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diff --git a/21131.txt b/21131.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..401c82d --- /dev/null +++ b/21131.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10321 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Amos Huntingdon, by T.P. Wilson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Amos Huntingdon + +Author: T.P. Wilson + +Release Date: April 18, 2007 [EBook #21131] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMOS HUNTINGDON *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +Amos Huntingdon + +By Reverend T.P. Wilson +________________________________________________________________________ +This a very well written and interesting story, well up to Wilson's +best. It deals with the various moral issues that beset a rather +well-off family. The old father makes his two sons an allowance, which +one of them, Amos, manages well, while the other does not. Stability in +the family is provided by an old maiden aunt, Kate, the sister of the +old man. There was also a daughter, Julia, who had married a +ne'er-do-well, and who had been shown the door on that account by the +old father, but who was still of great concern to the two young men, +particularly to Amos, as she had small children, who were so destitute +that Amos was spending all his allowance in looking after his sister and +her children, thus making it impossible for him to lend his brother any +money. + +Because there are not many people in the story, and because their +characters are so well-described, the reader is drawn into the family, +and follows their concerns with interest. It makes a good audiobook of +about eleven hours duration. NH +________________________________________________________________________ + +AMOS HUNTINGDON + +BY REVEREND T.P. WILSON + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +BRAVELY DONE. + +"Help! help! holloa there! Master Walter--Mr Amos--Jim--Harry--quick-- +bring us a light!--lend a hand here!" Such were the words which +suddenly broke the stillness of a dark October night, and roused up the +household of Mr Walter Huntingdon, a country gentleman living on his +own estate in Derbyshire. The voice was the coachman's, and came +apparently from somewhere near the drive-gate, which was about a couple +of hundred yards from the front door of the house. The evening had been +dark and stormy; and it was in a lull of the tempest that the ominous +sounds of distress reached the ears of the inmates of Flixworth Manor. + +In a few moments all was bustle and excitement--lights flashing; feet +hurrying; voices shouting; and then a rush for the scene of danger and +trouble. + +Outside the grounds in which the Manor-house stood were extensive grass +lands on either side of the public road. In the field nearest to the +drive-gate, and on the left as you entered it, was a deep and +precipitous chalk-pit, now disused. This pit was some little distance +from the road itself, and was not noticeable by persons unacquainted +with the locality. It had been there no one knew how long, and was a +favourite resort of adventurous children, a footpath to the village +passing not far from its edge. Towards this chalk-pit the startled +party of rescue from the house hurried with one consent, several of them +carrying lanterns or extemporised torches. + +Ten o'clock was striking in the distant church-tower as they gathered +round the spot from which the cries for help had proceeded. A terrible +sight was dimly revealed to them in the uncertain glare cast upon it by +the lights which they carried. Hanging over the edge of the chalk-pit +was the squire's carriage. One horse had broken away from the traces, +but the other was struggling violently, and seemed likely, in its +plungings, to force the carriage still further over the precipitous side +of the pit. The coachman, who had managed to spring unharmed from the +box, was doing his best to restrain the violence of the terrified +animal, but with only partial success; while the situation of Mr +Huntingdon himself and of his maiden sister, who were inside the +carriage, was perilous and distressing in the extreme. + +The accident had been caused by a strange and savage dog suddenly +springing at the horses' heads as the carriage was nearing the outer +gate. The night was very dark, and the horses, which were young and +full of spirit, being startled by the unexpected attack of the dog, +which belonged to some passing traveller, sprang violently out of the +road, and, easily crashing through the wooden fence, which happened to +be unusually weak just at that part, carried the carriage along with +them to the very edge of the chalk-pit, spite of all the efforts of the +coachman to hold them in; so that when the people of the Manor-house +came to the rescue, they found the carriage and its occupants in a most +critical position. + +Not a moment was to be lost. Jim, the stable-boy, was quickly by the +side of the coachman, who was almost exhausted with his efforts to curb +the terrified horse, the animal becoming still more excited by the flare +of the lights and the rush of the newcomers. + +"Cut the traces, man! cut the traces!" cried Harry the butler, as he +gained the spot. + +"Do nothing of the sort," said a voice close by him. "Don't you see +that there may be nothing to hold the carriage up, if you cut the +traces? it may fall sheer over into the chalk-pit.--Steady, Beauty! +steady, poor Beauty!" These last words came from a young man who +evidently had authority over the servants, and spoke calmly but firmly, +at the same time patting and soothing the terror-stricken animal, which, +though still trembling in every limb, had ceased its frantic plungings. + +"William," continued the same speaker, addressing the coachman, "keep +her still, if you can, till we have got my father and aunt out." + +Just at that moment a boy of about seventeen years of age sprang on to +the front wheel, which was a little tilted on one side, and with a +violent wrench opened the carriage-door. "Father, dear father," he +cried, "are you there? are you hurt?" + +For a moment no reply was made; then in a stifled voice came the words, +"Save your aunt, my dear boy, save your aunt!" + +Miss Huntingdon, who was nearest the door, and had contrived to cling to +a stout strap at the side of it, was now dragged with difficulty, by the +joint efforts of her nephew and the butler, out on to the firm ground. +Walter, her young deliverer, then sprang back to extricate his father. +"Give me your hand, father," he cried, as he stooped down into the +carriage, which was now creaking and swaying rather ominously. "A light +here, Harry--Jim!" he continued. It was plain that there was no time +for delay, as the vehicle seemed to be settling down more and more in +the direction of the chasm over which it hung. A light was quickly +brought, and Mr Huntingdon was released at last from his trying and +painful durance; but not without considerable difficulty, as he had been +much bruised, and almost stunned, by being dashed against the undermost +door, and by his poor sister having been thrown violently on him, when +the carriage had turned suddenly on its side. + +"Hip, hip, hurrah!" shouted Walter, springing on to the hind wheel; +"`all's well that ends well.' No bones broken I hope, dear father, dear +aunt." + +"Have a care, Master Walter," cried the coachman, who had now managed, +with the elder son's help, to release the frightened horse from the +traces, and had given it in charge to the stable-boy,--"have a care, or +you'll be over into the chalk-pit, carriage and all." + +"All right, William," cried the boy; "you look after Beauty, and I'll +look after myself." So saying, he jumped down, making the carriage rock +as he sprang to the ground. + +And now, while Miss Huntingdon, who had suffered nothing more serious +than a severe shaking, was being led to the house by her elder nephew +and the female servants who had joined the rescuing party, Mr +Huntingdon, having made a careful inspection of the position of his +carriage, found that it was in no danger of falling to the bottom of the +chalk-pit, as a stout tree, which sprang from the side of the pit, close +to the top, had become entangled in the undermost hind wheel, and would +form a sufficient support till the proper means of drawing the vehicle +fully on to the level ground could be used on the morrow. All parties +then betook themselves slowly to the Manor-house. + +In the kitchen, William the coachman was, of course, the great centre of +attraction to a large gathering of domestics, and of neighbours also, +who soon came flocking in, spite of the lateness of the hour, to get an +authentic version of the accident, which, snowball-like, would, ere noon +next day, get rolled up into gigantic proportions, as it made its way +through many mouths to the farther end of the parish. + +In the drawing-room of the Manor-house a sympathising group gathered +round Mr Huntingdon and his sister, eager to know if either were +seriously the worse for the alarming termination to their journey. +Happily, both had escaped without damage of any consequence, so that +before they retired to rest they were able, as they drew round the +cheery fire, and heard the stormy wind raging without, to talk over the +perilous adventure with mutual congratulations at its happy termination, +and with thankfulness that the travellers were under the shelter of the +Manor roof, instead of being exposed to the rough blasts of the storm, +as they might still have been had the mishap occurred further from home. +"Walter, my boy," exclaimed Mr Huntingdon, stretching out his hand to +his younger son, "it was bravely done. If it had not been for you, we +might have been hanging over the mouth of the chalk-pit yet--or, +perhaps, been down at the bottom. You are a lad after your father's own +heart,--good old-fashioned English pluck and courage; there's nothing I +admire so much." As he said these words, his eye glanced for a moment +at his eldest son Amos, who was standing at the outside of the group, as +though he felt that the older brother had no claim on his regard on the +score of courage. The young man coloured slightly, but made no remark. +He might, had he so pleased, have put in his claim for loving notice, on +the ground of presence of mind in stilling the plunging horse,--presence +of mind, which commonly contributes more to success and deliverance in +an emergency than impulsive and impetuous courage; but he was not one to +assert himself, and the coachman and stable-boy, who knew the part he +had taken, were not present to speak a word for him. So his younger +brother Walter got the praise, and was looked upon as the hero of the +adventure. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +UNDER A CLOUD. + +Mr Huntingdon was a country gentleman of good fortune and popular +manners, warm in his temper, hasty in his speech, upright in his +transactions, and liberal in his dealings. No man could make a better +speech, when he had those to address who substantially agreed with him; +while in ordinary conversation he generally succeeded in silencing an +opponent, though, perhaps, more by the vehemence of his utterances than +by the cogency of his reasonings. He had a considerable knowledge of +field-sports and farming, rather less of literature, and less still of +character. Naturally, he had a high opinion of his own judgment, in +which opinion his dependants agreed with him before his face, but +differed from it behind his back. However, every one allowed that he +was a worthy man, a good landlord, a kind master, and a faithful friend. +A cloud, however, rested on his home. + +He had married early, and had made, in the estimation of his friends and +of the county generally, an excellent choice of a wife in the person of +the eldest daughter of a neighbouring squire. The marriage was +apparently a very happy one; for the bride brought her husband a fair +face, a loving heart, and a good fortune, and entertained his friends +with due courtesy and cordiality. Moreover, she neither thwarted his +tastes nor squandered his money; while he, on his part, pursued his +hunting, shooting, and fishing, and his occasional magisterial duties, +with due consideration for his wife's domestic and social engagements, +so that their married life ran its course with as little friction or +creaking as could reasonably be expected. Then there came, in due time, +the children: first, a little girl, the object of her mother's +passionate love, and as dear to her father as the mistake of her not +having been a boy would allow her to be; then, after an interval of +three years, came a son. + +Now it so happened that at the time of this son's birth there was +residing as a guest at the Manor-house a middle-aged gentleman reputed +to be very rich. His name was Amos Sutterby. Mr Huntingdon had met +him abroad in the second year after his marriage when taking a tour in +Switzerland with his wife. Mr Sutterby was an old bachelor, rather +bluff in his manners, but evidently in easy circumstances. The +Huntingdons and himself had met on the Rigi, and the squire had taken to +him at once--in a great measure, it may be, because Mr Amos was a good +listener, and was very ready to ask Mr Huntingdon's opinion and advice. +So the squire gave his new acquaintance a general invitation to +Flixworth Manor, which the other cordially accepted: and in a little +while this acquaintanceship ripened into a steady friendship, though by +no means entirely to the satisfaction of Mrs Huntingdon. The result, +however, was that Mr Sutterby spent several weeks of every year, at the +close of the summer and beginning of the autumn, at the Manor, and was +the constant companion of the squire in his field-sports. Mr +Huntingdon had taken care to satisfy himself that his new friend, though +somewhat of an oddity, was a man of substance. True, he was only living +in bachelor style, and possessed no landed property; but then he was +able at all times to command ready money, and was reputed by persons who +had long known him to be the holder of a large amount in the funds, an +impression which seemed to be justified by some elegant and costly +presents of which Mr Sutterby begged his friend's acceptance, as a +token of his esteem and a mark of his appreciation of that kind +hospitality which, as he said, an eccentric old bachelor living in +lodgings in London was unable to return in kind. + +Now it was, as has been said, during a visit of Mr Sutterby to +Flixworth Manor that a son and heir was given to the Huntingdons. Of +course there were great rejoicings, and no one seemed more glad than Mr +Sutterby; and when he was asked if he would stand godfather to the +child, he declared that nothing could please him more. So the +christening day was fixed, and now the question of a name for the child +was discussed, as father, mother, and their guest were sitting round the +fire after dinner on the first day of Mrs Huntingdon's appearing +downstairs. + +"Of course he must be `Walter,' after yourself," said the lady. + +"Unless you would like to call him `Amos,' after his godfather," said +the squire, laughing. + +"Capital!" exclaimed Mr Sutterby, with a roar of merriment. "In that +case, of course, I shall feel it nothing less than my duty to make him +my heir." + +Now these words of their guest, though spoken just on the spur of the +moment, and probably only in jest, made an impression on the mind of Mr +Huntingdon which he could not get rid of. Why should not his friend +have really meant what he said? He was rich, and an old bachelor, and +had no near relations, so far as the squire knew; and though Mr +Huntingdon's estate and fortune were large, yet his open-house way of +living left him little to spare at the year's end, so that Mr +Sutterby's money would be very acceptable, should he see fit to leave it +to his godson. He therefore represented this view of the matter to his +wife in private; but she would not hear of such a name as Amos being +given to her son. + +"Better lose a thousand fortunes, and quarrel with every friend they had +or might have, rather than bring such an odious combination as `Amos +Huntingdon' into the family genealogy." The squire's temper, however, +was roused by this opposition, and he wound up the only sharp +altercation which had occurred between himself and his wife since their +marriage by a vehement asseveration that "Amos" and nothing but "Amos" +should be the Christian name of his first-born son. + +Sorely against her will, his wife was obliged to yield; for though Mr +Huntingdon had his own secret regrets that he had gone so far, yet he +was one of those who, wanting that true greatness of character which +leads its possessor to change a hastily adopted decision for one +resulting from a maturer judgment, abide by what they have said simply +because they have said it, and thus mistake obstinacy for a right-minded +firmness. "Amos," therefore, was the name given, considerably to the +satisfaction of Mr Sutterby, who made his godson handsome presents from +time to time, and often spoke of him playfully as "my godson and heir." +His mother, however, never forgave his name, and it was clear to all +that the poor child himself had but a cold place in that mother's heart. + +What wonder, then, that the boy grew up shy and reserved, dreading the +sound of his own name, and shrinking within himself; for seldom was he +gladdened by a father's or mother's smile. Added to this, he was not +naturally of a lively temperament, and so never exhibited those +boisterous spirits which might have won for him in a measure his +father's heart. So he was brought up with all due care, as was suitable +for an eldest son, and was sent to a public school as soon as he could +be safely trusted from home. Indeed, all his wants were supplied but +one, and that one was what his heart craved with a painful intensity-- +love. They gave him no real love, at least none that came like sunshine +to his spirit. Such love as they did measure out to him was rather like +the feeble sunlight on a cloudy winter day, that seems to chill as it +scarcely struggles through the mists that almost quench it. + +Such was Amos Huntingdon in his early childhood. But the cloud grew +darker over him when he had reached the age of ten. It was then that +the news came one morning that Mr Sutterby had died, leaving no will, +for indeed he had nothing to bequeath except a few small personal +effects, which went to some distant cousin. The fact was that, having +an eye to his own personal comfort and well-doing, he had sunk a nice +little fortune, which he had inherited from a maiden aunt, in a handsome +annuity. Thus he was able to travel and spend his money like a man of +wealth, and was very glad of the opportunity of making Mr Huntingdon's +acquaintance, which gave him access to a house where he could spend a +portion of every year amidst bountiful hospitality and in good society. +He had no deliberate intention of deceiving Mr Huntingdon about his +son, but having once given him the impression that he would leave that +son a fortune, he did not trouble himself to undeceive his friend on the +subject; but being a man in whom self-interest spoke with a louder voice +than conscience, he was not sorry to find the conviction strongly rooted +in the squire's mind that Amos was to be his godfather's heir, as this +conviction evidently added to the warmth of the welcome with which he +was received at the Manor-house whenever he chose to take up his +quarters there. And as he had always carefully avoided making any +definite statement of his intentions, and had only thrown out hints from +time to time, which might be either serious or playful, he was content +that a state of things should continue which brought considerable +satisfaction to himself, and could not deprive the squire or his son of +anything to which either had a legal claim. The disgust, however, of +Mr Huntingdon, when he found out how he had, as he considered it, been +taken advantage of and imposed upon, was intense in the extreme. No one +dared refer to Mr Sutterby in his presence, while the very name of the +poor boy Amos was scarcely ever spoken by him except in a tone of +bitterness; and even his mother looked forward to his holidays with more +of apprehension than rejoicing. + +There was one, however, who felt for that desolate-hearted child, and +loved him with a mother's tenderness. This was his aunt, Miss +Huntingdon, his father's unmarried and only sister. Half his holidays +would be spent at her house; and oh, what happy days they were for him! +Happy, too, at last in the brightest and fullest sense; for that loving +friend was privileged to lead her nephew gently to Him who says to the +shy schoolboy, as much as to the mature man, in his sorrows, "Come unto +me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." + +In the meanwhile, when Amos was five years old, another son was born at +Flixworth Manor. The baby was christened Walter, and nearly all the +love that was the share of the elder brother was poured by both father +and mother on the younger son. Years rolled on, and when our story +opens Amos was twenty-two years of age. He had passed creditably +through the university course at Oxford, but had not settled down to any +profession. Walter was seventeen; his father's delight and constant +companion in his holidays; full of life, energy, and fun, with an +unlimited good opinion of himself, and a very limited good opinion of +his brother; while all around who knew him only a little were loud in +his praises, which were not, however, echoed by those who knew him more +thoroughly. At present he was remaining at home, after completing his +school education, neither his father nor himself being able to make up +their minds as to the sphere in which his abilities would shine the +best. + +And where was his sister, the eldest of the three, who was now twenty- +five years of age? Alas! she had grievously disappointed the hopes of +both father and mother, having clandestinely married, when not yet +arrived at womanhood, a man altogether beneath her in position. From +the day of that marriage Mr Huntingdon's heart and house were closed +against her. Not so the heart of her mother; but that mother pleaded +with her husband in vain for a reconciliation, for permission even to +have a single meeting with her erring child. And so the poor mother's +mind came under partial eclipse, and herself had been some years away +from home under private superintendence, when the accident above +recorded occurred to her husband and his sister. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +A TALK AT THE BREAKFAST-TABLE. + +The morning after the accident, Miss Huntingdon, who was now keeping her +brother's house, and had been returning with him the night before after +a visit to a friend, appeared as usual at the breakfast-table, rather to +Mr Huntingdon's surprise. + +"My dear Kate," he said, "I hardly expected to see you at breakfast, +after your fright, and shaking, and bruising. Most ladies would have +spent the morning in bed; but I am delighted to see you, and take it for +granted that you are not seriously the worse for the mishap." + +"Thank you, dear Walter," was her reply; "I cannot say that I feel very +brilliant this morning, but I thought it would be kinder in me to show +myself, and so relieve you from all anxiety, as I have been mercifully +preserved from anything worse than a severe shaking, the effects of +which will wear off in a day or two, I have no doubt." + +"Well, Kate, I must say it's just like yourself, never thinking of your +own feelings when you can save other people's. Why, you are almost as +brave as our hero Walter, who risked his own neck to get us out of our +trouble last night.--Ah! here he comes, and Amos after him. Well, +that's perhaps as it should be--honour to whom honour is due." + +A cloud rested on Miss Huntingdon's face as she heard these last words, +and it was deepened as she observed a smile of evident exultation on the +countenance of her younger nephew, as he glanced at the flushed face of +his elder brother. But now all seated themselves at the table, and the +previous evening's disaster was the all-absorbing topic of conversation. + +"Well," said the squire, "things might have been worse, no doubt, though +it may be some time before the horses will get over their fright, and +the carriage must go to the coachmaker's at once.--By-the-by, Harry," +speaking to the butler, who was waiting at table, "just tell James, when +you have cleared away breakfast, to see to that fence at once. It must +be made a good substantial job of, or we shall have broken bones, and +broken necks too, perhaps, one of these days." + +"I hope, Walter," said his sister, "the horses were not seriously +injured." + +"No, I think not," was his reply; "nothing very much to speak of. +Charlie has cut one of his hind legs rather badly,--that must have been +when he flung out and broke away; but Beauty hasn't got a scratch, I'm +pleased to say, and seems all right." + +"And yourself, Walter?" + +"Oh, I'm all safe and sound, except a few bruises and a bit of a +sprained wrist.--And now, my boy, Walter, I must thank you once more for +your courage and spirit. But for you, your aunt and myself might have +been lying at the bottom of the chalk-pit, instead of sitting here at +the breakfast-table." + +Walter laughed his thanks for the praise, declaring that he exceedingly +enjoyed getting his father and aunt on to dry land, only he was sorry +for the carriage and horses. But here the butler--who was an old and +privileged servant in the family, and therefore considered himself at +liberty to offer occasionally a remark when anything was discussed at +table in which he was personally interested--interrupted. + +"If you please, sir, I think Master Amos hasn't had his share of the +praise. 'Twas him as wouldn't let us cut the traces, and then stood by +Beauty and kept her still. I don't know where you'd have been, sir, nor +Miss Huntingdon neither, if it hadn't been for Master Amos's presence of +mind." + +"Ah, well, perhaps so," said his master, not best pleased with the +remark; while Amos turned red, and motioned to the butler to keep +silent. "Presence of mind is a very useful thing in its way, no doubt; +but give me good manly courage,--there's nothing like that, to my +mind.--What do _you_ say, Kate?" + +"Well, Walter," replied his sister slowly and gravely, "I am afraid I +can hardly quite agree with you there. Not that I wish to take away any +of the credit which is undoubtedly due to Walter. I am sure we are all +deeply indebted to him; and yet I cannot but feel that we are equally +indebted to Amos's presence of mind." + +"Oh, give him his due, by all means," said the squire, a little nettled +at his sister's remark; "but, after all, good old English courage for +me. But, of course, as a woman, you naturally don't value courage as we +men do." + +"Do you think not, Walter? Perhaps some of us do not admire courage +quite in the same way, or the same sort of courage most; but I think +there can be no one of right feeling, either man or woman, who does not +admire real courage." + +"I don't know what you mean, Kate, about `the same sort of courage.' +Courage is courage, I suppose, pretty much the same in everybody who has +it." + +"I was thinking of moral courage," replied the other quietly; "and that +often goes with presence of mind." + +"Moral courage! moral courage! I don't understand you," said her +brother impatiently. "What do you mean by moral courage?" + +"Well, dear brother, I don't want to vex you; I was only replying to +your question. I admire natural courage, however it is shown, but I +admire moral courage most." + +"Well, but you have not told me what you mean by moral courage." + +"I will try and explain myself then. Moral courage, as I understand it, +is shown when a person has the bravery and strength of character to act +from principle, when doing so may subject him, and he knows it, to +misunderstanding, misrepresentation, opposition, ridicule, or +persecution." + +The squire was silent for a moment, and fidgeted on his chair. Amos +coloured and cast down his eyes; while his brother looked up at his aunt +with an expression on his face of mingled annoyance and defiance. Then +Mr Huntingdon asked, "Well, but what's to hinder a person having both +what I should call old-fashioned courage and your moral courage at the +same time?" + +"Nothing to hinder it, necessarily," replied Miss Huntingdon. "Very +commonly, however, they do not go together; or perhaps I ought rather to +say, that while persons who have moral courage often have natural +courage too, a great many persons who have natural courage have no moral +courage." + +"You mean, aunt, I suppose," said her nephew Walter, rather +sarcastically, "that the one's all `dash' and the other all `duty.'" + +"Something of the kind, Walter," replied his aunt. "The one acts upon a +sudden impulse, or on the spur of the moment, or from natural spirit; +the other acts steadily, and from deliberate conviction." + +"Can you give us an example, aunt?" asked the boy, but now with more of +respect and less of irritation in his manner. + +"Yes, I can," she replied; "and I will do so if you like, and my example +shall be that of one who combined both natural and moral courage. My +moral hero is Christopher Columbus." + +"A regular brick of a man, I allow; but, dear aunt, pray go on." + +"Well, then, I have always had a special admiration for Columbus because +of his noble and unwavering moral courage. Just think of what he had to +contend with. It was enough to daunt the stoutest heart and wear out +the most enduring patience. Convinced that somewhere across the ocean +to the west there must be a new and undiscovered world, and that it +would be the most glorious of enterprises to find that new world and +plant the standard of the Cross among its people, he never wavered in +his one all-absorbing purpose of voyaging to those unknown shores and +winning them for Christ. And yet, from the very first, he met with +every possible discouragement, and had obstacle upon obstacle piled up +in his path. He was laughed to scorn as a half-mad enthusiast; +denounced as a blasphemer and gainsayer of Scripture truth; cried down +as an ignoramus, unworthy of the slightest attention from men of +science; tantalised by half promises; wearied by vexatious delays: and +yet never did his courage fail nor his purpose waver. At last, after +years of hope deferred and anxieties which made him grey while still in +the prime of life, he was permitted to set sail on what was generally +believed to be a desperate crusade, with no probable issue but death. +And just picture him to yourself, Walter, as he set out on that voyage +amidst the sullen murmurs and tears of the people. His ships were three +`caravels,' as they were called,--that is, something the same as our +coasting colliers, or barges,--and there was no deck in two of them. +Besides, they were crazy, leaky, and scarcely seaworthy; and the crews +numbered only one hundred and twenty men, most of them pressed, and all +hating the service. Nevertheless, he ventured with these into an ocean +without any known shore; and on he went with one fixed, unalterable +purpose, and that was to sail westward, westward, westward till he came +to land. Days and weeks went by, but no land was seen. Provisions ran +short, and every day's course made return home more hopeless. But still +his mind never changed; still he plunged on across that trackless waste +of waters. The men mutinied--and one can hardly blame them; but he +subdued them by his force of character,--they saw in his eye that which +told them that their leader was no common man, but one who would die +rather than abandon his marvellous enterprise. And you remember the +end? The very day after the mutiny, a branch of thorn with berries on +it floats by them. They are all excitement. Then a small board +appears; then a rudely-carved stick; then at night Columbus sees a +light, and next day lands on the shores of his new world, after a voyage +of more than two months over seas hitherto unexplored by man, and in +vessels which nothing but a special providence could have kept from +foundering in the mighty waters. The man who could carry out such a +purpose in the teeth of such overwhelming opposition, discouragement, +and difficulty, may well claim our admiration for courage of the highest +and noblest order." + +No one spoke for a moment, and then Mr Huntingdon said, "Well, Kate, +Columbus was a brave man, no doubt, and deserves the best you can say of +him; and I think I see what you mean, from his case, about the greatness +and superiority of moral courage." + +"I am glad, Walter, that I have satisfied you on that point," was her +reply. "You see there was no sudden excitement to call out or sustain +his courage. It was the bravery of principle, not of mere impulse. It +was so grand because it stood the strain, a daily-increasing strain, of +troubles, trials, and hindrances, which kept multiplying in front of him +every day and hour as he pressed forward; and it never for a moment gave +way under that strain." + +"It was grand indeed, aunt," said Walter. "I am afraid my courage would +have oozed out of every part of me before I had been a week on board one +of those caravels. So all honour to Christopher Columbus and moral +courage." + +That same morning, when Miss Huntingdon was at work in her own private +sitting-room, there came a knock at the door, followed by the head of +Walter peeping round it. + +"May I come in, auntie? I've a favour to ask of you." + +"Come in, dear boy." + +"Well, Aunt Kate, I've been thinking over what you said at breakfast +about moral courage, and I begin to see that I am uncommonly short of +it, and that Amos has got my share of it as well as his own." + +"But that need not be, Walter," said his aunt; "at least it need not +continue to be so." + +"I don't know, auntie; perhaps not. But, at any rate, what father calls +old-fashioned courage is more in my line; and yet I don't want to be +quite without moral courage as well,--so will you promise me just two +things?" + +"What are they, Walter?" + +"Why, the first is to give me a bit of a hint whenever you see me--what +I suppose I ought to call acting like a moral coward." + +"Well, dear boy, I can do that. But how am I to give the hint if others +are by? for you would not like me to speak out before your father or the +servants." + +"I'll tell you, auntie, what you shall do--that is to say, of course, if +you don't mind. Whenever you see me showing moral cowardice, or want of +moral courage, and I suppose that comes much to the same thing, and you +would like to give me a hint without speaking, would you put one of your +hands quietly on the table, and then the other across it--just so--and +leave them crossed till I notice them?" + +"Yes, Walter, I can do that, and I _will_ do it; though I daresay you +will sometimes think me hard and severe." + +"Never mind that, auntie; it will do me good." + +"Well, dear boy, and what is the other thing I am to promise?" + +"Why, this,--I want you, the first opportunity after the hint, when you +and I are alone together, to tell me some story--it must be a true one, +mind--of some good man or woman, or boy or girl, who has shown moral +courage just where I didn't show it. `Example is better than precept,' +they say, and I am sure it is a great help to me; for I shan't forget +Christopher Columbus and his steady moral courage in a hurry." + +"I am very glad to hear what you say, Walter," replied his aunt; "and it +will give me great pleasure to do what you wish. My dear, dear nephew, +I do earnestly desire to see you grow up into a truly noble man, and I +want to be, as far as God permits me, in the place of a mother to you." + +As Miss Huntingdon uttered these words with deep emotion, Walter flung +his arms passionately round her, and, sinking on his knees, buried his +face in her lap, while tears and sobs, such as he was little accustomed +to give vent to, burst from him. + +"O auntie!" he said vehemently, when he had a little recovered himself, +"I know I am not what I ought to be, with all my dash and courage, which +pleases father so much. I'm quite sure that there's a deal of humbug in +me after all. It's very nice to please him, and to hear him praise me +and call me brave; but I should like to please you too. It would be +worth more, in one way, to have _your_ praise, though father is very +kind." + +"Well, my dear boy, I hope you will be able to please me too, and, +better still, to please God." She spoke gently and almost sadly as she +said these words, kissing at the same time Walter's fair brow. + +"I'm afraid, auntie," was the boy's reply, "I don't think much about +that. But Amos does, I know; and though I laugh at him sometimes, yet I +respect him for all that, and I believe he will turn out the true hero +after all." + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +THE CRIPPLED HORSE. + +Nature and circumstances had produced widely differing characters in the +two brothers. Walter, forward enough by natural temperament, and ready +to assert himself on all occasions, was brought more forward still and +encouraged in self-esteem and self-indulgence, by the injudicious +fondness of both his parents. Handsome in person, with a merry smile +and a ripple of joyousness rarely absent from his bright face, he was +the favourite of all guests at his father's house, and a sharer in their +field-sports and pastimes. That his father and mother loved him better +than they loved Amos it was impossible for him not to see; and, as he +grew to mature boyhood, a feeling of envy, when he heard both parents +regret that himself was not their heir, drew his heart further and +further from his elder brother, and led him to exhibit what he +considered his superiority to him as ostentatiously as possible, that +all men might see what a mistake Nature had made in the order of time in +which she had introduced the two sons into the family. Not that Walter +really hated his brother; he would have been shocked to admit to himself +the faintest shadow of such a feeling, for he was naturally generous and +of warm affections; but he clearly looked upon his elder brother as +decidedly in his way and in the wrong place, and often made a butt of +him, considering it quite fair to play off his sarcasms and jokes on one +who had stolen a march upon him by coming into the world before him as +heir of the family estate. And now that their mother--who had made no +secret of her preference of Walter to her elder son--was removed from +them, the cords of Mr Huntingdon's affections were wound tighter than +ever round his younger son, in whom he could scarce see a fault, however +glaringly visible it might be to others; while poor Amos's shortcomings +received the severest censure, and his weaknesses were visited on him as +sins. No wonder, then, that, spite of the difference in their ages and +order of birth, Walter Huntingdon looked upon himself as a colossal +figure in the household, and on his poor brother as a cipher. + +On the other hand, Amos, if he had been of a similar temperament to his +brother, would have been inevitably more or less cowed and driven into +himself by the circumstances which surrounded him, and the treatment +which he undeservedly received at the hands of his parents and younger +brother. Being, however, naturally of a shy and nervous disposition, he +would have been completely crushed under the burden of heartless +neglect, and his heart frozen up by the withholding of a father's and +mother's love, had it not been for the gentle and deep affection of his +aunt, Miss Huntingdon, who was privileged to lead that poor, desolate, +craving heart to Him whose special office it is to pour a heavenly balm +into the wounded spirit. In herself, too, he found a source of comfort +from her pitying love, which in a measure took the place of that which +his nearest ought to have given him, but did not. And so, as boy and +young man, Amos Huntingdon learned, under the severe discipline of his +earthly home, lessons which were moulding his character to a nobility +which few suspected, who, gazing on that timid, shrinking youth, went on +their way with a glance or shrug of pity. But so it was. + +Amos had formed a mighty purpose; it was to be the one object of his +earthly life, to which everything was to bend till he had accomplished +it. But who would have thought of such an iron resolution of will in a +breast like that poor boy's? For to him an ordinary conversation was a +trial, and to speak in company an effort, though it was but to answer a +simple question. If a stranger asked his opinion, a nervous blush +covered his face as he forced out a reply. The solitude which others +found irksome had special charms for him. With one person only in his +own home did he feel really at ease,--that person was his aunt, for he +believed that she in a measure really understood and sympathised with +him. And yet that shy, nervous, retiring young man, down-trodden and +repulsed as he was, was possessed by one grand and all-absorbing +purpose: it was this, to bring back his sister to her father's home +forgiven, and his mother to that same home with the cloud removed from +her mind and spirit. + +That both these objects _might_ be accomplished he was firmly persuaded. +At the same time, he was fully aware that to every one else who knew +his father and the circumstances which had led to the sad estrangement +of the daughter and removal of the mother, such a restoration as he +contemplated bringing about would appear absolutely hopeless. Yet he +himself had no doubts on the subject. The conviction that his purpose +might and would be accomplished was stamped into his soul as by an +indelible brand. He was perfectly sure that every hindrance could be +removed, though _how_ he could not tell. But there stood up this +conviction ever facing him, ever beckoning him on, as though a messenger +from an unseen world. Not that he was ignorant of nor underrated the +magnitude of the obstacles in his way. He knew and felt most +oppressively that everything almost was against him. The very thought +of speaking to his father on the subject made a chill shudder creep over +him. To move a single step in the direction of the attainment of his +object required an effort from which his retiring nature shrank as if +stung by a spark of white heat. The opposition, direct or indirect, of +those nearest to him was terrible even to contemplate, and was magnified +while yet at a distance through the haze of his morbid sensitiveness. +Yet his conviction and purpose remained unshaken. He was, moreover, +fully aware that neither mother nor sister had any deep affection for +him, and that, should he gain the end he had set before him, he might +get no nearer to their hearts than the place he now occupied. It +mattered not; he had devoted himself to his great object as to a work of +holy self-denial and labour of love, and from the pursuit of that object +nothing should move him, but onward he would struggle towards its +attainment, with the steady determination which would crush through +hindrances and obstacles by the weight of its tremendous earnestness. + +This purpose had hovered before his thoughts in dim outline while he was +yet a boy, and had at length assumed its full and clear proportions +while he was at Oxford. There it was that he became acquainted with a +Christian young man who, pitying his loneliness and appreciating his +character, had sought and by degrees obtained his friendship, and, in a +measure, his confidence, as far as he was able to give it. To his +surprise Amos discovered that his new friend's father was the physician +under whose charge and in whose house his own mother, Mrs Huntingdon, +had been placed. Mr Huntingdon had kept the matter a profound secret +from his own children, and no member of his household ever ventured to +allude to the poor lady or to her place of retirement, and it was only +by an inadvertence on his young friend's part that Amos became aware of +his mother's present abode. But this knowledge, after the first +excitement of surprise had passed away, only strengthened the purpose +which had gradually taken its settled hold upon his heart. It was to +him a new and important link in the chain of events which would lead, he +knew, finally to the accomplishment of his one great resolve. And so he +determined to communicate with his friend's father, the physician, and +ascertain from him in confidence his opinion of his mother's mental +condition, and whether there was any possibility of her restoration to +sanity. The reply to his inquiries was that his mother's case was far +from hopeless; and with this he was satisfied. Then he took the letter +which conveyed the opinion of the physician to him, and, spreading it +out before God in his chamber, solemnly and earnestly dedicated himself +to the work of restoration, asking guidance and strength from on high. + +From that day forward he was gradually maturing his plans, being ever on +the watch to catch any ray of light which might show him where to place +a footstep on the road which led up to the end he had in view. Earthly +counsellors he had none; he dared not have any--at least not at present. +Even Miss Huntingdon knew nothing of his purpose from himself, though +she had some suspicions of his having devoted himself to some special +work, gathered from her own study of his character and conduct; but +these suspicions she kept entirely to herself, prepared to advise or +assist should Amos give her his confidence in the matter, and seek her +counsel or help. Such was the position of things when our story opens. +Amos was waiting, hoping, watching; but no onward step had been taken +since he had received the physician's letter. + +A fortnight passed away after the accident, when Miss Huntingdon, who +had now completely recovered from her fright and bruises, was coming out +of a labouring man's cottage on a fine and cheery afternoon. As she +stood on the doorstep exchanging a few parting words with the cottager's +wife, she was startled by the sound of furious galloping not far off, +and shrank back into the cottage, naturally dreading the sight of an +excited horse so soon after her perilous upset in her brother's +carriage. Nearer and nearer came the violent clatter, and, as she +involuntarily turned her eyes towards the road with a nervous terror, +she was both alarmed and surprised to see her nephew Walter and another +young man dashing past on horseback at whirlwind speed, the animals on +which they rode being covered with foam. + +In a few moments all was still again, and Miss Huntingdon continued her +rounds, but, as she turned the corner of a lane which led up to the back +of the Manor-house, she was startled at seeing her nephew Walter in +front of her on foot, covered with mud, and leading his horse, which was +limping along with difficulty, being evidently in pain. His companion +was walking by his side, also leading his horse, and both were so +absorbed with their present trouble that they were quite unconscious of +her approach. Something plainly was much amiss. Walter had had a fall, +and his horse was injured; of this there could be no doubt. Could she +be of any service? She was just going to press forward, when she +observed Mr Huntingdon's groom coming from the direction of the house, +and, as her nephew did not walk as if he had received any serious +injury, she thought it better to leave him to put matters straight for +himself, knowing that young men are very sensitive about being +interfered with or helped when their pride has been wounded by any +humiliating catastrophe. So she turned aside into a small copse through +which was a short cut to the house, intending to go forward and be +prepared to render any assistance should Walter desire it. + +None of the party had seen her, but she passed near enough to them on +the other side of a tall hedge to overhear the words, "Won't the +governor just be mad!" and then, "Here's a sovereign, Dick, and I'll +make it all straight for you with my father." What could have happened? +She was not long left in suspense; for her brother's voice in high +anger soon resounded through the house, and she learned from her maid, +who rushed into her room full of excitement, that Forester, Mr +Huntingdon's favourite hunter, had been lamed, and otherwise seriously +injured, and that Dick the groom, who had been the author of the +mischief, had been dismissed at a moment's notice. + +Poor Miss Huntingdon's heart misgave her that all had not been quite +straightforward in the matter, and that the blame had been laid on the +wrong person. So she went down to dinner, at the summoning of the gong, +with a heavy heart. As she entered the drawing-room she saw her +brother, who usually advanced to give her his arm with all due courtesy, +sitting still in his easy-chair, hiding his face with the newspaper, +which a glance showed her to be turned the wrong way up. Amos also and +Walter were seated as far apart from their father and from each other as +was possible, and for a few moments not a word was spoken. Then, +suddenly remembering himself, the squire dismissed the paper from his +hand with an irritable jerk, and, with the words, "I suppose that means +dinner," gave his arm to his sister, and conducted her in silence to the +dining-room. + +Nothing in the shape of conversation followed for a while, Mr +Huntingdon having shut up his sister by a very curt reply to a question +which she put on some commonplace subject, just for the sake of breaking +through the oppressive stillness. At length, when the meal was half-way +through, Mr Huntingdon exclaimed abruptly,-- + +"I can't understand for the life of me how that fool of a Dick ever +managed to get poor Forester into such a scrape. I always thought the +boy understood horses better than that." + +"I hope, Walter," ventured his sister in a soothing tone, "that the poor +animal is not seriously, or at any rate permanently, damaged." + +"Nonsense, Kate," he exclaimed peevishly;--"but, pardon me, it's no +fault of yours. Damaged! I should think so. I doubt if he will ever +be fit to ride again. But I can't make it out quite yet, it's very +vexing. I had rather have given a hundred pounds than it should have +happened. And Dick, too; the fellow told the queerest tale about it. I +should have thought he was telling a lie, only he was taking the blame +to himself, and that didn't look like lying.