IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

1.25

1.8

1.4

1.6

150mm

-%*

/APPLIED js IIVMQE . Inc

^^ 1653 East Main Street

^^pl Roctiester, NY 14609 USA

-^S'ls Phone: 716/482-0300

.^=^:^E Fax: 7 16/288-5989

:i>

CIHM
Microfiche
Series
(Monographs)

ICMH

Collection de
microfiches
(monographies)

Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques

Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiques

The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original
copy available for filming. Features of this copy which
may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any
of the images in the reproduction, or which may
significantly change the usual method of filming, are
checked below.

Coloured covers/
Couverture de couleur

iZ]

I I Covers damaged/

Couverture endommagte

Covers restored and/or laminated/
Couverture restaurie et/ou pelliculte

□ Cover title missing/
Le titre de couvertu

couverture manque

I I Coloured maps/

D
D
D

Caites giographiques en couleur

Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur

Bound with other material/
Relie avec d'autres documents

Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/

La reliure serrte peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distorsion le long de la marge interieure

Blank leaves added during restoration may appear
within the text. Whenever possible, these have
been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutfes
lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le textc,
mais, lorsque cela etait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas ete filmtes.

Additional comments:/
Commentaires supplementaires:

L'Institut a microfilmi le meilleur exemplaire qu'il
lui a M possible de se procurer. Les details de cet
exemplaire qui sont peut4tre uniques du point de vue
bibliographique. qui peuvent modifier une image
reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification
dans la mithode normale de f ilmage sont indiqufa
ci-dessous. ,

□ Coloured pages/
Pages de couleur

□ Pages damaged/
Pages endommagto

□ Pages restored and/or laminated/
Pages restaurees et/ou peliicultes

Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
Pages decolortes, tacheties ou piquees

□ Pages detached/
Pages ditachies

□ Showth rough/
Transparence

Quality of print varies/
Qualite in^gale de I'impression

□ Continuous pagination/
Pagination continue

□ Includes indsx(es)/
Comprend un (des) index

Title on header taken from:/
Le titre de I'enttte provient:

□ Title page of issue
Page de titre de la

□ Caption of issue/
Titre de depart de la

livraison

depart de la livraison

Masthead/

Generique (periodiques) de la livraison

This Item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/

Co document est filme au taux de reduction mdiqui ci-dessous.

10X 14X IB*

12X

16X

20X

30X

24 X

28 X

32 X

lie

The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks
to the generosity of:

National Library of Canada

The images appearing here are the best quality
possible considering the condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.

Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. Ali
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impression.

The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol — ^ (meaning "CON-
TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"),
whichever applies.

Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:

L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grAce A la
g6n6rosit6 de:

Bibliothdque nationale du Canada

Les images suivantes ont «t6 reproduites avec le
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nettetd de l'exemplaire film6, et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrat de
filmage.

Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprimis sont film6s en commenpant
par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la
dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par ie second
plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires
origiriaux sont fiim^s en commenpant par la
premidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par
la dernidre page qui comporte une telle
empreinte.

Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la
dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le
cas: le symbols — »► signifie "A SUIVRE". le
symbols V signifie "FIN".

Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre
film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents.
Lorsque ie document est trop grand pour dtre
reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 d partir
de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche A droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants
illustrent la mdthode.

X -r-"*?

T^ ip"^^ ^r"^

vjij ^V «»*

''■i4",>l''^*4

:;^^

,':^y?^.-i.

•«^-

^^-

'■:>c.

.*$-

r-v"^ r

i Hi

.<iiS

'■" <i -^r

?0'

t&IM4i A Gr •&> #>

/►^tf-jf

-v

^!^'

^\^m

'^.m

^,.^

& v^

♦ I

*"V>

M *?• %J«rf .i:v:,;»4tt'^ -vw^.

V i

Ji'

■:#-*^

"'"HS PROPERTv OF

SCAR 60 PO
U8LICLl3ftAfty.

■V.

{

CHARLES M. SHELDON'S BOOKS.

In His Steps: «' What Would Jesus Do ? • Paper, 25 cents,
fc-xtia fine cloth binding-, 50 cents.

.-."-^'1 !"I^"'"='>' ''I'lrestlnt!: story, showing how the rehVion of Christ can lie
i ..rnc-d „„o every vi„al.on of lile. J t is impossible to read it without hav,,^
a kitii ilcsire to hve nearer our ideal life." wmoui navin^

Overcoming the World : The Story of Malcom Kirk
1 aper, 25 cents. Extra fine cloth binding, 50 cents.

.l..','l^;.)?Il Jr"'^.'! "•■'."""■^■«^' teeminK with interest f.oin first to last, and
JealMiy nitelh^ently with many ol the Sivial problems of the day."

His Brother's Keeper: Christian Stewardship. Paper.

25 cents. Lxf-a fine rlotii biiidiiiK-, 5ocents.
"A graiui solution of the laboi.r qiieslioii of the ilay. Of the two prineinal

Ihn^ ,^!:^ir -"t; Jh^e" "I'^^e >;/''^^'-^'-V *' -'^^ l--ible t^r this (riJi:^

Paper, 25 cents.

siiip to exist, in spite of the e:ulflx;t ween them. '

The Crucifixion of Phillip Strong.

F.xtia fine cloth bindinj^^, 50 cents.

eralI're'.rfri:;s^jf"''Vu''''!!*f'''"'' ''"'''^''"' ^■^^""•ib"tion to the Christian lit-
one sTkmVij [eadft •■■ ' ^" ^•''••"•»^"=^'' ■"•'•- ^^^"^' 'he thoughts sublime. Every-

Robert Hardy 's Seven Days: A Dream and Its Conse-
quences. Paper, 25 cents. Extra fine cloth bindinif.
50 cents. *»'

Ti!;»V"'ir^'*''^*. ''■■f^'?'' *"^ '''"^ ■' '■nfl"enced the Life of Robert Hardv
This book IS not only mterestiiig, but helpful. ' nooert naray.

Richard Bruce : The Life That Now Is. Paper, 2c cents
Extra fine cloth bindiiiff, 50 cents.

and Plea™ oVlh^^' ^f""^ '"?• ^'^'""'."^ the difficulties, disappointments
aCthor? "^ * '■'-''~'*" "" •'* '*'"e^'= '-■''>' ''''">■• and "^ an unknown

The Twentieth Door. Paper, 25 cents. Extra fine clotli
binding:, 50 cents.

^Lt^ul^ of college life, interestiner because so true. The characters are
admirable. It is cleverly written, anj interest is maintained throirghout/

The Redemption of Freetown. Paper, 25 cents. Extta
fine cloth binding, 50 cents.

AincTi'M.'''""^' "^ "'""*' "'"'^••''""* ■" liundreds of the cities in Christian

Any of these books will be sent postpaid to any address in
Canada, on receipt of price j or any SIX of Sheldon's Books, in
paper covers, will be sent to any one address in Canada, postpaid,
for $1.00*

PUBLisMCD my

THE POOLE PRINTING CO^ Limited,
TORONTO. ONT.

SHELDON'S
WORKS.

BOUND IN EXTRA PINE.ENaLISH::CLOTH.

Printed on good white paper, uniform in
size and thickness, especially suitable for
Gift, or Sabbath School Library.

SEVEN VOLUMES IN BOX,
PRICE $3.00.

PUBLISHED BY

THE I»CX)LE PRINTING CO., Limited.

TORONTO, ONT.

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN".

1» '

The Redemption of
Freetown

BY CHARLES M. SHELDON

Aiillior of "III His Steps," "The Crucifixion of Phillip

Strong, " " His Brother's Keeper," " Robert Hardy's

Seven Days, " " Richard Bruce, " " TheTwentieth

Door, " Overcoming The World,' etc.

TORONTO :

THE POOLE PRINTING CO., Limited,
28 AND 30 Melinda St.

PKBSS OP

THE POOLE PRINTING COMPANY, LIMITED,

Printers and Publishers,

28 AND 30 Melinda Street, Toronto, Ont.

**.

''^,

PREFACE.

The Redemption of Freetown is the story
of actual conditions in hundreds of cities
in Christian America. I have written it
in hopes that the reading of it may lead to
actual church settlements, such as are en-
tirely possible. There are hundreds of
churches abundantly able to endow and
carry on social settlements in various ne-
glected slum quarters of our cities. If the
young men and women who have been will-
ing to do as Jesus would do would actu-
ally go and live (under the direction of
wise leadership) in the social settlements
that the churches could create, it would
mark a movement in the Christian service
of the world that would change and re-
deem many a dark spot in many a city of
our country. This also is my prayer, for
the young people in my own Endeavor so-
ciety and for thousands all over the world.

CONTENTS.

PACE
f NTRODICTION „

TnK Problem ok Freetown 21

II.

JlDGE V^ERNONS TroiBLE ^3

III.

Howard Dol(;lass's Plan ,7

IV.
The Carltons Troible 6,

V.
Callers at Mr. DorciLAss's 7,,

VI.
Some Momentous Decksions. 01

VII.

Redemption Begun ,q,

VIII.

P'ifteen Years After , ,g

-5

■'■•^s

''4*A*.

v.-

tf"' •■ '

?•*' "

H-

INTRODUCTION.

(

00^

The Rev. Charles M. Sheldon, D.D.
whose name is a household word from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, and whose writings
have been read in more than half a million
homes, was born in the town of "Wellsville,
New York, in the year 1857.

His boyhood days were spent on a farm
in Dakota. Naturally fond of reading, he
spent all his spare moments in studying the
best literature, and " When he entered col-
lege he had probably read more of the
standard works of the day than nine-tenths
of college graduates."

He graduated from Phillips Academy, at
Andover, Mass., in 18Y9, from Brown Uni-
versity, in 1883; and from Andover Theo-
logical Seminary, in 1886. For two years
he was pastor of a Congregational church

INTRODUCTION.

in Waterbury, Vermont, and in 1889, lio
accepted a call to Central Chnrcli, To-
peka, Kansas, where he has since resided,
and where he is now doin^jj a good work.

He is forty-one years of age, tall, large,
bhie-eyed, brown-haired, brainy, gentle in
manner, and deliberate in speech.

"He began story-Svriting when on the
farm in Dakota, sitting down Avith the fam-
ily where everything was going on, talk-
ing, working, and all the rest, in the one
room which served as kitchen, dining-room,
sitting-room, parlor, and study, and witli
his pencil and paper would scribble away,
and his story, thus made up, would appear
in the Yankton weekly paper."

