FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65  
66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   >>   >|  
I'm having in presenting it to you, it will be well worth while. I only wish you'd let me endow the thing. It's likely to cost you a small fortune." Doctor Haverford insisted that he could manage that. He stood off, surveying with pride not unmixed with fear its bright enamel, its leather linings, the complicated system of dials and bright levers which filled him with apprehension. "Delight says I must not drive it," he said. "She is sure I would go too fast, and run into things. She is going to drive for me." "How is Delight?" "I wish you could see her, Clayton. She--well, all young girls are lovely, but sometimes I think Delight is lovelier than most. She is much older than I am, in many ways. She looks after me like a mother. But she has humor, too. She has been drawing the most outrageous pictures of me arrested for speeding, and she has warned me most gravely against visiting road houses!" "But Delight will have to be taught, if she is to run the car." "The salesman says they will send some one." "They give one lesson, I believe. That's not enough. I think Graham could show her some things. He drives well." Flying uptown a little later in Clayton's handsome car, the rector dreamed certain dreams. First his mind went to his parish visiting list, so endless, so never cleaned up, and now about to be made a pleasure instead of a penance. And into his mind, so strangely compounded of worldliness and spirituality, came a further dream--of Delight and Graham Spencer--of ease at last for the girl after the struggle to keep up appearances of a clergyman's family in a wealthy parish. Money had gradually assumed an undue importance in his mind. Every Sunday, every service, he dealt in money. He reminded his people of the church debt. He begged for various charities. He tried hard to believe that the money that came in was given to the Lord, but he knew perfectly well that it went to the janitor and the plumber and the organist. He watched the offertory after the sermon, and only too often as he stood waiting, before raising it before the altar, he wondered if the people felt that they had received their money's worth. He had started life with a dream of service, but although his own sturdy faith persisted, he had learned the cost of religion in dollars and cents. So, going up town, he wondered if Clayton would increase his church subscription, now that things were well with him. "After all," he reflec
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65  
66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Delight

 

Clayton

 
things
 
service
 
people
 

church

 

wondered

 

parish

 

visiting

 

Graham


bright

 

gradually

 

assumed

 

family

 

wealthy

 
importance
 

reminded

 
presenting
 

Sunday

 
strangely

compounded

 

worldliness

 
spirituality
 

penance

 

pleasure

 

struggle

 

begged

 

appearances

 

Spencer

 

clergyman


sturdy

 
persisted
 

received

 

started

 

learned

 

religion

 

subscription

 

reflec

 

increase

 

dollars


perfectly

 

janitor

 

charities

 

plumber

 

organist

 

waiting

 
raising
 
watched
 
offertory
 

sermon