on some of the work here that I shall be obliged 
 to leave and which seemed to hold me here." 
 
 As he said " good-night " the Professor added : 
 " I think I'll come out on Saturday. I have 
 something to talk over with you." 
 
 " All right," returned Norton, while Clara 
 smiled, guessing what was the " something." 
 
 With no small measure was the blessing 
 poured out upon this people, whose hearts were 
 thus prepared for the descent of the Holy Spirit. 
 The faithful preaching, with the honest endeavor
 
 Called Early. 199 
 
 on the part of the people to carry into every-day 
 life the practical application of the truths pre- 
 sented, now brought forth much fruit. 
 
 The pastor himself was taking long strides 
 forward, reaching out after those wonderful pos- 
 sibilities presented to the believer. He had evi- 
 dently entered more fully into that life of end- 
 less growth which leads to a development beyond 
 our conception. He had learned anew the secret 
 of victory. 
 
 " For whatsoever is born of Godovercometh the 
 world ; and this is the victory that overcometh 
 the world, even our faith."
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MRS. MOSHEER IS DISTURBED. 
 
 " And Saul yet breathing out threatenings and slaughtei 
 against the disciples." 
 
 [R. and Mrs. Vananden were boarding 
 at Mrs. Crosby's fashionable house, on 
 Park Avenue. It was not because they were 
 enamored of that sort of life, but because of Mrs. 
 Vauanden's health having necessitated a change. 
 They had first spent a year in traveling, and 
 then, upon returning, decided to board for a 
 time, that the invalid might be more free from 
 care until her health might be more firmly re- 
 established. 
 
 Mrs. Crosby was very particular as to the 
 
 200
 
 Mrs. Moshier Disturbed. 20 
 
 standing of those whom she received into hei 
 family. To be able to put " No. 9, Park Avenue,' 
 upon your cards, was to be assured of your po- 
 sition in certain circles. It gave you the entree 
 of the best society ; it settled the question of 
 your status, mental, moral and fashionable. All 
 this mattered very little to Dr. Vananden. What 
 was more to the point, they found here pleasant, 
 homelike rooms, good fare, and prompt service, 
 with the freedom which his profession demanded. 
 
 Mrs. Vananden found pleasant acquaintances 
 and large opportunities. Among the boarders 
 was the widow of Col. Le Grand, who, always 
 stately in bombazine and folds of sheerest mus- 
 lin, patronized the Doctor's wife, who, all un- 
 conscious of the patronage, gave merry, spark- 
 ling replies to the measured condescension of 
 the elder lady. 
 
 Then there was Mrs. Moshier, bright, spark- 
 ling, and witty as Suddie Vananden herself, a 
 great favorite with the gentlemen, of whom there 
 were perhaps a dozen in the house, belonging to 
 the various professions ; there were no clerks 
 and no sewing girls who found a home with 
 Mrs. Crosby. Sometimes Mrs. Vauanden smiled
 
 202 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 within herself at the recollection of her early 
 life, and wondered what Mrs. Le Grand would 
 say if she knew that the lady whom she called 
 " my dear friend, Mrs. Dr. Vananden," had spent 
 busy, hurried days in the kitchen of just such an 
 establishment as Mrs. Crosby's, only a little less 
 pretentious ! That she had rolled pie-crust that 
 would have eclipsed any at the Crosby House in 
 whiteness and flakiuess ! That she had been 
 cook, chambermaid and school-girl by turns ! 
 How Mrs. Le Grand would have borne the 
 knowledge that the lady whom she pronounced 
 a model of refinement, culture and grace, had 
 long ago mastered the art of using the broom and 
 duster, and understood the mysteries of the dish- 
 pan, Mrs. Vananden often tried to imagine. 
 
 "I am afraid you are sailing under false 
 colors," said the Doctor, one day, laughing. 
 "Mrs. Le Grand evidently thinks you a fine 
 lady." 
 
 "And am I not?" was the laughing reply. "I 
 know what you mean. I have just ached to see 
 the look of incredulity that would spread over 
 her face, to be followed by ail expression of 
 scorn, if she were to hear that my mother kept
 
 Mrs. Moshier Disturbed. 203 
 
 just such a house as this only a great deal 
 nicer." 
 
 "Well," said the Doctor, "if you think it 
 would be so interesting, why don't you tell 
 her?" 
 
 " Just because I never had an opportunity." 
 
 " How is that? " asked the Doctor. 
 
 " Why, just think of it ! Fancy Mrs. Le 
 Grand allowing the conversation to take a turn 
 that would lead by never so circuitous a route to 
 such a revelation ! Why, if I had such a bit of 
 information to impart, I would have to ask for a 
 special interview, and state in set terms that the 
 object of the meeting was to lay before her, for 
 her august consideration, the fact that I once 
 worked for a living ! " 
 
 The Doctor laughed, saying : 
 
 "I should like to be there when my wife 
 makes a set speech." 
 
 Well," said the wife, " I like Mrs. Le Grand, 
 but she is very aristocratic, certainly ; and, then, 
 I fear she is not in sympathy with the most of 
 our people on many subjects. I really do not 
 think that she and Mrs. Moshier are exerting 
 the best influence upon the young men here.
 
 204 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 You know about the wine supper she gave last 
 Thanksgiving? " 
 
 " Yes, I remember." 
 
 " Well, there are a number of things, like that, 
 which don't seem quite the thing for a Christian 
 woman to do." 
 
 " I know," replied the Doctor ; " but we must 
 remember that Mrs. Le Grand belongs to a gen- 
 eration that held very different views from ours 
 upon many topics ; and I presume that she is 
 perfectly sincere in her Christian profession." 
 
 "But Mrs. Moshier?" 
 
 " Judge not." 
 
 " Do you know that I think Mrs. Moshier is a 
 little afraid of Professor Graves' keen eyes? 
 Since he came here to board, she is certainly 
 more cautious in her remarks." said Mrs. Van- 
 anden. After a pause, she continued: "Don't 
 you think the Professor has changed a good 
 deal? I never thought him particularly active 
 as a Christian worker when we knew him before 
 we went South." 
 
 " It is true," replied Dr. Vananden, " he was 
 not ; and I have noticed the change which you 
 speak of."
 
 Mrs. Moshier Disturbed. 205 
 
 " I am glad that he came here. I used to 
 dread going to the table when you were away. 
 There was so much in the style of conversation 
 which was shockingly irreligious ; and it does 
 seem as if they were just a little afraid of you 
 and the Professor." 
 
 Of these people, whom the Doctor and his wife 
 were discussing, Mrs. Le Grand and Mrs. Mo- 
 shier were members of Court Street Church, as 
 were one or two of the gentlemen. But it was 
 true that they were not in sympathy with the 
 pastor and the more spiritually inclined of his 
 people. They were free in their criticisms of Mr. 
 Hied and his measures. One day, when their 
 remarks were unusually severe, little Florette 
 Moshier took it upon herself to administer a 
 rebuke. 
 
 " I think it is real impolite of you people to 
 talk about Mr. Ried when he is Mrs. Vanandeu's 
 own cousin ! " 
 
 " Mrs. Vananden's cousin !" echoed some one. 
 
 " Yes, he is ! She told me so, didn't you ? " 
 appealing to the lady herself. 
 
 " Yes, I told you so. But, Florette, do you 
 think that to be one's cousin is to be more than
 
 206 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 to be one's pastor? " said Mrs. Vananden, smiling 
 upon the little girl. 
 
 " Why, I thought so ; but I don't know. Do 
 you mean that, seeing he is my pastor, I may 
 love him as well as if he were my cousin ? " 
 asked Florette, while the others were mentally 
 making their own application. 
 
 " I think you ought," replied the lady. 
 
 Mrs. Moshier's next remark was made in a 
 tone which was a trifle sharper than usual. This 
 was all the notice she condescended to take of 
 Miss Florette 's open or Mrs. Vananden's implied 
 reproof. 
 
 At the time of Deacon Barnard's death, Mrs. 
 Moshier was absent from the city. Upon her re- 
 turn the fact, with the attendant circumstances, 
 was related to her. Her remarks were highly 
 characteristic. 
 
 " Well," she said, " I am glad I was away. It 
 must have been very disagreeable for the con- 
 gregation ; at least, the most of them. I think 
 that a person of cultivated mind and manner 
 always dreads such scenes." 
 
 " I assure you, Mrs. Moshier," said Professor 
 Graves, " that it was a very delightful scene ,
 
 Mrs. Moshier Disturbed. 207 
 
 and the most of us will always be grateful for the 
 privilege of being present." 
 
 " Oh, no doubt ! I believe that you had a 
 part in the bit of high comedy. Really, Pro- 
 fessor, you must excuse me, but those things do 
 seem so much out of place." 
 
 " May I ask what things ? " said the Professor, 
 gravely. 
 
 " Why, you know ; it seemed a breaking in 
 upon the good order of the Sabbath services," 
 replied the lady, a trifle embarrassed. 
 
 " Yes, I presume they said something like that 
 on the day of Pentecost." 
 
 Here one or two gallant young gentlemen 
 came to the aid of their favorite, and, content 
 with the testimony he had borne, Professor 
 Graves did not choose to carry his part of the 
 discussion further. 
 
 Presently the talk turned upon the religious 
 interest that had become so general in the com- 
 munity. 
 
 " Have you heard Mr. Parks yet ? " asked Mr. 
 Lee, addressing Mrs. Moshier, and referring to 
 an evangelist who had come to aid the pastors of
 
 208 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 the city in the work which called for additional 
 laborers. 
 
 "Oh, dear, yes! You know I always go to 
 the regular Thursday evening servive," was the 
 reply. 
 
 " May I ask if you liked him ? " 
 
 " Oh, what he had to say was all well enough ; 
 but I think our pastor could have done quite as 
 well," was the careless reply. 
 
 " Well," said the young man, " I shall give 
 church a rest until this blows over." 
 
 " Oh, no, Mr. Lee, you ought to go to church 
 on Sabbath, certainly," responded Mrs. Moshier, 
 very sweetly. 
 
 " That's so, Lee ; Mrs. Moshier gives orthodox 
 advice," said Dr. Baumes, from the lower end of 
 the table. 
 
 " But I do ; I always go to church. You know 
 that, Mrs. Le Grand. I have missed only two 
 Sabbath mornings since I came here ; one of 
 those I was sick, and the other I was lazy." 
 
 Mrs. Le Grand, thus appealed to, responded 
 in her usual stately manner : 
 
 " I have observed that our friend Mr. Lee is a
 
 Mrs. Moshier Disturbed. 209 
 
 very conscientious attendant upon the public 
 services of the sanctuary." 
 
 " But," pursued Mr. Lee, " I think that one 
 may be excused for letting up a little on it in 
 these days. For my part, I think the whole 
 proceeding is in very bad taste, Don't you, Mrs. 
 Moshier ? " 
 
 ** I must say," replied that lady, " that I should 
 much prefer to hear my own pastor to-morrow." 
 Mrs. Moshier had suddenly grown very fond of 
 her own pastor ! 
 
 " I wonder," said Dr. Baumes " that Mr. Ried 
 should have allowed himself to have been drawn 
 into such an arrangement." 
 
 " Yet, we read, * then departed Barnabas to 
 Tarsus, for to seek Saul ; and it came to pass, a 
 'jehole year they assembled themselves with the 
 church, and taught much people.' Now I have 
 never heard what the people said about that 
 arrangement ; but I presume there were some to 
 cavil and doubt the propriety." 
 
 This from professor Graves. 
 
 " Oh, well it was different, then. Now we 
 have our regular pastor, and I do not see the 
 necessity for all this stir."
 
 210 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 "Not even that the multitude outside may be 
 saved?" questioned Mr. Graves. 
 
 " But think of it ! " said Mr. Lee ; " the thing 
 is made so repulsive ; this man conies here 
 heralded by the newspapers; sends his agent 
 ahead, and while he preaches in one room the 
 agent is busy driving bargains in hymn-books in 
 the anteroom." 
 
 " I do not know that we are responsible for the 
 comments of the newspaper men, though I con- 
 fess my inabilit}- to discover anything particu- 
 larly objectionable in them," responded Dr. Van- 
 anden. 
 
 " But do you think it is in good taste ? I appeal 
 to Mrs. Moshier. Is it not making religion a 
 very common affair ? a by-word open to jest? a 
 target for the scoffer ? " 
 
 Mr. Lee seemed suddenly to have become 
 very jealous of the honor of the faith which he 
 professed nominally, at least. 
 
 The lady to whom he appealed, replied : 
 " These things certainly are not to my taste and 
 may not be to yours, but, perhaps, the newspaper 
 publicity may not be so offensive to others, and 
 our remarks might jar upon them. I think that
 
 Mrs. Moshier Disturbed. 211 
 
 our better course is to keep quietly on in our 
 usual course, and give others the privilege of 
 following out their own plans." 
 
 " But if these plans should be of the Lord ? " 
 questioned Dr. Vauanden. 
 
 " I doubt if the Lord has much to do with this 
 flourishing of trumpets," said Mr. Lee. 
 
 " Perhaps not," rejoined Mr. Graves ; " but he 
 has had to do with trumpets." 
 
 "Oh, yes; at Jericho. But it is my opinion 
 that there will have to be louder blowing than 
 any this Parks can do, before the walls of this 
 city will even totter." 
 
 " Oh, Mi 1 . Lee, you are getting irreverent ! " 
 
 Mrs. Moshier's rebuke had a laugh in it, which 
 scarcely added to its effect as a rebuke. 
 
 Mr. Lee replied : " Oh, no ; I intend no irrever- 
 ence ; but I do not like the way things are being 
 done this advertising the meetings, and send- 
 ing an agent ahead, and all that. It is a regular 
 hippodrome way of doing things." 
 
 There was a little murmur of dissent on the 
 part of one or two of the set; but the most of 
 them laughed at the remark of Mr. Lee. Mr. 
 Burgess, who was an avowed infidel, said:
 
 212 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " Seems to me, Lee, that you are not ' witnessing 
 for the truth ' as your sort say." 
 
 " Mr. Lee lets his life witness " said Dr. 
 Baumes. 
 
 As Mr. Lee was not remarkable for strict 
 uprightness of life, this remark caused a loud 
 laugh around the table. 
 
 " Thanks ; " and Mr. Lee bowed in acknowledg- 
 ment of the bit of sarcasm that sounded like a 
 compliment, though not understood as such; 
 " but I thiuk I am witnessing by my words for the 
 truth as I see it. I am sure that folly and super- 
 stition in the Church are legitimate subjects for 
 criticism." 
 
 The Doctor's eyes flashed ; but he was silent, 
 while his wife, getting roused, spoke quickly ; 
 " Then you consider it folly to save souls ? " 
 
 " That does not follow," returned the gentle- 
 man ; " it is the measures that I object to. I 
 should not care to be classed among Mr. Parks 
 converts. There is too much notoriety about 
 him." 
 
 "Then, when you go to the seaside next sum- 
 mer, if you happen to be in danger of drowning, 
 you wouldn't wish to be saved by Miss Ida
 
 Mrs. Moshier Disturbed. 213 
 
 Lewis, because you would be classed among the 
 number whom she has already rescued ; and you 
 would, unconsciously, be adding to her noto- 
 riety." 
 
 " I should scarcely consider that an illustration 
 that would count much for an argument," was 
 the polite reply of the gentleman. 
 
 " Perhaps not ; but it struck me that to be 
 consistent, you should find some way of getting 
 out of the water to correspond with your views 
 upon other questions." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Lee would be sure to keep out of the 
 water unless he was sure of an orthodox ' method ' 
 of getting out," said Mr. Burgess. 
 
 " Yes, we all know that Mr. Lee is very ortho- 
 dox." This from Mrs. Moshier. 
 
 " But look at it !'' resumed Mr. Lee, unwilling 
 to let the subject drop ; " if religion is anything 
 it is a very serious matter ; and the way it is ad- 
 vertised is positively disgusting." 
 
 " Then because it is a serious matter it should 
 be kept from the multitude ? The favored few of 
 us who have been blessed with religious training 
 will, of course, hear the announcements of any 
 extra services from the pulpit ; but the masses
 
 214 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 whom these workers hope to reach, how are they 
 to be invited, except through the press ? " 
 
 " Why, my dear Mrs. Vananden, do you not 
 understand that this is just what our friend here 
 objects to the trying to reach the masses? It 
 is the fact of extra meetings that so vexes his 
 
 BOUl." 
 