Bishop John H. Vincent, who is a neigh-
bor of Mr. Sheldon, in the city of Topeka,
Kansas, writes of his fellow-townsman as
follows:

"His personal efforts to find out what
Jesus would do if He lived in our age ;

7. ;

- •

•

^ .,

l' ,'

TNTRODUCTfON,

his fidcility as a pastor, a preacher and re-
fornier; his nativity and ajigrossivcness on
week-days as on Snn(hiys; liis wise and win-
ning way ot preaching the (Jospel throngh
liis stories, wliicli lie reads by chapters as
sermons to liis Sunday evening congrega-
tions; liis kindergarten work in his own
church, and in another part of the town
among the little negroes; the impression
made by his own spiritual aid earnest per-
sonality—all prepare me to read what he
writes with the conviction ever present
that the hand that writes these things is
moved by a heart to whom these things
are living verities."

Mr. Sheldon's entrance into the field of
religious fiction, came about in a singular
manner. In the fall of 1891, he was pon-
dering over the problem of how to fill his
church on Sunday evenings. He was puz-
zled. He said to himself, " How far would
you go to hear yourself preach? Sunpose

■ y

.*y

INTRODUCTION.

'».

you lived four or five blocks from a church,
had a good room, an easy-chair, an interest-
ing book or a Sunday paper, and it was un-
comfortable weather, and you felt a little
tired and under no obligation to go to
church because you were not a member —
supposing all that, what would have lo be
the character of a ,Sunday evening service
to draw you out of that chair and away
from that book or paper out into a dis-
agreeable night to walk four blocks to a
church? "

Finally he hit upon a solution. He de-
termined to throw his teaching for the
winter into the form of a serial story, read-
ing one chapter at eqph Sunday evening
service. The scheme worked well. After
tearing the first chapter, the house was
packed with people eager to follow the for-
tunes of the characters described.

The first story published was " Eichard
Bruce," which was followed by "Kobert

* L'*

INTRODUCTION.

Hardy," "The Twentieth Door," "The
Crucifixion of Phillip Strong," " Jfh Bro-
ther's Keeper," then " In His Steps," and
" Overcoming the World, the Story of Mal-
com Kirk."

Speaking of the success of this unique
method of preaching the Gospel, Mr. Shel-
don says:

"I may say as part of my experience,
that I have enlarged my definition of the
sermon to mean almost any conveyance
by means of which whatever is Christian
truth to me goes from me into the daily
life of my people."

The "Ram's Horn" has tnis to say:
"Mr. Sheldon is an end-of-the-centurv,
up-to-date man in every phase of his char-
acter. He has long urged the establish-
ment of a Christian daily newspaper. He
spent a week as a reporter on a daily paper
to get an inside knowledge of modern jour-
nalism. He spent a week on the railroad,

INTROnuCTION.

jolliiift- along on caboose and frciglit car,
to stndy tlie life of a railroad man. lie
dwelt many weeks in the slnins of Chi-
cago, and other great cities, learning how
the other half lives.

"]\rr. Sheldon is a reformer and a pro-
l)liet. lie is a man ahead of his time. He
lias a groat message for his generation, and
lias shown rave judgment in selecting fic-
tion as the channel through which to con-
vey it."

Mr. Sheldon has had repeated requests
for interviews which would explain to the
public his motive in writing the story en-
titled, "In His Steps," his method of com-
position, the effect of the story on peoplo's
lives, and the probable outcome. In a
letter to a friend Mr. Sheldon says:

" In every case I have refused these re-
quests, because it seemed to me like an un-
necessary thing to do. But what yon have

INTRODUCTION.

asTccd me for is 'different. There are cer-
tain facts in connection witli tlie little story
tlint belong to tlie chnrclies mid tlie public.
It is a fact tliat llie idea embodied in tlio
mespacfo lias been coincident Avitb the
tbonp;ht of very many readers of tlie storv,
and tbo resnlt lias been a natural qnicl<en-
in^ into spiritual life of a Christian faith
that has not heretofore been expressed in
terms of livinc application to the world's
needs.

" I am not at liberty to make public the
many letters that have come to me relatini?
to the story; but nearly every letter con-
tains the question, ' Do yon think it is pos-
sible to do as Jesus would do? ' WitliHthis,
in nearly every case, is the lon^injv ex-
pressed that it might be possible, and that
the story might come true. There has been
revealed in these letters from ministers
and laymen of all the denominations a hun-
.liering and thirstin.o: after the righteousness
of the kingdom that speaks with great hope-

INTRODUCTION.

%•

fulness for the Christian discipleship of
the future.

' I do not feel as if my personal connec-
tion with the message in the book has any
right to be thrust into the facts relating to
the reception of that message by the read-
ers of it. That is the reason I have wished
h ivoi'i my personal interview about the
ptory. 1 he Lord has blessed the use of it.
Many churches and Endeavor societies have
laken the pledge to live by the question,
'What would .tesus do in my place?* In
many cases men and women have been
brought into the Christian life by reading
the story, and many persons have changed
their business lives and the conduct of their
entire Drogramme of activity in the social
and religious world through the reception
of the message into their daily walk with
the Master. It is my daily prayer that the
Christian discipleship r*' the churches may
be made alive by a clot ^ v Ik with the
Christ, and old forms m.u c-r^oms that

INTRODUCTION.

•

have no meaning in our churches and our
livea nay be swept away by the wind of the
Hoiy Spirit, who shall take of the things
of Jesus and show them unto us.*'

"That letter," says his friend, "reveals
something of the spirit of the man. ' He is
a real man.' He has a strong, sensitive,
sympathetic pe-sonality. Mrs. Sheldon has
been an invalid for years, and the loving
care and service that have been given have
softened and sweetened thp spirit of the
strong man so that you feel, as you look
into his face, that here is a brother man
who has suffered and who can sympathize.
There is a touch of sadness about the face,
or perhaps a better word would be serious-
ness, xie does not take the world lightly.

" His success has not elated him. Rather,
it seems to me, that in the year since I last
saw him, it has humbled him, as he has
copie to realize more keenly the unsatis-
fied longing of multitudes for the Christ,

18-

INTRODUCTION,

:ll

and their failure to find Him in the pLice
where He promised to be, the lives of His
disciples.

"His kindorj>'iirfou work in connection
Avi(h his chnrcli, which occupies a bnikliiii.-
erected for that purpose by a lady, as a me-
morial of her little daughter, reveals his
love for the children. His heartiest sup-
port lias ahvays been given to every effort
to reach the unchurched. He believes in
putting tlie saving leaven of consecrated,
Christ-filled lives into i:lie neglected quar-
ters of our great cities.

"^Fr. Sheldon's life and writings show
that he believes in the gospel of life; that
Christ is in the world to-day in His disci-
ples, and that the judgment scene in Matt.
2r):31-46 should be interpreted literally,
and not so spiritualized as to destroy its
application to the life that now is."

Mr. Sheldon is intensely interested in
the practical application of the gospel to

^
-

. :

INTRODUCTION.

the needs of tlie people, as will he foim.l
from the reading of "The Redemption of
Freetown."

•

THE PROBLEM OF FREETOWN.

• <•»

III / i / I

THB ESCAl'K,

CHAPTER I.

THE PROBLEM OF FREETOWN.

It was very still in the district courtroom.
'I^ie jury iiad just brought in a verdict of
guilty, and the judge was about to pro-
nounce the sentence.

The room Avas filled with the usual
crowd of spectators. The lawyers occupied
the space railed off from the raised seats at
the rear where the public were admitted.
All whispers and noise on the part of wit-
nesses, attorneys, and court officers had
ceased, and every eye was on the man who
had just been pronounced guilty.

"Prisoner at the bar," said Judge Ver-
non,' leaning a little forward in his chair un-
til his arm rested on the desk in front of
him, " have you anything to say why sen-
tence should not be pronounced upon you'^"
The prisoner was a young negro not more
than twenty years old. He had been stand-

24 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

ing when the verdict of the jury was given.
His hand rests on the back of a chair, and
he faced the judge with a look of stolid,
sullen dsfiance.

" I've got only this to say, judge. The
shooting was accidental. If I 'd had a fair
trial, I 'd been let oflF. But everything's
been against me here."

There was a pause while the man passed
the back of his hand over his mouth and
shifted his position nervously.

Judge Vernon waited a moment.

"Is that all you have to say?"

" That^s all, unless — I think I ought to
have another trial. I don't count this fair,
judge."

" You have been fully and fairly tried,"
replied the juoge firmly. Then, after a
moment of silence, he continued: "Pri-
soner at the bar, I sentence you to the peni-
tentiary for twenty years. Bailiff, remove
the prisoner. Call the next case."

The prisoner made a movement as if he

k, )

1-'

THE REDEMPtlON OF FREETOWN. 25

' ^

intended to utter a word, but his lawjer
behind him pulled him down into a seat;
the bailiff came to the little gate of the rail-
ing and beckoned to the prisoner, who was
led out. The machinery of the court went
on, the next case was called, and the usual
stir of the courtroom rose again, in sharp
contrast with the moment's intense still-
ness that had just preceded.

The evening of that same day, as Judge
Vernon sat down to dinner in his residence
up on the boulevard, his wife noticed an
unusual seriousness in his face. She did
not speak of it at once, however.

"Where is Claude?" the judge asked,
as his wife and two girls took their places at
fhe table. They all remained standing,
for the judge held to the custom which his
father before him had observed, of waiting
until every member of his family was pre-
sent before sitting down to the table.

" He was invited out to a card-party at
the Carltons," said Mrs. Vernon, slowly.

2fi

THE REDKMPTION OF FREETOWN.

'I'lio judge frowned, but said iiotliiug.
Tlicy all sat down, and Mrs. Vernon looked
carefully across the table at her husband.
It was then that she spoke of his look of
care, greater, it seenie to her, than usual.

"Have you had a trying day, Jolm?"
a.sked Mrs. Vernon, a little tiniidly. She
did not often venture to question her hus-
band about his duties as judge.

" Yes," Judge Vernon answered, almost
curtly. Then he looked across at his wile,
aiiJ went on in a different tone. "The
fact is, Eliza, the condition of affairs out
at Freetown is getting desperate. To-day I
sentenced one of the boys from that district
to twenty years for a shooting affray. That
makes over fifteen criminal cases from that
neighborhood in two weeks. Crime and
rowdyism of every description seem to bo
on the increase there."

