GOOD NEWS FROM HOME--MISS LORAINE.
Letters from different members of Beth-Adriel board were now constantly
reaching me. They contained interesting accounts of the doings at home
and also much concerning various properties, none of which, from all
accounts, appealed to my fancy. Reader, I was hard to please. I wanted
something better than had as yet been described. Somehow I felt God had
it for us. Sure-enough, as I discovered on my return home in August.
A letter from the vice-president described a property of ten acres of
orchard and grounds, all under cultivation; a commodious dwelling,
partly furnished; outhouses, etc., situated just outside of the city
limits. It was not for sale; but as the owner, who resided on the
premises, was a Christian man, it was thought that he might, for such a
purpose, be induced to sell. It was deemed best, before approaching him
to await my return. You will be pleased to hear more concerning this
later. Just now I want to tell you about Miss Loraine.
There was one house in Eureka into which I had never been admitted. One
day whilst I was visiting another, the landlady asked:
"Have you ever called on Miss Loraine?"
"I have been there more than once," I answered, "but as yet I have been
unsuccessful in gaining admittance."
"Would you still go if you could? I can get you in. I am a personal
friend of hers," said Miss ----.
"Thank you, I shall be very glad to have you make the necessary
arrangements," I replied, upon which she went to her telephone, took
down the receiver, and held the following conversation:
"Hello! is that you, H----? Good morning...."
"Quite well, thank you. How are you?"... "I called you up to tell you
of a lady who is calling on me, and who would like very much to meet
you. We all call her 'Mother' Roberts."
* * * * *
"No, she isn't a crank."...
"Now, look here, H----, you'll have to see her. You ought to know
better than refuse me."
* * * * *
"Well, when will you be at home? At five o'clock? Wait a minute."
Putting her hand over the mouthpiece and turning to me, she asked:
"Can you call at five this evening?"
I could; so she made arrangements, hung up the receiver, and then wrote
a note of introduction, wording it thus:
Dear H----
This will introduce my friend, Mother Roberts. She is all O. K. Hoping
you will have a pleasant time together,
Yours as ever, ---- ----
This I presented with my card at Miss Loraine's door at exactly five
o'clock. A Japanese page dressed in uniform ushered me into a
conventional but well-furnished reception-room. There sat a young woman
in a handsome silk negligee, who invited me to be seated, remarking
that Miss Loraine was out, but would soon return, and that she was to
entertain me in the interval. In a few minutes there came up the steps
and then entered the room three splendid-looking young women, richly
attired. The one in black silk, Miss Loraine, received me with all the
manners of a lady of birth and good breeding, and soon asked me if I
would come with her to her private quarters, so that we could converse
undisturbed. I followed her up-stairs into a Dresden-draped bedroom,
where ensued the following conversation:
"Mrs. Roberts, I feel I owe you an apology for not sooner receiving
you. To be candid with you, my door is closed to all who have not made
previous engagements; then, too, I shrink from the embarrassment of
meeting any ladies from the better walks of life," etc.
Whilst endeavoring to reassure her, I happened to look at a
silver-framed photograph of a handsome, white-haired old gentleman.
Quickly remarking this, she reverently handed it to me, saying:
"I notice you are attracted to this. Would you think there was anything
out of the common in any of these features?"
Upon my replying in the negative, she added:
"This is the photograph of my dearly loved father. He is stone blind."
I expressed my astonishment, for there was no indication in the
picture.
After a pause she said, "Mrs. Roberts, will you please do me a favor?"
"If it lies in my power," I replied.
"It does," was her rejoinder. "Will you honor me by dining with me this
evening, half an hour hence?"
For one second I hesitated, but on interpreting her expression I
instantly replied, "With pleasure," for like a flash came a mental
vision of the King of kings dining with Simon the leper (Mark 11:3-9).
Then she absented herself for a few minutes, doubtless to make
necessary arrangements.
"I feel disposed, if you care to listen." she said on her return, "to
give you a synopsis of my life."
