The Minister's Charge

your coming to Boston with the expectation that brought you; and that I am indirectly responsible for all the tro

him the other day at his own house. Lemuel was not insensible to the atonement offered him, and it was not from s

ied him in. "I will go with you, and explain all the circumstances to your friends, in case there should be any misunderstanding-though in that event I sh

ything about it," said Lemu

"I am afraid they will. I read of it in the newspaper this morning, and I'm afraid that an e

in his impenetrable, rustic silence. The voice that finally

of imploring than imperiousness in his command.

mother this mornin

for you-and remain with me till you can hear from your mother. I'm sorry you came to Boston-it's no place f

t want to go ho

u that all that can be arranged. I will write to your pastor, and explain it fully. But in any event," continued Sewell, "it is your duty to yourself a

l, "as I want to go home a

s of his friends, and all the more ridiculous because so wholly innocent. He could only say, "That is a thing you mus

owers of retort. A woman who, unaided and alone, had worn the Bloomer costume for twenty years in the heart of a

Sewell; "your brother-i

l have to stand i

then? You can't remain here without means. Do you expect to sell your poetry?"

expect to sell it, now. They took

"and I feel bound to warn you solemnly, that there

said

After a bad moment he asked, "Have

know as

can you re

t know

he refrigerator room, where he had remained p

bowls upstairs, and returned for another load, whic

ou like, if you work, but he doesn't think it desirable you should remain, nor do I.

right," and went on piling up his bowls. He added, "

inister. "Then I may depend upon see

I'm going away,

rang at Miss Vane's. To his perturbed and eager spirit, it seemed nothing short of a divine mercy that she should be at home. If he had not been a man bent on repairing his wrong at any cost to others, he would hardly have taken the step he now contemplated w

ok as if you had got Lemuel

id the minis

t mean it!" she sputtered, sitting down before hi

the facts in detail. From point to point he paused; he began rea

h her face buried in her handkerchief. "What-what-do you su

y didn't do," said Sewell bit

and shrieked again. She stopped, with the sudden calm that succeeds su

he dish-washing department of the Wayfarer's Lodg

ked Miss Vane, her face twi

"I'd rather not go to her

ain, and Sewell sat r

oked at him over her handkerchief, wh

ected you to do. I expected you to t

nt she said, "I'm afraid I'm not equal to Lemuel Barker. Besides,

mpathetically. "How has the

ll satisfied with the result. She said the patients were mostly disgusting old men that hadn't been shave

rlornly. "Why not le

she had come to herself. "No, there's nothing that I can do

. "But I don't see how it

c subscription to send him home

termined to stay. I suspect he would accept emplo

I can think of except shovelling snow. An

"Well, there's nothing for it, I suppose, but to put him down at the Christian U

her lips with her handkerchief, to keep it from them. Suddenly she halted Se

?" echoe

that's what it's called. And I had determined not to yield as long as the fine weather lasted. I knew

eally struck?" Miss Vane nodded. "He

the clergy. But he told me he was putting up

" he added, with less courage. "Well, I will go round to the Lodge, and see what he thinks of i

I can think of at pre

ou must excuse me if my reception of your kindness has been qualifi

e about it!" c

other interview. I don't know but Barker may fling your proffered furnace in my

, following him to the door. "May

He was too insecure of Barker's re

s whiff of steam. The place had really a cosiness of its own, and Sewell began to fear that his victim had been so far corrupted by its comfort as to be unwilling to leave the Refuge. He had often seen the subtly disastrous effect of bounty, and it was one of the things he trembled for in considering the q

do so. But," he added, at the look that came into Lemuel's face, "if you are determined to stay, this is the best I can do for you. It isn't a full support, but it's so

?" asked

es

care of the church f

ning in the ray of hope. "Would you be willing to take

tion in coming to the city of Boston, he kept to himself; and his ignorance of city prejudices and sophistications probab

ded in the resentment which Lemuel seemed to cherish toward him. But when he had him at her door, "It's the lady whom you

ch was soothing to his rustic pride. She put it on the money basis at once; she told him that she should give him ten dollars a month for taking care of the furnace, keeping the sidewalk clear of snow, shovelling the paths in

thought he had better go down and look at the furnace and see if it was in order; she had had the pipes cleaned, but perhaps it needed blacking; the cook would show him how it worked. She went with him to the head of the basement stairs, and calling down, "Ja

er mirth to keep unheard of those below, "th

courageously, "the work won't

me, with a sermon kindling in his mind so obviously, that his wife did not detain him beyond a few vital questions, and let

tor. Do what you could to retrieve yourself from error, and then, not leave the rest to Providence, but keep doing. The good, however small, must grow if tended and nurtured like a useful plant, as the evil would certainly grow, like a wild and poisonous weed, if left to itself. Sin, he said, was a terrible mystery; one scarcely knew how to deal with it or to attempt to determine its nature; but perhaps-he threw out the thought while warning those who heard him of its danger in some aspects-sin was not wholly an evil. We were so apt in this world of struggle and ambition to become centred solely

the obscure dread that Lemuel might have turned his back upon good fortune, and abandoned the place offered him, in which case Sewell would have to g

creditor in the price of a pair of overalls. I had no idea they were so cheap, and you can see that they will fade, with a few washings, to a perfect Millet blue. They were quite his own idea, when he found the furnace needed blacki

rbear a glance of t

little to ask," sai

r," retorted Miss Vane, "and I propose to keep the

well. "We know that the new pearl sweeps clean,"-Miss Vane appla

said Miss Vane, "but I've thorou

r. "Mrs. Sewell thinks you're rash, but I

fixture-a permanen

he ordinary acceptation of the term, but I'm

n of what Jane calls a man-body in the House, and when I saw how Lemuel had blacked

have not been rash, perhaps, but y

unctions are not decided yet, but it is decided that he is to stay; he's to sleep in the li

taken Barker's refor

othing till I come to it. But after I had arr

u women commit yourselves to a scheme, in order to show your

upt, David!"

mpulse, but when you reflect that the object of your good intentions slept in the Wayfarer's Lodge the night before, and in the police-station the

hat is just the point

t, so if by any chance the neighbours' kitchens should have heard of t

drawing-rooms," i

d his wife. "Your protégé would have be

er. "I shall have to take

her in sympathetic ignorance, but t

hould get to Sibyl-well, I thought it all over, until the whole thing became perfect

d," said Sew

hree-years' child to the Ancient Mariner, but she lost no time when she understood the facts. She went out immediately and stripped the nasturtium bed. If you could have seen it when you came in, there's hardly a blossom left. She took the decorations of Lemuel's room into her own

ster, "but I don't believe that a whole system of ethics

aimed," said Miss Vane, "when he looks at m

, "Has he seen th

notice everything gradually, so as not to get the impression that things have been done with a design upon him."

roup like an apparition. She had heavy black eyebrows with beautif

severely, "have

" said Miss Vane. "Their knowing

come in the back way. Do be quiet." She had given her hand without other greeting in