 "Now, Dr. Baumes, that is not fair to put it 
 that way ; it is this unwarrantable intrusion of a 
 stranger which I dislike. I consider it an impo- 
 sition upon the taste and common sense of the 
 Christian people." 
 
 As they went up stairs after dinner, Professor 
 Graves stopped a few moments in Mrs. Van- 
 anden's parlor. 
 
 " I scarcely know whether to be more indig- 
 nant or more sorrowful when I think of those 
 people ; to think of professing Christians talking 
 in such a scoffing manner ! " 
 
 " Well, Professor," said Sadie. " I had no doubt 
 at all ; I am just as indignant as I can be every 
 time I hear them talk ; I think they outdid 
 themselves to-night. But did you notice that 
 Mr. Kent, usually the worst scoffer among them, 
 was utterly silent ? "
 
 Mrs. MosJiier Disturbed. 
 
 215 
 
 Dr. Vananden was getting into his rubbers 
 and overcoat. " Now," he said, winding his scarf 
 about his throat, "I think, Sadie, that I shall 
 not be around in time to go down to church with 
 you, but will join you there ; and we must re- 
 member that the grace of God is sufficient even 
 for this : to bring these scoffing ones to a sense 
 of their folly and sin."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 LEAVING THE BANKS. 
 
 " Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit 
 is it that we have kept his ordinances ? " 
 
 H E bell of Court Street Church rang out 
 an invitation for all ; its clear tones 
 penetrated the homes of those who never went 
 to church at all. 'To some of these the old bell, 
 which they had heard hundreds of times, pealing 
 out the same call, seemed to-night to speak to 
 them, saying, " Come ! " Some who had never 
 thought of the call being addressed to them- 
 selves, almost seemed to hear their own names 
 in the invitation. So surely does the Spirit put a 
 new voice into old familiar sounds I Words 
 
 216
 
 Leaving The Ranks. 217 
 
 which have been passed unnoticed; pictures 
 which have had no meaning ; glances and start- 
 ing tears which have only excited wonder ; into 
 any or all of these the Spirit sometimes puts a 
 power that reaches out and takes hold of men 
 who seem almost beyond reach. And that even- 
 ing, even on the threshold of a drinking-saloon, 
 the steps of some were staj^ed, and turned 
 toward home and heaven, by the pleading voice 
 of that church bell. 
 
 And yet, Mrs. Moshier, in her daintily-appoint- 
 ed room, heard that bell, and for her it had no 
 message. Alilhadit none? or was she one of 
 those who having ears hear not ? Mrs. Le 
 Grand, passing her door, which stood open, halt- 
 ed a moment. 
 
 " Are you going to church, Mrs. Moshier? " 
 
 " Oh, my I no ; I might better stay away. I 
 don't wish to be severe in my criticisms, and if I 
 do not go I shall have less occasion for criticism." 
 
 " Well, if you have no engagement, will you 
 come to my room for an hour ? We will have a 
 few games of whist, and Dr. Baumes and Mr. 
 Burgess will join us."
 
 218 'Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 '- That will be pleasant ! I will come thank 
 you." 
 
 Mr. Burgess heard the bell in his room, and 
 paused for a moment in his reading. " I sup- 
 pose," he thought, "that I might as well go 
 down and hear what that man has to say. I do 
 not fear the effect. My opinions are too firmly 
 established to be easily disturbed, and it may be 
 that he will have something to say that will give 
 subject for thought. They say he is a splendid 
 reasoner." 
 
 Still that bell ! " I've half a mind to go down 
 a little while. I believe I will." 
 
 He had just risen to put on his coat, when. 
 Mrs. Le Grand appeared at his door. 
 
 "I came," she began, in her most agreeable 
 manner, " to ask you to help a lonely old woman 
 to pass away an evening. Will you join Mrs. 
 Moshier and Dr. Baumes in a game of whist?" 
 
 Still that bell ! But its tone had changed. 
 The call was not nearly so full of pleading. The 
 face of the elegant woman standing in his door- 
 way ; the invitation she brought; the prospect 
 of an evening with the fascinating young woman, 
 whose favor all the gentlemen boarders were
 
 Leaving The Ranks. 219 
 
 anxious to gain ; these considerations quite 
 drowned the voice of the Spirit that would have 
 led the listener into the place where the word 
 was being spoken with power. 
 
 That very evening, as Dr. Vananden was pass- 
 ing down the hall, he met Mrs. Moshier, and 
 stopping for a little talk, they drifted, as most 
 people did in those days, to the subject that was 
 engrossing attention so largely. In the course of 
 the talk, the doctor said : 
 
 "I think, Mrs. Moshier, that you might, or, 
 rather, you do have a powerful influence upon 
 the young gentlemen of the house. It is a great 
 power put into your hands ; I trust that you may 
 have grace to use it wisely." 
 
 And Mrs. Moshier had only bowed in her 
 most gracious manner and replied, lightly : u In- 
 deed ; Dr. Vananden, you greatly overestimate 
 my influence. I do not suppose that my opinion 
 has a feather's weight with any of them." 
 
 " You are not speaking with your usual can- 
 dor Mrs. Moshier," returned the Doctor. "You 
 can not be unaware of the gift which God has 
 given you, by which these friends of ours are
 
 220 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 attracted and held. So I say, use jour power 
 for good." 
 
 All this was said so courteously, and the two 
 were so well acquainted, that no offense could 
 possibly be taken. But the Doctor's words 
 lingered with the lady, and someway the even- 
 ing seemed unaccountably long and the game 
 unusually dull. 
 
 " Where is Dr. Baunies ? " asked Mrs. Mo- 
 shier, when Mr. Burgess came in alone. 
 
 " Oh I Mrs. Vananden nabbed him and made 
 off with him, before I got around to do Mrs. Le 
 Grand's bidding," replied Mr. Burgess. 
 
 " But Mr. Lee will make up the party," said 
 Mrs. Le Grand; and presently Mr. Lee saun- 
 tered in. That was Mr. Lee's usual manner of 
 locomotion. He always sauntered along as 
 though the world held no responsibilities for 
 him. The son of a rich father, he had never 
 been called upon to exert himself. His natural 
 abilities had helped him over some hard places, 
 and he had passed around the rest in his loung- 
 ing way. To-night, in Mrs. Le Grand's hand- 
 some private parlor, he was in a hilarious mood. 
 Since the evening when he had taken such a
 
 Leaving The Ranks. 221 
 
 strong position against the measures of his pas- 
 tor, he had been growing reckless, frequenting 
 places of amusement, getting up something to 
 fill up the evenings, as if to keep the other young 
 men from the meetings. Now he was planning 
 a sleigh-ride, that should be the grandest thing 
 of the season. " Will to-morrow night do ? " he 
 asked, addressing Mrs. Moshier. 
 
 " I should not like to join you on Thursday 
 evening," was the reply. 
 
 "Why? Oh! I remember ; you always go to 
 church on Thursday evenings. But now that 
 there are meetings every evening, I don't see 
 why you are required to go on Thursday any 
 more than any other day," said Mr. Burgess. 
 
 " I am not responsible for the extra meetings; 
 I do not believe in them ; and consider them 
 quite uncalled for. But I do believe in the 
 weekly prayer-meeting, and always make it a rule 
 to go. The innovations of Mr. Ried and this 
 strange gentleman do not affect my duty in the 
 matter." 
 
 Now, Mrs. Moshier thought that she was dis- 
 playing her Christianity to an excellent advan- 
 tage, and Mr. Lee looked and listened admiringly.
 
 222 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 but Mr. Burgess could not fail to see the incon- 
 sistency of her way of talking and doing. He 
 didn't believe much in any of it, but he liked to 
 see people up to their profession. That was 
 about what he said to himself, but he said aloud, 
 turning to Mr. Lee and laughing : " Well, Lee, 
 there is an example for you ; you belong to the 
 same church. I should think you ought to re- 
 member Thursday evening." 
 
 Mrs. Moshier fancied that she detected a 
 peculiar emphasis upon the " Thursday," but she 
 might have been mistaken. 
 
 "Well, then, we will say Friday evening. 
 We w.ill start from the Curtis House at 7 
 o'clock." 
 
 " Why, Lee ! you are too audacious. Don't 
 you remember that the Curtis House is next to 
 Court Street Church, and seven is the hour for 
 the meetings. What if Mr. Ried should happen 
 to be going to church just as you are getting 
 started ? " 
 
 " Well, what of it ? I guess if we want to go 
 out to Clarksville and help them with their 
 meetings we can do so," and he laughed wick- 
 edly.
 
 Leaving The Ranks. 223 
 
 " I suppose there is no hope of getting Norton 
 Graves to join us," said Mr. Burgess. 
 
 "Dear me ! no. He is hopelessly entangled in 
 the net that Mr. Ried has so skillfully spread. 
 For my part, I believe most emphatically in 
 religion, but I don't believe in fanaticism." 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Burgess, " Graves is a good 
 fellow ; I hate to give him up." 
 
 "Yes, and now they have got hold of the 
 Doctor ; next you know he will be another fa- 
 natic. He is made of just the right stuff." 
 
 Mr. Lee said this with a contemptuous tone, 
 adding : " I tell you the best way is to keep 
 away, if you don't want to be drawn in." 
 
 Meantime Dr. Baumes sat beside Mrs. Van- 
 anden, listening to Mr. Parks. If the minister 
 had known of his presence, and of the peculi- 
 arities of his belief, or rather of his unbelief, he 
 could not have chosen his subject more appropri- 
 ately. The effect of the sermon upon the skep- 
 tical hearer was manifest the next morning. Mr. 
 Lee began the conversation : 
 
 " Well, Doctor, you went to hear the great guq 
 last night." 
 
 " I did," was the brief reply.
 
 224 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " And how do you like him ? " 
 
 " So well that I shall hear him again this after- 
 noon, if possible." 
 
 "Whew!" This was Mr. Lee's expressive 
 response. Mrs. Vananden gave her husband one 
 glance and met his look, which she knew how to 
 interpret. It said : " God be praised." They 
 felt as did the others, who saw in it no cause for 
 thankfulness, that once interested Dr. Baumes 
 would not rest until he hud satisfied himself as 
 to the truth. 
 
 Two days later, as they were at breakfast, Mrs. 
 Moshier, laughingly, called upon Dr. Baumes to 
 give them his candid opinion of the meetings. 
 
 " My candid opinion is that they are a power 
 for good iii this community ; that the results can 
 never be summed up here." He hesitated a 
 moment. Mrs. Vananden leaned forward. He 
 went on, after a brief pause : " Probably it will 
 save me from future embarrassment, and prevent 
 misunderstandings, if I state here, that I am con- 
 vinced of the truth of Christianity ; and, further- 
 more, I am henceforth an avowed disciple of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 Utter silence fell upon the group for half a
 
 Leaving The Ranks. 225 
 
 minute. Mr. Lee proved equal to the occasion. 
 Rising from the table he passed around to Dr. 
 Baurnes' side, and holding out his hand said, with 
 a tremor in his voice : " Doctor, I am very glad 
 to greet you as a brother Christian." 
 
 Almost any one else would have sajd " brother 
 in Christ ; " but I doubt if at that time Mr. Lee 
 had any definite ideas of what it is to dwell in 
 Christ, or to have the presence of Christ indwell- 
 ing in the heart. 
 
 He did not resume his seat, but left the room 
 immediately. He did not appear at dinner, and 
 no one knew what had become of him. One of 
 the boarders had been to his office and found it 
 locked. He had not been seen since he left the 
 breakfast-table. He and Mr. Burgess were in 
 the habit of meeting at the same table in a down- 
 town restaurant, for lunch, but he had not been 
 there. Of course his absence was the subject of 
 much comment ; some laughingly suggesting 
 one thing and some another. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Norton Graves, with Lydia 
 Elmer, were stopping at the Crosby House for a 
 few hours. As the Professor and his brother 
 went up-stairs, Mr. Lee met them in the upper
 
 226 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 hall. He was pale, and his usual complacency 
 was evidently much disturbed. 
 
 " We missed you at dinner," said Professor 
 Graves ; " are you not well ? " 
 
 " Are you going to the meeting to-night ? " 
 was the irrelevant response. 
 
 "Yes, I intend to. Can I do anything for 
 you?" 
 
 Mr. Lee had followed the brothers into the 
 Professor's room, and thrown himself into a sofa 
 corner. 
 
 " Well, if you will take me I'll go with you," 
 said he, with a faint laugh. " I suppose you'll 
 think it strange, but I have suddenly grown 
 wonderfully interested in this Mr. Parks. I be- 
 lieve I'll go and hear him." 
 
 " Well, are you going without your dinner? " 
 asked Mr. Graves. 
 
 " Perhaps I'll get a cup of tea," replied Mr. 
 Lee ; " I have not had lunch to-day, but well, 
 to tell the truth, I did not dare to go to dinner." 
 
 In reply to the inquiry which his companions 
 looked, Mr. Lee continued : " It is a rather hu- 
 miliating confession, but I am afraid of Mrs. Mo- 
 shier. I have made up my mind to a course
 
 Leaving The Ranks. 227 
 
 which I mean to follow, and I am certain that she 
 would throw me off the track. She has already 
 lead me farther than I meant to go. I wonder if 
 she realizes the mischief she is doing right here 
 in this house ? " 
 
 "I am afraid not," returned the Professor, 
 sadly ; "but my brother, I am thankful that you 
 are breaking away. Do you mean that you are 
 ready to renew your vows of allegiance to 
 Christ?" 
 
 " Just that. I have this day given myself 
 anew to him." 
 
 " Thank God I " The brothers spoke the words 
 in one breath, and Norton grasped the hand of 
 his friend, who added : " Dr. Baumes' bold de- 
 claration this morning unnerved me. I have 
 shut my ears against the call of that church bell 
 for several days, all the time feeling that it was 
 calling me, and I am not sure that I should have 
 yielded, had it not have been for the Doctor ; 
 and even now, if I were to meet that woman, and 
 listen to one of her slighting speeches about the 
 methods of Mr. Ried and his associate, I am not 
 sure but Satan might get the better of me. Any- 
 way, I don't want to meet her until I have com-
 
 228 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 mitted myself on the other side. It must seem 
 like weakness to you, but I am weak." 
 
 " Then are you strong," said Professor Graves, 
 fervently. 
 
 In the service of song which preceded the 
 sermon, one voice rang out clear and firm, thrill- 
 ing the hearts of those who recognized it as be- 
 longing to Mr. Lee. Especially did he sing with 
 fervor the hymn : 
 
 " One more day's work for Jesus ; 
 One less of life for me ; 
 
 But heaven is nearer, 
 
 And Christ is dearer 
 Than yesterday to me ; 
 
 His love and light 
 
 Fill all my soul to-night"
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MB. HA TILE Y SPEAKS. 
 " Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine." 
 
 T. L. Harley will speak in the lecture- 
 room of this church, this afternoon at 
 three o'clock, upon the subject of temperance, 
 relating something of his own wonderful experi- 
 ence ; telling how God had led him, bringing him 
 up out of a horrible pit into the light of Christ's 
 salvation." 
 
 This simple announcement, made by Rev. Mr. 
 Ried on a Sabbath morning, was very differently 
 received by the different classes of people who 
 
 heard it. 
 
 229
 
 230 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 The winter had slipped away, as all winters 
 will, and summers too. There were many to re- 
 joice with the glad-hearted pastor of Court Street 
 Church, many who had been quickened into new- 
 ness of life, many who, for the first time, had 
 learned of a Saviour's love ; and there were those 
 who, surrounded by the same gracious influences 
 as these, sitting by their side, listening to the 
 same message, but hearing with unwilling ears, 
 were forced to take up the lamentation, " Jesus 
 of Nazareth has passed by ! " Into some house- 
 holds there had come unity of purpose where 
 before had come that spirit which, while uniting 
 the children of God, makes the distinction marked 
 between those who put Christ first and those 
 who give the world the best of their thoughts and 
 the most of their time. 
 
 At the Crosby House Mrs. Moshier still held 
 her sway over the larger part of the boarders, 
 though her power over some of the most devoted 
 of her admirers was broken. Mr. Lee having 
 given himself anew to Christ, Mrs. Moshier 
 sneers at the fanatic, and her expressed " horror " 
 at the astonishingly poor taste exhibited by the 
 most successful Christian workers, were insuf-
 
 Mr. Harley Speaks. 231 
 
 ficient to move him; and as for Dr. Baumes, 
 Mrs. Mosliier declared that he was the worst 
 fanatic of the lot. 
 
