Saints of the Desert [pp. 334]

Saints of the Desert.
after by heads of homes, for he was
too much of a speculation. He was
known to be in debt; and all inquiries as to his unele's property had
been quenched again and again by
those telling words, "no entail."
But Horace had had his own world;
and had been only too much of a
hero in it. That world, however,
had lost him; and as the wheels of
fashion's chariot fly fast, the dust of
the light road rises as a cloud and
hides the past, and the people that
belonged to Horace Erskine had been
left behind and forgotten. Now,
however, Memory was alive, and
brushing up her recollections; and
Memory had found a tongue, and
was hoping and prophesying to the
fuhllest extent of friend Gossip's requirements, when the news came
that Horace Erskine had arrived.
"He has taken that charming house
looking on to the park. Ms. Tudor
had seen him. Nobody would know
him. Broken nose, my dear! And
he was so handsome. He is lame,
too-or if not lame, he has a stiff
shoulder. I forget which it is. He
was nearly killed by some mad ani
mal in the park at Beremouth. ITe
behaved with the most wonderful
courage, actually fought and conquered! But he was gored and
trampled on-nearly trampled to
death. I heard all the particulars
at the time. His chest was injured,
and he was sent to a warmer climate. And there he turned Papist. He did, indeed! and his uncle
never forgave him. But I suspect
it was a love affair. You know he
has brought his wife home. And
she is lovely, everybody who has
seen her says. She is so very still
-too quiet-too statuesque-that is
her only fault in fact. But all the
world is talking of her, and if you
have not yet seen her lose no time in
getting introduced; she is the wonder
of the day."
And so ran the talk-and such
was Eleanor's welcome as Horace
Erskine's wife. Her husband had
really repented, and had sought her,
and won her heart all over again, and
married her once more.
To have these great triumphs of
joy and justice in her life was granted
to Jenifer's Prayer.
From The Month.
SAINTS OF THE DESERT.
BY VERY REV. J. H. NEWMAN, D.D.
1. Abbot Cyrus said to a brother:
"If thou hadst no fight with bad
thoughts, it would be because thou
didst bad actions; for they who do
bad actions are thereby rid of bad
thoughts."
"But," said the other, "I have bad
memories."
The abbot answered: "They are
but ghosts; fear not the dead, but the
living."
2. When Agatho was dying, his
brethren would have asked him some
matter of business. He said to them:
"Do me this charity; speak no more
with me, for I am full of business already." And he died in joy.
3. An old man visited one of the
fathers. The host boiled some potherbs, and said: " First let us do
the work of God, and then let us eat."
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