I II I I IIKI-II- 1 l...t,lr..w.MM.MM.MM....W
THE MORNING ASTOIUAN, ASTORIA, OREGON.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1UUD.1
10
The Rector of
Saint Gabriel's
H
E certainly Is a very striking j deration. Honest white bone buttoni
man." Raid Lucia Easton
her clear Imperious tones.
In
fastened them to a skimp homespun
Jacket On his small round head was
"Why he's as handsome as, a battered straw hat, as Ineonjrruous
can be," returned Mrs. Williams j as the rest of his outfit. With this
with the vivacity of her sort of a ; grotesque simplicity of attire went a
woman. "He can't be more than j scrupulous neatness,
thirty-five or thirty-eight. If his halri Embarrassed by the fooling of the
and beard are gray. Jim says he f boys and the snickers of the girls, he
loks like an up-to-date prophet," she had edged away from the crowd of
added with ft high pitched brittle j children so bent on emphasising his
laugh peculiarly distasteful to her ! variance from themselves and courted
companion' esthetls sense I the lesser evil of solitude. In his Is-
"I was not thinking of hjs features." jolutlon. through whatever Impulse, he
Miss Burton retorted with rather j drew a small green catechism from his
edgy precision. "What you see be- j pocket, and sought to distract himself
hind them is the great charm. He j with Its questions and answers. Re
has a manner that Is not reserve origjon has its soothing for the bruised
coldness. But he always seems In. spirit,
leash to some deep rooted reminder! j The ringleader In the baiting one
He must have been through a crisis , of the largest boys had small respect
of soine kind, presumably mental, for this shy withdrawal. With an
fthd he has not survived Its influence , elaborate grimace to his fellows he clr
yet!" cled near his butt with a too palpably
"Well If It Isn't strange to hear simulated Indifference with suspl
you say that! I wonder if I had bet- clous foreboding the odd boy divided
ter tell y,oa something Jim heard , his attention between his book and the
about him." Mrs, Williams continued j ehcrtoachlng tormentor. All at once
slowly. She eyed her companion ap- the latter dashed forward, snatched
praisjngly;. "Youl neverj te'l. will the catechism from the small brown
yOMV .'fingers, and with a laugh of derision
"If It's anything very dreadful," flung It to some of the others. This
replied Miss Easton promptly, "per-1 horseplay was applauded by the young
haps you'd better not tell me. Mr. j yokels, to the added discomfiture of
Woodridge has shown himself a mod-1 the childish neophyte,
el of seal and practical energy ever, Throughout this petty drama thej
since he came to Saint Gabriel's. If new rector of Saint Gabriel's had
there's anything about him that Is 'stood watching the scene with what
queer. It had better come from hlm- j seemed undue Intensity1 of interest.
ie tt fcn rnnnM the dace for 'The set look In his face hardly had
miles around to get the children to-warrant In the trivial puerility of the
gether for this confirmation. He seems action. Onoe. when the brown face
to have a peculiar liking for children. ' had been lifted with a sudden gleam
It was strange enough that he should of apprehension In the round blue eyes
throw up a wealthy parish for this the Rev. Arnold Woodridge had pres
poor little one in the Upper Penln-, sed his sinewy had over his eyes, and
sula." I murmured. "Ah." In a stifled way.
"He does read the Verslcles as no-jxow he went downstairs quickly, and
body else, Jim hasn't missed a morn- then, with more measured strides, out
lng sen-Ice since he came. I think I onto the smoth-cropped lawn. He
ought to tell you what Jim heard. I , was certainly striking enough a per
wouldn't tell It to many In the par- J sonallty to awaken all the Interest the
Ish. But you won't tell." two women had shown In him. Tall,
"I certainly sha'nt tell." replied compactly built, a broad forehead,
Miss Eaton somewhat scornfully. 'strong, well-cut nose, gray eyes with
"Well then." Mrs. Williams low- a searching sympathy In their clear
ered her voice Impressively they Say depths, and the lower part of his face
he killed some one once." ' concealed by a thick, curling beard
"Oh what a shame!" exclaimed nd mustache, both gray such was
Miss Eaton, Indignantly. She was the
kind of a woman who lent vigor to
that sort of exclamatory protest;
slender, olive skinned, thirty, and an
the figure that approached the chil
dren.