 " Who is this Mr. T. L. Harley ? " asked Mrs. 
 Moshier, as the boarders met at dinner. 
 
 " Why I don't you know Mr. Harley ? " asked 
 Mr. Burgess, in surprise. 
 
 " I do not know that I ever heard of him be- 
 fore this morning," returned the lady. " I judge 
 by your tone that I am betraying an ignorance 
 that is quite astonishing ; but you must remem- 
 ber that I have never been familiar with the sort 
 of people that I judge this man to be from Mr. 
 Ried's remark. So, if it is at all worth while to 
 know, you will have to enlighten me on the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 "But, surely you have heard of the Harley 
 Mission ? " 
 
 " Why, yes, that enterprise of trying to civil- 
 ize those barbarians down by the depot? But 
 you don't mean to say that this T. L. Harley is 
 any connection of the Harleys down there ? " 
 
 " Why, Mrs. Moshier, how can you be so 
 stupid? And where have you been all these 
 last months that you have not been cognizant of
 
 232 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 the progress of the world, and especially of that 
 small corner of it hemmed in by the depot on one 
 side and the river on another? Don't you know 
 that old Tim. Harley has been converted, and 
 the good people who have been assisting in the 
 matter have discovered that his peculiar forte is 
 public speaking ? The gentleman to whom you 
 are expected to listen this afternoon is none other 
 than old Tim. Harley." 
 
 " That old vagabond ! What can Mr. Ried be 
 thinking of?" 
 
 " You forgot, Mrs. Moshier, that he is no longer 
 a vagabond, if he ever could be classed with 
 such. He has regained his manhood, and though 
 not an elegant speaker, can tell his story simply 
 and effectively." 
 
 It was Professor Graves' calm tones that con- 
 veyed this explanation to Mrs. Moshier. The 
 Professor's calmness always aggravated that lad}', 
 and she answered sharply : 
 
 " I beg pardon. I forgot that it was an enter- 
 prise in which you were especially interested, 
 this diving down into the scums of earth after 
 treasures." 
 
 " You have exactly the right word, Mrs. Mo-
 
 Mr. Harley Speaks. 233 
 
 shier," said the Professor. " There is a treasure 
 in every besotted victim of intemperance, aud it 
 is a glorious work to redeem and polish the 
 treasure, and fit it to shine a star in heaven ; and, 
 my friend, it is a work that the Lord permits us 
 to have a hand in ! " 
 
 " Oh, I don't object to your preaching temper- 
 ance to those people, but I really don't want 
 them to set themselves up to preach to me ! 
 And I think it is a queer thing for Mr. Ried to 
 do, this holding an extra Sabbath service for 
 the sake of giving Tim. Harley a chance to 
 practice his declamation ! " 
 
 " Mrs. Moshier, how can you ? " 
 
 " Oh, now, Professor Graves, don't be shocked. 
 You know I don't approve of a great many 
 things which seem to you very right and proper, 
 and why can't you let me go on holding my own 
 views and saying what I like ? You know by 
 this time that I have no sympathy with anything 
 sensational." 
 
 " Ah ! Well, I suppose that some of Peter's 
 preaching seemed sensational to the Jews ; and 
 I remember that very few of them were in sym- 
 pathy with it."
 
 234 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 With this remark the Professor left the table. 
 
 " What a very singular man the Professor is," 
 remarked Mrs. Moshier, very complacently. 
 " He has such extreme views. I always had a 
 prejudice against eccentricity." 
 
 "Mamma," said Florette, "maybe Professor 
 Graves thinks that you have extreme views. 
 You always seem to be just as far away from his 
 ideas as you can be. Aren't there two extremes to 
 everything ? " 
 
 " There, Mrs. Moshier, what can you say to 
 that reasoning ? Pretty well for Florette," and 
 Mr. Burgess laughed and pulled the long curls 
 which hung over the back of the little girl's 
 chair. 
 
 It was a simple, straightforward story that Mr. 
 Harley had to tell. He had been a notorious 
 drunkard until, through the efforts of Mr. Graves, 
 he was induced to take the pledge. That was a 
 happy day for his wife. " Oh," said she, " I have 
 been praying for this these fifteen years. I knew 
 the Lord would hear, and he has, praised be his 
 name I " But that was not all. At the meetings, 
 at what had come to be known as the Harley 
 Mission, among the first to ask the way of life was
 
 Mr. Harley Speaks. 235 
 
 Tim. Harley himself; and then, again, said the 
 wife, " I have been praying for this these fifteen 
 years. The Lord has heard, praised be his 
 name ? " 
 
 As Professor Graves sat listening to the well- 
 dressed man who told his story so forcibly, he 
 scarcely realized that it was the same individual 
 who lay beastly drunk in a corner of a room the 
 first time he went down to that forsaken quarter 
 in response to the request of Mrs. Harley. And 
 as he reviewed his own labors there, and thought 
 of the wonderful blessings which had come upon 
 those people, he too said, " Praised be his name ? " 
 
 Said Mr. Harley : " I never knew what it was 
 to be sober, for years. I drank when I got up ; 
 I drank before breakfast, and after breakfast; 
 before dinner, and after dinner ; before supper, 
 and after supper ; when I went to bed ; when I 
 had extra work to do, and when I had nothing to 
 do ; and, besides, I took a few drinks between 
 times. I drank up a house and lot, a good farm, 
 besides railroad stocks and bonds. I lost the re- 
 spect of my fellow-men as well as my self-respect. 
 I was more like a brute than a man ; aye, I made 
 myself lower than the brutes, for they fulfill the
 
 236 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 purpose of their creation : while I Oh, my 
 friends, I was making a fiend of myself. I drank, 
 and I cursed ; I made my home a horrid den of 
 wretchedness; but my dear wife stood by me 
 through all, and by her prayers held me back 
 from destruction. Then God sent me another 
 friend ; " and then he went on to tell of the little 
 prayer-meetings, and to relate the wonderful way 
 in which he had been led out of the darkness. 
 Perhaps, if Mrs. Moshier had not been so preju- 
 diced against " extra services," that she could not 
 be prevailed upon to go to hear Mr. Harley, she 
 might have been convinced that what she sneering- 
 ly called a declamation was not devoid of interest, 
 and in no way shocking to good taste. There 
 were those who could join in the rejoicing of the 
 angels ove,r one sinner converted to God. 
 
 It was about this time that Lydia Graves stood 
 in the doorway of Mrs. Vananden's parlor, quite 
 early one morning. 
 
 "And so you are really going to move?" she 
 asked, watching Mrs. Vananden as she tenderly 
 wrapped Ester's portrait in many folds of soft 
 paper before transferring it to the man who was 
 assisting her.
 
 Mr. Harley Speaks. 237 
 
 " Yes, we are. Come in. The other room is 
 not torn up ye\ ; I think we can find a place to 
 sit down there," and Mrs. Vananden led the way 
 into the back parlor. Continuing : " It is a 
 rather sudden move at last, though we have con^ 
 templated it fora long time. On many accounts 
 it is very comfortable here ; but there are things 
 that make it almost unendurable at times. Lydia, 
 just think of coming in from prayer-meeting to 
 hear the click of wine-glasses as we pass the 
 doors, which are almost always left open ; and 
 then think of being obliged to hear until late at 
 night, often until long after midnight, the jokes 
 and laughter of a card party in the next room, 
 and especially these warm evenings, when the 
 windows as well as doors are to be left open." 
 
 " It must be very unpleasant," remarked 
 Lydia. 
 
 " But the worst is Sundays. The pain of that 
 is dreadful. At dinner the nature of the conver- 
 sation is often such, that I positively declare that 
 it would not pain me more to listen to the swear- 
 ing of the worst pirate crew that ever sailed ! " 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Vauanden 1" 
 
 "It is true I I don't know that irreverence
 
 238 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 and Sabbath-breaking, or scoffing and blas- 
 phemy, are any less a sin or any less shocking 
 when clothed in silk and lace or fine broadcloth. 
 It is so very unpleasant to have to listen to 
 sneers directed towards the cause we love, that 
 we have decided to go where people love and 
 serve the same Saviour." After a moment's pause 
 Mrs. Vauandeu continued, in a softer tone : " Not 
 that I would unchristian those in the house who 
 profess to love the Saviour. But while their 
 views and practices are so diametrically opposite 
 to our own, upon almost every point connected 
 with Christian life and Christian work, there can 
 be very little sympathy among us." 
 
 " But," said Lydia, " it seems to me that they 
 are lacking in common politeness." 
 
 "So they are, as I think; but they call us fa- 
 natics, and do not reckon our opinions as worthy 
 of consideration," said Mrs. Vananden, laughing a 
 little. 
 
 " Well, I supposed that really polite people re- 
 garded the religious opinions of others as some- 
 thing to be respected at all events." 
 
 " I used to think so, but I find that people's 
 ideas differ as to the ground which the words
 
 Mr. Barley Speaks. 239 
 
 4 common politeness ' will cover," returned Mrs. 
 Vananden. 
 
 " What has become of Dr. Baumes ? " asked 
 Lydia. 
 
 " Why, didn't 3*011 know ? He has gone to 
 Nelson. Going to stay. Ralph wrote to Dr. 
 Newland, who is the pastor of the First Church 
 there, and they have put Dr. Baumes right into the 
 harness. Made him superintendent, and I don't 
 know what. He says in his last letter that he is 
 working out some of the practical things which 
 he has been hearing during the last year or two ; 
 hearing and fitting to some one else, but which 
 now seem to fit him exactly." 
 
 " It seems wonderful he was such a scoffer I " 
 
 " Yes ; and while I am full of thankfulness for 
 the two of the family here who were led to 
 Christ, I can never feel that I and the other 
 Christians in the house did not, by our inconsist- 
 encies, keep others from being drawn under the 
 same influences that led those into the light." 
 
 " Well," said Lydia, " I must go. When do 
 you mean to get out and in ? " 
 
 " Oh, we expect to get settled by to-morrow 
 evening. Come around and see us in the even*
 
 240 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 ing? I'll speak to the Professor, and we'll have 
 a house-warming with two guests ! " 
 
 " Maybe. How nice, that you can go to Mrs. 
 Betson's and it will be a good thing for her, now 
 that Tom is to be away altogether. But good- 
 by," and Lydia went down stairs and was joined 
 at the hall-door by Mr. Lee, who was just start- 
 ing for his office. 
 
 " Well," be began, a little sadly, " everybody 
 seems to be on the wing." 
 
 " Yourself included ? " questioned Lydia. 
 
 " Not exactly. Truth to tell, I am halting be- 
 tween two opinions." 
 
 " Indeed ! I had not supposed you to be one 
 of that sort." 
 
 " I confess that I am surprised myself," he 
 answered, laughing. " It is not whether I shall 
 go or stay, though that is involved ; but a ques- 
 tion lies back of that, which I find it hard to solve. 
 The fact is, Miss Elmer, I have come to one of 
 those dark places that Mr. Hied spoke of last 
 Sunday." 
 
 " I suppose that it was dark to the children of 
 Israel, but still the command was to go for- 
 ward.'
 
 Mr. Harley Speaks. 241 
 
 " But how is one to know for certain that he is 
 going right ? " 
 
 " Well," said Lydia, " you remember what 
 Mr. Ried said about knowing? We have the 
 word of God, the Spirit to lead us, the provi- 
 dences to direct us, the privilege of holding com- 
 munion with Christ by prayer ; and, then, don't 
 you remember what he said about a person's 
 doubting what was his duty, when he was not 
 quite willing or quite ready to do it. That struck 
 me as being a very common way of reasoning." 
 
 Mr. Lee smiled. 
 
 " I'll think about that last, and see if I can 
 make it apply. Good-morning."
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 HELEN AND TOM. 
 " Examine me, O Lord, and prove me." 
 
 KNOW it, Helen. I'm not doubting 
 your willingness to make the sacrifice ; 
 but it does not seem right for me to accept it." 
 
 The Betson family was discussing ways and 
 means, lingering long around the tea-table. 
 Helen's tea was untouched, so eager had she been 
 in her effort to prove that a plan which she had 
 herself proposed was one that they ought to carry 
 out, though it was a plan that would involve a 
 sacrifice on her part. 
 
 " I don't understand how you made it seem 
 
 242
 
 Helen and Tom. 243 
 
 any other way than right," returned Helen. "It 
 seems to be not only expedient, but a necessity." 
 
 " Not at all, as I look at it," responded Tom ; 
 " because I can work my way through." 
 " Yes, and waste years of your life, the best of 
 them, too," interrupted Helen. " You see, Tom, 
 I don't think there is any special merit in a 
 man's resolve to be independent, and work his 
 own way, when there is no special necessity to 
 go with it. I admire a self-made man ; but I 
 don't think that self-making consists entirely in 
 sawing wood and ringing bells, or doing anything 
 of that sort, to pay one's way through college. It 
 seems to me that overcoming your pride, so as to 
 accept graciously your sister's offer, would make 
 quite a piece of a man. Now," she continued, 
 " if that miserable bank hadn't gone and failed, 
 you and I could have gone on with our studies 
 just as papa planned ; but as it is, I do not believe 
 that he would have objected to my giving up to 
 you. I know that he -was anxious that you 
 should be a minister." 
 
 " And so I mean to be ; and I shall get along. 
 The Lord will provide a way," said Tom. 
 
 Helen smiled as she answered :
 
 244 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 *' And if, when the way is provided, you turn 
 scornfully away and say, ' That is not quite ac- 
 cording to my ideas,' do you expect Him to go 
 on suggesting plans for your advancement, until 
 you are suited ? May it not be possible that this 
 is the Lord's way ! " 
 
 Tom toyed with his napkin, rolling it tightly, 
 as if he were a surgeon's assistant, and about to 
 assist in an operation, while Helen continued : 
 
 " And don't you see, that it will not be so 
 great a sacrifice, after all ? If Dr. and Mrs. Van- 
 anden come here to board I shall have a little 
 extra money, for you know that mamma has 
 promised half of what they pay, to me, if I will 
 look after certain details of the housekeeping." 
 
 This time Tom laughed. 
 
 "A pretty large if! I hope that the certain 
 details are not very essential to the Doctor's com- 
 fort," he said. 
 
 " Don't worry about the Doctor's comfort," re- 
 turned Helen ; " but let me give you the details, 
 not of the housekeeping, but of my plan. I don't 
 mean to give up stud}', though my course will 
 be less regular than yours. I shall buy books and 
 music, and attend lectures, and read the papers,
 
 Helen and Tom. 245 
 
 so you need not fear that I shall be so old-fash- 
 ioned and ignorant that you will be ashamed to 
 introduce me to your friends when I come to hear 
 your Commencement oration ! " 
 
 "None of that, Helen ! A fellow would be a 
 brute to be ashamed of a sister who had given up 
 her chance of education for his sake." 
 
 " And don't you see, that it will be pleasanter 
 for mother than it would be if I went away too ? 
 She could never stay here alone." 
 
 " You are not to take me into consideration in 
 your plans," said Mrs. Betson. " Of course we 
 can not now carry out our projects of closing our 
 house for a time, and setting up a house in New 
 Haven for a time ; but some other plan for me 
 can be devised." 
 
 "I think that I shall stay here with you, 
 mother ; so let's get at those shirts to-morrow ; 
 next week we shall have to arrange the rooms. 
 I hope that Mrs. Vananden will like the new pa- 
 per. Her rooms at the Crosby house are just 
 lovely ! " 
 
 Helen seemed to consider that she had gained 
 her point, but Tom had to talk the matter over 
 many times before he could bring himself to ac-
 
 246 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 eept Helen's sacrifice. He would say to him- 
 self, " I don't believe that I could do it, give up 
 my chances of an education to help some one 
 else : but Helen seems so willing, even anxious 
 about it. I don't understand it ; and I am afraid 
 that I am not fit to be a minister ! " While Tom 
 was willing and even anxious that Helen should 
 use her own share of the money which Mrs. Bet- 
 son felt could be set apart, out of their diminished 
 means, for their education, he could not bring 
 himself to the point where he wanted to relin- 
 quish his claim to her, and this thought troubled 
 him, and he became very unhappy over it. He 
 remembered Mr. Ried's sermon on the text 
 " Seeketh not her own," and he asked himself, 
 " Can this which I thought to be a desire to do 
 Christ's work, to obey his command in preaching 
 the gospel can this be a self-seeking ? I can't 
 accept her sacrifice, neither can I be willing to 
 make a corresponding one." Tom had a good 
 many puzzling thoughts over this question, and 
 got quite into the dark. He even began to think 
 that he had no right to call himself a Christian 
 at all, while he was harboring so much of selfish-
 
 Helen and Tom. 247 
 
 ness. Finally, he had a little talk with Mr. 
 Ried. 
 
