University of Virginia Library

A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN.

One of the sweetest, prettiest incidents of
our watering-place life is enacted daily at
the Clarendon. While the thoughtless
watering-place throng sways in and out of
the great dining-room, and the endless clatter
of tongues and cutlery seems to drown
every holy thought, a venerable silver-haired
old gentleman walks slowly in at the head
of his Christian family, and takes his seat at
the head of the table. Instantly the laughing
faces of a table full of diners assume a
reverential look. The knives and forks rest

silently on the table, and the beautiful, silver-frosted Christian,
with clasped hands, modestly murmurs a prayer of thanks—a
sweet benediction to God! The scene lasts but a moment, but
all day long that hallowed prayer of the Christ-child seems to
float in the air, guiding, protecting, and consecrating the thoughtless
army of wayward souls.

I could not find out who this brave old Christian was: but last
night his name came all at once. A lovely woman, with her beautiful
children, arose early from her seat at the Congress Hall hop,
to return to the Clarendon.

“Why do you go so early, Mrs. Clark?” asked a fashionable
lady friend.

“Oh, you will
laugh at me if I
tell you—now really,
my dear, won't you?”
“No, unless you make me,”
replied her friend. And then
she leaned forward and whispered:

“Well, my dear, you know I stop
at the Clarendon. My room is next
to that dear, good old man's, and he
does pray so beautifully every night that
I kneel down by his door with the children
to hear him, and then I go to bed
so happy, for I know nothing can happen
to us when we are so near him!”

Wiping a tear from her eye, the friend
said, “Let me go with you!” and right
in the middle of the lancers, these warm-souled
women, with their children, walked
to the Clarendon to sit in the next
room and hear the evening family
prayer of good old Richard Suydam,
of West Twenty-ninth street.

I have since learned that Mr. Suydam
has educated three ministers, and started
a great many poor but worthy young
men in business. He is very wealthy,
but spends only one-third of his income,
devoting the rest to charity.