The expression of his face was
singularly riveting, but baffling. T-
itnnnrant nersonaw in Saint Ga-' snlte Its material serenity, it breathed
brlel's since she was rich, lntellectu- of something within that was a dom
al and of good family inant feature of his soul life. Some-
"I, don't mean deliberate murder. thing had gripped his inner man with
of course." Mrs. Williams hastened a pinioning hold that affected the very
to add. with nice discrimination of marrow of his sensibility. As he mo
manslaughter from the real thing. ' ved along the children the change
t xrhon ho vis verv youne. ! that came Into that strange face was
Anottyn boy angttfffl him, and he like the brightening of a landscape
struck him: and he fell and died af- under the sun just emerging rrom ov
terward. Jim says he heard It from erhanging clouds. His winning,
a man who knew Mr. Woodridge when serious, smile: the light, caressing
he was in the East years ago. He touch of hiH hand, and the cheery
didn't mean to, of course. But then, words of greeting dispelled the severe
it might have something to do with restraint of his repose by a singularly
his expression." j attractive suavity.
"That is quite possible," Miss East- Quite naturally he arrived at the
on remarked, drily, and let the sub- little boy who stood meekly aloof In
ject (Jrop . Conversation) languished his artless rainment. The rector's
between the two women till they ar-. heart gave a throb as he felt the dl
rived at Saint Gabriel's. They had minutlve figure stifen Into grateful
met on their way to the afternoon ' response under the magnetic hand he
service, and had walked along togeth- laid upon the close-cropped head,
er. It was a September Sunday, coo!.! "Children," he said, in his rich clear
brilliant and mellow. The farstretch-' voice, "it is so pleasant out here in the
ing meadows, with small lakes dot-' open air, that if you just sit down on
ting the fields of autumnal brown and f the grass I will tell you a story before
gleaming in the sunlight, made a typ- i we go into chapel for the confirmation
leal day for upper Michigan one to instruction."
stir to exhilaration or melancholy ac-', He walked toward a rustic bench,
cording to individual trend of soul. . as the young ones settled on the
When they arrived at the neat brown sward expectantly, still holding by the
chapel, overgrotwn with ivy, they! hand the childish martyr. When he
found the boys and girls whom Mr. j seated himself he lifted the little chap
Woodridge had brought together from, to a place by his side, and threw his
everywhere within a radius of twen- j strong arm lightly across the small
ty miles, waiting on the lawn between ! shoulders. He looked over his juve
the rectory and the chapel the fresh j nlle congregation, drew a long breath,
balmy stillness stirred no melancholy j and began. Miss Easton and her com
ln those youthful rustics, who were j panion who had halted In the edge of
as restless as bees about a hive, 'the lawn, now drew nearer and dls
awaiting the hour when the rector of j posed themselves on the velvety sward.
Saint Gabriel's should appear and: This is a "true story" children, and
shepherd them Into the little fold. ! am going to tell it to you for your
In the meantime that "mysterious
personage" stood at the window of
good. I happened to see when you
were playing, and of course I saw bet-
his study and looked out at the chil- j ter than you did that your fun was at
dren n the lush grass. Some of thej the price of Peter's peace and corn
rougher, elder boys were having much j fort. I do not suppose you had any
fun at the expense of an odd looking j thought of cruelty in this. You did
chap, about nine years old. His art-' not reflect that Peter has not had
less, light blue eyes regarded the i many playmates in the deserted part
world and his unsympathetic compan- of the country where he lives, and na
lons with painful diffidence. His turally felt it strange to be thrown
round, sunburned face surpassing the with a lot of children whom he didn't
cence of Inexperience. To the larger know. He did not understand your
other round brown faces in the Inno- way of making up to him. It wasn't
cence of experience. To the larger, a very nice way to treat a stranger,
vision of adult eyes the shrinking fig- and a little boy so much younger than
ure was not without pathos; but the, a good many of you. Do you think
thoughtless urchins who surrounded . 't was, Billy Stevenson? You meant
him were stimulated by It to that no harm by it; but I want you to have
.0.in, iriio.iio whinh nM of dellh- . a better Idea of that sort of selfish
erate malice, brings nevertheless
much misery to its childish victim.