--By-the-by, Amos, have +_you_ been out riding this afternoon?" + +"Yes, father." + +"What horse did you ride?" + +"My own pony, Prince." + +"Did you meet Dick exercising the horses?" + +"No; I didn't see anything of him." + +"That is strange. Where were you riding to?" + +"I was off on a little business beyond the moor." + +"Beyond the moor! what can you have been wanting beyond the moor?" + +Amos turned red and did not reply. + +"I don't know what has come to the boy," said the squire surlily. But +now Walter, who had not uttered a word hitherto, broke in suddenly, +"Father, you mustn't be hard upon Dick. It's a misfortune, after all. +There isn't a better rider anywhere; only accidents will happen +sometimes, as you know they did the other night. Forester bolted when +the little girl's red cloak blew off and flapped right on to his eyes. +Dick was not expecting it, and tried to keep the horses in; but Forester +sprang right through a hedge and staked himself before Dick could pull +him in. It's a mercy, I think, that Dick hadn't his neck broke." + +He said these last words slowly and reluctantly, for his eye had rested +on his aunt's hands, which were being laid quietly one across the other +on the table in front of her. + +"Red cloak!" exclaimed the squire; "why, Dick told me it was a boy's hat +that blew off and flapped against Forester's eyes." + +"Ah! well, father, it may have been a hat. I thought he said a cloak; +but it comes pretty much to the same thing." + +There was an unsteadiness about the boy's voice as he said these last +words which every one noticed except his father. The subject, however, +was now dropped, and was not again alluded to during the evening. + +Next morning after breakfast Walter knocked at his aunt's door. When he +had entered and taken the offered chair by her side, he sat for a minute +or so with eyes cast down, and silent. + +"Well, Walter," she said after a while. + +"_Ill_, auntie," he replied, in a voice between a laugh and a sigh. + +"What is it, dear Walter?" + +"Only those two hands of yours, dear auntie." + +"Was there not a cause, Walter?" + +No reply. + +"Shall I tell you one of the stories you asked me to tell about moral +courage?" + +"Do, auntie dear," he said in a low tearful voice. + +"My hero this morning, Walter, is George Washington, the great American +general and statesman, the man who had so much to do in the founding of +that great republic which is called the United States. A braver man +never lived; but he was a brave boy too, brave with moral courage. Not +that he wanted natural courage in his early years, for at school none +could beat him in leaping, wrestling, swimming, and other athletic +exercises. When he was about six years old, his father gave him a new +hatchet one day. George was highly pleased, and went about cutting and +hacking everything in his way. Unfortunately, amongst other things he +used the hatchet with all the force of his little arm on a young English +cherry tree, which happened to be a great favourite with his father. +Without thinking of the mischief he was doing, George greatly injured +the valuable tree. When his father saw what was done he was very angry, +and asked the servants who had dared to injure the tree. They said they +knew nothing of it; when little George entering the room and hearing the +inquiry, though he saw that his father was very angry, went straight up +to him, his cheeks colouring crimson as he spoke, and cried, `I did it. +I cannot tell a lie. I cut your cherry tree with my hatchet.' `My +noble boy,' said his father, as he clasped him in his arms, `I would +rather lose a hundred cherry-trees, were their blossoms of silver and +their fruit of gold, than that a son of mine should dare to tell a +lie.'--Dear Walter, that was true noble courage; and George Washington +grew up with it. Those are beautiful lines of one of our old poets, +George Herbert,-- + + "`Dare to be true, nothing can need a lie; + The fault that needs it most grows two thereby.'" + +She paused. Her nephew kept silent for a time, nervously twisting the +fringe of her little work-table; and then he said very slowly and +sadly,-- + +"So, auntie, you have found me out. Yes, I've been a beastly coward, +and I'm heartily ashamed of myself." + +"Well, dear boy," replied his aunt, "tell me all about it; happily, it +is never too late to mend." + +"Yes, dear Aunt Kate, I'll tell you all. Bob Saunders called yesterday +just after luncheon, and asked me to go out for a ride with him, and if +I could give him a mount, for his own horse was laid up with some +outlandish complaint. I didn't like to say `No;' but my own pony, +Punch, was gone to be shod, and Bob had no time to wait. Well, Dick was +just coming out of the yard as I got into it; he was riding Forester and +leading Bessie, to exercise them. `That'll do,' I said. `Here, Dick; +I'll take Forester out and give him a trot, and Mr Saunders can ride +Bessie.' `Please, Master Walter,' says Dick, `your father's very +particular. I don't know what he'll say to me if I let you exercise +Forester.' `Oh, nonsense!' I said. `I'll make that all straight.' +Dick didn't like it; but I wouldn't be denied, so he let us mount, and +begged me to be very careful. `Never fear,' I said; `we'll bring them +both back as cool as cucumbers.' And I meant it, auntie. But somehow +or other our spirits got the better of us; it was such a fine afternoon, +and the horses seemed wild for a gallop; so at last Bob Saunders said, +`What do you say, Walter, to a half-mile race just on to the top of the +common? it'll do them no harm.' Well, I didn't say yes or no; but +somehow or other, off we were in another minute, and, do what I would, I +couldn't keep Forester back. Down the lane we went, and right over the +common like lightning, and, when I was pulling hard to get Forester +round, he went smack through a hedge, and left me on the wrong side of +it. Bob laughed at first, but we soon saw that it was no laughing +matter. He caught Forester directly, for the poor beast had hurt his +foot, and limped along as he walked; and there was an ugly wound in his +chest from a pointed stick in the hedge which had struck him. So we +crawled home, all of us in a nice pickle, you may be sure. And then I +began to think of what father would say, and I couldn't bear to think +that he would have to blame me for it all; so I turned into a regular +sneaking coward, and gave Dick a sovereign to tell a lie and take the +blame on himself, promising him to make it all right with my father. +There, auntie, that's just the whole of it; and I'm sure I never knew +what a coward I was before. But only let me get well through this +scrape, and my name's not Walter if I ever get into such another." + +"And now, dear boy, what are you going to do about this matter?" asked +his aunt after a pause. + +"Do, auntie? I'm sure I don't know; I've done too much already. It's a +bad business at the best, and I don't see that I can do anything about +it without making it worse." + +"Then, Walter, is the burden still to rest on the wrong shoulders? and +is Dick to be punished for your fault?" + +"Oh, as to that, auntie, Dick shan't be the worse for it in the end: he +has had a _sovereign_ remedy already; and I'll beg him off from being +turned away when I see my father has quite cooled down." + +Miss Huntingdon said nothing in reply, but laid one of her hands across +the other on her little work-table. Walter saw the action, but turned +his head away and fidgeted in his chair. At last he said, "That's +rather hard, auntie, to make me a moral coward again so soon." + +"Is it hard, Walter?" she replied gently. "The next best thing to not +doing wrong is to be sorry for it when you have done it." + +"Well, Aunt Kate, I _am_ sorry--terribly sorry. I wish I'd never +touched the horses. I wish that fellow Bob had been a hundred miles off +yesterday afternoon." + +"I daresay, Walter; but is that all? Are you not going to _show_ that +you are sorry? Won't you imitate, as far as it is now possible, little +George Washington's moral courage?" + +"What! go and tell my father the whole truth? Do you think I ought?" + +"I am sure you ought, dear boy." + +Walter reflected for a while, then he said, in a sorrowful tone, "Ah, +but there's a difference. George Washington didn't and wouldn't tell a +lie, but I would, and did; so it's too late now for me to show moral +courage." + +"Not at all, Walter; on the contrary, it will take a good deal of moral +courage to confess your fault now. Of course it would have been far +nobler had you gone straight to your father and told him just how things +were; and then, too, you would not have been Dick's tempter, leading him +to sin. Still, there is a right and noble course open to you now, dear +boy, which is to go and undo the mischief and the wrong as far as you +can." + +"Well, I suppose you are right, auntie," he said slowly, and with a +heavy sigh; "but I shan't find _my_ father throwing his arms round me as +George Washington's father did, and calling me his noble boy, and +telling me he had rather I told the truth than have a thousand gold and +silver cherry-trees." + +"Perhaps not, Walter; but you will have, at any rate, the satisfaction +of doing what will have the approval of God, and of your own conscience, +and of the aunt who wants you to do the thing that is right." + +"It shall be done," said her nephew, pressing his lips together and +knitting his brows by way of strengthening his resolution; and he left +the room with a reluctant step. + +He found his father, who had just come from the stables, in the dining- +room. "Well, Walter, my boy," he said cheerily, "it isn't so bad with +Forester after all. He has got an ugly cut; but he doesn't walk but +very slightly lame. A week's rest will set him all right; but I shall +send that Dick about his business to-morrow, or as soon as his quarter's +up. I'd a better opinion of the boy." + +"Dick's not to blame," said Walter slowly. + +"Not to blame! How do you make out that? I'm sure, if he had had +Forester well in hand, the accident couldn't have happened." + +Walter then gave his father the true version of the mishap, and +confessed his own wrong-doing in the matter. For a few moments Mr +Huntingdon looked utterly taken aback; then he walked up and down the +room, at first with wide and excited strides, and then more calmly. At +last he stopped, and, putting his hand on his son's shoulder, said, +"That's right, my boy. We won't say anything more about it this time; +but you mustn't do it again." The truth was, the squire was not sorry +to find that Dick, after all, was not the culprit; for he had a great +liking for the lad, who suited him excellently as groom, and had +received many kindnesses from him. No doubt he had told him an untruth +on the present occasion; but then, as he had done this to screen his +master's favourite son, Mr Huntingdon did not feel disposed to take him +to task severely for the deceit; and, as Walter had now made the only +amends in his power, his father was glad to withdraw Dick's dismissal, +and to pass over the trouble without further comment. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +IS HE RIDICULOUS? + +Few people besides the actual sufferers can at all conceive or +appreciate the intense misery which shy and retiring characters +experience when themselves or their conduct are made the subjects of +open ridicule, especially in company. Amos was peculiarly sensitive on +this point; and Walter knew it, and too often ungenerously availed +himself of this knowledge to wound his brother when he owed him a +grudge, or was displeased or out of temper with him. He would watch his +opportunity to drag Amos forward, as it were, when he could present him +to his father and his friends in a ridiculous light; and then he would +clap his hands, point to his brother's flushed face, and make some +taunting or sarcastic remark about his "rosy cheeks." Poor Amos, on +these occasions, tingling in every nerve, and ready almost to weep tears +of vexation, would shrink into himself and retreat into another room at +the earliest opportunity, followed not unfrequently by an outspoken +reproach from his brother, that "he must be a regular muff if he +couldn't bear a joke." Sometimes Walter's unfeeling sallies would +receive a feeble rebuke from his father; but more often Mr Huntingdon +would join in the laugh, and remark to his friends that Amos had no +spirit in him, and that all the wit of the family was centred in Walter. +Not so Miss Huntingdon. She fully understood the feelings of both her +nephews; and, while she profoundly pitied Amos, she equally grieved at +the cruel want of love and forbearance in her younger nephew towards his +elder brother. + +Some weeks had passed away since the disastrous ride, and Forester being +none the worse for his mishap, Mr Huntingdon allowed Walter to exercise +him occasionally, accompanied by Dick, who had been fully restored to +favour. It was on a lovely summer afternoon that the two had trotted +briskly along to a greater distance from home than they had at all +contemplated reaching when they started. They had now arrived at a part +of the country quite unknown to Walter, and were just opposite a neat +little cottage with a porch in front of it covered with honeysuckle, +when Walter checked his horse, and said, "Dick, it's full time we turned +back, or my father will wonder what has become of us." So they turned +homewards. They had not, however, ridden more than a quarter of a mile, +when Walter found that he had dropped one of his gloves; so, telling +Dick to walk his horse, and he would join him in a few minutes, he +returned to the little cottage, and, having recovered his glove just +opposite the gate, was in the act of remounting, when he suddenly +exclaimed, "Holloa! what's that? Well, I never! It can't be, surely! +Yes, it is, and no mistake!" + +The sight which called forth these words of surprise from Walter was one +that might naturally astonish him. At the moment when he was about to +spring into his saddle, the cottage door had opened, and out ran a +little boy and girl about four or five years of age, followed by Amos +Huntingdon, who chased them round the little garden, crying out, "I'll +catch you, George; I'll catch you, Polly;" laughing loud as he said so, +while the children rushed forward shouting at the fun. They had gone +thus twice round the paths, when Amos became suddenly aware that he was +being observed by some one on horseback. In an instant he made a rush +for the house, and, as he was vanishing through the porch, a woman's +head and a portion of her dress became visible in the entrance. + +Walter paused in utter bewilderment; but the next minute Amos was at his +side, and said, in a hoarse, troubled voice, "Not a word of this, +Walter, not a word of this to any one at home." Walter's only reply to +this at first was a hearty peal of laughter; then he cried out, "All +right, Amos;" and, taking off his hat with affected ceremony, he added, +"My best respects to Mrs Amos, and love to the dear children. Good- +bye." Saying which, without stopping to hear another word from his +brother, whose appealing look might well have touched his heart, he +urged his horse to a canter, and was gone. + +Amos did not appear among the family that evening. He had returned home +just before dinner-time, and sent a message into the drawing-room asking +to be excused as he did not feel very well. Miss Huntingdon went up to +his room to see what was amiss, and returned with the report that there +was nothing seriously wrong; that her nephew had a bad sick headache, +and that bed was the best thing at present for him. Mr Huntingdon +asked no further questions, for Amos was not unfrequently kept by +similar attacks from joining the family circle. His father sometimes +thought and called him fanciful, but for the most part left him to do as +he liked, without question or remark. And so it was that Amos had grown +up to manhood without settling down to any profession, and was left +pretty much to follow the bent of his own inclinations. His father knew +that there was no need to be anxious about him on the score of worldly +provision. He had seen well to his education, having sent him to a good +school, and in due time to the university, and, till he came of age, had +made him a sufficient allowance, which was now no longer needed, since +he had come into a small fortune at his majority, left him by his +mother's father; and, as he was heir to the entailed property, there was +no need for concern as to his future prospects, so no effort was made by +Mr Huntingdon to draw him out of his natural timidity and reserve, and +induce him to enter on any regular professional employment. Perhaps he +would take to travelling abroad some day, and that would enlarge his +mind and rouse him a bit. At present he really would make nothing of +law, physic, or divinity. He was sufficiently provided for, and would +turn out some day a useful and worthy man, no doubt; but he was never +meant to shine; he must leave that to Walter, who had got it naturally +in him. So thought and so sometimes said the squire; and poor Amos +pretty much agreed with this view of his father's; and Walter did so, of +course. The Manor-house therefore continued Amos's home till he should +choose to make another for himself. + +But was he making a new home for himself? This was Walter's bewildering +thought as he cantered back, after his strange discovery of his brother +at the cottage. Was it really so? Had this shy, silent brother of his +actually taken to himself a wife unknown to any one, just as his poor +sister had married clandestinely? It might be so--and why not? Strange +people do strange things; and not only so, but Walter's conscience told +him that his brother might well have been excused for seeking love _out_ +of his home, seeing that he got but little love _in_ it. And what about +the children? No doubt they were hers; he must have married a widow. +But what a poky place they were living in. She must have been poor, and +have inveigled Amos into marrying her, knowing that he was heir to +Flixworth Manor. Eh, what a disgrace! Such were Walter's thoughts as +he rode home from the scene of the strange encounter. But then, again, +he felt that this was nothing but conjecture after all. Why might not +Amos have just been doing a kind act to some poor cottager and her +children, whom he had learned to take an interest in? And yet it was +odd that he should be so terribly upset at being found out in doing a +little act of kindness. Walter was sure that not a shadow of moral +wrong could rest on his brother's conduct. He might have made a fool of +himself, but it could not be anything worse. + +One thing, however, Walter was resolved upon, he would have a bit of fun +out of his discovery. So next day at luncheon, when they were seated at +table, unattended by a servant, Amos being among them, but unusually +nervous and ill at ease, Walter abruptly inquired of his brother across +the table if he could lend him a copy of the "Nursery Rhymes." No reply +being given, Walter continued, "Oh, do give us a song, Amos,--`Ride a +Cock Horse,' or `Baby Bunting,' or `Hi, Diddle, Diddle.' I'm sure you +must have been practising these lately to sing to those dear children." + +As he said this, Amos turned his eyes on him with a gaze so imploring +that Walter was for a moment silenced. Miss Huntingdon also noticed +that look, and, though she could not tell the cause of it, she was +deeply pained that her nephew should have called it forth from his +brother. Walter, however, was not to be kept from his joke, though he +had noticed that his aunt looked gravely and sorrowfully at him, and had +crossed one hand upon the other. "Ah, well," he went on, "love in a +cottage is a very romantic thing, no doubt; and I hope these darling +little ones, Amos, enjoy the best of health." + +"Whatever does the boy mean?" exclaimed the squire, whose attention was +now fairly roused. + +Amos looked at first, when his father put the question, as though he +would have sunk into the earth. His colour came and went, and he half +rose up, as though he would have left the table; but, after a moment's +pause, he resumed his seat, and, turning quietly to Mr Huntingdon, said +in a low, clear voice, "Walter saw me yesterday afternoon playing with +some little children in a cottage-garden some miles from this house. +This is all about it." + +"And what brought you there, Amos?" asked Walter. "Little baby games +aren't much in your line." + +"I had my reasons for what I was doing," replied the other calmly. "I +am not ashamed of it; I have done nothing to be ashamed of in the +matter. I can give no other explanation at present. But I must regret +that I have not more of the love and confidence of my only brother." + +"Oh, nonsense! You make too much of Walter's foolish fun; it means no +harm," said the squire pettishly. + +"Perhaps not, dear father," replied Amos gently; "but some funny words +have a very sharp edge to them." + +No sooner had Miss Huntingdon retired to her room after luncheon than +she was joined by Walter. He pretended not to look at her, but, laying +hold of her two hands, and then putting them wide apart from one +another, he said, still keeping his eyes fixed on them, "Unkind hands of +a dear, kind aunt, you had no business to be crossed at luncheon to-day, +for poor Walter had done no harm, he had not showed any want of moral +courage." + +Disengaging her hands from her nephew's grasp, Miss Huntingdon put one +of them on his shoulder, and with the other drew him into a chair. "Is +my dear Walter satisfied with his behaviour to his brother?" she asked. + +"Ah! that was not the point, Aunt Kate," was his reply; "the hands were +to be crossed when I had failed in moral courage; and I have not failed +to-day." + +"No, Walter, perhaps not; but you told me you should like to be taught +moral courage by examples, and what happened to-day suggested to me a +very striking example, so I crossed my hands." + +"Well, dear auntie, please let me hear it." + +"My moral hero to-day is Colonel Gardiner, Walter." + +"Ah! he was a soldier then, auntie?" + +"Yes, and a very brave one too; indeed, never a braver. When he was a +young man, and had not been many years in the army, he was terribly +wounded in a battle, and lay on the field unable to raise himself to his +feet or move from his place. Thinking that some one might come round to +plunder the dead and dying before his friends could find him--as, alas! +there were some who were heartless enough to do in those days--and not +wishing that his money should be taken from him, as he had several gold +pieces about him, he managed to get these pieces out of his pocket, and +then to glue them in his clenched hand with the clotted blood which had +collected about one of his wounds. Then he became insensible, and +friends at last recovered his body and brought him to consciousness +again, and the money was found safe in his unrelaxed grasp. I mention +this merely to show the cool and deliberate courage of the man; his +wonderful pluck, as you would call it." + +"Very plucky, auntie, very; but please go on." + +"Well, many years after, he died in battle, and showed the same +marvellous bravery then. It was in the disastrous engagement of +Prestonpans, in the year 1745. The Highlanders surprised the English +army, turned their position, and seized their cannon. Colonel Gardiner +exerted himself to the utmost, but his men quickly fled, and other +regiments did the same. He then joined a small body of English foot who +remained firm, but they were soon after overpowered by the Highlanders. +At the beginning of the onset, which in the whole lasted but a few +minutes, Colonel Gardiner received a bullet-wound in his left breast; +but he said it was only a flesh-wound, and fought on, though he +presently after received a shot in the thigh. Then, seeing a party of +the foot bravely fighting near him, who had no officer to head them, he +rode up to them and cried aloud, `Fire on, my lads, and fear nothing!' +Just then he was cut down by a man with a scythe, and fell. He was +dragged off his horse, and received a mortal blow on the back of his +head; and yet he managed to wave his hat as a signal to a faithful +servant to retreat, crying out at the same time, `Take care of +yourself.'" + +"Bravo! auntie, that was true courage if you like; that's old-fashioned +courage such as suits my father and me." + +"I know it, Walter. But Colonel Gardiner showed a higher and nobler +courage; higher and nobler because it required far more steady self- +denial, and arose from true religious principle. I want you to notice +the contrast, and that is why I have mentioned these instances of what I +may call his animal bravery. I have no wish to rob him of the honour +due to him for those acts of courage; but then, after all, he was brave +in those constitutionally,--I might say, indeed, because he could not +help it. It was very different with his moral courage. When he was +living an utterly godless and indeed wicked life, it pleased God to +arrest him in his evil career by a wonderful vision of our Saviour +hanging on the cross for him. It was the turning-point of his life. He +became a truly changed man, and as devoted a Christian as he had +formerly been a slave to the world and his own sinful habits. And now +he had to show on whose side he was and meant to be. It is always a +difficult thing to be outspoken for religion in the army, but it was ten +times as difficult then as it is now, seeing that in our day there are +so many truly Christian officers and common soldiers in the service. +Drunkenness and swearing were dreadfully prevalent; indeed, in those +days it was quite a rare thing to find an officer who did not defile his +speech continually with profane oaths. But Colonel Gardiner was not a +man to do things by halves: he was now enlisted under Christ's banner as +a soldier of the Cross, and he must stand up for his new Master and +never be ashamed of him anywhere. But to do this would bring him +persecution in a shape peculiarly trying to him,--I mean in the shape of +ridicule. He would, he tells us, at first, when the change had only +lately taken place in him, rather a thousandfold have marched up to the +mouth of a cannon just ready to be fired than stand up to bear the scorn +and jests of his ungodly companions; he winced under these, and +instinctively shrank back from them. Nevertheless, he braved all, the +scorn, the laughter, the jokes, and made it known everywhere that he was +not ashamed of confessing his Saviour, cost what it might; and he even +managed, by a mixture of firm remonstrance and good-tempered persuasion, +to put down all profane swearing whenever he was present, by inducing +his brother officers to consent to the payment of a fine by the guilty +party for every oath uttered. And so by his consistency he won at +length the respect of all who knew him, even of those who most widely +differed from him in faith and practice. There, Walter, that is what I +call true and grand moral courage and heroism." + +"So it was, so it was, dear auntie; but why have you brought forward +Colonel Gardiner's case for my special benefit on the present occasion?" + +"I will tell you, dear boy. You think it fine fun to play off your +jokes on Amos, and nothing seems to please you better than to raise the +laugh against him and to bring the hot flush into his cheeks. Ah! but +you little know the pain and the misery you are inflicting; you little +know the moral courage it requires on your brother's part to stand up +under that ridicule without resenting it, and to go on with any purpose +he may have formed in spite of it. I want you to see a reflection of +Colonel Gardiner's noblest courage, his high moral courage, in your own +dear brother, and to value him for it, and not to despise him, as I see +you now do. You say you want to be free from moral cowardice; then, +copy moral courage wherever you can see it." + +"Well, auntie," said her nephew after a minute's silence, "I daresay you +are right. Poor Amos! I've been very hard upon him, I believe. It +wasn't right, and I'll try and do better. But it's such a funny idea +taking _him_ as a copy. Why, everybody's always telling me to mark what +Amos does, and just do the very opposite." + +"Not everybody, Walter; not the aunt who wants to see you truly good and +noble. There are a grandeur of character and true nobility in Amos +which you little suspect, but which one day you also will admire, though +you do not see nor understand them now." + +Walter did not reply. He was not best pleased with his aunt's last +remarks, and yet, at the same time, he was not satisfied with himself. +So he rose to go, and as he did so he said, "Ah, Aunt Kate, I see you +are in Amos's confidence, and that you know all about the little +children and their cottage home." + +"Nay, my boy," replied his aunt, "you are mistaken; Amos has not made me +his confidante in the matter. But I have formed my opinion of him and +his motives from little things which have presented themselves to my +observation from time to time, and I have a firm conviction that my +nephew Walter will agree with me in the end about his brother, whatever +he may think now. At least I hope so." + +"So do I, dear auntie. Good-bye, good-bye." And, having said these +words half playfully and half seriously, Walter vanished from the room +with a hop, skip, and jump. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +MISAPPREHENSION. + +Miss Huntingdon was not the only person in the family at Flixworth Manor +who entertained a deep affection for Amos Huntingdon, and highly valued +him. Harry the butler loved him as if he had been his own son. The old +man had been inherited with the estate by its present owner, who +remembered him almost as long as he could remember anything, and had a +sincere regard for him, knowing him to be one of those old-fashioned +domestics who look upon their employer's interests as their own. +Harry's hair was now snowy-white, but he retained much of his vigour +unimpaired, the winter of his old age being "frosty, but kindly." So he +had never gone by any other name than "Harry," nor wished to do so, with +his master and his master's friends. However, in the kitchen he +expected to be called "_Mr_. Frazer," and would answer to no other name +when addressed by boys and strangers of his own rank. When the first +child was born Harry took to her with all his might. He knew that his +master was disappointed because she was not a boy, but that made no +difference to Harry. Nothing pleased him better than to act now and +then as nurse to Miss Julia when she was still in long clothes; and many +a peal of hearty and innocent mirth resounded from the kitchen premises +as the servants gazed, with tears of amusement running down their faces, +at _Mr_. Frazer, by the nurse's permission, pacing up and down a sunny +walk in the kitchen garden, with steps slow and grotesquely dignified, +holding the infant warily and tenderly, affirming, when he gave her back +to the nurse, in a self-congratulatory tone, that "little miss" would be +quiet with him when she would be so with no one else; which certainly +might be cause for some wonder, seeing that he would usually accompany +his nursings with such extraordinarily guttural attempts at singing as +were far better calculated to scare any ordinary baby into temporary +convulsions than to soothe it to rest when its slumbers had once been +broken. And how the old man did rejoice when the little thing could +toddle into his pantry! And no wonder that she was very ready to do so, +for Harry had an inexhaustible store of plums, and bonbons, and such +like enticements, which were always forthcoming when little miss +gladdened his heart with a visit. So they were fast friends, and +thoroughly understood each other. + +When, however, a son and heir was born, and there was in consequence a +perfect delirium of bell-ringing in the village church-tower, Harry by +no means entered heart and soul into the rejoicings. "Well," he said +with a sigh, "there's no help for it, I suppose. It's all right, no +doubt; but Miss Julia's my pet, and so she shall be as long as my name's +Harry." The new infant, therefore, received none of the attention at +his hands which its predecessor had enjoyed. When pressed by the +housekeeper, with an arch smile on her good-natured face, to take "baby" +out for an airing, he shook his head very gravely and declined the +employment, affirming that his nursing days were over. The name also of +the new baby was a sore subject to Harry. "`Amos,' indeed! Well, what +next? Who ever heard of an `Amos' in the family? You might go as far +back as Noah and you'd never find one. Mr Sutterby might be a very +good gentleman, but his Christian name was none the better for that." +And, for a while, the old man's heart got more and more firmly closed +against the young heir; while Amos, on his part, in his boyish days, +made no advances towards being on friendly terms with the old servant, +who yet could not help being sometimes sorry for his young master, when +he marked how the sunshine of love and favour, which was poured out +abundantly on Miss Julia, came but in cold and scattered rays to her +desolate-hearted brother. + +This kindly feeling was deepened in Harry's heart, and began to show +itself in many little attentions, after the death of Mr Sutterby. He +could not avoid seeing how the father's and mother's affections were +more and more drawn away from their little son, while he keenly felt +that the poor child had done nothing to deserve it; so in a plain and +homely way he tried to draw him out of himself, and made him as free of +his pantry as his sister was. And when Walter came, a few years before +Mr Sutterby's death, putting Amos into almost total eclipse, Harry +would have none of this third baby. "He'd got notice enough and to +spare," he said, "and didn't want none from him." And now a new cord +was winding itself year by year round the old butler's heart--a cord +woven by the character of the timid child he had learned to love. He +could not but notice how Amos, while yet a boy, controlled himself when +cruelly taunted or ridiculed by his younger brother; how he returned +good for evil; and how, spite of sorrow and a wounded spirit, there was +peace on the brow and in the heart of that despised and neglected one. +For he had discovered that, in his visits to his aunt, Amos had found +the pearl of great price, and the old man's heart leapt for joy, for he +himself was a true though unpretending follower of his Saviour. + +So Harry's attachment to his young master grew stronger and stronger, +and all the more so as he came to see through the more attractive but +shallower character of Walter, whose praises were being constantly +sounded in his ears by Mr Huntingdon. And there was one thing above +all others which tended to deepen his attachment to Amos, which was +Amos's treatment of his sister, who was still the darling of Harry's +heart. Walter loved his sister after a fashion. He could do a generous +thing on the impulse of the moment, and would conform himself to her +wishes when it was not too much trouble. But as for denying himself, or +putting himself out of the way to please her, it never entered into his +head. Nevertheless, any little attention on his part, spite of his +being so much younger than herself, was specially pleasing to Julia, who +was never so happy as when she and he could carry out by themselves some +little scheme of private amusement. Harry noticed this, and was far +from feeling satisfied, observing to the housekeeper that "Master Walter +was a nasty, stuck-up little monkey; and he only wondered how Miss Julia +could be so fond of him." On the other hand, Amos always treated his +sister, even from his earliest boyhood, with a courtesy and +consideration which showed that she was really precious to him. And, as +she grew up towards womanhood and he towards mature boyhood, the beauty +and depth of his respectful and unselfish love made themselves felt by +all who could value and understand them, and among these was Harry. He +could appreciate, though he could not explain, the contrast between a +mere sentiment of affection, such as that which prompted Walter to +occasional acts of kindness to his sister which cost him nothing, and +the abiding, deep-seated principle of love in Amos which exhibited +itself in a constant thoughtful care and watchfulness to promote the +happiness of its object, his beloved sister. + +So Harry's heart warmed towards his young master more and more, +especially when he could not help noticing that, while Amos never +relaxed his endeavours to make his sister happy, she on her part either +resented his kindness, or at the best took it as a matter of course, +preferring--and not caring to conceal her preference--a smile or word or +two from Walter to the most patient and self-denying study of her tastes +and wishes on the part of her elder brother. The old man grieved over +this conduct in his darling Miss Julia, and gave her a hint on the +subject in his own simple way, which to his surprise and mortification +she resented most bitterly, and visited her displeasure also on Amos by +carefully avoiding him as much as possible, and being specially +demonstrative in her affection to Walter. Amos of course felt it +deeply, but it made no alteration in his own watchful love to his +sister. As for Harry, all he could do was to wait in hopes of brighter +times, and to console himself for his young mistress's coldness by +taking every opportunity of promoting the happiness and winning the +fuller confidence of the brother whom she so cruelly despised. + +But then came the crash; and this well-nigh broke the faithful old +servant's heart. She whom he still loved as though she were his own, +following her own unrestrained fancies, left her father's house to unite +herself to a heartless adventurer before she had reached full womanhood, +and thus closed the door of her old home against her. Then followed a +frightful blank. An allusion by the old butler to "Miss Julia," when +the squire and he were alone together, was met by a burst of violence on +his master's part, and a threat that Harry must leave if he ever again +mentioned his old favourite's name to her father. So his lips were +closed, but not his heart; for he waited, watched, and prayed for better +times, even after a still heavier cloud had gathered over the family in +the removal of poor Mrs Huntingdon, and all the love he had to spare +was given to his poor desolate young master, whose spirit had been +crushed to the very dust by the sad withdrawal of his mother and sister +from his earthly home. + +Walter too was, of course, grieved at the loss of his sister and mother, +but the blow was far lighter to him than to his brother, partly from his +being of a more lively and elastic temperament, and partly because he +did not, being so young a boy when the sad events took place, so fully +understand as did his elder brother the shame and disgrace which hung +over the family through his sister's heartless and selfish conduct. His +aunt soon came to supply his mother's place, and completely won the +impulsive boy's heart by her untiring and thoughtful affection. And one +lesson he was learning from her, which was at first the strangest and +hardest of lessons to one brought up as he had been, and that was, to +respect the feelings and appreciate, though by very slow degrees, the +character of his brother. His own superiority to Amos he had hitherto +taken as a matter of course and beyond dispute. Everybody allowed it, +except perhaps old Harry; but that, in Walter's eyes, was nothing. Amos +was the eldest son, and heir to the family estate, and therefore the old +butler took to him naturally, and would have done so if he had been a +cow without any brains instead of a human being. So said Walter, and +was quite content that a poor, ignorant fellow like Harry, who could +have no knowledge or understanding of character, should set his regards +on the elder son, and not notice the otherwise universally acknowledged +bodily and intellectual superiority of his more worthy self. No wonder, +then, that pity more than love was the abiding feeling in Walter's heart +towards his less popular and less outwardly attractive brother. And it +was a very strange discovery, and as unwelcome as strange, which his +aunt was now leading him gradually to make spite of himself, that in +real sterling excellence and beauty of character the weight, which he +had hitherto considered to lie wholly in his own scale, was in truth to +be found in the opposite scale on his brother's side of the balance. +Very slowly and reluctantly indeed was he brought to admit this at all, +and, even when he was constrained to do so, he by no means surrendered +at discretion to his aunt's view of the matter, but fought against it +most vigorously, even when his conscience reproved him most loudly. And +thus it was that a day or two after his conversation with Miss +Huntingdon on the moral courage exhibited by Colonel Gardiner, he was +rather glad of an opportunity that presented itself of exhibiting his +brother in an unamiable light, and "trotting him out with his shabby old +horsecloth on," as he expressed it, for the amusement of himself and +friends. It was on a summer evening, and very hot, so that Miss +Huntingdon, her two nephews, and two young men, friends of Walter, were +enjoying tea and strawberries in a large summer-house which faced a +sloping lawn enamelled with flower-beds glowing with masses of richly +tinted flowers. Mr Huntingdon was not with them, as this was Bench +day, and he was dining after business hours with a brother magistrate. +Walter, full of life and spirits, rattled away to his heart's content, +laughing boisterously at his own jokes, which he poured forth the more +continuously because he saw that Amos was more than usually indisposed +to merriment. + +"By-the-by, Tom," he said suddenly to one of his companions, "what about +the boat-race? When is it to come off?" + +"In September," replied his friend. "But we are in a little difficulty. +You know Sir James has lent us the Park for the occasion, and a capital +thing it will be; for we can make a good two miles of it by rowing round +the ornamental water twice. It is to be a four-oared match; four +Cambridge against four Oxford men, old or young, it doesn't matter. It +is to be part of the fun on the coming of age of Sir James's eldest son. +I rather think he was born on the eighth. Young James is a Cambridge +man and a capital oar, and I'm of the same college, and so is Harrison +here, as you know, and we shall have no difficulty in finding a fourth; +but we are rather puzzled about the Oxford men. We can calculate upon +three, but don't know where to look for the fourth. I wish, Walter, +you'd been old enough, and a member of the university." + +"Ay, Tom, I wish I had been. But, by-the-by, there's no difficulty +after all. Here's Amos, an Oxford man, and a very good oar too--he's +just the very man you want." + +It was quite true, as Walter said, that Amos had been a good rower at +the university. Rowing was one of the few amusements in which he had +indulged himself, but he had never joined a racing boat though often +solicited to do so. + +"What do you say, Amos?" asked his young companion. "Will you join us, +and make up the Oxford four complete? We shall be really much obliged +if you will; and I'm sure you'll enjoy it." + +"Thank you," replied Amos; "it's very kind of you to ask me, I'm sure. +I should have liked it had I been able to undertake it, but I am sorry +to say that it cannot be." + +"Cannot be!" exclaimed Walter. "Why, what's to hinder you?" + +"I cannot spare the time just now," said his brother quietly. + +"Not spare the time!--not spare half-an-hour one fine afternoon in +September! Dear me! you must be oppressed with business. What is it? +It isn't farming, I know. Is it legal business? Have you got so many +appointments with the Lord Chancellor that he can't spare you even for +one day?" + +"It will not be only for one day," replied Amos quietly. "If the race +is to be a real trial of skill and strength we must train for it, and +have many practices, and I cannot promise to find time for these." + +"Oh, nonsense! Why not? You've nothing to do." + +"I have something to do, Walter, and something too that I cannot give up +for these practisings." + +"What! I suppose you think such vanities as these waste of precious +time." + +"I never said nor thought so, Walter; but I have a work in hand which +will prevent my having the pleasure of taking a part in this race, for +it really would have been a pleasure to me." + +"Ah! it must be a precious important work, no doubt," said his brother +satirically. "Just tell us what it is, and we shall be able to judge." + +Amos made no reply to these last words, but turned first very red and +then very pale. + +"Humph!" said Walter; "I guess what it is. It's a new scheme for paying +off the national debt, by turning radishes into sovereigns and cabbage- +leaves into bank-notes; and it'll take a deal of time and pains to do +it." He laughed furiously at his own wit, but, to his mortification, he +laughed alone. There was a rather painful silence, which was broken by +the gentle voice of Miss Huntingdon. + +"I think, dear Walter," she said, "that you are a little hard on your +brother. Surely he may have an important work on hand without being +engaged in such a hopeless task as attempting to turn radishes into +sovereigns and cabbage-leaves into bank-notes. And does it follow that +he despises your boat-race because he prefers duty to pleasure?" + +"Ah! that's just it," cried Walter, in a tone of mingled excitement and +displeasure. "Who's to know that it _is_ duty? I think one duty is +very plain, and I should have thought you would have agreed with me +here, and that is to give up your own way and pleasure sometimes, when +by doing so you may help to make other people happy." + +"I quite agree with you in that, Walter," said his aunt. "It may be and +often does become a duty to surrender our own pleasure, but never surely +to surrender our duty." + +"True, aunt, if it's really duty; but some people's duty means merely +their own fancy, and it's very convenient to call _that_ duty when you +don't want to be obliging." + +"It may be so, Walter; but, on the other hand, if we have seen cause +even to impose upon ourselves something as a duty, we are bound to carry +it out, although others may not see it to be a duty and may call it +fancy; and certainly we should at least respect those who thus follow +what they firmly believe they _ought_ to do, even though we cannot +exactly understand or agree with their views of duty. So you must bear +with Amos; for I am certain that he would not say `No' to you about the +race if he were not persuaded that duty stands in the way of his taking +a part in it." + +"Ah, well! happy Amos to have such a champion," cried Walter, laughing, +for he had now recovered his good-humour. "I suppose you are right, and +I must allow brother Amos to have his duty and his mystery all to +himself. But it's odd, and that's all I can say about it. Such short- +sighted mortals as I am can't see those duties which are up in the +clouds, but only those which lie straight before our eyes." + +"And yet, Walter, there may be the truest and noblest heroism in +sacrificing everything to these self-imposed duties, which _you_ call +duties up in the clouds." + +"O aunt, aunt!" exclaimed Walter, laughing, "are you going to be down +upon me again about moral courage? You have not crossed your hands this +time, and yet I daresay it will do us all good, my friends here as well +as myself, to have a lesson on moral courage from you; so listen all to +my dear aunt. She is teaching me moral courage by examples. Who is +your hero, dear auntie, this time?" + +"Shall I go on?" said Miss Huntingdon, looking round on her hearers; +then seeing an expression of interest on every countenance, she +continued, "Well, I will, if you wish it. My hero to-day is John +Howard." + +"Not a soldier this time, Aunt Kate." + +"Not in your sense, Walter, but one of the truest and bravest in mine." + +"Pray, then, let us hear all about his exploits, dear aunt." + +"You shall, Walter. His exploits just consisted in this, that he +imposed a great duty on himself as the one object of his life, and never +let anything turn him from it, though obstacles met him in every +direction such as nothing but the highest sense of duty could have +nerved him to break through. In the first place, he was of a weakly +constitution, and might therefore well have excused himself from any +unnecessary labours, and might have indulged in luxuries which might +almost have been considered as necessaries to one whose appetite was not +strong. He could well have afforded such innocent indulgence, for he +was a man of good fortune. He was, however, remarkable for his +abstemious habits; and having been led, when high sheriff of his county, +to look into the state of Bedford jail, he was so shocked with the +miserable condition of the prisoners and their being crowded together in +a place filthy, damp, and ill-ventilated, that he set himself to make a +tour of inspection of all the county jails in England, and soon +completed it, and was examined before the House of Commons on the state +of our prisons. And here he had to suffer from that misrepresentation +and misunderstanding which are too often the lot of those who have set +themselves to some great and noble work. It seemed so extraordinary to +some members of Parliament that a gentleman, out of pure benevolence, +should devote himself to such a painful work, and run the risk of +contagion, that they could hardly understand it; and one gentleman asked +`at whose expense he travelled,'--a question which Howard could scarcely +answer without some indignant emotion. You see, they could not +appreciate such exalted heroism; and surely it required no little moral +courage to persevere. But he did persevere, and his work grew upon him. + +"From England he went abroad, and visited the prisons on the Continent, +devoting his time and fortune to the great work of discovering, and, as +far as might be, remedying, the abuses he found in these sad places of +misery and often cruelty; and though he was introduced to the noble and +the great wherever he went, he paid no visits of mere ceremony, but +spoke out most fearlessly, even to the most exalted in rank, about the +abuses he found in the prisons under their control. He had set himself +one great work to do, and he did it. Suffering, toil, hardship were +endured without a murmur. Ah! was not this true heroism? + +"And now I come to a point which I want you, dear Walter, specially to +notice. Howard might have spent a portion at least of his time when +abroad in visiting the beautiful picture-galleries and other works of +art in the towns to which his great work led him, but he never suffered +himself to do so. He would not even read a newspaper, lest it should +divert his thoughts from the one great purpose he had in view. I am not +saying for a moment that he would have been wrong to indulge himself +with relaxation in the shape of sight-seeing and reading the news; but +surely when he made everything bend to his one grand self-imposed duty, +we are constrained to admire and not to blame, far less to ridicule, his +magnificent heroism. Yes; he never swerved, he never drew back; and, +best of all, he did his work as a humble and earnest Christian, carrying +it on by that strength and wisdom which he sought and obtained by +prayer. + +"I cannot give you a better summing up of my hero's character than in +the words of the great Edmund Burke. I have them here." Saying which +she opened a small manuscript book containing extracts from various +authors in her own handwriting, which she kept in her work-basket, and +read as follows:--"`He has visited all Europe, not to survey the +sumptuousness of palaces, or the stateliness of temples; not to make +accurate measurements of the remains of ancient grandeur, nor to form a +scale of the curiosities of ancient art; not to collect medals, nor to +collate manuscripts: but to dive into the depths of dungeons, and to +plunge into the infection of hospitals; to survey the mansions of sorrow +and pain; to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and +contempt; to remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to +visit the forsaken, and to compare the distresses of men in all +countries. His plan is original, and it is as full of genius as it is +of humanity. It was a voyage of discovery--a circumnavigation, of +charity.' Such was Burke's true estimate of my hero. And surely never +was a nobler heroism--it was so pure, so unselfish; for when they would +have erected a monument to him in his lifetime, and had gathered large +sums for that purpose during his absence abroad, he at once put a stop +to the project on his return home.