[Illustration]

COURTESY TO STRANGERS


"Who was that quiet appearing girl that came into church quite late,
last Sabbath?" I asked a friend of mine who was an active member in
the church which I had recently joined.

"Did she wear a striped shawl and a dark dress?" inquired my friend. "If
so, it was Annie Linton, a girl who is a seamstress in Mr. Brown's
shop."

"I did not notice her clothes in particular," I answered, "but her face
attracted me; I should know it among a thousand faces. How could you
pass by a stranger so indifferently, Mrs. Greyson? I expected that you
would ask her to remain at Sabbath school, and go into your Bible class,
but you did not once look at her."

"I did not once think of it, and if I had, probably she would not have
accepted the invitation, as she is a stranger in town, and undoubtedly
will not remain here long," my friend replied quickly, by way of
defense.

I said nothing more, for Mrs. G. was really an excellent Christian
woman, with this one fault--carelessness--which sometimes caused her to
make grave mistakes.

But I could not help thinking about the stranger girl. Her large, dark