To Him That Hath

ffects very different. The younger man had the physical makeup of the older, though of a slighter mould. T

ut of the deep blue eyes of the father-yet, after all, the difference may not have been in essence

ver, the out-looking for far horizons, the outreaching imagination, the Heaven given expectation of the Infinite. In the older man's eye dwelt chiefly reserve. The veil was always there except when he found

ing fire there were to be seen only pride and wistful love. But as the son turned his eyes towar

ng the big things, the fateful thing-Life and Its Worth, Work and Its Wages,

I am eighteen," and stood looking into his eyes and waiting for the word that came straight and unhesitating, "I know, boy, you are my son and you must go, for I ca

't like it, Dad

see tha

anyone can see it. But somehow

e father, with

le. It is not the grind of the office, though that is consid

ather patiently, as if talking to a child. "You

fit, I guess, and the whole thing, the inside life, the infernal grind of lectures, the idiotic serious mummery of the youngsters, those blessed kids who should have been spanked by th

t, you see, I had no knowledge of what you had gone through and of its effect upon you. I know better n

ifferent when I came back. Mere kids were carrying on where we had be

The father's

en. Selfish, I fear. Then, you

ck a groan and leaned h

I can see now

h? No, I shall never apply that word to you, but you-you don't seem to r

n there-." His hand swept toward the window through which could be seen the lights of that

lot, Dad, but how

r a pause, as if to himself, "A lot more than money-there's brain sweat and heart agony and prayers an

aside the curtain and pointed to a dark m

, 'My son, if you live out your life you will see on that flat a town where thousands of men and women will find homes and, please God, happiness.' Your mother and I watched that town grow for forty years, and we tried to make people ha

nths of days and nights heavy with watching, toiling, praying, agonising, for her twin sons, and for the many boys who had gone out from the little town wore out her none too robust strength. Then, the sniper's bullet that had pierced the heart of her boy seemed to reach to her heart as well. After that, the home that once had been to it

ish I could make it

f it I care for. Not for my sake. Bu

-the boy winced-"you and mother took on I believe I'd try it. But that office! Any fool could sit in my place and c

n blue eyes look

ising as his son did not how much of a man's jo

, Dad, exactly? H

e tail of

ght, I'

are right. You did a man's job 'out there' an

. He was at a man's job, at the tail of a saw, and drawing a man's pay, rubbing shoulders with men on equal terms, as he