“This is what you wished us to see, isn’t it?” Marjorie cried out, stopping in front of the oblong. “I think I know what it is.”
“Tell us, then.” Miss Susanna was smiling fondly at the animated face Marjorie turned toward her.
“The maxims of Mr. Brooke Hamilton,” she guessed breathlessly. Her eyes traveled slowly down the oblong. “There are fifteen of them,” she announced. “What a beautiful illumination!”
“Yes; they were his favorite sayings. He originated them all except the first one. More, he lived up to them.” The old lady’s intonation had grown singularly gentle.
A reverent silence visited the study as the knot of girls gathered about the oblong to read the sayings of one long gone from earth. The colors used in the illumination were principally blue and gold with mere touches of green and black. Red had been left out entirely from the color scheme.
“Remember the stranger within thy gates.”
“To the wise nothing is forbidden.”
“Becoming earnestness is never out of place.”
“Let thy gratitude be lasting.”
“Ask Heaven for courtesy; the supply is greater than the demand.”