ALWAYS GOD

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11, 19 March 1908, Page 5

ALWAYS GOD

'it is no use,!^ Madeleine said, ' I cannot see any ' way out of it. ''1 here's <one thing,' -she added/ with a break in her voice, 'that I will not have— l' will "not 1 a c father or mother blamed ! ' ' 1 am not tlamini* anybody,' ""answered Marie, his face white with pain. ' ' And I honestly- believe, Made- ■ l&ne, that if you were not inclined to blame them in ycuL- heart, you'd not be so fierce in your denunciation" '- He tried to laugh— it was rio use. It .is not easy to ~ lau r h when one, yo.n^ and strong, with shooting pains in one's muscles, is forced to lie on the lounge all day, and with no hope of relief. Madeleine colored. ' ( h, I wish that we had been made more practical.'' 1 My dear g ! rl, fathers and mothers can't make children anything they please nowadays. How- could father ha\e ire.:i3t:d that I should be laid up with this horrible rheumatism, or that Grace's v o ice would not be 'a f-r at voi c, fouti enly a Mttle, mezzo-soprano; or that we should all ha-© to earn our living earlier than he expectd? I b<lieve that God ..knows best; we are always saying so., but few of us act as if we believe it.' * - 'But, its awfully hojekss!' Madeleine bent her le a d on the curved -arm of the old sofa, and be^an 1o cry. Mark turn-d- his face to the wall, and a big- lump came into his throat. There was a silence broken only by the November ra"n against the window panes of their apartment in the Swansmere. -The sounds- of wheels came faintly up to the tenth story. The- city noises seemed to isolate them from the world, and at that-tno^ nitnt they 'both felt terribly alone. Their father and mother, m a very pleasant town .of the middle West, « d died within a month- of each other. There- were three ch-ldrm. Mark, just out of a -Western Jesuit College ; Madele-'m, & year younger than her brother and 5l' ac t' ho w , as st twe nty-one. They were on the threshold of life , all doors seemixl open to them, the 2 i n f, arden A of y° ul k Ir.y before them-when sudaen'y all the gates sormed to close. Mortca-es unpaid not-s, and other liabilities, which a man in the prime oi Ire may incur, ate up nearly all their father's lire insurance. Mark had Jnt-nded to beein the study of luv he was clever serious, strowg-the rrcatest vatilt-r-r of bs college, a *d the pride o <f intercollegiate athletic meets. The three came to Washington. They knew i :/W-r, who had be* their father'? 8 friead Here wa! - n -uenco -it meant a Place in the 'departments for Mark r-rd Madeha-e, and Grace's' chance to l,av e her firm e hSl; iVat -n- T^ fam ' :ly aml the nuns had a mm belief m Grace s voice. The Senator was ill at the -Arlington Hotel , too ill to see any one. At the end of three weeks, he passed a-w.-.y. M ar y's twwires o f rheumatism developed into- a land of paralysis of the le:rs... He co ild not walk. The gTai. FHerr Teufelsfisch, tn whom Grace went, with a „ letter frbrn Sister Hyacinthe, said that she had a 'sweet . c^ntrfPo drawin-r-rrom voice,' but that it would not pay- to cultivate it for, the concert stage. Madeleine

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■ v could speak French fairly well, and she had taken several prizes in mathematics. s

'My dear,' the Senator's widow had kindly said to her, ' you must pass the Givil Service examination — " and then we shall see. Of course, you can typewrite, and if you're a stenographer too, the matter is settled.' Madeleine discovered that French and 'geometry would no~t enable her to pas^s the Civil Service examination ; typewritflng ' and stenography were sealed pages 1 o her. There might be a chance as a charwoman in the Patent Office, she had * been told by the clerk at the Swansmere desk ; but what were the duties ' of a charwoman ? The rent had to be paid for a full quarter in advance, and, they had been only a month in the city. Madeleine reflected on this as the one gleam of consolation in a hopeless world. Then she Hooked at Mark's dishevelled, chestnut-colored hair. When he was in pain he always ran Ms hands through his thick locks. If he must remain where he was, he would be an invalid for Jiie. Madeleine closed her eyes, violet-tinted and joyous at times, to conceal the tears." She felt that "she couM not break the hopeless silence. 'Here's Grace,' Mar/c said at last, a s the door or the little parlor opened. 'Grace, with the dinner !' answered a remarkably ™rW V ? iO %/ I !?, te dri PP in^ if I tad not waited in- the market for the deluge to* Pass.' TvrJi/r'l? StrUck ** rich ' as uslta1 ' 1 suppose-,' said AiarK, 100- ing vp 1 . rmtt,*?' l0 A' e i y 'T, I>Ve T a dream of a chicken f or ( almost noon ft tM IVe be t n n asked t0 sin S to-morrow afternoon at the Library of Congress, tor the blind.' t Madeleine made no reply. • I wouldn.t bother about it,' said Mark'; •' those people who run chirity things will give you no peace. Don't go'!' ' I'm delighted,' sajid Grace. And she appeared to be. Grace was small, with brown hair and blue eyes— well-opened eyes that had none of the soft, violet tints of her sister's-. She sat down an the old footstool they had brought from home. ' What's the matter ?' « ' Oh, Grace, 3 r ou know it's hopeless'!' ' Grace,' said Mark, 'if I were not a Catholic I'd end it all. There's n oi use trying to pretend; we're just failures, and I'm a burden to you !' ' Yet, you've always been saying that God knows best— and now I tell you,' Grace added, with firmness, ' that He does know best, a,nd I don't believe that He will keep us 'in the -dark long. One must believe Him. He has sadd, " Ask in My 'name," and I believe Him. I have just wearied Him with prayers, through the Bless-, ed Virgin, at St. Patrick's, and I will keep it up. There are two things to consider now. I must get dinner, and Madeleine must fix up my frock for to-morrow ; when I sing for the blind. A perfectly lovely young woman who manages these concerts asked me as I came up the ele r vator ;> she heard me singirogi ' Absent ' last night. Her ' rooms are opposite ours.' Grace began to sen* : sihe would not let the other two think. ' Grace believes that things out of story books \#ll happen to her,' Madeleine said +.0 Mark. ' We've just got to face all sorts of horrors.' ' I must have my dress ready for the 'blind,' Grace intetrup'ted, "* that's all I know at present. I shouldn't wonder if the blind couldn't really hear a well-made dress.' Mark laughed, and then sighed. The room of the blind in the Congressional Library was half filled with the- blrad people and some visitors, who had strolled in to hear the music. In a seat at the back was a well-dressed old gentleman, who rested his chin on his gold-headed stick, in rather an absentminded way. Grace's turn came, and Madeleine, the perfection of good style in her severely plain frock, began the prelude to ' Good-bye, Sweet Day.' Grace looked very sweet and simple and gracious, 'as if,' Sister Celestine had often sand, ' she were on good terms with her guardian angel and this rest of the world.' There was somiethina; in Grace's voice that appeared* 1o people who had suffered ; one could not explain it. The voice was true and young and well placed, but many voices have these qualities. Grace finished ' Good-bye, Sweet Day,' and sang a little' song called ' Absent.' The bind folk franVly expressed their interest. And the o<id gentleman at the back of the room leaned forward, and looked very much in earnest. At the end of the concert he asked the very kindly mistress of ceremoniies to 'present him to Grace. ' Miss North,' h* said, very gravely, ' would you come for an hour a day or so and sing for my little grandchild ; she's a cripple, and she likes music— slogans— soft and low, and,' he smiled, ' sympa-