"Why don't you double up your sen-
tences, father? " asked one of the girls, a
pretty, stylishly dressed young woman. *

(

■A:.

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 27

Judge Yernon looked at her, and smiled
slightly.

" I'm afrnid tliat doubling tlic sentences
is 7iot tlie cure for tlie crimes commitfod.
In fact, Tsahel, I am afrnid that the heavier
the senten-e, the more the convicted crimi-
nals are regarded as heroes by their com-
])aiiions and so regard themselves.''

" There onght to he some law to prevent
the dreadfnl state of things in Freetown,"
snid Winifred, the other girl, a little
yoimger than her sister. " Clande was loll-
ing me the other day that the hardest, worst
elements in the city are crowded into Free-
town, and that it isn't safe to walk tlirough
it after midnight. Tnst think of it! Uight
near the best residence part of the city,
too. I think there onght to be a law com-
pelling those folks to sell ont to the white
people! " continued Winifred, whose ideas
of law were somewhat vagne and general.

"T 'm afraid thoy are there to stay," said
Judge Vernon, absoiitly. He seemed to

28 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

be brooding over something, and even the
light-minded Isabel was afraid to interrupt
her somewhat stem father when he looked
that way. He did not speak for some time,
and thon, as the girls were talking over a
theatre party to be formed for an evening
of that week. Judge Vernon suddenly asked
about his son.

" Has Claude finished that writing I gave
him to do? " he asked his wife.

Mrs. Vernon looked down at the table,
as she answered in a low voice, "He has
not touched it yet."

Judge Vernon looked angry. " Send
him into the library when he comes in," he
said. He rose abruptly, and went into a
little room adjoining the library, used for a
private reading-room by himself.

Isabel and Winifred looked at each other.
The look said very plainly, « I'm glad I'm
not in Claude's place."

After supper Isabel went to the piano,
and Winifred took up a book. Mrs. Ver-

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 29

non sat down to some fancy-work. The
evening passed on slowly. It was an un-
usual thing for the girls to be at home.
At last they went up to their rooms, and
Mrs. Vernon sat on by her beautiful lamp,
apparently deeply interested in her work.
But she was thinking of her son, and was
not happy. Often she lifted her head to
listen, while the fingers ceased to be busy,
and as often she dropped her head again
and went on. The night was very still, and
it seemed impossible that events were rapid-
ly shaping which would before morning
change the lives of more than one person
in the city of Merton.

The prisoner had been taken at once
from the courtroom to the county jail. He
had been put in the cage where a dozen
other criminals were confined. He had at
once gone to a comer, and remained there
in sullen silence, refusing to talk with any
one. The day had drawn to a close. The
lights in the corridors had been turned on,

■ ^r

30 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

Slipper had been son^crl, and most of tlic
men who had boon wnlkini? al)ont, in the
oncfo Iiad prorio into tlioir colls,

TIio jailor Rndd(>nly camo down a short
fHG:ht of stono stops that led from tlio dcton-
tion-room. and, nnlockino- the ca^o, called
ont, "Biirlso Williams!"

At first thoi'o was no nn^iwor. Tlion the
fiiliiro of the nocrro^^rosp and cnmo townrds
fho door,

"What do yon want?" tho prisoner
asked in a snrlv voice,

"Come ont here!" called the jaih-r,
roniihly. "And keep a civil tonffne,'
Yoii're wanted np in the detention-room.
Quick, now! Hove alonj?!"

The prisoner came ont, and the jailer
locked the door, and, taking ont the keys,
shoved the man aloncj the short corridor to-
wards the fli.ffht of steps. The neo-ro pur-
posely delayed his p^oini;- as mnch as pos-
sible.

"Move along!" cried the jailer. The

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 31

prisoner pretended to stumble, and the
jailer roughly caught hold of his arm and
pulled him forward. At the same instant,
as quick as lightning, the prisoner seized
the jailer and with the exercise of all his
young strength threw him heavily upon the
floor. The jailer's head struck on the cor-
ner of the stone steps, and he lay there
stunned.

With a rapidity that seemed impossible
from his awkward movements before, the
prisoner snatched the keys where the jailer
had let them fall, and with one bound was
up the stone steps and in the detention-
room. This opened from the jailer's office,
and that had a door opening directly on the
street.

There was one man in the detention-
office, and he had risen and was near the
door leading to the guard-ioom. The pris-
oner saw in an instant that it was the at-
torney who had conducted his case. He
had come to have an interview with refer-

32 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

ence to some part of the case relating to a
motion for a new trial. In special cases
prisoners were allowed to confer with visi-
tors in the detention-room.

The negro dashed through the room be-
fore the astonished attorney could stop him.
The jailex*'s door was locked, but from the
bunch of keys the prisoner chanced to
choose the right ope first. He thrust it into
the lock, turned the bolt just as the be-
wildered lawyer rushed upon him, opened
the door, shut it, and, bracing his excited
strength upon it, locked it again.

He was outdoors and for the moment
free. He could hear the uproar from with-
in the jail as the assistant jailer and a com-
panion rushed into the office from the cor-
ridors where they had been busy clearing
up the prisoners' supper things.

It was just at this moment that Judge
Vernon sat down to dinner.

'('M'''

JUDGE VERNON'S TROUBLE.

CLAt'DB VEKNON'8 RETURN.

:|-

CHAPTER II.

JUDGE VERNON'S TROUBLE.

The escaped prisoner looked up and down
the street an instant, and then leaped across
the short distance between the rock-pile
yard and the alley. A man on the other
side of the street, attracted by the unusual
uproar in the jail, ran across just in time
to see the figure of the negro escaping up
the alley. He disappeared in the dusk be-
fore the man could determine which way
he had turned when reaching the end of
the block.

The city lay about him in the gathering
night. He knew that it would be some
time before the jail could be opened, as
all the doors were now locked and heavy
bars closed every window. But the alarm
would soon be given to officers on the out-
side, and the pursuit would be swift and
thorough.

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

In his sullen rage he determined to seek
refuge in his old haunts in Freetown. The
police would surely seek him there, but so
they would everywhere. Skulking close to
buildings, dodging up alleys, seeking every
spot of darkest shadow, the man made hia
way rapidly toward the district which had
grown notorhrs in the criminal history of
the city. As he ran, his sinful heart beat
alternately with ar.^er at the justice that
pursued him, and v/ith coarse joy at his
te nporery escape from it.

A little alter ten o'clock Judge Vernon
came into the sitting-room where his wife
still sat with her fancy-work. He walked
back and forth several times without say-
ing a word. At last he stopped and sat
down by the table.

"Eliza, what shall we do about Claude?
He IS simply making a wreck of his life
the way he is living."

"I know it." The mother's fingers

■a^fe. '

I''

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 37

trembled as she rested them on the work
in her lap.

" It was only yesterday that I learned of
his drinking at these parties to which he
goes so often. What are the fathers and
mothers of Merton thinking of, that they
allow their boys to learn these habits in
the best society?" Judge Vernon spoke
with a force that lost sight, for the time,
of the fact that bp. himself was one of the
very fathers that he so severely condemned.
"Do you think it is the best society,
John?" asked Mrs. Vernon with a boldness
that was not a part of her character.

"is'ol And y?t we say we belong to it.
And we let our girls and Claude frequent
these entertainments night after night.
Eliza, I cannot endure it any longer. The
thought of Claude's growing into the wild,
dissipated, society fast young man is a hor-
ror to me." Judge Vernon paused, and
then went on with an unusual agitation in
his voice and manner. « Eliza, I have not

38 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

been able to shut out the picture, since I
heard of Claude's drinking, of his appear-
ance in court, in my court some day,
charged with some crime. That picture
has haunted me all day. While I was
sentencing that colored man, I kept think-
ing, ' What is to prevent Claude, my own
son, from standing here some day, here or
in some court, charged with some crime
while under the influence of drink, just as
the negro committed his crime while under
the influence of liquor? ' "

" Oh, John, don't talk so! " Mrs. Ver-
non let her work fall on the floor, and her
face was pale and her lips quivered nerv-
ously. She had never known her husband
to break out so forcibly from his habitual
stern repression of feeling, and it frightened
her.

"It is simply what we must face sooner
or later. Our girls—." The judge
crowded down a rising passion, and for a
moment there was perfect silence in the

• A.

\ f

■I

,6-

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 39

room. "Each of our girls one of these
days will marry one of these society young
men, such men as I am free to confess I
never would choose for them."

Mrs. Vernon was silent. She was aston-
ished at her husband's words.

" I see things in my court, Eliza, that
convince me daily of the need of a great
transformation in the city of Merton in its
social life. I am simply appalled at the
number of divorce cases. I. cannot shut
my eyes to the fact that the fast life lived
by so many of the young people is utterly
ruinous to soul and body. Hardly a case
comes up that does not illustrate in some
form the terrible influence of drink and
gambling, much of it learned at the very
parties where Claude is a frequent guest,
at the very party, no doubt, where he is
now."

He i^ose and walked up and down the
room again. Mrs. Vernon sat silent and
agitated.

40 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

" And I cannot help thinking of the peo-
ple in Freetown. In the very heart of our
Christian (as we call it) city there is a con-
dition of lawlessness and impurity that
very few realize. I see the results of it
daily in my court, and my heart groWs sick
as I feel my powerlessness. Somehow — "
Judge Vernon turned to his wife with a
look and manner she had never known in
him before, " Eliza, somehow I cannot help
connecting the crime in Freetown, the dis-
sipation and immorality in that district,
with the same thing in what we call our
best society. Somehow I am oppressed by
the feeling that this city will suffer some
great calamity even in its best homes be-
cause we have allowed such evils to grow
up uncorrected in the right way. It seems
to me sometimes as I sit in my place on the
bench that a judgment is hanging over this
city, so fair in its outward appearance, yet
so wrong in much of its human life."
John Vernon, judge of the district court.

* 1

' I

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 41

had been a man who all his life gave the
impression, even to the members of his own
family, that he was a stem, self-controlled
person, whose emotions were held in check
with almost Puritan or Spartan coldness.
His wife wondered in her heart at the un-
usual exhibition of his feeling this evening.
Finally she asked, " The prisoner you sen-
tenced to-day, John, — ^he is one of a large
class, do you think? "

" More than half the crime that is com-
mitted in the city comes from that class of
young mtn."

