小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文短篇小说 » Spirits Do Return » CHAPTER XXIII. Prayer-Meeting in Prison.
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER XXIII. Prayer-Meeting in Prison.
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
“That is the first time I have seen you break down.”

“Yes, Pearson, I am heart-broken. I shall never forget Pat, not for the sickness he feigned1, but for the feeling that came over me when he was praying. I have never prayed, but I am going to this day. And the very next Sabbath I am going to start a prayer-meeting in this prison. If it helps all as much as it did Pat, I will feel repaid for all these mysterious voices and visions which we have heard and seen here. Besides, it may lift up many a sad heart inside these walls, that could get no help except through prayer.”

“You locked the door as you left the office, did you?”

“Only the outside door.”

“I see bundles in there. They belong to Pat. He has not gone.”

“Take a look into the room next the office, Pearson.”

“Oh, my God!”

[245]

“What? suicide?”

“No; praying.”

“Pearson, close the door.”

“I am after being through and I feel better. I have been praying to me Father to help me find another job, or to get this one back for me.”

“Pat, your prayer is answered, once again. You may remain and do as you have done. Outside of this little trouble, you have been a good, faithful man, and I feel that you and Officer Pearson will from this day on be faithful to the trust which is imposed in you, and that you will show brotherly love and kindness toward each other and all your fellow-men. I want you to be sure to be at prayer-meeting Sunday morning, and open the meeting with prayer.

“I shall expect you, Pearson, to close the meeting with prayer. I will take a hand at it myself, and I hope that we may hear the voices of all in this prison, asking for help and guidance and peace.

“Now, Pat, see that all is right.

“Well, Pearson, I am glad to see you sitting there under different circumstances, and I hope this will be a lesson for us all. Honesty is always the best policy. If you follow that precept,[246] you will never get into trouble,” said the superintendent2, addressing Mr. Pearson.

“Well, here is one good Irishman the rest of me life, and I will be after being a Sunday-school teacher; I think that would bate3 being a gentleman anny time. And now I’ll see if the officer has not forgot to put the poor man that was brought in to work. Forgot? I know he did. I’ll be after going and asking where will I take the poor fellow to work, and I’ll ask mercy for him, for it means a job for life with him, poor fellow. I am after passing the knowledge-seat. I will walk in and tell me business at once. I got enough knowledge to do me at that resting-place.

“What do I see? The poor fellow that was turned out of here sitting in the office? I will pretend not to know him, and make my business be known and lave at once.

“Officer!”

“Yes. What is it, Pat?”

“You have been after forgetting to give the poor man his life job.”

“So I have, Pat. I will find a place in a trade where he will not have to toil4 so hard, for it means a long time for him. I will take care of that Monday morning, Pat. Don’t[247] bother him. Let him get used to his new clothes and room. You may go, Pat. I’ll take care of him Monday.”

“So you have come back to see us, have you, Clarence?”

“Yes, officer. I could not rest and know that my brother was here in prison, all on my account. I am the cause of it all. I should have written home after I left. I should have written to my dear mother. Then I could have been notified when she died, and poor Oliver would not be in this trouble. That is why I am taking all this disgrace upon myself.

“Brother, I am going to help you, but not in the way I asked you to be helped at first. I am going to take you home now, and introduce you to my family, and try to have a family reunion, in honor of the prodigal5 son’s return—in honor of poor mother.”

“You may go now, Mr. Pearson. I can spare you for a few hours.”

“Come along, brother. Clasp my hand and we will walk hand in hand to my home—or, rather, yours, and we will spend the rest of our days together.”

“Oh, how beautiful your voice sounds to[248] me, Oliver! As I walk along by your side I feel as if we were indeed beginning a new life.”

“By the way, we shall have a wedding soon. My daughter Amelia is to be married to-night, at ten o’clock—yes. And we shall be there on time, I see. The place is all aglow6. I wonder—”

“Yes, and I wonder how I will be received.”

“You must be treated as my brother, and the family will do so. Music? Yes, Gertie, playing ‘Home, Sweet Home.’ There is no place like home. Oh, how true! We will surprise them. Just step in, Clarence.”

“Oh, papa, papa!”

“Yes, Gertie; I heard you playing just as I feel, that there is no place like home.”

“Mother, see who is here.”

“My dear wife, I want you to meet my brother, as a gentleman—which he is, and has been proved to be.

“And, Clarence, this is Gertie, my pet now, as I must soon give Amelia to someone else.

“I hope that he will be as kind to you, Amelia, as your father has always been.”

[249]

“THE PLACE IS ALL AGLOW.”

[250]

“Father, you have been good and kind to me. You gave me all I ever asked for, and I want you to forgive me for the way I treated[251] you when you were in trouble, I am truly sorry.”

“Yes; and, dear husband, I shall always look on that time as the mistake of my life. For doing as I did I will ask you in the presence of your brother, and mine also, to forgive me.”

“My dear family, you are all forgiven. Now I ask that you show love and kindness to my dear brother and share our home with him—or, rather, thank him for sharing his home with us.”

“We shall always treat you as one of the family, brother.”

“Oh, Uncle Clarence, we are going to have a wedding to-night! Sister Amelia is going to get married to Mr. McHenry.”

“And, Uncle Clarence, I want you to stand up with us.”

“Gertie, go to the piano and play ‘We’ll Sin and Sorrow No More.’”

The End

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 feigned Kt4zMZ     
a.假装的,不真诚的
参考例句:
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
  • He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。
2 superintendent vsTwV     
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
参考例句:
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
3 bate uQxyy     
v.压制;减弱;n.(制革用的)软化剂
参考例句:
  • The cruel landlord would bate him no rent.那个狠心的地主不肯给他减租。
  • I was unable to bate my enthusiasm.我无法抑制自己的热切的心情。
4 toil WJezp     
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事
参考例句:
  • The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
  • Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。
5 prodigal qtsym     
adj.浪费的,挥霍的,放荡的
参考例句:
  • He has been prodigal of the money left by his parents.他已挥霍掉他父母留下的钱。
  • The country has been prodigal of its forests.这个国家的森林正受过度的采伐。
6 aglow CVqzh     
adj.发亮的;发红的;adv.发亮地
参考例句:
  • The garden is aglow with many flowers.园中百花盛开。
  • The sky was aglow with the setting sun.天空因夕阳映照而发红光。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533