girl, because of her mother's misstep.

"It is the same in and out of the churches. Twenty people will
repeat Christ's words to a repentant sinner, but nineteen of that
twenty interpolate a few words of their own, through tone, gesture or
manner, until 'Go and sin no more' sounds to the poor unfortunate
more like 'Go just as far away from me and mine as you can get--and
sin no more!' Only one in that score puts Christ's merciful and
tender meaning into the phrase and tries by sympathetic association
to make it possible for the sinner to sin no more. I felt you were
that one, and so I appealed to you in this matter about Marah Adams."

Joy's eyes were full of tears. "You must know more of human nature
than I do," she said, "but I hate terribly to think you are right in
this estimate of the people of your congregation. I will go and see
what I can do for this girl to-morrow. Poor child, poor mother, to
pass through a second Gethsemane for her sin. I think any girl or
boy whose home life is shadowed, is to be pitied. I have always had
such a happy home, and such dear parents, the world would seem
insupportable, I am sure, were I to face it without that background.
Dear papa's death was a great blow, and mother's ill health has been
a sorrow, but we have always been so happy and harmonious, and that,
I think, is worth more than a fortune to a child. Poor, poor Marah--
unable to respect her mother, what a terrible thing it all is!"

"Yes, it is a sad affair. I cannot help thinking it would have been
a pardonable lie if Miss Adams had denied the truth when the girl
confronted her with the story. It is the one situation in life where
a lie is excusable, I think. It would have saved this poor girl no
end of sorrow, and it could not have added much to the mother's