"And you sentenced him to twenty
years' imprisonment? "

"Yes; it was a brutal shooting affair.
The other negro was lamed for life. Will
probably lose an arm and foot."

" It is horrible, as you say. I do not see
what we are coming to. But I do not see
what connection there can be between the
condition of things among the negroes in

42 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

Freetown and that of the white people in
the society we know."

Judge Vernon did not answer at once.
Then he said: "Crime and immorality
never can be confined to one spot in a city.
They spread like contagion. In fact, they
spread Avorse than disease, for we can re-
strain and shut, in disease, but vice, until
it becomes crime, may go unchecked any-
where. There is a sure contamination
from Freetown spreading through the en-
tire city, and I cannot escape the feeling
that the best families in the place are in ^ "
danger. Our own, perhaps. And really,
Eliza, when you consider the superior train-
ing and advantages of the white race, have
we very much to boast of when our own
young men and women grow up to be
drunkards and gamblers and unloving hus-
bands and wives? "

He had risen again, and was nervously
walking up and down. The dock struck

1^
•f

'ti

;(

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 43

the half-hour. The sound had onlj died
away when the door-bell rung.

The judge walked into the hall and
opened the outer door.

" It's you, Mr. Douglass? Come in."
"It is late to make a call, judge," said
a deep, strong voice. " But I was just get-
ting home from the meeting of the Chris-
tian Citizens' League; and, seeing a light,
I thought I would just stop a moment.
Have you heard the news from the jail? "
The Rev. Howard Douglass came into
the hall, and Mrs. Vernon, who had risen
and gone out there, greeted him.
"No; what news?"

"The negro, Burke Willfams, has
escaped, and is now at liberty. He assault-
ed the jailer, and succeeded in locking the
door on the officers in the jail. The police
are hunting for him now."

Judge Vernon listened in a greater de-
gree of excitement than he had shown even
during his conversation with his wife.

44 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

" Come in here, Mr. Douglass. If you
can spare the time, I should like to talk
over matters in Freetown. We are wait-
ing for Claude to come home. This news
of Williams adds to the thought I have
been having lately about the people in
Freetown."

Howard Douglass hesitated.
"It is rather late. But I am specially
interested in the conditions over there. In
fact, the matter of what to do with Free-
town was the main subject of discussion at
our League meeting to-night. Something
ought to be done over there, or we shall
have a heavy account to answer for at last,
when the deeds of the body are summed up
for judgment. The Christian people of
Merton will be held largely responsibl.' I
believe, for failure to help Christianize that
spot."

" I begin to believe the same," replied
Judge Vernon gravely.

He had paused thoughtfully with the

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 45

evident purpose of going on to propose
some plan, when they were startled by the
sound of many heavy steps coming up the
veranda walk.

Before the persons outside could ring
the bell, Judge Vernon had flung the door
open. Mrs. Yemon and Douglass stood
close behind him. Looking out on the
lighted veranda, they saw a group of men,
among them two police officers, and, carried
on some rude couch in the midst of the
group, lay the form of a man covered with
a blanket.

One of the officers addressed Judge
Vernon.

" Judge, this is a hard piece of news to
bring you. In hunting for Burke Wil-
liams we found your son Claude lying near
the end of Free Street, wounded and un-
conscious. That fiend Burke probably did
it. He is robbed."

Mrs. Vernon pressed through between
her husband and all the others.

46 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

" Claude, my son! Is he dead? "
"No, ma'am," replied the officer, as he
took off his hat. But he added in a lower
tone as the terrified mother drew the
blanket from the face of her boy " No
not yet." ' '

1 .,.
< ■ »

■^Bl^

HOWAED DOUGLASS'S FLAN.

^m.

'HAVBYO HEARD THE NEWS?"

ffr*

CHAPTER in.

HOWARD DOUGLASS'S PLAN.

It was Sunday morning at Merton after
an unusually exciting week. And, as the
Rev. Howard Douglass went into his pulpit
and thoughtfully Ic-^rd at the large con-
gi-egation that Grv^-Ae'l the church, his
mind was filled with one idea, and that idea
was the redemption of Freetown.

He had just come from Judge Vernon's.
He had prayed in the room where Claude
Vernon lay, his young life wavering on the
border-land of that other country, where
death is forever shut out, but where judg-
ment still is potent; and with the memory
of that still, white face the minister faced
his people.

He had been spending the entire weebin
gathering materials for his sermon, and the
escape of the prisoner from the jail, the
assault on Claude Vernon, the son of the

50 THE REDEMPTION OF FRiSETOWN.

judge, and the uncertainty of the prisoner's
whereabouts, together with the flickering '
life of the young man, formed a natural
climax to what the minister had prepared.
It had been a long time since a sermon in
Merton had produced such a sensation. Yet
it was quietly delivered, was full of figures,
and was not sensational in the common use
of the word.

"What have we ever done to redeem
Freetown?" asked Howard Douglas, after
giving the people a look at the place, forti-
fied by undisputed facts as to its needs.
"It lies in the midst of a Christian city
practically uncared for. It is cursed and
feared and criticised for the vice and crime
that flow out of it. But how much have
the Christian people of this town ever done
to check or remove the source of that evil?
How much money have we ever spent over
there? How much time have we ever
given from our receptions and parties and

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 51

entertainments to teach Freetown the way
to eternal life?

"I am unable to escape the burden of
personal responsibility whenever I pass
through this place. I believe the Judge
of all the earth will condemn the Christian
disciples of Merton in the last great day if
they do not give up their endless round of
pleasure-seeking and waste of God's wealth,
and personally throw the strength of their
lives into the solution of this problem.

"How shall we redeem Freetown? It
is not an impossibility. It is not a vague
dream of what may be. It is within the
reach of actual facts. It can be redeemed.
The place can be saved, even as a soul by
itself can be saved by Jesus. But it is
God's way to save men by means of other
men. He does not save by means of
angels, or in any way apart from the use of
men as the means. What will you do to
redeem Freetown? I have a plan. I
want you to listen to it.''

.>'■

62 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

He then rapidly sketched his plan. Peo-
ple all over the church leaned forward and
ncdded in assent, but for the most part
tliere was simply a fixed attention that did
not at once show that it had reached the
minister's conclusions.

The sermon was over, the last hymn
sung, the benediction pronounced, and peo-
ple were going oiit of the church.

As they went out, they were talking
over the minister's plan for redeeming Free-
town.

" What do you think of it? " asked Dea-
con Culver of his neighbor, the Hon. Wil-
liam Brooks. Mr. Brooks was one of the
most talented lawyers in Merton.

"I think it is largely visionary. Mr.
Douglass is enthusiastic and of an imagina-
tive temperament. But he does not take
everything into the account. I doubt if
he can make his plan work."

"At the same time something ought to
be done, don't you think? " asked the dea-

fM^

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 68

'Wf

.v*r.

con, a little timidly, for he had a very great
respect for his neighbor's great legal attain-
ments.

" O, no question about the need," replied
Mr. Brooks somewhat impatiently. " But
whether what Mr. Douglass proposes will
do anything or not, is a question."

" Don't you think we ought lo give it a
trial, at least ? It is better to try some-
thing than let matters cor\tinue as they are
at present. We are none of us safe. What
is to prevent your boy or mine from meet-
ing the same experience as Claude Ver-
non ? "

" I hear that he was under the influence
of liquor at the time he was assaulted. It
is said he walked home through Freetown
to save time, but that he would never have
done it if he had been sober," said Mr.
Brooks in a low tone.

" I'm afra'd it's true," replied Deacon
Culver. " It looks a little as if we white

jiMk

64 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

people needed some plan to redeem us,
don't you think, Brooks? "

Mr. Brooks walked on for some time
without answering. Then he turned to-
ward the deacon, and said impressively:
" Deacon, our social life here in Merton is
in a dangerous condition. There is no use
to hide the fact that we are in a serious
case. Something ought to be done. I
was talking to Judge Vernon last week, and
to my great surprise I found that he be-
lieved as I do. He did not say much, but
his few words showed plainly how deeply
he felt about the matter."

The deacon sighed. He had reason to
feel anxious over his own boy who was just
entering college.

The two men walked on in silenne. At
last the deacon said: "Mr. Broo'rs, I shall
give all I can to make Mr. Dou2:lass's plan
a success. I believe he is right when he
says the best way to make Merton right,
our own homes included, is to work for the

flpp

I 5 -»■-

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 55

redemption of Freetown. I never felt be-
fore to-day how closely all the sins of the
world are bound together. I, for one, have
done very little to make any part of the
city what it ought to be."

" If you say that, how much do you think
I have ever done? " said Mr. Brooks with
a short laugh. "At the same time, I can-
not feel as you do about that plan. It is a
remarkable plan in many ways, but I be-
lieve it will fail. I am willing to give
something toward it, but I doubt very
much if it ever amounts to anything."

The two men parted, and each went into
his home thinking seriously. The conver-
sation was, in one sense, a good example of
the way in which the congregation had re-
ceived the minister's plan. Some opposed
it. Some had no faith in it. Some were
ready at once to give money to make the
plan a success. Others thought it would be
a sheer waste of time and expense. Still
others, however, were so surprised at the

66 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

proposed plan that they confessed to a need
of more time to think it over.

At Judge Vernon's that afternoon a re-
markable scene was taking place.

Claude still lay in his room, his condi-
tion unchanged. Judge Vernon, his wife,
and the girls were in the next room. The
doctor was talking with the family.

" There is something mysterious about
this assault upon fclaude," said the doctor.
" The wound on his head was evidently
caused by a blow from behind, but the con-
tusion on his face might have been made
by the blow of a fist directly in front of
him."

"The police officers seemed to think
there was no doubt that Burke Williams as-
saulted him," said Judge Vernon, slowly.

"They may be mistaken. They some-
times are."

" Why, who else could have done it, doc-
tor? " exclaimed Isabel, excitedly. "We
all know the colored people have done just

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 57

such things repeatedly. They are simply
awful. They ought to be punished. I for
one believe they were a good deal better off
in slavery. It's where they belong."

"Isabel! " said Mr. Vernon.

"It's what I believe. The miserable
creatures! Of what use are they? "

" I feel the same," cried Winnifred. " I
think every negro in Freetown ought to be
transported to Africa, so we could get Mer-
ton forever rid of them. There's no ques-
tion in my mind that this wretch Williams
is guilty; and, if Claude dies, he ought-ito
be hung."