I assured her of a great desire to hear it and, if possible, to prove
more than simply a hearer. Briefly, it was this:
She was an only child of rich parents. She was reared in a luxurious
home, where card-playing, theater-going, dancing, and all other high
society amusements were continually indulged in. When she was entering
her teens and most needed a mother's care, her mother died, and her
father placed her in a fashionable boarding-school. She remained there
until she was seventeen, when he sent her, under the chaperonage of
friends, on a trip to Europe.
Whilst she was in Rome, she received from her father a cable message
reading, "Come home on next steamer." Upon arriving in New York, she
soon learned from her father's lips of his total failure in business
(he was a stock broker) and also of the fast approaching
affliction--blindness. Property of every description was swept away.
She soon secured a position as nursery governess, but erelong she
realized that she was unqualified, never having been coached for any
but high social life.
The gentleman (?) whom she had expected to marry some day proved untrue
as soon as her riches fled.
Just at a time when her employer had gently informed her of her
inability to fill her position of governess satisfactorily and of her
(the employer's) intention of dismissing her, the tempter, in the form
of an unprincipled but well-to-do man about to make a trip to the
Pacific Coast, crossed her path and ensnared her. Under promise of
marriage, she agreed to go with him. After telling her now blind
father, who was being provided for out of her earnings, that she had
secured a position for better pay, but that it would take her away from
New York for a time, she bade him a tearful farewell.
Before long the rich reprobate deserted her, but he was merciful enough
not to leave her penniless. With a considerable sum at her disposal,
and for advisers one or two whose morals were at a low ebb, she came
North and furnished the house in which I was now sitting.
She was in constant correspondence with her father, who supposed that
she was married and that the fifty dollars or more (never less) which
he monthly received came from his wealthy son-in-law. And now hear her
own words:
"Mrs. Roberts, I believe you will give me an honest answer to my
earnest question. Would it be possible for me to secure any honorable
position whereby I might continue to send my dear father fifty dollars
a month, as well as live respectably myself?"
Reader, what answer would you, had you been in my place, have made? I
was in an awkward position--in the presence of one who had never
attended any but a fashionable church and hence--who knew little or
nothing of God and his Son, one who had never been taught anything
which in the event of accidents or business failures would prove
practical. She was indeed and in truth to be pitied. My reply was a
question:
"Could you not have kept a respectable lodging-house, my dear Miss
Loraine?"
"Perhaps, had I been advised by the right kind of people, but I met the
wrong ones," she replied. "As long as my dear father lives," she added,
"I must send him this sum for rent and ordinary comforts. The moment
word reaches me of his demise, I will forever cease living such a life.
I will quietly disappear to some remote corner of the globe."
Then she showed me a letter just received, one beginning, "My dear Son
and Daughter." How my heart ached as I silently prayed to know what to
do!
"What about the inmates of your house. Miss Loraine? How do you procure
them?"
"Pardon me, but I can not explain that. I will say, though, each of
them has a sad story. They are, as you will presently infer from what
you see, refined, more or less talented girls; but they will soon drift
downward. The life is too rapid, and nature will not long stand the
strain and abuse. I never interfere if a girl shows an inclination to
quit; on the contrary, I gladly help her."
Here a gong sounded, announcing dinner. She preceded me to the
dining-room. When we entered, I saw five handsome young women, whose
ages varied (I should judge) from eighteen to twenty-six. They were all
attired in quiet dress, surely in honor of the occasion, which courtesy
I greatly appreciated. Permission being granted, I invoked a blessing.
The meal was served in courses, and we were waited upon by the Japanese
page. I ate very sparingly, in fact, made only a pretence of eating,
for God's message lay so heavily on my heart that I had to deliver it.
They listened with rapt attention, and all but one shed tears. How
stolid she appeared to be! yet she was possibly the one many months
later most impressed. I met her again. She was home then in her
father's house once more, but was not yet a Christian.
As for Miss Loraine, I never saw her again, but about a year later I
learned that her father had died and that she had taken her departure
for parts unknown. I can only pray and trust that she will, if living,
turn to the ever-merciful Savior.