--Am I wrong, dear Walter, in taking +John Howard for one of my special moral heroes?" + +"Not a bit of it, dear aunt. I confess myself beaten; I give in; I hand +over the laurel crown to Amos: for I see that Howard's greatness of +character was shown especially in this, that he imposed upon himself a +work which he might have left undone without blame, and carried it out +through thick and thin as a matter of duty. Bravo, Howard! and bravo, +Amos, with your duty-work!--three cheers for you both! and one cheer +more for Aunt Kate and moral courage." So saying, with a low bow, half +in fun and half in earnest, to Miss Huntingdon and his brother, with a +request to the latter to learn the Canadian boat-song, "Row, Brothers, +Row," at his earliest convenience, he left the summer-house, taking his +two friends with him. + +Amos, who had been silent during the latter part of the discussion, +lingered behind for a moment, and rising from his seat, took his aunt's +hand between his own, pressing it warmly as he said, in a voice subdued +and trembling with emotion,--"Thank you, dearest aunt; I see you partly +understand me now. Some day, I hope, you may understand me more fully." + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +HARRY IN THE SECRET. + +A week or more had passed since the conversation in the summer-house, +and all the family were seated at luncheon in the dining-room of +Flixworth Manor, when a shabby and dirty-looking note was handed to Amos +by the butler. Having hastily read it, Amos exclaimed in an agitated +voice, "Who brought this? where is he?" + +"It's no one as I ever seed afore," replied Harry. "He said there was +no answer, but I was to take it in straight; and I doubt he's gone now +far enough away, for he was nothing but a rough-looking lad, and he ran +off when he had given me the note as fast as his legs would carry him." + +"Nothing amiss, I hope?" said Miss Huntingdon kindly. + +"I hope not," replied her nephew. He was evidently, however, greatly +troubled and confused, and looked nervously towards his father, whose +attention at the time was being given to a noble-looking dog which was +receiving a piece of meat from his hand. + +"What's up now?" cried Walter, who, although he was learning to treat +his brother with more respect and consideration, was still rather on the +look-out for opportunities to play off his fun upon him. "Why, surely +there's something amiss. What's the good, Amos, of putting a spoonful +of salt into your gooseberry tart?" + +Mr Huntingdon now looked round and stared at his elder son, who had by +this time partly recovered his self-possession. "Nothing serious, my +boy, I hope?" he said. + +"I hope not, dear father. It's only about a little child that I take an +interest in; he seems to have got away from home, and his friends can't +find him." + +"Is it one of my tenants' children?" + +"No; it's a child that lives in a cottage on the Gavelby estate. We +have struck up a friendship. I ride up there sometimes, so they have +sent to me about him; and I will ride over after luncheon and see what +can be done." + +Nothing more passed on the subject during the meal; but Miss +Huntingdon's watchful care of her nephew made her notice the deep lines +of anxiety which had gathered on the forehead of Amos, and her heart +ached for him, for she was sure that he was burdened with some +unexpected trouble connected with the work he had set himself to +accomplish. Dinner-time came, but Amos did not make his appearance. +Ten o'clock struck, but he still lingered. Never before had he been +absent for a night except when at school or college, or on a visit to +some friend; for his habits were most regular, and he always rose and +retired to rest early, his custom in this respect having been often the +subject of remark and merriment to Walter, who would say to his friends +that, "although Amos would never join in a lark, he had no objection to +rise with one; nor to lie down with a lamb, though he hadn't it in him +to skip like one." So when the family met next morning at breakfast, +and nothing had been seen or heard of Amos, there was a shade of anxiety +on every one's face. + +"Where can the boy have been?" exclaimed Mr Huntingdon; "we never knew +him go off like this before.--Hasn't he sent any message of any kind, +Harry?" + +"Not a word, sir, as far as I know." + +"What's best to be done, then?--What do you say, Kate?" asked the +squire. + +"Perhaps Walter can make inquiries," suggested his sister. + +"Well," replied her nephew, "I wouldn't mind, but really I don't know +where to look exactly. I may be riding about all day, for he's gone +after the missing child, I suppose, so it will be no use looking for him +at the child's home. And, besides, I've an engagement to play lawn- +tennis and go to luncheon at the Worthingtons', and I can't disappoint +them." + +"Not in such a case as this?" asked his aunt reproachfully. "Can't you +send a note of apology to the Worthingtons? Suppose something serious +has happened to your brother!" + +"Oh, nonsense, Aunt Kate," cried Walter, who was not prepared to give up +his engagement of pleasure; "don't be afraid about Amos; he'll turn up +all right. He's on his way home, you may depend upon it; only perhaps +he has been trying to solve some wonderful problem, and has forgotten +all about such commonplace things as time and space, and has fallen +asleep under a hedge." + +"I will go myself, then," said Miss Huntingdon, "and see if I can hear +anything of him from the neighbours." + +"Indeed, Kate," said her brother, "you must do nothing of the sort. Set +your mind at rest. I will go myself and make inquiries; and if the boy +does not make his appearance by luncheon time, we must take further +steps to find him." + +"Can _I_ be of any use, sir, in the matter?" asked Harry. + +"Ah, that's just the thing!" cried Walter. "If you can spare Harry, +father, Jane can wait at luncheon; and I'll just put Harry myself on +what I think will be the right scent." + +"Well, my boy, it can be so, and you can do as you say," replied his +father. "I know we can trust Harry to do his best; he can take the old +mare, and we shall do very well with Jane till he comes back." + +Nothing loath, but rather gratified with the part he had to play and the +trust placed in him, the old butler set out about noon on the old mare, +accompanied by Walter, who was on his way to the Worthingtons'. Harry +would have preferred managing matters in his own fashion, which would +have been to go on a tour of inquiry from farm to farm; but, having no +choice, he surrendered himself to the guidance and directions of Walter. +So they rode on together for some miles till they came within sight of +the cottage where Amos had been seen by his brother playing with the +little children. + +"There, Harry," said Walter, "you see that cottage? just you call in +there, and you will either find my brother there, if I am not mistaken, +or, at any rate, you will find somebody who will tell you where to look +for him." Then he turned and put spurs to his horse, and was soon out +of sight, leaving the old servant to jog along at his leisure to the +little dwelling pointed out to him, the roof of which he could just see +distinctly in the distance. + +"Humph!" said Harry half out loud, as he rather reluctantly made his way +towards the cottage; "you might have gone yourself, Master Walter, I +think, and saved an old man like me such a shaking as I've had on the +old mare's back. But I suppose that `lawn tens,' as they call it, is a +mighty taking thing to young people; it seems all the go now; all the +young gents and young ladies has gone mad after it. Knocking them balls +back'ards and for'ards used to be called `fives' when I were a boy, but +they calls it `tens' now; I suppose 'cos they does everything in these +days twice as fast as they used to do. Well, it don't matter; but if it +had been Master Amos, and t'other road about, he'd never have let +`tens,' or `twenties,' or `fifties' stand between him and looking arter +a lost brother. But then people don't know Master Amos and Master +Walter as I do. Their aunt, Miss Huntingdon, does a bit, and p'raps +master will himself some day." + +By the time he had finished this soliloquy Harry had neared the cottage. +Then he quickened his pace, and having reached the little garden gate, +hung his horse's bridle over a rail, with the full knowledge that the +animal would be well content to stand at ease an unlimited time where +she was left. Then he made his way up to the cottage door and knocked. +His summons was immediately answered by a respectably dressed middle- +aged woman, who opened the door somewhat slowly and cautiously, and then +asked him civilly what was his business with her. "Well, if you please, +ma'am," said the butler, "I'm just come to know if you can tell me +anything about my young master, Mr Amos. He ought to have come home +last night, and none of us has set eyes on him up to the time when I +left home, about an hour since." + +The person whom he addressed was evidently in a difficulty what to +answer. She hesitated, and looked this way and that, still holding the +door ajar, but not inviting Harry into the house. The old man waited a +few moments, and then he said, "If you please, ma'am, am I to understand +as you don't know nothing about my young master, Mr Amos, and where +he's gone?" + +Still the other made no reply, but only looked more and more uneasy. It +was quite clear to Harry now that she could give him the information he +wanted, if only she were willing to do so. He waited therefore another +minute, and then said, "You've no cause, ma'am, to fear as I shall get +Master Amos into trouble by anything you may tell me. I love him too +well for that; and I can be as close as wax when I like. You may trust +me, ma'am, and he'd tell you the same if he was here." + +"And what may your name be, friend?" asked the woman. + +"Well," he replied, "the quality calls me `Harry;' but every one else +calls me Mr Frazer,--at least when they behaves as they ought to do. I +am butler at Flixworth Manor, that's Mr Amos Huntingdon's home; and +I've been in the family's service more nor fifty years come next +Christmas, so it ain't likely as I'd wish to do any on 'em any harm." + +"Well, Mr Frazer," said the woman, opening the door, "come in then; the +fact is, I am almost as puzzled to know where Mr Amos is as you are. I +have been expecting him all the morning, and he may be here any minute. +But pray come in and wait a bit." + +Accepting the invitation, Harry stepped into a neat little parlour, +prettily but not expensively furnished. Over the chimney-piece was a +large drawing in water-colours of Flixworth Manor-house, and, on either +side of this, photographs of Mr and Mrs Huntingdon. What could it +mean? But for Harry every other thought was swallowed up in a moment by +his attention being called to a little girl, about four years of age, +who stole into the room, and stood for a while staring at him with one +finger in her mouth, and her head drooping slightly, but not so much as +to hide a pair of lustrous hazel eyes. A neat and beautifully white +pinafore was bound round her waist by a red belt, and a profusion of +glossy brown ringlets fell upon her shoulders. The old man started at +the sight as if he had been shot, and then gazed at the child with open +mouth and raised eyebrows, till the little thing shrank back to the side +of the woman who had opened the door, and hid her little face in her +apron. "It's herself, her very own self," said Harry half out loud, and +with quivering voice; "tell me, ma'am, oh, pray tell me what's this +child's name!" + +"Well, Mr Frazer," replied his companion, though evidently with some +hesitation, "I understand that I may trust you. This dear child's names +are Julia Mary, and I am her nurse, employed by Mr Amos to look after +her for him." + +"I begin to see it all now," said Harry half to himself. "Don't trouble +yourself, ma'am; I don't need to ask no more questions. I don't want +any one to tell me who Miss Julia's mother is; there can be no doubt +about that, they're as like as two peas; and I begin to see a bit what +Mr Amos has been a-doing. God bless his dear, unselfish heart! Come +here to me, my child," he added with a pleasant smile. The little Julia +looked hard at him from behind the shelter of her nurse's gown for a +moment, but soon lost all fear, for there was something attractive to +her in the old man's snow-white hair and venerable face, as, surely, +there is commonly a sweet sympathy between the guileless childhood of +infancy and the holy childhood of God--fearing old age. So she shyly +drew towards him, and let him place her on his knee; and then she looked +up wonderingly at him, as his tears fell fast on her brown hair, and his +voice was choked with sobs. "Yes," he said, "my precious Miss Julia, +you're the very image of what your blessed mother was at your age. I've +had her like this on my knee scores of times. Ah! well, perhaps a +brighter day's coming for us all." + +We must now leave the old man happy over his gentle charge, and go back +to the previous day when Amos, at luncheon time, received the little +note which so greatly disturbed him. That note was as follows:-- + +"Respected Sir,--About ten o'clock this morning, as Master George and +Miss Mary were playing in the garden, a strange man looked over the +hedge and called Master George by name. He held out something to him in +his hand, which Master George went out of the gate to look at. Then the +man took him up into his arms, whispered something into his ear, and +walked away with him. I was in the house at the time, and was told this +by Miss Mary. What am I to do? Please, sir, do come over at once if +you can.--Your obedient servant, Sarah Williams." + +Amos, as we have seen, left home after luncheon, and did not return. He +made his way as quickly as he could to the little cottage, and found +Mrs Williams in great distress. The poor little girl also was crying +for her brother, declaring that a wicked man had come and stolen him +away. What was to be done? The cottage where the nurse and children +dwelt together was in rather a retired situation, the nearest house to +it being a farm-house, which, though only a few hundred yards distant, +was built in a hollow, so that what was going on outside the cottage +would not be visible to persons about the farm premises. Mrs Williams +was the wife of a respectable farm labourer, of better education and +more intelligence than the generality of his class. They had no +children of their own, so that Mrs Williams, who was a truly godly +woman, was glad to give a home for a time and a motherly care to the two +little ones committed to her charge by Amos. The husband was, of +course, absent from home during the working hours, so that his wife +could not call him to her help when she missed the little boy; indeed, +on the day of her loss her husband had gone with his master, the farmer, +to the neighbouring market-town, some six miles off, so that she could +have no assistance from him in the search for the missing child till +late in the evening. As far as Amos could gather from the little girl's +description, the man who had stolen away her brother was tall, had a +long beard, and very black eyes. He was not on horseback, and there was +no one else with him. But this was very meagre information at the best +on which to build for tracking the fugitives. So Amos called Mrs +Williams into the little parlour, and spread the matter out in prayer +before God, whose "eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the +good." Then wishing the nurse good-bye, with a heart less burdened than +before, but still anxious, he remounted his pony, and turned him in the +direction of the neighbouring farm-yard. + +Having ascertained at the farm-house that no one had seen a man with a +boy in his arms or walking by him pass that way, he proceeded down a +long and not much frequented grassy lane at a jog-trot, but with small +expectation of finding any clew that might guide him to the discovery of +the lost child. He had ridden on thus about half a mile, when he paused +at a place where another grassy lane crossed at right angles the one +down which he had been riding. It was a lonely spot, but yet was a +thoroughfare from which the roads diverged to one or two large villages, +and led in one direction ultimately to the market-town. Close to the +ditch opposite the road down which Amos had come was a white finger- +post, informing those who were capable of deciphering its bleared +inscriptions whither they were going or might go. Amos hesitated; he +had never been on this exact spot before, and he therefore rode close up +to the sign-post to read the names, which were illegible at a little +distance off. To his great surprise, and even dismay, he noticed, +dangling from one of the post's outstretched wooden arms, a silk +handkerchief of a rather marked pattern. Could it really be? Yes, he +could not doubt it; it belonged to little George: it was a present to +the child from himself only a few days before. Amos's blood ran cold at +the sight. Could any one in the shape of humanity have had the heart to +lay violent hands on the poor boy? There was no telling. He scarce +dared to look towards the ditch lest he should see the lifeless body +there. But perhaps a gipsy had got hold of the child, and stripped him +for his clothes: such things used to be done formerly. But, then, why +hang the silk handkerchief in such a conspicuous place? for it could not +have got there by accident, nor been blown there, for it had been +manifestly fastened and suspended there by human fingers. Trembling in +every limb, Amos unfastened the handkerchief from the post. There was +something stiff inside it. He unfolded it slowly; an envelope disclosed +itself. It was directed in pencil. The direction was, "Amos +Huntingdon, Esq. Please forward without delay." + +Here, then, was a clue to the mystery. Amos opened the envelope and +read the enclosure, which was also written in pencil, in a neat and +thoroughly legible hand. It ran thus:-- + +"You are doubtless anxious to know what has become of the little boy +George. Come _alone_ to-morrow morning to the old oak in Brendon wood, +and you shall be duly informed. Mind, come _alone_: if you attempt to +bring one or more with you, it will be simply lost labour, for then +there will be no one to meet you. You have nothing to fear as to any +harm to your own person, or interference with your liberty." + +There was no signature to the letter, either of name or initials. Amos +was sorely puzzled what to do when he had read this strange epistle. Of +course it was plain that the writer could put him in the way of +recovering little George if he would; but, then, where was Brendon wood? +and how was he to get to it on the following morning? And yet, if he +did not act upon this letter and follow its directions, the child might +be lost to him for ever, and that he could not bear to think of. The +nearest town to the finger-post was yet some five miles distant; and +should he reach that, and make his inquiries about the wood with +success, it would be difficult for him to return home the same evening +by any reasonable hour. Still, he could not find it in his heart to +abandon the search, and he therefore made the best of his way to the +little town of Redbury. + +As he was giving up his pony to the care of the hostler at the +Wheatsheaf, the principal inn in the place, he observed a man--tall, +with long beard, and very dark eyes--stepping down into the inn-yard, +who, as soon as he saw Amos, immediately retreated into the house. Had +Amos seen him before? Never, as far as he knew; and yet a strange +suspicion came over him that this was the man who had enticed little +George away, and was also the writer of the pencilled letter. Still, it +might not be so; he had no proof of it; and how was he to ascertain if +it was the case or no? He lingered about the yard for a time, but the +stranger did not again make his appearance; so he strolled out into the +town, and ascertained that Brendon wood was about two miles from +Redbury, and had an old oak in the centre of it. Turning matters over +in his mind, he at last came to the not very comfortable conclusion +that, as the evening was now far advanced, his best course was to put up +for the night in the little town, and betake himself to the wood at an +early hour next day. Grieved as he was to give his friends at home +anxiety by not returning that night, he felt that, if his object was to +be attained, he had better remain where he was; and he was sure that his +aunt would believe that he would not absent himself without good reason, +and would do her best to allay in his father any undue anxiety on his +account. Having come to this conclusion, he returned to the Wheatsheaf +and secured a bed, and then passed the rest of the evening in the +coffee-room, watching very carefully to see if he could catch anywhere +another glimpse of the mysterious stranger, but to no purpose. + +After a restless and anxious night he rose early; and, after commending +himself and his cause to God in earnest prayer, set off, after a hasty +breakfast, in the direction given him as leading to the place of +appointment. It was a glorious summer day; and as he rode briskly along +the country road, out of which he soon turned into a long lane skirted +on either side by noble trees, he could not help sighing to think how +man's sin had brought discord and deformity into a world which might +otherwise have been so full of beauty. The wood soon appeared in sight, +and a lonely as well as lovely spot it was. Many bridle-roads +intersected it; he chose one which seemed to lead into the centre, and +in a short time the great oak was visible. There was no mistaking the +venerable forest giant, with its rugged fantastic limbs towering high +above the neighbouring trees. So he made straight for it at once. Amos +was no coward, though naturally of a timid disposition; for he had +patiently acquired habits of self-control, learned partly in the school +of chastisement, and partly in the school of self-discipline. And yet +it was not without a feeling of shrinking and misgiving that he saw a +man approaching the oak from a path opposite to that by which he himself +had come. Trees, mingled with thick brushwood, covered the ground on +all sides, except where the roads and bridle-paths ran, and not a +creature had he met before since he turned out of the main road. Little +time, however, was allowed him for further reflection; in a minute more +he was joined by the other traveller. A single glance was sufficient to +satisfy him that he had before him the same man who had attracted his +attention the evening before at the Wheatsheaf. + +The stranger was, as has been said, tall, and wore a long beard. On the +present occasion he was wrapped in an ample cloak, and had on his head a +high-crowned hat encircled with a feather. Amos could not make him +out;--what was he? As they came close up to one another, the stranger +saluted Amos with an air of mingled ease and affectation, and motioned +him to a seat when he had dismounted from his pony. So Amos, still +holding Prince's bridle in his hand, placed himself on a grassy mound +near the base of the old oak, while the other seated himself a few paces +from him. Neither spoke for a little while; then the stranger broke the +silence. His voice was not, in its natural tones, otherwise than +pleasing; but there was an assumption in his manner of speaking and a +spice of sarcastic swagger which grated very painfully on the +sensibilities of his companion. However, it was pretty evident that the +stranger had no particular care to spare the feelings of the person whom +he was addressing. + +"I may as well explain at once, Mr Huntingdon," he began, "how I came +to communicate with you in a way somewhat uncommon. The fact is, that I +have reasons for not wishing to make myself known more than I can help +to the good people in these parts. Now, had I sent you my note by the +hand of any messenger, this would have drawn attention to myself, and +might have led to inquiries about me which are not just now convenient. +I was quite sure that yourself, or some one belonging to you, would be +searching up and down the lanes for the little boy, and that his silk +handkerchief, placed where I put it, would attract notice, and the note +tied up in it be conveyed to yourself without my appearing personally on +the scene. And so it has turned out. You have read my note, I see; and +no one has been in communication with the writer but yourself. This is +as it should be. And now, may I ask, do you know me? or at any rate, do +you guess who I am? for we have not seen each other, I believe, before +yesterday evening." + +"I do not know your name," replied Amos sadly; "but I cannot say that I +have no suspicion as to who you are." + +"Exactly so," replied the other; "I am, in fact, none other than your +brother-in-law, or, if you like it better, your sister Julia's husband." + +"I have feared so," replied Amos. + +"Feared!" exclaimed his companion in a tone of displeasure. "Well, be +it so. I am aware that our marriage was not to the taste of the +Huntingdons, so we have kept out of the way of the family as much as +possible; and, indeed, I believe that your father has never even known +the name of his daughter's husband, but simply the fact of her +marriage." + +"I believe so," said Amos; "at any rate, all that has been known by the +family generally has been that she married"--here he hesitated; but the +other immediately added,-- + +"Beneath her, you would say. Be it so, again. Well, you may as well +know my name yourself, at any rate, for convenience' sake. It is, at +your service, Orlando Vivian. Shall I go on?" + +"If you please." + +"You are aware, then, of course, that I deserted your sister, as it is +called, for a time; the fact being, that we discovered after marriage +that our tastes and habits of thought were very dissimilar, and that we +should be happier apart, at least for a season. And in the meantime you +stepped in, and have acted very nobly, I must say, in taking charge of +my two little children, for which I must tender you my best thanks." + +There was a brief pause, and then Amos inquired anxiously, "Is it your +intention to take the children from me?" + +"Well, not necessarily, but perhaps so; certainly not the girl, at +present, unless you yourself wish it." + +"And the boy?" asked Amos. + +"Ah, I have not quite made up my mind about him," was the reply. "It +may be that I shall keep him with me, and bring him up to my own +profession." + +"And what may that profession be?" asked the other. + +"The stage," was the reply. + +"What!" exclaimed Amos in a tone of horror, "bring up the poor child to +be an actor! Why, it will be his ruin, body and soul!" + +"And if so, Mr Huntingdon," said the other sternly and bitterly, and +with his dark eyes glaring fiercely, "I suppose I, as his father, have a +right to bring him up as I please. The father's profession is, I +imagine, notwithstanding your disparaging remarks, good enough for the +son." + +Amos leaned his head on his hand for a while without reply; then he +looked his companion steadily in the face, and said, "And is there no +other course open?" + +"Why, yes. To be frank with you, Mr Huntingdon, there is; and, without +any more beating about the bush, I will come to the point at once. The +fact is, I want money, and--not an uncommon thing in this not over +agreeable or accommodating world--don't know where to get it. I have, +therefore, just this to say,--if you will pledge me your word to send me +a cheque for fifty pounds as soon as you get home, I, on my part, will +at once deliver up little George to you; and will pledge my word, as a +man of honour, not again to interfere with either of the children. You +may think what you please of me, but such is my proposal." + +These words were uttered in a tone of the most imperturbable self- +possession, and perfectly staggered poor Amos by their amazing +effrontery. But all was now plain enough to him. This needy +adventurer, who had entangled poor Julia in his cruel meshes, and had +deserted her for a time, was hard up for money; and, having found out +that Amos had taken upon himself to provide for his children at present, +had hit upon the scheme of withdrawing one of them from the cottage, as +a way of extorting money from his brother-in-law. It was also pretty +clear that he was afraid to show himself openly, lest the officers of +justice should lay hold of him and bring him to trial for some breach of +the law. He had, therefore, betaken himself to the expedient of hanging +up the little boy's handkerchief on the way-post, being sure that +persons would be out immediately in all directions searching for the +child, and that some one of them would light upon the handkerchief with +the letter in it, and would forward it to Amos without delay, as the +young man would be sure to be informed of the loss as soon as the nurse +discovered it, and would lose no time in making personally search for +the missing child; and thus the writer's purpose would be answered +without his having given any clew by which himself could be discovered +and brought into trouble. All this was now plainly unfolded to Amos. +And what was he to do? That the man before him was utterly selfish and +unscrupulous, he had no doubt, and little good, he feared, could be done +by appealing to the conscience or better feelings of one who could act +deliberately as he had done. Was he, then, to leave his little nephew +in his father's hands, to be brought up to the stage--or, in other +words, to certain ruin under the training of such a man? The thought +was not to be endured. No, he must make the sacrifice. + +While these things were passing through his mind, his companion looked +about him with cool indifference, kicking the leaves and sticks at his +feet, and whistling in a low tone some operatic air. Then he broke +silence. "Which is it to be, Mr Huntingdon?" he asked. "Am I to keep +little George, or do you wish to have him back again? You know the +conditions; and you may be sure that I should not have taken the trouble +to meet you here if I had any thoughts of changing my mind." + +Amos looked sadly and kindly at him, and then said, "And can you really, +Mr Vivian, justify this conduct of yours to yourself? Can you feel +really happy in the course you are pursuing? Oh! will you not let me +persuade you--for my poor sister's sake, for your own sake--to leave +your present mode of life, and to seek your happiness in the only path +which God can bless? I would gladly help you in any way I could--" + +But here his companion broke in, scorn on his lip, and a fierce +malignant anger glaring from his eyes. "Stop, stop, Mr Huntingdon! +enough of that. We are not come here for a preaching or a prayer- +meeting. The die has long since been cast, and the Rubicon crossed. +You can take your course; I will take mine. If you have nothing more +agreeable to say to me, we had better each go our own way, and leave +matters as they are." + +"No," said Amos, firmly but sorrowfully; "it shall not be so. I promise +that you shall have my cheque for fifty pounds when you have placed +little George in my hands, and on the understanding that you pledge your +word, as a man of honour, to leave the children with me unmolested." + +"Exactly so," replied the other; "and now, as a little matter of +business, I shall be obliged by your making out the cheque to `John +Smith or Bearer,'--that, certainly, will tell no tales." + +"And where shall I send it to meet you? to what address?" + +"To no address at all, if you please. I will be myself at the spot +where the four lanes meet near your house, to the north of the Manor; it +is about a quarter of a mile from you. Of course you know the place +well. I will be there at five o'clock to-morrow morning, before the +general world is astir. You can either meet me there yourself, or send +some trusty person who is sure not to know me. I need hardly say that +any attempt to surprise or lay violent hands on me on that occasion +would be fruitless, as I should be well on my guard; and, further, +should there be any foul play of any kind, you may depend upon my +removing _both_ my children from your cottage at the earliest +opportunity." + +"I understand you," said Amos, "and will send my father's old butler to +take you the cheque at the hour and to the place you name. The old man +will ask no questions; he will be satisfied to do just what I tell him, +neither more nor less. You will easily recognise him, as he has snowy- +white hair, and he will be riding on this pony of mine." + +"So far so good," said the other; "I have no doubt you will keep your +word. And now as to the boy. You will find him at the finger-post on +which his silk handkerchief was tied, at two o'clock this afternoon; +that is to say, if you come alone, and are there punctually." Then he +rose, and, stretching himself to his full height, saluted Amos with a +bow of exaggerated ceremoniousness, and, turning on his heel, was soon +hidden from view by the trees of the wood. + +Sadly and slowly Amos made his way back to the market-town, his +thoughts, as he rode along, being far from pleasant companions. What +was to be the end of all this? Could he have done differently? No. He +was satisfied that duty plainly called him to the sacrifice which he had +made. He would have reproached himself bitterly had he lost the +opportunity of recovering his little nephew from such a father. He had +no doubt, then, taken one right step; the next he must leave to the same +heavenly guidance which never had misled nor could mislead him. So +having waited in the town till he had refreshed himself with a mid-day +meal, he made his way back along the roads he had travelled the day +before, and in due time arrived in sight of the finger-post, and of the +child who was sitting alone beneath it, his little head buried in his +lap, till, roused by the sound of the pony's feet, he looked up, and +with a joyful cry ran to meet his uncle. Another moment, and Amos had +sprung from his saddle and was clasping the sobbing, laughing child to +his heart. + +"O dear, dear Uncle Amos!" cried the little boy; "how good it is of God +to send you for me. Oh, don't let the tall, ugly, cruel man take me +away again." + +"Not if I can help it, dear child," said his uncle. "There now, jump +up, Georgie," he added; "we shall soon be at home again." + +As he was in the act of remounting, having placed the child on the front +of the saddle, he thought he heard a rustling in the hedge behind the +post, and that he saw the glancing of a dark body through the trees +beyond the hedge. However, that mattered not; in a very little time, +having put his pony to a brisk canter, he reached the cottage, and +received a hearty welcome from the nurse, and also from old Harry, whose +presence at the house he was not surprised at, when he remembered that +his brother Walter would no doubt have directed the old man to seek for +him there. But now he began to see that Harry had become acquainted, in +a measure, with his secret; for the nurse called him aside into another +room soon after his return, and told him of the old servant's emotion at +the sight of the little girl, and of his recognising in her the child of +his master's daughter. + +Amos was at first considerably disturbed at the old man's having made +this discovery. Then, by degrees, the conviction grew upon him that +this very discovery might be an important step in the direction of +carrying out the work he had set himself to do. Surely it had been +permitted for that end; and here was one who would become a helper to +him in the attainment of his purpose. So, after having pondered over +the matter, as he walked backwards and forwards in the little garden for +some half-hour or more, he called Harry out to him, and took him into +his confidence. + +"Harry," he began, "can you keep a secret?" + +"Well, Master Amos, that depends upon what sort of a secret it is, and +who tells it me. Some folks give you secrets to keep which everybody +knows, so that they're gone afore you gets 'em. But if _you've_ got a +secret for me to keep, you may depend upon it no one shall get it from +me." + +"Just so, Harry. Then I have a secret which I want you to keep for me-- +or, perhaps, I had better say that I have something which I should like +to tell you, because I believe you may be able to help me in an +important matter. And instead of binding you to keep my secret, I shall +just leave it to your own good sense to say nothing about the matter +till the right time comes; and I am sure, when you know all, you will +have no wish to make my business a subject of conversation in the +family, nor of idle gossip out of it." + +"You're right there, sir," was the old butler's hearty reply; "you may +trust me. I've too much respect for the family to go about like a +sieve, shaking such things as I've a notion you're a-going to speak to +me about all up and down the country, for every idle man, woman, and +child to be wagging their tongues about them." + +"Well then, Harry," continued his young master, "I shall count upon your +discretion as to silence, and on your help, where you can be of use to +me." + +"They're both at your service, Mr Amos." + +"Then I shall speak openly to you, and without any reserve. I need +hardly remind you of the sad beginning of our family troubles. You will +remember too well how my poor sister left her home, and married secretly +a man altogether beneath her. You know how terribly my poor father was +cut up by that marriage, and how he closed the door of our home against +Miss Julia, as I must still call her to you. I am not blaming him nor +excusing her, but just referring to the facts themselves. I never knew +till to-day who or what my poor sister's husband was. I never dared +mention the subject to my father, especially after my dear mother had to +leave us; but ever since they were gone from us I have had it on my +heart to make it the great business of my life to get them back again. +I know it can be done, and I believe, with God's help, it will be done. +I have found out to-day that my poor sister's husband is an actor, +evidently a thoroughly unprincipled man. She went about with him from +one place to another for a while; then he deserted her, before the +children were old enough to know him as their father; and about a year +ago I got a letter from her, telling me that she was left in a miserable +lodging with two little children, and must starve unless somebody helped +her. I went to see her, and found her mixed up with a number of her +husband's stage acquaintances, from whom she seemed unable to free +herself. So I promised to supply her with what would keep her from want +till her husband should return to her; and got her to let me have her +two children, whom she was quite unable to feed and clothe, and who +would soon be ruined, I saw, if they were left with their poor mother as +she then was, and with such people about her as friends or +acquaintances. So I brought the children here, and have put them under +the charge of good Mrs Williams, who knows all about them; and since +then I have been just watching and waiting to see how the Lord would +guide me, and have been content to move as he directs me, one step at a +time. But yesterday I got a sad check. The father of the children +enticed away his little boy, and got me to meet him this morning some +miles away from here. He cared nothing for the child, but only took him +away that he might get some money out of me. So, when we met this +morning, he engaged to give me back the child if I would promise to send +him a sum of money which he named; and if I would not do so, then he +said he would keep the boy, and bring him up as a stage-player. That I +would not hear of; so I promised him the money, and he has given me back +the little boy as you see, and has solemnly undertaken not to meddle +with either of the children again. And now I want you to take the money +for me when we get home. He is to be at the four turnings above the +Manor-house at five o'clock to-morrow morning, and I am to send him a +cheque in an envelope. This I have promised, and I want your help in +the matter. You understand, Harry, how things are?--they are black +enough just now, I grant, but they might be blacker." + +The old man, who had listened with breathless interest, now stood still +and looked his young master steadily in the face, while two or three big +tears rolled down his cheeks. + +"And so you've been a-sacrificing yourself, Master Amos, for your sister +and her dear children," he said. "I see it all; but shouldn't I just +like to have fast hold of that rascal's neck with one hand, and a good +stout horsewhip in the other. But I suppose it's no use wishing for +such things. Well, I'm your man, sir, as far as I can be of any +service. But as for him and his promises, what are they worth? Why, +he'll be just squeezing you as dry as an old sponge as has been lying +for a month in a dust-pan. He'll never keep his word, not he, while +there's a penny to be got out of you. And yet, I suppose, you couldn't +have done different for the sake of the poor children, bless their +little hearts. And I'm to take the money to him? Yes; and a policeman +or two at the same time would be best. But no, I suppose not, as you've +promised, and for the credit of the family. Well, it's a shocking bad +business altogether; but when a man's been and tackled it as you've +done, Master Amos, it'll come right in the end, there's no doubt of it." + +"Thank you, Harry, a thousand times," said the other; "and I am sure you +shall see the wisdom of keeping quiet on the subject for the sake of the +family." + +"You're safe there with me, Master Amos," was the old man's reply. + +So, when Amos and Harry returned to Flixworth Manor, the young man +explained to his father that the little child at the cottage, in whom he +was interested, had been enticed away by a stranger, and that he had +been unable to recover him till that morning, and had, in his search for +the child, been obliged to spend the previous night at the market-town. +Mr Huntingdon, who was just then very fully occupied in planning and +carrying out some improvements on his estate, was satisfied with this +explanation. So the subject was not further discussed in the family. +On the morning after his return, Amos duly conveyed the cheque, through +Harry, to his brother-in-law. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +BEARING THE CROSS. + +Walter's good intentions and resolutions respecting his treatment of his +brother, though sincere when he uttered them in the presence of his +aunt, were by no means strong enough to make him curb his wit or his +displeasure when Amos did anything to annoy or thwart him. And not only +so; but there abode in his mind a feeling of mingled jealousy and +annoyance when he was constrained to admit to himself his brother's +superiority. If Amos had some self-imposed duty to perform, why should +he thrust this duty into other people's faces? Duty was a very fine +thing in its way, no doubt, but grave Mr Duty was a very sour-tempered, +troublesome old fellow when he trode on his neighbour's toes. And why +should Amos make himself disagreeable by adopting a course of duty which +unfitted him for cordially co-operating with his younger brother in his +schemes? There was a sort of monasticism in this conduct in Walter's +eyes. Here was his brother living amongst them, and yet, having taken +the vows of some self-imposed duty upon him, he was looking down upon +them all as though from some higher standing-ground. What a pity that +he did not retire into a monastery, where he could act out his vows and +his duty without troubling the noses of ordinary mortals like his +relations with this oppressive "odour of sanctity." So thought Walter; +and he made no concealment of his feelings from Amos, whom he now began +to call "the Monk," or "Father Gengulphus." + +Amos took it all very quietly, fully understanding that Walter was vexed +with him for pursuing a path alone, along which his brother neither +could nor would follow him at present. He was content that it should be +so, and bore the cross patiently, being willing to bide his time, +thankful to notice in Walter a kindlier feeling towards himself on the +whole, and convinced that, in the end, his own motives and work would be +duly appreciated by that brother whom he sincerely loved. + +Miss Huntingdon saw what was going on, and rejoiced. She knew well that +the discipline would only tend to brighten the character of her elder +nephew, and felt sure that Walter would learn by degrees fully to +understand and value his brother. Meanwhile, she was ever ready to +throw in a little oil when the waters were more than usually troubled. +She knew, too, the strength of Amos's religious character, and the +weakness of any higher or holier principles in Walter's heart; and she +was sure that the steady consistency of her elder nephew would gradually +win on the generous heart of his brother, spite of himself. + +Nothing special had occurred to spoil the harmony of feeling between +Amos and Walter for some weeks after the unexpected absence of the +former from home; so that the hearts of the brothers were really being +drawn closer together, notwithstanding natural dissimilarity of +disposition, and the absence in Walter of that high principle and self- +discipline which were moulding his elder brother's character into daily +nearer conformity to Him who is the one only perfect pattern of +humanity. + +It was while Walter was thus increasingly becoming sensible of the +superior beauty of his brother's sterling worth and consistency, and was +at the same time secretly resenting the pressure of that nobler life's +influence upon him, being unprepared to follow it out himself and submit +to its gentle restraints and self-denial, that a party of friends was +assembled at dinner one summer evening at the Manor-house. Mr +Huntingdon did not give dinner-parties now as frequently as in happier +days, and his friends and neighbours understood and appreciated the +cause; but now and then he felt it to be his duty to entertain his +friends in the old way; so, on the present occasion, some thirty guests +sat down to table. + +Among those present were an old Mrs Morse, a widow lady, and her +daughter. The mother was a kind-hearted woman of the world, reasonably +well-to-do, and visited by all the good families in the neighbourhood. +She was very anxious to see her daughter, who was her only child, and +was now passing out of her youthful days, well married, as the world +esteems it; so she was very glad of an opportunity of drawing out Amos +Huntingdon, whom she looked upon as a worthy, weak, shy, dull young man, +rather depressed by his discouraging home surroundings, and not a likely +person to attract or seek the affections of any young lady who might be +fortunate enough to combine the allurements of wealth and beauty. He +might, however, with a little judicious management, be led to look with +interest on her daughter, and would prove, no doubt, an excellent +husband, as he had means of his own, the prospect of inheriting the +Manor, and was exceedingly amiable, and free from habits of +extravagance. Gladly, therefore, did she avail herself of the present +opportunity to engage Amos in conversation before dinner was announced, +expressing, at the same time, her regret that she had so seldom the +pleasure of meeting him, and how much it would gratify herself and her +daughter if he would come over now and then and spend a quiet afternoon +or evening with them. "You know," she continued, "we are quiet people, +and, if report says true, Mr Amos, your own tastes and habits are of +the quiet sort. We should be so glad to see you in our simple way; and +I think we could show you, in the beauties of our charming +neighbourhood, what would really be a pleasure to you and a refreshment +to your mind." + +Amos thanked her, and listened with due decorum to a good deal of small +talk on the old lady's part till dinner was announced, when she so +contrived that he should take her daughter down and sit between them. + +Walter was seated just opposite his brother, full of life and fun, as he +threw off his gay remarks now on this side and now on that. Suddenly he +looked across at Amos, and something in the situation of his brother +between the old lady and her daughter struck him as so irresistibly +funny, that it was with the utmost difficulty that he restrained himself +from a violent outburst of laughter. And, certainly, to one easily +moved to merriment there was something singularly quaint and almost +comic in the contrast between the subdued but courteous manner of Amos, +who was patiently endeavouring to make himself agreeable to his two +immediate neighbours, and the excited frivolity of Miss Morse's running +fire of worldly commonplaces, occasionally interrupted by her mother's +more staid utterances of a similar character. + +Walter thoroughly comprehended the situation, and the reason why such +pains were being taken to draw out his brother; and his satisfaction and +amusement were unbounded at the manifest failure of the effort. The old +lady caught Walter's eye, and divining somewhat of the cause of its +merry twinkle, coloured, and was silent. Her daughter also looked +uneasily across the table, and then exclaimed,-- + +"Were you at Lady Gambit's garden-party last Tuesday, Mr Walter?" + +"No," he replied; "I was not there." + +"Then I can tell you that you missed a treat," said the other. + +"Why, what was the special attraction?" he asked. + +"Oh, everything that you can imagine!" + +"Well, I can imagine so many things," said Walter laughing, "that I am +quite sure her ladyship's garden could never have held them all. Pray, +tell me what you yourself thought _the_ attraction _par excellence_." + +"Yes, I can do that. You know these garden-parties are generally rather +dull affairs after all." + +"What! with those numberless attractions?" + +"Yes; one gets weary of them. You know, go where you will, it's the +same thing over and over again." + +"But it seems that it was not so in this case." + +"No, it was not. Her ladyship, no doubt, wished to make a little +variety, and so she was good enough to provide us with something new." + +"Dear me!" cried Walter; "how I should have liked being there! What was +the novelty? Was it a temperance lecture, or a Band of Hope meeting for +the benefit of the old boys and girls of sixty or seventy years of age? +That must have been very lively. Or perhaps it was a Protestant address +against nunneries and monasteries. My brother Amos would have liked to +have had a word on that subject." + +"No, no, Mr Walter; you must not be foolish." + +"Well, do tell me. I am all anxiety to know what this attractive +novelty was. Not a conjurer? that would have been capital fun." + +"No, not a conjurer exactly." + +"Well, then, something of the sort?" + +"Yes; Lady Gambit had engaged a celebrated mimic--a man, I mean, who can +take off other people to the life." + +"Indeed," said Walter. "Perhaps it might have been as well if he had +taken himself off. But, excuse my nonsense; what did he mimic?" + +"Oh, all sorts of funny people. We all gathered round him under the +great sycamore tree, and he kept us in peals of laughter for an hour." + +"Tell me, please, some of the characters he took off." + +"I can remember two especially. One of them was a drunkard, and the +other was a hypocrite. In taking off the drunkard he called himself +`Mr Adolphus Swillerly.' You never heard anything more amusing in your +life." + +"And the hypocrite?" asked Walter, but with less of amusement in his +tone. + +"Ah, I think that was better still! He assumed the character of `Simon +Batter-text;' and he mimicked his preaching, and his praying, and his +sighs, and his `ahmens' in a wonderful way. It really was perfect. I'm +so sorry you were not there, you would have so thoroughly enjoyed it." + +There was a pause, and a general silence, for the attention of the rest +of the company had been drawn to the subject and the speakers. + +"Surely you don't see any harm in a little fun like that?" asked the +young lady in some dismay, as she noticed that Walter's face and manner +were troubled as he hesitated in his reply. + +All eyes were on him. What should he say? He turned very red; and +then, having helped himself to a glass of wine, he said, carelessly, and +with a short, merry laugh, "Harm! oh, of course not! The man meant no +harm; he didn't attack individuals. All the better if he made +drunkenness and hypocrisy ridiculous.