 " See here, my boy," said the pastor, when Tom 
 had opened his heart to him, " you think that 
 God wants you to preach the gospel ? " 
 
 " Why, yes, sir, I have thought so until lately ; 
 but I don't believe that I can ever be fit. A 
 Christian, and especially a minister, ought to be 
 willing to make sacrifices ; and, as I have told 
 you, I can't be willing to relinquish all my hopes 
 and prospects of a thorough education ; and yet 
 it seems that I ought to be willing to do as much 
 as my sister." 
 
 " Tom," said the pastor, " what reason have 
 you for supposing that the Lord requires of you 
 exactly the same sacrifice that he calls upon 
 Helen to make ? " 
 
 Tom was a little surprised at the question ; but 
 he answered quite readily : 
 
 " Why, I thought that a Christian ought to be 
 willing to do or suffer anything." 
 
 "Are you willing to lay your hand upon those 
 coals in that stove ? " 
 
 " Why, no ; I don't think I am ; yet if it were
 
 248 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 what Christ required I should ask him for 
 strength as I needed." 
 
 " But," said Mr. Ried, " God has required just 
 that of some among the early Christians ; why 
 don't you conclude that he requires it of you 
 because others have been called to suffer thus ? 
 You have been measuring your duty by Helen's. 
 It may be that the Master has set to you a harder 
 task than this self-denial has been to her. In 
 these last few weeks you have been cherishing 
 plans of independence, ideas of self-education, of 
 growing strong by overcoming hindrances, and of 
 the gratification it would be to you to feel that 
 greatly by your own endeavor you have made 
 your way to a position of influence and useful- 
 ness. Now, what if God requires you to put 
 away these ambitions, laudable though they may 
 be in some cases, and accept the aid which your 
 sister offers, saving time and strength for the 
 Lord's work ? Are you ready to sacrifice your 
 pride and your notions of independence ? Sup- 
 pose you look a little more closely at this side of 
 the question." 
 
 " I confess that I have not considered it in the 
 light of a sacrifice that I ought to make in accept-
 
 Helen and Tom. 249 
 
 ing her offer ; it has seemed as if the older and 
 stronger should bear the burden of work if there 
 is one to be borne by either of us." 
 
 " Tom, said the pastor, " you are willing to 
 devote your time, your strength, j'our talents 
 and all else that you possess to the work of 
 preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 but there is one little bit of pride and indepen- 
 dence that you are not rm ; te ready to lay upon 
 the altar. Now, it is not for me to ^y that 
 Helen should lay down her plans, and I know 
 that these are cherished plans, but if she has 
 prayerfully and conscientiously made her decis- 
 ion, and your mother, with whom, after all, the 
 matter rests, concurs in Helen's views, why, 
 then, it seems to me that you should consider 
 very carefully and very prayerfully before you 
 refuse ; and don't imagine that you are to mea- 
 sure you duty by hers." 
 
 The Betsons were not poor, but there had been 
 some heavy losses which called for a lessening of 
 expenses and a change of plans, with a sacrifice 
 on the part of some one, and Helen came promptly 
 to the front in the matter, while Tom spent a 
 great deal of time and wasted his strength in
 
 250 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 endeavoring to bring himself into exactly the 
 same position. Now he had a new field for con- 
 flict ; he was a proud fellow, and he had always 
 been a hero worshiper. A self-made man was 
 his idol, and I am not sure that he was not 
 secretly glad of the opportunity which he saw 
 opening before him for following in the footsteps 
 of some of his favorite heroes ; and now Helen 
 had stepped quietly forward and closed the 
 door. Tom had a vague notion that she had 
 given up the dearest hope of this life, and per- 
 haps it was well that he could not know of the 
 conflict through which she had passed before she 
 so quietly and persistently held her position. 
 Could he have seen her as she gathered up the 
 catalogues, and photographic views, and the 
 illustrated magazine articles, and whatever else 
 she had collected that related to the school which 
 she had selected, and put them all away in the 
 darkest corner of the closet, with a look on her 
 face such as comes only to oi;e who buries a 
 cherished hope, he must have wondered more at 
 the cheerfulness with which she went about the 
 work of carrying new plans into effect. It was 
 yet early spring. Tom would be at home until
 
 Helen and Tom. 251 
 
 fall, and she meant to make the most of him. 
 There were many things to be done in view of 
 uis long absence, and Helen gave herself resolute- 
 ly to the work. 
 
 And this, which seemed to be only the settle- 
 ment of a little family matter, had brought some- 
 thing new into Tom's life. He began to see more 
 clearly that to him who commits all his way unto 
 the Lord there is nothing in which he may act 
 independently ; that a complete submission takes 
 in pride and ambition as well as time and talents ; 
 that the requirement, " Follow me," covers every- 
 thing. 
 
 Mrs. Vananden's presence in the household 
 was a great help to Helen. The lady herself, 
 looking back to her own girlhood, remembered 
 her needs ; and when Helen came into her room, 
 as she sometimes did, with a look on her face that 
 said, " I've come to a hard place," she was ready 
 with her word, and it was always a word in the 
 right place. 
 
 It was a dark, rainy evening, a week or two 
 after the Doctor and his wife were settled among 
 them. Helen had a cold ; Tom had gone with 
 the Doctor to prayer-meeting, leaving Helen to
 
 252 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 imrse her cold, very much to her disappointment 
 She had an unsually hard day ; some of those 
 *' details " about which Tom had been suspicious 
 had gone all awry, just as housekeeping details 
 will. And that wretched cold ! sniff! sniff! eyes, 
 nose and cheeks red as a peony ! and temper 
 well, the less said about that the better for 
 Helen's reputation. The world looked all askew, 
 and my 3 T pung lady felt as though home were 
 dull, every association uncongenial, and her whole 
 range of occupation narrow. While she did not 
 regret her sacrifice, there were hours when a 
 sense of its bitterness came over her afresh, and 
 this was one of them. 
 
 In reply to a remark of Helen's about the 
 narrowness of her life, Mrs. Vananden said : 
 
 " My dear child, it is not for you to talk about 
 narrowness. Why, you have a breadth and scope 
 of influence and power that might well make you 
 tremble ! It is not flattery for me to say that 
 you are a leader among the young people. You 
 are aware of that, and you cannot evade or turn 
 away from the responsibilities of that position. 
 You have a Sunday-school class. How that 
 widens your influence 1 Those little girls have
 
 Helen and Tom. 253 
 
 mothers ; some of them have mothers who are 
 not Christians. Did you ever think how your 
 teachings may be echoing in the house of those 
 children ? how, through them, you, young as you 
 are, may reach the fathers and mothers ? Nar- 
 row ! Why, your life is a growth, broadening 
 and brightening even into perfect proportions and 
 the brightness of day ! " 
 
 " I know," said Helen, " that I am unreason- 
 able to-night, for I do think that I belong to 
 Christ, and that the things he gives me to do and 
 to bear are just what is needful and right ; but 
 sometimes I get discouraged, and everything 
 seems so empty." 
 
 "I think that what you need is to seek for the 
 continual presence of the Saviour. You need to 
 have in your own experience the fulfillment of 
 the promise of our Lord, " We will come unto 
 him and make our abode with him." There is a 
 peculiar sense in which the Lord may be present 
 with his children, so that they may feel not only 
 secure and safe, but conscious of his love and 
 presence. This is not a visionary thought for it 
 is distinctly promised ; neither need it be an occa-
 
 254 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 sional experience, for the words are, ' Make our 
 abode with him.' ' 
 
 While the rain fell heavily without, Helen sat 
 curled up on the rug before the open grate, her 
 head buried in the cushions of a great arm-chair, 
 and listened to such words of counsel. And they 
 were not beyond her depth, for that last winter 
 had been a period of growth to Helen Betson. 
 Steadily her feet had been tending upwards ; and 
 she was being lifted into that plane of life where 
 the stern performance of duty gives place to the 
 service of love. The free, happy service of a 
 heart abiding in Christ, the full surrender of the 
 soul, turns bondage into freedom and duly into 
 love, and Helen was not far from the point where 
 she would find that self-forgetting love "would 
 make her life a joyful song.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 HELEN DECIDES A QUESTION. 
 
 " Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, 
 is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, 
 and to keep himself unspotted from the world." 
 
 t ELEN Betson stood upon the doorstep at 
 the parsonage, talking for a few mo- 
 ments with Mr. Ried. The topic was a Sunday- 
 school picnic that was to come off very soon. 
 
 "Can you come around to the parlors this 
 evening and help with those banners?" asked 
 Mr. Ried, when the matter which Helen came 
 about had been disposed of. 
 
 " This evening ? " repeated Helen, hesitatingly. 
 "Why, I could, only there is Mrs. Moshier's 
 party." 
 
 55
 
 256 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " Ah ! and you are going ? " asked Mr. Ried, 
 with a touch of disapproval in his tones. 
 
 Helen noticed it, and she answered a little 
 doubtfully : 
 
 " Why, yes, sir, I intended to go ; but, of 
 course, if there were more important matters in 
 hand, I could give up the party : but I supposed 
 that I could do my part of the work to-morrow, 
 or even later. We have nearly a week yet." 
 
 " Oh, It is not that ; we have time enough, I 
 suppose," returned Mr. Ried. " I presume that 
 there will not be many to help this evening, so 
 there will be plenty to do to-morrow night." 
 
 " But are not you. and Mrs. Ried going to Mrs. 
 Moshier's ? " asked Helen. 
 
 "I think not," replied Mr. Ried; "she will 
 hardly expect to see her pastor there." 
 
 " Wh} r , has she not sent you invitations ? " 
 asked Helen, in surprise. 
 
 Mr. Ried smiled. 
 
 "Certainly; Mrs. Moshier never forgets the 
 proprieties." 
 
 Helen looked puzzled. 
 
 " Mr. Ried," she began, " I don't understand 
 you at all I "
 
 Helen Decides a Question. 257 
 
 "Don't you? I was not aware that my re- 
 marks were of a puzzling character. Which of 
 them is it that you do not understand ? " He 
 was laughing now, and Helen laughed too, as she 
 answered : 
 
 "Taken singly, they are plain enough; but 
 [ do not see the connection." 
 
 " Well," he returned, " let me enlighten you 
 by asking a question. Have you any idea as 
 to what sort of an entertainment this is to be ? " 
 
 " Why, like any other party, I suppose," re- 
 plied Helen. "It is understood to be a con- 
 gratulatory gathering on the occasion of her tak- 
 ing possession of her grand new house, like an 
 old-fashioned house-warming." 
 
 *' Well, suppose you talk it over with my 
 cousin, Mrs. Vunanden ? " 
 
 Helen went down street towards home, wear- 
 ing a somewhat puzzled look. Now it so hap- 
 pened that the subject of amusements had never 
 been up for Helen Betson's consideration. As 
 a school-girl she had been allowed to do pretty 
 much as she pleased, except that there were a 
 few things which she and Tom understood that 
 their father disapproved of and these things they
 
 258 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 avoided. Among these were card playing, and 
 all other games of kindred character ; and Tom 
 had grown up with a settled conviction that his 
 father was right, and he would no more touch 
 the unclean things than he would handle red- 
 hot coals. When the games were introduced in 
 companies where he chanced to be, he always 
 excused himself from engaging in them on the 
 plea that he had no taste for anything of that 
 sort ; that is, he did so until, of late, he had been 
 led to look into the subject for himself, and saw 
 no reason for changing his views ; but, on the 
 contraiy, found many reasons which strength- 
 ened him in his convictions. 
 
 At the school-girl parties which Helen had at- 
 tended she had danced as a matter of course. 
 Her father never particularly objected, though 
 he considered it a senseless and silly waste of 
 time and strength. He would not consent to his 
 daughter's attendance at dancing-schools because 
 it was " nonsense," and because he never saw a 
 dancing-master with whom he wished his chil- 
 dren to be upon a footing, such as the relations of 
 teacher and pupil would necessitate. Still, 
 Helen had picked up a very creditable knowledge
 
 Helen Decides a Question. 259 
 
 of the art and was quite fond of the amusement. 
 Since she became a professing Christian the sub- 
 ject had not once occured to her, owing greatly 
 to the fact that her father's sickness and death 
 following so closely upon her public confession of 
 Christ, had, for the time shut her off from social 
 visits, and she had never resumed her attendance 
 upon entertainments of the gayer sort. But now 
 Mrs. Moshier had left her boarding-house, and 
 gone to live in one of the most elegant houses in 
 town, and her invitations were out for a grand 
 entertainment. It had never occurred to Helen 
 that she might nob attend with the utmost pro- 
 priety ; and her dress had cost her considerable 
 time and money ; but it was all ready, and her 
 errand down town was to try it on, and select 
 the gloves and ribbons to go with it. 
 
 Mr. Ried had awakened some new thoughts in 
 her mind, which she resolved as she went along. 
 ** Talk it over with Mrs. Vananden." In the 
 first place, Mrs. Vananden was out of town when 
 Mrs. Moshier's delicately-tinted and perfumed 
 notes were sent around, and had only returned 
 the day before, and, though she had grown so 
 soon into the habit of carrying her heartaches to
 
 260 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 her new friends, Helen had not learned to talk 
 over her little anticipations ; someway she fancied 
 that parties were such an indifferent matter to 
 Mrs. Vananden that she would appear silly in 
 that lady's e} r es if she greeted her with idle talk 
 about Mrs. Moshier's party; so she was silent, 
 though her tongue ached to talk all through 
 breakfast time. 
 
 " Mrs. Vananden ! " she said, bursting into that 
 lady's presence, " are you going to Mrs. Moshier's 
 this evening? " 
 
 Mrs. Vananden looked up in some surprise, 
 not at the question, but at the vehemence of the 
 questioner. 
 
 " I think not ; Mrs. Moshier will scarcely ex- 
 pect to see me," she replied, smilingly. 
 
 " Just the words Mr. Ried used ! " exclaimed 
 Helen, half petulantly. " And I don't know at 
 all what either of you mean." 
 
 " Don't you ? " asked Mrs. Vananden. 
 
 " No, I don't I Why wouldn't she expect to 
 see you as well as other people ? And, of course, 
 she would not expect everybody to stay away. 
 I should think that she would want her pastor, 
 anyway."
 
 Helen Decides a Question. 261 
 
 " Helen," said Mrs. Vanauden, " Mrs. Moshier 
 holds many opinions winch are at variance with 
 the word of God as I read it, and as our pastor 
 and hers preaches it. Among them are her views 
 upon the subject of social entertainments. I 
 should not feel justified in giving an entertain- 
 ment of the sort that hers will be to-night, and I 
 see no reason why it would be any more justifi- 
 able for me to attend hers" 
 
 " Do you think it wrong for Christians to at- 
 tend parties? " asked Helen, with a great wonder 
 in her tones and face. 
 
 Mrs. Vananden smiled. 
 
 " You are asking a question which covers a 
 great deal of ground. Let me ask you one that 
 is narrower in its application. Would you have 
 thought it right for you or for me to have at- 
 tended the military ball last winter?" 
 
 " Wh} r , no, I guess not. Mother would never 
 let me go to a public entertainment of that sort ; 
 so I never thought anything about the right or 
 wrong of it for Christians," said Helen, adding : 
 " But I know that it would be a strange place in 
 which to fancy meeting Mr. Hied. On the
 
 262 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 whole, I don't think that it would be just the 
 place where a Christian ought to go." 
 
 " Well, now I am so simple, or so bigoted, as I 
 suppose our friend Mrs. Moshier would call it, 
 that I am unable to see any difference between a 
 fashionable dancing party, got up by a number 
 of persons sending out select invitations, and one 
 which is managed entirely by one person, when 
 there is no difference in the nature of the enter- 
 tainment. Mrs. Moshier will have dancing, and 
 she will have card-tables, and will serve wine, 
 and I presume that their will be accommodations 
 for smokers. Now I fail to see the difference be- 
 tween the two things, and if one is wrong, why 
 then the other is wrong too." 
 
 " But," said Helen, " the people who got up 
 that military ball argued just the other way. I 
 remember that I heard Mr. Burgess trying to 
 persuade a friend of mine to attend : and he said 
 that it was exactly the same thing as a private 
 party, that the committee \verevery particular in 
 making out their list, and that everything would 
 be in the style of the most genteel private enter- 
 tainments." 
 
