mage gay, To haunt, to

as only a little village, with a struggling church which it was the task of the young clergyman to keep alive. Perhaps the growth of the town had as much to do with his success as his own efforts; but however that might have been he had received his temporal reward some ten years late

; but nevertheless people spoke of no less than two romances that had been connected with his life. One of them had been his early marriage, w

er in out of the storm. She was a young girl, surely not yet out of her teens, her pale and sunken face showing marks of refinement and of former beauty. She carried in her arms a child of about a year's age, and she dropped it upon the sofa and sank down beside it, half fainting from exhaustion. The young clergyman's an

or a long time a vivid recollection of the first night which he spent in alternately feeding that baby with a spoon, and in walking the fl

r. Davis felt that at present it would look best for him to provide for the child himself. As the investigation came to nothing, the inducement was made a permanent one; perhaps also the memory of the mother's wan face had something to do with the matter. At any rate the young clergyman, tho but scantily

constantly repeated, had much to do with the proud sensitiveness and the resolute independence which soon manifested itself in the lad's character. He had scarcely passed the age of twelve before, tho treated by Mr. Davis with the love and kindness of a father, he astonished the good man by declaring that he was old enough to take care of himself; and tho Mr. Davis was better situated financially by that time, n

and had inherited a taste for study, he had made by himself about as much progress as if he had been at school. Some years later, to the delight of Helen and Mr. Davis, he had carried off a prize scholarship above the heads of the gr

len studied together,-or such rather had been h

ople. Mrs. Roberts, or "Aunt Polly" as she was known to the family, had plans of her own concerning the future of the beauty which she saw unfolding itself at the Oakdale parsonage. She said nothing to Mr. Davis, for he, being busy with theolo

things of that sort were paying investments. It chanced, also, that her own eldest daughter, who was a year older than Helen, was about through with all that American teachers had to impart; and so after much argument with Mr. Davis, it was finally arranged that she a

d returned home in all the glory of her own springtime and of Nature's; which brings us to w

Helen had been troubled by the thought that she would never have any peace until she had paid that visit. It was by no means an agreeable one, for old Mrs. Woodward was exceedingly dull

the dampness of the springtime, besides the dreariest gossip about Oakdale's least interesting people. Perhaps it might have occurred to the girl that it is very forlorn to have nothing else to talk about, and that even old Mrs. Woodward might have liked to hear about some of the things in the forest, or to have been offered the lily and the mar

s. It was not until she was half way up the hillside that she could feel that the wind, which blew now upon her forehead, had quite swept away the de

r she reached the forest and came to the place where she had left him without a reply having come. She shouted his name again and a

ahead," she thought,

her, she took to singing again, and was quickly as happy and glorious as before, ceasing her caroling and moderating her woodland pace only when she neared the town. She passed down the main street of Oakdale, not quite without an

hose, for she was even more at home here than in the woods; it seemed as if everything were stretching out its arms to h

the other side she had already taken possession of the front room, symbolically at any rate, by having her piano moved in and her music unpacked, and a case emptied for the books she had brought from Germany. To be sure, on the other side was stil

o the study where her father was in the act of writing "thirdly

iend, and qui

you'll gro

n the arm of his chair and gravely took his pen out of his hand, and closed his inksta

se from a

h you mo

evil an

the sag

aughs and added, "Daddy, dear, I am an impul

ugh groaning inwardly for his lost ideas. "You are be

I've had a dance with the morning wind, and a race of a mile or two with a brook, an

on, Helen," s

" said Hele

e for to-morrow," p

t," answered the girl, swinging herself on the arm of the chair; "and I'm going to sing for the other half, and so

my l

see Mrs.

did

r old lady; it is so beautiful to know that one is doing good and bringing happiness into other p

was agreeing so delightedly that she feared she was car

"I forgot to tell you-

" inquired

with him all morning out in the woods! Did you ne

Davis, "but I don't

of Hilltown High Sc

Art

walked all the way from there to see me; and

ere is

im to go see Mrs. Woodward. He didn't go with me," she

ike Arthur," s

aughter, Daddy-just you wait and see! I'll visit all your parishioners' lawn-parties and five o'clock teas for you,

aid Mr. Davi

mmed the passage, and gave so realistic an imitation of the cymbal-clashes in the great dirge that it almos

fine! It made your flesh creep all over you. And oh

Davis, who knew ver

the dock yesterday when he was going through my trunks. 'What's this, Miss?' he asked; I guess he thought it

don't know

asn't worth anything; I think

elen prattled on, after laughing at her own joke; "you know

ly must have spoiled

d never have left me at that great rich school; Lucy and I were the 'star-boarders' you know, and we

atter of fact, the grimly resolute Aunt Polly had paid two-thirds of her niece

ell you I shall be glorious! Aunt Polly's going to invite a lot of people at her house next week t

pride than was perhaps orthodox, "I'm afraid you'll find

to fix it up with-if you'll only get those dreadful theological works out of the front room! Daddy dea

can do, my love

ommanding young lady should have everything in the world she desired; Helen, who had her s

t so interested in our chattering

ed the other. "Pray wh

; "it's strange. But poets

s labored since you have been away. He carried off all the honors at college, and they say he

etry about you,-'Helen, thy beauty is to me,' and 'Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss,' and

r; "I presume he will. But wh

denly a delighted smile lit up her face. "Oh, Daddy,

" gasped

in l

with

"but he seemed so abstracted, and he seemed to h

remarked the other. "I shall

to let the water nixies run off with my Arthur; there are such things in that stream, b

ak I of

mur ca

s they ar

wave thei

realized that the sermon had entirely vanished for the present. "You

an, whose farm lay on the outskirts of the town; the villag

y ill, and she has three little children, you know. You

len, "those children are dirty!

are God's children none the less; a

there is plenty of

! For poor Mr. Vail has had no end of misfortune; he has no resource b

" she cried. "Is that it! I saw him struggling away at the pum

had passed, noticed it and changed her mood. She put her arm

ill surfeit me at the start, and then I'll be just as little fond of it as I was bef

Davis, "Godliness is pl

virtue; but I'm only a girl, and you mustn't expect sublimity from me. You don't

sh you would not always refer to Mrs. Dale with

"when I have a dreadful eagle nose like hers, perha

nt you to, m

t for a little while, Daddy, you must not mind. I'll visit all

the other room to the piano; as her father went slowly out the door, the

herds, come a-w

rds, come a-way,

ome, co