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establishment where the beautiful bottles were displayed. And now he had failed in his business. He was going fast down the hill, and the efforts of the missionary seemed to have no effect. Will tried to find the merchant, but seemingly he tried to avoid everybody as much as possible.

Some days after the assignment Will called at Harrison's house and found his rooms vacated. The neighbors said they had all moved to Salt Lake City.

That same evening at the officers' meeting, the name of Harrison Ware was given up; but as Will Acton was walking home, a passage of scripture came to him so suddenly that it somewhat startled him:

How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

It was enough for Will Acton. Within a few days, the April conference would convene in Salt Lake, and Will got a week off and attended.

It took two days of search and inquiry to locate him. Then he found the small family in a little, old, adobe house not far from the railroad station. The father was not at home, but the oldest boy had taken charge of affairs and had tried to arrange the meagre household belongings as comfortably as he could. The children seemed pleased with a face they had seen at home.

It was in the evening, and the father soon came in. Of course he was surprised to see his visitor. Harrison showed signs of the ordeal through which he was passing, and Will noted the haggard expression in his face. Will accepted the invitation to share the simple evening meal, and then when the boys had gone to bed the missionary began his work in earnest.

Will led Harrison into telling him about his troubles. Brother Ware was not blind to the continued interest his friend took in him. Will could see that Harrison was a struggling man. He felt that the crisis in the man's life had arrived, and that the powers of good and evil were battling for the possession of a soul. Har

rison would make some most bitter accusations, then he would melt into a mildness bordering on tears, only to work himself up again into a passion against his brethren.

Elder Acton talked quietly. He felt the Spirit of God resting upon him and it gave him power over this man.

"Brother Ware," he said, "your father left his native land for the Gospel's sake. Your mother suffered in the early persecutions for the same cause. I know their one great aim in passing through these trials was that their children might be firmly established in Zion and in the faith of Christ. Would you be willing that they should come tonight, hear what you have said and feel of the spirit you have manifested?

"Never mind answering, Brother Ware. I want to bring you back to your early days. Do you believe that when a servant of God took you down into the waters of baptism and there immersed you for the remission of your sins, that that was an ordinance of any consequence? Do you think that when the hands of the elders were placed upon your head that you received the Holy Ghost?" "I know it."

"Do you believe that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation?"

"I have never denied the Gospel, and I hope I never shall. The Gospel is true enough, but-"

"But, dear brother, you stultify yourself. You say the Gospel is true, yet claim that its ministers are evil-designing men. You claim a church can exist pure whose every department is controlled by wrong-doers. You do not doubt the validity of your baptism, or of that of your children's, yet you can not trust those same men with any portion of earthly authority. You call in the Priesthood to administer to you and your family, to call down heaven's blessings upon you, and you do not question their right, their authority; yet you cannot trust these men in a petty matter of worldly moment."

Harrison had slowly dropped his head, and now sat looking at the table.

"You have a wife in the other world. You love her. You were bound to her for all time and eternity, and it is among your fondest hopes that some day you will clasp that wife again to

your bosom; that you will call her wife, and she will call you husband. What would you think should I tell you that the whole thing is a delusion and a snare, and that he who performed that ceremony, claiming power from on high, was a cheat and a rogue? Brother Ware, you would trust these men you have so bitterly railed against tonight and many other times, with the most sacred desires of your heart, trust them to bring to you the greatest gift God can bestow upon man, trust them to perform for you ordinances that will insure your eternal salvation and happiness in the worlds to come-yet, dear brother, you will not grant them the common privilege which every American citizen claims of expressing his opinion on a political question- you will not trust them in the most insignificant of perishable worldly affairs.”

Harrison did not answer, but tears stood in the man's eyes. "You, Brother Ware, have been upon a mission as I have also. You have exercised the God-given powers of the Priesthood, and you have rejoiced in it. You know it is true. You, no doubt, by that same divine authority brought souls into the fold of Christ who are now blessing your name and memory for those kind deeds. Oh, those were sweet moments, Brother Ware. Those were blessed days, employed in the service of the Master for the salvation of souls. The memory of those mission years comes to us now as a holy benediction, as a calm, soothing sweetness distilling into our troubled souls."