Suddenly the family was startled by a
voice from the room where Claude was

lying.

« Mother! " he called.

The doctor stepped into the room, fol-
lowed by the rest.

Claude still lay with his eyes closed.
Mrs. Vernon went up and kneeled by him.
He feebly moved one of his hands. His

(

58 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

mother took it, and, bending her head over
It, placed her lips upon it, while her tears
fell fast.

" Do you know me, Claude? "
Yes. Tell father and the rest— Burke
Williams — Freetown — ."

He seemed to choke for a word, and there
was a moment of awful stillness in the
room. They waited, but he seemed un-
able to speak, and lapsed into his previous
condition of stupor, leaving them smitten
into wonder and praying that he might be
spared.

" Do you think we had better rouse him,
doctor? " the judge asked after a while.

" It will do no harm. He was trying to
tell us about the affair in Freetown."

They tried to rouse him from his stupor,
but failed. It was growing late in the af-
ternoon; and, as the sun went down, they
all waited and prayed.

The evening service at Emmanuel
Church was over, and the Eev. Howard

.d .

THE REDEMPTION OP FREETOWN. 59

Douglass was just going out of the cliurcli
with his wife, talking to a small group of
church-members as he went, about the plan
to redeem Freetown.

As they came out upon the steps, a mm
came walking up hastily.

"Have you heard the news?" he ealieJ
out". « They have caught Burke Williams.
He was hiding in a bam up in Freetown.

The little company of church people
stood still. The minister looked grave.

" That is not all," said the man. " I just
came by Judge Vernon's. His son died a
few minutes ago."

The Kev. Howard Douglass turned to the
people around him.

"Let us go back into the church and
pray," he said.

They turned and entered the building.
The sexton had begun to put out the lights.
They kneeled in the rear of the church and
prayed for the living. And over the city
of Merton, in the thought of Howard Doug-

wW'

■fiM

60 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

lass, as lie kneeled there, the Spirit was
brooding, yearning that men might listen
to the words of eternal life, and turn from
their sins and be redeemed.

IV.

THE CAKLTON'S TROUBLE.

o
n

»•-

CHAPTER IV.

4 f-

THE CARLTONS' TROUBLE.

It was two weeks after Claude Vernon^s
death.

The Carlton house was lighted brilHant-
Iv, and a ^ay card-party was in progress.
The rooms were heaiitifnlly decorated with
oarnations. Great vases of Kiphetos and
Perle roses stood on the marble mantels.
I^estoons of costly ^nnes were hiin^ about
the walls, and a fountain of perfumed
water played in the wide hall. A band of
mandolin mu3icians was stationed in a
handsome alcove near the stairway. As
one entered this richly adorned mansion,
c^verythinp: pleased the eye, the young peo-
ple were laughing and jesting, the groups
about the different tables were animated
^oups of happy color; and, if there was
another world outside, of vice and sin and
need, no hint of such a world was suggested

■■••I ,

iW|P^

64 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

by the surroundings of tliis party of plea-
sure-seekers.

Yet there was a cloud on the face of the
mistress of all this gayety. Mrs. Carlton
herself was evidently disturbed and un-
happy. Even her accustomed habit of self-
control, that mask which society often com-
pels its slaves to wear, could not conceal her
real feelings.

" What is the matter, Louise ? " asked
one of her friends, Mrs. Lynde, as she
stopped by the hostess near the staircase ;
"are you ill?"

" No, but I'm worr'ed about Inez and
her father. A telegram just came, saying
they would be here on the one o'clock train.
Of course, I feel badly about Claude, and
all that. It seems almost unfortunate that
the party should come so soon after, and

all this other . I feel a little nervous

about it; but of course I could not foresee
events."

" Of course not. You owe something to

)

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 65

society. This will be the event of the sea-
son."

"Bo you think so?" Mrs. Carlfon
spoke anxiously, but her face lighted up
with the selfish pleasure of a wo..ian who
has reached a point where the one great
object of her life is to win the distinction of
surpassing all other society leaders in social
^ ways.

. " There is no doubt of it. See if The
Sunday Caterer does not say so." And
Mrs. Lynde passed into the next room.

Mrs. Carlton looked pleased; and, as she
mingled with the young people, her face
seemed to lose its anxious look.

But, when the last game had been played
the refreshments served, the last guest had
gone, and she was alone, she betrayed 'at
once the unrest and excitement she had
been unable to conceal during a large part
of the evening.

It was half -past twelve, and she sat down
in the hall reception-room, and waited for

66 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN,

her husband and daughter. As she sat
there her mind was busy with thoughts that
mp.de her grow increasingly unhappy.

Her husband had been called abroad six
months before, arid iiad tahm their only
child, Inez, with him. She \:m B'?ieteen
years old, and had been studying,- .yt at
home. When Claude Vernon dx^j.i, Mi-a.
Carlton knew that Inez and her fatisor were
alx lit to sail for home. Her la.-^t letter
from theiii had come frcra Athens. Mrs.
Carlton had not written tho news of the
tragedy at Judge Vernon's because she
knew it would not have time to reach them
before they sailed.

This was what troubled her now. It
was possible that Inez and Mr. Carlton
might reach home in ignorance of Claude's
death. Mrs. Carlton suspected that before
she went away Inez had come to have more
than a girl's fancy for Claude. How far
her feelings had gone the mother did not
know. How severelv the blow would fall

TEE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 67

on her daughter she was unable to conjec-
ture. But, as she looked around the ele-
gant rooms, heavily perfumed with the
evening's adornment, she could not avoid a
feeling of dread at what the home-coming
of the father and daughter might mean.
With it all was more than a vague self-
reproach that this party had followed so
close upon the death of Claude Vernon.

She rose and nervously turned out the

light in one of the rooms, as if to shut out

the sight of the evening's gayety. She even

carried several vases of roses into the lib-

^rary, and removed from the hallway some

of the carnations that had stood there. As

she came back and opened the door, feeling

oppressed by the air in the House, a carriage

drove up, and the travellers greeted iier

gayly as they came up the veranda steps.

"With the first glance at her daughter,
whose face she sought even before that of '
her husband, Mrs. Carlton knew that she
was still ignorant of Claude's death.

68 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

"Why, mother, you have been having
a gay time during our absence. ' When
the cat's away, the mice will play ' ; isn't
that so, father ? " cried Inez, as sEe flung
her arms about her mother, while Mr. Carl-
ton said something with a laugh, and kissed
his wife as she turned to him from her
daughter's embrace.

"I've been having a little company to-
night," Mrs. Carlton answered slowly.
" Just a few of our friends. It was such a
disappointment that you came just too late
for it."

"Who has been here, mother?" asked
Inez, as she put her arm about her mother
and playfully drew her into the dining-
room.

" Don't you and Frank want something
to eat? " Mrs. Carlton desperately fought
against the inevitable disclosure that must
come.

" Yes, I'm hungry. We rushed every
minute of the way from 'New York. Didn't

■

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 69

even take tinic to read the papers. What's
happened since we've been away? But
you have not told us who was here."

Inez, still talking, sat down at the table,
and Mrs. Carlton ordered one of the serv-
ants to bring in refreshments.

Mrs. Carlton murmured over the names
of several people.

Her manner was so agitated that her
daughter and husband both noticed it.

"What's the matter, Louise? Are you
ill? " asked her husband.

"No, but I'm very tired," exclaimed
Mrs. Carlton. She was almost hysterical
in her nervousness as she saw no way of
escaping the dreadful news. The more
she looked at Inez, the more she was struck
with a new look on the girl's face. It was
the look a girl would carry who had recent-
ly come to know what love is.

"Mother," Inez rattled on, "you have
not given the whole list of those who were
here; was, was — Claude Vernon here? "

70 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

The girl looked at her mother with a
blush on her face, and then suddenly with
an impulsive gesture she said, as she held
her hand out over the tab^e: "Mother, I
must tell you I Father knows. Claude
asked me a week before ve sailed from
Havre. We are engaged. "We — ."
She paused, seeing that in her another's

face which drove the color out of her own.

Mrs. Carlton sat there in miserable silence.

She hoped she might faint. She hcped for

anything that would relieve her of the

horror of the occasion.

"Mother !" cried Inez, "what is it?"

She ran around the table, and Mr. Carlton

at the same time came and supported i^is

wife.

" 0, it is too terrible ! I cannot 1 I
cannot tell it ! "

"What! Is it Claude? Is anything the
matter? " cried Ii^ez. swiftly imagining evil
where she loved the most.

I' ■

?■

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 71

O, my God! O, child!

"Yes! Yes!
Claude is — ."

" He is dead! " said Inez calmly, but in a
strange voice.

Mrs. Carlton threw her arms about her
daughter and sobbed hysterically. When
she finally recovered to realize what the
news meant, Inez lay unconscious in her
mother's arms. She had fainted.

Mr. Carlrnn took her and laid her down,
and telephon "^ for a doctor. As he came
back into the lu^im, his wife flung her arms
on the table, wp» ing aloud. She was un-
mindful of th« fact tl t one of her hands
had struck a vase of . ses and upset it.
The flowers lay across her arm, and the vase
lay in broken fragments across the table.

It was thfi morning after the party at the
Carlton's, and Rev. Howard Douglass was
talking with his wife about the subject
which now absorbed nearly all his thought.
" If we could only get the society people
interested in the plan ! O, if we could only

i .)■

72 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

get the money that is used simply for par-
ties and entertainments, we could carry out
the plan of redeeming Freetown with every
prospect of success."

He spoke anxiously, and his wife listened
sympathetically.

"Kow, imagine," he continued, "a wo-
man like Mrs. Carlton, ready to throw the
weight of her social influence on the side
of our attempt to liplift and change Free-
town. She is a leader in social circles.
She has money and friends and leisure and
ability. And yet she spends her time and
strength in the regular round of parties and '
receptions year after year. The money
spent on her party last night might go a
long way toward building the foundation
of our social-settlement hall."

"That's true," Mrs. Douglass said
thoughtfully. Then after a pause she
went on: Howard, somehow I have felt
lately as if a change was to come over that
woman's life. Have you thought that

K ''

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 73

Inez Carlton was beginning to think a good
deal of Claude Vemon before she went
abroad?"

"No," replied Mr. Douglass, somewHat
startled.

" I have. If the girl comes home to re-
ceive the news of his death, it will change
her life and her mother's possibly."