--Don't you think so, Amos?" + +For a moment his brother hesitated, for every eye was directed towards +him. No one spoke; not a knife nor fork clattered. + +"Well, my boy," said his father, "let us have your opinion." + +Thus appealed to, Amos no longer hesitated, but said calmly, and in a +low distinct voice, heard by every one at the table, "I had rather not +have given my opinion; but, when I am thus openly appealed to, I must +not shrink from expressing it. I think it wrong, utterly wrong, to +ridicule sin in any shape or form. To put sin in a funny light is not +the way to make us hate it as we ought to do. Our Saviour never made +light or a jest of sin; and I believe that the man who mimicked a +drunkard and a hypocritical preacher had no love for either sobriety or +holiness." + +The profoundest silence reigned while Amos uttered these words. At +first his voice had trembled, but it immediately became perfectly firm, +and a quiet peace rested on his sweet face as he finished. A sudden +chill seemed to have fallen on most of the party. Some shrugged their +shoulders, some smiled, others looked annoyed. Mrs Morse and her +daughter exchanged looks of bewilderment behind Amos's back. Walter, +with feelings of mingled shame and vexation, glanced at the bright face +of his aunt, whose eyes swam with grateful tears. Then he glanced down: +her hands were crossed; yes, he knew that it would be so. And how felt +Mr Huntingdon? To the surprise of all, and of none more than Amos +himself, he exclaimed, "That's right, Amos; you've spoken out like a +man, and I believe you are right." + +For a while there was silence; then a gentleman near the squire's end of +the table asked his next neighbour, "What sort of a looking man was this +same mimic? I believe you were at Lady Gambit's." + +"Yes, I was there," replied the other. "I can't say much in his favour. +He was not a bad-looking fellow,--black hair, if it was his own, black +piercing eyes, and a black beard. I can't imagine where her ladyship +picked him up." + +"But _I_ can," said a gentleman opposite. "He is some strolling player. +He got, it would seem, access to Lady Gambit's ear in some underhand +way; and he has done now what our young friend Walter suggested a little +while ago that he might as well have done sooner. Having taken other +people off, he has taken himself off also, and has contrived to carry +some twenty pounds of her ladyship's money with him, which he managed to +swindle her out of; and the police are on the look-out for him. I heard +that only this morning from the sergeant himself." + +Poor Amos! how terribly his heart sank within him when he heard these +words! Yes; he could have little doubt about it. This mimic and +swindler, he felt assured, was none other than his own brother-in-law. +Happily, however, he was pretty sure to be now out of the neighbourhood, +and was not likely to show himself soon again. But what of his unhappy +wife? Alas! Amos dreaded to think what the unprincipled man might do +with or against her. + +Glad, heartily glad, were both the brothers when the dinner was over, +and the rest of the evening, after "dragging its slow length along," had +at last come to an end. Walter, indeed, rattled away in the drawing- +room to every one's content but his own. Still, a chill had fallen on +more than one of the party; and as for poor Mrs Morse and her daughter, +after endeavouring to make themselves agreeable by gusts which were +followed by portentous lulls, they were glad to order their carriage and +take their departure at the earliest hour consistent with politeness. + +And now, when all the guests had taken leave, and Miss Huntingdon had +retired to her room, happy in the prospect of coming rest, she heard a +sort of half scuffle at her door, followed by a knock. Then in came +Walter, dragging in some one after him who was evidently reluctant to be +thus introduced. "Can you, oh, can you, dear aunt, spare me--ay, spare +_us_,--that means me and Amos, or, rather, it ought to be Amos and me,-- +just a few minutes? Amos doesn't want to come, just like his unselfish +self, but I do. No, I don't want to tire you after all your fatigues, +but I can't go to sleep till I have had a word from you. If you don't +let me stop, if you don't say that word, I shall lie awake all night, +thinking of those hands--not _cross_, for their owner is never cross, +but _crossed_--those crossed hands. Or if I do go to sleep, I shall do +nothing but dream of them. So pray let me stop; and Amos must stop +too." + +The permission to remain having been cheerfully granted, Walter hauled +his brother into a chair, and then, stooping over him, kissed his +forehead. Then he flung himself on his knees and looked up wistfully +into Miss Huntingdon's face. Oh, how entirely did she forget all +weariness, as she marked the effect that Walter's kiss had on his +brother; how it brought tears from those eyes which had long known +little of weeping except for sorrow. + +"Well, dear boy," she said, "and what would you have with me now?" + +"Ah! auntie, I want those hands to talk to me, and I want Amos to hear +them talk. I want you to tell us both some of your moral courage +anecdotes; they will strengthen him and be a lesson to me; for I don't +want you to tell me this time that I was wrong. There sits the brave +man, here kneels the coward." + +"Dear, dear boy," was Miss Huntingdon's reply, with a warm embrace, +"yes; what you say is true. It _did_ require true moral courage to +speak up as Amos did, at such a time and before so many; and we have +some noble instances on record of such a courage under somewhat similar +circumstances, and these show us that conduct like this will force +respect, let the world say and think what it pleases. I have two or +three heroes to bring forward on this topic, but I must be brief, as the +hour is late. + +"You remember Frederick the Great, as he was called. Alas! he was great +in infidelity as well as in war; and he delighted to gather round him +those who shared in the same unbelieving views. God and his truth were +subjects of ridicule with them; and a bold man indeed would he be who +would venture to say in their presence a word in favour of the gospel or +of respect for its divine Author. But there was such a one amongst +those who had the privilege of sitting at the king's table; an old grey- +headed man of rank, who had fought his country's battles nobly, and +whose wise counsels in state affairs were highly prized by his +sovereign. He was dining one day at the palace, and saw all round him +none but those who made a mock of sin and religion. The conversation +flowed freely, and the smart jests of Frederick called forth similar +flashes of wit from his different guests. The subject of Christianity +soon came up, and was immediately handled in the most profane and bitter +style by the king and those around him. No wit is so cheap as profane +wit; for the devil seems to give a special facility of sarcasm to those +who attack God's truth; and, besides that, there seems nothing which +ungodly men relish so much, for giving point to their blasphemies, as +Scripture facts or words misquoted, misapplied, or parodied. So the +gospel and its Founder were bandied from tongue to tongue as a theme for +unholy mirth. But presently there was a pause and a dead silence; for +the grey-headed old soldier, who had sat perfectly silent and deeply +pained, as he listened to the unhallowed talk of his companions, rose to +his feet, his face flushed, and his hoary head bowed down. What was +coming now? + +"`May it please your majesty,' the old man began, while the tears ran +down his cheeks, and his voice was troubled, `I have always, as I am +sure you will acknowledge, behaved with due respect to your majesty +whenever in your majesty's presence; nor can any one here say that he +has ever heard me speak evil of your majesty behind your back. Your +majesty knows, also, that I have endeavoured to serve you faithfully on +the field and in the council-chamber. You must therefore bear with me +while I say that I cannot sit patiently by and hear your majesty join +with your friends in speaking evil of the dearest friend I have, one +dearer to me than my life, and whom I must hold in greater honour than +even your majesty. I mean my Saviour and heavenly King, the Lord Jesus +Christ. Pardon me, therefore, your majesty, if I ask leave to withdraw +at once.' + +"Just imagine, dear boys, such a speech in such a company, for to such +effect were the words spoken by that noble old soldier of the Cross. +Ah! it is comparatively easy to stand up for the truth in our day and +country, because religion is now universally respected by all people of +good sense and refinement, even by those who do not follow it; and +anything like an open attack upon Christianity, in a mixed company, +would be frowned upon by society as being ungentlemanly and in bad +taste. But it was not so in Frederick's court, where a profession of +infidel opinions was almost held to be an essential in one who would +make any pretension to intellectual acuteness. And the old officer knew +this well. He knew the scorn which would glare upon him from the eyes +of the other guests. He expected nothing but sneering pity, where such +sentiments as his own could not be visited with a severer penalty. But +he did not hang back through fear of man. He could say, as David says +in the Psalms, `I will speak of thy testimonies even before kings, and +will not be ashamed.' Was he not a true moral hero, dear Walter?" + +"An out-and-out one, dear aunt," was his reply. "But what did the king +say to this?" + +"The king behaved on this occasion like a king and a man. Poor king, he +was not without a heart that could, at times, feel as it ought to do. +He at once turned to the faithful old servant of the great Master, and, +checking all attempts at ridicule or retort in the other guests, assured +him that he thoroughly respected and appreciated his feelings and +motives and his present conduct, and that never again would he himself +say anything against the old man's faith nor his Saviour while he was +by, nor would he suffer any who might be with him to do so." + +"Hip, hip, hurrah!" said Walter. "The old man got the best of it after +all; and so will my brother Amos here, spite of his having such an +unworthy coward of a brother as poor Walter. But you have another +example for us, auntie; nothing like knocking the nail on the head. I +feel better already, and mean to be a perfect moral lion for bravery in +future; at least I hope so." + +"I hope so too, Walter," said his aunt with a smile. "I will give you, +then, one other instance of the same sort of moral courage, but taken +from quite a different country, and occurring in our own days; and then +I think we shall have had lessons enough for to-night. My hero this +time is an American, and a young man too. + +"You will have heard of the remarkable revival which took place in that +country, I mean in the United States, some few years since. Of course, +at such seasons there will be a mixture of good and evil. Not all who +make a profession will stand firm; while those who have been merely +carried along by the current of excitement will return at last to the +world, from which they have never really separated themselves, when the +excitement has passed away. But, indeed, a great and lasting work for +God was accomplished in that revival, and the young man I am speaking +about was one of the fruits of it. + +"He had been living a very gay and thoughtless life. I am not sure that +he had been indulging in any openly sinful practices; but, at any rate, +he had been giving himself up wholly to the pursuit of this world. He +was in a good social position, and possessed of abundant means. +Moreover, he had received a good education, so far as mere learning +went, and was of pleasing and popular manners. The last thing he would +have thought of would have been turning a Christian. But God, whose +thoughts are not as our thoughts, had better things in store for him. +The revival wave swept over the neighbourhood where he was, and carried +him along with it. His heart, his views, his aims were all really +changed; he was, indeed and in truth, a new creature. And now he felt +that he must not hide his colours, he must nail them to the mast, or, +rather, he must wrap them round him that, go where he might, every one +might see them. His was that thorough-going, energetic, outspeaking +disposition which has accomplished such marvellous earthly things +through so many of his fellow-countrymen. He was not the person to do +anything by halves. + +"Before his conversion, himself and several other young men, of like +tastes and habits, used to meet weekly at one another's houses, in turn, +for card-playing and carousing; and at these meetings he used to be the +very life of the party, the gayest of the gay. But what should he do +now? It would be no easy matter to confess to his young associates the +change that had taken place in his heart. What would they think and +say? Perhaps he might let it get known by degrees, and then he could +just absent himself from the old gatherings, and merely drop out of a +society no longer congenial to him. This would save him a great deal of +shame and reproach. Would not this be as much as could be reasonably +expected of him, and sufficient to show his sincerity and consistency? +It might have satisfied ordinary characters, but it did not satisfy him. +He wanted to be doing something at once for the Master, and to begin +with those very young men who had been his companions in sin. So he +sent round his printed invitations to every one of them to a gathering +in his own house. Such had been the custom with all the members of +their fraternity. But this time the invitation was no longer to `Tea +and Cards,' but to `Tea and Prayer.' It was, indeed, a bold stroke, but +it was not the act of the moment from mere impulse or excitement. + +"The day of meeting came. A few of his old acquaintances arrived, some, +it may be, out of curiosity, or supposing that the `Prayer' was only a +joke. But none were left in doubt. Plainly, lovingly, faithfully, he +set before them how the change had been wrought in himself, and how +happy it had made him; and then he affectionately urged them all to take +the same course as he had done. And I believe that his noble and +courageous dealing was not in vain. Am I wrong, Walter, in classing +that young American gentleman among my moral heroes?" + +"No, dear aunt, certainly not," replied her nephew thoughtfully. "I +think he deserves a foremost place;--don't you, Amos?" + +"Yes," replied his brother; "he reminds me of the greatest, perhaps, of +all moral heroes--I mean, of course, among beings like ourselves. I am +thinking of the apostle Paul, who changed at once from the persecutor to +the preacher; gave up every earthly honour and advantage; braved the +bitter scorn of his old friends; and, without hesitation, began +immediately publicly to proclaim the gospel which he had before been mad +to destroy." + +Walter held out his hand to his brother, and the clasp was a close and +mutual one; and then, hand in hand, they left their aunt, who laid her +head on her pillow that night with deep thankfulness in her heart, for +she saw that, spite of all drawbacks, there was a good work making +progress in Walter, and that the high and holy character of the true and +tried disciple of the Saviour was gaining strength and beauty in the +once despised and misunderstood Amos. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +IS IT GENUINE? + +But though Walter was learning to understand and appreciate his +brother's character, and to acknowledge his superiority to himself in +moral courage, he was not altogether satisfied with continuing to lie +under the sense of that superiority on his brother's part. He had +himself been so constantly made the object of his father's admiration +and outspoken praises, and had always been so popular with all friends +of the family and guests at the Manor-house, that anything like a +feeling of inferiority to his brother was one which he found it very +hard to allow a lodging in his heart and thoughts. So, while the +generous impulse of the moment had led him to applaud and rejoice in his +brother's noble moral courage, when they were discussing the matter in +his aunt's room, he was by no means prepared, when that impulse had died +away, to allow Amos to carry off and retain the palm which he +acknowledged that he had won. Jealousy of his brother's reputation for +moral courage with Miss Huntingdon was a meanness which he would have +thought himself incapable of, and which he would have repudiated +indignantly had he been charged with it. Nevertheless, it was there in +his heart; it made him restless and dissatisfied, and kept him longing +for an opportunity to display a moral courage which should shine with a +light that might, even in his aunt's eyes, eclipse, or at any rate +equal, that which glowed so brightly in Amos. He was therefore on the +watch for such an opportunity; and before long that opportunity, as he +thought, presented itself. + +One morning as the squire was reading the county paper, while his sister +was superintending the preparations for breakfast, and her two nephews +were seated near her, Mr Huntingdon exclaimed suddenly, in a tone of +angry excitement, "Why, whatever is the meaning of this? Walter, my +boy, whatever does it mean?" + +"What, father?" asked his son in a voice of mingled uneasiness and +surprise. + +"Why, just listen to this advertisement:--`I hereby challenge the +working-men of this neighbourhood to a trial of skill in running, +leaping, and shooting; and I promise to give a sovereign to any man who +shall beat me in a mile race, a high jump, and firing at a mark. The +trial to come off on Marley Heath, on Tuesday, June 8th, at four o'clock +p.m. + +"`Signed, Walter Huntingdon, Flixworth Manor.'--Do you know anything +about this, Walter? Did you really put this advertisement into the +paper? or is it a disgraceful hoax?" + +Poor Walter looked perfectly astounded, as did also his aunt and +brother. Then he said, with some hesitation, "It is no advertisement of +mine." + +"No, I thought not," said his father indignantly. "It must be, then, a +most shameful hoax; and I shall speak or write to the editor about it in +pretty strong terms you may be sure." + +"Father," said Walter sadly, and after a pause, "it is no hoax." + +"No hoax! What do you mean? You said you did not put the advertisement +in; so it must be a hoax." + +"I will explain it," said his son in a subdued voice. "The other day, +young Saunders, Gregson, and myself were discussing which of us was the +best shot, and best at a race and a jump. `Well,' said I, `we can +easily put it to the test. Let us meet to-morrow on Marley Heath and +have it out.' So we brought our guns with us next day; and Saunders and +Gregson brought a few other fellows with them to look on and see all +fair. We three fired at a mark, and leapt over a rod hung across two +poles, and tried who was best runner over a hundred yards; and I won the +day in all three things. So, as we were sitting down in the little +roadside inn, where we all had some eggs and bacon and bread and cheese +together for lunch, Gregson said to the other fellows, `Why, our friend +Walter here might challenge the whole county.' `That he might; and win +too,' said more than one of them. `I don't know,' I said; `but I +shouldn't mind offering a sovereign to any working-man in the +neighbourhood who would beat me.' `Good,' said Saunders; `there's many +a working-man that would like to have a try for your sovereign; and it +would be capital fun to see the match come off.' `What do you say to +putting an advertisement in the county paper to that effect?' said +Gregson. `Not I,' I said; `I shall do nothing of the sort.' `Ah, he's +backing out,' said Saunders. `Indeed, I'm not,' I cried; `I meant what +I said.' `Well, will you let me put the advertisement in in your name? +Don't be modest, man; you're sure to win,' said Gregson. `You can do so +if you like,' I replied; `I have no intention to go back from my word.' +I said this half in joke and half in earnest, and no doubt we were all a +little excited with the sport and with the lunch; but I never dreamed +that Gregson was serious when he talked about putting in the +advertisement in my name, and I shall not soon forgive him for getting +me into such a fix. So, father, that's just all about it." + +Mr Huntingdon listened to this explanation with much surprise and +vexation, and then was silent. + +"And what do you mean to do about it, Walter?" asked his aunt. "You +surely won't let the matter go on." + +"I don't see how I can help it," was her nephew's reply; "the challenge +has been publicly given in my name." + +"It can't be--it mustn't be," exclaimed his father angrily; "it's +perfectly preposterous. We shall be the talk and the jest of the whole +county. It will do harm, too, to the working-classes. Why, you'll have +all the idle vagabonds there. Some light-fingered and light-heeled +poacher will win your sovereign--you'll be the laughing-stock of all the +country round, and so shall I too. And such a thing, instead of +encouraging patient industry and sobriety, will be just the means of +giving heart to the idlers and the profligates. It must not be, Walter, +my boy." + +His son did not reply for some time; at last he said, "I don't see how I +can back out of it; I've pledged my word. I'm sorry for it, and I'm +willing to take all the shame and blame to myself, and all the ridicule, +if I'm beaten. You may depend upon it I won't be caught in this way +again, but I must go through with it now." + +"Nonsense," said his father; "I don't see that at all." + +"Perhaps not, father," replied his son; "but I can't go back from what +I've said." These last words were uttered with a dogged determination +of tone and manner which showed that Walter had made up his mind, and +was not to be turned from his purpose. + +Like his father, he had a considerable share of obstinacy in his +disposition, and Mr Huntingdon could call to mind several occasions on +which a battle with his favourite son had ended in the boy's getting his +own way. And so, thinking further remonstrance useless, at any rate for +the present, he let the matter drop, hoping, as he said afterwards to +his sister, that Walter would come to his senses on the matter when he +had had time to think the subject over coolly. But he was mistaken in +this hope. Much as Walter was annoyed at having been thus taken at his +word, which he had given half in jest, he nevertheless considered that +he was pledged to abide by what had been advertised in his name and with +his sanction. So on the day appointed there was a considerable +gathering of working-men, and also of women and children, on Marley +Heath, and this gathering swelled into a crowd as the time of trial +approached. + +Gregson and Saunders--who enjoyed the whole thing amazingly, and none +the less because, as they had expressed it to each other as they came +along, "Young Huntingdon would be none the worse fellow for getting a +little of the shine and brag taken out of him"--were on the spot in good +time, with several like-minded companions. These all gathered round +Walter as he came on to the ground, and wished him good success, +assuring him that no doubt he would keep his sovereign safe in his +pocket, and come off conqueror. + +Poor Walter's reply to his friends was not particularly cordial in its +tone, and made Gregson see that he must put in a word of conciliation. +"Come, old fellow," he said, "you must forgive me if I took you too +literally at your word. I really thought you meant it; it will do no +harm to anybody, and will only show that you've got the old Huntingdon +pluck and spirit in you." + +"All right," said Walter, but not very cheerily; "I'm booked now, and +must make the best of it. How many are there who are going in for the +trial, do you think?" + +"We shall see," said Saunders, "if we wait a bit; it wants a quarter to +four, still." + +Everything was then duly arranged for the contest. A mile's course had +been previously marked out, and a shooting-butt set up, and also two +poles with a leaping-rod across them. As the hour approached, several +young men respectably dressed came up, and among them a powerful and +active-looking fellow whose appearance was hailed by a general shout of +mirth. His clothing was none of the best; his face was scarred in +several places; and there was a free-and-easy manner about him, very +different from that of the other competitors. He answered the loud +laughter by which his appearance had been greeted with a broad grin and +a profound bow of mock salutation. Each candidate for the trial had +brought his gun with him, and stood prepared for the contest. Gregson +and Saunders managed all the arrangements after a brief consultation +with Walter. + +Four o'clock had now come, and Gregson, having ascertained the fact by +looking at his watch, brought the competitors forward, and informed them +that the shooting would be the first thing, and that six shots would be +allowed to each, the winner being of course he who should place the +greatest number of marks nearest the bull's-eye. At the same time +Gregson made it to be distinctly understood that the sovereign was only +to be given to the man, if such should be found, who should beat Walter +Huntingdon in all three things,--namely, in shooting, leaping, and +running. + +By his own request Walter came first. Whatever may have been his +feelings of annoyance or reluctance up to this time, they were now +completely swallowed up in the excitement of the moment and the desire +to maintain the high reputation he had previously gained. So he threw +his whole soul into the contest, and with steady eye and unwavering hand +pointed his rifle towards the target. Bang! a cloud of smoke. Well +shot! the bullet had struck the target, but not very near the centre. A +second and third were equally but not more successful. The fourth +struck the bull's-eye, the fifth the ring next it, and the sixth the +bull's-eye again. Bravo! shouted the excited crowd; would any one beat +that? Forward now came a sober-looking young man, and did his best, but +this was far short of what Walter had achieved. Two others followed +with no better success. Then came one who handled his gun very +carefully, and took his aims with great deliberation. Three shots in +the bull's-eye! here was a winner--would any one come up to him? Four +more came forward, and two of these again scored three shots in the +bull's-eye. And now the rough-looking man, who had excited the general +mirth of the crowd on his arrival, took his stand opposite the target. +He gazed at it a full minute before raising his piece. There was a +derisive titter throughout the spectators as at last he did so in an +awkward style, and with a queer twist of his mouth. The next moment he +was rigid as a statue cut out of stone. Flash! bang! the bull's-eye; +again the bull's-eye; two more very near it; twice again the bull's-eye. +So he has made the best score after all. "I thought so," he cried, +with a swaggering toss of his head and a jaunty whistle, and then with a +flourish of his rifle high in air he strode back into the midst of the +onlookers. Thus there were four of the competitors who had outdone +Walter in the firing at the mark. + +But the running and jumping yet remained to be contested. The jumping +was arranged to come next, and the four winners in the shooting prepared +to do their best against their young challenger: Walter was now +thoroughly roused, and, taking off his coat, and exchanging his boots +for a pair of light shoes, stepped forward to exert himself to his +utmost. Higher and higher did he bound over the cross-rod as it was +raised for him by his friends peg by peg. Jumping was a feat in which +he specially prided himself, and loud was the applause of Gregson, +Saunders, and their friends as he sprang over the rod time after time. +At last he failed to clear it, and his utmost was done. And now the +previous winners came on in turn. The first who made the attempt soon +gave in; he was clearly inferior to Walter in the high jump. The next +surpassed him by one peg. The third equalled him. And now came forward +the strange-looking man on whom all eyes were eagerly bent. He had +divested himself of his coat and dirty neck-tie, and having kicked off +his shoes, looked round him with a snort and a wild grimace, and then +ran forward with a light, skipping step, and cleared the first stick +without the slightest effort. Each succeeding height was leapt over +with the same ease, till he had equalled the most successful jumper. +"And now for a topper," he cried, as the rod was raised by still another +peg. Throwing all his energies into the effort, with a rush and a +mighty bound he cleared the stick by nearly a foot, and danced gaily +back to the starting-point amidst the vociferous applause of all +present. Therefore Walter had now the two to contend with in the foot- +race who had surpassed him in the high jump. The interest of the crowd +was now at boiling-point, and all sorts of conjectures, opinions, and +affirmations were circulated as to the issue of the trial, while the +three who were to run were resting a while. At length, cheered on by +the sympathising shouts of the impatient spectators, they placed +themselves abreast, stripped of all superfluous garments, and at a +signal from Gregson the race began. Walter commenced warily, husbanding +his strength, and not quickening his speed till he had reached the +middle of the course; the one of the remaining two did much the same. +As for the other, the wild-looking winner of the highest place in the +two previous contests, he slouched along amidst peals of laughter all +through the line. Nevertheless, it was soon evident that, although +dropping behind a little in the first quarter of a mile, he was +gradually drawing up nearer and nearer to the front. When Walter had +accomplished three-fourths of his task, and was now putting on extra +speed, the wild stranger, with a shout of "Victory for ever!" flung +himself forward at a tremendous speed, and kept easily ahead to the end. +The two remaining racers now pressed on abreast till within a yard of +the place from whence they started, when, by a last vehement effort, +Walter's companion came in a foot or two in advance. All flung +themselves on the grass, and when the hubbub of cheers and shouts had +subsided, Walter rose to his feet, and holding out a hand to each of the +victors, said with a laugh, "Fairly beaten." + +Gradually now the crowd began to disperse, while the little band of +competitors gathered round a cart which had been brought up by Walter's +direction carrying some refreshments for himself and his friends, and +those who had tried skill and endurance with him. When the provisions +had been duly partaken of, Walter, taking out his purse, turned to those +about him and said: "And now, to whom am I to give the sovereign, for +two have beaten me?" + +"Oh, to our friend here, of course," said Gregson, placing his hand on +the strange-looking man's shoulder, "for he has done the best right +through." + +"Come forward, then, my man," said Walter; "and pray, may I ask your +name?" + +"Oh," said the man addressed, with a laugh, "every one knows my name-- +Jim Jarrocks they calls me." + +"Well, Jim, here's your sovereign, and you've fairly won it." + +"Thank'ee, sir," said Jim; "and so has Will Gittins here, if I'm not +mistaken." + +"How do you mean?" asked Saunders; "the sovereign was offered to the +best man." + +"Them's not the terms of the advertisement," said Jim, taking the +newspaper out of his pocket. "Here it is: `I promise to give one +sovereign to any man who shall beat me in a mile race, a high jump, and +firing at a mark.' Now, I've done it and won my sovereign, and Will +Gittins has done it and won his sovereign too." + +It was even so. Two had fairly won the prize. So Walter, not with the +best grace, felt in his purse for a second sovereign, which he handed to +the other winner; and the two men walked away from the place of meeting +arm in arm. + +"Walter," said Gregson earnestly and apologetically as they left the +ground, "I never meant this nor thought of it. I can't let you be out +of pocket this second sovereign; you must allow me to give it you back." + +But Walter declined it, spite of earnest remonstrance and pressure on +his friend's part. "No," he said; "I've got myself into a nice mess by +my folly; but what I've undertaken I mean to carry out, and take my own +burdens upon myself." And so, notwithstanding the applause and fine +speeches showered on him by his friends, Walter returned home +considerably crestfallen and out of spirits, the only thing that +comforted him being a sort of half conviction that he had shown a +considerable degree of moral courage in the way in which he had stuck to +and carried out his engagement. + +As for Mr Huntingdon, his mortification was extreme when there appeared +in the next issue of the county paper a full description of the contest, +from which it appeared that his favourite son had been beaten in a +public trial of skill by Jim Jarrocks, well-known all over the county as +the most reckless poacher and unblushing profligate anywhere about, and +had thus given encouragement to a man who was constantly before the +magistrates for all sorts of minor breaches of the law. However, he +felt that he must make the best of it, and he therefore spoke of it +among his friends as a bit of foolish practical joking on his son's +part, in which he had burned his fingers pretty severely, and which +would therefore, he had no doubt, read him a lesson to avoid anything of +the sort in the future. + +As for Walter himself, he was only too glad to keep silent on the +matter, and let it die out; and so were the family generally. There was +one, however, from whom Walter looked for sympathy, and even for a +measure of approbation--this was his aunt. In the evening, after the +article in the county paper on his challenge and its results had been +read with severe comments by his father at the breakfast-table, he found +Miss Huntingdon sitting alone in the summer-house. Having cut two or +three small slips off a laurel, he brought them to her, and, as he sat +down by her side, said, half mournfully, half playfully, "Auntie, I want +you to make me a laurel crown or chaplet of these." + +"Indeed, Walter; what for?" + +"That I may wear it as a reward from you, and a token of victory in +moral courage." + +"Well, but, my dear boy, if the laurels are to be looked at as a reward +from myself, I cannot crown you till I am satisfied that you have won +them." + +"Exactly so, auntie; now that is just what I am going to show you." + +"Do so, dear boy, and I shall be only too rejoiced to make the chaplet, +and to place it with my own hands on your head." + +"Well then, dear aunt, you have heard all about this wretched business +of the race; you may be sure that it has made me feel very small and +very foolish." + +"I can quite understand that," said Miss Huntingdon; "and I have felt +very sorry for you in the matter; but I hope it may turn out for good, +and make you a little more cautious." + +"I hope so too, auntie; but this is not the point with me just now. I +want to get credit, from you at any rate, for a little bit, perhaps only +a very little bit, of moral heroism or courage." + +"Well, Walter?" + +"Ah, now, auntie, that `well' didn't sound well. I'm afraid I shan't +get much credit or encouragement from you." + +"Let me hear all about it, dear boy," said his aunt kindly. + +"Why then, you see, I made a foolish offer, and might have backed out of +it; and if I had done so I should have pleased my father and saved my +money, and not have encouraged one of the biggest scamps going, and have +been spared a lot of chaffing and ridicule. But you see I had given my +word, though it was only half a word after all, for I never dreamed that +Gregson would have taken me up as he did. But rather than break my +word, I stood by what I had promised, and got all sorts of bother and +trouble by doing so. Now, wasn't that something like moral courage? +Don't I deserve my laurels?" + +"It was something _like_ it," replied his aunt gravely. + +"Is that all, auntie? Wasn't it the thing itself? You know there has +been no dash or mere impulse here. I've had a deal of patience and +forbearance to exercise, and these are quite out of my line." + +"Yes, I see that; but then, Walter--" + +"But then, Aunt Kate, it wasn't moral courage after all." + +"Do you yourself think it was, dear boy?" + +"Well, I don't know; I should like to think it was, but I am almost +afraid. What should you call it, dear aunt, if it wasn't truly moral +courage?" + +"I fear, dear Walter, you will think me very hard and unfeeling if I say +what I really think." + +"Oh, no, no! speak out, auntie--let me hear the truth; you are never +really unkind." + +"Then, Walter, I should call it obstinacy, and not moral courage. You +made a promise, and you would stick to it through thick and thin, let +the consequences to yourself and others be what they might, just because +you had said it. Was it not so?" + +Walter turned red, and looked very uncomfortable, and for a little time +made no reply. Then he said hastily, "And what _ought_ I to have done?" + +"Well, my boy, in my judgment," replied his aunt, "you ought to have +listened to your father, and to have withdrawn your offer, and to have +borne patiently the shame and the annoyance this would have brought upon +you from your friends Gregson, Saunders, and others." + +"Ah, I see; and then I should have shown real moral courage. What's the +difference, then?" + +"I think, Walter, the difference is just this: in the course you took, +your firmness and patience were for an _unworthy_ object; had you taken +the other course, they would have been for a _worthy_ object. It seems +to me that this makes all the difference. I could not myself call that +moral courage which made a man carry through, spite of all hindrances, +opposition, and with much personal sacrifice, a purpose which he must +know to be unworthy. Now, I will give you an illustration of what I +mean by an example. And first, I would remind you that all my heroes +hitherto have been those who showed their moral courage about worthy +objects; for instance, Washington, Howard, Colonel Gardiner, the young +man in the American revival. But the person whose moral courage I am +now going to mention was not on other occasions one of my heroes, but +his conduct on one particular occasion is specially to the point just +now. For I want you to see, dear boy, that true moral courage is shown, +not in sticking to a thing just because you have said it, when you must +know that you ought not to have said it, but in giving up what you have +said, and bearing the reproach of doing so, when you have become +convinced that you have said or undertaken what was wrong. It is duty, +in fact, that makes all the difference." + +"I see it, auntie; and who's your hero now?" + +"Frederick the Great of Prussia, Walter." + +"What! the man who ridiculed that good officer's religion?" + +"The same; but remember that, while he ridiculed religion, he was +constrained to honour that officer for his consistency. But his moral +courage was exhibited on a very different occasion. Now, you must +remember what sort of a man Frederick was,--he just resembled a spoiled +child, who could not brook the slightest thwarting of his will or +pleasure. In some things he was a miser, and in others just the +reverse. He wore his uniform till it was patched and threadbare, while +he gave two dollars each for cherries in the winter. He would pay +enormous sums to secure a singer, and then refuse to allow the opera- +house to be lighted with wax-candles, so that the pleasure of the +evening was spoiled by the smell of tallow. He was, unhappily, well- +known in the army for two peculiarities,--first, a temper of such iron +unforgiveness that, if he had taken offence at any one, that man's +career was closed, he was never employed again; and, second, a memory of +such tenacity that not a hope existed of entrapping him into +forgetfulness. + +"Now, among his officers there was a colonel, a very brave man, and a +capital soldier, who, on one occasion, had made some slight military +slip or blunder. This drew on him the king's displeasure, and was never +forgotten. So his pension or half-pay allowance was made the very +lowest his rank would permit; for these allowances were regulated by the +king himself. + +"The poor colonel had a wife and a large family of children; he did not +understand how to make the best of his small income, nor to improve it +by other employment, so that he was at last reduced to what was little +short of beggary and starvation. Day after day he placed himself in the +royal ante-chamber and begged an audience; but the king would not hear +him, and one day got into a towering passion when the officer-in-waiting +ventured to utter the poor man's name in the king's presence. At last +the colonel grew desperate. He could not make up his mind to beg; his +wife was ill, his children starving,--what was he to do? He hit upon +the curious idea of getting relief for his family by putting up, +unobserved, in the night time, at the corners of the streets in Berlin, +placards breathing the most venomous abuse of the king, in the hope that +a reward would be offered to the person who should disclose who was the +writer of the placard, that he might then himself claim the reward by +informing against himself, and so might relieve the immediate pressing +necessities of his wife and children, whatever might be the personal +suffering and consequences to himself. + +"The plan succeeded. The king, in a transport of rage, offered a reward +of fifty gold pieces to whoever should disclose the offender. But you +may imagine Frederick's amazement when the poor colonel, in ragged +regimentals, and half perishing with hunger, obtained an interview, and +named himself as the guilty libeller. + +"And now, how did the king act, when the unhappy officer begged that the +reward might be sent at once to his wife, that she might obtain medical +help for herself and bread for her children? What was such a man as +Frederick likely to do? The colonel, when he confessed his crime, +acknowledged that his life was justly forfeited, and asked no pity for +himself; and had the king acted up to his ordinary rules, he would have +at once ordered the miserable officer off to execution, or, at least, +lifelong imprisonment. But it was not thus that he punished the crushed +and miserable culprit. His heart was touched, his conscience was +pricked; he felt that he had acted wrongly to the colonel in times past, +and that he must now undo the wrong as far as was possible. But then +remember the king's character and habits, especially in military +matters. When he had once said `No,' when he had once resolved upon a +course of policy or action, he was the very last man to alter; the whole +world might go to pieces sooner than he change. And yet, in this +instance, having become thoroughly convinced that he had been treating a +deserving man with injustice, he had the moral courage to reverse his +conduct, to unsay what he had before said, and to incur the risk of +being called fickle or changeable by doing what he now believed to be +the right thing. So he at once laid the poor man on his own couch, for +the colonel had fainted after making his confession. Then he gave him +food, and sent the doctor to his wife and provisions for the children; +and then, having summoned an attendant, he bade him take the colonel's +sword, and consider the officer himself as his prisoner. After this he +sat down and wrote a letter, and, having delivered it to the attendant, +dismissed the unhappy man from his presence. + +"The person who now had the colonel in charge was an old friend of his, +who had often tried to put in a kind word for him to the king, but +hitherto without any good result. And now, as he conducted him from the +palace, he said, `You are to be taken to the fortress of Spandau, but, +believe me, you have nothing to fear.' Spandau was a fortress near +Berlin, to which at that time all state prisoners were sent. + +"On reaching Spandau, the officer gave his prisoner in charge to the +captain of the guard, while he himself carried the king's sealed order +and the prisoner's sword to the governor of the fortress, who, having +read the king's letter, told the colonel that, although he was his +prisoner, yet he was not forbidden to invite him for once to join +himself and his brother officers at the dinner-table. + +"In due time the guests assembled, and with them the poor, half-starved +colonel. But imagine the astonishment of all when, after the dinner was +over, the governor of the fortress read out to the whole company the +king's letter, which ran thus:--`Sir Commandant, I hereby nominate and +appoint the present half-pay colonel, who was this day delivered over to +you as a prisoner, to the command of my fortress of Spandau, and I look +to receive from him in his new service proofs of the same fidelity, +bravery, and attention to duty, and strict obedience, which he so often +exhibited in the late war. The late commandant of Spandau now goes, in +reward of his faithful services, as commandant of Magdeburg.' + +"Now I call this, dear Walter, real nobility of conduct, real moral +courage in such a man as Frederick, the courage of acting out his +convictions, when in so doing he was going contrary to those cherished +habits and principles which were part of his very self, and made him in +a degree what he was in the eyes of the world. This was indeed moral +courage, and not weak changeableness or fickleness, because it had a +noble object. To have adhered to his ordinary course in the colonel's +case, when he had become convinced that he had been wronging that +officer, would have been obstinacy and littleness." + +"Ay, auntie," said Walter thoughtfully, "I am sure your view is the +right one. So good-bye, laurels, for this time;" saying which, he threw +the boughs among the trees of the shrubbery. As he did so, he felt the +loving arms of Miss Huntingdon drawing him closely to her, and then a +warm kiss on his fair brow. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +PLUCK. + +"Aunt," said Walter, as he sat at her feet, where he had placed himself +after resigning his laurels, "I am afraid you are a little hard to +please--or, at any rate, that I haven't much chance of getting you to +see any moral courage in my unworthy self." + +"Why not, dear boy?" she asked; "why should not you exhibit moral +courage as well as any one else?" + +"Oh, I don't know exactly; but it's so hard to know precisely what moral +courage is after all, there are so many things that it is not. Now, +what do you say to `pluck,' auntie; is `pluck' the same as moral +courage?" + +"That depends upon what you mean by `pluck,' Walter." + +"Oh! you must admire pluck. Every true-born Englishman and Englishwoman +admires pluck." + +"That may be, my clear nephew. I believe I do admire pluck, as far as I +understand what it is. But you must give me your idea of it, that I may +be able to answer your question about its being the same as moral +courage." + +"Well, dear aunt, it is a thoroughly English, or perhaps I ought to say +British, thing, you know. It isn't mere brute courage. It will keep a +man who has it going steadily on with what he has undertaken. There is +a great deal of self-denial, and perseverance, and steady effort about +it. Persons of high refinement, and of very little physical strength, +often show great pluck. It is by no means mere dash. There are plucky +women too--plucky ladies also as well as plucky men. Indeed I think +that, as a rule, there is more true pluck among the weak than the +strong, among the refined than the coarse-grained. Thus you will find +high-bred officers show more pluck and sustained endurance in sieges and +fatigue parties than most of the common soldiers; and so it is with +travellers through difficult unexplored countries. Those who have had +the least of rough training at home, but have given their mind more +thoroughly to the work, will hold out and hold on pluckily when the big +fellows with limbs and muscles like giants give in and knock up. It's +pluck that carries them through. Now, isn't that pretty much the same +as moral courage?" + +"Hardly, I think, my dear boy." + +"Well, where's the difference?" + +"I think the difference lies in this, that, if I understand rightly what +you mean, and what I suppose is commonly meant by pluck, it may be +found, and often is found, where there is no moral element in it at +all." + +"I don't quite see it, auntie." + +"Do you not? then I must go to examples to show what I mean. I heard +you tell a story the other day at breakfast of what you called a very +`plucky' thing on the part of your friend Saunders." + +"What! the fight he had with some bargees? Oh yes, I remember." + +"Now, Walter, what were the circumstances of that fight?" + +"Ah, I remember; and I think I see what you are driving at, Aunt Kate. +Saunders, who is only a slightly-built fellow, and almost as thin as a +whipping post, got into a row with some of those canal men; he wanted +them to turn out of his way, or to let him pass and go through a lock +before them, and they wouldn't." + +"And did he ask them civilly?" + +"Nay, Aunt Kate, not he. No, I'm sorry to say he swore at them; for +he's a very hasty fellow with his tongue is Saunders." + +"And were the bargemen unreasonably hindering him?" + +"I can't say that. They were just going into the lock when he rowed up, +and he wanted them to get out of his way and let him go into the lock +first. I don't think myself that he was right." + +"And what happened then?" + +"Oh, he abused them, and they wanted to throw him into the canal; at +least they threatened to do so. And then he challenged the biggest of +them to a stand-up fight, and a ring was made and they fought; and +certainly it was a strange thing to see Saunders, with his bare arms +looking no thicker than a hop-pole, tackling that great fellow, whose +right arm was nearly as thick as Saunders's body. Nevertheless, +Saunders didn't shrink; he stood up to the bargee, and, being a capital +boxer, he managed to win the day, and to leave the man he was fighting +with nearly blind with two swollen black eyes. And every one said what +`pluck' little Saunders showed." + +"Had the bargeman a wife and children?" asked Miss Huntingdon quietly, +after a few moments' silence. + +"What a strange question, auntie!" cried her nephew laughing. "Oh, I'm +sure I don't know. I daresay he had." + +"But I suppose, Walter, he was a plain working-man, who got bread for +himself and his family by his work on the canal." + +"Oh, of course, auntie; but what has that to do with it?" + +"A very great deal, dear boy. There may have been plenty of pluck shown +by your friend Saunders on that occasion, but certainly no moral +courage. Indeed _I_ should call his conduct decidedly immoral and +cowardly." + +"Cowardly, aunt!" + +"Yes, cowardly, and mean. What right had he to use, or rather abuse, +his superior skill as a pugilist for the purpose of carrying out an act +of wrong-doing, and so to give pain and inflict loss on a plain working- +man who had done him no harm, and had not had the same advantages of +education as himself?" + +"O aunt! you _are_ severe indeed." + +"Not too severe, Walter. Saunders, you acknowledge, spoke and acted +hastily and improperly at first, and he must have known that he had done +so. Now the true moral courage would have been shown in his confessing +that he was wrong, and expressing sorrow for it." + +"What! to a bargee!" + +"Yes, to a bargee, Walter. The world might have called him mean or +cowardly for such a confession, but he would have shown true moral +courage and nobility for all that. To do what will give pain to others +rather than incur the reproach of cowardice is really acting under the +tyranny of a mean and slavish fear of man, though it may be a plucky +thing in the eyes of the World." + +"Ah, well, auntie, that is certainly a new view of things to me; and I +suppose, then, you would apply the same test to duelling,--affairs of +honour, as they used to be called?" + +"Most certainly so, Walter. The duellist is one of the worst of moral +cowards." + +"Ah! but," cried the other, "to fight a duel used to be considered a +very plucky thing, and it really was so, auntie." + +"I don't doubt it, Walter; but it was a very immoral thing also. +Happily, public opinion has quite changed on the subject of duelling in +our own country, and no doubt this has been owing indirectly to the +spread of a truer religious tone amongst us. But what could be more +monstrous than the prevailing feeling about duelling a few years ago, as +I can well remember it in my young days. Why, duelling was at that time +the highroad to a reputation for courage, and the man who refused to +fight was frowned upon in good society, and in some places scouted from +it. And--I say it with the deepest shame--my own sex greatly helped to +keep up this feeling; for the man who had fought the most duels was, +with the ladies of his own neighbourhood, for the most part, an object +of special admiration and favour. + +"And yet, what nobility or moral courage was there in the man who gave +or accepted the challenge? Just think of what the consequences might +be, and what the ground of the quarrel often was. A hasty word, or even +a mere thoughtless breach of etiquette, would bring a challenge; and the +person called out must not decline to meet his challenger, and give him +`satisfaction,' as it was called, in the shape of a pistol bullet, under +pain of being cut by all his friends and acquaintances as a coward. So +a man who was a husband and father would steal away from his home early +in the morning, and go out to some lonely spot and meet the man whom he +had offended, and be murdered in cold blood, and carried back a bleeding +corpse to his miserable widow and fatherless children, just because he +could not bear to be called a coward by the world. And to call this +`satisfaction!' The devil never palmed upon his poor deluded slaves a +more transparent lie. + +"Just think of two men, for instance, who had been friends for years, +and in some unguarded moment had used intemperate language towards each +other. Their companions tell them that this is a matter for giving and +receiving satisfaction. So, in perfectly cold blood, with the most +ceremonious politeness, the time and place of meeting are fixed by the +seconds, who make all arrangements for their principals; and at the time +appointed these two men stand face to face, with no malice, it may be, +in either heart, feeling rather that there were faults on both sides, +and at any rate no more wrong done or intended than a little mutual +forbearance and concession might easily set right. And yet there they +stand; at a given signal aim each at the other's heart; and, if that aim +is true, each is murdered by his brother, and hurried in a moment red- +handed into the awful presence of his Maker and Judge. And this used to +be called `satisfaction,' and the man who refused to give it was branded +as a coward. And such was the tyranny of this fashion which Satan had +imposed upon thinking and immortal men, that rarely indeed was a man +found who had the true moral courage to refuse to fight a duel when +challenged to do so." + +"Ah then, auntie," said her nephew, "you would give the laurels for +moral courage to the man who declined to fight." + +"Certainly I would. Yes, I should have called him a truly noble and +morally courageous man who, in those sad duelling days, should have +declined a challenge on the ground that he feared God rather than man-- +that he was willing to brave any earthly scorn and loss rather than be a +cold-blooded murderer and do violence to his own conscience, and break +the laws of his Creator and Redeemer. Such courage as this would be +worth, in my eyes, a thousandfold more than all the `pluck' in the +world." + +"Indeed, dear Aunt Kate," said Walter seriously, "I believe you are +right; but can you give me any example of such moral courage?" + +"Yes, dear boy, I think I can. I call to mind the case of an excellent +Christian man; I rather think he was an officer in the army, and that +made his position more trying, because in the days when duelling was the +fashion, for an officer to refuse a challenge would have raised up the +whole of the service against him. However, whether he was a military +man or not, he was at any rate a true soldier of the Cross. By +something he had done, or left undone, he had grievously offended a +companion, and this friend or acquaintance of his called on him one +morning, and, being a hot-tempered man, charged him with the supposed +offence or affront, and working himself up into a violent passion, +declared that they must fight it out, and that he should send him a +formal challenge. The other listened very quietly to this outburst of +wrath, and then said calmly and deliberately, `Fight you, must it be? +certainly, I must not decline your challenge. Yes, we will fight, and +it shall be now; here, on this very spot, and with swords. I have my +weapon close at hand.' Saying which, the good man pulled a small Bible +out of his pocket, and holding it up before his companion, whose face +had turned deadly pale, said, `Here is my sword, the sword of the +Spirit, the only weapon I intend to fight you with.' Telling a friend +about it afterwards, the Christian man remarked, `Never did poor +creature look upon a Bible with more satisfaction and relief than my +adversary did on mine.' But at the time when the angry man was +speechless with astonishment, the other proceeded to say to him kindly, +`Friend, I have a dear wife and children. Now, would it have been right +in me to meet you with pistols or other deadly weapons, and to have +entailed lasting misery on those so dear to me, and so dependent on me, +by either being myself your murderer or allowing you the opportunity of +being mine?' That was true moral heroism, dear Walter, and it had its +reward there and then, for the challenger at once grasped the hand of +his companion and said, `It would not have been right on your part; you +have done just what it was your duty to do in declining my challenge, +and I honour you for it. Let us part friends.'" + +"Thank you, auntie; I admire your hero immensely. Now, pray give me +another example, if you have one ready." + +"I have read a curious story on this subject," replied Miss Huntingdon, +"but I am not sure that it is a true one. I read it in some book years +ago, but what the book was I cannot call to mind. However, the story +may be true, and it may be useful to repeat it, as it just illustrates +my present point about moral courage in reference to duelling. The +story is substantially this:-- + +"Some years ago, when a regiment was quartered for a time in one of our +county towns, one of the officers of the regiment was challenged by a +brother officer, and refused to accept the challenge. This refusal soon +flew abroad over all the town and neighbourhood, and the consequence was +that every one turned his back on the man who refused to fight. He was +avoided by all of his own rank of both sexes as a craven and a coward. +Of course, he felt this very keenly. To be shut out from houses where +he used to be welcomed; to be looked at with scorn by his brother +officers; to have not a word addressed to him by any one of them when +they met him on parade or at mess; to be the object of ill-concealed +contempt even to the common soldiers;--these things were burdens almost +intolerable to a man who had any respect for his own character as a +soldier. However, for a time he bore it patiently. At last he hit upon +an expedient to prove to the world that he was no coward, which was +undoubtedly original and convincing, though, certainly, by no means +justifiable. + +"A large evening party was being given to the officers of the regiment +by some distinguished person in the town; a ball probably, for many +ladies were present. While all were in the very midst and height of +their amusement, suddenly the disgraced officer made his appearance +among them in his dress uniform. How could this be? how came he there? +Assuredly no one had invited him. As he advanced into the middle of the +brilliantly lighted room an empty space was left for him, officers and +ladies shrinking from him, as though his near approach brought +defilement with it. Looking quietly round, he deliberately produced and +held up a hand-grenade, as it was called--that is to say, a small +bombshell--and, before any one of the astonished spectators could stop +him, lighted a match at one of the wax-candles, and applied it to the +fusee of the shell. A shower of sparks came rushing from the hand- +grenade, which would explode in a minute or two or even less. The +consternation of the company was frightful, and a furious and general +rush was made to the doors. As the guests dashed out of the room, some +just caught sight of the officer who had brought in and lighted the +shell standing calmly over it with his arms folded. A few moments more, +all the company had vanished terror-stricken, and then a frightful +explosion was heard. One or two of the officers hurried back with +horror on their faces. The man who had been branded as a coward lay +outstretched on the ground. He had thrown himself flat on the floor the +instant the room was cleared; the fragments of the shell had flown over +him, and he was almost entirely uninjured. + +"His object in this extraordinary proceeding was to show his brother +officers and the world generally that a man might refuse, from +conscientious motives, to fight a duel and yet be no coward. I am not +praising or approving of his conduct in taking such a dangerous course +to prove his point; for he was endangering the lives of many as well as +his own life, and nothing could justify that. But, if the story be +true, it shows at least that a man may decline to do an act from a high +sense of duty, so as to bring upon himself the reproach of cowardice, +and yet may be a man of undoubted bravery after all. But I do not at +all place this officer on my list of moral heroes. I trust, however, +dear Walter, that our conversation on this subject will strengthen in +you the conviction that the noblest and truest courage is that high +moral courage which enables a man to endure with patience any scorn, or +loss, or blame, rather than deliberately do what he knows that his +conscience and the Word of God condemn." + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +AN EXPLOSION. + +It must not be supposed that Walter was prepared to follow out his +brother Amos's moral courage at once and in everything. He was quite +willing to admire this high-toned courage, and was learning to be +content that his brother should enjoy the praise for it which was his +due. He also fully intended to follow in the same steps some day or +other; but then no real and radical change had taken place in his heart +and character, nor had he any deliberate desire to give up old habits +which were dear to him, and adopt new ones which would involve +considerable and sustained self-denial. So he contented himself for the +present with being more kind to his brother, and more careful not to +wound him by rash and unfeeling remarks. + +One thing, however, in Amos's conduct sadly puzzled and annoyed him. +Knowing that his brother was well provided with money of his own, he +used not unfrequently to borrow from him when his own allowance ran +short, which it very often did. This borrowing from Amos used to be but +rarely followed by any repayment; for he had been so fully indulged by +his father when younger, that he had no idea, now that he was getting +more from under his father's hand, of denying himself, or going without +anything he might happen to fancy. At first he used to tell the trades- +people in the neighbouring town, when he made any purchases, to put them +down to his father; but to this after a while Mr Huntingdon decidedly +objected--finding, as he did, that expense was no consideration to +Walter in the choice of an article, provided his father had to bear the +cost. So Walter was made to understand that he must make the liberal +allowance which his father gave him _do_, and that there must be no more +running up of bills in Mr Huntingdon's name. But such an arrangement +was very galling to Walter, who had lived all his early boyhood under +the impression that, as being his father's favourite son, he had only to +express a wish, or to ask for or to order a thing, and he would have it +as a matter of course. However, the squire stood firm in the matter. +Walter, he said, was old enough now to understand something of the value +of money, and he must learn to cut his coat according to his cloth. +This coat, however, with Walter was usually of such exaggerated +dimensions that his ordinary allowance of material would go only a small +way towards completing it. Consequently he used to have recourse to +Amos, who invariably helped him through with a loan--for Walter would +never receive help from his brother except as a loan--Amos at the same +time hinting now and then at the hope of a partial repayment. To this +Walter would reply that his brother should have it all back, if he +wished it, "one of these fine days;" but when such seasons of +exceptionally fine monetary weather were likely to occur, Amos found it +difficult to conjecture. A change, however, had now come over the elder +brother, much to the annoyance and disgust of Walter. A decided refusal +of a loan of money was accompanied by Amos with a remonstrance with his +brother on his extravagance. + +In a pet, Walter told Amos that he might keep his nasty sovereigns and +shillings to buy toffee for dirty little boys and girls. He was much +obliged to him for his advice, but he knew his own concerns best; and as +for extravagance, it was better to put a little money into the +tradesmen's pockets than hoard it up like a stingy old miser, just to +have the pleasure of saying, "See how rich I am." + +To all this Amos made no reply at the time, but afterwards sent his +brother a portion of the sum he wished to borrow, with a kind note, in +which he said that Walter was welcome to this and to all other sums +previously lent, as a free gift, but that for the future he could not +lend him money beyond a few shillings occasionally, as he had a use for +his own funds which made him unable to do for his brother what he had +done for him in times past. + +Partly touched at Amos's generosity, but more vexed at his present +purpose respecting future loans, Walter was not disposed to look with a +very favourable eye on his brother's money arrangements. What could he +be wanting with so much? What could he be doing with it? There was +nothing to show for it. If he had spent it in guns, or horses, or dogs, +or travelling, or sight-seeing, Walter could have better acquiesced in +the expenditure. But the money seemed to be wanted for something which, +as far as he could see, turned out to be nothing. So his curiosity was +considerably roused, and he resolved to find out, if he could, where his +brother's spare cash went to. + +Things were in this position, when one evening, as the whole family were +seated on the lawn under some noble elms, enjoying the shade--for the +weather had been exceedingly hot--a gentleman, well-known throughout the +county for the interest he took in plans for doing good and alleviating +the sorrows and sufferings of his poorer neighbours, called, and was +invited by Mr Huntingdon to join his family on the lawn. "And now, my +dear sir," said the squire, "I know you are out on some errand of +benevolence. You are a grand worker yourself, and a grand giver too, so +tell us what is your present charitable hobby, and we must try and give +you a help, so that you may ride him easily." + +"Thank you, Mr Huntingdon, with all my heart," said the other; "you are +very kind. My hobby this time is a very robust animal, and will want a +good deal of feeding if he is to keep up his strength. But to come to +plain language, I am collecting subscriptions for a working-men's +coffee-house in Redbury--a British Workman they call it. You know, I +dare say, that two ruinous old houses of mine in the market-place are +being pulled down. Now, I am going to give the ground which one of them +stands on for the new coffee-house. It is a capital situation, just in +the centre of the town. I shall want funds, however, for the erection +of a new and suitable building, and also a few annual subscriptions to +keep the establishment going and pay the expenses of management, as I +don't suppose it will be self-supporting, at any rate not at first." + +"Well," said the squire, "let me look at your subscription list, for I +see you have one with you. Ah, good! it is very generous of you to put +down your own name for so large a sum to the building fund, besides +giving the land. Put me down then for fifty pounds, and an annual +subscription of three guineas till the concern is self-supporting." + +"May I look at the list?" asked Miss Huntingdon, when their visitor had +expressed his thanks to her brother. Having glanced at it, she also +signified her willingness to be a helper in the work, and gave the list +to Walter to return to the gentleman. + +As her nephew was giving back the subscription list, he paused for a +moment to run his eye over the names of the contributors. "Ah!" he +said, "I see your own sons down, Mr Johnson, for a guinea a piece. I +wish I could afford to follow their example." + +"Perhaps, after all, you can," said the gentleman, smiling. "I am sure +it does young people good to practise a little self-denial in helping on +a good cause like this." + +"I don't doubt that, sir," replied Walter, "but I am ashamed to say that +self-denial of that sort is not much in my line. But, then, I am not a +man of independent fortune like my brother Amos here. Ask him, pray. +He has, or ought to have, lots of spare cash, and he is always on the +look-out to be doing good with it." There was a tone of sarcasm in his +voice which grated very painfully on Miss Huntingdon's ear. Amos +coloured deeply, but made no remark. + +"What say you, my young friend?" asked Mr Johnson, in a kindly voice, +turning to him. "Your brother encourages me to hope that we may add +your name to the list." + +The young man, thus appealed to, looked uneasy and embarrassed, and +then, in a few moments, said in an undertone, "I am sorry that just now +I am not in a position to add my name, but I shall be glad to do so when +I am better able." + +Mr Johnson did not press the matter, but shortly left, having first +partaken of a little fruit which had been brought to him by the butler +while the conversation about the subscriptions had been going on. + +It has already been said that the old man Harry was a privileged servant +of long standing, almost a portion of the estate, so that he was allowed +little liberties which would not ordinarily have been permitted to one +in his place. He had listened with burning cheeks and flashing eyes to +Walter's sneering remarks about his brother's wealth, and now lingered +near the group, as he was removing a little table on which he had placed +the fruit for Mr Johnson. There was a restlessness about his manner +which Miss Huntingdon noticed and wondered at; but her attention was +then drawn to Walter, who, lounging against a bench, said in a rather +drawling voice, "I really wonder what some people do with their money. +For my part, I don't see what's the use of it except to be jolly with it +yourself, and to make other people jolly with it.--Amos," he added +abruptly, "what's up with you that you've become so very poor all of a +sudden?" + +To this Amos made no reply, but turned away to hide his vexation. + +"My boy," said Mr Huntingdon, addressing his elder son, "I'm a little +surprised myself that you should be at all hard up. I quite expected +that you would have followed the example of Mr Johnson's sons, and have +put down your name. I think you could have afforded it." + +Still Amos did not reply, but seemed hesitating what to say. But here +Walter broke in again. "I call it downright mean!" he exclaimed +bitterly; "but he's getting meaner and meaner, that he is. What he does +with his money nobody knows. I suppose he spends it in religious +pocket-handkerchiefs and pious bed-quilts for the little niggers in +Africa, or something of the sort. At any rate, he has none to spare for +those nearer home." He was about to say more, but happening to raise +his eyes he was astonished to see the old butler, who had been slowly +drawing nearer and nearer, raising his right arm, and looking at him +almost fiercely, as though he were going to strike him.--"What's up now, +Harry?" he cried; "is the black cat dead?" + +The old man's appearance now attracted every one's attention. He had +drawn himself up to his full height, and had turned so as to confront +Mr Huntingdon, who was sitting with his sister by his side on a garden +bench facing the house. His snow-white hair gave him ordinarily a +venerable appearance, and this was now increased by the look of intense +earnestness which glowed in his every feature. His back was to Amos, +who, noticing that the old man was evidently about to speak under the +pressure of some unusual excitement, half rose to his feet, but too late +to stop old Harry's purpose. + +"Master," said the old man, in a voice hoarse with emotion, "hear me; if +it's to be for the last time, you must hear me. I can't hold in no +longer; so it's no use, come what may." + +Mr Huntingdon, struck with amazement at this speech of the old +domestic, could only exclaim, "Well!" while his sister and Walter looked +on and listened in mute wonder. + +"Master," continued the old man, "you must hear me this once, if I'm to +be turned away this blessed night for what I'm a-going to say. I've +been hearing Master Amos called by Master Walter mean about his money, +and I can't stand it, for I knows better." + +Here Amos sprang forward, and coming in front of Harry, strove by +gesture and whispered remonstrance to stop him; but the other shook his +head, and motioned his young master back. + +"It's of no manner of use, Master Amos," he cried; "I must and will +speak--the time's come for it. _I_ know why Master Amos can't afford to +subscribe: 'tain't because he hasn't got the will; 'tain't because he's +been spending it on himself, or sending it to the niggers, though he +might be doing worse with it than that. His money goes to keep dear +Miss Julia as was--bless her little heart!--from want; and it goes, too, +to keep a home for her little ones, and one on 'em's a girl, and she's +as like what her blessed mother was at her age as one lamb's like +another. O master, master! if you loved Miss Julia as was as I love +her, and as Master Amos loves her, though she has married a vagabond of +a husband, and had the door of her home closed agen her for ever for it, +and oh, if you'd but a touch still of the dear Saviour's forgiving love +towards your own flesh and blood, you couldn't blame Master Amos for +doing as he's doing, if you only knew too how he's been a-sacrificing of +himself, and bearing the shame and scorn all the while without a murmur. +There, master, I've had it out. And now I suppose I must pack up and +be off for good; but it don't matter. I couldn't keep it in, so there's +an end of it." + +The effect of this speech on all the members of the party was +overwhelming, though in different ways. + +Mr Huntingdon's face turned deadly pale, and then flushed fiery red. +He half rose from the bench on which he was sitting, and then sank back +again and buried his face in his hands. Then he started up, and +muttering something hoarsely, rushed into the house, and was not seen +again by the family that night. Next morning, before breakfast, his +sister received a hasty note from him, merely stating that he was +leaving home, and should not return that day, and perhaps not for a few +days. + +The old butler's disclosure was also most trying to Miss Huntingdon by +its suddenness. Not that she was unprepared for it altogether, for +quiet observation of Amos had made her sure that he had some noble and +self-denying work in hand, and that probably it might have something to +do with the welfare of his sister, whom she knew that he dearly loved. +She was grieved, however, that the old butler had blurted out the secret +in such an abrupt manner, and at the terrible distress which the +unexpected revelation had caused her brother. + +As for Amos, he was ready to sink into the earth with dismay and +vexation. All he could do was to look up reproachfully at Harry, who, +now that the explosion had burst forth, and had driven his master +apparently almost out of his senses, looked round him with an utterly +crestfallen air, and then, coming up to Amos, said, while the big tears +rolled rapidly down his cheeks, "Oh, dear Master Amos, you must forgive +me. I didn't go for to do it with no bad meaning; but I couldn't bear +it no longer. I daresay the master 'll turn me off for it, so I shall +be punished if I've done wrong." + +And how felt Walter? He was utterly crushed for a time beneath the old +man's words. All the truth flashed upon him now. And this was the +brother whom he had been holding up to ridicule and accusing of +meanness. As thoughts of shame and stings of conscience stabbed into +his heart with their thousand points, he sank down lower and lower to +the ground till he had buried his face in the grass, sobbing +convulsively. Then, before Amos could reply to the old butler's pitiful +apology, he sprang up, and flinging his arms round his brother's neck +and hiding his head in his bosom, wept for a time as if his heart would +break. At last he looked up at Amos, who had pressed him close to him +and had lovingly kissed him, and cried out, "Was there ever such a +beastly, ungrateful sneak of a brother as I am? Here have I been +calling Amos all sorts of names, and treating him worse than a dog, and +he's been acting like a hundred thousand moral heroes all the time! Can +you forgive your cowardly snob of a brother, Amos dear?" + +There was no reply to this but another long and close embrace. + +As for old Harry, his face calmed down into its usual peacefulness. He +no longer waited for any reply from his young master, but turned towards +the house with a smile beaming all over his countenance, and saying half +out loud, "All's well as ends well. There'll be good come out of this +here trouble as sure as my name's Harry." + +When he was fairly gone, both nephews drew close to their aunt, and took +each a hand as they sat one on either side of her. Smiling at Walter +through happy tears, she said, "I cannot cross my hands, you see, for my +dear nephews have each got possession of one." + +"But they _ought_ to be crossed," said Walter in a low, sad voice. + +"Not _now_, dear boy," she replied; "I think we may let bygones be +bygones, for surely better and brighter days are coming." + +"I hope so, aunt," said Walter, now more cheerily, "But you must give me +the example for all that; for you have one to the purpose, I know." + +"Yes," was her reply, "I think I have, and I will tell it because it may +help to confirm you in keeping on the right side that new leaf which I +feel sure you are now turning over." + +"Ah, tell it me then, auntie; if it shames me a hit it will do me no +harm." + +"My hero then, this time, did not look much like one at the time when he +displayed his heroism. He was a poor schoolboy, a Christ's Hospital +lad." + +"What! one of those who go about without hats, in long coats and yellow +stockings?" + +"Yes, the same. Charles Lamb, who tells the story, which is a true one, +was himself one of these Bluecoat boys. Among his schoolfellows was +this boy, my present moral hero. He was dull and taciturn, and no +favourite with the other lads; but no one could bring any charge of +improper conduct against him. There was one thing, however, about him +which none of the other boys could understand. He always lingered +behind all the rest after dinner was over, and came out of the dining- +hall hiding something under his dress, and looking about him +suspiciously. What did it mean? Had he an unnaturally large appetite, +so that he was led by it to steal food and eat it by himself after the +meal was over? At any rate, if it was so, his extra provision did not +improve his personal appearance, for he was still thin and hungry- +looking. + +"Some questioned him roughly on the subject, but they could get nothing +out of him. He stopped for a while the practice which had drawn +attention to him, but resumed it again when he thought that curiosity +had died out, and that he could follow his old ways unobserved. But +there were boys on the watch, and at last it was fairly ascertained that +the poor lad used to gather, as far as he had opportunity, scraps of +meat, pieces of fat, and fragments of bread and potatoes, which had been +left on the boys' plates. These he collected and carried off. But +then, what did he do with them? It was not likely that he ate them. +No. Then he must sell them when he went home, for his parents lived in +London, and he was a day boy. No doubt he disposed of them to people +who were ready to give a few pence for refuse food, and thus the little +miser was making money in this mean and underhand way. When this +conclusion had been arrived at, the whole school was in a state of +boiling indignation against the culprit. + +"They might have taken the law into their own hands, and have punished +him in their own rough and ready way. But no; his conduct was too +shameful for that. It was looked upon as a serious disgrace to the +whole school. So the case was duly reported to the masters, and by them +to the governors. Witnesses were examined, and the offence proved. And +now, what was the defence of the poor lad? He had borne shame, scorn, +reproach, reviling; he had borne them all patiently, without murmur, +without resentment. What, then, was the reason for his strange conduct? +what motive or inducement could make him thus brave the scorn and +contempt, the daily jeers, and the cut direct from his schoolfellows? +All was soon made plain. This boy's parents were old and very poor--so +poor, helpless, and friendless that they were often brought to the verge +of starvation. In those days, remember, there was not the same +attention paid to the poor of all classes, nor loving provision made for +their wants, as there is now. So the noble son--for truly noble he +was--submitted cheerfully to every trouble and shame that could fall +upon himself, in order to get food from time to time for his almost +famishing parents. They were too respectable to beg, and would have +never allowed their boy to beg for them; and yet so destitute were they +that they were even glad of those miserable scraps, the after-dinner +leavings on the boys' plates. And these their son gathered for them, +indifferent to the consequences which might happen to himself, while at +the same time he added a portion of his own daily food to supply the +wants of the old people. + +"Ah! this was true moral courage, dear Walter; and it was all the +greater and nobler because it was exercised in such humble elements, as +it were--I mean under circumstances where there was everything to +degrade and nothing to elevate the poor boy in the eyes of his +schoolfellows." + +"I see, aunt," said Walter, sadly and thoughtfully. "Yes, they called +him mean, and shabby, and selfish, and frowned and scowled at him, when +all the while he was most nobly denying himself, and bearing all that +trouble that he might help those who were dearer to him than his good +name with his schoolfellows. Ay, I see it all; and it's just a case in +point. That's just what I've been doing to my own dear noble brother, +who has been sacrificing himself that he might help poor Julia and her +little ones. And it has been worse in my case, because those Bluecoat +boys had perhaps no particular reason to think well of the other chap +before they found out what he had been driving at, and so it was natural +enough that they should suspect him. But it's been exactly the reverse +with me. I've had no reason to suspect Amos of anything but goodness. +All the baseness and meanness have been on my own part; and yet here +I've been judging him, and thinking the worst of him, and behaving +myself like a regular African gorilla to him.--Dear Amos, can you really +forgive me?" + +Hands were clasped tightly across Miss Huntingdon's lap, and then Amos +asked, "And what was done to the poor boy?" + +"Oh," replied his aunt, "the governors of course acquitted him of all +blame, and not only so, but rewarded him also, and, if I remember +rightly, proper provision was made for the poor parents of the noble +lad." + +"Bravo! that's right," cried Walter with a sigh of relief. "Well, I +don't like making big promises, but I do think I mean it when I say that +Amos shall not have an ungenerous or reproachful word from me again." + +"And so," said Miss Huntingdon with a smile, "good will come out of this +evil, and it will turn out one of those `all things' which `work +together for good to those who love God.'" + +And Walter strove bravely to keep his word, and in the main succeeded. + +Old Harry began, on the day after he had made the unlooked-for +disclosure, to pack up his things and make preparations for his +departure, feeling fully persuaded that, on his master's return, he +should receive his instant dismissal. However, when Mr Huntingdon came +home, two or three days after the explosion, not a word was said about +the butler's leaving; indeed, if anything, his master's manner was +kinder to him than usual, but not the slightest reference was made on +either side to what had passed. With Amos, however, it was different. +His father would scarcely speak to him beyond the coldest salutations +morning and evening. The poor young man felt it keenly, but was not +surprised. He could now open his mind fully to his aunt, and did so, +and his own convictions and judgment agreed with her loving counsel that +he should wait in trust and patience, and all would be well. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +PROGRESS. + +Mr Huntingdon's conduct toward Amos was a great grief to his sister, +but she felt that she must not openly interfere, and that she could only +do her best to make up to her nephew, as far as was possible, for his +father's coldness, and look for brighter times, which she felt sure were +coming, though as yet scarcely the faintest streak of dawn could be seen +on the horizon. The old butler also was a great comfort to his young +master, being most anxious to do everything in his power to undo any +evil consequences which his own abrupt outspeaking might have brought +upon Amos. So he encouraged him to persevere in his great purpose, with +all his might, assuring him that things would come nicely round in time. +Amos shook his head sadly, for he was naturally of a desponding turn; +he could see at present little but clouds and thorns before him. Not +that he wavered in his purpose for a moment, or had the least thought of +holding back from the work he had set his hand to, even for a time. But +his father's harshness and manifestly abiding displeasure towards +himself he found very hard to bear. Nevertheless he was comforted by +the reiterated affirmations of Harry that things were coming nicely +round. + +"Take my word for it," said the shrewd old man; "I knows the old master +and his ways better than you do, Master Amos, though you're his son and +I ain't. But I've knowed him years longer than you have. Now he's +displeased with you; but I'll tell you who he's more displeased with, +and that's just his own self. I don't mean no disrespect to your +father, Master Amos--he's as kind-hearted a gentleman and as good a +master as ever was, only a bit hasty sometimes; but then, which on us +ain't got faults of our own enough and to spare? But I'm sure of this, +he has never been fairly satisfied with keeping the door shut agen dear +Miss Julia as was, and he won't _be_ satisfied, depend on it, till she's +back again--I know it. You see, though there was a reg'lar flare up +when I spoke up for you the other night, he has never said a word of +blame to me on the subject; and for why? I'll tell you--it's just +because he knows and feels down in his heart of hearts as I were _not_ +to blame. But he must be angry with somebody--'taint pleasant to be +angry with one's own self; he's never been used to be angry with Master +Walter; 'tain't no use being angry with Miss Huntingdon, 'cos she'd look +the fiercest man as ever lived into a good temper--the mere sight of her +face is enough for that, let alone her words. So master's just showing +his anger to you, Master Amos. But it won't last; it can't last. So +you just stick to your work, and I'll back you up all in my power, and +I'll keep my tongue inside my teeth for the future, if I possibly can." + +As for Walter, he felt thoroughly ashamed of himself, and tried in many +ways to make up to his brother for his past unkindness, by various +little loving attentions, and by carefully abstaining from taunting and +ungracious speeches. This was very cheering to the heart of Amos, and +lightened his trial exceedingly; but he felt that he could not yet take +Walter fully into his confidence, nor expect him to join with him in a +pursuit which would involve much quiet perseverance and habitual self- +denial. For how were the banished ones to be brought back? What +present steps could be taken for their restoration? Any attempt to +introduce the subject of his sister's marriage and present position in +his father's presence he felt would, as things now were, be worse than +useless. Once he attempted to draw the conversation in that direction; +but Mr Huntingdon, as soon as he became aware of the drift of his son's +observations, impatiently changed the subject. On another occasion, +when Walter plunged headlong into the matter by saying at tea-time to +his aunt, "Eh! what a long time it is since we saw anything of Julia. I +should so like to have her with us again; shouldn't you, auntie?" his +father, striking his clenched fist on the table, and looking sternly at +his son, said in a voice trembling with suppressed anger, "Not a word +again on that subject, Walter, unless you wish to drive me out of my own +house." So Amos's great purpose, his life-work to which he had +dedicated himself, his means, his best energies, seemed hopelessly +blocked. + +The great hindrance was, alas! in that father whose heart must be +touched and subdued before any effectual and really onward steps could +be taken. But this barrier seemed to become daily more formidable. +"What am I to do, Aunt Kate?" Amos said, when discussing the matter +with Miss Huntingdon in private; "what can I do now?" + +"Rather, dear Amos," replied his aunt, "must the question be, not so +much, `What can I do now?' as, `What must I do next?' Now it seems to +me that the next thing is just prayerfully and patiently to keep your +great purpose in view, and to be on the watch for opportunities, and God +will give success in due time.--Ah, here comes Walter." She repeated to +him what she had just been saying to his brother, and then continued, +"Now here we may bring in moral heroism; for it is a very important +feature in moral courage to wait steadily watching for opportunities to +carry out a noble purpose, and specially so when the way seems +completely, or to a great extent, hedged up." + +"Examples, auntie, examples!" exclaimed Walter. + +"You shall have them," she implied. "I have two noble heroes to bring +before you, and they both had the same glorious object in view, and went +steadily on in their pursuit of it when everything before them looked as +nearly hopeless as it could do. My two heroes are Clarkson and +Wilberforce. + +"I daresay you remember that there was a time when slaves were as much +property and a matter of course in our own foreign possessions as they +were a short time since in the Southern States of America. So +completely was this the case, that when a slave was brought to England +by one of our countrymen, he was considered his master's absolute +property. However, this was happily brought to an end more than a +hundred years ago. A slave named Somerset, who had been brought by his +master to this country, fell ill, and his master, thinking that he would +be of no more use to him, turned him adrift. But a charitable +gentleman, Mr Granville Sharp, found him in his wretched state, had +pity on him, and got him restored to health. Then his old master, +thinking that now he would be of service to him, claimed him as his +property. This led to the matter being taken up; a suit was instituted; +and by a decision of the Court of King's Bench, slavery could no longer +exist in England. That became law in 1772. The poet Cowper has some +beautiful lines on this subject:-- + + "`Slaves cannot breathe in England: if their lungs + Receive our air, that moment they are free; + They touch our country, and their shackles fall. + That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud + And jealous of the blessing. Spread it, then, + And let it circulate through every vein + Of all our empire, that, where Britain's power + Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too.' + +"Still, we could hold, and did hold, slaves to a large extent in some of +our colonies. Now the great object of Clarkson and Wilberforce was to +get slavery abolished throughout the British dominions all the world +over; in other words, that it should not be lawful for a slave to exist +as a slave in any of our possessions. But they had a hard and steady +fight for years and years in pursuit of their great object. Patience, +faith, calm courage, perseverance, these were the noble constituents of +their moral heroism. Thomas Clarkson, from youth to manhood, from +manhood to old age, devoted himself unreservedly to the one great +purpose of obtaining freedom and justice for the oppressed negro. His +work was to collect information, to spread it on all sides, to agitate +the question of the abolition of slavery throughout the United Kingdom +and the world. William Wilberforce's place in the work was different. +His part was to introduce Clarkson's plans to the notice of Parliament, +and to advocate them with his wonderful eloquence, and to persevere in +that advocacy with untiring zeal and love. When he called the attention +of the House of Commons to the question of the slave-trade in 1788 he +was met by the most determined opposition. Men's worldly interests were +arrayed in arms against the abolition. The traffic in slaves brought +millions of money to the British coffers. So the case appeared for a +time to be hopeless. But this made no difference to Wilberforce--his +courage never failed; his resolution never wavered; year after year he +brought forward the subject, and, though he experienced eleven defeats +in his endeavours to carry the measure, at last he triumphed. And the +result was the termination of slavery in the British dominions in August +1834, and that, too, at a cost to the country of twenty millions of +money as compensation to those who, at the time, were holders of +property in slaves. All honour to Clarkson and Wilberforce, for theirs +was a noble victory, a grand result of the unwavering, unflinching moral +courage of those two moral heroes." + +"A thousand cheers for them, auntie!" cried Walter. Then turning to his +brother, he added, "So you see, Amos, you must not lose heart; indeed, I +know you won't. Things will come nicely round, as Harry said. My +father, I am sure, will understand and appreciate you in time; and I +shall have to erect a triumphal arch with flowers and evergreens over +the front door, with this motto in letters of gold at the top, `Amos and +moral courage for ever.'" + +"I don't know," said his brother rather sadly; "I trust things may come +round as you say. But anyhow, I mean, with God's help, to persevere; +and it is a great happiness for me to know that I have the sympathy of +my dear aunt and brother." + +Not many days after this conversation, when the family were at +breakfast, Mr Huntingdon asked Walter when the steeplechase was coming +off. + +"Three weeks to-morrow, I believe," replied his son. "By-the-by, I +think I ought to mention that Saunders wants me to be one of the +riders." + +"You!" exclaimed his father in astonishment. + +"Yes, father; he says I am the best rider of my age anywhere round, and +that I shall stand a good chance of coming in at the head of them." + +"Very likely that may be the opinion of Mr Robert Saunders," replied +the squire; "but I can only say I wish you were not quite so friendly +with that young man; you know it was he who led you into that scrape +with poor Forester." + +"Ah, but, father, Bob wasn't to blame. You know I took the blame on +myself, and that was putting it on the right shoulders. There's no harm +in Bob; there are many worse fellows than he is." + +"But perhaps," said Miss Huntingdon, "he may not be a very desirable +companion for all that." + +"Perhaps not, auntie.--Well, father, if you don't mind my riding this +time, I'll try and keep a little more out of his way in future." + +"I think you had better, my boy; you are not likely to gain much either +in reputation or pocket by the acquaintance. You know it was only the +other day that he helped to let you in for losing a couple of sovereigns +in that wretched affair on Marley Heath; and one of them was lost to +about the biggest blackguard anywhere hereabouts. I think, my boy, it +is quite time that you kept clear of such things." + +"Indeed, father. I almost think so too; and, at any rate, you won't +find me losing any more sovereigns to Jim Jarrocks. But I'm almost +pledged to Saunders to ride in this steeplechase. It will be capital +fun, and no harm, and perhaps I may never have another chance." + +"I had rather you didn't," said his father; "anyhow, your friend +Saunders must find you a horse for I am not going to have one of mine +spoilt again, and your own pony would make but a poor figure in a +steeplechase." + +"All right, father," replied Walter, and the conversation passed on to +another subject. + +The three weeks came and went; the steeplechase came off, and Walter was +one of the riders. The admired of all eyes, he for a time surmounted +all difficulties. At last, in endeavouring to clear an unusually wide +ditch, he was thrown, and his horse so badly injured that the poor +animal had to be shot. Walter himself, though stunned and bruised, was +not seriously hurt, and was able to return home in time for dinner. + +The party had assembled in the drawing-room, all but Mr Huntingdon. +Five minutes--ten--a quarter of an hour past the usual time, but the +squire had not made his appearance. At last his step was heard rapidly +approaching. Then he flung the door hastily open, and rushed into the +room, his face flushed, and his chest heaving with anger. Striding up +to Walter, he exclaimed: "So this is the end of your folly and +disobedience. You go contrary to my orders, knowing that I would not +have you take part in the steeplechase; you ruin another man's horse +worth some three hundred guineas; and then you come home, just as if +nothing had happened, and expect me, I suppose, to pay the bill. But +you may depend upon it I shall do nothing of the sort." + +No one spoke for a few minutes. Then Walter stammered out that he was +very sorry. + +"Sorry, indeed!" cried his father; "that's poor amends. But it seems +I'm to have nothing but disobedience and misery from my children." + +"Dear Walter," said his sister gently, "are you not a little hard upon +the poor boy?" + +"Hard, Kate?--poor boy?