“Well, I often see young ladies on the street who always remind me of these advertising boys, as their dress makes them a walking advertisement of their father’s wealth. One Sunday night, after attending service in a very wealthy church, I dreamed that all the ladies wore pocket-books on their heads instead of bonnets. Some were too full to be closed, and small coin often dropped out. Others were tightly clasped and ornamented with all manner of precious stones. A few were thin and worn, but all were labelled with the exact amount of contents. And when one lady walked in with $2,000,000 blazing in diamond figures on her pocket-book how all the congregation bowed down.”
“Oh mamma, what a funny dream!”
“Now Annie, if Christian women would all feel that they were Christian stewards of their Lord’s money, and could see what foolish vanity it is to wish the world to know of their wealth, then we should all have some comparatively definite standard of a Christian style of living. But as long as Christian women have no guide but the varying length of a husband’s purse, we shall have no standard, no conscience in the matter, and the world will continue to jeer and the poor to suffer.”
Annie’s dread lest Will Duncan and his mother should think them old-fashioned or Puritanical, or possibly avaricious, was a sore temptation to her, and once more she plead—“But ma, would it not be right to call this ring a thank-offering for the great dowry we have received?”
“My dear Annie, I cannot see how a gift that would simply be a badge of our wealth, and tend to flatter the vanity of our innocent little Bell, would be a suitable thank-offering to the Lord. I believe in thank-offerings, however, and have written my dear old friend Mrs. W——, who is engaged in missionary work South, you remember, inquiring how I can best help her. Perhaps when her reply comes you will feel differently.”
Poor Annie avoided passing Mrs. Duncan’s home for two days, dreading to speak of her mother’s decision. The second day the expected letter came from Georgia. It told of a delicate little colored girl—a graduate of the Higher Normal Department of an A. M. A. School. This girl’s father had run away $150 in debt, and the home that sheltered the little family was to be sold at sheriff’s sale to pay the debt. This girl found a man who would pay it and wait for her to pay him in small sums as she earned it by teaching. As soon as this was paid she begged her sister to go to the school from which she graduated. The sister thought she was too old to begin to go to school again, and could not be persuaded till at last she was told—“Now Sis, kind friends at the North have helped me get my education and I am going to send some poor girl to that same school, and if you don’t go, some one else will be glad of my help.” So now she is paying nine dollars a month for that sister’s board and tuition, and buys her books and clothes, better ones, too, than she wore herself. A letter was also enclosed from this girl to her old teacher, begging for help to build a school house where she is now teaching. So besides educating her sister she is trying to build a school house. But I have the letter and will let the girl tell her own story:
“Dear Friend, Mrs. W——: I know you are very busy, and will not want to hear the word ‘building,’ but I don’t know whom else to write to. We have paid $71.70 on an acre of land for our school lot. We have $68.30 to pay and twelve months to pay it in, with no interest. We want to ask the A. M. A. if they will help us build a school house. We can begin now as soon as we are able. We want the A. M. A. to take full control of the house and the building of it, and we will help all we can. We want this to be a school for everybody. We have six men as trustees of the land, and have worked hard and are working still. * * * The whites are helping us and urging us to go on. Three white men gave $5 apiece, and others less. They were a little careful about giving this time, as money has been solicited twice before for the same purpose, so most of them would put their names down and say, ‘Come when you are ready for it.’ There was no trouble in getting it yesterday when we went for it. I was anxious to decide the matter and make a payment yesterday. I’ll try to get my money to you by the 10th for sister.
“Very truly,
——— ———”
When Annie got home from school she read both letters with great interest, but said, “Ma, don’t you suppose such letters are sometimes gotten up for effect?” “Perhaps they are, but I am sure this one was not, for you know I wrote asking for some case of pressing need, and the girl’s letter never could have been written for my eyes, as it is dated some weeks ago.”