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Show I CONDENSED f I CLASSICS I THE LITTLE I MINISTER. I I By J. M. BARRIE Condensation by y M. E. Alley, Brighton .Inmen Matheir Bnrrle In one of that great anuy of Scotchmen who table centra charge of England. Eng-land. He naa bora nt Klrrifiiinir, May 9, 1S(I0. He -nam educnted nt Duni-frlcs Duni-frlcs academy and kdinbnrgh sal-vernity. sal-vernity. He wnm created first baronet baro-net In 11)13, bat lions before that date, by universal suffrage he had acquired the title of Prince of V b I m 1 e m and First Lord of All Hearts. Unlike other Brltisb titles, these latter lat-ter are perfectly valid In tbe United States as vrcil ns in Great Britain and the Dominions b?yond the sens. After the usual skirmishes of a penman pen-man to find himself by vray of the nevrspopers, Barrie published "Better Dead" in 1887. Then at Intervals of a year or less came ''Auld Llcht Idylls," "When a Man's Single," "A Window in Thrums," "My Lady Nicotine," "The Little Minister," followed by "Sentimental "Senti-mental Tommy," "Margaret Ogiivy'' (the Infinitely tender story of his own mother), and the immortal "Peter Pan." He soon found his way to the stage (a way all his own) with "The Professor's Love Story," "The Little Minister," "duality Street," "The Admirable Ad-mirable Crlchton." "Peter Pan," "What Every Woman Knows," "A Kiss for Cinderella," and "Dear Brutus," and has been most successful with plays, or rather playlets, of the war, such as "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals." His appeal to public Imagination was almost instantaneous, and he has continuously held a warm place in the hearts of the whole English-speaking race wherever a. tender fancy appeals to loving imogluatiou. Probably more people know more of the works of Barrie than of any other living writer. GAVIN DISHART was barely twenty-one when he and his mother came to Thrums. All Thrums was out in its wyndes and closes a few of the weavers still in knee breeches, to look at the new Auld Lieht minister. I was there, the dominie of Glen Quharity, four miles from Thrums, and heavy was my heart aa I stood afar off so that Gavin's mother might not have the lain of seeing me. I alone of the crowd looked more at her than at her son. Eighteen years had passed since we parted, and already her hair had lost its brightness, and Margaret was an old woman at forty-three, and I, who had loved her since I was a hobbledehoy hobblede-hoy and shall till I die, am the man who made her old. Many scenes in the little minister's life come back to me. The first time I ever thought of writing his love story an old man's gift to a little maid since grown tall, was one night in the old schoolhouse, when my gate creaked the first time I, ever saw Gavin and the Egyptian together. Gavin was brought up to be a minister min-ister from his earliest days, and took to the idea enthusiastically. It had been the dream of the two of a manse, of which Margaret was mistress, and Gavin the minister, and now it was fulfilled. Gavin at once became popular In Thrums, and though short of stature he cast a great shadow. He converted convert-ed a drunkard, Rob Dow, who adored him, and would do anything in the world for him. On the fateful evening of October 17, Gavin was returning from Rob Dow's and going home through Caddam woods, when he heard singing. The singer came dancing up Windy-ghoul. Windy-ghoul. Only when she passed him did Gavin see her as a gypsy elf, bare feet flashing beneath a short green skirt, a twig of rowan berries in her black hair. She was pale with an angel loveliness. A diamond on her finger shot a thread of fire over a pool as she danced by. Undoubtedly she was the devil. Gavin leaped after her, but as she saw him she beckoned mockingly, then kissed her hand, and was gone. A moment later came the sound of a. horn. The minister was on the alert at once, and hurried to the Square. That horn was a signal that soldiers were marching on the village folk to arrest some malefactors among the weavers, who would resent re-sent it. In the Square was an uproar. It was the gypsy who had given the warning. warn-ing. -Gavin tried to persuade the people peo-ple to disperse to save bloodshed, but the Egyptian cried: "Do not heed Ibis little man ! Save yourselves." and they obeyed her. The soldiers came, but caught only a few, the real culprits escaping. The Egyptian Egyp-tian was caught, hut escaped the oflicers. first through a clever ruse, ami again through impudently pretending she was Gavin's wife ! He was furious, and yet felt his anger an-ger die as he looked at the beautiful girl with the appealing eyes, and coax-i coax-i log, laughing mouth. He even told her to hide in the manse garden In : the summer seat, till the soldiers had j gone. Gavin was in two minds aft er that, angry at himself because of the Egyptian, Egyp-tian, and yet he constantly thought of her, and wondered. He preached sermons against women, Ihnse days their witching ways were the devil. One winter day, the Egyptian's time- iy appearance saved old Nanny Web' ster from the poorhouse. The gypsy impulsively offered five pounds to support