--nonsense! You're just like all the rest, +spoiling and ruining him by your foolish indulgence. He's to be master, +it seems, of the whole of us, and I may as well give up the management +of the estate and of my purse into his hands." + +Miss Huntingdon ventured no reply; she felt that it would be wiser to +let the first violence of the storm blow by. But now Amos rose, and +approached his father, and confronted him, looking at him calmly and +steadily. Never before had that shy, reserved young man been seen to +look his father so unflinchingly in the face. Never, when his own +personal character or comfort had been at stake, had he dreamt of so +much as a remonstrance. He had left it to others to speak for him, or +had submitted to wrong or neglect without murmuring. How different was +it now! How strange was the contrast between the wild flashing eyes of +the old man, and the deeply tranquil, thoughtful, and even spiritual +gaze of the son! Before that gaze the squire's eyes lost their fire, +his chest ceased to heave, he grew calm. + +"What's the meaning of this?" he asked in a hoarse voice. + +"Father," said Amos slowly, "I am persuaded that you are not doing full +justice to dear Walter. I must say a word for him. I do not think his +going and riding in the steeplechase was an act of direct disobedience. +I think your leave was implied when you said that at any rate he must +not look to you for a horse. I know that you would have preferred his +not going, and so must he have known, but I do not think that he was +wrong in supposing that you had not absolutely forbidden him." + +"Indeed!" said Mr Huntingdon dryly and sarcastically, after a pause of +astonishment; "and may I ask where the three hundred guineas are to come +from? for I suppose the borrowed horse will have to be paid for." + +"Father," said Walter humbly, and with tears in his eyes and a tremor in +his voice, "I know the horse must be paid for, because it was not +Saunders's own; he borrowed it for me, and I know that he cannot afford +the money. But it's an exaggeration that three hundred guineas; the +horse was really worth about a hundred pounds." + +"It makes no matter," replied his father, but now with less of +irritation in his voice, "whether it was worth three hundred guineas or +one hundred pounds. I want to know who is going to pay for it, for +certainly _I_ am not." + +"You must stop it out of my allowance," said Walter sorrowfully. + +"And how many years will it take to pay off the debt, then, I should +like to know?" asked his father bitterly. + +Again there was a few moments' silence. But now Amos stepped forward +once more, and said quietly, "Father, I will take the debt upon myself." + +"_You_, Amos!" exclaimed all his three hearers, but in very different +tones. + +Poor Walter fairly broke down, sobbing like a child, and then threw +himself into his brother's arms and kissed him warmly. Mr Huntingdon +was taken quite aback, and tried in vain to hide his emotion. Miss +Huntingdon wept bright tears of gladness, for she saw that Amos was +making progress with his father, and getting nearer to his heart. + +"There, then," said her brother with trembling voice, "we must make the +best of a bad job.--Walter, don't let's have any more steeplechases.-- +Amos, my dear boy, I've said I wouldn't pay, so I must stick to it, but +we'll make up the loss to you in some way or other." + +"All right, dear father," replied Amos, hardly able to speak for +gladness. Never for years past had Mr Huntingdon called him "dear." +That one word from his father was worth the whole of the hundred pounds +to him twice over. + +The squire had business with one of the tenants in the library that +evening, so his sister and her two nephews were alone in the drawing- +room after dinner. + +"Aunt," said Walter, "look at my hands; do you know what this means?" +His hands were crossed on his knees. + +"I think I do," she replied with a smile; "but do you tell me yourself." + +"Why, it means this,--_I_ am going to bring forward for our general +edification an example of moral courage to-night, and my hero is no less +a person than Martin Luther; and there is _my_ Martin Luther." As he +said this he placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, and looked at +him with a bright and affectionate smile. "Yes, he is my Martin Luther: +only, instead of his being brought before a `Diet of Worms,' a very +substantial _diet_ of fish, flesh, and fowl has just been brought before +_him_; and instead of having to appear before the Emperor Charles the +Fifth, he is now appearing before Queen Katharine the First of Flixworth +Manor." + +Both his hearers laughed heartily and happily; then he added: "Now I am +going to trot out my hero--nay, that word `trot' won't do; I've had too +much of both trotting and galloping lately. But what I mean is, I want +to show you what it is that I specially admire in my hero, and how this +exactly fits in with my dear hero-brother Amos. Ah! I see he wants to +stop me, but, dear Aunt Kate, you must use your royal authority and back +me up; and when I have done, you can put in what notes and comments and +addenda and corrigenda you like, and tell me if I have not just hit the +right nail on the head. + +"Very well; now I see you are all attention. Martin Luther--wasn't he a +grand fellow? Just look at him as he is travelling up to the Diet of +Worms. As soon as the summons came to him, his mind was made up; he did +not delay for a moment. People crowded about him and talked of +_danger_, but Luther talked about _duty_. He set out in a waggon, with +an imperial herald before him. His journey was like a triumphal +procession. In every town through which he passed, young and old came +out of their doors to wonder at him, and bless him, and tell him to be +of good courage. At last he has got to Oppenheim, not far from Worms, +and his friends do their very best to frighten him and keep him back; +but he tells them that if he should have to encounter at Worms as many +devils as there were tiles on the houses of that city, he would not be +kept from his purpose. Ah! that was a grand answer. And then, when he +got to his lodgings, what a sight it must have been! They were crowded +inside and out with all classes and all kinds of persons,--soldiers, +clergy, knights, peasants, nobles by the score, citizens by the +thousand. And then came the grand day of all, the day after his +arrival. He was sent for into the council-hall. What a sight that must +have been for the poor monk! There was the young emperor himself, +Charles the Fifth, in all his pomp and splendour, and two hundred of his +princes and nobles. Why, it would have taken the breath out of a dozen +such fellows as I am to have to stand up and speak up for what I knew to +be right before such a company. But Luther did speak up; and there was +no swagger about him either. They asked him to recant, and he begged +time to consider of it. They met again next day, and then he refused to +recant, with great gentleness. `Show me that I have done wrong,' he +said, `and I will submit: until I am better instructed I cannot recant; +it is not wise, it is not safe for a man to do anything against his +conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.' +There, auntie, don't you agree with me in giving the crown of moral +courage to Martin Luther? It's an old story, and I've learned it quite +by heart, for I was always fond of it, but it is none the less true on +that account." + +"Yes, Walter, clear boy," replied his aunt, "I must heartily agree with +you, and acknowledge that you have made a most excellent choice of a +hero in Martin Luther. Not a doubt of it, he was a truly great and good +man, a genuine moral hero. For a man who can be satisfied with nothing +less than what is real and right; who is content to count all things +loss for the attainment of a spiritual aim, and to fight for it against +all enemies; who does his duty spite of all outward contradiction; and +who reverences his conscience so greatly that he will face any +difficulty and submit to any penalty rather than do violence to it, that +is a truly great man, exhibiting a superb example of moral courage. And +such a man, no doubt, was Martin Luther; and I believe I can see why you +have chosen him just now, but you must tell me why yourself." + +"I will, Aunt Kate. You see we are in Worms now. This is the council- +hall; before dinner to-day was the time of meeting; and my dear father +was in his single person the august assembly. Amos, the best of +brothers to the worst of brothers, is Martin Luther. He might have kept +himself to himself, but he comes forward. It is the hardest thing +possible for him to speak; if he had consulted his own feelings he would +have spared himself a mighty struggle, and have left his scamp of a +brother to get out of the scrape as best he could. But he stands up as +brave as a lion and as gentle as a lamb, and looks as calm as if he were +made of sponge-biscuits instead of flesh and blood. He ventures to +address the august assembly--I mean my father--in a way he never did in +all his life before, and never would have done if he had been speaking +for himself; but it was duty that was prompting him, it was love that +was nerving him, it was unselfishness that made him bold. And so he has +shown himself the bravest of the brave; and I hope the brother for whom +he has done and suffered all this, if he has any shame left in him, will +learn to copy him, as he already learned to respect and admire him. +There, Aunt Kate, I've been, and gone, and said it." + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +PERPLEXING. + +Many months had rolled by since Amos had undertaken to pay for the horse +which his brother had unhappily ruined in the steeplechase. Mr +Huntingdon never alluded to the matter again, but the difference in his +manner towards his elder son was so marked that none could fail to +observe it. There were both respect and affection in his voice when he +addressed him, and the poor young man's naturally grave face lighted up +as with a flood of sunshine when his father thus spoke to him. Miss +Huntingdon, of course, rejoiced in this change with all her heart. +Walter was as pleased and proud at it as if some special honours were +being conferred on himself. And old Harry--it was a sight worth seeing +to observe the old servant when his master spoke kindly to Amos: what +with winking and nodding, opening wide his eyes, lifting his eyebrows, +rolling his tongue about, and certain inward volcanic mutterings, all +constituting a little bit of private acting for his own special and +peculiar benefit, it might have been thought by those who did not know +him that something had been passing at the moment causing a temporary +derangement of his digestive organs. But Miss Huntingdon, as she marked +his mysterious conduct, was perfectly aware that it simply meant an +expression on his part--principally for the relief of his own feelings, +and partly also to give a hint to those who might care to know how he +felt in the matter--that things were "coming round nicely," and that Mr +Amos would get his proper place and his rights given him in the family, +and would in due time accomplish his great purpose. + +Amos himself began to be much of the same opinion, and was greatly +touched by receiving a cheque from his father for a hundred pounds one +morning, with the assurance that he did not wish him to be out of pocket +on Walter's account, while at the same time the squire neither mentioned +the steeplechase himself nor allowed Amos to refer to it. The money was +now his own, he remarked, and the less said about where it was going to +the better. + +A new year had now begun, and deep snow lay around the Manor-house. The +family party had assembled at breakfast, all except Miss Huntingdon and +Amos. The former at last appeared, but there was trouble on her brow, +which Walter, who loved her dearly, instantly noticed. + +"Auntie dear," he asked, "what's amiss? I'm sure you are not well this +morning." + +"I am a little upset, dear boy," she replied, "but it is nothing +serious." + +"I hope not, Kate," said her brother. "But where is Amos?" + +"Well, Walter," replied his sister, "that is just it. I have a note +from him this morning asking me to excuse him to you; that duty has +called him away, and that I shall understand in what direction this duty +lies. I can only hope that nothing serious is amiss; but this I am +quite sure of, that Amos would never have gone off in this abrupt way +had there not been some pressing cause." + +Mr Huntingdon did not speak for a while, his thoughts were evidently +troubling him. He remembered the last occasion of his son's sudden +absence, and was now well aware that it had been care for his poor +erring child's neglected little ones that had then called Amos away. +Perhaps it might be so now. Perhaps that daughter herself, against whom +his heart and home had been closed so long, might be ill or even dying. +Perhaps she was longing for a father's smile, a father's expressed +forgiveness. His heart felt very sore, and his breakfast lay untasted +before him. + +As for Walter, he knew not what to say or think. He dared not speak his +fears out loud lest he should wound his father, whose distress he could +not help seeing. He would have volunteered to do anything and +everything, only he did not know exactly where to begin or what to +propose. At length Mr Huntingdon, turning to the old butler, who was +moving about in a state of great uneasiness, said, "Do you know, Harry, +at what hour Mr Amos left this morning?" + +"No, sir, not exactly. But when Jane came down early and went to open +the front door, she found the chain and the bolts drawn and the key +turned back. It was plain that some one had gone out that way very +early." + +"And when did you get your note from Amos, Kate?" asked her brother. + +"My maid found it half slipped under my door when she came to call me," +was the reply. + +"And is there nothing, then, to throw light on this sudden and strange +act on Amos's part?" asked the squire. + +"Well, there is," she answered rather reluctantly. "My maid has found a +little crumpled up sheet of paper, which Amos must have accidentally +dropped as he left his room. I don't know whether I ought to have taken +charge of it; but, as it is, the best thing I can do is to hand it to +you." + +Mr Huntingdon took it from her, and his hand shook with emotion as he +glanced at it. It was a small sheet of note-paper, and there was +writing on two sides in a female hand, but the lines were uneven, and it +seemed as though the writer had been, for some reason or other, unable +to use the pen steadily. Mr Huntingdon hesitated for a moment. Had he +any right to read a communication which was addressed to another? Not, +surely, under ordinary circumstances. But the circumstances now were +not ordinary; and he was the father of the person to whom the letter was +addressed, and by reading it he might take steps to preserve his son +from harm, or might bring him out of difficulties. So he decided to +read the letter, and judge by its contents whether he was bound to +secrecy as to those contents or no. But, as he read, the colour fled +from his face, and a cold perspiration burst out upon him. What could +the letter mean? Was the writer sane? And if not, oh, misery! then +there was a second wreck of reason in the family; for the handwriting +was his daughter's, and the signature at the foot of the paper was hers +too. With heaving breast and tearful eyes he handed the letter to his +sister, whose emotion was almost as distressing as his own as she read +the following strange and almost incoherent words:-- + +"Amos,--I'm mad; and yet I am not. No; but he will drive me mad. He +will take them both away. He will ruin us all, body and soul." + +Then there was a break. The words hitherto had been written in a steady +hand; those which followed were wavering, as though penned against the +will of the writer, and under fear of some one standing by. They were +as follows:-- + +"Come to me early to-morrow morning. You will see a man at the farther +side of Marley Heath on horseback--follow him, and he will bring you to +me, for I am not where I was. Come alone, or the man will not wait for +you, and then you will never be seen again in this world by your +wretched sister,--Julia." + +Such were the contents of the mysterious letter, which were well +calculated to stir to their depths the hearts of both the squire and his +sister, who looked at each other as those look who become suddenly +conscious of a common misfortune. A spell seemed on their tongues. At +last the silence was broken by Walter. + +"Dear father! dear auntie!" he exclaimed, "whatever is the matter?" + +"Matter enough, I fear," said his father sadly.--"There, Kate, let him +look at the letter." + +Walter read it, and his eyes filled with tears. Busy thoughts chased +one another through his brain, and very sad and humbling thoughts they +were. He understood now much that had once seemed strange in Amos. He +began to appreciate the calm and deep nobility of his character, the +tenacity of his grasp on his one great purpose. He gave back the letter +to his father with downcast eyes, but without making any remark upon it. + +And now, what was to be done? As soon as breakfast was over, the three, +by Mr Huntingdon's desire, met in the library. The letter was laid on +the table before them, and the squire opened the discussion of its +contents by saying to his sister, "What do you make out of this +miserable business, Kate?" + +"Plainly enough," was her reply, "poor Julia is in great distress. I +gather that her cruel and base husband has been removing, or intending +to remove, her two children from Amos's charge, and that she is afraid +they will be utterly ruined if they continue in their father's hands. +Poor thing! poor thing! I pity her greatly." + +Her brother did not speak for a while, but two big tears fell on his +daughter's letter, as he bent over it trying to conceal his emotion. +"And what do you think about it, my boy?" he said to his son, when he +had in some degree recovered his composure. + +"Aunt Kate is right, no doubt," replied Walter, "but that is not all. +It strikes me that my sister wrote the first part of this letter of her +own head, but not the last. I should not wonder if that scamp of a +fellow her husband has found her out writing, and has forced her to add +the last words, intending to bring poor Amos into trouble some way or +other." + +"I believe the boy is right," said Mr Huntingdon anxiously; "but then, +what is to be the next step?" + +"Surely," said his sister, "you ought to send out some one immediately +to follow up Amos, and see that no harm comes to him." + +"Well, I hardly know," replied her brother; "I don't think any one would +dare to do Amos any personal injury, and I don't see that it would be +anyone's interest to do so. The last time he was called away he +returned to us all right; and perhaps he may feel hurt if we do not let +him manage things in his own way, seeing he has so nobly taken upon +himself the cause of poor--poor"--he would have said "Julia," but he +could not get out the word--"my poor child." Here the squire fairly +broke down, covering his face with his hands. + +"Shall we ask Harry," said his sister, when she could trust herself to +speak, "who brought this note for Amos? that mis-hit give us a little +bit of a clew if it should be necessary to go and find him out." Harry +was accordingly summoned and questioned. He had already made full +inquiries of the other servants, but none of them could throw any light +on the subject. No one about the premises knew anything about the +carrier of the letter. So it was resolved to wait, in hopes that either +Amos himself or, at any rate, tidings of him and of his movements would +arrive some time during the day. Hour, however, passed by after hour, +and no news of Amos came to gladden the hearts at the mansion; and when +darkness settled down, and nothing had been heard of the absent one, a +deep gloom pervaded the whole household. But of all hearts under that +roof during that long and weary night, none was so heavy as Mr +Huntingdon's. Memories of the past crowded in upon him; smitings of +conscience deeply troubled him. Had he acted a father's part towards +that erring daughter? should he have closed the door of home and heart +so fast, and kept it barred against her? was she not still his own flesh +and blood? and could he justify to himself the iron sternness which had +perhaps now driven her to despair? How could _he_ hope for mercy who +had shown neither mercy nor pity to one whose sinful disobedience and +folly could not make her less his child, though doubtless a sadly +misguided one? When morning came, Mr Huntingdon rose a wiser and a +humbler man. He poured out his heart in prayer for forgiveness of his +own many sins and shortcomings, and then came to a full determination to +deal very differently with Amos for the time to come, and to undo his +past treatment of his poor daughter as opportunity might be afforded +him. + +And now we must leave for a while the party at the Manor-house in their +sadness and perplexity, and follow Amos Huntingdon himself. When he had +retired to his room on the night previous to his unexpected departure, +he was startled by hearing the sound of what seemed to be earth or small +pebbles thrown against his bedroom window. He paused for a few moments, +and the sound was repeated. Then he opened the window slowly, and +looking out, cried, "Who is there?" + +All around, the snow lay thick on the ground. His room was on one side +of the house, and its window looked out on a flower-garden, so that any +one approaching the building from that side would not be liable to be +observed by the general inmates of the Manor-house. When Amos had asked +who was there, a short figure, partly muffled up in a cloak, rose from +where it had been crouching against the wall, and a man's voice said in +a loud whisper, "Is that you, Mr Amos?" + +"What do you want with me at this hour?" was the reply. + +"Ah! all right," rejoined the stranger; "here--catch this." Saying +which, he flung something up at the opening made by the raising of the +window. "A bad shot," said the mysterious person half out loud, and +with perfect coolness, as the thing he was throwing fell short of its +mark. "Try again." Suiting the action to the word, he a second time +aimed at the opening, and now with success. A small packet fell into +the room, and reached the floor with a "thud." + +"All right; good-night," said the thrower with a chuckle, and soon +disappeared through the falling snow, which was now coming down thickly. + +What could be the meaning of this strange performance? Was it some +foolish hoax or practical joke played off by Saunders or Gregson, or +some other of Walter's giddy and not over-considerate companions? He +almost thought it must be so, and that his brother had put them up to +the joke for some wild piece of fun, or to win some senseless wager. +Rather vexed at the thought, and not feeling over amiable towards the +missile, if such it was, which had come so unseasonably and so +unceremoniously into his chamber, he was half inclined at first to throw +it back through the window on to the snow. And yet, perhaps, he had +better see what it was. So he took it from the floor. It was a little +brown paper parcel, about three inches square, and very heavy for its +size. His curiosity was now excited. He opened the packet warily, lest +it should contain something explosive, such as might cause a report, not +dangerous in itself, but calculated to alarm the family. There was +nothing, however, of such a kind, but merely a flat piece of thick tile, +with a sheet of note-paper doubled round it. + +Rather annoyed at the folly of the whole thing, he slowly unfolded the +paper, and opened it out. The writing struck him at once; it was his +sister's. The contents of the letter staggered him. That his sister +had written it there could be no doubt. That she was in grievous +trouble, and that her villainous husband had violated his pledge and was +removing the children out of his reach, was equally plain. The +appearance of the closing portion of the note puzzled him. He had his +misgivings about it. Had his sister's husband anything to do with it, +and with making the appointment on Marley Heath? It might or might not +be so. The changed appearance of the latter part of the writing might +only be the result of agitation or distress on his sister's part. But, +anyhow, what was the course that duty and brotherly love bade him now +take? A lonely meeting in the snow with a solitary horseman on Marley +Heath early in the morning did not read very pleasantly nor appear very +safe; and yet, could he leave his poor sister to her misery? If he +should do so, what evils might not follow? and what would come of the +great purpose to which he had dedicated his life and energies? Was this +a time for fear or shrinking back? No, surely. So he knelt down and +asked for guidance of him who is unerring Wisdom to every one of his +children. And then he retired to rest, and slept soundly till early +morning. + +His mind was made up. Having written a few lines to his aunt, he made +his way quietly out of the house to the stable, and, mounting his own +faithful pony, sallied forth. He had, however, dropped his sister's +note by his own room door without being aware of it, and did not miss +it, for his mind was full of engrossing thoughts. It was a bright and +sparkling morning; the snow had been falling more or less for the last +few days, and had in some places formed deep drifts, as a strong wind +had been blowing from the north for some hours. But now all was calm +and bright for the present, though the distant horizon seemed to +threaten a further downfall before long. + +Amos had clothed himself warmly, for the cold was now severe. His +great-coat, also, which he had gathered close round him, contained in +its ample pockets some cakes, oranges, and sweeties--a stock of which he +always kept on hand in his own room for the benefit of his niece and +nephew whenever he might happen to visit them at the cottage. On the +present occasion, it is true, he had no expectation of meeting the +children, but only their mother; but he brought these little luxuries +with him notwithstanding, as they might perhaps be welcome to his poor +sister, who was not likely to be furnished with more than the bare +necessaries of life by the man who, though bound to care for her +comfort, would no doubt wrench from her every penny he was able. + +With noiseless tread, then, did Prince the pony carry his young master +along the dazzling white roads, shaking his ears and his head from time +to time, as though in wonder at what could have induced his owner to +bring him out so early. Amos had, however, not neglected the poor +animal, but had given him a good feed before starting, having himself +also made such an early meal as the pantry could provide him. So the +two jogged quietly on; and whatever misgivings the young man might have +from time to time, these were more than outweighed by the abiding +conviction that he was on the path of love and duty, and might therefore +expect to be guided and preserved by Him to whom he had committed his +cause. Still, there was something overawing in the solitude of that +early ride. Not a person did he meet as he threaded his way through the +lanes. The moon was some days past the full, and shone with almost +undiminished light on the sparkling crystals of snow. Spikes of hoar- +frost bristled on the branches of the trees, and here and there a long +gaunt group of icicles, dependent from an overhanging rock, gleamed and +flashed in the pale light as he passed along. + +And now, when he had accomplished some three miles--which was about half +the distance to the heath--he emerged from a winding road which had led +him through a copse on to high ground, from which he had an almost +panoramic view of the surrounding country. He checked his pony and +looked about him. How exquisitely fair and pure was that landscape, one +vast expanse of spotless white! Not a breath of wind was now stirring, +and, struggling against the moonlight, the first flushes of a winter's +dawn crept up along the far-off eastern sky. Everything spoke of peace +and purity. God's hand had clothed the earth, the trees with a +stainless robe of majestic beauty studded with countless flashing gems. +Man's works were hidden or but dimly seen here and there, with all their +imperfections withdrawn from sight under that snowy veil. And man +himself was absent. An all-absorbing sense of the nearness of God stole +over the young traveller's heart, so deep, so unearthly as to be almost +painful, but, oh, so full of blessedness! What should make him afraid, +with God so near? And then there unfolded themselves to his memory the +words, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy +God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold +thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Amos bowed his head, and +remained wrapt for a while in holy and happy meditation. + +But he had a work before him, and must move on. At last he reached +Marley Heath. Hitherto he had seen no human being, nor indeed any +living thing except a hare which once crossed his path. The heath was +extensive, and had many pathways through it. All, however, were now +more or less covered with snow, though here and there the wind had +exposed a bare spot, and a large pond on one side glowed in the light of +the now rising sun. Riding slowly across the wide common, Amos looked +for some time in vain for the person whom he was to meet, and it was +almost with a feeling of relief that he contemplated the possibility of +no one appearing. The air was sharp and clear now, and, as he gazed on +all sides, an inward shrinking from the proposed meeting came over him; +and then again the consciousness that he was on duty's path nerved him +for whatever might be before him. He had not long to wait. First he +heard the far-off faint barking of a dog, and in a few minutes +afterwards a horseman made his appearance coming up on to the heath from +the opposite quarter to that by which he himself had reached it. The +stranger was manifestly in no hurry, but allowed his horse, a big, +gaunt, and seedy-looking animal, to take its own time, which clearly was +not a very rapid one. The costume of the new-comer was in keeping with +the appearance of his steed, being ample but considerably the worse for +wear. As the two riders slowly approached each other, Amos recognised +his brother-in-law, Mr Orlando Vivian,--there could be no doubt about +it. A theatrical salute on the other's part was answered by Amos with a +quiet inclination of his head. + +"Your servant, friend," then said Mr Vivian in a free and easy manner; +"a fine winter's morning you bring with you, though I think we shall +have more snow." + +"Good morning," returned Amos, not knowing what else to say, and feeling +far from comfortable. + +When they had remained facing each other for a minute, during which the +dark malicious eyes of the player sent a shudder through his companion, +the former said, "You are come to see your sister, I presume; at any +rate this meeting is clearly by appointment made for that purpose. +Shall we proceed?" + +"Yes," replied Amos, but with some hesitation in his tone of voice. + +"Ah, I understand," said the other; "you were expecting to be conducted +to a _tete-a-tete_. You didn't anticipate meeting a brother-in-law as +well as a sister,--is it not so?" + +Amos hardly knew what to reply, for the bantering air and words of his +companion filled him with disgust and repugnance.--"Oh, I see it all-- +it's perfectly natural," said Mr Vivian sarcastically; "but set your +mind at ease on that point, Mr Huntingdon. As soon as you reach the +house you will cease to be troubled with my company; nay, I shall not go +with you beyond the door." + +"I am ready," said Amos calmly. + +"Good, then follow me," said the other; and both descended from the +heath, and, striking at once out of the more frequented paths, made +their way through brier and brushwood till Amos had entirely lost all +knowledge of where he was. They had ridden thus about two miles when +they suddenly emerged on to some cleared ground, and then came to the +side of a large brick-field which had been for some time disused. At +one end of the field was a small two-roomed cottage substantially built +of rough stone. This had been inhabited formerly by a labourer and his +family, the man having been a sort of overlooker while the brick-making +was going on. Of course there was a standstill to the manufacture at +present, but, to the surprise of Amos, smoke was coming out of the +cottage chimney. He was surprised, because, as they rode close up to +the building, it looked the last place likely to have a tenant at the +present time. Its extreme loneliness also struck him, there being no +other building in sight anywhere. As they came just opposite to its +outer door, Mr Vivian turned to Amos, and said with a malicious smile, +"This, sir, is the house." + +"This!" exclaimed the young man, indignant and horrified,--"this the +house where my poor sister lives!" + +"Even so," was the reply; "any roof to cover you this severe season is +surely better than none." + +"It cannot be," said Amos; but at that moment the door half opened, and +a woman's hand and part of her dress appeared. Then the door was +rapidly closed, and he heard from within the sound of weeping and +wailing. "It must be so, then," he exclaimed sadly, and proceeded to +dismount. + +"Don't trouble about your pony," said the player, "I will look after +him. Give me the bridle." Amos did so, and was entering by the low +massive door, when to his astonishment a female figure pushed past him +into the open air. Then the door was closed upon him, thrusting him +forward into the building, while Vivian cried out with a laugh, "_Au +revoir, mon ami_--farewell for the present!" The next moment the door +was locked, and some heavy weight jammed against it. What could it all +mean? + +Utterly overwhelmed with dismay, Amos stood for a while as though +chained to the spot. Then, opening a door which divided the outermost +apartment from the other room, he entered the latter and looked round +him. No one was there, neither man, woman, nor child. The walls were +very thick, and the room was lighted by a large leaded casement which +would open, but there were stout iron bars which would make it next to +impossible for any one to get into the cottage that way or escape from +it. A fire of wood burned on the hearth, and a small pile of logs was +heaped up against the wall near it. On a rough square oak table lay a +huge loaf of bread, a considerable mass of cheese, and a quart jug of +milk. There was neither chair nor bed in the place. Hurrying into the +outer room, Amos found that it was dimly lighted by a very narrow little +window, which even a dog could scarcely creep through. There were no +upstairs rooms in the cottage. And thus Amos found himself basely +entrapped and taken prisoner. And what for? For no good purpose he +felt fully assured. He threw open the casement of the inner room and +looked out. There was his late companion riding slowly off, and by his +side, mounted on his own pony Prince, a female figure. Could that be +his sister? and, if so, whither was she going? and what was their +purpose, or his wretched betrayer's purpose, with him? + +Miserably bewildered, and much cast down, he knelt him down by the table +and poured out his care in prayer. That he was in the power of an +utterly unscrupulous villain was plain enough,--and what, then, could he +do? He had brought with him a small pocket New Testament, with which +the Psalms were also bound up, for he had hoped to have read from it to +his sister words that might have been of use and comfort to her. But +that was not to be. However, he turned over the leaves, and his eyes +fell on a verse which he had often read before, but never with so much +happy thankfulness as now: "What time I am afraid, I will trust in +thee." + +"Ah, yes," he said aloud, "these words are just sent to me now. _I +will_ put my trust in Him, for he knows where I am and what errand I am +on, and I know that he will deliver me out of this trouble." + +Calmed by these thoughts, he once more looked round him. There was a +shelf by the fire-place which he had not noticed before. Something lay +on it; it was a small desk. Perhaps it belonged to his sister, and +might throw some light on his difficulties. He took it down and placed +it on the table. The key was in the lock. He opened it, and his eye +fell at once on an envelope directed, "Amos Huntingdon, Esquire," but +not in his sister's hand. Having undone the envelope, he drew out its +contents. These consisted of a note and a blank cheque. The note was +as follows:-- + +"Dear Brother-in-Law,--You have money, and I have none. I want money +very much, and you can spare it. I enclose a blank cheque, which I have +managed to procure from your bankers. Please fill it up for a hundred +pounds. I am sorry to trouble you, but `necessity has no law,' as the +old proverb says. I shall call to-night at the window for the cheque. +You will find pen and ink in the desk. Pardon my little bit of +eccentricity in bringing you here. When I have got the cheque you will +soon be at liberty again, and none the worse, I trust, for your short +captivity. I don't wish to proceed to extremities with a relation, but +the money I _must_ have. Only let me get the cheque, and then, as the +poet says, `My native land, good-night;' I shall trouble you and yours +no more.--Your affectionate brother-in-law, Vivian." + +The cool audacity of this letter was perfectly staggering to Amos. And +yet there was no mistaking the writer's meaning and intentions. It was +plain that the reckless adventurer was resolved to extort money from his +wife's brother, whom he had succeeded in entrapping, and that +remonstrance would be of very little avail with such a character. That +the wretched man would do him serious bodily injury Amos did not think +probable, but that he would use any pressure short of this seemed +tolerably certain. On thinking it over, the young man came to the +conviction that his unhappy relation, being hard up for money, and +intending probably to go abroad with the help of this hundred pounds, +had compelled his sister to write the latter part of her letter, and had +then employed some unprincipled female associate to act as his +confederate. No doubt he had calculated that it might be a day or two +before Amos's friends would become alarmed at his absence, and probably +a day or two more before they discovered his prison, especially as the +snow would make it more difficult to trace him. In the meantime he +trusted to be able so to play upon the fears of Amos, and to wear him +out by scanty food and rough lodging, that, sooner than continue in such +durance, he would sign the cheque for the amount demanded. + +Such was the view that Amos took of the matter, and now came the +question what he was to do. He had money enough at his bankers to meet +the cheque, and no doubt his father would help him when he knew all the +circumstances; but then, was it right to give the man this money? Was +he justified in doing so, and thus encouraging a villain in his +villainy? The more he thought the matter over, the more firmly he +became persuaded that, so long as his own life was not seriously +threatened and endangered, he ought to hold out against this infamous +demand, and be ready to endure days of privation, suffering, and +loneliness, rather than give in to what he was persuaded would be wrong- +doing. After much thought and prayer, he came to the decision that he +would not give the cheque, but would leave it to God to deliver him, how +and when he pleased. + +Perfectly calmed by this act of self-committal into his heavenly +Father's keeping, he sat down by the fire on a seat which he had raised +by piling some of the logs together, and prepared for a long spell of +waiting. Whatever others might think, he was sure that his aunt would +not be content to let more than one night pass without sending out to +seek for him, and by this assurance he was greatly comforted. His +bread, cheese, and milk, carefully husbanded, would last him two or +three days, and for anything beyond that he did not feel it needful to +take any forethought. + +Slowly and wearily did the long hours drag on as he paced up and down +the room, or sat by the flickering logs, which threw out but a moderate +degree of heat. His frugal meals were soon despatched, and at last +evening came. He had tried the bars of his window more than once, but +his utmost exertion of strength could not shake one of them. No; he +must abide in that prison until released from without. And then he +thought of noble prisoners for conscience' sake,--Daniel, and Paul, and +Bunyan, and many a martyr and confessor,--and he felt that he was +suffering in good company. It was just getting dusk when there came a +rap at the window. He opened the casement. The face of his cruel +jailer was there. + +"The cheque," said Mr Vivian, with what was meant to be a winning +smile. "Your pony is close by, and I will let you out in a minute. The +cheque, if you please." + +"I cannot give it," was the reply. + +"Indeed!" said the other, raising his eyebrows, and displaying fully the +evil light of his wicked eyes. "Ah! is it so? Well, if you like your +fare and your quarters so well that you are loath to leave them, it is +not for me to draw you away from such sumptuous hospitality and such +agreeable society. Farewell. Good-night. I will call to-morrow +morning, in the hopes that a night's rest in this noble mansion may lead +you to arrive at a different conclusion. Pleasant dreams to you." So +saying, with a discordant chuckle he left the window, and the poor +prisoner had to make the best of the situation for the night. + +Adding another log to the fire, and wrapping his great-coat together for +a couch, with the upper part raised over two or three logs for a pillow, +he resigned himself to rest, and, much to his surprise, slept pretty +soundly till daybreak. His morning devotions over, and his scanty +breakfast eaten, he waited for the return of his brother-in-law with +very mingled feelings. About nine o'clock he appeared, and greeted Amos +with the hope that he had passed a good night and felt quite himself +this morning. Amos replied that he was thankful to say that he had +slept as well or better than he expected, and that he only wished that +his brother-in-law had had as soft a pillow to lie on as himself had +enjoyed. + +"Dear me," said the other sneeringly, "I was not aware that the +establishment was provided with such luxuries. Pray, of what materials +may this pillow of yours have been made?" + +"Of the promises of God," said Amos solemnly; "and I can only regret, +Mr Vivian, that you will not abandon those ways which God cannot bless, +and seek your peace and happiness, as you may do, in your Saviour's +service. Why should you not? He has a place in his loving heart for +you." + +"Is the sermon over, Mr Parson?" asked the other with a snarl. "Oh, +very good; and now, let us come to business again. What about the +cheque? Is it ready?" + +"I cannot give it," was Amos's reply. "I should be wrong to give it. I +should only be encouraging evil, and that I dare not do." + +"Be it so," said the other; "then, remember, you must take the +consequences." + +"I am in God's hands," replied Amos, "and am prepared to take them." + +"Good again," said his persecutor. "Once more, then, I come. This +night, before sunset, I must have the cheque, or else you must abide the +consequences." + +No more was said, and the young man was again left to his solitude. Had +he done right? Yes; he had no doubt on the subject. And now he must +prepare himself for what might be his lot, for he had no thought of +changing his resolution not to sign the cheque. Having fortified +himself by spreading out his case before the Lord in prayer, and +strengthened himself physically by eating and drinking a small portion +of his now nearly exhausted provisions, he once more examined every +place through which it might be possible for him to make his escape, but +in vain. Last of all he looked up the chimney, but felt that he could +not attempt to make his way out in that direction. He must just wait +then; and he turned to some of those promises in the Psalms which are +specially encouraging to those who wait, and a strange, unearthly peace +stole into his heart. + +Noon had passed, but not a sound broke the stillness except the drip, +drip from the roof, for a thaw had set in. Three o'clock came. What +was that sound? Was the end nearer than he expected? Had his brother- +in-law, in his impatience, come earlier than he had said? No. There +was the welcome tone of a young voice crying out to some one else. Then +Amos sprang to the window, and, opening the casement, shouted out. In a +few moments Walter's face met his brother's. "Here he is! here he is!" +he screamed out. "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" Old Harry came round to the +barred window, and, lifting up his hands and eyes, exclaimed, "The Lord +be praised!" Then followed rapid questionings. But to these Amos +replied, "You shall know all by-and-by; but now I must ask you to set me +free. I am a prisoner here. The only outside door is locked, and I +cannot undo it; and these bars, which I have tried in vain to force, +have prevented my escape this way."--"All right," said his brother. +"Come along, Harry." + +The two went round to the door and shook it, but to no purpose. A heavy +log had also been jammed down against it. This, by their united +strength, they with difficulty removed. Again they tried to wrench open +the door, but without effect, for it was a huge and ponderous structure, +and they could make nothing of it. "Harry must ride over to the nearest +village and fetch a blacksmith," said Walter, when he had returned to +the window. "Tell him to be quick then, and to bring two or three men +with him, for there is danger before us. I cannot tell you more +now."--"I'll tell him," replied his brother; and the old servant +departed with all speed on his errand. Then Walter came back to the +window, and talked long and earnestly with Amos, telling him of the deep +concern felt by his aunt and father on account of his prolonged absence. +"But," he added, "I'm not going to tell you now how we found you. We +will keep that till we get home, and then shan't we have a regular pour +out?" + +Wearied at last with waiting, Walter began to make another assault on +the front door. It was now getting a little dusk, and he was hoping for +Harry's return with the men; so, as he said, partly to see what he could +do by himself, and partly to keep himself warm, he proceeded to shower +upon the stubborn oak a perfect hail of blows and kicks. He was in the +very thick of this performance when he was suddenly made aware that a +horseman was close to him. He therefore stopped his exciting +occupation, and looked round. The horseman was tall, and of a very +sinister expression of countenance, with piercing black eyes. He was +also rather fantastically but shabbily dressed. + +"What is all this noise about, young gentleman?" asked the stranger. +"Why are you battering my property in that wild fashion?" + +"Because," replied Walter, rather taken aback by this question, "my +brother has been fastened in here by some scoundrel, and I want to get +him out." + +"You must be dreaming, or mad, my young friend," said the rider; "who +would ever think of making a prisoner of your brother in such a place?" + +"It's a fact for all that," replied Walter. "He's in there, and he must +be got out. I've sent for a blacksmith and some men from the nearest +village to burst open the door, and I expect them here directly." + +"I can save them that trouble," said the other. "I keep a few odd +things--implements and things of that sort--in this cottage of mine, and +if by some strange accident your brother has got locked in here, I shall +be only too happy to let him out." So saying, he dismounted, and, +having hung his horse's bridle over a staple projecting from the stone +wall, produced a large key from his pocket, unlocked the heavy door, and +threw it wide open. + +Walter rushed in and flung his arms round his brother, who gazed at him +in some bewilderment, hardly expecting so speedy a release. Then both +came to the outside of the building. The stranger had remounted; and +then, looking the brothers steadily in the face, he made a low bow, and +with the words, "Good-evening, gentlemen; I wish you a safe and pleasant +journey home," turned round, and trotted briskly away. + +"Did you notice that man's face?" asked Amos of his brother in a half +whisper. "Should you know it again?"--"Anywhere all the world over," +was the reply.--"Ah, well," said the other, "I shall have strange things +to tell you about him." The next minute Harry and his party came in +sight, and, on arriving at the cottage, were astonished and not +altogether pleased to find the prisoner at liberty without their +assistance. However, the pleasure expressed by Harry, and a little +present from Walter, as a token of thankfulness for their prompt +appearance, sent them all home well content. And now Amos had to +prepare for his return. + +"You shall have my pony," said Walter, "and Harry and I will ride +doublets on the old mare." + +To this Amos having assented--"What has become of poor Prince?" he +asked. "Does any one know?" + +"All right," said Walter; "Prince is safe at home in the stable. He +must have a sack of corn all to himself, for when he came in he was +ready to eat his head off. You shall hear all about it." + +Having duly clothed himself, Amos was about to mount the pony, when, +bethinking himself, he turned back, and secured and brought away the +desk, believing that it might possibly be of use in the way of evidence +by-and-by. Then all set off, and in due time reached Flixworth Manor, +to the great joy of Mr Huntingdon and his sister, and also of many a +tenant and neighbour, who were lingering about, hoping for news of the +lost one. The first congratulations over, and dinner having been +partaken of, at which only a passing allusion was made to the trouble +which had terminated so happily, Mr Huntingdon, his sister, and the two +young men drew round the drawing-room fire, while Amos gave them a full +and minute account of his strange and distressing adventure. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +MORAL MARTYRDOM. + +When Amos had finished the account of his singular and painful +imprisonment, while all united in an expression of their deep +thankfulness, there remained a heavy cloud on the face of Mr +Huntingdon. At last he said, slowly and sadly, "And this unmitigated +scamp calls our poor Julia wife." + +"It is so, dear father," said Amos in reply; "but may we not hope that +he will take himself away to America or Australia before long? That +seems to be what he has in view, for clearly he has made this country +too hot to hold him." + +"I only hope it may be so," rejoined Mr Huntingdon, "for it is a +miserable business, look at it which way you will." + +"Yes," said Walter; "but I am persuaded that my sister was frightened by +the man into writing the last part of that letter;--don't you think so, +Amos?" + +"Yes," replied his brother, "I certainly do. He has been plotting this +scheme in order to get me into his power; and when he found that by your +coming he had failed in his object, he made the best of matters for +himself by pretending to be the owner of the cottage, and to be in +ignorance of what had happened to me. And now you must tell me how you +found me, and how poor Prince found his way back." + +Walter looked up to see if his father or aunt would give the account, +and then, when neither spoke, he plunged at once into his narrative. + +"You must know, then, that we were all much distressed and perplexed +when my father showed us the letter, Amos, which you accidentally +dropped, and which we should none of us have read under ordinary +circumstances. We knew that you felt it to be your duty to go to poor +Julia; but we none of us liked the last part of the letter, and I am +sure I can say truly that I had my grievous suspicions from the very +first. However, when we got the news of your having set off to this +meeting, we could not have prevented it, even if we had thought it right +to do so; it would have been too late then. But we did not think it +would have been right; and auntie comforted us with the assurance that +God would take care of you, as you were gone on a work he must approve +of. So we waited patiently--or, as far as _I_ was concerned, +impatiently--all day, and went to bed with heavy hearts when you did not +turn up, and we had heard nothing of you. But father reminded us how +you had been absent once before for the night, when you had been +summoned to look after those poor children, and that you had come back +all safe; so we hoped that we should see you this morning early, or at +any rate before luncheon. + +"And who do you think was our first messenger? Ah! you will hardly +guess. Why, none other than Prince, your pony. We were sitting at +breakfast very dull, and imagining all sorts of things, when Harry +hurried into the room, as white as if he had just seen a ghost, and +cried out, `Master, master! here's Prince come back all alone, and never +a word about poor dear Master Amos!' You may be sure this did just +upset us all, and no mistake. I was out in the stable-yard in a moment, +and there was Prince sure enough, and all the servants round him; and +they had got a stable bucket with some corn in it, and he was devouring +it as though he had been starved for a week. `And where's your master, +Prince?' I said. The poor animal only whinnied, but seemed almost as +if he understood my question. As for Harry, who had joined me in the +yard, he could only blubber out, `Eh! he's done for, sure enough. +They've been and gone and murdered him, and haven't had even the good +feeling to send us back his lifeless corpse. Whatever shall we do?' +`Nay, Harry,' I said, `it hasn't come to that yet; we must go and look +after him, and bring him back; he'll turn up all right, I +daresay.'--`The Lord grant it,' said the dear old man. + +"Well, you may be sure we were all in a pretty state, and at our wits' +end what to do. Father set off at once for the police station, and +Harry and I started at the same time for Marley Heath." + +Here Miss Huntingdon interposed, and said, "And I ought to tell you, +dear Amos, that when your father was feeling a little anxious about +Walter's going, lest he too should fall into some snare or difficulty, +your brother would not hear of any one else taking his place, and rushed +away saying, `It would be a privilege to suffer anything for such a +brother as Amos.'" + +"Auntie, auntie!" cried her nephew remonstratingly, "you mustn't tell +secrets; I never meant Amos to know anything about that." + +There was a brief silence, for all the party were deeply moved, and the +two brothers clasped hands eagerly and lovingly. Then Walter continued: +"So Harry took the old mare, and I took my pony, and we set off soon +after breakfast, and got in a little time to Marley Heath; and I can't +say I felt very warm to the place, and certainly it didn't _look_ very +warm to me. `What's to come next?' I said to Harry. `Well,' he said, +`we must make inquiries.' That was all easy enough to say, but who were +we to make inquiries of? The only living thing about was an old donkey +who had strayed on to the heath, and was trying to get a mouthful of +something off a bare patch or two; and as we came up he stared at us as +though he thought that we were bigger donkeys than he was for coming to +such a place at such a time. It wasn't much use looking about, for +there was nothing to guide us. We tried to track your pony's footmarks, +but as there had been more snow in the night, and it had now set in to +thaw, we could see nothing anywhere in the way of footmarks to trust to. +Certainly it was a regular puzzle, for we hadn't the slightest idea +which way to turn. `Well, Harry?' I said. `Well, Master Walter?' he +said in reply; but that didn't help us forward many steps. `Let us ride +on till we get to some house where we may make inquiries,' I said. So +we set off, and after a bit came to a farm-house, and asked if any one +had seen two people on horseback about, that day or the day before, +describing Amos as one. No; they had seen no such riders as we +described, therefore we had to trot back to the heath again. `Well, +Harry?' I said again. `Well, Master Walter?' he replied; and we stared +at one another like two--well, I hardly know what to say, but certainly +not like two very wise men. So we rode about, first in this direction, +and then in that, till we began to be fairly tired. + +"It was now getting on for luncheon time, so we made for a farm-house, +got some bread and cheese and milk, and a feed for our horses, and then +set out again; and weary work we had. At last I was almost giving up in +despair, and beginning to think that we had better go home and try some +other plan, when, as we were passing near a copse, we saw a tall figure +slouching along through the melting snow. The man did not see us at +first, but when he looked round and made out who we were, he began to +quicken his pace, and strode along wonderfully. There was no mistaking +him; it was Jim Jarrocks, the fellow who won my sovereign in that +foolish match on Marley Heath. Jim evidently had rather we had not met, +for he had a couple of hares slung over his shoulder, which he could not +well hide. However, there was no help for it, so he put a bold face on +the matter, and touched his hat as I overtook him, and said, `Your +servant, Mr Walter; I hope you're well.' Of course I did not think +anything about the hares then, I was too full of Amos; so I asked him if +he had seen Amos alone, or with another horseman. `No, sir,' he +replied, `I've not; but I'll tell you what I've seen. Last night I +found Mr Amos's pony, Prince, about a mile from here; he was saddled +and bridled, and had broke loose somehow or other, it seemed. So, as in +duty bound, I got on him, and rode him over to the Manor-house, and +fastened him up in the stable-yard; for it was late, and I didn't like +to rouse anybody.'--`All right, Jim,' I said; `Dick found him when he +went to the stables this morning. But whereabouts was it that you found +him?'--`Well, it's a queer and awkward road to get to it,' he said; `but +I can show you the way.'--`And is there any house near where you found +Prince?' I asked.--`House! no; nothing of the kind,' said he, `except +the brickmaker's cottage, about a mile further on.'--`And no one lives +in that cottage, I suppose?'--`No; and hasn't done for months past;'-- +then he stopped all of a sudden, and said, `By-the-by, there was smoke +coming out of the chimney of that cottage as I passed it last night; +that was strange anyhow.'--`Well, then, Jim,' I said, `there may be some +one in it now, and we can find out if they've seen anything of my +brother. Just put us in the way to the cottage; there's a good +man.'--`By all means,' he said, and strode on before us for about a +mile, and then pointed up a winding lane. `There,' he cried; `keep +along that lane till you come to an open field, and you'll soon see the +cottage; you can't miss it, for there isn't another anywhere about. +Good afternoon, sir.' And away he went, evidently glad to get off with +his hares as speedily as possible. The rest does not take much telling. +We soon came to the cottage, and discovered dear Amos, and encountered +that miserable man who has treated him so cruelly. Ah! well, it's been +a good ending to a bad beginning." + +"Thank you, my dear brother," said Amos warmly; "it was well and kindly +done. Yes, God has been very good in delivering me out of my trouble, +and specially in making you, dear Walter, the chief instrument in my +deliverance." + +"I only wonder," said his brother, "that the wretched man did not make +off with the pony." + +"No," said Amos; "that might have got him into trouble with the police, +if they had found the pony in his possession, or had he sold it to +anybody. No doubt, when he found the first night that I would not give +him the cheque, he just turned the pony adrift, so that, whether he made +his way home or any one found him, there would be no clue to the person +who had entrapped me." + +"I see it all!" cried Walter. "But now we must finish up with a word on +moral courage, with an illustration by dear auntie.--Yes, Aunt Kate, you +see our hero Amos; you see how he has been ready to make a regular +martyr of himself, and surely that is real moral courage." + +"Indeed it is so, dear Walter," said Miss Huntingdon; "and you were +right in calling your brother's courage a species of martyrdom, for the +spirit of a true martyr has been well described as `a readiness to +suffer the greatest evil rather than knowingly to do the least.'" + +"Capital, auntie! And now, if father is willing, give us an example." + +Mr Huntingdon having gladly given his consent, his sister spoke as +follows:-- + +"My moral hero this time is a real martyr, and a young one. In the +spring of the year 1555, a youth, named William Hunter, entered the +church of Brentwood, in Essex, to read in the great Bible which stood +there chained to a desk for the use of the people. He was an apprentice +to a London weaver, but was now on a visit to his native town. He loved +the Bible, and it was his joy to read it. As he stood before the desk, +a man named Atwell, an officer of the Romish bishop, came that way, and, +seeing how he was engaged, remonstrated with him, and then said, when +the young man quietly justified himself, `I see you are one who dislike +the queen's laws, but if you do not turn you will broil for your +opinions.'--`God give me grace,' replied William, `to believe his word +and confess his name, whatever may come of it.' + +"Atwell reported him; he was seized, and placed in the stocks. Then he +was taken before Bishop Bonner, who, finding him resolute, ordered him +again to the stocks; and there he lay two long days and nights, without +any food except a crust of brown bread and a little water. Then, in +hopes of subduing his spirit, Bonner sent him to one of the London +prisons, with strict orders to the jailer to put as many iron chains +upon him as he could possibly bear; and here he remained for three- +quarters of a year. At last the bishop sent for him and said, `If you +recant, I will give you forty pounds and set you up in business.' That +was a large sum in those days. But William rejected the offer. `I will +make you steward of my own house,' added Bonner. `But, my lord,' +replied the young man, `if you cannot persuade my conscience by +Scripture, I cannot find in my heart to turn from God for the love of +the world.' `Then away with him to the fire!' + +"He was to suffer near his native town. There was no prison in the +place, so William Hunter was confined in an inn, and guarded by +constables. His mother rushed to see him, and his words to her were, +`For my little pain which I shall suffer Christ hath procured for me a +crown of joy; are you not glad of that, mother?' On the morning when he +was to die, as he was being led from the inn, his father sprang forward +in an agony of grief, and threw his arms round him, saying, `God be with +thee, son William.' His son looked calmly at him and said, `God be with +you, father. Be of good comfort; I trust we shall soon meet again where +we shall rejoice together.' When he had been secured to the stake, a +pardon was offered him if he would recant. `No,' he said, `I will not +recant, God willing.' When the fire was lighted, and the flames began +to rise, he threw a book of Psalms, which he still held in his hands, +into the hands of his brother, who had followed him to the place of +death. Then his brother called to him and said, `William, think on the +sufferings of Christ, and be not afraid.'--`I am not afraid,' cried the +young martyr. `Lord, Lord, receive my spirit.' These were his last +words. The dry fagots burned briskly, and in a few minutes his +sufferings were at an end for ever. + +"Here, surely, dear Walter, was moral courage of the highest order. +William Hunter was very young; life was sweet; he had loving parents. +All the neighbours loved him for his gentle piety. A few words spoken +would have saved him from imprisonment, hunger, bitter suffering, and a +cruel death; but he would not by a single act or a single word save +himself, when by so doing he would be acting against his conscience, +much as he loved his home, his parents, and his people." + +Walter clapped his hands with delight when his aunt had finished, and +exclaimed, "Nothing could be better, Aunt Kate; it suits our hero Amos +to a T. Yes, for he would suffer anything rather than get his liberty +by doing or promising to do what he believed to be wrong. Thank you, +dear aunt; I have learned a lesson which I hope I shall never forget." + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +WALTER TO THE RESCUE. + +The day after his return home Amos sought his father in the library. +Mr Huntingdon's manner to him had become so much more warm and +affectionate, that he now ventured on a course which a few days before +he could not have brought himself to adopt. + +"Father," he said, "can you spare me a few minutes? I have something on +my mind which I feel that I ought to consult you about." + +"Sit down, sit down, my dear boy; what is it?" said his father. + +Thus encouraged, Amos unburdened his mind. "Father," he proceeded, "I +must ask you to excuse my absence for a day or two, or perhaps even +more. You are aware now that I have taken upon myself, for the present +at any rate, the charge of my poor sister Julia's little children. And +I may also say, as I suppose I ought not to conceal the state of things +from you, that her miserable husband has left her utterly destitute, so +that I am doing what I can to keep her from want. The man has deserted +her more than once; and more than once, when he returned and found money +in her possession, he forced it from her. So I have placed what I can +spare for her in the hands of a thoroughly trustworthy and Christian +woman with whom she lodges, and through this good landlady of hers I see +that she does not want such necessaries and comforts as are essential to +her health." + +He was proceeding with his explanation, but was checked by the deep +emotion of Mr Huntingdon, who, resting his head between his hands, +could not restrain his tears and sobs. Then, springing up from his +seat, he clasped Amos to him, and said, in a voice almost choked by his +feelings, "My dear, noble boy! and I have misunderstood, and +undervalued, and treated you with harshness and coldness all this time! +Can you forgive your unworthy father?" + +Poor Amos! Such a speech from his father almost stunned him for the +moment. At last, recovering himself, he cried, "O father, dear father, +don't say such a thing! There is not--there cannot be anything for me +to forgive. And, oh! the kindness you have shown me the last few days +has made up a thousand times for any little trouble in days gone by." + +"You are a dear good boy to say so," replied Mr Huntingdon, kissing him +warmly. "Well, now tell me all." + +"You see, dear father," continued Amos when they were again both seated, +"I am afraid, from poor Julia's letter, that she is in some special +trouble. It is true that the latter part of her letter looks very much +as if the wretched man had forced her to write it, but the first part is +clearly written as she herself felt. I have the letter here. You see, +she writes,--`Amos, I'm mad; and yet I am not. No; but he will drive me +mad. He will take them both away; he will ruin us all, body and soul.' +So far the letter is plainly her own, and there can be no doubt what it +means. That vile man has been ill-treating her, and has threatened to +take the children from under my charge, though he pledged his honour to +myself a short time back that he would not remove them; but, of course, +the honour of such a man is worth nothing." + +"Yes; I see it all," said the squire with a sigh; "but what can be done? +I suppose this unprincipled fellow has a right to the children as their +father, and to poor Julia too, as she is his wife." + +"True, father; but it will never do to leave her as she is; and I cannot +bear the thought of those dear children being left to the tender mercies +of such a man." + +"Well, and where is your poor sister herself at this time?" asked Mr +Huntingdon. + +"There, again, I am in a difficulty," said Amos. "When I first got to +know how my dear sister was situated, and where she was living, she made +me promise that I would not let any one know where the place was, and +specially not you. I suppose she was afraid that something would be +done against her husband, whom she had a great affection for, if our +family knew where she lived; and she also indulged, I grieve to say, +much bitterness of feeling towards yourself, which I have done my best +to remove. So she would not hear of my telling any one where she is +living; and indeed she has moved about from place to place. But I am +still under the promise of secrecy." + +"Well," said his father, with a sigh, "I will not of course ask you to +break your word to her; but better times will come for her, poor thing, +I hope." + +"I hope so too, dear father. But you will understand now, I feel sure, +why I wish to be absent for a day or two, that I may see how things are +really going on with her and with the poor children." + +"But will it be safe for you to go?" asked his father anxiously. "Will +not that villain entrap you again, or do you some bodily harm?" + +"I am not afraid, father. My own opinion is that the unhappy man will +not remain long in this country; and that, after what has happened these +last two days, he will feel it to be his wisdom to keep as clear of me +as possible." + +"Perhaps so; but I must say I don't like the thoughts of your going +alone on such an expedition, after what has already happened." + +"Nay, dear father, I believe I ought to go. I believe that duty calls +me; and so I may expect that God will take care of me." + +"Well, go then, my boy; and, see, take these two ten-pound notes to your +poor sister. It is not fair that all the burden should fall upon you. +These notes will at any rate keep her from want for a time; she can put +them into safe keeping with her landlady. And tell her"--here his voice +faltered--"that they are sent her with her father's love, and that there +is a place for her here in her old home still." + +"Oh, thank you, thank you, dear father," cried Amos; "you _have_ made me +glad!" + +"Yes," continued the squire, "tell her that from me; yet, of course, +that does not include _him_." + +"Oh no! I thoroughly understand that," replied his son; "and I see, of +course, many difficulties that lie in the way; but still, I believe that +brighter and happier days are coming for us all." + +"May it be so, my dear boy," said the other, again drawing him closely +to him. "It will not be _your_ fault, at any rate, if they do not +come." + +So that morning Amos left on his work of love. + +He had not been gone many minutes, when Walter knocked at his aunt's +door. "Aunt Kate," he began, when he had seated himself at her feet, "I +want your advice about a little scheme of mine. It's a good scheme, and +perhaps a little bit of moral courage on my part will come out of it." + +"Well, my dear boy, let me hear it." + +"Father, I know, has been talking to you about Amos," he went on; "all +about his noble and self-denying conduct towards my poor dear sister, +and that he is going, in consequence of that horrid letter, to see her +and those children of hers. I gather this partly from a few words I had +with Amos before he started. But then, nobody knows where Julia lives, +and nobody knows what that scamp of a fellow may be up to against my +dear good brother." + +"Yes, Walter," said his aunt, "I understand all that; and I must say +that I feel a little anxious about your brother, though I know that he +is in better hands than ours." + +"Well, auntie, shall I tell you what I have thought of?" + +"Do, dear boy." + +"If father will let me, I should like to go and keep guard over Amos +till he comes back." + +"But how can you do that?" asked Miss Huntingdon. "You said just now +that no one knows where your poor sister lives except Amos himself; and +it would hardly do for you to overtake him, if that could be done, and +join yourself to him whether he would or no." + +"No, Aunt Kate, that is not my idea. Now, though nobody but Amos knows +where Julia lives, I think I know." + +"What do you mean?" asked the other, laughing. + +"Why, just this. I don't know properly. I'm not supposed to know, and +so I take it for granted that I don't know; and yet really I believe I +do know." + +"My boy, you speak in riddles." + +"Ah yes, Aunt Kate, I do; and I see you will never guess the answers to +them, so you must give up, and I will tell you. You know that for some +time now it has been Amos's place to unlock the post-bag of a morning +and give out the letters. The other day, however, he made a mistake, +and threw me two which were really directed to him. I gave them back to +him, and I saw him turn red when he saw the mistake he had made. I +couldn't help noticing the post-mark at the time, and I thought I knew +the handwriting on one of the envelopes. The post-mark was the same on +each. I am sure now that one was directed by my sister; I know her +handwriting well, for I have two little hymns in my desk which she wrote +out for me before--before she left us, and I often look at them. And +so, putting two and two together, I believe the other was most likely +directed by the person in whose house she is living." + +"And what was the post-mark?" + +"Ah, auntie, I don't think I ought to tell, not even you. It seems like +a breach of confidence towards Amos, though it really is not. At any +rate, I am not sure that he would like me to tell." + +"Quite right, my dear Walter; I had no idle curiosity in asking; and if +Amos wishes it still to be a secret, of course you ought not to disclose +it." + +"Thank you, auntie, for looking at it in that light. Now it can be no +breach of confidence on my part to go over to that place from which the +letters came, as shown by the post-mark, and just keep my eyes and ears +open, and see if I can get within sight or hearing of Amos without +making myself known. I would not intrude myself into my poor sister's +house if I can find it out, but I would just keep a bit of a watch near +it, and look if I can see anything of that miserable man who has given +us so much trouble; and then I might be able to give him a little of my +mind, so as to induce him to take himself clean off out of the country. +At any rate, I would watch over Amos, that no harm should come to him. +What do you think?" + +"Well, dear boy," replied his aunt, "it is very generous of you to make +such a proposal, and good might come out of your plan; but what will +your father say to it?" + +"Ah, that's the point, auntie. I must get you to persuade him to let me +go. Tell him how it is--tell him I'll be as prudent as a policeman, or +a stationmaster, or any one else that's particularly prudent, or ought +to be; and, if I don't find Amos where I imagine he will be, I'll be +back again before bed-time to-morrow." + +Miss Huntingdon spoke to her brother, and put Walter's scheme before +him; but at first he would not hear of it. "The boy must be crazy," he +said; "why, he's not fit to be out all by himself on such an errand as +this. That scoundrel of a man might be getting hold of him, and no one +knows what might happen then. It's absurd,--it's really quite out of +the question." + +"Don't you think, Walter," replied his sister calmly, "that God, who has +put such a loving thought into the heart of Walter, will keep him from +harm? Would it be right to check him when he is bent on such a work? +Besides, as to the wretched and unhappy man who has caused all this +trouble, are not such characters, with all their bluster, commonly +arrant cowards when they find themselves firmly confronted?" + +"Perhaps so, Kate. Well, send Walter to me." + +"My boy," exclaimed the squire, when Walter made his appearance, "what +wild scheme is this? Why, surely you can't be serious?" + +"Indeed I am, father. You needn't be afraid for me. It was not my own +thought,--I'm sure it was put into my mind; besides, it will be capital +fun just having to look after myself for a night or two, and a little +roughing it will do me good." + +"And where do you intend to sleep and to put up, I should like to know?" +asked Mr Huntingdon, half seriously and half amused. + +"Oh, I'll find a shakedown somewhere; and I'm sure to be able to get +lots of eggs and bacon and coffee, and I could live on them for a week." + +"And I suppose I am to be paymaster," said his father, laughing. + +"Oh no, father, not unless you like. I've a sovereign still left; I'll +make that pay all, and I must do without things till I get my next +quarter's allowance." + +"Very well, my boy; but hadn't you better take Harry or Dick with you?" + +"O father! take old Harry! why, I might as well take the town-crier. Oh +no, let me go alone. I know what Amos would say if it were he that was +in my place; he would say that we may trust to be taken care of while we +are in the path of duty.--May I go, then, father?" + +"Well--yes," said Mr Huntingdon, but rather reluctantly; and then he +said, "But how shall I be sure that you haven't got into any trouble? +for I understand from your aunt that you make it a point of honour not +to let us know where you are going to." + +"All right, father: if I don't turn up some time to-morrow afternoon, +I'll manage to send a letter by some means or other." + +After luncheon Walter set out on his self-imposed expedition, on his own +pony, with a wallet strapped behind him which Miss Huntingdon had taken +care should be furnished with such things as were needful. His father +also thrust some money into his hand as they parted. And now we must +leave him as he trots briskly away, rather proud of his solitary +journey, and follow his brother, who little suspected that a guard and +protector was pursuing him in the person of his volatile brother Walter. + +The little town to which Amos leisurely made his way was about twenty +miles from Flixworth Manor. It was one of those exceedingly quiet +places which, boasting no attractions in the way of either architecture +or situation, and being on the road to or from no places of note or busy +traffic, are visited rarely by any but those who have their permanent +abode in the neighbourhood. Neither did coach pass through it nor +railway near it, so that its winding street or two, with their +straggling masses of dingy houses, would be suggestive to any accidental +visitor of little else than unmitigated dulness. It had, of course, its +post office, which was kept at a miscellaneous shop, and did not tax the +energies of the shopkeeper to any great degree by the number of letters +which passed through his hands. The stamp, however, of this office was +that which Walter had noticed on the letters which had furnished him +with a clew. + +The heart of Amos was very sad as he rode along, and yet it was filled +with thankfulness also. Yes, he could now rejoice, because he saw the +dawning of a better day now spreading into broad flushes of morning +light. His father's kindness to him, so unexpected and so precious, +and, almost better still, his father's altered feeling to his sister +Julia--how thoughts of these things gladdened him, spite of his sadness! +Oh, if only he could rid the family of that miserable husband of his +sister's in some lawful way! Of course it might be possible to put the +police on his track; but then, if he were caught and brought to justice, +what a lamentable and open disgrace it would be to them all, and might +perhaps be the means of partially closing the opening door for his +sister to her father's heart. + +With such thoughts of mingled cloud and sunshine chasing one another +through his mind, he reached, about two o'clock in the afternoon, the +little town of Dufferly, and drew rein at the dusky entrance to the +Queen's Hotel, as it was somewhat ambitiously called. Having secured a +bed, he walked out into the pebbly street, and strolled into the market- +place. He might have proceeded at once to his sister's lodgings, but he +had no wish to encounter her husband there if he could avoid it; but how +to ascertain whether he was in the town or no he could not tell. That +he was not likely to remain many days at once in the place he was pretty +sure; and yet his sister's letter implied that he had been lately with +her, and had been taking some steps towards removing the children from +their present place of abode. So he walked up and down the little town +in all directions, thinking that if Mr Vivian should be anywhere about, +and should catch sight of him, he might retire from the place for a +season, and give him an opportunity of visiting his sister unmolested. +At length, after returning to his inn and refreshing himself, he made up +his mind to call at his sister's home, trusting that he should find her +alone. + +All was quiet as could be in the little street or lane down which he now +made his way. Knocking at the door of the neat but humble dwelling +where his sister lived, she herself answered the summons. "Oh! is it +you, Amos?" she cried, clasping her hands passionately together. "Oh, I +am so glad, so glad! I want to tell you all, it has been so terrible; +come in, come in." Amos entered the little parlour and looked round. +He had himself furnished it with a few extras of comfort and refinement. +"O Amos, dear, dear Amos," cried his sister, throwing her arms round +his neck and weeping bitterly, "it has been so dreadful. Oh pardon me, +pray pardon me!" + +"What for, dearest Julia?" he asked. + +"Why, for writing that last part of the letter. He stood over me; he +made me do it. He stood over me with a whip; yes, he struck me over and +over again--look at my neck here--he struck me till the blood came, when +I refused at first to write as he dictated. But oh! I hope no harm +came of that letter?" + +"None, dear sister, none. No; the Lord took care of me and delivered +me.--But the children--what of them?" + +"Oh, I don't know, I'm sure; but I rather think he doesn't mean to move +them after all." + +"And where is he himself--I mean your--" + +"My husband, as he calls himself," she said bitterly. "Oh, he is +anywhere and everywhere; sometimes here for a day or two, and then +absent for weeks. Indeed, he hardly dares stay for any length of time +in any one place, for fear of the police getting hold of him." + +"My poor sister!" exclaimed Amos with a sigh; "but, at any rate, _all_ +is not dark," he added. "I am bringing a little gladness with me. My +dear father sends you his love--" + +"What--what, Amos!" she exclaimed, interrupting him with almost a +shriek. "Oh, say it again! Oh, can it really be?--my father send me +his love! Oh, dearest Amos, was it really so?" + +"Yes; he knows nearly all now, and his heart has opened to you, and he +bids me tell you there is a place for you in the old home still." + +Sinking on the ground, the bewildered, agitated creature clasped her +hands across her forehead, as though the swollen veins would burst with +the intensity of her emotion. At last, yielding to her brother's tender +caresses, she grew calmer, and allowing him to draw her close to him, +she wept a full flood of tears, which brought with them a measure of +peace in their flow. "Oh! can it be?" she cried again, but now more +hopefully--"a place for me yet in the dear old home, and my father's +smile on me once more." Then she added in a scared, hoarse whisper, +"But that doesn't include _him_?" + +"No, not your unhappy husband; my father could not receive him." + +"Of course not, Amos. Oh that I had never married him! Every spark of +love for him has died out of my heart now. I hate him, and I loathe +myself." + +"Nay, nay, dear sister," said Amos soothingly, "don't say so. He has +sinned, greatly sinned, but all may yet be well." + +"Never, never," she cried, "while he claims me for his wife!" + +"Well, well," said Amos, "calm yourself, dear Julia. See, here is proof +visible of my father's love to you: he has bid me put these two ten- +pound notes into Mrs Allison's hands for you. He sends them to +yourself, but I am to place them with her, lest they should be taken +from you." + +"Let me look at them with my own eyes," she cried; and when Amos +produced them, she pressed them eagerly to her lips, exclaiming, "Dear, +dear father, God bless you for this!" + +"And now," said her brother, when she had sufficiently recovered herself +to listen to him quietly, "we must consider next what is best to be +done. Do you think your husband is likely to be here again soon? and if +so, will it be of any use your speaking to him on the subject of your +father having expressed his willingness to receive you without him? +Would he be willing to leave you to us now, and to go abroad himself to +some distant land? and do you yourself really desire this separation?" + +"Desire it, Amos! how can I help desiring it? Though marrying him lost +me home and almost everything I once loved, yet I could have followed +him all the world over if he had really loved me. But he hates me; he +takes a spiteful pleasure in ill-treating me. He would never come near +me at all, if he did not think that he could manage to squeeze some +money out of me. How _can_ I have any love left for such a wretch?" + +"But will he be willing to leave you in our hands? Remember you are +still his wife, and he has therefore a claim upon you." + +"I know it, Amos, too well. Oh! what can I do?" + +"Well, I can hardly tell; but I am remaining in the town to-night, and +as it is now getting late, I will go to my room at the inn, and will +come and see you again to-morrow morning, by which time I shall have got +more light on the subject, I have no doubt." So they parted. + +As Amos walked into the inn-yard to have a last look at his pony, he saw +a young man advancing towards him; but as it was now getting dark, he +could not at first make out his features. A moment more, and he +recognised his brother. + +"What, Walter!" he exclaimed in astonishment; "how did _you_ come here?" + +"Oh, very comfortably indeed!" was the reply. "I have ridden over on a +little private business of my own--in fact, I may tell you in confidence +that I am at present a member of the mounted police force, and am on +duty to-night in the noble town of Dufferly, keeping my eye on a certain +person who is running his head into danger, and wants carefully looking +after, lest he get himself into mischief." Amos looked puzzled. "In +other words," continued his brother, "I could not bear the thought of +your getting again into the clutches of that horrid man; so I have come +over, not to be a spy upon you, or any fetter on your movements, but +just to be at hand, to give you a help if you want it." + +"How generous of you, dear Walter!" cried his brother, shaking him +warmly by the hand; "but does my father know?" + +"Of course he does, and my aunt too. It's all right. You are captain, +and I'm only lieutenant; and now, what's the next move?" + +"Well, to have some tea together in my room, Walter. But really your +coming was quite unnecessary. I shall be taken care of without your +needing to put yourself to all this trouble. However, as you _are_ +here, I begin to see that good may come of it. So let us have tea, and +then you must tell me how you found me out, after which I will tell you +what is in my mind." So the brothers had a cozy meal together, and then +Amos told Walter about his interview with their sister, and having taken +him fully into his confidence, discussed with him what was best to be +done under the sad circumstances. + +"If I could only get hold of that rascally scamp!" said Walter, with an +inclination of his head which implied that nothing would give him more +intense satisfaction. + +"I am afraid," said his brother, "that would not help us much: the thing +that would do us all good is not to get hold of him, but to get rid of +him. Unfortunately, however, he knows the hold he has upon us through +poor Julia, and I fear that he will leave no stone unturned to +accomplish his own objects through her directly or indirectly." + +"And can't we set the police on him?" + +"I daresay we could, Walter; but what a disgrace it would be to have him +exposed and brought to justice!" + +"Ah, I see that. Well, Amos, we must see if we cannot frighten him away +for good and all." + +His brother shook his head. "He knows very well, you may be sure," he +said, "that for Julia's sake and our own we shall not drag him out into +the light, with all his sins and misdemeanours, for the public to gaze +at, if we can help it; and yet I think he may perhaps be induced to +retire of his own accord and settle abroad, if he finds that we are both +of us determined to keep him in view. Suppose, then, we go together to +poor Julia's to-morrow. Oh, how delighted she will be to see you once +again! And we can get her to make her husband understand that we are +both of us keeping our eyes open about him, and that unless he takes +himself off at once, and gives up his poor abused wife into our keeping, +and leaves her there, we shall bring him to justice, let the disgrace be +what it may." + +"Well, Amos," replied Walter, "I can see no better plan; so if agreeable +to you I will have the happiness of going with you to-morrow to my dear +sister's." + +The next morning, accordingly, the two brothers stood at the door of +Julia Vivian's humble dwelling. The landlady answered the bell, and +said that her lodger was still in her bedroom, having passed a very +disturbed night, but that, if they would come in, she would soon come +down to them. In a few minutes the parlour door slowly opened, and +Julia, deadly pale, a wild light in her eyes, and her hands trembling +with excitement, made her appearance. She advanced with hesitating +steps towards Amos, behind whom stood Walter, partly hidden by his +brother; but as his sister caught sight of her younger brother, the +colour rushed into her face, and with a wild cry she sprang into his +arms. "Walter! O Walter, Walter! is it really you? Oh, this is too +much happiness.--Amos, you never told me of this." + +"No, my dear sister, because I did not know of it myself. But calm +yourself now. You look so very ill, I am afraid the excitement has been +too much for you." + +"No, no!" she cried, with a look of terror in her eyes, "it is not +that,--seeing you both is nothing but joy; it would make me well and +ready for anything. But--but _he_ has been here since I saw you +yesterday, Amos. He found out from my manner that something had +happened, and he made me tell that you had been here. And then he asked +if you had said anything about money; and, when I hesitated, he +threatened and threatened till he forced it out of me that my dear +father had sent me those notes. He went off again last night, and said +that he should like to meet you this morning, and that perhaps something +might be arranged to the satisfaction of all parties." + +"Then you told him that I was coming again this morning?" + +"Yes; he dragged it from me by his sharp and cruel questioning. But he +is not coming till twelve o'clock." + +"And where is he now?" + +"I cannot tell. He never lets me know where he is going to, or how long +he means to stay away." + +"I will meet him here, then," said Amos; "perhaps we may now really come +to some understanding which will get us out of our difficulties." + +"And what about me?" asked Walter. "I have come over here in the +character of a policeman in plain clothes to watch over my brother Amos, +and I don't want that precious blackguard--I beg your pardon, Julia, I +mean your husband--to have any more _tete-a-tetes_ with my charge unless +I am by. Can you hide me away in some corner where I can hear and see +all that is going on without being seen myself?" + +"Would that be right?" asked his brother hesitatingly. + +"Perfectly right," said Walter, "so long as _you_ are willing that I +should hear what passes between you. I'm not fond of acting the spy, +but this is simply taking reasonable precautions to prevent an honest +man being entrapped or injured by a rogue." + +"Yes," said his sister, "I am afraid what you say is too true. I would +not answer for what Orlando might do at any time. So I think I can +place you where you can observe and hear what is going on without being +observed yourself." + +Having said this, she led the way into another room on the opposite side +of the passage, which was usually occupied by the owner of the house, +but which she had this morning lent to her lodger for her use, as it was +rather larger than the one Mrs Vivian occupied, and more convenient for +the reception of a visitor. On the farther side of this apartment was a +door leading out to the back part of the house. It was seldom used now, +and a curtain hung before it, as the weather was cold and a strong +current of air came through it. In an upper panel of this door was a +small glass window, now disused, for some alterations had been made in +the back premises which blocked out the light. The panes of this window +had been pasted over and covered by paper similar in colour to the door, +so that the existence of any glass there would not have been suspected +by any ordinary observer. + +When this door and its window had been shown to Walter, what he should +do flashed upon him at once. "May we take the landlady in a measure +into our confidence?" he asked. + +"Yes," said his sister, "I am sure you may. She knows my trials and +troubles too well." + +Amos having assented, Mrs Allison was called, and it was explained to +her that Walter wished to watch behind the door unobserved, and to be +able, if possible, to see as well as hear what was going on in the room +during the interview between his brother and brother-in-law. The good +woman, at once comprehending the situation, gave cheerful leave to +Walter to take his stand where he proposed, promising that no one should +interrupt; and then with her own hands scratched with an old pair of +scissors two small round holes in the paper which had been pasted on the +small window, such as would not attract the notice of any one in the +room, but through which Walter would be able to see everything that was +going on inside. + +A few minutes before twelve he duly took his stand behind this disused +door. The curtain had previously been removed by the landlady, so that +any conversation in the room could be readily heard through the not over +tight-fitting woodwork. Anxiously did the young man wait for the coming +interview. He was not kept long in suspense. A loud ring at the front +door was followed by the sound of a heavy stalking tread. Mr Orlando +Vivian entered the other parlour, whither Amos and his sister had +retired, and saluted the former with an offhand, swaggering assumption +of politeness. + +"Your servant, Mr Huntingdon," he said. Whose ever _servant_ he might +be, at that moment he was clearly the _slave_ of strong drink. + +Amos bowed. + +"I hope you find your sister well, Mr Huntingdon," he added; "it is +very kind of you to visit us in our humble dwelling." + +The other replied that he did not find his sister looking as well as he +had hoped, but trusted that she might soon be better. + +"The better for my absence, I suppose you mean," said his brother-in-law +sneeringly. + +Amos made no reply. + +"Well, sir," continued the wretched stroller, whose swaggering manner +was evidently merely assumed, "every man's house is his castle, and +therefore mine must be so too. I haven't much to offer you in the way +of welcome just now, but, before we part, I should like a word in +private with you.--Is the other room occupied?" he asked of his wife. + +"No; Mrs Allison has put it at my service this morning." + +"Then, Mr Huntingdon, will you be so good as to follow me?" Saying +which, he led the way to the other parlour, and, when they had entered, +locked the door, to the surprise and not particular satisfaction of +Amos, who gave just one glance at the little window, and thought he saw +two eyes peeping through the little holes. + +"Pray be seated," said the player. + +Amos accepted the invitation and sat. + +"You have brought some money, I understand, from my father-in-law for +his daughter," began Mr Vivian abruptly. + +"I have," said the other, after his questioner had waited a minute or so +for a reply. + +"Would you have the goodness to hand it to me?" continued the player. + +"I brought it," replied Amos, "for my sister's own private use and +benefit, and cannot therefore give it to you." + +"Ah, indeed!" said the other sarcastically; "but you know, sir, that a +wife's goods belong to her husband, who, as I think the Bible has it, is +the head of the wife, so that what is hers is his, and indeed his more +than hers." + +"Perhaps so, under ordinary circumstances," replied Amos; "but this is a +free gift from a father to a daughter, and I am sure no kind or +reasonable husband would wish to deprive her of it." + +"Deprive, sir? No,--deprive is not the word. Husband and wife are one, +you know: the wife is the weaker vessel, and the husband the stronger; +and it is only right and natural that the stronger should have the +money, that he may use it for the benefit of the weaker." + +"Mr Vivian," said Amos firmly, "all this, and you must know it, is mere +idle talk. I cannot give you the money." + +"And I on my part say, sir," replied the other, "that I must have it. I +want it. I cannot do without it." + +"I have told you my decision," said Amos. + +"Indeed," said the other. "Then I am driven to an unpleasant line of +persuasion, though very reluctantly." + +He rose, and Amos did the same. + +"Do you see this?" he said, taking from his pocket a revolver. + +"I do," said Amos. + +"Should I be disposed to use this by way of compulsion, what would you +say?" + +"That I am in God's hands and not in yours," replied Amos, looking +Vivian full in the face, who quailed before the calm, steady gaze of the +young man. + +Neither spoke for half a minute; then the unhappy stroller stepped back, +and began to raise his right arm. The next instant the disused door was +dashed open, and Walter sprang upon his astounded brother-in-law with +the fury of a tiger. The pistol flew from Vivian's hand, and he fell to +the ground. Walter, who was full of vigour and activity, pinned him +down, and called to Amos to give him one of the bell ropes. With this, +being assisted by his brother, he pinioned the prostrate man so that he +was utterly helpless. + +"Now," said Walter, "let us search the villain's pockets." He did so, +and discovered a second revolver. "What's to be done now?" he asked; +"shall we hand him over at once to the police?" + +At this moment his sister, having heard the scuffle, tried the door. +Amos unlocked it. What a sight presented itself! "Oh, what does it all +mean?" she cried. + +"Why, just this," exclaimed her brother. "This dastardly villain--I +must call him so--has been threatening to shoot Amos because he would +not give him the money that was sent by my father to you." + +"Oh, misery! misery!" cried the unhappy wife, hiding her face with her +hands. + +"Let me get up; untie the rope," wailed the unhappy Vivian, now utterly +crestfallen and abject. "I meant your brother no harm; I only intended +to frighten him. The pistols are neither of them loaded." + +"It may be so," said Walter. "Well, get up," and he helped him to rise. +"Now sit down in that chair and listen to me. You've behaved like a +brute, and worse than a brute, to my poor sister; you have cruelly +trapped my dear noble brother, and would have murdered him if you had +dared. The simplest thing would just be to send for a policeman and +give you into his charge. But I don't want to do this for my poor +sister's sake and the family's sake. But now I've made up my mind--come +what may, disgrace or no disgrace, if you show your face amongst any of +us again, the constable shall have you, and you shall get your deserts. +We've got a home for our sister at the old place, and Amos has got a +home for the children. Now if, after I've set you free, you turn up +anywhere near us or the children, we'll make no more bones of the +matter; you shall get your deserts, and these will be the deserts of a +mean, cowardly, rascally wife-beater, to say the best of you." + +Not a word of reply did the guilty man make to this speech. He writhed +in his chair, and looked utterly humbled and crushed. + +When Walter--who had now, with the tacit consent of Amos, taken the +management of matters into his own hands--had examined the pistols, +which proved to be unloaded, he approached his brother-in-law once more, +and said, with less excitement, "Now, Mr Orlando Vivian, I am going to +release you, and you will have the goodness to take yourself out of this +town before you are an hour older, else you will have to take the +consequences." Having said this, he proceeded to unfasten the cord +which bound the degraded and spirit-broken wretch. When this had been +accomplished, the baffled stroller rose, and, with head hanging down, +and without a word uttered, left the house. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +BACK TO THE OLD HOME AGAIN. + +"I shall remain here with poor Julia," said Amos to his brother, when +their unhappy sister, completely overcome by the terrible scene she had +just witnessed, had retired to her bedroom, where she was lovingly +tended by her kind landlady. + +"And what is the next move for me?" asked Walter. + +"Well," replied Amos, "you have done your part most nobly, and I am so +thankful now that you came. Not that I think that wretched man would +really have harmed me. He just wanted to frighten the money out of me; +but I believe, on finding me firm, and not to be frightened, he would +have dropped his pistol, and made some shuffling attempt to turn the +matter into a joke, and would then have tried to wheedle the money out +of me, when he saw that a show of violence would not do. Still, I am +truly glad that you were here, and that things have turned out as they +have done. I feel sure now that you have thoroughly humbled this +unprincipled scoundrel, and that he has slunk away like a whipped hound, +and I have every hope that he will not trouble poor Julia any more with +his odious presence. As he knows now that there are two of us keeping +watch, and must remember what you have said to him, I fully believe that +he will take himself off to a distance, if not go abroad, and that we +need not be afraid of his annoying us any more either here or at +Flixworth Manor." + +"That's pretty much what I think too," replied his brother; "but what am +I to say at home?" + +"Just what you like. But as to our dear sister, I want you to express +to my father her delight and gratitude when I gave her his love, and +told her that there was still a place for her in the old home. And then +would you find out from him or through our aunt how soon she may come +back to us? for I want to get her out of this place. When she is once +in her old home again she will be safe out of the clutches of her cruel +husband. I will wait here for an answer, which you can send me by post; +and, should that answer warrant poor Julia's return at once, I will see +all things got ready, and will bring her myself. And, should there be +anything in the way of her returning immediately, I can remove her for a +time to where her children are, as I shall be better able to keep my eye +upon her there." + +"All right, Amos; I'm not afraid of leaving you here now, for I am as +fully persuaded as you are that Mr Vivian has had such a lesson as he +won't forget in a hurry, and that he will make himself pretty scarce for +some time to come. You shall hear from me by to-morrow's post.