 " Yes, the only point of difference in our argu-
 
 Helen Decides a Question. 263 
 
 ment is that these people argue that both are 
 right, while I argue that both are wrong." 
 
 "But," continued Helen, "I can't see just 
 where the harm lies. Of course I believe that 
 some of these things are wrong ; but, then, one 
 is not obliged to engage in them. There will be 
 plenty of people that will not go near the card- 
 tables, and many who will not drink wine." 
 
 " And I presume that there will be some who 
 will not dance," added Mrs. Vananden. 
 
 " Mrs. Vananden, do you think it is wrong to 
 dance ? 
 
 " How would you feel to see your pastor danc- 
 ing ? " was the response. 
 
 " Why, I don't know ; I guess I should be 
 astonished. I suppose it is partly because we 
 have been accustomed to think of ministers as 
 being above such things, that we are shocked at 
 the thought ; but I have always danced, and I 
 never thought it was wrong ; though I knew 
 that some people disapproved of it. But, honestly, 
 I never heard one good reason given for disap- 
 proval. Now, won't you please give me some 
 arguments ? " 
 
 u In favor ? " asked the other, smiling.
 
 264 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " Oh, no, I have all I need in favor." 
 "I used to be passionately fond of the amuse- 
 ment myself," said Mrs. Vananden . " Indeed, 
 for a long time the unwillingness to give up the 
 practice stood between my soul and my Saviour. 
 Now, if you would like to know why I do not 
 dance I will tell you. In the first place, I found, 
 very early in my Christian life, that the nearer I 
 kept to Christ the less inclination I had to engage 
 in the pastime ; and I naturally concluded that 
 if the two loves could not abide with me at the 
 same time there must be some antagonism be- 
 tween the two. For me the question settled 
 itself by my growing distaste for the amusement. 
 But there are reasons which I might give you 
 which ought to appeal to those who would not 
 be swayed by any thought of Christian obliga- 
 tion. For instance, the effect upon health. It 
 needs no labored argument to prove that close 
 rooms, late hours, violent exercise during those 
 late hours and undue excitement, all of which 
 are almost invariably the accompaniments of the 
 practice, are in a high degree pernicious to 
 health." 
 " But," said Helen, " I have heard people say
 
 Helen Decides a Question. 265 
 
 that it was a very healthful exercise, and gave 
 strength and elasticity to the limbs as well as 
 making people graceful." 
 
 " Well, my dear, I am the wife of a physician, 
 and have a brother-in-law who is also a physician, 
 so that I have some means of knowing how it is 
 regarded by the profession ; and, besides, I 
 could tell you of many young girls who died 
 early, falling victims to disease induced by danc- 
 ing and its concomitants, among them a dear 
 friend of my girlhood, a girl of rare qualities and 
 bright promise. If I had a daughter I would 
 sooner run the risk of her being as ungraceful as 
 an elephant than take the risk of the loss of 
 health and life itself." 
 
 " But just for once in a while there couldn't 
 be much danger in that." 
 
 "It is not like you to reason that way, Helen. 
 If a thing is wrong at all it is wrong always, 
 isn't it?" 
 
 " I suppose so," replied Helen, doubtfully. 
 
 " Now, let me give you some reasons why, as 
 a Christian, I do not dance. I have found as I 
 said in the first place, that nearness to Christ 
 crowds out all desire to engage in this amuse-
 
 266 Echoing and Re-echoing* 
 
 ment. Indeed, this is my strongest reason ; but 
 there are others. The practice as we find it is 
 damaging to the mind and morals. I am con- 
 vinced that there is a great loss of moral purity 
 inevitably connected with the practice. This 
 may seem a strong assertion ; but look at the 
 association of the dance. Again, did you ever 
 hear of any one asking God's blessing upon a 
 company gathered for an evening's entertain- 
 ment of this sort? Do people, even those who 
 are loudest in defense of their favorite amuse- 
 ment, expect or gladly welcome to their midst 
 the minister of the gospel or those eminent as 
 Christian workers? " Do they even expect that 
 men of culture and high literary attainments will 
 fritter away precious hours thus ? " 
 
 " But, after all, is dancing any worse than 
 some other things that people engage in for 
 amusement ? " asked Helen. 
 
 " I presume not ; but because stealing is no 
 worse than l3*ing, shall we steal ? " 
 
 Helen laughed. 
 
 " I see," she said, " that isn't much of an argu- 
 ment, but people do call it one." 
 
 " I know they do," returned her friend, " and
 
 Helen Decides a Question. 267 
 
 I would substitute only harmless and rational 
 amusements, not forgetting that what would 
 seem enjoyable to me might be very dull and 
 meaningless to you younger people." 
 
 "But I don't see," pursued Helen, "just why 
 one can not carry religion into the dancing- 
 room. I think that if I were to have Willard 
 Hunting for a partner to-night that I could, and 
 most likely should, talk about religion. You see 
 we have had a good deal to say about the sub- 
 ject latel}% Willard is very much interested, 
 and I " here Helen's voice sank to a whisper 
 "I am praying for him." 
 
 Mrs. Vananden smiled. 
 
 " Dear child," she said, " does it not strike you 
 as somewhat incongruous, this mingling of re- 
 ligious conversation with the music of a dancing 
 tune, with the gay dress and trifling conversa- 
 tion around you?" 
 
 At this point of the conversation there came a 
 rap at the door, and Mrs. Vananden admitted a 
 visitor. 
 
 " Don't go," she said, as Helen was about to 
 slip awa} r . " Mrs. Graves is the very person to 
 tell you a story that will answer your thought bet-
 
 268 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 ter than any argument I can shape." Then, turn- 
 ning to Mrs. Graves, she continued : " Strangely 
 enough, you have come just at the right time ; I 
 want you to tell Helen how you tried to carry 
 religion into the ball-room." 
 
 A bright flush spread itself over the face of the 
 visitor for a moment, as if a painful recollection 
 had been awakened ; then she said : 
 
 "Is our Helen desirous of trying the experi- 
 ment ? I can assure her it is a dangerous one to 
 try ; for you risk the loss of spiritual growth and 
 vigor, and there is scarcely a chance of doing a 
 bit of good. As for my own experiment, it end- 
 ed disastrously enough; and had I not been 
 spared and given grace to retrieve my error as far 
 as possible the end would have been sad, indeed I 
 After I was engaged to Mr. Graves I became a 
 Christian, and, of course, I longed to have him 
 join me in the beginning of a new life ; but while 
 he always listened to my urgent appeals with 
 some degree of interest, that was all. Satan 
 suggested that I ought to be careful not to dis- 
 gust my friend by unnecessary strictness, so I 
 went out with him just as before, to all sorts of 
 places, without regard to the question of con-
 
 Helen Decides a Question. 269 
 
 sistency. I thought that I was manifesting a 
 very good spirit, and I really imagined that I 
 was glorif} T ing God when I accompanied my 
 husband to a series of dancing parties at Per- 
 kins' Hall and talked religion to him on the 
 way home and between the sets. But how Satan 
 must have rejoiced, for my inconsistency drove 
 my husband into infidelity ; and it was long years 
 before I regained what I had lost ; frittered 
 away. To be sure, after my marriage I only 
 danced at private entertainments, but I never 
 heard God recognized in any manner at such a 
 party ; and I lost my relish for prayer, and soon 
 ceased my effort for the conversion of my hus- 
 band. My health was undermined by late 
 hours and the violent exercise, and I spent five 
 years of pain and weariness before I regained 
 what I had thrown away, either physically or 
 spiritually. 
 
 " Mr. Graves has told me since, that it was the 
 fact that he saw so little difference in my habits 
 and pursuits after I had professed Christ that led 
 him to renounce all faith in a religion which 
 seemed to have so little power upon the lives of 
 those who professed to be guided by its princi- 
 ples.
 
 270 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " I tell you, Helen, don't you try to be a danc- 
 ing Christian. I have learned, by a long, bitter 
 experience, that to be ' unspotted from the world ' 
 is to stand aloof from all questionable amuse- 
 ments and employments ; to engage in nothing 
 which crowds the love of Christ into the back- 
 ground, and be sure that you will never lead a 
 soul to Christ by any sort of a compromise with 
 worldliness." 
 
 " One question more," said Helen. " Does 
 the Bible anywhere expressly forbid dancing ? " 
 
 Mrs. Vananden smiled. 
 
 " Does the Bible anywhere expressly forbid 
 throwing stones at your neighbor's windows ? " 
 
 Helen laughed, as she said : 
 
 " I never found the prohibition." 
 
 "Therefore you may throw stones," added 
 Mrs. Vananden. 
 
 Helen helped to trim banners that evening, 
 and between pauses of the talk her heart sent up 
 its petition : 
 
 " Keep me unspotted from the world I "
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 CHKISTIAN GIVING. 
 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord." 
 
 fr$ 
 HIS was Mr. Ried's topic. His people 
 had been accustomed, annually, to 
 nerve themselves to listen to a dry dissertation 
 upon the duty of the Christian Church to sup- 
 port the mission cause, interspersed with more 
 dryness, in the shape of statistics, gathered from 
 the Missionary Record or Herald, these same 
 statistics being the dryest of all reading to those 
 uninterested in the reports. Mr. Ried had been 
 sorely grieved over the indifference of the Court 
 Street people in regard to the subject of benevo- 
 
 271
 
 272 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 lence, and sorely puzzled, too, as to how to bring 
 about a different state of things. Personally he 
 had no cause of complaint. His salary was al- 
 ways promptly paid, and his people were ready 
 to take up his burdens ; but to give for objects 
 outside they were not so ready. Were new fur- 
 naces needed, the older men were ready, with 
 open purses, to meet the expense ; was it new 
 library books, the money could be raised without 
 difficulty : was it a picnic, the young men were 
 ready to meet the expenses incident to a first- 
 class affair; and there was the Young Ladies' 
 Association, with its crochet-work and its slipper- 
 bags, and card-receivers, with its fairs and fes- 
 tivals, stepping in to fill a gap here and there in 
 the need of the church ; but let there come an 
 appeal for help for the Zulu Mission, or for some 
 newly-organized church in the West, struggling 
 to build a simple, unpretending house of wor- 
 ship, and these same Court Street people would 
 most likely fold their arms closely over the 
 breast-pocket and dolefully sigh over the "many 
 calls for money." 
 
 While growing in the grace of " brotherly 
 love," the growth had been too narrow to reach
 
 Christian Giving. 273 
 
 out and embrace the masses outside. The eradi- 
 cation of this selfishness, and the expanding of 
 the thoughts and interests of his people, so as to 
 include a world, was the object for which the 
 pastor was seeking. Could he make them see 
 the deformity of Christian character which would 
 inevitably grow out of these habits of thinking 
 and acting ? The whole lesson of Christ's life 
 was one of giving. A giving that had in it not 
 the thought of personal gain, but of personal 
 sacrifice. Would they, who, having accepted 
 the richest of his gifts, professed to learn of him 
 turn away from the great lesson of giving? and 
 would they persist in thinking and speaking of 
 benevolence as a duty, when, in truth, it is a 
 great, a blessed privilege ? 
 
 The work being the Master's, and they the 
 honored stewards, holding for him the things of 
 this world, could they not bring their ideas of 
 benevolence up to a higher plane than this, the 
 goading of duty ? A man should not ask how- 
 little it will do to give, but, rather, how much 
 can I give ? What does the Lord call for of his 
 own? 
 
 God could carry on his work without our help,
 
 274 Echoing and Re-ecTioing. 
 
 even to the preaching of the gospel to the hea- 
 then hi the darkest corner of the world. He 
 could irradiate these midnight regions with the 
 light of Christ's love and the glory of his salva- 
 tion ; but he has chosen to make us co-workers 
 with himself, that in us might be cultivated the 
 grace of giving. Christ's whole life was a gift, 
 and this made all his gifts unto us more precious. 
 The comforting words that come to us in the 
 midst of our griefs, are they not the more comfort- 
 ing because He, by whom they were uttered 
 suffered in like manner ? The strength that is 
 promised for the hour of temptation, does it not 
 support and brace, as we remember, that into 
 that sinless life there came a corresponding 
 temptation ? Is it not the putting of ourselves 
 into our gifts that makes them of value ? Then, 
 shall we not learn to give because we want to, 
 as well as because we ought ? As to the ought, 
 we can have no doubts : " According to the 
 blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath 
 given thee." "Charge them that are rich in this 
 world, * * * that they do good, that they 
 be rich in good works, ready to distribute, will- 
 ing to communicate."
 
 Christian Giving. 275 
 
 But while we all acknowledge the duty of 
 beneficence, how many of us count it a precious 
 privilege to give freely, even as we have freely 
 received ? Oh, that we could get above the 
 level of the sort of giving, that if it does not be- 
 stow grudgingly, at least has none of the delight 
 of real Christian giving ! Let us rejoice that we 
 are thus honored of God ; made the instruments 
 of carrying the gospel message into all the world, 
 even the uttermost parts ! Let us educate our 
 children to " give as they pray, from the heart, 
 and as a means of grace." 
 
 Mr. Ried had some eager listeners that day. 
 Helen Betson with her usual interest, followed 
 him all through, though she wondered where her 
 portion would come in. The subject was one 
 which had, thus far, failed to gain her attention, 
 further than that she dropped her money into 
 the box quite as a matter of course. Now that 
 she considered it a little, she was forced to con- 
 fess that she had no better reason than the com- 
 mon one, that it was a proper thing to do. All 
 at once it dawned upon her that she was privi- 
 leged to help on the cause of Christ. It came 
 like a wonderful revelation, and with it came re-
 
 276 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 flection, of how little she had been doing of this 
 work : " According to the blessing of the Lord 
 thy God which he hath given you." To Helen 
 these words came with a double meaning, 
 "According to the blessing." Abundantly had 
 the Lord blessed her with every good gift. 
 Her Lord and Saviour had given himself ; there- 
 fore, should she keep back the offering of her 
 own life? Rather let her give herself, and with 
 her money let her give her sympathy, her in- 
 terest, her prayers. The whole subject of be- 
 nevolence stood out from eveiything else, illumi- 
 nated with the light of the word of God. How 
 plain it all seemed to her. Her life and her means 
 might be but little to give, yet, had not God 
 chosen the weak things to confound the mighty ? 
 and would he not use her and her gifts for his 
 own glory ? The little'sum that she had thought 
 to give that morning, suddenly seemed very small 
 to her, and she was glad that a month's allow- 
 ance had just been paid, that she might begin at 
 once to give according to her new rule " Ac- 
 cording to the blessing of the Lord," and with 
 the spirit of thankfulness for the privilege. 
 Mr. Bates seemed not quite satisfied with the
 
 Christian Giving. 277 
 
 sermon, if one might judge from the remarks 
 which he made to his wife, who was not pres- 
 ent at church. 
 
 " It is the day for Foreign Missions," he said, 
 " and I must say that we had the queerest anni- 
 versary sermon, this morning, that I ever heard. 
 There was not a word of Foreign Missions in it 
 from beginning to end, nor any kind of missions." 
 
 "What did he preach about?" asked Mrs. 
 Bates, whose confidence in her pastor's good 
 sense was by no means shaken by her husband's 
 imputation of queerness. 
 
 " Well, his subject was " Christian Giving." 
 He told us that while benevolence should be a 
 settled principle, we ought to get above the sim- 
 ple thoughts of duty, and give from love of it. 
 He gave us some good thoughts, but not a single 
 bit of information." 
 
 " Ah ! And how many copies of the Mission- 
 ary Herald are taken in the congregation?" 
 asked Mrs. Bates. 
 
 " About fifty, I think," returned the gentle- 
 man. 
 
 " Indeed 1 It is a pity he had not thought to 
 give a few statistics to a congregation with such
 
 278 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 limited means of knowing tilings for them- 
 selves ! " said Mrs. Bates, sarcastically. 
 
 " Well," persisted Mr. Bates, " it would have 
 been in keeping with the occasion, if he had 
 spoken somewhat at length of the importance of 
 the work and of its progress." 
 
 To this remark the lady made no response, but 
 presently she asked : 
 
 " How about the collection ? " 
 
 The gentleman grew animated at once, and 
 replied, promptly : 
 
 " The best we have had for years I I think it 
 was double that of last year." 
 
 " Pity about the sermon ! " said his wife, as if 
 she had not heard the reply to her question. 
 
 Mr. Bates looked at her curiously, and re- 
 plied : 
 
 "Oh? the sermon was well enough." 
 