sup-port Nanny till her brother came back from jail. Then it was that Gavin first believed in her, and said he'd trust her word. The happy Nanny persuaded the minister to stay to tea. That tea-drinking tea-drinking bewitched the little minister, for the fascinating Babbie teased him and he liked it, Babbie brought him the money to Caddam Woods next day, and gave Gavin a holly spray that he secretly treasured. Again and again he was drawn to Nanny's cottage where Babbie Bab-bie frequently came, and he didn't understand un-derstand at first that he was in love with tbe mysterious girl with her many caprices all of which charmed him. He little knew that Rob Dow had discovered him with Babbie in their trysts, and wondered why Rob avoided him. and was drinking again. Rob's greatest fear was that the kirk elders should learn of the Egyptian and the minister, and stone him out of Thrums. One night, Babbie flashed a lantern in at the manse window to attract Gavin's attention. He waited breathlessly breath-lessly till the manse was quiet in slumber, slum-ber, then stole out to meet Babbie at the summer seat. 'There in tbe darkness dark-ness Gavin kissed her, and Babbie realized re-alized for the first time bis love for her. She had been playing with him, and felt ashamed. She wanted to run away, and she wanted to stay and have him put his kiss into words. But it was late, and it was that night as Gavin took her back to Nanny's that I saw them together for the first time. Love dawned in Babbie's heart that night, an all the world looked new to her, and she longed for Gavin to come. Then she met Rob Dow's little son weeping bitterly, who told her of what sorrow the "wooman who'd bewitched be-witched the meenister" would bring everyone, and Babbie, touched to the heart, went away. Months passed, and the little minister looked in vain for her. Then came the fourth of August, the eve of Lord Rintoul's marriage, an old earl staying at the Spittal, whose bride was reported as young and bonny. But nearly all of Thrums were concerned con-cerned over the long drought that had become n calamity, and that night there was to be a special prayer meeting meet-ing for rain. Then suddenly Babbie came to me In the schoolhouse, saying that Gavin had been killed by a drunken Highland High-land piper. It was not true a rumor, but I found Gavin, and told him where he would find Babbie, though I felt I was doing wrong. Babbie told Gavin her story then that she was to be Lord Rintoul's bride on the morrow. He had found her when a mite, fallen from a gypsy wagon, and for her beauty had reared and educated her. Babbie and Gavin tried to give each other up, then Babbie Bab-bie heard Lord Rintoul's vjice, and in terror clung to Gavin, an' the two ran off in the darkness to the gypsy camp on the hill to be married over the tongs of the gypsy king. That terrible night, with the storm coming, the earl seeking his lost bride, the dour elders relentlessly following fol-lowing their errant minister and drunken Rob madly bound to save his friend. Then came the flood, when the heavens heav-ens opened, and lochs seemed to fail. Babbie, separated from Gavin after the gypsy marriage, fell into Rob's hands, but mercifully escaped, and reached the manse. Gavin wandered all night through the storm after Babble, and I found him exhausted near my house next morning. He told me all that bad passed, and my anxiety for Margaret Mar-garet at the consequences of his rash act led me to attempt to reach Thrums. But before I left I felt it was necessary to tell Gavin my story, that lie was my son, and Margaret was my wife. Margaret had married Adam Dishart first, and he had gone to sea, and after two years all thought him lost, and she married me. Then when Gavin was three years old, Adam suddenly sud-denly returned, and I passed out of Margaret's life forever. Gavin sought to learn if Babbie had been carried off by Lord Rintoul, and found the earl on an island in the midst of floods. Gavin jumped to his aid, but nothing could be done, and it was thought both must perish. His congregation, gathered by the precipice, preci-pice, forgot they had meant to expel him and listening with dim eyes to his brave last words knew only that they loved him. Then Rob Dow threw his life away to save his friend, and the rope with which he sprang Into the flood withdrew minister and earl to safety. So Gavin and Babbie were married, and no one seeing Babbie going demurely de-murely to church on Gavin's arm would guess her history. Yet sometimes some-times at night. Babbie slips into lier gypsy frock, with rowan berries in her hair, and Gavin always kisses her. My little maid knows this story as well as I do. She was named for Margaret, Mar-garet, and has been my dearest comfort com-fort since my Margaret died; but I have lived to rejoice in tbe happiness of Gavin and Babbie and their children. chil-dren. Copyright. 1?":'. by the Post Publishing Co. (Tlif BoFton Post). CopyrliJf.t In the United Kingdom, the Dominions, its Col-or.ies Col-or.ies and dependences, under the copy-richt copy-richt art, by tbe Fost Publishing Co., Boston. Mass., U. S. A. All rights re. served. |