The two men, as with the same impulse, slipped quietly onto their knees. Will Acton prayed aloud. When he had finished, he looked at his brother who did not move, neither arose from his position, and Will again bowed his face into his hands to pray, this time inaudibly.

A strange feeling had come over him. From the joy of conversion, he had relapsed into a feeling that his brother would not be completely won by his labors alone. At this critical moment, he felt the need of other help, and this help should come from his brother's missionary experience, some fellow missionary perhaps, who would rivet together firmly the past to the present. All this flashed through his mind in an instant, and when he prayed again it was that God would send him this assistance.

A light tap came at the door as the two men arose.

"Come in," said Harrison after a short pause.

A young woman came in with a tray on which steamed three bowls of soup. At the sight of the two men she paused at the

door.

"I-I beg your pardon," she said. "I expected to find the three boys here, and I brought them some soup."

She placed the tray on the table and looked at Harrison Ware.

"Brother Ware!" she said. "Brother Ware, is that you? I didn't know you lived here. Surely, you are Elder Harrison Ware?" "That is my name; and you—to be sure, you are Sister Margaret Lee. And how are you? You have changed some, but I would know you. Well, well, and what a surprise!"

The two shook hands warmly. Will backed out of the way and stood looking at them. Then he knew his prayer was answered that his re-enforcement had come, and that he could even at that moment retire from the field assured of victory.

Will was introduced, and as he looked into the clear eye and open countenance of the young woman, he saw character written there. Another little prayer went up from Will's heart, a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude. The three sat around the table and talked of the past and a new light came into Harrison's face as he recalled his missionary experiences.

Will let the others do most of the talking. He listened and enjoyed their conversation. Margaret said she lived with a family a few doors away. She had seen the three boys in the yard a number of times, and had pitied their apparently homeless condition. Then Harrison had difficulty in speaking, and there came a pause in the conversation, during which Will took the three bowls from the table and put them on the stove. Then when they were sufficiently warm, he placed a bowl before each of them.

"The boys have gone to bed, Sister Lee, and it won't do to have the soup spoil. Help yourselves."

They all laughed again, and began sipping the warm liquid. "This reminds me," said Harrison, "of a Christmas back in the missionary field. Don't you remember, Sister Lee?"

O, yes, she remembered.

"You see," continued Brother Ware, turning to Will, "Sister

Lee is famous for making good soup, and she became such an expert at it that she actually served it once for our Christmas dinner. Think of it, the broth from a knuckle bone for a Christmas dinner-nothing but the broth, remember."

"Brother Ware, we had bread and butter with it. Tell the straight of it, if you please: and if I remember rightly, you were greatly pleased with that dinner."

"I think it was the best meal I ever ate; and look here, here's a coincidence. There were just three of us sitting around a table something like this one. Yes, and we had three bowls

One for me, and one for you,

And one for old Sister Hennesey.

It ought to be Christmas now."

"It is Christmas now," exclaimed Will Acton, as he gave the table a tap with his spoon."

"How do you make that out?"

"Today is the real Christmas, or rather the anniversary of the birth of Christ. Today is the Sixth of April, which is the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Will arose in making his little speech. The others arose also; and while they stood there looking at each other, Harrison Ware said:

"You are right. Today is the real Christmas; and doubly real it is to me, for today has Christ again been born to me. Again has his regenerating power been exercised in my behalf. I see the brink whereon I stood, the depth and awful darkness into which I was going. O, God, be praised for your love, brother, your patience and long-suffering; and for you, dear sister, that have come again into my life with your smile and your sunshine from heaven. I am so weak. You must both help me. You must not desert me. O, God, forgive my sins and help me to overcome them. Bless my brother, bless my sister, bless us all in the name of Jesus. Amen."

And the other two said fervently, "Amen."

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