 " So I should judge," she returned ; adding : 
 " I presume that you gave the same as usual to 
 the cause ? " 
 
 Mr. Bates hesitated, wondering what prompted 
 the question ; finally he answered : 
 
 " Well, no ; I gave just double the amount 
 which I calculated to."
 
 Christian Giving. 279 
 
 " Ah ! How did that happen ? " 
 
 " I am sure I can't tell ; only it seemed a 
 pleasant thing to do, and I knew that even that 
 was not as God has prospered us." 
 
 Mrs. Bates smiled, and thought within herself: 
 " Whatever the sermon may have been, it seems 
 to have done its work. I don't think we need 
 question the wisdom or appropriateness of 
 preaching that brings forth good results." 
 
 On his way down to evening service Mr. Nor- 
 ton Graves stepped in to consult Mr. Bates about 
 a notice to be given out from the desk. You 
 see Mr. Graves had stepped into the business 
 matters of the church as though he had always 
 belonged there. 
 
 " What did you think of the sermon this 
 morning ? " asked Mr. Bates. 
 
 " Think of it ! Why, I have been thinking of 
 it all the afternoon; and I have concluded that 
 we have, as a rule, very slight conceptions as to 
 the height of privilege to which God would exalt 
 us. The words, " co-workers with God," raise 
 one to a summit of blessing and honor scarcely 
 to be realized. I feel as if we must open our 
 hearts to take in the whole world ; it is full of
 
 280 Echoing and Re-echoing, 
 
 sin and sorrow, blindness and degradation ; and 
 we, who have been healed, must hasten to spread 
 the glad news of the healing power." 
 
 " Yes, it is true ; we are not doing all we 
 might," returned Mr. Bates, who decided that it 
 would not do to criticise a sermon which had 
 given rise to such impulses as these. " I have 
 always meant to give liberally ; but I felt this 
 morning that I had been niggardly in my con- 
 tributions to enterprises outside our own 
 church." 
 
 " If, as individuals, we find that, as we go out- 
 side our own souls and seek to help others, we 
 bring a blessing upon ourselves, so, I suppose 
 that, as a church, we may expect to increase, 
 even by scattering." 
 
 " Old Deacon Barnard used to say that Solo- 
 mon spoke the literal truth in the text which you 
 have partly quoted, and that the Lord always 
 returned to him many fold all that he gave to 
 the cause of benevolence," said Mrs. Bates. 
 
 " Then, if one could bring himself to take so 
 low a view of the matter, it would pay, as a 
 pecuniary investment, to be liberal," said Mr. 
 Bates.
 
 Christian Giving. 281 
 
 "That, certainly, is not the highest view to 
 take of it," replied the other gentleman; "but 
 the thought may not be unworthy of considera- 
 tion. If, as we were told this morning, we give 
 as a privilege, we may surely be glad to know 
 that, by our giving, we shall not be impoverished, 
 but still have something to give. I suppose 
 that if we could get into that habit of mind that 
 would lead us to thank the solicitor for the op- 
 portunity to give, we should come nearer the 
 Bible thought about the matter." 
 
 Mr. Bates did not reply immediately. This 
 young brother was reaching and grasping the 
 sweet mysteries of the Christian's life, its duties 
 and privileges, in a way that astonished this man, 
 who had been years in the race, and he thought 
 within himself: u The ground must have been 
 well prepared for the seed when it makes such a 
 rapid and vigorous growth, and, looking back for 
 a little, he reflected how earnest had been the 
 effort of the pastor to so present the truth, that 
 all might have a clear perception of the great 
 principles underlying all Christian living ; and so 
 there came to this man the conviction that many 
 of his criticisms upon the style of preaching had
 
 282 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 been wasted. He was conscious, in his own 
 soul, of a growth be} r ond that of other years. 
 How was it, that after living so long, compara- 
 tively inactive, in the service of Christ, he had 
 been stirred to effort, even to personal effort, for 
 the saving of a soul ? " When he spoke again 
 he said : 
 
 " Well, I suppose if we could get at the Bible 
 thought, about most things, we should find things 
 cleared up a good deal." 
 
 Mr. Graves rose to go. 
 
 " About this notice. Do you think it best to 
 add that a collection will be taken for the benefit 
 of the cause at the close of the lecture ? Of 
 course, the object of presenting the subject is to 
 awaken an interest, so as to gain supporters ; but 
 how will our people receive it?" 
 
 " Judging from to day's collection they will be 
 ready. Yes ; announce a collection by all means ; 
 at least, state that there will be an opportunity 
 to contribute," was Mr. Bates' ready reply. 
 
 And this was the man who had been accus- 
 tomed to excuse himself too often from contribut- 
 ing to various causes foreign to themselves, by 
 quoting the old adage, "Charity begins at
 
 Christian Giving. 283 
 
 home." What had become of his prudence in these 
 matters ? 
 
 On his way to the church Mr. Graves met two 
 or three others, to whom he spoke of this matter 
 and found that their views corresponded with 
 those of himself and Mr. Bates ; so he thought 
 Mr. Ried seemed a little doubtful. 
 
 " I am satisfied that we ought to give liberally 
 to this cause," he said ; " but you know our peo- 
 ple do not respond very promptly to the calls of 
 the collection-box, and I always feel ashamed of 
 a small result." 
 
 " Well," responded Mr. Graves, " I think we 
 had better try it. I am inclined to think that 
 our education is progressing."
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 FRAGMENTS. 
 Gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost." 
 
 iANTIME, at the Elmers, they had been 
 looking forward to changes in their life, 
 changes with which the " something," that Prof. 
 Graves wanted to " talk over with his brother, 
 had largely to do changes which would fall 
 sadly upon Rachel. Mrs. Norton Graves was 
 there, spending a day, helping Lydia with her 
 sewing, when Mrs. Coville ran in for a word with 
 Rachel. Carrying her sad heart and heavy bur- 
 dens, she often came to Rachel for counsel and 
 comfort. 
 
 284
 
 Fragments. 285 
 
 " I don't know how it is," she said to Mrs. 
 Graves, as they sat together, while Rachel went 
 to hunt out a bit of cloth to match the gray of 
 Freddy Coville's pants ; " once I should never 
 have thought of coming to Rachel for such a 
 thing, not that I ever thought her penurious, or 
 unwilling to grant a favor ; but it seemed so un- 
 like her to want to take the trouble to help any 
 one ; she and Lydia seldom needed to ask 
 favors, and it was always very hard to come to 
 them ; it seemed as if they didn't like the bother 
 of it." 
 
 "And now? " asked Mrs. Graves. 
 
 "Wh} r , Rachel Elmer is the best friend I 
 have ! And how different things are here in this 
 old house ! They used to be so much alone ; 
 but since they got to living so much for other 
 folks, this house has come to be the dropping-in 
 place of the neighbors." 
 
 " Yes," replied Mrs. Graves, " and I sometimes 
 wonder how Rachel has reconciled herself to the 
 surrender of the old-time quiet aud order of the 
 place." 
 
 " And these new-comers," said Mrs. Coville ; 
 " it seems very queer to hear the little girl go-
 
 286 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 ing about the house, up and down stairs, follow- 
 ing Miss Rachel about, as though she had lived 
 here all her life." 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; strange, but providental," re- 
 turned Mrs. Graves. 
 
 This was the story of the new-comers. 
 Away back, during the stormy, blustering March 
 days, there had come to the sisters a message 
 like this : 
 
 DEAR RAY : Can you come to me, for the 
 sake of the dear mother, mine by adoption ? Will 
 you come ? Will you come to one who fears that 
 she has not long to live ? 
 
 Your cousin, MARY. 
 
 Making a few hurried preparations, Rachel 
 took a long journey, and a few days later Lyclia 
 received a letter. 
 
 "Dear Lydia," it ran, "you and I need not 
 have worried about my loneliness when you were 
 away ; the Lord has provided for this as for all 
 other needs. Our Mary is not dying. The doc- 
 tor says that with rest of body and mind she may 
 live for years ; and this rest, which she needs, I 
 propose to give her, as far as I can. Only Gd
 
 Fragments. 287 
 
 can give peace to the soul ; yet, with worldly 
 cares off her mind, I trust that she will not be 
 unmindful of Him who has, thus far, cared for 
 her. As soon as she can be moved, which may 
 be in a fortnight, I shall bring her home, with 
 her daughter, another Ray. Her husband's death 
 quite overcame her, and she has never recovered 
 from the prostration which followed. They are 
 not poor; and she insists upon making it a con- 
 dition of her retnrn with me, that she be allowed 
 to pay for her board. I do not believe that I 
 will give up the school, and I have been think- 
 ing about asking Mrs. Gordon to take the posi- 
 tion of housekeeper in my establishment. She is 
 in want of a home, and is of the household of 
 faith ; however, we can talk this all over when I 
 get back." 
 
 All this came about to the surprise of every- 
 body. It seemed like a revolution in their way 
 of living. This introduction of three people, and 
 of them a rollicking girl, would be likely to dis 
 turb the quiet serenity of the old house more 
 than the daily coming and going of Rachel's 
 little scholars ; but Rachel always insisted that 
 they being thus thrown upon her care was a
 
 288 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 special providence, and one of her special causes 
 for gratitude. 
 
 Coming in now with her bit of gray cloth, 
 which she was sure she had somewhere, but 
 which it had taken a long time to find, she 
 seemed to her friends to have grown young in 
 the last few months and she felt younger, too. 
 The fresh, young life of her namesake, infused 
 into her own, brightened everything, and she 
 found there was more to live for than she had 
 fancied in the days when she spent hours and 
 weeks and months working canvas screens. 
 The very screens which had so annoyed Lydia 
 stood now before the open fire-place, in a hand- 
 some frame, and Rachel sometimes smiled to 
 herself as she looked at it and wondered how she 
 ever found time to work canvas scenes ! 
 
 The days flew by, and the morning came on 
 which Lydia Elmer was to be married to Pro- 
 fessor Graves. Only a very few guests were in- 
 vited just Mr. and Mrs. Norton Graves, Dr. 
 and Mrs. Vananden, with Tom and Helen and 
 Mr. Niles, and Mr. Lee, with a few neighbors. 
 
 The matter of the bride's dress had been the 
 cause of much discussion between the sisters.
 
 Fragments. 289 
 
 Racliel had some old-fashioned ideas as to an ap- 
 propriate costume for the occasion ; she thought 
 it should be either white or very light silk, and a 
 vail, with orange blossoms, was indispensable. 
 Lydia argued that such a costume would be a 
 needless expense. 
 
 " You know," she said, " That I look like a 
 fright in light colors ; and I should never wear 
 the dress again, though I might consent to make 
 myself look ugly for once, and that, when I ought 
 to look my prettiest ! " 
 
 But Rachel's mother was married in a white 
 brocade, that stood alone and had been kept 
 sacredly, to be handed down as an heirloom. 
 Lydia having worn it once, in her school days, 
 when she appeared at an " Old Folks' Concert," 
 declared now that she had enough of white silk 
 dresses ; but the question of useless expense 
 finally gained the day. Rachel held out long 
 and fought bravely for her ideas of propriety. 
 
 " What do people do who can't get silk 
 dresses ? " asked Lydia. " Mustn't they get mar- 
 ried because they must disregard the proprie- 
 ties ? " 
 
 " Well, I can't say that I think it would affect
 
 290 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 the -validity of the ceremony," replied Rachel, 
 laughing ; " but so long as we can afford it, and 
 it is such a pleasant old-time idea, and has such 
 associations, I can not bear to think of you 
 in any other costume. I feel about it just as I 
 do about the Thanksgiving dinners ; there is a 
 great deal of unnecessary work and expense con- 
 nected with an orthodox Thanksgiving dinner ; 
 but the associations are sacred, and it seems like 
 a religious sacrifice, and then, as certain things 
 are appropriate and sacred to the house of God 
 and the sacraments, so it seems to me that these 
 things belong to the wedding feast. And as to 
 those who can not afford them, why, it is just 
 this, it is having the best you can afford." 
 
 But Lydia could not be convinced that it was 
 her duty to make a martyr of herself in wearing 
 a white silk dress, and she had very little of the 
 reverence for ancient customs and habits which 
 held Rachel to an observance of many things that 
 seemed very foolish to the younger sister. With 
 Rachel it was an almost morbid, worshiping pas- 
 sion, for that which bore the stamp of antiquity. 
 The quaint old house, with its antique furniture ; 
 its cabinets and its closets, filled with relics of
 
 Fragments. 291 
 
 those who had dwelt in the old house for three 
 or four generations, were among her dearest treas- 
 ures. And now this 3*011 ngest and only remain- 
 ing sister proposed to adopt the modern fashion 
 of being married in a brown poplin traveling 
 suit ! 
 
 It was Mr. Ried's sermon on Christian giving 
 that reached down through this worshipful love 
 and put into Rachel's heart such thoughts of the 
 beauty of benevolence, that, for the first lime in 
 her life, she was sorry she had not more to give, 
 and, as for Lydia, she laid a note upon the plate, 
 saying to herself : 
 
 " There goes the vail ! I hope Ray will give 
 the dress ! " 
 
 Whether she did or not, white silk dresses and 
 orange flowers suddenly lost favor, and she sewed 
 away on the brown poplin as contentedly as 
 though she had never thought on any other 
 material for the bridal costume. 
 
 The newly-married pair were to leave at once 
 for the West, where Professor Graves expected 
 to take up the work of an evangelist. His 
 labors at the Harley Mission hud developed an 
 amount of latent talent that had surprised both
 
 292 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 himself and his friends ; and now that there were 
 others to take up the work he was going to a 
 wider field. The heart of the pastor rejoiced 
 that they were able to send out into the fields 
 beyond their own borders such efficient workers. 
 Dr. Baumes had gone to a place where Christian 
 workers were greatly needed, and now these 
 two were going. Tom Betson, the manly boy, 
 all aglow with zeal, was entering upon a period 
 of preparation for his life-work, but in the mean- 
 time was reaching out, seeking to draw within 
 the field his companions. One other was about 
 to go forth as a worker, but Mr. Ried did not 
 know of this as yet. 
 
 During the hour devoted to congratulations 
 and " refreshments " Mr. Lee and Lydia had a 
 bit of talk. 
 
 "You remember the words }*ou said to me a 
 few weeks ago about the way to find out one's 
 duty." 
 
 "I remember the talk to which you refer," she 
 said, "though I do not remember what- 1 said." 
 
 " I told you that it was a question that puzzled 
 me, whether I should go or stay," said Mr. Lee ; 
 "but I think the question is decided."
 
 Fragments. 293 
 
 " And you ? " 
 
 " Go ! That last Thursday's prayer-meeting 
 talk decided me. I thought before when I 
 talked with you that I only needed to know the 
 way, and I would 'go forward,' but I found that 
 there was something else in the way. I hud 
 not acknowledged the 'authority of Jesus,' 
 but listening to Mr. Ried's remarks upon that 
 text, and his application of it to the two men at 
 work by the sea, I began to realize that the calls 
 of the Lord are imperative. He said : ' Come ye 
 after me : And straightway they forsook their 
 nets and followed him. ' ' 
 
 It was Lydia who quoted the verse, and Mr. 
 Lee responded : 
 
 "Yes, 'straightway' they acknowledged his 
 authority and rendered prompt obedience, though 
 they knew not whither he would lead them. 
 And consider the result! To these and others 
 was afterward given the command to preach to 
 * all nations.' Those men were, I suppose, as 
 full of business concerns in their way as I am in 
 mine. If I have any talent he wants that, or 
 any latent here he smiled ' energy ' he wants 
 that. Shall I leave all and follow him in that
 
 294 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 way? I tell you, Mrs. Graves," Lyclia started 
 to hear herself addressed by that name, " I know 
 that the Master's vineyard is suffering for the 
 want of laborers ; can I hold back?" 
 
 " No you can not" she answered. 
 
 " So I think : therefore I shall close my office 
 here as soon as I can make a transfer of my 
 business, and get at once into the work of pre- 
 paration." 
 
 " For the regular ministry ? " asked Mrs. 
 Graves. 
 
 " I think so ; I have counseled with no one ex- 
 cept your husband, but I shall see Mr. Ried, to- 
 day. I felt the thrill of that command all through 
 me all day last Sabbath, and it seems as if there 
 were nothing for me but to preach the gospel." 
 
