shall s, for example. She was a slender girl, with lux
uriant flaxen hair, soft, appealing blue eyes, and a mouth
whose red lips curved and arched with daintiness and
grace. To be sure her voice was untrained, and often
declared her plain, humble ancestry ; and she clipped
the tails from off participles, as if they had been
evolving tadpoles ; but that barbarous curtailment was
1 78 RONALD CARNAQUAY
perpetrated, as are most cruelties, under the stress of
excitement. Normally she spoke gently, and her caress
ing voice and appealing eyes, and round, pliant figure
made a distinct impression on the dark, angular minis
ter ; besides, her utter simplicity and innocence were
very attractive to him, dramatic nature that he was,
always instinctively acting some part.
Olive, like most young girls, was more than half a
hero-worshipper ; and she gave the new minister much
the same sort of confidence which she had given to Mr.
Freeman. Whatever were the judgments of her shrewd
father, regarding Carnaquay, he did not choose to taint
her innocent admiration by any adverse criticism of the
man who thrilled her, each Sunday, by his impassioned
sermons. She was not a shallow mind, but her experi
ence of men and women was limited, and she yielded
freely to the fascination of Carnaquay s virile voice and
manner.
Often the two exchanged a few words, in Sunday-
school, or after church, or at a sociable. The minister
was not invited to the mill-owner s table, as yet ; for
ambitious Mrs. Marshall, although she had expended
money abundantly in furnishing her home, was still
distrustful of herself, as she might be revealed by
her dinner-table ; therefore, the Rev. Ronald saw Miss
Olive only brokenly and briefly. But she was a charm
ing young creature, still an impressionable school-girl ;
and while he spoke of her lightly, to her mother, as a
child, he often found himself tenderly picturing what
she would be in three or four years, then in two or
three years yes, even in one year.
However, Miss Metcalf was the person whose door
bell he oftenest rang ; scarcely a week passed that the
bachelor minister was not invited to Miss Metcalf s
house ; and there he spent many comfortable hours,
A PULPIT SUCCESS 179
dividing his attention between venison, cafe parfait,
chartreuse, imported cigars, and much conversation on
politics and investments.
The Rev. Ronald Carnaquay was not a man, how
ever, to lose sight of the essential demands as
he understood them of his profession. He knew
well that parish calls and Sunday-school work, and
public speaking at dinners, were not the main avenues
of a minister s effort, and were not the chief sources
of his power. Therefore, it was his preaching which
claimed his greatest interest ; and his pulpit he made
his throne.
He kept a superintending eye, also, on the large con
gregation, both regular members and strangers, and his
keen glance singled out the individuals, who were worth
capturing and shaking hands with, after the services.
These worthy persons, however they may have realized,
on reflection, that the motive of the alert preacher, as he
leaped toward them, was essentially that of the Chatham
Street second-hand clothing dealer, who rushes out and
clutches victims from among the passers-by, however
they may have known this in their hearts, they could not
but feel flattered that the powerful orator should kindly
descend from his eminence, and chat with them freely
and familiarly. And they were much inclined to believe,
against their better judgment that the cordial invi
tation to come again was given, in an apostolic passion
for the welfare of their immortal souls.
Early among the Sundays after Ronald Carnaquay
had become the accepted incumbent of Emmanuel pul
pit, he had noted, far back in one corner, a very bright,
rose-tinted, rounded female face, among the regular at
tendants of the church ; and the piquant, penetrating,
almost defiant mien of this tastefully dressed young
person aroused his interest, for he recollected seeing
i8o RONALD CARNAQUAY
her on two previous occasions. One was when he had
casually visited a sewing school, in a lower ward of the
city, and had seen this young person instructing a group
of frowzy little girls. He had merely looked in at the
door, by mistake, and had not spoken to her; but her
bright, fearless, questioning look had made an impres
sion on him a passing impression, that was all. But
a week later he found himself in a street-car, directly
opposite the same oval face and coquettish ringlets,
and could hardly keep his eyes off her. She, for her
part, gave not the slightest look of recognition, and he
was left quite in the dark as to her identity. But there
was some indefinable charm about her poise and self-
possession, and her calm, unshrinking gaze, which gave
him a pleasurable anxiety to meet her again.
And here, in church, by some perplexing turn of
chance, his searching glance had found her out. He
was startled and yet gladdened by the discovery. For
that very reason, however, he was cautious and cir
cuitous in approaching her. Was she a regular at
tendant ? She kept in the background, did not seem
inclined to seek his acquaintance, and accordingly was
all the more stimulating to his fancy. He took occasion
to inquire carelessly of Mr. Pidge who she was ; and
that gentleman of accurate mind, but somewhat defec
tive speech, hastily " guessed " it was Mis Guthrie.
Enough for that time ; and the Rev. Ronald found
himself more and more interested in the supposed " Miss "
Guthrie, who was always in her place in the church ; and
he frequently sought to draw, from her bright, critical
countenance, some evidence of approval in his more dar
ing flights of eloquence. But in vain. The young lady
sat erect and calm, two or three fugitive ringlets peeping
from beneath a very tasteful little hat, and seemed to
give intelligent attention, but not any marked sign of
A PULPIT SUCCESS 181
pleasure. At the close of service she always walked
rapidly out, and the active preacher, with all his speed,
had not yet been able to overtake her.
One Sunday, Miss Metcalf invited her pastor to go
home with her and dine. This invitation he was not
averse to accepting, as he already knew how carefully
and skilfully Miss Metcalf s cuisine was conducted.
That lady would have preferred, of her own choice, to
have the minister all to herself, but she had a keen
sense of social conventions, and therefore said, as they
left the church, " Isn t there somebody you would like
to have join us, Dr. Carnaquay ? What is enough for
two is enough for three, you know."
Then it occurred to the minister that this might be a
fortunate opening, but he was too wary to rush blunder
ingly toward it. " I hardly know that I care for any
one," he replied indifferently ; and at once added, with
a bow and that stage chivalry which most women love,
even though they understand its hollo wness, " I cer
tainly do not need another person, so far as my own
pleasure is concerned ; " but, being graciously pressed
by the lady of the snowy locks, he carelessly remarked
" that there was a Miss Guthrie whom he had not yet
met, and
" Not Miss Guthrie," interrupted Miss Metcalf, who
was as convenient as a blue book in all social matters.
" You must mean Mrs. Guthrie ; she is a young widow
and a charming person."
Luckily the large black eyes were not on her min
ister s face, as she thus conveyed what was to him sur
prising and somewhat disturbing information. Possibly
his silence signified something to her ; for she at once
added, "A very charming person, though rather too
bookish to suit me, and a trifle free with her tongue."
"She seems rather young, and and " Mr. Car-
1 82 RONALD CARNAQUAY
naquay was about to say " fresh looking, for a widow,"
but changed it advisedly to "frivolous."
The change was a discreet one, and his companion
developed his suggestion freely, but closed by saying
that she would gladly send and invite Mrs. Guthrie, so
soon as the two reached her house. Mrs. Guthrie was
a neighbor, and the message would reach her speedily.
The plan was carried out, and the Rev. Ronald Car-
naquay presently was introduced, in Miss Metcalf s
parlor, now free from the commercial atmosphere of
Messrs. Mixer, Pidge, and Blaney, to Mrs. Adeline
Guthrie, who returned his bold look with a glance that
parried but did not give ground. The two women were
now in house costume, and contrasted interestingly with
each other. Heretofore, Carnaquay had seen Mrs. Guth
rie, only in hat and wraps ; now she had laid them aside,
and seemed to gain in piquant beauty by the change.
In the case of some women, disrobing is a contraction
and a humiliating confession ; in the case of others it is
a bourgeoning and a beauteous revelation. For example,
Miss Metcalf, when fully arrayed for the street, having
her tall, willowy figure well gowned, her expansive hat
resting on her billowy, snowy hair, her luminous black
eyes active and intelligent, was a striking and fascinating
person, whose age you would have named ten years un
der the hard calendar fact ; but, as she laid aside jacket
and tippet, and hat and gloves, she seemed to diminish
and shrink ; her wrinkles showed more plainly, and she
became less and less an agreeable personality. But, as
Mrs. Guthrie laid aside her wraps, the steps of the process
were a continuous revelation. She seemed to unfold and
to crescendo ; her round, full neck, and finely modelled
chin came into view, and the pink in her cheeks seemed
to deepen, and her figure, somewhat full when in jacket
and coat, softened down to graceful lines ; so that the
A PULPIT SUCCESS 183
Rev. Ronald, who was by no means unaccustomed to
the society of certain kinds of women, found the sight
of her very agreeable, and, in his free way, he was in
clined to hold her soft, pink fingers, a trifle longer than
was needful for form s sake.
But the soft hand had nerves and a will behind it,
and was promptly and firmly withdrawn, as its owner
remarked, nonchalantly, glancing at him with indiffer
ence, " I have often wondered how you would look, in a
room with other people, and without the defence of that
pulpit." Then she calmly sat down as if she had said
the most casual thing in the world.
" Defence ? " echoed Carnaquay. " I don t regard my
pulpit in any such light." Then he saw that he had
been irritated, and had shown his irritation in his quick
retort. At once he resumed his usual, composed, and
almost condescending manner, and said playfully, " You
have perhaps noticed that I am at one side of it or the
other, most of the time."
Miss Metcalf here showed traces of anxiety, either
about the dinner or the turn in the conversation ; and
she at once remarked, in a nervous voice, " For my part,
Dr. Carnaquay, I didn t notice much that you did or
said this morning. I was so stirred up about those
moths in the pew cushions. I never saw such a sight
before. When I sat down, I saw a lot of them fly
away."
"Not very appreciative on their part, I must say,"
rejoined the clergyman, with a bow and a great show of
significance. " I certainly would not have acted in
that way." Then he feared lest the conversation should
linger, on that housekeeping level, and turned toward
Mrs. Guthrie. " And, pray, how were the moths in
your pew ? "
Somehow he felt safe in asking the question, little as
1 84 RONALD CARNAQUAY
he wished to discuss this entomological theme, unless
in a sermon under the text of " Moth and Rust." He
knew, by instinct, that moth-eaten cushions and derelict
sextons would not be further exploited by her. There
fore, he was not surprised when Mrs. Guthrie, ignoring
the whole subject, coolly said, "That was a splendid
text of yours, this morning : Out of the heart are the
issues of life.
The clergyman bowed, in a grave and professional
way. He at once took her words in a complimentary
sense. Still, she had by no means intended them to
carry such an impression ; and his pleased and suave
expression altered, as she continued, " I heard a grand
sermon on that text, once." Saying which, she looked
down at the floor, and seemed to meditate.
Ronald s vanity was a bit ruffled. He was not sure
as to exactly how much or how little this fearless but
enigmatic young person meant. He sat back in his
chair and coolly inquired, not without retaliatory
motive, " Perhaps it was your husband who preached
it ; he was a preacher, I am told."
A subtle smile rested on the youthful widow s face,
as she responded promptly, " Dr. Guthrie was a clergy
man, but not much of a preacher ; not not a really
able speaker, like you. He was a .scholar; that is
different."
There was a confusion of suggestion in her words.
Carnaquay was puzzled. In one breath she bestowed
praise and seemed to hint at the opposite. "Ah, so
you consider the two callings essentially antagonistic ? "
he inquired, growing irritated at what he suspected
was a thrust, and a thrust at his most vulnerable spot.
" You think that no man can be both scholar and
preacher ? "
" That is what my husband was used to saying. He
A PULPIT SUCCESS 185
believed that the oratorical or dramatic temperament
might possibly be joined with the capacity for accurate
research, but not often."
Here the maid announced the dinner ; and the three
went out into the well-appointed dining room, and seated
themselves at the table, Carnaquay having taken a reso
lution in transitu that he would address himself more
to his hostess, and thus quietly suppress the unmanage
able young widow, and also show a proper appreciation
of his invitation to dinner. The appointments of the table
and the serving of the well-garnished viands naturally
brought the talk to corresponding pragmatic levels ;
and here Miss Metcalf was much at ease. Also in all
local gossip and family reminiscences, and plans for
parish management, she was quite at home. Table
intercourse, moreover, gave her opportunity for free
and effective display of her shapely white hands, with
their several blazing gem-set rings. She took great
pride in her housekeeping, and especially in her mar
keting ; she gloried in " good trades," and fancied her
self more than a match for any grocer or butcher in
town. One might have thought, upon hearing her
discuss her close bargains, that Miss Metcalf was penuri
ous in the extreme ; but not so. She haggled over a
"cent a pound," more from love of victory than from
love of money. It was the same with her wardrobe ;
she delighted to save, at one point and another, but her
little economies were far outweighed by the large sums
she often put out on new garments. Pier friends often
teased her about her writing-paper and ink. These
were her pet economies. She persisted in tearing off
and retaining half sheets which were not written
upon ; and the ink in which she wrote her " few and
far between " letters was quite too pale, from much
watering.
1 86 RONALD CARNAQUAY
In all such ways she was the reverse of Mrs. Guthrie,
who, though "comfortably off," had by no means as
large an income. In most other ways, also, the two
seemed, to the watchful clergyman sitting there be
tween them, complements of each other, in physical
characteristics, and even more so in mental aptitudes.
For instance, Miss Metcalf referred to the choir, thus :
"I don t like our present choir." Here she paused to
pass the olives. " I liked that contralto of last year,
much better. This one is too tall to stand near those
two short men. And her bonnet ! Why, it s a crime !
I think, anyway, that choir people the women, I mean
ought to take off their bonnets. Don t you, Dr.
Carnaquay ? "
Before the clergyman could frame a proper response,
Mrs. Guthrie interjected, "I m afraid, Miss Metcalf,
that you class choirs with small children, who should be
seen but not heard." Then she continued, " I wish that
Dr. Carnaquay would arrange some vesper services, like
those we had formerly ; I like a great deal of music in
church."
This was precisely what the reverend gentleman did
not like. In the first place he had but little fine taste
for music (" powerful " as was his sermon on " The Harp
of Judah "), and, secondly, he could not endure to sit
still and see a congregation s attention held by another
person or group of persons. His egotism was too great
to allow him to be happy under such conditions. There
fore, having tried these much-vaunted " vesper services,"
in his previous parish, he did not purpose to duplicate
such humiliating experiences in Emmanuel Church. But
he preserved a wise and judicial bearing, as Mrs. Guthrie
advocated the use of music in church, contracting his
brow into a double furrow, which, in his case, did not
mean calm deliberation, for his real decisions were
A PULPIT SUCCESS 187
made with lightning-like rapidity, and, like a woman s,
bordered on instinct.
" What you say is true, very true," he agreed, and
prepared his salad discriminately. " The mayonnaise ?
No, thank you! I prefer the French dressing. True,
very true ! Music is a divine art ; but we must not for
get that the church has always attached great impor
tance ..." Here he skilfully distributed salt over the
lettuce on his plate.
" Oh, I see that you know how important salt is,"
exclaimed Miss Metcalf. " Few people realize that it
enriches food, even pastry, almost as much as does
sugar or butter."
" Quite so ! " responded the minister. " I learned
that secret when I was camping out, just after my theo
logical seminary examination. However, as Mrs. Guth-
rie justly remarked about music, It s a divine art. "
" It was you who said that," interrupted that young
woman, sententiously. She busied herself with her plate,
as she spoke ; and when the clergyman, half amused
and half annoyed, looked across and gave her one of
those bold, masculine looks which men often substitute
for argument, and use to beat down delicate feminine
rights and reasons, he found her head bent slightly over
her plate ; and his eyes encountered only the inclined
angle of her smooth, broad forehead, and became en
tangled in the coquettish curls.
She was a puzzling problem to him. He had already
made up his mind that she did not like him, but this
made her more interesting ; it gave him a challenge,
and he liked challenges. But he must not show too
open an interest in her ; and he responded with marked
deference to Miss Metcalf, when she asked about the
renting of the gallery pews. " I don t think we are
getting high enough rentals for them," she said.
1 88 RONALD CARNAQUAY
" Don t you think, Dr. Carnaquay, that they are just
as desirable as the pews on the floor ? "
The minister agreed that they were, and artfully in
quired, " What have you been accustomed to get for
them in the past ? "
" O dear ! " exclaimed Miss Metcalf, " nobody
knows." And then she added, archly, "You must be
pleased to learn that those seats were all empty before
you came."
This was the agreeable reply which Carnaquay had
angled for, having learned all about the pew-rentals of
Emmanuel Church, before he had been settled over it a
week. Still, he was greedy of praise, and his gesture
of deprecation was very gentle and graceful.
From this point the conversation led more and more
into administrative fields, and Carnaquay and his clear
headed hostess discussed the advisability of putting
premiums on the best pews, the need which the
church property showed of repairs and painting, and
the suggestion which had been made of enlarging the
Board of Trustees. In all these practical matters Miss
Metcalf was singularly astute, as the minister plainly
admitted to himself, and openly expressed to her. Still,
he did not derive the pleasure from her conversation
which he found in the crisp and somewhat reactionary
remarks of his companion guest.
After the dinner came the customary cigar ; and
the Rev. Ronald looked the picture of content, as he
lay back in the capacious, old, sleepy-hollow chair, and
puffed successive rings with consummate skill. He had
an indolent, luxurious way of holding his cigar, with two
fingers ; and occasionally he placed the lighted end
partly under his nostrils, to catch the fine aroma. He
was in good conceit with himself now, the fatigue of the
morning s preaching having been allayed, in a measure,
A PULPIT SUCCESS 189
by the excellent dinner. Therefore, he got on more har
moniously with the elusive young widow; and she, for her
part, relaxed, perceptibly, the sharpness of her attacks
on him. He was agreeable, and, setting aside his vanity
and assertiveness, was possessed of some really likable
qualities. The three were coming into a fairly good
understanding with one another, and Miss Metcalf s
anxiety regarding collisions between her two guests was
now much diminished. Mrs. Guthrie kindly consented
to sing one or two Scotch ballads, making a mock apol
ogy to the minister, as she went to the piano, because of
the secular nature of the songs ; but he carelessly re
marked that a song which was good on week-days was
even better on Sunday, and gave close attention to the
singer.
He was naturally musical, though untrained ; and the
tenderness which the song expressed, contrasting as it
did with the piquant and even acrid flavor of many of
the singer s remarks to him this added greatly to her
charm, and produced an unusual unrest in his soul. He
did not clearly understand her ; he was actually a little
afraid of her, yet he felt himself much drawn toward
her.
After a while Carnaquay artfully led the conversation
around to the subject of poetry, and then, when urged
by Miss Metcalf, the request being mildly seconded
by Mrs. Guthrie, he recited some selections. He gave
page after page of Longfellow and Whittier, a part
of Foe s " Raven," and a poem by Will Carleton. He
had a wonderful memory, and recited with intelligence
and sympathy.
When he finished, Miss Metcalf, following her usual
way, was profuse in praise and thanks ; but Mrs.
Guthrie, although she cordially thanked him, added
no word of commendation. She knew he was ea^er to
190 RONALD CARNAQUAY
hear it, and she was aware that the recitations were
really excellent ; but her firmness and frankness were
capable of running into obstinacy, under dangerous
conditions like the present, and she uttered no word that
could be construed by the clergyman into praise.
Finally, the fitting moment for departure came, and
the reverend gentleman somewhat reluctantly went
away. He had counted on walking home with Mrs.
Guthrie ; but that lady excused herself, having, as she
said, one or two matters to talk about, with Miss Met-
calf. How real this excuse was, and just how the
young widow regarded him, Ronald Carnaquay debated
with himself, without any satisfactory conclusion, all the
way home, and afterward.
CHAPTER XII
SPOTS ON THE SUN
"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs xxix. 18.
EMMANUEL CHURCH continued to "boom." There
was every reason for it. Dissatisfied and disappointed as
were many earnest, devout persons in that body, yet the
controlling majority had gained what they wished. The
Rev. Dr. Carnaquay was a large figure, in parish and in
city. The congregations had outgrown the existing
church edifice, and an enlargement of the building was
planned. Carnaquay himself took an active part in
raising the money for the new outlay ; he gave two
hundred dollars himself, for he was not a mean man, in
matters of money. Besides this, he went about asking
subscriptions ; and at this sort of work he was very apt
and efficient. When Carnaquay approached a man, and
suggested in an easy, casual way, that the man give the
trifling sum of fifty or five hundred dollars to so impor
tant a cause, the confident air with which the request
was made greatly aided in loosing the purse-strings of
him who was asked. Carnaquay seemed to be offering
the man a great privilege, an enjoyable opportunity ;
and few had the hardihood to attempt to break down
the genial confidence and assurance with which he ap
proached them.
So the additional wing to the church was erected
and furnished, and began to fill with I was about to
191
192
say "worshippers" ; but there was all too little of the
worshipful spirit apparent in the newcomers. Carna-
quay himself had but slight conception of that humil
ity and longing of the soul with which a devout man
approaches the Infinite One. On the contrary, his gos
pel was of the earth, earthy not grossly so, but com
fortably and cheerily of the earth ; he was really an