" I have never thought of such a thing.
The woman seems wholly given over to her
social life. It seems to me like an awful
waste of God's time and money to spend
them as she does all these years. If we
could in some way make her see the needs
of Freetown! "We need money and influ-
ence to do what ought to be done over
there."

He was still talking when the bell rung.
He was near the stairs, on his way to his
morning's work in his study.

He opened the door, and a messenger
handed him a note. It read as follows: —

"^^ir, _

'It

74 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

''My Dear Mr. Douglass :— Mrs. Carl-
ton and Inez would like to see you. Can
you call at the house this morning? "We
are in trouble. Very truly yours,

Frank L, Carlton."

The minister handed the note to his mfe
without a word.

"Perhaps the Lord is leading her in
some way of his owh,'' ^he said, and the
words sounded in Howard Douglass's ears
repeatedly as he hurried toward the Carl-
ton mansion, not knowing why he had been
summoned there.

CALLERS AT MR. DOUGLASS'S.

^ fi

u
n

M
P

\ ■ J

CHAPTEK V.

CALLERS AT MR. DOUGLASS'S.

"Have you heard the strange news?"
asked Isabel Vernon of her sister Winifred
several days after that night when Inez
Carlton had fainted in her mother's arms.

" ^""o. Don't make me guess; tell me,"
replied Winifred, languidly. She was en-
gaged in untying some knots in a skein of
embroidery silk. Isabel had just come into
the room. She looked strangely excited.
• " Did you know that Claude was engaged
to Inez while she was abroad? "

Winifred dropped her v/ork on the floor.
Her face trembled, and her whole manner
showed excitement.

" I knew he cared a good deal for her.
But not that way."

"He did. I have been to see Inez. But

that is not the strange news I have to tell."

Isabel showed the marks of the recent

'H£ PROPERS ^ OF

SCARBORO

.PUBLIC LIBRARY.

78 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

death of Claude. She trembled while she
Bpoke, and her face was pale and drawn.

" Inez and her mother are going to help
Mr. Douglass in his work in Freetown! "

" What? "

"Inez told me so this morning. She-
she wants us to help her."

There was a silence in the room. Wini-
fred clasped her hands together and her
]ips trembled witli inward passion.

" Does she know that Claude was pro-
bably killed by that— that awful wretch in
Freetown? "

" I don't know. I suppose she has heard.
I could not talk with her. Mrs. Carlton
is not the same woman. It is all so hor-
ribly queer. I do not understand it."

"What do they intend to do?" asked
Winifred, vaguely.

"0, I don't know. They are going to
help Mr. Douglass build that social-settle-
ment hall he talks so much about. I don't
like to think of it."

4 *:

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. Y9

"How did Inez look? » asked Winifred,
after a little.

" O, I don't know. Don't ask me. The
Avhole thing is dreadful."

' T)o you think she cared very much for
Claude?"

" What do you think, when she is ready
to work for the people that caused his
death?"

Winifred shuddered and Isabel was
silent. Neither of them could think or
talk of Claude's death without a feeling of
repulsion toward everything connected with
the work in Freetown.

That same evening Howard Douglass
was going over the details of his plan with
his wife.

' ^"Ww that Mrs Carlton has offered to
help, we can begin at once on the social-
settlement hall.'»

"It is like a story. Who wonld have
thought that Mrs. Carlton would .uoi otTer
to do such a thing? "

80 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

Mr. Douglass thoughtfully spread E(ome
papers out over the table, and then wrote
something before he spoke.

" Yes, it is simply a miracle of changes
in her case and that of Miss Inez, Mrs.
Carlton has offered to give two thousand
dollars toward the building. I have sug-
gested that she use her influence to get
other society people in Merton to have a
share in the work. In fact, the redemp-
tion of Freetown ought to be a part of the
whole city's life. The work to be done
is so large that no one church or person or
organization can do it. If we can only
get the help of all the people who have
means, we can do wonders in Freetown."
There was silence again as the minister
wrote. Presen% he looked up and said,
" Do you want to hear the plan as I have
it on paper? "

Before his wife could answer the bell
rung. The minister started to say some-
thing about so many iiiterruption& jast

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 81

When he was busiest. The minister was a
man, and therefore not quite perfect vet.
His wife gave him a look that seemed to
remind him of something, and a smile
broke out over his face.

"Maybe it's angels unawares," she said,
as she walked toward the door.

" Maybe it is, Mary. Don't you think
their visits are very few and far between? "
said the minister. But he was good-natur-
ed as he opened the door.

The sight of the people who stood out-
side startled him.

"We don't wonder that you are sur-
prised," said Judge Vernon. « The fact is
that we are a little surprised at ourselves.'
But we all seemed to reach your door at
the same time without knowing that the
others were coming; and, if I'm not mis-
taken, we have all come on the same
errand."

" Come in,." said the minister somewhat
bewildered. And there came into the

82 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

house Judge Vernon, the Hon. William
Brooks, Deacon Culver and Mr. Carlton.
When they had greeted Mrs. Douglass
and were seated, Judsre Vernon said grave-
ly, " I came to see Mr. Douglass about the
work in Freetown.''

"That is what I came for," said the
other men in turn. The minister looked
bewildered yet. It was so seldom that
anybody ever came' voluntarily to see him
about doing anything of that sort that he
hardly knew what to say. The last men
in the city he expected to see, with the
exception of his depc^on. were the three
men who were now in his house. Jud^e
Vernon had never called on him. The
TTn>i. William Brooks was a shrewd poli-
tician and an able lawyer, but his connec-
tion "With the Emmanuel Church had never
ffone any further than attendance on ser-
vices and financial support. Mr. Carlton
was almost a stranger, and belonged to an-
other denomination. So the Rev. Howard

f»

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 83

Douglass might be excused if he looked
and felt somewhat surprised.

But he was able to enjoy the unexpected
co-operation of these men, and in a few
mmutes they were all in the midst of a
great discussion over the minister's plan.

"In brief," the mmister was saying
at the close of an hour's talk, « the plan
includes: —

" 1. A building constructed on purpose
lor the work we need to do. This will cost
anywhere from two thousand to three thou-
sand dollars.

" 2. This building must be equipped for
kindergarten work. It must contain a day-
nursery for the babies of mothers who are
obliged to go away from home all day to
labor, a kitchen where cooking can be
taught, bath-rooms, a reading-room, smal-
ler rooms for classes in sewing or music,
a diipensaiy, an office, and a basement fitted
for teaching trades.

84 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

"3. The plan also includes a list of 'pre-
miums or prizes given to the people of
Freetown to encourage neatness, thrift,
and industry. These prizes are to be of-
fered for the best gardens, the finest indi-
vidual collection of vegetables, the neat-
est-looking front and back yard and alley,
the neatest interior of a house, the best
flower-beds, the largest and best fruit-gar-
den, and the most improvements ^n any
place in a year.

" 4. The plan also includes the iir^t.iMish-
ment of regular Sunday work, a gu/iday
school, preaching services, good music, and
distribution of good reading matter at the
houses during the afternoon.

" 5. To make the plan succeed, we must
have money enough to endow the institu-
tion. It must be permanent in its charac-
ter m order to produce results. As much
money must be put into it as put into a
business of any sort where w^expect to get
large results. Over $50,000,000 are in-
vested in the bicycle industry in the United

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 85

States. The redemption of FreetoAvii is
of much more importance to the human
race than all the bicycles in the world. >t
is useless to expect to lift up the people
over there unless we can get and use large
sums of money. I have estimated that it
will take from $2,000 to $3,000 a year to
maintain the work in Freetown on a suc-
cessful basis.

"6. The last point in the plan is the most
important."

The minister paused in his reading, and
looked around at the three men. They
were aU very much interested, and Judge
Vernon and Mr. Carlton seemed to be
specially excited. Mr. Douglass went on.

"What is absolutely necessary to the
success of this plan is the voluntary resi-
dence in the heart of Freetown of some of
the best men and women in Merton. That
is, the housg must contain, all the year
around, Christian men and women who
are willing to live for certain weeks or

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

1^ "^

l£

I.I

Ktuu

1111.8

'L25 iu

1.6

150mm

/^PPLIED_^ IIV14GE . Inc

.s^ 1653 East Main Street
^=s r^ Rochester, NY 14609 USA
.^=r^ Phone: 716/482-0300
^l^-r?^ Fax; 716/288-5989

^\'^o\

^t-

■■^WIIH^

i^^n^^^^^^m

I ^-

8(J THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

months with the work, direct it from
the centre, and give their talents, their
strength, their wisdom, personally to a so-
lution of the terrible problems over there.
We caii\get money to build the house; we
can get |)remiums to carry out our plans
for encouraging industry; we can get
enough money, probably, to endow the
work.

" The question now is. Can we get peopUf
the best and best-known, and most able to
go over there and live with the people?
That, to my mind, is the heart of the pro-
blem. When the Christian world is will-
ing to give itself to the redemption of- the
unchristian world, it will be redeemed.
When Christian Merton is willing to give
itself for unchristian Freetown, it will be
redeemed. The question really is, How
many of the best men and women are
ready to go and live for a while in that
house?

" Here in Merton are hundreds of men

t - ^

il lip "I

r' 1 )

.*< - • '

S^'

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 87

and women who spend night after night in
parties, amusing themselves; how many of
them will take that time to help redeem
a part of the city? Here in Merton are
scores of able, capable men who spend hours
in political discussions or in attendance on
political gatherings; how many of them
will do anything personally to help restore
lost souls? Here in Merton are hundreds
of young people who have health and am-
bition and high aims; how many of them
will suffer personally to relieve suffering^
What is needed in this work is not a few**
weak, uneducated, unequipped good peo-
ple, but the best we have in the social and
literary and political life of Merton.

" There is no question in m^> mind that
the success of the whole plan will depend
on the kind of people who are willing to
go and live in the social settlement and,
by their living, personal presence, touch at
close quarters the sin and misery and

88 TKE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

crime of that lost part of our city. The
question is, Who will go? "

Mr. Carlton had not said a word since
the first greeting. He spoke now in a voice
that showed great emotion. The rest Jeaned
forward and listened eagerly. Over them
all the Spirit of God brooded in eager ex-
pectation.

VI.

SOME MOMENTOUS DECISIONS.

*#f

CHAPTER VI.

SOME MOMENTOUS DECISIONS.

" We are ready to live in the settlement
house," said Mr. Carlton slowly; "Mrs.
Carlton, Inez, and myself."

