“That book is burned,” Alvin reminded her.
“Yes, and more was burned with it, I suspect,” she replied enigmatically.
Eweretta’s helpfulness was not confined to the White House. The old priest at “St. Mary, Star of the Sea,” had only to let Miss Le Breton know of a sad case of poverty to find it relieved. She never appeared herself in such matters. She helped the poor through the old priest. Father Donelli thought Miss Le Breton a saint. She did not do her good works before men to get praise of them. She lived a simple, pious life. She accused herself in the Confessional of want of gratitude for a sorrow which had come to her—of course, for her good.
Eweretta had, indeed, struggled to thank God for the loss of her lover; she had at one time bitterly rebelled. She had so loved Philip! The rebellion was ended, but she had not come yet to be grateful to God for the sorrow, which she, simple soul that she was, felt that she ought to do. The poor little “saint” was very human!
One of Eweretta’s greatest admirers was Minnie Pickett. She had persuaded Minnie to confess her love affair with the clerk from the gasworks, and not practise a deception on her parents.
Perhaps we never love anyone quite so really as the man or woman who leads us to abandon a fault or to rise to ideals.
Minnie loved Eweretta, because her influence was all towards the highest and best.
And Minnie had found that she had lost nothing by being open and above board with her parents. After an inquiry into the character of Minnie’s lover, Mr. Pickett had consented to the engagement, and the young man was allowed to pay stated visits to the farm.
Eweretta often went to Pickett’s Farm, but never when Mrs. Hannington was there if she knew it. She disliked Mrs. Hannington exceedingly, for on the one occasion when she had met her, that lady had scandalized both Philip and Phyllis, and Eweretta had told her exactly what she thought of her, which had not been pleasant for Mrs. Hannington to listen to.
Mrs. Hannington had from that time added hatred of Miss Le Breton to her other iniquities, and far from curbing her love of tearing people’s characters to pieces, had found a new victim in Miss Le Breton.