Life — November 27, 1902 — page 16: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Woman and the Bishop. HE Woman and the Bishop sat together in a re- tired corner of the drawing-room, faintly lit by the soft glow of tinted lamps. It was that infinitely contented half hour just after dinner. * Bishop,”’ said the Woman wistfully, ‘ your ser- mon of last Sunday has rung unceasingly in my ears: “Sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor!’ You have almost tempted me,’’ she laughed hesitatingly, ‘to divide my possessions, There is a good deal to divide, you know.”" “ A-hem,”’ the Bishop started slightly and pursed up his lips. ‘* We must remember that those utterances should be regarded largely in the light of their spiritual interpre- tation, and not be too literally adapted to the affairs of temporal life. A woman with such a chef, such a cellar as yours, should never forget the duties of her station, the great obligations of wealth; and, my dear daughter, not the least of these obligations is the strength, inspiration, cheer and solace your little dinners have afforded me."” “Are you implying, Bishop, that the road to Salvation leads down the center of a dinner table?” The Bishop lifted one finger chidingly. “ No flippancy, my child. There are certain highly-wrought, sensitive natures like yours, like mine, which need the—er—bal- ance of earth.” He clasped her hand gently, indulgently in one of his. It was his complete mastery of tho art of hand-clasping which had made him a Bishop. With a simple pressure of the fingers, he could express every shade of human emotion, This was the strong, sincere clasp implying in- finite consolation. It signified a complete understanding of the various elusive intricacies of the feminine reason, which ‘mere man " is totally incapable of comprehending. But ‘‘mere man” is never a Bishop. It hinted, too, of that ascetic renunciation of her sex, which is irresistible to the feminine heart: the Serpent never offered Eve an apple, but a priest to seduce. It spoke of interest, slight, perfunctory, paternal, in the soul's welfare of other women; but an enveloping comprehension of the needs of her own, and suggested symbolically a shoulder on which to rest her weary head. “I take a deep, an especial interest in you, my daugh- ter,’’ said the Bishop at last in those tones of grave, stern authority before which women have always grovelled, “and I am desirous of seeing you control your somewhat erratioimpulses. That very command, ‘To sell all and “art ovr! No AoENTs aLtowep mene!” “YES, SIR; BUT I MAVE SOMETHING HERE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE, SIR—A COMBINATION MALO AND KeYRINO.” give to the poor,’ would, if carried out to its conclusion, mean”’—the Bishop shuddered slightly and lowered his voice—‘‘ Socialism !"” “But, Bishop, there are so many roads, and so few sign- posts. I should think that the discovery of the plain path of duty would be puzzling, even for a Bishop.” “Not at all,” said the Bishop firmly. “The path of duty should always lead us to the vineyards where we may gather the most abundant grapes, to the fat and fallow fields where we may garner the ripest sheaves,” “The path of duty, then,” mused the Woman to herself, ‘is a short cut to the highest salary.” Mrs, Wilson Woodrow. Saving. TSE late census bulletin, which points out how the waste products of slaughter-houses and rendering establishments are being utilized in pharmacy, bacteri- ology, medicine and surgery, makes good reading. That so many things until recently deemed too loath- some for any use should now find a ready sale as serums is a vindication of the value of the germ theory on its commercial side, which is certainly gratifying to any- body whose view of these matters is at all broad. HE had been courting the girl from Philadelphia for ten years. When he proposed, she exclaimed : “‘ This is so sudden !”” comicbooks.com