FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161  
162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   >>   >|  
st her mate when he shall come. Help me, that I do not so fill her pure mind with doubt and distrust of all men that she will look for evil, only. Help me, that I do not teach her to associate love wholly with that which is base and untrue. Grant, O God, that her beautiful life may not be marred by a love that is unworthy." As the woman with the disfigured face rose from her knees, she heard the voice of Sibyl, who was coming up the old road toward the cedars--singing as she came. When Sibyl entered the house, a moment later, Myra Willard, still agitated, was bathing her face. The girl, seeing, checked the song upon her lips; and going to the woman who in everything but the ties of blood was mother to her, sought to discover the reason for her troubled manner, and tried to soothe her with loving words. The woman held the girl close in her arms and looked into the lovely, winsome face that was so unmarred by vicious thoughts of the world's teaching. "Dear child, do you not sometimes hate the sight of my ugliness?" she said. "It seems to me, you must." With her arms about her companion's neck, Sibyl pressed her pure, young lips to those disfiguring scars, in an impulsive kiss. "Foolish Myra," she cried, "you know I love you too well to see anything but your own beautiful self behind the scars. To me, your face is all like this"--and she softly kissed, in turn, the woman's unmarred cheek. "Whatever made the marks, I know that they are not dishonorable. So I never think of them at all, but see only the beautiful side--which is really you, you know." "No,"--answered Myra Willard, gently,--"my scars are not dishonorable. But the world does not see with your pure eyes, dear child. The world sees only the ugly, disfigured side of my face. It never looks at the other side. And listen, dear heart, so the world often sees dishonor where there is no dishonor It sees evil in many things where there is only good." "Yes," returned the girl, "but you have never taught me to see with the eyes of the world. So, to me, what the world sees, does not matter." "Pray that it may never matter, child," answered the woman with the disfigured face, earnestly. Then, as they went out to the porch, she asked, "Did you meet Mr. Oakley as you were coming home?" Sibyl laughed and colored with a confusion that was new to her, as she answered, "Yes, I did--and he scolded me." "About your going unarmed?" "No,--but he told me abou
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161  
162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

beautiful

 

answered

 

disfigured

 

Willard

 

coming

 

dishonor

 

dishonorable

 
matter
 

unmarred

 

Foolish


impulsive

 

Whatever

 

kissed

 

softly

 

Oakley

 

laughed

 
colored
 

unarmed

 

scolded

 

confusion


listen

 

gently

 

things

 

earnestly

 

taught

 

returned

 
winsome
 

marred

 

unworthy

 

entered


moment

 

cedars

 

singing

 

distrust

 

untrue

 

wholly

 

associate

 

agitated

 
teaching
 

thoughts


lovely
 
vicious
 

ugliness

 
pressed
 

companion

 
looked
 

mother

 

bathing

 

checked

 

sought