His announcement was received by the
others in perfect silence.

At last Jud^e Vernon spoke in a tone
that revealed verv stroner emotion. "It
may not he nossihle for all of us to do as
Mr. Carlton has decided, mt all the peo-
ple in Merton can become residents in Free-
town. But I came here to-night to say
this: I will reside in the house a part of
the time and grive my personal attention to
whatever part of the work over there I can
help most."

Ap:ain there was silence. The Ejv. How-
ard Douglass said afterwards that all
during that evening's experience he felt
so astonished at the unexpected volunteers

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

for the work that he was like one who sees
things in a dream.

The Hon. William Brooks had listened
with head bent and a look of strange hesi-
tation on his face. He now lifted his head,
and looked directly at the minister.

"Mr. Douglass, the Sunday that you
spoke about this plan for redeeming Free-
town I walked home with Deacon Culver
here, and in a talk with him I criticised the
plan and expressed' my doubts as to its suc-
cess. I came here to-night to offer my ser-
vices to make your plan a success. You
are entirely right when you say that money
alone cannot do this work. You are right
when you say that people must go and live
there themselves."

He stopped suddenly, and the Eev. How-
ard Douglass returned his look, while the
color rose in each man's face.

"Will you live there yourself?" The
minister asked it as if the other man had
compelled the question. Indeed, he said

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 93

afterward that it seemed absolutely neces-
sary to make Mr. Brooks commit himself
directly on that point.

N"o one spoke for a moment. The still-
ness was deep and full of meaning.

" Yes, I will," said the voice of the law-
yer at last. Probably he had never spoken
three words that cost more or meant more
to a large number of souls.

No one spoke again for a moment. There
seemed to be a tension in e^'ery man's mind,
but a great hesitation to expel it with the
spoken thought. Deacon Culver said at
last: " Mrs. Culver and I will do our part.
I am fully in sympathy with the pastor's
plan."

" Mrs. Douglass and I have deciu a^ our
course. We will make our home for the
time in the settlement. I need hardly say
that we are deeply moved by this unex-
pected beginning of the work. The Spirit
of God has certainly moved all your hearts.
I have been guilty of questioning God's

04 THE REDEMPTION OP FREETOWN.

power. What I have heard to-night shows
me that nothing is too hard for him." The
minister's voice trembled; and, as he looked
into the faces of those men, he felt that
the victory of good over evil was possible.
He saw already the redemption of Free-
town a reality.

They sat long together, and talked over
details of the plan. The longer they ^onn-
selled together, the more convinced they
all felt that the work they were about to
do was a work of snch tremendous power
and value that it could not be measured by
money or mental effort.

During the conference it became evident
that the same influences had been movini?
those men to decide their relation to the
social settlement. The tragedy in Judge
Vernon's house had affected him profound-
ly. He read in the events which had led
to his son's death the lesson of personal re-
sponsibility for the redemption of Free-
town. It was learned long afterwards that

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 95

Mr. and Mrs. Carlton and Inez had made the
complete change in their lives through the
effect of tliat tragic incident on Inez. No
power of man could ever have wrought so
complete and astonishing cliange. The
divine Spirit had moved th^ir hearts and
made them new creatures. The Hon. Wil-
liam Brooks had reasoned himself to a logi-
cal acceptance of the minister's plan; and
then, tired of the indifference and selfish-
ness of an observer of human wretchedness
who criticises otliers, he had suddenly de-
termined to give himself, where for so many
years he had simply given his opinions.
But although he himself did not acknow-
ledge it at the time, he also was led by
the same Spirit which can make proud men
yield the u.elves and enter the Kingdom as
a little child.

During the next few days the city of
Merton experienced a sensation when it
was told the news of that meeting at the
house of the Kev. Howard Douglass. There

96 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

was nothinpj very remarkable in the fact
that Mr. Douglass and Deacon Culver had
promised to go and li^'^e a part of the time
in the social settlement. But when it be-
came known that Judge Vernon, Mr. Carl-
ton, and the Hon. William Brooks ex-
pected to work in Freetown, and actually
take up their residence a part of the time
in the house, everybody exclaimed in won-
der. »

Perhaps the best idea of the way in
which the people of Merton regarded the
facts may be obtained from a conversation
that occurred at one of the society events
that winter.

It was in the house of Mrs. James Lewis,
the wife of one of the railroad officials.
Mrs. Lewis was president of the United
Clubs of the women of Merton. Her in-
fluence in the city was second only to that
of Mrs. Carlton. The two women, each in
her own circle, had been leaders for many
years, itrs. Lewis \/as very liteiarr, and

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN, 97

had a talent for organization. The United
Clubs often gave a series of lectures by
well-known women speakers. Once every
winter they met at the house of ^Mrs. Lewis
for a reception. It was this event that was
the scene of a spirited discussion over the
news of Mr. Douglass's plan and its unex-
pected volunteers.

" The plan is simply absurd," said the
wife of one of the editors of The Daily
News. «It is one of those things that be-
long to dreams, but have no place in prac-
tical life."

" But still, some of tiio best things in the
world come from the people who have visi-
ons. Do you remember what Mrs. Garnet
said in her last lecture? ' The ideal in life
is always preceded by the visionary. Some
one must dream before any one will act.'
There is a great truth at the heart of that
social settlement."

There was a pause for a moment in the
room where the discussion was going on.

»*'■,:■■

98 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

Before it was broken, Mrs. Lewis came to
the door.

" Mrs. Lewis, what do you think of it? "
asked the editor's wife. •

" You are discussing Mr. Douglass's plan
for redeeming Freetown? I overheard a
part of it. I'll tell you. He has been to
see me about it. Shall I tell what he asks
us to do? "

" By all means'! " exclaimed an excited
chorus of voices.

" He wants the United Clubs of Merton
to work for an endowment fund, so that
the social settlement will become a per-
manent institution."

There was silence a moment. The women
looked expressively at one another.

" That isn't what we are organized to
do," finally said one of the ladies.

" Wholly outside of our sphere. "VVe are
neither a charity nor a church organiza-
tion."

" It will break up our meetings for lit-

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 99

erary culture if we turn aside to do benevo-
lent work."

"But still," said another voice from a
sweet-faced woman who had not yet spoken,
"still, isn't it a pity that we should get
together so o^ten year after year simply to
study the Greeks and Romans and the arts
and the sciences, and never study the city
in which we live, its needs, its conditions,
its degradation? It is possible we are not
studying the most important things of life
in our clubs."

Mrs. Lewis looked at the speaker thought-
fully. " I have been thinking of that also."
Every one in the room looked surprised.
Mrs. Lewis went on: "We could raise .a
great deal of money in our clubs if we once
determined to share in this redemption of
Freetown."

""We might change the name of our
club to the United Missionary Society,"
said a sarcastic voice. "I beg to be ex-

100 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

cused, ladies, if you are going to take up
Freetown and try to reform it."

"Look at Mrs. Carlton and Inez," said
another. "Isn't that a seven days' won-
der? "

" ]S^ greater than Mr. Brooks or Judge
Vernon. The judge must be made of
strange material."

" I was talking with Isabel—."

" But, ladies," cried ]\rrs. Lewis, " what
do you think we ought to do about the mat-
ter of helping Mr. Douglass?"

" What do you think? "

" I am in favor of it. What have we ever
done as a club for the real uplift of the city
where it needs the most help? We have a
membership in the United Clubs of nearly
one thousand members. If each of us gave
one dollar, that would go a long way to-
ward supporting the social settlement for
a year."

Again there was an expressive silence.
There was assent on some faces, disapproval

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 101

on others. Mrs. Lewis was about to go on,
when she was suddenly called out of the
room. The discussion continued after she
was gone. It grew more animated through-
out the afternoon and evening. The social
settlement in Freetown became the one ex-
citing theme of conversation. There was
one large element that seemed ready to go
with the president and pledge the United
Clubs to the support of the work. There
was another decided group of women who
refused to entertain the idea of making
such a radical change in the programme of
regular club -life. '

When the reception was over and every
one had gone home, it was entirely uncer-
tain whether Mrs. Lewis would be able .to
use her influence to persuade the Fnited
Clubs to take an active part in the work of
redeeming Freetown. Mrs. Lewis sat
very thoughtful in her house that evening.
Several times she said to herself: "0, we
might, we ought. Surely we are not using

♦ ♦

102 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

our time and our strength to the highest
advantage." But, after all, she was unable
to tell whether her influence was strong,
enough to carry the majority of the clubs
with her.

Meanwhile, the prisoner Burke Williams
had been awaiting in the county jail
the carrying out of the sentence which con-
demned him to the lienitentiary for twenty
years. According to the common law in
the case, he would be obliged to serve out
the time for his first offence before being
tried for the second. But various plans
had been tried to surprise him into confes-
sing the crime of Claude Vernon's mur-
der, and he was detained in the county jail *
beyond the regular time.

He was still in his cell, sullen and silent.
The sheriff had at last made his plans to
convey the prisoner to the State prison on
the day when Judge Vernon was sitting in
a case where another negro from Freetown

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 103

was under trial for a serious offence against
the State.

Judge Vernon sat there pale and stern.
His emotions were conflicting. The man
on trial again represented the lost part of
the city, and every time he looked at his
stolid, brutal face the judge saw the face
of the other man, and pictured him on his
way to his twenty years' confinement.
Could such a spot as Freetown be re-
deemed? "Was it possible to save such souls
as these? The courtroom was crowded.
The bailiff had just arisen to proclaim the
opening of court. Suddenly, near the door,
an unusual disturbance was noticeable. It
grew in volume. All eyes w6re turned in
that direction. Judge Vernon half rose
from his seat; and the large audience, law-
yers, officers, and spectators, seemed to feel
as by a united wave of intelligence that
something very remarkable had happened.

ik-

'ml

o.
o

H
B
O

JO
00

CHAPTER VII.

REDEMPTION BEGUN.

The confusion by the door of the court-
room increased. A word was passed from
lip to lip. Faces grew pale. The word
went out over the waiting spectators, an<l
reached the bar and the county attorney.

The attorney rose, and, lifting his .arm,
he solemnly said, while the confusion sud-
denly ceased: "Your honor, Burke Wil-
liams's case has been called up to a higher
court. He has committed suicide! "

Judge Vernon grasped the desk in front
o^' him, and for a moment the courtroom
swam before him in confusion. He re-
covered himself, but the excitement was
so great and the tension on his emotions so
strong that he was compelled to adjourn
court for the day. As he passed out of the
room, the lawyers and spectators quietly
made way for him. His recent experiences

108 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

had given him an added dignity that all
men respected.