thetical and rare, like" yours.? The poor little thing is a hopeless cripple.' •' Lake my brother"!' Madeleine spoke impulsively. Her mind was full of Mark ; she could think of nobody else. " I'm Senator Warbnirton,' the old gentleman said, looking "at Madeleine with new interest* '.'aiid my wife will call on you, if you- will give me your, address. But my little grandchild is really a hopeless invalid,' he added, ' even her father, who is a great specialist; has given her case u-p. -1 hope you will sing for her.' "Of course,' said Grace, m her liquid voice,- ' I've noth'ng much else to do.' . \ The Senator smiled. Grace certainly was a graceful and charming gdii. Madeleine looked preoccupied. ' .That's if we remaan in Washington,' she said, half, tc herself ; ' anyhow the rent is paid in advance.' The old Senator heard her. Madeleine blushed ; she had been thinking aloud again. Grace laughed. ' Yes— the rent is paid in advance ! ' When your wife comes to call, she ne.d not fear that we shall have been ejected.' Grace nodded gaily- and the Senator bowed. 1 Madelieine ! ' cried Grace, when they were seated in the Pennsylvania avenue ccr, 'why. did "you say that?' ' I donjt lflno-w,- answered Madeleine, only restraining her tears because there was an inquisitive looking .stout man on the opposite seat, < I'm so hopeless, I lust break d'Owm.' . ■* ' I will not break down,' said Grace, firmly. ' We've done al]/we could, and God. will not desert us ' Mrs. Warburtom and her soil, the doctor, called on the following day. Grace sang, and the doctor,- as & brother college mam, looked M,ark over. " • 'It's not rheumatism at a'l.' he 'declared •/■ it's a strain ani a muscle of the back. Massage will pull < you thorough all right— my man will come in- to-morrow at eleven and try. He'll be glad to have something to. do Jvc no patients at that hour. I shall not be at home then ; I'll be .cm my rounds ' t<*™H 6 ss r^Tot suoh gratlMe that miocv+. l If /tf ver *F a "7 a?ain > mother,' he remarked, as he 2?e 1 S?t?' Ome m mat ° r Car ' 'tt Will *» to a tfrl o«/Il S ' m , other smiled - Between the death of his wife* and the illness of Ms child, he Bad been very bopeless™ but his mother tod hoped and prayed. u^ss. Grace sang -for little Ethel day after day his wdfP «" n ti!n, PP o ld *? advance,' the Senator .quoted to ontn I ,: *W£S7' "^ a StlOnS aCCentof £•**** _ Mrs. Wauburton took tbe hint. did not attempt to ray Grace, but _she overpaid the Norths in a hundKUt^r+H h ihey COuld notn ' ot <**«*- shes 'he tent" "SSS a p kttle lodge in Cleveland Park until' Mark had sS>r? +n^° Vered i' aM f?*. Madeleine to act as her wS Sl' \ Pla ?f eh she soon learn «d to fill >so TtS H?v • Warburton insisted o n marrying Her c \ a7 . an fit ' Patncks - his mother said that she consented because '.Madeleine was indispensable.' Mark is secretary to the Senator, with plenty of time for- his law studies. Grace iust sings and hopeaand prays .jund does the duty of the hour. ' Story 'books .' Why, life is stranger than story ■b'Ooks.' And Grace laughs. 'No life is hopeless, no matter how gloomy the outlook,' she says very often ' for there is always God ! ' " ' There is always God.— 1 Benziger's Magazine.'

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