 "I am glad that you are going to do it," re- 
 turned Lydia, " but what has become of your 
 idea which you labored so earnestly to persuade 
 Tom Betson into, last fall, that Christian lawyers 
 were needed, and he might better study law with 
 you than to study theology ? " 
 
 " That idea has resolved into this, that while 
 lawyers should be Christians as the ministerial 
 profession is far more important than the legal, it
 
 Fragments. 295 
 
 has stronger claims upon those who have a fit- 
 ness for it. I have no great fondness for law 
 and I do not know that I have any especial fit- 
 ness for the work of the ministry ; but this I am 
 sure of, it is better to try to persuade men not to 
 quarrel than to help them settle quarrels." 
 
 " But so long as men will quarrel there must 
 be some one to help them back to peace," said 
 Lydia. 
 
 " True ; and I am not sure that in nine cases 
 out of ten the minister would not do better work 
 in the case than the lawyer." 
 
 " Especially if he were half lawyer," she said, 
 laughing. 
 
 Then her husband came to say that it was time 
 to go, and she held out her hand, saying, " Well, 
 Mr. Lee, I can only repeat what I said before, 
 ' Go forward.' " 
 
 "Thank you." 
 
 And so the workers parted, to meet perhaps 
 this side, perhaps that. And Rachel gathered 
 up the fragments of the feast, feeling as if there 
 were other fragments to be gathered up. Just 
 then she realized that there is nothing whole or 
 complete in this life, nevertheless the command
 
 296 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 is, " Gather up the fragments, that nothing be 
 lost." Should she not, then, use the remnant of 
 her life for the Master of the feast ? 
 
 And Mr. Lee, had he aught but fragments to 
 give to the Master? He had spent the early 
 morning in idle indifference to the claim which 
 he now acknowledged. He had acquired habits 
 of thinking that would always be a trouble and 
 vexation. He had spent 3 r ears in studies and 
 pursuits that could be of very little advantage to 
 him in the calling for which he was now about to 
 be fitted. 
 
 And yet this is the command of the Lord him- 
 self, " Gather up the fragments."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 UP THE MOUNTAIN. 
 
 " Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our 
 Faith." 
 
 ELENI Helen!" 
 
 It was Jenny Vosburgh's voice that 
 came up to Helen as she sat in her own room 
 one summer morning engaged in the rery 
 interesting occupation of darning stockings. 
 There were at least a dozen things that she would 
 rather be doing at that very moment ; but stock- 
 ings had a very provoking way of wearing out 
 and Helen had periodical spasms of order, and 
 one of them had come upon her this morning. 
 She recognized Jenny's voice, and answered, 
 
 cheerily : 
 
 297
 
 298 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " Well ! come up ! " 
 
 Helen's opinion of her old schoolmate had 
 changed somewhat since that day when she 
 fought with her conscience-over her duty to be 
 kind and helpful toward Jenny. Three years 
 in passing had brought many changes. Jenny 
 had been away, first at school, then traveling 
 considerably, and had developed qualities of mind 
 and heart which made her more attractive than 
 of old ; and, best of all, she was an earnest Chris- 
 tian. Dr. and Mrs. Vananden were still with 
 Mrs. Betson, having found their home there so 
 pleasant that they had never gone to housekeep- 
 ing again ; and Mrs. Vanauden was still the 
 friend and counselor of Helen Betsou, and now 
 Jenny had been drawn within the circle of her 
 influence. It is really wonderful, the power of 
 one consecrated life in shaping and molding 
 the character of young girls brought under the 
 influence of that life ! Helen had grown to be 
 quite content, though her path had not been 
 quite smooth. There had been the little inequal- 
 ities of the everyday walk, light weights to be 
 cast aside, besetting sins to be overcome, obstacles 
 to be overcome, such as all meet with ; and,
 
 Up The Mountain. 299 
 
 added to these, there had been a few darker days 
 in the history of the last year, days of struggle 
 and pain, days when to express her feelings would 
 have been to cry out, " If it be possible, let me 
 not drink of this bitter cup ! " But there soon 
 came the needed strength, and she could say, 
 " Not my will, but thine ! " And as she re- 
 sponded to Jenny's salutation, there was no trace 
 of the conflict, except the added sweetness and 
 beauty of her face. 
 
 Out on the hillside, where Robert Niles had 
 begun his career as a Christian worker, a neat 
 little church was fast approaching completion, and 
 Jenny's errand was to invite Helen to ride out to 
 Clarkson. 
 
 " Mr. Niles has invited us both, and he will be 
 around in half an hour," explained Jenny. " Can 
 you leave those horrid stockings, and go with 
 us?" 
 
 Helen's spasm of putting to rights yielded to 
 Jenny's energetic treatment, the prospect of a 
 ride proving a positive antidote. 
 
 " To be sure I'll go," she said, promptly ; and 
 tossing her work into the basket to wait for 
 another spasm, she ran down to tell her mother,
 
 300 Echoing and He-echoing. 
 
 and arrange with the cook about certain matters 
 pertaining to the dinner, and then came back to 
 hurry into an appropriate toilet. One thing was 
 noticeable about Helen Betson ; her toilets were 
 always appropriate. No matter what the hour, 
 the occasion, or the weather, she was always pro- 
 perly dressed. The neat gray dress and wrap, 
 relieved by the blue wing that ornamented the 
 hat, which exactly matched the dress in color, 
 made a very suitable toilet for a ride out into the 
 country. It was one of those matchless summer 
 mornings, when earth and sky, and the very air 
 we breathe, are full of the glory of the Creator. 
 The quiet dignity of Mr. Niles did not particular- 
 ly check the liveliness of Miss Jenny. That 
 young lady was quite irrepressible, though she 
 expected soon to occupy the position of the wife 
 of one of the most influential business men of the 
 city, and one equally eminent as a working 
 Christian, none other than Mr. Niles himself I 
 Of course she was interested in the new church 
 out at Clarkson ! 
 
 After an hour's ride they came out upon the 
 " Ridge," as it was called, and stopped at a curve 
 of the road to take a look down the valley upon
 
 Up The Mountain. 301 
 
 the little city below, the river, the busy fac- 
 tories, and the farming country lying around all. 
 
 "How high up we are!" exclaimed Jenny. 
 " I haven't realized at all that we were getting so 
 far above the level of the city" 
 
 " And yet you know that there was a height 
 to be attained ? " questioned Mr. Niles. 
 
 " Yes ; but I suppose I had an idea that we 
 were to make a steady ascent, all the time going 
 up ; instead of that we have had so much down- 
 hill that I had not realized that we were actually 
 making progress upward." 
 
 " Well, you see, our down-hills did not take us 
 quite down into the valley, and each upward 
 stroke has brought us a little higher than we 
 were before," said Mr. Niles. 
 
 " I see," returned Jenny ; " but suppose we 
 had not come quite so far up, and had just 
 stopped down there at Mr. Davis' ? " 
 
 " Well? " questioned the gentleman, not quite 
 falling in with her thought. 
 
 " Why, you see, if we had not come up to just 
 this point, but had stopped a little short of it, we 
 should never have known that we had risen at 
 all."
 
 802 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 " Are you sure of that ? " Were you not con- 
 scious of breathing a purer atmosphere, of being 
 lifted above the smoke, and the din and turmoil 
 of the life down there ? " returned Mr. Niles. 
 
 " Well, yes ; only I didn't put it so. I knew 
 that I was happy, but I didn't think about its 
 being the purity of the atmosphere that made me 
 so," said Jenny. 
 
 "And you find in this an illustration of our 
 climbing in a spiritual sense ? " questioned Mr. 
 Niles. * Is that your thought ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I was thinking about Mr. Ried's ser- 
 mon last Sabbath morning. It must be worth a 
 few struggles to attain such a height as that 
 which he spoke of so glowingly ; and the climb- 
 ing, that seems very much like this we have done 
 to-day, plenty of down-hill. Sometimes I think 
 it is most all down!" This last with a half 
 sigh. 
 
 " But when you come out in the clear light, 
 and look back along the way in which you have 
 been led, then you will see that there has been a 
 gain," replied Mr. Niles. 
 
 Helen had been silent during this talk, her 
 face wearing a thoughtful expression. Now
 
 Up The Mountains. 303 
 
 Jenny turned suddenly toward her, and said : 
 
 " Helen, what have you steeping in that busy 
 brain of yours ? I know by your face that you 
 * have a thought, ' as we say in the game." 
 
 "It is nothing," returned Helen; "only, 
 might there not be a steady upward course, 
 without these decents into the valleys, that 
 make the journey so long and tiresome ? " 
 
 " Oh, you would have a graded path," said 
 Jenny, laughing. " Those are modern inven- 
 tions, and I don't believe we will ever apply the 
 principle to the religious life." 
 
 " Perhaps not ; but all climbing is not like 
 this we have done to-day ; some hills have half- 
 way places, where you may halt and take a re- 
 trospective view, instead of waiting until you 
 reach the summit. It seems as though we ought 
 to know if we are gaining anything." 
 
 "And all Christian experience is not alike. If 
 we come into the possession of the rest of trust, 
 we may not attain it in the same way that others 
 have. You know Mr. Ried said that one might 
 suddenly come into the light and blessedness of 
 this stage of progress, recognizing it as a most 
 wonderful lifting up of the soul toward heaven
 
 304 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 and Christ. All at once burdens will drop away, 
 selfishness and bitterness will be taken out of the 
 heart, and rest and love and perfect peace will 
 take their place. Or all might come upon one 
 gradually, little by little, without a consciousness 
 of any time when this new trust, this oneness 
 with Christ, was attained. But the blessed re- 
 sults are in any case the same." This from Mr. 
 Niles, as they drove slowly along the Ridge 
 road. 
 
 " We were talking the matter over at home," 
 said Jenny, " and I said that if it was all true, 
 that we might claim the promise and have the 
 indwelling of the Spirit. Why don't we, for 
 surely we all, as Christians, desire it, and what is 
 to hinder ? " And Mrs. Vananden said that it 
 was because we would not make room for 
 Christ ; that he could not come with the fullness 
 of his power into a heart which held aught which 
 was displeasing to the Holy Spirit. 
 
 " Yes," returned Mr. Niles, " there are many 
 things to hinder our progress. Our climbing 
 must necessarily be slow and difficult so long as 
 we carry heavy weights. We ought to heed the
 
 Up The Mountain. 305 
 
 words of the apostle, and ' lay aside every weight.' 
 It is certainly our privilege to grow in grace." 
 
 Arriving at the spot where the new church 
 was rapidly going up, Mr. Niles left the girls in 
 the carriage while he went to speak to the men 
 who were at work upon the building. 
 
 " What an interest Robert takes in this work ! " 
 said Helen. " But it is no wonder, for it has all 
 grown out of the seed he planted here." 
 
 "And who would have believed that a church 
 would be built up here, or that the people would 
 be strong enough to support a pastor ! " replied 
 Jenny. 
 
 " Did I tell you I went down to the Harley 
 Mission Chapel last Sabbath afternoon ? " con- 
 tinued Jenny. " Mr. Niles has taken a class 
 there, and Mr. Graves wants me to teach a class 
 of boys. I have half promised, but I don't feel 
 as though I were fit to teach ; but he has prom- 
 ised to let me off just as soon as he can find a 
 better one." 
 
 Helen smiled, thinking that if that was the 
 condition, Jenny would be likely to retain the 
 class for a time at least. 
 
 " Did you know that Emma Patterson was
 
 306 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 teaching with Rachel Elmer?" asked Helen. 
 " You remember she went to Boston to study the 
 Kindergarten system, and now she is going to in- 
 troduce it into Rachel's school." 
 
 In these j^ears " Miss Elmer's School for Little 
 Girls" had become well known and popular, and, 
 withal, a power in the neighborhood. Many a 
 a young girl dated a new era in her life, both in- 
 tellectual and religious, from her entrance into 
 the school. The quaint old house, so unlike its 
 neighbors, was growing to be wonderfully at- 
 tractive to the little folks. How full Rachel's 
 life hud become ! Suppose that Mrs. Coville, 
 looking on and thanking God that he had raised 
 up such a friend for herself and her children, 
 never thought to look back to that evening when 
 she grumbled over her pastor's urgent appeal for 
 more workers, and to connect her own little ef- 
 fort, almost unconscious as the effort was, with 
 the growing usefulness of this woman who had 
 been roused from her stupor and set at work. 
 
 " When do you expect Tom ? " asked Robert, 
 as he returned to the carriage and took up the 
 reins to drive on to the home of his old friend,
 
 Up The Mountain. 307 
 
 Mr. Newton Clark, where they expected to 
 dine. 
 
 "Next week," replied Helen. 
 
 " And will he stay until he enters the semi- 
 nary ? " 
 
 " I think so, though he may join Prof. Graves 
 for a time. At last the Professor urges him to 
 come, and I believe Mr. Ried thinks it would be 
 a great advantage to him to learn something of 
 that particular work. Mother will be disap- 
 pointed, but, she says that father gave Tom to 
 the work, and she must not hinder him in his 
 preparation." 
 
 It was after dinner, as they were left alone for 
 a few moments, sitting on the piazza which 
 over-looked the valley, that Mr. Niles said to 
 Helen : 
 
 " I had a letter from Mr. Lee last evening ; a 
 good, noble letter. Helen, did you not make a 
 mistake ? " 
 
 " No, Robert, no ! I am sure I did not ! " And 
 Helen flushed painfully. " I told you this morn- 
 ing,'' she continued, " that father gave Tom to 
 the work of the ministry, and I think that the
 
 308 Echoing and Re-echoing. 
 
 Lord gave me to my mother. She needs me, and 
 my first duty is to, her." 
 
 "Yes," returned Robert; "I ought not to 
 have spoken that way, but " 
 
 "Don't speak of it," said Helen, quickly. "It 
 has taken me long to understand the leadings of 
 Providence, and I do not fully comprehend now. 
 Years ago I prayed to be allowed to work for 
 Christ in our own church, and thereupon God 
 shut me up at home. But you know how he 
 blessed me, even in my rebellion, by permitting 
 me to be a help to my dear father. Then I was 
 anxious to prepare for a teacher, thinking to do 
 the Master service in that way, but the path was 
 again closed, and a greater blessing awaited me. 
 God filled my need in the friendship and counsel 
 of dear Mrs. Vananden, and so it has been al- 
 ways." 
 
 " And in this last ? " asked Robert tenderly. 
 
 " In this I do not yet see the recompense," re- 
 turned Helen ; " but of this I am sure, that ' all 
 things work together for good to them that love 
 the Lord. ' " 
 
 " Mr. Lee writes that Dr. Baumes expects to 
 go out to Japan with him," said Mr. Niles.
 
 Up The Mountain. 
 
 309 
 
 " Our own church will be well represented in the 
 mission field." 
 
 " Yes, and after the harvest the laborers will 
 all go home together," said Helen softly. 
 
 THE END.
 
 X7 
 
 THE CHAUTAUQUA GIRLS AT HOME- 
 
 By Pansy. 12 mo. Illustrated. ........ I 50 
 
 ' Par.sy knows girls, and has the gift of story-telling, by which 
 the hard facts of every -day life take on a charm as of fairy-land. No 
 one can look into ' The Chautauqua Girls ' without feeling the 
 subtle fascination of its pictures of quiet life, and being drawn into 
 warm sympathy with the four friends who long to form noble char- 
 acters. They have been won to a love of Jesus by attending a 
 camp-meeting at Chautauqua ; but they find it so hard to be true 
 to their new impulses, and to carry the spirit of the Dible into 
 erery-day life, that the story of (heir struggles, disheartening fail- 
 ures relieved by partial successes, is very human and full of genuine 
 pathos. It is good summer reading, for beguiling away hours, and 
 inspiring with generous purposes." 
 
 "Pansy's last book, 'The Chautauqua Girls at Home,' is as 
 fresh and inspiring as a fine morning in June. The four friends, 
 Marion, Ruth, Flossy and Eurie, are of genuine flesh and blood, 
 with the petty weaknesses that flesh is heir to, and the noble aspi- 
 rations that come at times to every high-minded girl. Their unlike- 
 ness to each other in character and social position, and their mutual 
 helpfulness in all sorts of difficulties make a delightful story ; in- 
 structive as well as fascinating. One finds it hard to lay down the 
 book after beginning the first chapter. It will find many readers 
 who will welcome its stimulating power to high aims in life, ^"d to 
 patience and hope in fighting hard battles." 
 
 Boston: D. LOTHROP fr CO, Prilisktri.
 
 CHEERFUL WOKDS. 
 
 In the whole range of English literature we can call to 
 mind the works of no single author to which the title, 
 "Cheerful "Words." can more properly apply than to those of 
 George Macdonald. It exactly expresses the element which 
 permeates everything from his pen, whether sermon, essay, 
 story or poem an element which strengthens while it 
 cheers, which instills new light and life into the doubting or 
 discouraged soul, and incites it to fresh effort. 
 
