Winner Stories

Next Winner (86) | Previous Winner (84)

infidelity. But nothing came of the lament; it never seemed to
strike them that they must act as well as talk, that they must
renounce their useless, wasteful, unChristian lives before they
had even a right to lift up their voices against secularism, which
certainly did in some measure meet the needs of the people. It
never seemed to strike them that THEY were the real promoters of
infidelity that they not only dishonored the name of Christ, but by
their inconsistent lives disgusted people with Christianity, and
then refused to have anything more to do with them. Luke Raeburn,
if he pulled down with the one hand, at any rate, tried hard to
build up with the other; but the people of Greyshot caused in a
great degree the ruin and down fall, and then exclaimed, How
shocking! and turned their backs, thinking to shift their blame on
to the secularist leaders.
As far as society goes, they succeeded in thus shifting the blame;
the world laid it all on Luke Raeburn, he was a most convenient
scapegoat, and so widely does conventional Christianity differ from
the religion founded by Christ it soon became among a certain set
almost equivalent to a religious act to promulgate bits of personal
scandal about him, flavored, of course, with wordy lamentations as
to the views he entertained. Thus, under the name of defenders of
religion, conventional Christians managed to appear very proper and
orthodox, and at the same time to dispose comfortably of all their
sense of responsibility. There was a meanness about their way of
doing it which might have made the very angels weep! Happily the
judgments of society are not the judgments of God.
One of the leaders of society was a certain Lady Caroline Kiteley;
she was a goodnatured, hospitable creature, very anxious that
every one should enjoy life, and a great favorite with all the
young people, because she made much of them and gave delightful
dances. The elders, too, liked her, and were not oblivious to the
fact that she was the daughter of an earl, and the widow of a
distinguished general. Erica had seen her more than once during
her visit, and had been introduced to her by Mrs. FaneSmith, as
my niece.
Now it happened that Mr. And Mrs. FaneSmith and Rose were to dine
with Lady Caroline the week after Erica's arrival. On the very day
of the dinner party, however, Rose was laid up with a bad cold, and
her mother was obliged to write and make her excuses. Late in the
afternoon there came in reply one of Lady Caroline's impulsive
notes.
Dear Mrs. FaneSmith, Scold that silly daughter of yours for
catching cold; give her my love, and tell her that I was counting

Next Winner (86) | Previous Winner (84)

Winner Index