The prisoner had hanged himself to one
of the bars of his cell. He had left no con-
fession. The mystery of Clande Vernon's
death remained a mystery so far as any
actual proof was obtained, and the prisoner
himself had gone to meet the Judge of all
the earth, to be judged for the deeds done
in the body. What that judgment is, only
the last great day can disclose.

The news of the suicide stirred the peo-
ple of Merton deeply.

The whole affair, together with Howard
Douglass's plan and its reception by so
many prominent people, called attention to
Freetown as it had never been called dur-
ing the history of the city. For several days
it was the absorbing topic of conversation.
People all over the city discussed the situa-
tion. One of the most interesting discus-
sions was held by the Christian Endeavor

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 109

society of the Emanuel Church a week after
the suicide.

It was a regular business session, and af-
ter the reports had been received, the presi-
dent rose and said he wanted to present the
case of Freetown to the society.

''Mr. Douglass will be here before we
finish, but it seemed to me it would be a
good thing if we could let him know some-
thing definite that we can pledge to do to
help the work. Some of us have been talk-
ing over the work for several weeks, and I
think we are ready to submit a line of sug-
gestions which the society can follow out
if it thinks best."

" I make a motion," said one of the mem-
bers who was a college student and always
wanted business to proceed in accordance
Avith Cushing's "Manual of Parliamentary
Practice," " that we pledge ourselves as a
society to help in the work at Freetown in
every way we can. We can discuss plans
in detail before passing the motion."

!>l

%J:

110 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

The motion was seconded bj half a
dozen eager voices.

"Now for suggestions," said the presi-
dent.

The chairman of the Christian-citizen-
ship committee rose.

"Our committee has held several meet-
ings within the past month, and we have
agreed that we might do some good work
in the settlement house by having meetings
to instruct the voters in Freetown along
the line of municipal politics. We could
have classes in the history of political move-
ments, take up the city government, dis-
cuss the best plans for electing the best
men, etc. This plan has already been tried
in several social settlements with great suc-
cess. Our committee^edges itself to help
in this way." *''

He sat down, and some one staiteti a
little applause. It swept through V<:: iv. ):a,
and ceased only when the chairman of the
good-literature committee rose.

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. HI

" Our committee is ready to fit up the
new reading-room in the social settlement
with magazines, papers, and books. Be-
sides that, we beliee we can carry good
papers to the different houses in Freetown,
and direct the reading by means of reading-
circles, especially in the winter. Our main
object, however, will be to help make the
new reading-room attractive, and to serve
as librarians or attendants different even-
ings during the week, if Mr. Douglass says
that is the best way to serve."

"Any other suggestions?" asked the
president, as no one spoke for a moment.

The chairman of the lookout committee
rose slowly. He was one of the oldest
members of the society and a good worker,
but talking was hard work for him.

"Several members of our committee
think the cooking-classes in Freetown are
going to be very necessary. Eeferred to
the other members of the committee; the
rest of them are girls."

112 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWIf.

He sat down amid applause. There
were cries for one or two of the other
members of the committee.

"It's true I" said a tall, energetic-look-
mg ^rl, as she rose and spoke very decided-
ly. " It makes a great difference with the
morals of people what they eat. And
r some of us gjjls think the best thing we
could do to help in the social settlement
will be to volunteer our services as cooks
m the housekeeping department, and teach
the colored girls there the best ways, and
help fit them for service. You needn't
laugh, because some of us can cook. Our
mothers have taught us how. And we are
ready to do our share."

She sat down amid a generous clapping
of hands, and in the midst of it Mr. Dou-
glass walked in.

"I think we are ready to hear from our
pastor now," said the president, as Mr.
Douglass sat down near him.

"N"o; go on, and let me know what you

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 113

have been doing," said the minister. He
looked tired, but his face brightened as lie
looked over the room and saw the faces of
the young people. There was inspiration
in the life there.

The president gave an outline of the
work suggested by the committee. « It is
only a beginning of what we can do, I'm
sure," the president said in conclusion;
" but we want to be of use, and we are ready
to learn."

"Thank God!" cried Howard Douglas
to himself softly, while his eyes filled with
tears. "'For Christ and the church'
Why, we can turn the world out of the hand
of evil into the arms of good if we only
have enough volunteer service like this."
He stayed a long time, talking over
plans with the society; and, when he finally
walked home, he carried in his heart a great
encouragement that in the coming fight
for souls in Freetown he had for helpers

114 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

the united, enthusiastic, whole-hearted ser-
vice of his society.

The next few weeks saw the history of
the new movement made very fast.

One of the daily papers of Merton vol-
unteered to receive money for an endow-
ment fund, and even a^eed to publish a
series of articles on social settlements, in
order to awaken interest in the movement
and show that they were of practical value
m the solution of great human problems,
rhe series was actually printed and eagerly
read by the subscribers. It was so popu-
lar that the editor followed it up with an-
other series on the proposed plan to re-
deem Freetown, accompanied by sketches
of the building, a description of its ffeneral
plan, and a detailed account of the pre-
mium list for the best houses and gardens
m the district.

The whole city became profoundly in-
terested as the time drew near for thacom-
pletion of the settlement house and its oc-

^ THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 115

cupation by the volunteer residents. Per-
haps no one event had ever stirred social
circles as this one. Mrs. Carlton's influence
had been very large. So far, her example
in the way of financial help for the settle-
ment had not been imitated by any other
society people. The winter had been a
very gay one. Even Claude Vernon's tra-
gic death and Inez Carlton's sad experi-
ence had not made any lasting impression
on the pleasure-seekers of Merton. Does
an address at a funeral ever convert any
one ? It is a question whether, out of all the
social acquaintance that Inez had, another
girl was ready to give up her regular life
of amusement to do or to be anything dif-
ferent for the sake of helping suffering
humanity. They all wondered at Inez.
She moved among them, quiet, reserved,
the dignity of a great sorrow suddenly ac-
quired adding to the sweetness of her
character; but she was not like the Inez
her once intimate friends had known. Ko-

116 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

thing develops deep character like sorrow,
if the hand of God is allowed to soothe and
elevate it. And nothing is so selfish as
sorrow when God is shut out of a wounded
heart.

There was nevertheless, all through so-
ciety a great feeling of curiosity to know
how the Carlton's, Judge Vernon, Mr.
Brooks, and the minister's family would
manage the affairs of the social settlement,
and what the effects of their actual living
there would be on the people of Freetown.
In addition to this, the probable action
of the United Clubs of the women of Mer-
ton was still undecided. Would Mrs. Lewis
be able to secure the help of a majority of
the clubs in assisting the financial side of
the work? It was a question. No one
could answer it yet. Howard Douglass,
mth a faith in future gifts for the work,
went on with the building. He had se-
cured from various sources, notably from
the churches of Merton, enough money to

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 117

warrant the care of the settlement work
for a year. What it needed, however, was
a permanent endowment. If Mrs. Lewis
succeeded in enlisting the co-operation of
all the cluLs, that endowment was prac-
tically assured. But when the building
was finally completed and ready for its
residents, the United Clubs had not yet
decided their course.

Merton will never forget that day of the
dedication of Freetown social settlement.
Freetown was stirred up as by the hand of
God. Howard Douglass and his wife,
Judge Vernon, the Carltons, Mr. Brooks,
Mrs. Lewis, the newspaper editors, the re-
presentative business men, the ministers
of the other churches, the leaders in social
circles even, crowded into the beautifuh
hall of the settlement that day.

Howard Douglass arose to oifer the dedi-
catory prayer after the preliminary exer-
cises had passed. He prayed that the place
where the building now stood might be re-

■A

118 THE REDEMPTION OP FREETOWN.

deemed, brought back, saved for God.
Would his prayer be answered? Could
Freetown be redeemed? The great audi-
ence was swayed by one feeling, and
through the room, as the prayer, went on,
a breath of the divine Spirit swept, and all
hearts present felt its beneficent benedic-
tion.

Ci« .

vin.

FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER.

iSitn .

"▲• ■■ KBACKBD THB OORNBR HE STOPPVD AND
LOOKEB BACK."

CHAPTER VIII.

FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER.

Mr. Alfred Harris, meniber of the Associated
Press Bureau, to Walter B. Stoddard,
editor of the Boston Message:—^

Merton, Feb. 12, 1914.

"My Dear Stoddard: — I was sent here,
as you know, to write up the social settle-
ment in Freetown; and I have done the
best I could, and am ready to start West
to-morrow. But I feel tempted to let you
know something in this letter that I did not
feel like putting into my report.

" Merton is a city of about 50,000 peo-
ple, a railroad center, and a place of good
residence and business life.

" Fifteen years ago a district known as
Freetown, settled by negroes, had the re-
putation of being the source of more crime

122 THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN.

and social trouble than any other part of
the city. The son of one of the district
court judges was found one night uncon-
scious, wounded, and robbed in this dis-
trict. It was supposed at the time that he
was assaulted by a criminal by the name of
Williams, who committed suicide while in
jail. This was afterward proved to be
false; as I shall speak of this later on, I
will not go into the details of it here.

" What I wanted to write about particu-
larly was the personaHty of the i^ocial-
settlement work now finally established in
ITreetown.

" Kev. Howard Douglass and his church
(the Emanuel) proposed the building of a
house in Freetown where some of the most
prominent families in Merton agreed to
live during all or part of the time, for the
express purpose of redeeming the place
from sin and fitting it up into a transf oimed
human life.

"It is not exaggerating the facts to say

THE REDEMPTION OF FREETOWN. 123

that what was planned fifteen years ago
has been carried out with the most remark-
able results. Let me tell you a little about
them.

" First, there was the building itself,
built largely by the gifts of Mrs. Carlton,
who had been a social leader in Merton^for
many years. Her original gift was three
thousand dollars. She afterwards increased
It to five thousand. The building contained
a large kindergarten and assembly hall, a
house-keeping department, a reading-room,
a dispensary, a nursery, bath-rooms, and
rooms for sewing and industrial work, and
physical culture and music rooms. There
have been some changes in the original
^lan of the house, but it has remained prac-
tically the same as when first built. I
ought not to forget the rooms provided for
residents who take up their stay in the
house on a co-operative plan that has so
far worked very satisfactory.