 In the volume before us the editor has brought together, 
 with a careful and judicious hand, some of the choicest pas- 
 sages from Macdonald's works, written in various keys and 
 upon various subjects, but all marked by healthy sentiment 
 and sunshiny feeling. In quoting what a late critic has said 
 of the " electrical consciousness" which characterizes his 
 writings, the editor remarks: "The breadth and manliness 
 of tone and sentiment, the deep perceptions of human 
 nature, the originality, fancy and pathos, the fresh, out-of- 
 door atmosphere everywhere appareut; above all, the earnest, 
 wholesome, but always unobtrusive religious teaching that 
 underlies all his writings, give to the works of George Mac- 
 donald a certain magnetic power that is indescribable." 
 And in the selections here made that power is singularly ap- 
 parent. By turns they touch the heart, fire the imagination, 
 moisten the eyes, arouse the sympathies, and bring into 
 active exercise the better feelings and instincts of mind and 
 heart. 
 
 The introduction to the volume is from the pen of James 
 T. Fields, a personal friend and ardent admirer of the au- 
 thor. He regards Macdonald as a master of his art, and 
 believes in holding up for admiration those like him, who 
 have borne witness to the eternal beauty and cheerful capa- 
 bilities of the universe around us, and who are lovingly 
 reminding us, whenever they write, of the " holiness of help- 
 fulness." 
 
 *Cheerful Words. By George Macdonald. Introduction by James T. 
 Fields, and Biography by Emma E. Brown. Spare Minute Series. Boston: 
 D. Lothrop & Co. Price fi.oo.
 
 RECENT BOOKS. 
 
 YEJTSIE "WALTON. By Mrs. S. R. Graham Clark. Bos- 
 ton: D. Lotbrop & Co. $1.50. Of the many good books 
 which the Messrs. Lothrop have prepared for the shelves of 
 Sunday-school libraries, " Tcnsie Walton " is one of the 
 best. It is a sweet, pure story of girl life, quiet as the flow 
 of a brook, and yet of sufficient interest to hold the attention 
 of the most careless reader. Yensie is an orphan, who has 
 found a home with an uncle, a farmer, some distance from 
 the city. Her aunt, a coarse, vulgar woman, and a tyrant 
 in the household, does her best to humiliate her by making 
 her a domestic drudge, taking away her good clothing and 
 exchanging it for coarse, ill-fitting garments, and scolding 
 her from morning till night. This treatment develops a 
 spirit of resistance; the mild and affectionate little girl be- 
 comes passionate and disobedient, aud the house is the 
 scene of continual quarrels. Fortunately, her uncle insists 
 upon her attending school, and in the teacher, Miss Gray, 
 she finds her first real friend. In making her acquaintance 
 a new life begins for her. She is brought in contact with 
 new and better influences, and profiting by them becomes in 
 time a sunbeam in her uncle's house, and the means of 
 softening the heart and quieting the tongue of the aunt who 
 was once her terror and dread. Mrs. Clark has a very pleas- 
 ing style, and is especially skilful in the construction of her 
 stories. 
 
 "Yensie Walton" is a story of great power, by a new 
 author. It aims to show that God uses a stern discipline to 
 form the noblest characters, and that the greatest trials of 
 life often prove the greatest blessings. The story is subor- 
 dinate to this moral aim, and the earnestness of the author 
 breaks out into occasional preaching. But the story is full 
 of striking incident and scenes of great pathos, with occa- 
 sional gleams of humor and fnn by way of relief to the more 
 tragic parts of the narrative. The characters are strongly 
 drawn, and, in general, are thoroughly human, not gifted 
 with impossible perfections but having those infirmities of 
 the flesh which make us all akin.
 
 NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 NEXT THINGS. By Pansy. A Story for Little Folks. 
 Fully illustrated. Boston : D. Lothrop & Co. Price $1.00. 
 This is a bright little story with two heroes, and the lesson 
 It tries to teach young readers is to do the work that 
 lies nearest to them first; in other words, "What to do 
 next. No one can do the second thing; he can do the first." 
 Bound up in the same cover is a capital story called 
 " Dorrie's Day," in which are related the adventures of a 
 little girl who went to sleep in the cars and got carried out 
 of her way. The history of what she did, and how she got 
 home, will interest the children. 
 
 MRS. HARRY HARPER'S AWAKENING. A Missionary 
 story by Pansy. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price $1.00. 
 This is one of Pansy's " lesson books," in which, under the 
 guise of a story, she drives home a truth so thoroughly that 
 the dullest and most unimpressible reader cannot help seeing 
 and feeling it Mrs. Harry Harper was a young wife in a 
 strange city, without acquaintances, and with nothing to do 
 during the long hours of the day while her husband was ab- 
 sent at his business. One day in walking aimlessly along 
 the street she follows a crowd of ladies into what she sup- 
 poses is a bazar, but what she soon discovers to be a mis- 
 sionary meeting. Her attention is excited by what she sees 
 and hears ; her sympathies and religious feelings are 
 awakened, and she enters into practical Christian work with 
 all her heart and soul. The book is one of serious purpose 
 and falling into the hands of people like Mrs. Harper will be 
 a means of undoubted good. 
 
 PIZARRO; or, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru. Il- 
 lustrated. Edited by Fred H. Allen. Boston: D. Lothrop 
 & Co. Price $1.00. This is the third volume in Mr. Allen's 
 valuable little series, and is a concise and interesting history 
 of a country which at this very moment is undergoing a 
 conquest as bloody and exhaustive as that which occurred 
 350 years ago, when the Spanish ancestors of the present 
 race of Peruvians carried fire and slaughter into the homes 
 of the native inhabitants. The story is told with spirit, 
 and with enough detail to enable the reader to get a clear 
 and connected idea of the different campaigns of Pizarro in 
 South America from the time of his landing on its shores in 
 1509 until his assassination by his own countrymen in his 
 bouse in Lima in 1541.
 
 CRITICISMS. 
 
 MY DAUGHTEB SUSAX. By Paiisy. With fifteen illus- 
 trations by Miss Humphrey. Boston: D. Lotlirop & Co. 
 Paper covers, 50 cents. Here is a book, to use an expression 
 of Hawthorne, transfixed with a purpose. A book for sum- 
 mer reading, bright, sharp, and thoroughly interesting, and 
 yet containing something more than a mere story. Its key- 
 note is temperance, and we doubt if any lecturer ever put 
 his arguments in more telling shape or made his illustra- 
 tions more fascinating than the author has done in this little 
 work. "My Paughter Susan" is an original character; a 
 woman of strong mind and fixed principles, brilliant and 
 sympathetic; the life of social gatherings, and yet a most 
 determined opponent of the various temptations which are 
 offered at such places in the way of wines and intoxicating 
 Jiquors. The book is the history of her experiences for a 
 single day, and shows what can really be accomplished by 
 determined effort in a righteous cause. The illustrations are 
 capital and add to the attractions of the volume. 
 A NEW SUMMER BOOK. 
 
 " My Daughter Susan " is in Pansy's best vein, and noth- 
 ing more need be said to those acquainted with her writings. 
 With rare insight into character, and as rare a gift for story- 
 telling, she unites a humor bubbling over in perpetual fun, 
 and an intense earnestness, loathing meanness and wrong, 
 which keep a reader vibrating between laughter and tears, 
 and revive the best elements in his nature. Her books are 
 of the healthiest kind, and admirable companions for sum- 
 mer travel. The illustrations of the volume are particularly 
 good.
 
 Six LITTLE REBELS. By Kate Tannatt Woods. 
 25 crayon drawings by Boz. Price, $i 50. Boston: 
 D. Lothrop & Co. 
 
 Six LITTLE REBELS, is a charming story of five 
 southern children, brought to one of our quiet New 
 England towns during the civil war. If the south has 
 many such families, a great future lies before it, for a 
 liner group of children it would be hard to reproduce 
 in any part of the world. The characters are finely 
 drawn, fresh and natural as a June morning. They 
 accomodate themselves to New England life as if to 
 the manor born ; and their adventures, and sporting 
 humor, and loving ways make up a delightful book. 
 
 Their temperary home was well chosen. Dr. War- 
 rington is a genuine New Englander, with shrewd in- 
 sight, quiet ways, and a perfect self-mastery, which 
 assures him great influence over others. His daugh- 
 ter Dolly is a jewel, modest, self-distrustful, but gifted 
 with Yankee faculty, equal to all emergencies ; Axy, too, 
 the maid of all work, and Aunt Lucinda are admirable 
 specimens of New England character. The book is 
 certain to be a favorite with children, who will have 
 no end of laughter over the pranks, of Lex, the mis- 
 chievous colored imp, and as much enjoyment over 
 the sweet prattle of baby Bertie. We can't have too 
 much of such literature.
 
 OUR BOOK TABLE. 
 
 POOR PAPA. By Mary W. Porter. Illustrated. Boston : 
 D. Lothrop & Co. Paper covers, 50 cents. Of all the lately 
 published books in which children bear a principal part, 
 one of the most natural and charming is Poor Papa. It 
 breathes the very spirit of childhood, and one is inclined to 
 believe that the author must have drawn her characters from 
 living models. Few writers have the faculty of describing 
 children as they are, and many of the so-called "juvenile " 
 books published are dreary failures simply because their 
 writers have no sympathy with their subjects. The children 
 whom Miss Porter describes are genuine children and not 
 make-believe. They have all the indescribable ways and 
 peculiarities that make little people oftentimes riddles to 
 their elders. Their journey abroad with " Poor Papa," who 
 comes all the way over the ocean for them, their adventures, 
 their quaint observations on what they see and hear, their 
 thorough enjoyment of everything, the comical surprises 
 they are continually giving those around them, are delight- 
 fully set forth, and will be as fascinating reading for the 
 older as for the younger ones. 
 
 " Poor Papa " is sure to be a favorite. It is a graphic 
 story of the perplexities of a father, left a widower, to care 
 for two children. The father is an artist, absorbed in paint- 
 ing, and having no knowledge of child -nature; while his two 
 children, loving and true, are like young colts, with irrepres- 
 sible life and spirits, and perpetually in trouble. They have 
 many amusing adventures in Italy, from their rollicking love 
 of freedom and fun, and barely escape with life from a 
 governess, whose martinet habits transform her into an ogre, 
 delighting in torture. But the troubles of papa and children 
 find a happy solution in the advent of a new mamma, the 
 eister of a brother artist, whose fine womanly instincts have 
 helped the children already over many a hard place. Sum- 
 mer travellers will have many a hearty laugh over the vol- 
 ume, and enjoy equally the humor of the children and the 
 perplexities of "Papa."
 
 ENTERTAINMENTS. 
 
 Comprising Directions for Holiday 
 Merrymakings, New Programmes for Amateur Perform- 
 ances, and Many Novel Sunday-school Exercises. Collect- 
 ed and Edited by Lizzie W. Champney. Boston : D. Lo- 
 throp fe Co. Price $1.00. Mrs. Champney is known as a 
 popular magazine writer, a poet of no mean ability. 
 The volume before us is a specimen of her skill in another 
 direction that of selection and compilation; a work requir- 
 ing rare judgment and almost as much ability as would 
 be necessary to produce an original work. The table of con- 
 tents includes exercises for Temperance gatherings, Fourth 
 of July, Missionary concerts, Decoration day, Thanksgiving 
 and Christmas. Principally, however, they are intended for 
 use at Sunday-school exhibitions and concerts. The ele- 
 ment of entertainment, says the author, must enter even in- 
 to religion, if it is to be dear to the popular heart. Enter- 
 tainments, at any rate, the multitude will have; it only re- 
 mains for Christians to decide whether they shall make this 
 mighty power a Christian force, or leave all the merry and 
 bright things of this life to the service of Satan. Sunday- 
 school literature is very defective in dialogues and recita- 
 tions of an attractive character, and the preparation of a 
 programme for such occasions is a matter of supreme diffi- 
 culty. To make it easier, and to provide a source from 
 which material may be drawn for almost any occasion, the 
 present work has been prepared. Most of the matter is new, 
 and is contributed by persons of experience in musical mat- 
 ters and entertainments of all kinds. 
 
 A chapter on " Accessories, Decorations, Scenery," etc., 
 furnishes full information upon those subjects, and a num- 
 ber of patterns for evergreen decorations for Christmas en- 
 tertainments are given. Taken altogether, the book exactly 
 fills the place for which it was designed, and will be warmly 
 welcomed not only by schools and societies, but in every fam- 
 ily where there are children to be amused and instructed.
 
 EXCELLENT BOOKS. 
 
 Six MONTHS AT Mus. PRIOR'S. By Emily Adams. Illus- 
 trated. Bostoii: D. Lothrop & Co. 1.25. . 
 
 "In this fresh little story, which is addressed especially to 
 young girls, the author tries to impress the lesson that the 
 disagreable and annoying duties of life may he made pleasant 
 by accepting them as inevitable, and asking help from 
 above. Mrs. Prior is the \vid <w of a clergyman, and has 
 been left with five little ones to support. She discharges her 
 servant, and divides the lighter duties of the household 
 between herself and the two eldest of her children , Minnie 
 and Helen. Unaccustomed to any thing but study and play, 
 the girls find it very hard to have their old time appointments 
 for enjoyment circumscribed, and complain bitterly at first. 
 The book gives a history of their experience, and shows how 
 the work that was so irksome at first became in the end a 
 ource of pleasure and means of healthful discipline. 
 
 " Six Months at Mrs. Prior's " is a sweet story of womanly 
 tact combined with Christian trust. A widow, with scanty 
 means, makes a home happy for a group of children, restless, 
 wayward and aspiring, like many American children of our 
 day. The mother's love holds them, her thrift cares foi 
 them, her firmness restrains, and her Christian words and 
 life win them to noble aims and living. The influence of the 
 Christian household is widely felt, and the quiet transform- 
 Ing leaven works in many homee. We can't have too many 
 books of this kind in the family or Sunday-school." 
 
 Miss PRICILLA HUNTER, by Pansy, opens a new view 
 for that charming writer, but one eminently popular at the 
 present time. It deals with the payment of a church debt, 
 and shows how an humble woman, with a Christian charac- 
 ter which gave power to her words, raised the money to pay 
 off a debt which had long been a hindrance to church growth 
 and to Christian benevolence. Why she did it, and how slia 
 did it, is told in Pansy's best fashion: her encounters with 
 crabbed folks, and stingy folks, and folks determined not to 
 give to the church debt, are highly amusing, as well as her 
 device* to get lomething from everybody.
 
 LINKS Ef REBECCA'S LITE. By " Pansy." Price, (1.60. 
 Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. 
 
 "Pansy" has no rival as an author of the best class of 
 Sunday-school books. Her " Ester Ried" and "Chautauqua 
 Girls " series are models in that important line of literature. 
 Her new book, " Links in Rebecca's Life," is worthy of a 
 place in the same list. This book is an admirable one. Its 
 tone is healthy and stimulating, without a trace of senti- 
 ment all m or cant: and its characters are thoroughly natu- 
 ral, such as any reader can recognize in the community in 
 which be happens to live. The heroine, Rebecca, is intense- 
 ly human, with a noble nature in which many weaknesses 
 hide themselves and coine often to the surface. But she is 
 a Christian of the best type, and her aspirations and hard- 
 fought battles inspire enthusiasm in a reader. The Com- 
 mittee on International Lessons couldn't do a better thing 
 than to circulate this book in every part of the land. It 
 shows how the lessons may be made helpful in the daily 
 life, and how the Old Testament may be taught with in- 
 terest to an Infant School, or to men and women of every 
 congregation. 
 
 ECHOING AND RE-ECHOING. By Faye Huntington. Price 
 $1.50. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., publishers. 
 
 It shows great ignorance of the Sunday-school literature 
 of our day, when one calls it weak and namby-stuff, with an 
 equal mixture of love-stories, and impossible adventures. 
 The censure is just for a certain class of books, but a large 
 library may be gathered of first-class works admirable alike 
 in moral tone and in literary execution, books which every- 
 body can read with delight and profit. "Echoing and Re- 
 echoing" is a book of this sort, a well-told story, abounding 
 with practical lessons, and inciting to a noble Christian life. 
 The most intelligent opponent of religious novels will find 
 his prejudices giving way in reading it, and a fastidious lit- 
 erary reader will be thankful that children have such good 
 books for moulding their literary tastes.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY