VESPERS.
There was a pretty little Episcopal chapel in the village of Wellington,
where at Vespers on Sunday afternoons the students were wont to
congregate. Six Wellington girls always served as ushers and the college
Glee Club formed the Chapel choir.
"It's a good thing to go to Vespers," remarked Judy one Sabbath
afternoon, pinning on her large velvet hat before the mirror over the
mantel, notably the most becoming mirror in the house, "not only for the
welfare of our souls, but also to attire ourselves in decent clothes."
"I suspect you of thinking it's good for your soul to wear good clothes,
Judy," observed Nance.
"You suspect rightly, then," answered Judy. "If I had to dress in rags,
I'm afraid my soul would become a thing of shreds and patches, too, all
shiny at the seams and down at the heels."
Nance laughed.
"That's a funny way to talk, considering you are about to attend Vespers
at the Chapel of the good St. Francis, who took the vows of poverty and
lived a roving life on the hills around Assisi."
"That's all very true," said Judy, "and I've seen the picture of him
being married to Lady Poverty, but our dispositions are different, St.
Francis's and mine. I like the roving over the hills part, because I'm a
wanderer by nature, but I like to wander in nice clothes. My manners are
getting to be regular old gray sweater manners, and if I didn't put on
my velvet suit and best hat once a week there's no telling what kind of
a rude creature I would become."
"Why, Julia Kean, I'm ashamed of you," cried Nance, "you've as good as
confessed that you go to Vespers to show your fine clothes."
"I don't go to show 'em, goosie; I go to wear 'em. But you have no sense
of humor. What's the good of telling you anything? Molly, there,
understands my feelings, I am sure."
Molly was not listening. She was making calculations at her desk with a
blunt pencil on a scrap of paper.
"I've got as good a sense as you have," cried Nance hotly, "only I don't
approve of being humorous about sacred things."
"Nonsense," broke in Judy, "don't you know, child, that you can't limit
humor? It spreads over every subject and it's not necessarily profane
because it touches on clothes at church. I suppose you think there is
nothing funny about the Reverend Gustavus Adolphus Larsen, and you have
forgotten how you giggled that Sunday when he announced from the pulpit
that his text was taken from St. Paul's 'Efistle to the Epeesians.'"
"He's always getting mixed," here put in Molly, who at certain stages in
the warm discussions between Nance and Judy always sounded a pacifying
note. "They do say that he was talking to Miss Walker about one of the
faculty pews, and he said: 'Do you occupew this pi?'"
This was too much for Nance's severity, and she broke down and laughed
gaily with the others.
"He's a funny little man," she admitted, "but he's well meaning."
"Hurry up," admonished Judy; "it's twenty minutes of four and I want to
get a good seat this afternoon."
"You want to show off your new fashionable headgear, you mean, Miss
Vanity," said Nance, pinning on her neat brown velvet toque and
squinting at herself in the mirror.
"Oh, me," thought Molly, "I wish I had a decent garment to show off."
She had intended to buy some clothes that autumn from a purchasing agent
who came several times a year to Wellington with catalogues and samples,
but she had been afraid to spend any of the money she had earned because
of the precarious state of the family finances.
She ran her hatpin through her old soft gray felt, which had a bright
blue wing at one side, and slipped on the coat of her last winter's gray
suit. Then she drew white yarn gloves over her kid ones, because she had
no muff and her hands were always frozen, and stoically marched across
the campus with her friends.
The Chapel was already crowded when the girls arrived. They had not
heard that the Rev. Gustavus's pulpit was to be filled that afternoon by
a preacher from New York. At any rate, they had to sit in the little
balcony, which commanded a better view of the minister than it did of
the congregation. He was a nice-looking young man, with an unaffected
manner, and he preached to the packed congregation as if he were talking
quietly and simply to one person; at least, it seemed so to Molly. The
sermon was a short address on "Faith." It contained no impassioned
eloquence nor fiery exhortations, but it impressed the students
profoundly.
"Don't try to instruct God about the management of your lives," he said,
"any more than you would direct a wise and kind master who employed you
to work on his estate. All the Great Master asks of you is to work well
and honestly. The reward is sure to come. You cannot hurry it and you
cannot make it greater than you deserve. It is useless to struggle and
rage inwardly. Is not that being rather like a spoiled child, who lies
on the floor and kicks and screams because his mother won't give him any
more cake? Just put your affairs in the hands of God and go quietly
along, doing the best you can. All of a sudden the conditions you once
struggled against will cease to exist, and before you have realized it,
the thing you asked for is yours."
Lots of people, the minister said, prayed a great deal without believing
that their prayers would be heard. It reminded him of a little anecdote.
"One Sunday morning during a terrible drought a country preacher knelt
in the midst of his family at home and prayed earnestly for rain. When
it was time to start for church, the minister noticed that his little
daughter was carrying an umbrella.
"'Why do you take an umbrella, my child?' he asked, glancing at the
cloudless sky.
"'Didn't you just pray for rain, father?' she answered.
"All the learning of the ages is not greater than the simple faith of a
little child," finished the young preacher.
And now the sermon was over and the girls were chatting in groups
outside the Chapel, or strolling along the sidewalk arm in arm. Molly
had withdrawn from her companions for a moment and was standing alone in
a corner of the vestibule.
"I'm afraid I've been acting just like the little child who threw
himself on the floor and kicked and screamed for more cake," she was
thinking. "I suppose another year at college is just like a nice big
hunk of chocolate cake and it wouldn't be good for mental digestion. I
might as well stop struggling and begin to cram mathematics. That's the
hardest thing I have, and I ought to get in as much of it as I can
before I go."
"Perhaps you won't have to go at all," spoke another voice in her mind.
But Molly couldn't see it that way. Other letters from her mother had
made it clear to her that no more money could be raised. There was a
good place waiting for her to step into, however, in a small private
school made up of children who lived in the neighborhood. She could come
home after the mid-year examinations when the present teacher in the
school was planning to be married.
"Oh, Miss Brown," someone said. Molly looked up quickly. It was
President Walker. "Will you walk along with me? I had a letter from your
mother last night and I want to speak to you about it."
The President was a very democratic and motherly woman who not only
guided the affairs of the college with a wise hand, but kept in personal
touch with her girls, and it was not unusual to see her walking home
from Vespers with several students. This time, however, she took Molly's
arm and led her down the village street without asking any of the
others to join her.
The young girl was very sensible of the honor paid her, thus singled out
by the President to walk back to college. She felt a shy pleasure in the
sensation they created as the crowd of students parted to let them pass.
"I am very, very sorry to receive this news from your mother, Miss
Brown," began the President. "I suppose you know what it is?"
"You mean about leaving college, Miss Walker?"
"Yes. It's really a great distress to me to think that one of my Queen's
girls especially must give up in the middle of her course. Instead of
listening to that young man at Vespers, I was thinking and thinking
about this unwelcome news."
Molly smiled. She had managed to listen to the preaching and to think
about her affairs at the same time, because they somehow seemed to fit
together. Once she almost felt that perhaps he knew all about her case
and was preaching to her. But, of course, everybody had problems and
lots of the girls thought the same thing, no doubt,--Madeleine Petit,
for instance.
"Is there no possible way it could be arranged?" went on the President.
"Is this decision of your mother's final?"
Evidently Mrs. Brown had not explained why Molly was obliged to come
home.
"Oh, she didn't decide it," answered the young girl, quickly. "It's
because--because the money's gone--lost."
"I suspected it was something of that sort," went on the President.
"Now, there is a way, Miss Brown, by which you could remain if you would
be willing to leave Queen's Cottage. I am in charge of a Student Fund
for just such cases as yours. This provides for tuition and board,--not
on the campus, but in the village. You're making something now tutoring
the little Japanese girl, I understand. That's good. That will help
along. You will have to manufacture some excuse to your friends about
leaving Queen's. Otherwise, the fund arrangement may remain a secret
between you and me."
Miss Walker pressed the girl's hand and smiled kindly as she searched
her face for some sign of gladness and relief at this offer.
Molly tried to smile back.
"We'll leave everything as it is until the end of this semester,"
continued the President.
"Thank you very, very much," Molly said, making a great effort to keep
her voice from sounding shaky.
Leave Queen's! Was it possible the President didn't know that life at
Queen's was the best part of college to her? Would there be any pleasure
left if she had to tear herself away from her beloved chums and take up
quarters in the village, living on a charity fund?
When she separated from Miss Walker at the McLeans' front door, she was
so filled with inward lamentations and weeping that she could scarcely
say good-night to the President, who looked somewhat puzzled at the
girl's still pale face.
Rushing back to Queen's, Molly flung herself through the front door and
tore upstairs. On the landing she bumped into Judith Blount, who gave
her a sullen, angry look.
"Please be careful next time and don't take up the whole stairs,"
exclaimed that young woman rudely.
Molly glanced at her wildly. What right had she to talk, this wretch of
a girl who could remain at Queen's and live on other people's money? Oh,
oh, oh! Misery of miseries! She rushed up the second flight. She was
having what Judy called "the dry weeps." At the door of Otoyo's room she
paused. It was half open and the little Japanese was sitting
cross-legged on the floor with a lamp beside her, studying.
"May I come in?"
"With much gladness," answered Otoyo, rising and bowing ceremoniously.
"I want to stay in here a little while, Otoyo, away from other people.
May I sit here by the window in this big chair? Go on with your lessons.
I don't want to talk. I wanted to be with someone who was quite quiet.
I should have been obliged to hide in a closet if you hadn't let me in."
"I am very happily glad you came to me," said Otoyo.
She helped Molly off with her coat and hat, pulled out the Morris chair
so that it faced the window and sat down again quietly with her book.
At the end of three-quarters of an hour, Otoyo began to move noiselessly
about the room. Molly was still sitting in the big arm-chair, her hands
clasped in her lap. Presently she became aware that Otoyo was standing
silently before her bearing a lacquer tray on which was a cup of tea and
a rice cake.
"Otoyo, you sweet, little dear," she said, placing the tray on the arm
of the chair. She gulped down the tea and ate the cake, and while the
small hostess made another cupful, Molly continued: "Otoyo, I'm going to
let God manage my affairs hereafter. I'm not going to lie on the floor
any more and kick and scream like a spoiled child for another piece of
chocolate cake. I shall always carry an umbrella now when I pray for
rain, and I mean to begin to-night to polish up in math."
"I am happily glad," said Otoyo, giving her a gentle, sympathetic
smile.