The boy's apparel was on a like di
viding line betwixt smiles and pity
thoughtlessness, and so I tell you this
story. "The bravest are the tender
est," and as you are all going to be
enrolled as soldiers by the confirma
VlUing Illic UCLWIAL million aim - - ----
His roomy Jeans trousers were eviden-Jtion you are-preparing for, you must
tly a home product, In whose con
struction length had been one consi-
gei ni rigllL HUIUICI njiii it, -.
"Once upon a time," a good many!
years i go. at a boarding school ror
boys on the Niagara River. In New
York, there was one small and odd
looking little chap. The other boys
took a good deal of plousuie In fooling
with him. They made his life mis
erable, In fact, by their constant hec
toring. They meant no harm. They
didn't think. One of the students was
a lender, because he wns older and
stronger and belonged to a rich and
powerful family. He found It great
fun to chaff this solemn-faced, big
eyed, shy little chap.
"The river below the college ran
very fast, though these lower ruplds
were not as strong as the uper ones.
Still there were violent enough to
mean destruction for any one who got
In their grip. The shore here was
rocky, and the water near It, calmer.
The boys used to enjoy playing on
those rocks. One day half a dosen of
them were scrambling about on them,
when the unexpectedly came on this
odd chap. He had got to keeping out
of their way. they annoyed him so
much, and he had gone there nil alone.
So there he nt. perched on a rock by
the roaring, rushing river nil by him
self. To the other boys this made him
look comical, and It roused the fun
loving spirit of this ringleader, who
chanced to be along. He saw a chance
for something new.
"Aha!" he cried, "now we've got
you! We aren't good enough for him
to go with, fellows! I guess we'll
have to throw him Into the river." he
ctntlnued grabbing the small boy.
'Here goes. One! Two!"
"He did not get any farther. The
small boy. In a panls of fear, struggled
so violently thnt he not only wriggled
free from his grasp, but made the big
ger boy lose his balance, in stepping
from one projection of the rocks to
another, In his efforts to recover it. he
slipped, and fell forward. His head
struck the rock, so that he wns stun
ned, and before any one could realise
It he had rolled Into the river hlmrtf.
"The small boy. panting over his
escape, saw the tables turned In this
way. He also realized the danger the
other wns In, and his uenerous na
ture had only one thought - to save
him. He slipped Into the water, and
grabbed the half-dazed boy. His ex
citement gave him a nervous strength
that enabled him to push the other
near enough the rocks for his com
rades to grab him and pull him out.
"Before they had time to do the
same thing for the plucky rescuer
the current had whirled him out Into
the rapids. His force, spent In strug
gling to save the other boy, left him
too weak to resist. Hence, when the
big boy, who had been lying flat on
his stomach on the rock, raised him
self up, his eyes rested on the round
head, wild eyes and struggling form
of the odd little butt of the school,
bobbing up and down In the fiercely
churning waters.
"Boys, I do not suppose one day of
that boy's life since then has passed
without his seeing that agonized fare
showing in that fonmlng mass of wa
ter. "He tottered to his feet with n
groan, and had not the other boy
held him he would have sprung Into
the racing river to try to rescue the!
victim he had put there, or perlHh '
with him But he was destined to
the harder lot of living with that
drowning boy for all the nfteryenrs'
of his life. I
"All this l.Kk only a moment. Thei
child out in those angry tossing wa-,
ves knew he was doomed. Theyi
heard him cry out shrilly above the
roar, "Never mind, boys! You could
n't help It! flood-by! Tell my mo
ther!" The next moment he was
swallowed up In the seething rapids."
The rector paused and wiped Ms
face slowly with his handkerchief.
