| Show a A tA GLASS CLASS DARKLY Romance from a New Years Year's Sermon LIVE THOMPSON I d sat In her low un- un r cushioned seat in inthe I the little country church pay paying in g strict attention to t I the New Years Year's serI ser ser- I mon mono It was her hera a I habit to pay strict the attention to 1 H V r regular Sun Sunday Sunda d a y J I Ml Iw n sermon but this Sunday being New Year day she was Her very devoted in her attention eyes eyes never wandered from the face of the preacher the face that had been her Sunday study for thirty years year's ears She was five years old when she began the study The face had never grown any anye older to her There were the same e little semi-circular semi wrinkles under the lobe of the ear nearest her which she had always seen and the devious creases above the eyes continued l al alS always always al- al S ways of the same elevation except that they lead had grown Inwards tending 5 5 to the horizontal ripple above the nose and nd deepening at that point The sermon to the mind of Olive Thompson was more beautiful on on this particular day than had ever been before Now we see through a glass darkly darkly dark dark- ly Iy but then face to face he said The mists of our present condition cloud our view stormy days have sent dust and sleet against our windows until for the dimness of our glass we cannot see the sky 0 Olive Thompsons Thompson's eyes filled with tears She remembered the dust and sleet elect of weary years How the storm had breathed upon the windows of her soul turning Into frosted tablets what otherwise might have been avenues for sunlight Take heart the preacher went on k spring days are coming when the i- i windows will be open to the sky and andt t we shall see face to to face what has al ali always always al- al i ways been but which we could not r see cee for tor looking through a glass darkA dark dark- 4 ly r A few months later Olive Thompson stood making apple pies In the pan pan- try The The pantry window was up and andS andS' andle S' S le e song of birds came In Also there thereIn 5 S 'S ine ane In the voice of Joseph the hired K 4 f I r fI i I I i t r TAKE IT IT IS GOOD man who was coaxing the new calf to 55 drink Take It he was saying to SS the Inexperienced animal It Is good Take it It Is la good Olive repeated to herself in the pantry What Whit is good asked s the old c wrinkled mother knitting In the warm kitchen Why everything I suppose Olive answered still listening with one ear earo to o what Joseph was saying It doesn't seem good now bossy but It Is good take it It Olive said her mother It Is timeto timeo time to o wash the windows The frost Is all off and they look dingy I know It Olive said I will do doIt doit dot It t tomorrow Olive Thompson obeyed her mother from rom a long life-long habit and from religious religious re- re principle Was she not her mothers mother's child and ought not children to o obey th their ir par parents old aid I wrinkled ed feeble parents parents' In n me the morning she took her pan 5 j ti i r. r ir r i f- f S fI I k IS IT CLEAR OLIVE I of suds and the polishing cloth and stood In a chair to wash the windows She would begin in the kitchen she thought and go clear around to the parlor She tried to pull out the old fashioned fash spring of the upper sash but It would not yield C COlive Olive said h her r mother Joseph had better help to to wash wash the windows He can stand on the ladder on the outside Joseph sh she called at the thedoor thedoor thedoor door come In and nd pull the spring for Olive And Joseph p polish lish the glass glasson on the outside It Is too hard for Olive Joseph was obedient He had bad been the hired man for fol five years No Noone Noone Noone one would have known h he was was was' the hired man except pt the two women He might have been the old ladys lady's son and Olives Olive's brother so kind and true had he always been to these two Olive stood on a chair on the Inside insIde inside In in- side and Joseph on the ladder outside The features of each were dim through the gla glass s and the two scrubbed away with soap and polish What was left of smoke and frost yielded to double persuasion and Joseph called from the outside outside- Is It clear Olive Olive scrutinizing closely called back pointing to the upper corner Just a little more rubbing right there She did not notice that Joseph was looking into her eyes and thinking to himself how clear they were He rubbed away at atthe the filmy place and then called again It Isn't quite clear down In that corner Olive polished away on her side catching Josephs Joseph's eye full of a light that shot right through the obscurity and made her ber remember the text of the New Year sermon sermon Now Now we see through a glass darkly Around the house went the two Olive on the Inside and Joseph on the outside and only the last perlor window window window win win- dow was left Idt The morning had sued seed 1 away like a glint of sunshine from the pan of water In the chair Olive had lad watched this broken bit of radiance radIance rad- rad ance as it played on the ceiling above the table with the album and pictorial Bible Dible on it It was like a halo above the precious spot Sh She moved her chair up to the window with a little sigh Joseph moved his ladder up to the same window on the opposite side Let It down from the top Olive he saidI said T I cant can't Olive called back It sticks Joseph was on her herr side In a moment His fingers Just touched hers hers as they p pulled on Oll the spring together and i something which was vas not t u unlike a glint of sunshine passed through the two The spring slipped back and Joseph was on the outside again Joseph lowered lowered lowered low low- ered the window to bring it within easy reach of the woman on the other side Strange he hadn't thought of th that hat t before Standing straight up Olive on her chair and Joseph on his ladder the two looked into each others other's eyes There was nothing on Josephs Joseph's side and nothing on Olives Olive's side to dim their vision It was all clear But now face to face thought Olive The old mother passing by the p parlor par parlor par par- r- r lor smiled and not a word F From om the kitchen she he called Are Aro th the windows all clean daughter All clean mother came the answer answer answer an an- and Olive Thompson recalled the words l of f the sermon Take heart spring days are coming when the wIndows windows windows win wIn- dows will be open to the sky and we shall see face to face what has always been |