There was an awed sllenre on the part
of the children, and the two women
exchanged one glance full of signifi
cance. Then the rector went on, In
his usual tone, but very Impressively,
"Children, those boys didn't mean any
more harm than you did when you
were fooling with Peter Just now. If
they had realized the suffering their
fun caused Its victim they would have
been more considerate. I have told
you the story that you may have more
forethought. When Peter gets more
experience of the world, and learns
human nature better, he will stand up
with the best of you. Give him a fair
show. That other boy showed that
he had the soul of a hero in him. He
was courageous, forgiving, mindful of
others, and cool In the very face of
death.
"It poisoned existence for the big
boy. Perhaps It has made his life
more useful than It would otherwise
have done. For he felt that after the
destruction of that young life he
could do nothing with his own but
make It as helpful to others as was
possible, In atonement. Yet he meant
no more harm than vou did Just now,
when you were amusing yourself by
worrying Peter. Now we will go In
to chapel."
He rose, and walked toward the
porch of the pretty Ivy-clad struc
ture holding little Peter by the hand.
Together they passed out of the glor
ious sunshine into the dim tranquil
lity of the church, and the hushed mob
of children streamed in after them.
After services Miss Easton told Mrs.
Williams she had to speak to the rec
tor for a few minutes, and not to wait
for her. She was in no mood for the
other's garrulity and "Jim." Mrs.
Williams went her way rather ruffled,
and recalled "Jim's" remark thnt "he
(bought Uielo Euston was a little
stuck on the new rector,"
When Miss Easton came out of the
mellow dimness of the ehupol most of
the children hiul departed, The rec
tor wns holding Peter high In the nlr,
ns a valedictory ceremony. As he set
him on his feet again he pulled his
ears playfully, say lng, with the most
tight-henrted gnlety, "Don't you mind
the boy's tricks, Peter. tlo In and be
one of them. Hut If you nre ever trou
bled or lonely, come to me and we'll
talk It over; for I've been troubled
and lonely myself. Here. Itllly Ste
venson, you and Peter go pint of the
wny together. See that you get bet
ter acquainted. Hood-by, Peter, Re
member me to your father nnd mo
ther." Peter, already burdened by his
friendly protector and with a new
grip on life, trudged off with a stlfer
backbone. Ills honest buttons glin
ted In the sn and his small legs were
lost In the amplitude of trousers that
shenthed them. The rector of Saint
Gabriel's hardly knew whether he was
worthier of a smile or a tear. He was
spared the resolution of his tkubt by
Miss Easton's approach.
"Mr. Woodridge," she snld, looking
him In the eye with a trusting direct
ness. "I want to shake hands with
you, after thnt story to the children."
Her glance and manner said so much
more than her voice.
He took her hand gravely. "Thank
you." he replied, with perfect simpli
city. I wish." she continued, again her
voice and manner Imparting pecullnr
sVlathy to her very conventional
words, "that you would come nnd see
me," Her hand still held his with a
wnrm pressure.
"I shall do so very soon he added.
She turned and walked slowly away.
As the rector of Saint Gabriel's wns
about to enter the doorway of the rec
tory he paused, nnd looked nt the
graceful figure of the receding young
woman. It wns only for a hiilf a imun
ent. Then he passed In. Hut there
wns new springiness to bis gait.
AMUSEMENTS.
STAR THEATER
P. OKVURTZ, Manager
MONDAY NIGNT
The Margaret Fischer Co.
will iui:si:nt
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Popular Prices; 15c, 25c and 35c
BOX OFFICE OPEN 7:4s; curtaingoes up at 1:13 sharp.
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In Time of Pesos.
In the first months of the Russia
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Frank Hart, Leading Druggist.
ASTORIA THEATRE
K. E. KLVKIM, Mgr.
TO-NIGHT
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WILL l'RKSKNT
THE INSIDE TRACK
PRICES, ISc, 25c, 35c. No More,
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AHTOKIA HAVINOH BANK, Treat
I
SUNDAY TRAVEL TO PORTLAND 1
Increases and $2.50 Round Trip Rate
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i i - 1 1
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