--Ah, but +there's another thing: am I to say anything about the children? for if +poor Julia is to come back we shall have to make room for the children +as well." + +"Nay, dear Walter," said his brother, "I think it would be better to say +nothing about the children; they are safe and happy where they are. Let +us leave the matter to our dear father. When Julia has got her old +place in his house and heart back again, I feel sure that it will not be +long before he bids her himself send for the children. Don't you think +it will be better that it should come from himself?" + +"Just so, Amos; you are right, as usual. Well, this is a capital ending +to a queer beginning. And what will old Harry say to see `Miss Julia as +was' turning up `Mistress Julia as is'? Oh, won't it be capital fun to +see him welcome her back!" So Walter set off on his homeward journey in +high spirits, and in due time reached his destination brimful of news +and excitement. + +"All well, I hope?" asked his father, who, with his aunt, met him in the +hall on his arrival. + +"Oh yes, father, it's all well, and a deal better than all well--it's +all best." Then the three gathered round the fire in Mr Huntingdon's +library, and Walter told his story. Deep was the emotion of Mr +Huntingdon and his sister, and deeper still their thankfulness, when +they heard of the happy conclusion of the terrible and exciting meeting +between Amos and his brother-in-law. + +"And you did nobly and wisely yourself, my dear boy," said the squire. +"I believe you have given that wretched scoundrel his quietus so far as +we are concerned.--And what of your poor sister? Are we to expect her +soon?" + +"That's what I've got to write to Amos about," replied his son. "As +soon as you are ready to receive her she will be only too thankful to +come." + +"Let her come at once--write by this night's post," cried his father in +an agitated voice. "Poor dear child, I long to welcome her back again; +and I think, if I am not mistaken, that your aunt has been making some +quiet preparations, so that it will not be inconvenient to you, Kate, +for her to come at once, will it?" + +"Not in the least," replied his sister; "I have been earnestly hoping +and praying for this." + +"And what about the children?" said her brother; "we must make room for +them too, poor things. We can't keep the mother and her children +separate." + +"Of course not, dear Walter," replied Miss Huntingdon; "we shall be +quite prepared to receive them also, though they are at present not with +their mother, but under Amos's charge." + +"Ah, I remember," said her brother; "well, we can send for them too, +when the poor child herself has got here." + +"Am I to write all that?" asked Walter. + +"Oh, certainly," was the reply. + +"Then hip, hip, hurrah forty-four thousand times! And now I will write +the letter; and then I'll have a fine bit of fun with Harry." So the +letter was written and duly posted that evening; and Walter, after he +had finished it, betook himself to the butler's pantry. + +"Harry," he said to the worthy old servant, who, wash-leather in hand, +was burnishing the plate with all the solemnity of one engaged in some +very serious and responsible undertaking, "what do you think?" + +"Well, Master Walter, I think a good many things." + +"I daresay you do. But what do you think _now_?" + +"Why, pretty much what I've been thinking of for the last half-hour; and +that ain't much to the purpose to any one but myself." + +"Just so, Harry; well, I'm not going to offer you a penny for your +thoughts, but I'm sure you would give a good many pence for mine. +However, I'll make no charge on the present occasion, but will tell you +out at once--Miss Julia that was is coming back to us to her old home, +perhaps to-morrow or next day. My father has sent for her. Now, isn't +that stunning?" + +It certainly looked so in Harry's case, for the old man dropped a large +silver fork on to the ground, and stood, with his mouth and eyes wide +open, staring at Walter, the very picture of amazement. + +"All, I thought so," said Walter. "Well, Harry, it's true. Isn't that +good news?" + +Yes; it was joy and gladness to the faithful old servant's heart. One +big tear after another rolled down his cheeks, and then he said in a low +voice, "The Lord be praised! I've prayed as it might come to this some +day; and so it has at last. And you're sure of it, Master Walter; +you're not a-cramming of me?" + +"Nothing of the sort, Harry; I couldn't have the heart to do it. No, it +is perfectly true. And now, what shall we do? Shall we pile up a great +bonfire, and light it the same night she comes back? What do you say to +that?" + +"I don't know, Master Walter, I don't know. Somehow or other it don't +seem to me quite suitable. I think master would hardly like it. You +see, it isn't as if she'd been and married a creditable person, or were +coming back after all had gone on straight and smooth like. There's +been faults on both sides, maybe; but it seems to me as we'd better do +our rejoicing in a quieter sort of way, and light the bonfires in our +hearts, and then we shan't give offence to nobody." + +"Harry, I believe you're right," said Walter. "You're a regular old +brick, and nothing but it; thank you for your sensible advice." + +When dinner was over, and Miss Huntingdon had retired for a few minutes +to her own room, she received a visit from Walter. "Auntie," he said, +"I am come for a lesson on moral courage, and for a little +encouragement. Now, you know all the circumstances of our grand scene +with that shocking scoundrel at Dufferly; so you must tell me who is +your special hero for moral courage in whose steps Amos trode on that +occasion." + +"Yes, I can do that, my dear boy," replied his aunt; "but, first of all, +I must speak a word of congratulation and praise to another hero--my +dear nephew Walter." + +"Nay, aunt," he replied, "I don't think there was much moral courage +about it in my case. My blood was up when I saw Amos's life threatened, +and I should have pitched into the cowardly wretch if he had been as +tall as a lighthouse and as big as an elephant." + +"True, dear boy, that was natural courage principally; but there was +moral courage too in your whole conduct in the matter, in the steady +perseverance with which you went to be your brother's protector, come +what might and at all hazards." + +"Thank you, dear aunt, but you have given me more praise than I deserve. +And now for the special hero, the counterpart of Amos." + +"My hero this time," said Miss Huntingdon, "is a very remarkable man, a +most excellent clergyman, Mr Fletcher of Madeley. He had a very +profligate nephew, a military man, who had been dismissed from the +Sardinian service for base and ungentlemanly conduct, had engaged in two +or three duels, and had wasted his means in vice and extravagance. One +day this nephew waited on his uncle, General de Gons, and, presenting a +loaded pistol, threatened to shoot him unless he would immediately +advance him five hundred crowns. The general, though a brave man, well +knew what a desperado he had to deal with, and gave a draft for the +money, at the same time expostulating with him freely on his conduct. +The young madman rode off triumphantly with his ill-gotten cheque. In +the evening, passing the door of Mr Fletcher, he determined to call on +him, and began by telling him how liberal General de Gons had been to +him, and, as a proof, exhibited the draft. Mr Fletcher took it from +his nephew, and looked at it with astonishment. Then, after some +remarks, putting it into his pocket, he said, `It strikes me, young man, +that you possessed yourself of this note by some indirect method; and in +honesty I cannot return it without my brother's knowledge and +approbation.' The young man's pistol was immediately at his uncle's +breast. `My life,' said Mr Fletcher, with perfect calmness, `is secure +in the protection of an Almighty Power, nor will he suffer it to be the +forfeit of my integrity and your rashness.'--This firmness staggered his +nephew, who exclaimed, `Why, Uncle de Gons, though an old soldier, was +more afraid of death than you are.'--`Afraid of death!' cried Mr +Fletcher. `Do you think I have been twenty-five years the minister of +the Lord of life, to be afraid of death now? No, sir; it is for _you_ +to fear death. Look here, sir, the broad eye of Heaven is fixed upon +us; tremble in the presence of your Maker, who can in a moment kill your +body, and for ever punish your soul in hell.'--The unhappy man turned +pale, and trembled first with fear and then with rage. He still +threatened his uncle with instant death. Mr Fletcher, however, gave no +alarm and made no attempt to escape. He calmly conversed with his +miserable nephew; and at last, when he saw that he was touched, +addressed him like a father till he had fairly subdued him. But he +would not return his brother's draft. However, he gave him some help +himself, and having prayed with him, let him go." + +"Ay, dear aunt," exclaimed Walter, "that was a hero indeed." + +"Yes, Walter, a true moral hero; for, if you remember, moral courage is +the bravery shown, not in acting from sudden impulse, nor from `pluck,' +as you call it, nor from mere animal daring, but in deliberately +resolving to do and doing as a matter of principle or duty what may cost +us shame, or loss, or suffering, or even death. Such certainly was Mr +Fletcher's courage. A sense of duty and the fear of God upheld him +against all fear of man." + +"True, auntie," acquiesced her nephew; "and so it was with Amos." + +"Yes, just so, Walter. You tell me that when your unhappy brother-in- +law pointed the pistol at Amos, your brother said with perfect calmness +that he was in God's hands, and not in the hands of Mr Vivian. In thus +acting from duty, and deliberately hazarding the loss of his own life +rather than do what his conscience disapproved of, Amos exhibited, like +Mr Fletcher, the most exalted moral courage." + +"Thank you, dear aunt; and I am so glad that I have been permitted to +help my hero out of his trouble." + +On the third day after this conversation, the post brought the welcome +news from Amos that he should bring his sister that afternoon to her old +home, and that her children would follow in a day or two. Seven years +had elapsed since the erring daughter had left sorrow and shame behind +her in her home, by suddenly and clandestinely quitting it, to become, +without the sanction of father or mother, the wife of a specious but +profligate and needy adventurer. And now, sad and forsaken, she was +returning to a home which had for a long time been closed against her. +Oh, with what a wild throbbing of heart did she gaze at the familiar +sights which presented themselves to her on all sides, as she and Amos +drove along the well-known roads, in through the great green gates, up +the drive, and then, with a sudden pull up, to the front door. The next +moment she had sprung on to the door-steps with an eager cry, and found +herself clasped in her father's arms. + +"My poor, poor child! welcome home again," he murmured, with choking +tears. + +"O father! father!" she cried, "it is too much happiness." She could +say no more. + +Then she received the warm embrace of her aunt, who was saddened to mark +the lines of care on that young face, which was all brightness the last +time she had seen it. And then, as she raised herself up, and +disengaged herself from those loving arms, her eyes fell on the old +butler, who was twisting a large red pocket-handkerchief into a rope, in +his vain efforts to restrain his emotions, which at last found vent in a +long cadence of mingled sobs and exclamations. For a moment Julia +Vivian hesitated, and then flung her arms round the neck of the old man, +who made the hall ring with a shout of thanksgiving. Then, calming +down, he said, half out loud, and half confidentially to himself, "You +know it was to be so, and so it is. We've got Miss Julia as was back +among us again; and we don't mean to part with her never again no more." + +Oh, what a day of gladness was that to Amos Huntingdon! One half of the +great purpose to which he had devoted his life was now accomplished. +The banished sister had been welcomed back by his father to her earthly +home. And yet, how much still remained to be done! But, as he had +worked on in faith and trust before, so he would continue trusting, +watching, working, committing all to the wise guiding and overruling of +that loving Father whose leading hand he had hitherto sought to follow, +but never to outrun. + +How bright were the faces which gathered round the dinner-table that +evening!--though even then the cloud rested in a measure on every heart; +for that poor worn face, and those wistful pitiful eyes, told of a deep +and hidden sorrow, and of an abiding humiliation, which not even the +pure love that now beamed on her from all sides could remove from the +burdened spirit of the restored wanderer. Down in the kitchen, however, +the rejoicing was unclouded, except that Harry mourned over his young +mistress's faded beauty and sad looks, and occupied a considerable +portion of his leisure time in punching an imaginary head, held firm +under his left arm, and supposed by his fellow-servants to belong to +Miss Julia's brute of a husband. + +Dinner had been over rather more than an hour, when Walter, who had been +absent for a short time from the drawing-room, returned, beckoned to +Amos, and then, gently laying hold of his sister's hand, drew her +towards the door. "Come here, just for one minute," he said, with a +merry smile twinkling in his eyes. "Father will spare you just for a +minute;" and he conducted her out of the room. Oh, what a flood of joy +came into her heart with that smile of Walter's. Years had passed since +she had rejoiced in its light. What would she have given could the +frightful interval between this smile and the last she had seen before +it have been wiped clean out! To her that interval had been one +prolonged and gloomy frown. But now the three, Amos, Walter, and their +sister, made their way downstairs. Oh, it was so like a bit of childish +fun in days gone by! And now they arrived at the butler's pantry, the +door of which was fast closed. Walter knocked. "Come in," said the old +man. They entered; and all exclaimed at the sight which presented +itself. On every available projection there was placed a portion of a +candle, making in all some thirty or forty lights, which made the little +room one brilliant blaze. On the wall opposite the door were the words, +"Welcome home again," in large red and blue letters; and on another wall +the words, "Hip, hip, hooray!" in golden characters. + +"O dear Harry!" cried his young mistress, her face glowing with such a +smile as no one had seen on it yet since her return, "how good and kind +of you--just like your dear old self! how came you to think of it?" + +"Well, Miss Julia," was his reply, "it's this way,--Master Walter and me +talked about having a bonfire on the hill; but when we came to think it +over, we decided as it wouldn't p'r'aps be altogether the right thing, +for reasons as needn't be named on this here occasion. So I've been and +got up a little bit of an illumination all of my own self. But don't +you go for to suppose as these candles belongs to master. I'm not the +man to use his goods this way without leave. It's a pound of the best +composite as I bought out of my own wages, and you're heartily welcome +to every one on 'em." + +"Thank you, dear Harry," she said, holding out her hand to him; "it is +the sweetest of welcomes. I feel that it has done me good already; +there is true love in every light." + +"Just so, miss," said the old man, his face brimming over with +happiness. "And now, before we part, we must have a bit of toffee all +round, as you was used to in old times." So saying, he opened an old +drawer, which seemed abundantly furnished with sundry kinds of sweets, +and produced the toffee, which he pressed upon each of his three +visitors. "There," he said in a tone of deep satisfaction, "that's just +as it should be; and now, Miss Julia," he added, "when you want any +more, you know where to come for it." + +Few happier hearts were laid on a bed that night in England than the +heart of old Harry the butler. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +TRUE SHAME VERSUS FALSE SHAME. + +While Amos rejoiced greatly in the return of his sister, there was much +still to be accomplished before his great object could be fairly said to +be attained, even in her case. Nothing could be kinder than Mr +Huntingdon's treatment of his restored child; and when her little ones +joined her, it seemed as if the pent back affections of the squire were +coming forth in such a rush as would almost overwhelm his grandchildren +with a flood of indulgence. Brighter days, then, had come; +nevertheless, Amos could not help seeing much in the character and +conduct of both his sister and Walter which saddened him. Acting +himself on the highest of all principles--the constraining love of the +heavenly Master--he could not be content till the same holy motive +should have its place in the hearts of those he so dearly loved. + +Sorrow had subdued and softened in Julia the less amiable features in +her character; while all that Amos had done and suffered and was still +doing for herself and her children could not but draw out her heart to +him. But yet, while she loved and respected Amos, she just simply +dearly loved Walter; towards him the deeper and tenderer feelings of her +heart went forth. And Walter himself--though Amos was the object of his +warmest admiration, and, in a certain sense, of his imitation--was far +from adopting the standard and motives of his brother. To do simply +what his conscience told him to be right, when such a course would cut +the prejudices of his gay worldly friends across the grain, was a thing +he was by no means prepared for; and here he had his sister's sympathy. +Not that she openly advocated a worldly and compromising line of +conduct--for indeed she was too glad to leave for a while argument and +outspoken opinions to others--but she made him feel in her private +conversations with him that the world and its ways and maxims were still +her own guide and standard. + +Amos could see this more or less, and he deeply deplored it; but he +trusted still that prayer, patience, and perseverance would yet bring +his beloved brother and restored sister to look at duty and wisdom in +the light of God's Word. And Walter gave him at times much +encouragement. He could no longer despise Amos, nor pride himself in +his own superiority to him. The beauty of his elder brother's +character, the nobleness of his aims, the singleness of eye that was +manifest in him, his unselfishness and patience, these traits had won +the unfeigned admiration of Walter, an admiration which he was too +generous not to acknowledge. But yet, all the while, he rather fretted +under Amos's rigid consistency, remarking to his sister that really it +was a bit of a bondage to have to be always so very good, and that one +must not be so over-particular if one was to get on with people who were +not yet exactly angels. But still, he was vexed with himself when he +had made such observations, and resolved in his heart to be more +circumspect for the future. + +When Julia Vivian had been some weeks in her old home, Walter exclaimed +one morning as they were sitting at breakfast, "What do you think? +Gregson is getting up a raffle for his beautiful mare Rosebud." + +"Indeed," said his father, "how comes that? I thought the young man had +only had her a short time." + +"Why, father," replied Walter, "I imagine the fact is that Gregson's +purse is getting worn into a hole or two." + +"I understood," remarked Miss Huntingdon, "that his father was a very +wealthy man, and allowed his son, as you used to put it, no end of +money." + +"True, aunt; but I think he has been betting and losing pretty heavily +lately, and finds he must pull up a bit." + +"And so he is going to part with his mare by raffle," said the squire; +"pray what does he want for her?" + +"Oh, a hundred guineas--and very cheap, too. Will you put in, father?" + +"Not I, my boy; I cannot say that I am very fond of these raffles." + +"Well, Amos," said Walter, turning to his brother, "what does your +worship say?" + +Amos shook his head. + +"Nay, don't be ill-natured," said the other. "It's a guinea a ticket: +I'll take one, and you can take one, and if I win I'll pay you back your +guinea, for then I shall get a horse worth a hundred guineas for two +guineas; and if _you_ win, you can either keep the mare or hand her over +to me, and I will pay you back your guinea." + +"And suppose we neither of us win?" asked Amos. + +"Oh, then," replied his brother, "we shall have done a good-natured +thing by giving Gregson a helping hand out of his difficulties, for it +will take a good deal of hunting up to get a hundred names for the +raffle." + +"But, my boy," said the squire, "remember there's some one else to be +considered in the matter. I can't undertake to keep two horses for you; +you have your own pony already." + +"All right, father; there'll be no difficulty there. I can sell my own +pony, and Rosebud won't eat more nor take up more room than poor Punch; +and I shall put a few sovereigns into my own pocket too by selling my +own pony." + +"That is to say, if you are the winner, my boy; but there will be +ninety-nine chances to one against that." + +"Oh yes, I know that, father; but `nothing venture, nothing win,' says +the proverb.--Well, Amos, what do you say? will you be one?" + +"I cannot," said his brother gravely. + +"Oh, why not?" asked his sister; "it will be so nice for dear Walter to +have that beautiful creature for his own." + +"I do not approve of raffles, and cannot therefore take part in one," +replied Amos. + +"Why, surely," she exclaimed, "there can be no harm in them." + +"I cannot agree with you there, dear Julia," he said. "I believe +raffles to be utterly wrong in principle, and so there must be harm in +them. They are just simply a mild form of gambling, and nothing got by +them can be got fairly and strictly honestly." + +"Eh! that's strong indeed," cried Walter. + +"Not too strong," said his brother. "There are but three ways of +getting anything from another person's possession honestly: you must +either earn it, as a man gets money from his master by working for it; +or you must give a fair equivalent for it, either so much money as it is +marketably worth, or something in exchange which will be worth as much +to the person from whom you are getting the thing as the thing he is +parting with is worth to him; or you must have it as a free gift from +its owner. Now a raffle fulfils none of these conditions. Take the +case of this mare Rosebud. Suppose you pay your guinea, and prove the +successful person. You have not earned Rosebud, for you have not given +a hundred guineas' worth of labour for her. You have not given a fair +equivalent, such as an equally good horse or something else of the same +value, nor an equivalent in money, for you have given only a guinea for +what is worth a hundred guineas. Nor have you received her as a free +gift." + +"I quite agree with you, Amos," said his father; "you have put it very +clearly. I think these raffles, in which you risk your little in the +hope of getting some one else's much, are thoroughly unwholesome and +dangerous in principle, and are calculated to encourage a taste for more +serious gambling." + +"But stop there, please, dear father," said Walter. "When a man gives +his guinea for what is worth one hundred guineas, or when a man bets say +one to ten, if he wins, does not the loser make a free gift to him? +There is no compulsion. He stakes his bigger sum willingly, and loses +it willingly." + +"Nay, not so," said Amos. "He is not willing to lose his larger sum; he +makes no out-and-out gift of it. In laying his larger sum against your +smaller, he does so because he is persuaded or fully expects that he +shall get your money and not lose his own." + +"I quite agree with you," said Mr Huntingdon again. + +Walter looked discomfited, and not best pleased. Then Miss Huntingdon +said, in her clear gentle voice, "Surely dear Amos is right. If the +principle of gambling is in the raffle, though in a seemingly more +innocent form, how can it be otherwise than perilous and wrong to engage +in such things? Oh, there is such a terrible fascination in this +venturing one's little in the hope of making it much, not by honest work +of hand or brain, nor by giving an equivalent, nor by receiving it as +the free-will loving gift of one who gladly does us a kindness. What +this fascination may lead to is to be seen in that terrible paradise of +the gambler, Monaco, on the shore of the lovely Mediterranean. I have +lately heard a most thrilling account of what is to be seen in that +fearfully attractive palace of despair. Lovely gardens are there, +ravishing music, an exquisite salon where the entranced players meet to +throw away fortune, peace, and hope. At first you might imagine you +were in a church, so still and serious are the deluded mammon- +worshippers. And what follows? I will mention but one case; it is a +well-attested one. Two young Russian ladies, wealthy heiresses, entered +the gaming-hall. For a while they looked on with indifference; then +with some little interest; then the spell began to work. The +fascination drew them on; they sat down, they played. At first they +won; then they lost. Then they staked larger and larger sums in the +vain hope of recovering the gold which was rapidly slipping away from +their possession. But they played on. Loss followed loss; they still +went on playing. Then they staked the last money they had, and lost. +Bankrupt and heart-broken, they betook themselves to the cliffs that +overhang the Mediterranean, and, hand in hand, plunged into the sea and +were lost. Oh, can that be innocent which in any degree tends to +encourage this thirst for getting gain not in the paths of honest +industry, but in a way which God cannot and does not bless?" + +She paused. Walter hung down his head, while his features worked +uneasily. Then he slowly raised his face, and said, "I suppose I'm +wrong; but then, what is to be done? Gregson will ask me about it, and +what am I to say? `Brother Amos disapproves of raffles;' will that do? +I can just fancy I can see him and Saunders holding their sides and +shaking like a pair of pepper-boxes. No, it won't do; we can't _always_ +be doing just what's right. If Amos don't go in for the raffle, I think +I must, unless I wish to be laughed at till they've jeered all the +spirit out of me." + +Amos made no answer, nor did Miss Huntingdon; but as Walter looked +towards her, with no very happy expression of countenance, she quietly +laid one hand across the other. He saw it and coloured, and then, with +a disdainful toss of the head, hurried away. But the arrow had hit its +mark. As Miss Huntingdon was about to prepare for bed, she heard a low +voice outside her door saying, "May a naughty boy come in?" and Walter +was admitted. The tears were in his eyes as he kissed his aunt and sat +down. "I am waiting for the rod," he said, half mournfully and half +playfully. "I deserve it, I know. I was wrong. I was unkind to Amos. +I behaved like a cowardly sneak. Now, dear auntie, for a moral hero +that isn't like me." + +"Dear boy," said his aunt, placing her hands lovingly on his head, "you +were wrong, I know; but you are right now, and I think you mean to keep +so. I have a beautiful instance here of moral courage, just to the +point; I was reading about it a few minutes ago. + +"A young man once called on a most earnest and experienced minister of +the gospel, Dr Spencer of Brooklyn, New York, about his difficulties in +his earthly calling. He was salesman in a dry-goods store, and was +required by his employer to do things which he felt not to be right. +For instance, he must learn to judge by the appearance of any woman who +entered the store, by her dress, her manner, her look, the tone of her +voice, whether she had much knowledge of the article she wished to +purchase; and if she had not, he must put the price higher, as high as +he thought she could be induced to pay. With one class of customers he +must _always_ begin by asking a half or a third more than the regular +price; and if any objection was made, he was to say, `We have never sold +it any cheaper,' or, `You cannot buy that quality of goods any lower in +the city.' In fact, a very large portion of the service expected of him +was just to lie for the purpose of cheating. When he expressed his +doubts about this being right, his employer laughed at him. `Everybody +does it,' he said; `You can't be a merchant without it. All is fair in +trade. You are too green.'--`I know I am too green,' the young man said +to the minister sorrowfully; `for I was brought up in the country, and +don't know much of the world. My mother is a poor widow, but I don't +believe _she_ would think it right for me to do such things.'--`And do +_you_ think it right?' asked the minister.--`No; but my employer is a +church member, and yet I believe it would make my old mother very bad if +she knew I was doing such things every day.'--`Well, then,' said the +good pastor, `take your mother's way, and refuse his.'--`I shall lose my +place then.'--`Well, lose your place; don't hesitate a moment; tell your +employer you will do all that you honestly can, but that you were not +engaged to deceive, to cheat, to lie.'--`If I should say that, he would +tell me to be off.'--`Very well; _be_ off, then.'--`I have no other +place to go to, and he knows it.'--`No matter; go anywhere, do +anything--dig potatoes, black boots, sweep the streets for a living, +sooner than yield for one hour to such temptation.'--`But if I leave +that place so soon, it will make my old mother feel very bad; she will +think that I am getting unsteady; she will be afraid that I am going to +ruin.'--`Not a bit of it; tell her just the truth, and you will fill her +old heart with joy. She will thank God that she has got such a son, and +she will send up into heaven another prayer for you, which I would +rather have than all the gold of Ophir. Now, go back to your store, and +do all your duties most faithfully and punctually without lying. If +your employer is not a fool, he will like you the better for it, and +prize you the more, for he will at once see that he has got one clerk on +whose truthfulness he can depend. But if the man is as silly as he is +unconscientious, he will probably dismiss you before long. After that, +you may be sure that God will open a way for you somewhere.'--The young +man took Dr Spencer's advice, and lost his place, but soon found +another, and afterwards became an eminent and prosperous merchant, while +his old employer became bankrupt in about seven years after he left him, +and had to toil on in disgraceful poverty. Dr Spencer adds, `I +attribute this young man's integrity, conversion, and salvation to his +old mother, as he always fondly called her.' + +"Now, dear Walter, you were saying, I think, when we were discussing the +raffle, that we cannot always be doing just what is right, and that +Gregson and Saunders would make great fun of you if you were to refuse +to put down your name because Amos thinks it wrong to raffle. Does not +that young American's case show very plainly that we _ought_ to aim at +always doing right? And is it not better to please a dear Christian old +mother, or a dear Christian brother like Amos, than to be smiled upon by +a dishonest master, or by such companions as Saunders or Gregson? You +see, the young man acted with true moral courage when he braved the +sneers and displeasure of his unscrupulous employer; and he found his +reward in the approval of God, his conscience, and his dear old mother." + +Walter made no reply, but kept his eyes fixed on the ground. Then he +rose, flung his arms round his aunt's neck, kissed her half a dozen +times very warmly, and, whispering in her ear, "Pray for me, dear +auntie," hastily left the room. Oh, how Miss Huntingdon rejoiced at +these few simple and touching words, both on Walter's own account and +also on Amos's. She was sure now that her beloved nephew was feeling +his way into the narrow path, and would be all right on the road before +long. + +A few days later, while Miss Huntingdon, Julia, and Amos were writing +their letters a little before luncheon time, Walter opened the door and +looked in with a comical expression on his face. "Are you all _very_ +busy?" he asked. Having received a reply in the negative, he advanced +to the fire, crouched down by his aunt, hid his face in her lap, and +then, looking up at her with a smile, said, "I've come to make an +announcement and a confession. First and foremost, the raffle has come +to grief, partly, I suppose, because Walter Huntingdon, junior, Esquire +of Flixworth Manor, in the county of Hertfordshire, has refused to put +down his name or have anything to do with it. There--what does the +present company think of this important announcement?" + +Amos and his aunt replied by loving smiles; Julia kept her eyes fixed on +some work she had taken up. + +"My next announcement," continued Walter, "is of equal interest and +importance. The great firm of Huntingdon, Gregson, and Saunders has +dissolved partnership. What do you say to that?" + +Amos left his place at the table, and kneeling down close to his brother +drew him warmly to him, his tears falling fast all the while as he +whispered, "Dear, dear Walter, how happy you have made me!" + +"Do you want to hear all about it?" asked the other. "Would you like to +hear my confession?" + +"By all means, dear boy," said his aunt, placing a fond hand on the head +of each of the brothers. Julia left her place and crouched down close +to Walter, so that her aunt's hands could include herself in their +gentle pressure. + +"Now for it," said Walter, rising and standing erect, with his back to +the fire. "Yesterday," he continued, "as I was riding out before +dinner, I met Saunders and Gregson on horseback. Gregson was riding +Rosebud.--`Well,' said Gregson, `is Rosebud to be yours?'--`Can't afford +it,' I said; `a hundred guineas is too much. I haven't got the money to +spare.'--`No, of course not,' he said; `but you can spare a +guinea.'--`Yes,' I replied; `but that won't buy Rosebud.'--`No,' he +said; `but it will give you a chance of getting her for a +guinea.'--`That's one way,' I said; `but it don't seem the right one to +me. What do you say to swopping Rosebud for my pony? then you'll have +an equivalent, at least if you think so.'--Saunders and he looked at one +another as if they had seen a ghost; and then I said, `Perhaps I can +work out the value. Let me see. Will you give me fifty guineas a year +if I take the place of groom to you? I may earn Rosebud that way in two +years if you give her to me instead of wages.'--My two companions began +to whisper to one another, and to stare at me as if I'd just come out of +an Egyptian mummy-case.--`What's up now?' I said.--`We can't make you +out,' said Saunders; `whatever are you driving at?'--`Oh, I'll soon make +that clear!' I said. `The fact is, gentlemen, I've been led to the +conclusion that raffling isn't right; that it's only a sort of gambling; +that, in fact, there are only three honest ways of my getting Rosebud. +One is by giving an equivalent in money or something else; but I can't +afford the hundred guineas, and you won't take my pony in exchange. The +second way is by earning her--that is, by my doing so much work as will +be of the same value; but it wouldn't suit you nor me for me to take the +place of your groom for a couple of years. And the third way is for me +to have her as a free gift; but I'm not so sanguine as to suppose that +you mean to give her to me right out.'--`And where have you got all this +precious nonsense from?' cried Saunders.--`In the first place,' I +answered, `you're right about the "precious," but wrong about the +"nonsense;" it's precious truth. In the next place, I have learned +these views on the subject of raffles from my brother Amos.'--Then there +_was_ a hullaballoo. `Your brother Amos!' they shouted out, as if my +dear brother was the very last person in the world that anything good or +sensible could be expected from.--`Yes,' I said, as cool as an icicle, +`my brother Amos. I suppose if a thing's right, it's as good when it +comes from him as from any one else.'--They were both taken aback, I can +tell you. But I stuck to my point. They tried to chaff me out of it by +saying, `Well, I would be a man if I were you, and have an opinion of my +own.'--`I have an opinion of my own,' said I, `and it's none the less my +own because it's the same as my brother's.'--`He daren't move a step by +himself now for that brother of his,' sneered Saunders.--To this I +replied, `I'll just give you an answer in the words of one whose opinion +you'll respect, I think, and it's this--' + + "I dare do all that may become a man, + Who dares do more is none." + +"So says Shakespeare, and so say I.--Then they took to abusing Amos +again; so I just told them that I had found by experience that my +brother's advice and opinion were worth taking, and that I had no wish +to hear him cried down unless they could show that he was wrong. Well, +you may suppose that we soon found out that our horses wanted to go +different ways; so we raised our hats to one another and took leave, and +thus ended the partnership of Huntingdon, Gregson, and Saunders." + +There was silence for a while, during which the hands of the two +brothers were clasped tightly in each other. At last Miss Huntingdon +said, "Now, dear Walter, you may make your laurel crown whenever you +please, and I shall be only too happy to place it myself on your head-- +yes, the crown fairly won by an act of true and lofty moral courage." + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +A FEW BACKWARD STEPS. + +A year slipped rapidly by after the return of Julia Vivian to her home. +Her unhappy husband had not shown himself anywhere in the neighbourhood, +nor had he sent her a single letter. She herself gradually recovered +her once lively spirits, and scattered much brightness round her. Miss +Huntingdon would have retired, and left her to take the management of +her father's household, but she implored her not to do so; and as Mr +Huntingdon himself evidently preferred that his sister should keep her +usual position in the family, at any rate for the present, she +consented, hoping that the united influence of Amos and herself might be +the means, under God, of bringing Julia and Walter to take a decided +stand on the Lord's side. + +So far, Walter was manifestly anxious to do what was right and to +support his elder brother in his endeavours to bring a holy peace into +the household. But his good intentions were often thwarted by his +natural self-esteem. As for Julia, she was by no means prepared to see +things in the same light that Amos did. Naturally high-spirited and +self-willed, her troubles had rather bent her down for a while than in +any degree permanently improved her character,--for there never was a +truer remark than that of an old writer when he says, "Circumstances do +not _make_ us what we are, they rather _show_ what we are." And now +that one of her heaviest burdens was gone, she was very reluctant to +curb her temper or give up her own will when to Amos it was her plain +duty to do so. Self was none the less her idol because much of the +gilding with which it had been adorned in happier days had been rudely +rasped from it. She wished to please Amos, but she wished to please +herself more. And whenever Amos's views and those of Walter did not +quite coincide, she always took side with the younger brother. Amos saw +this, of course, but he was willing to bide his time. One part of his +great object had been accomplished,--his sister had been restored to her +old home and to her father's heart. + +Mr Huntingdon, of course, never alluded to the past, and took great +delight in his grandchildren, who were left pretty much to the care and +training of an excellent servant whom Amos had chosen for them by his +father's desire, and also to the loving and wise instructions of Miss +Huntingdon; for their mother professed that she had not yet recovered +health and energy sufficient to enable her to look after them herself. +Amos saw this with regret, and wished that his sister could take a right +view of her duty in the matter. At the same time he felt sure that the +day had not yet come for making any attempt to bring his mother home +again. He must defer this his cherished hope and purpose till his +sister should have come to a different and better mind. For as she +recovered herself, which she soon did, from the effects of her late life +of trial and privation, Julia Vivian gave herself up almost entirely to +reading amusing books, fishing, riding, and making one in any little +party of pleasure which could be got up for her. She saw her children +just for a few minutes night and morning, but evidently felt it rather a +distasteful toil than a pleasure if anything obliged her now and then to +give them a little extra attention. Indeed, she seemed to have got the +idea firmly fixed in her mind that she was now to get all the enjoyment +she could to make up for past years of trouble, and that the main +business of her two brothers was to provide for her comfort and +entertainment. And very charming she could make herself when her own +tastes and whims were gratified, but anything like thwarting or +opposition produced in her at once gloom and irritation. For her +father's sake and the credit of the family she abstained from showing +herself at large parties and entertainments where many of the guests +would know a good deal about her past history; but whenever she could +join in a bit of excitement without bringing herself into notice, she +was wild to avail herself of the opportunity, and would not let children +or home be any hindrance if she could possibly help it. + +Summer had arrived, when one morning the post brought Mr Huntingdon a +huge bill printed in letters of various shapes, colours, and sizes, from +which it appeared that "the wonderful acrobat, Signor Giovani Telitetti, +of world-wide celebrity, would exhibit some marvellous feats, to +conclude with a dance on the high rope." The entertainment was to be +given in a park situate in the next county, about ten miles distant from +Flixworth Manor. + +"There," said the squire, tossing the bill from him, so that it floated +on to the loaf and settled there, "I suppose we shall none of us think +it worth while to ride or drive ten miles to see this wonderful +performer." + +"Oh, I should so like to go!" cried Julia, when she had glanced through +the bill. + +"You, my child!" exclaimed her father in astonishment. + +"Oh yes, father. Why not?" + +"I should have thought," said her aunt, "that you--" + +But here her niece interrupted her. "O auntie, there can be no possible +harm. No one will notice us; there will be thousands of people, and we +shall be lost in the crowd. People are never so thoroughly alone as +when they are in the middle of a great crowd." + +"And who is to go with you?" asked Mr Huntingdon. + +"Oh, of course I don't expect dear sober old Amos to go, he is quite +above such things; but Walter might take me,--wouldn't you, dear +Walter?--Now, may I go, dear father, if Walter takes me? It will be +such fun cantering there and back this delightful summer weather." She +looked at Walter beseechingly, and her father hem'd and ha'd, not quite +knowing what to say. "It's settled," she cried, clapping her hands. +"Now, Walter, you can't say no." + +"When is it to come off?" asked the squire. + +"Next Wednesday," she replied. "Please don't trouble about it," she +added; "it will be all right. I will be as grave as a duenna; and when +I come back Amos shall read me an essay on prudence, and I will listen +to every word and be so good." + +No further opposition was attempted, and Walter considered himself bound +to escort his sister. + +On the following Wednesday, after luncheon, Walter and Julia set off for +the place of amusement in high spirits. Julia was looking specially +bright and attractive; and Walter, though he did not feel fully +satisfied in going, yet threw himself now into the excitement with all +his might, partly for his sister's sake, and partly to drown any murmurs +of conscience which he was not prepared to listen to. So with a merry +ringing laugh they set off, and arrived at the park on the best terms +with themselves and with each other. Large numbers of people had +already assembled, and the place was glowing with banners and glittering +devices, and resounding with the vigorous music of a brass band. Signor +Telitetti was to be the special attraction, but there were many other +objects of interest and excitement forming part of the entertainment. +Among these were a small theatre, and a tent in which were various +enticing-looking articles to be raffled for. The noble park, with its +groups of trees of different species, its sloping sward, and a lake in +the centre well stocked with water-fowl of various kinds, gave ample +room and amusement to the motley multitude which had gathered for the +show. + +Walter and his sister, having left their horses at a neighbouring +stable, paid their money at the gate, strolled into the park, and made +their way amongst the crowds bent like themselves on getting as large a +draught of excitement as the occasion would afford. As they came near +the tent, they encountered Gregson and Saunders arm in arm. The young +men took off their hats with an exaggerated show of politeness, and +Saunders said half out loud as they passed on, "Not going in just at +present for the raffle, I suppose." Walter coloured, but did not reply; +but he began to feel a hearty dislike to the whole thing, and would have +gladly beat a hasty retreat had he been alone. But now a more than +ordinarily vehement flourish of music warned the spectators that Signor +Telitetti was about to commence his athletic wonders. All crowded up to +the place of exhibition, which was a broad open space in the very midst +of the park, where a wooden structure had been erected, representing +some grand palace or temple in Eastern style, and being gorgeously and +profusely painted and gilded. In front of this were various smaller +wooden erections, set up for the purpose of exhibiting the powers of the +acrobat; while from the highest part of the sham palace a stout rope was +led along at a considerable height from the ground to a neighbouring +tree, from that tree to a second, and then down to the ground by a rapid +incline. + +All eyes were on the signor as he took his stand in front of the wooden +building. Walter and his sister had pressed nearly to the edge of the +crowd, and gazed with the deepest interest on the performer, who was +habited in the tight-fitting garment usually worn by persons of his +calling, his head, however, being enveloped in a strangely made, many- +coloured cap, which very much concealed his features; indeed it looked +as if he were wearing a sort of mask, and that his eyes alone were +unhidden. Had Walter or his sister seen him anywhere before? Walter +was not sure, and yet he had an impression that there was something +about the man familiar to him, but perhaps it was only the general +similarity to others dressed for exhibitions of the like kind. He was +surprised, however, and startled to find his sister, as she leaned her +full weight on his arm, trembling violently. It might have been merely +excitement; but the announcement that the signor's feats were about to +commence prevented his asking his sister the cause of her agitation. +And now all sorts of strange contortions, unnatural postures, and +perverse displays of muscular eccentricity were gone through by the +exhibitor, much to the satisfaction of the applauding crowd. As to +Walter, somehow or other the whole thing seemed full of emptiness. Why +was it so? Surely because, to use the forcible language of Chalmers, +"the expulsive power of a superior affection" had begun to make such +exhibitions distasteful to him. However, he had not much time for +reflection. The acrobat was now coming to his performances on the rope. +Hitherto his exertions and feats had been attended simply with +difficulty; now they were to be attended with danger, and were therefore +looked upon by the multitude with thrilling and breathless interest. +Springing upon the rope, pole in hand, he made his way rapidly up the +sloping cord, then from one tree to another, and then high in mid-air to +the summit of the wooden palace or temple. Vehement bursts of applause +rewarded him for this feat accomplished. And now he came down from his +height on his return journey, which he accomplished with perfect ease. +Again he was in the act of ascending, when, looking round for a moment +on the crowd below him, his eye fell on Walter and his sister. Then a +change appeared to come over him,--he seemed to have lost his steadiness +and self-possession. Nevertheless he continued his upward course. But +when he had gained the part of the rope which sloped upwards to the +temple, and was about to exhibit some daring feat of agility, twice did +he make the effort unsuccessfully, and then, in a third violent attempt, +missed his foothold, and fell to the ground amongst the terror-stricken +spectators. + +Frightful then were the excitement and the cries of the horrified +multitude. Some rushed to raise the poor fallen man, while the police +struggled to keep back the surging crowd. Drawn on by a strange and +terrible fascination, Walter and his sister pressed forward to where the +unhappy acrobat lay bleeding and insensible. His features were now more +plainly visible,--there could be no mistake about him. Signor Telitetti +was none other than Orlando Vivian. + +"We must take him to the hospital, poor fellow, as quickly as possible," +said one of the policemen. A stretcher was accordingly brought, and the +poor shattered player was carried speedily forth from the scene of his +transitory triumphs. + +"And what shall _we_ do?" asked Walter in a disturbed whisper to his +sister. + +"Oh, take me home! take me home!" she cried; "I can't bear it." + +"But ought we not to go and look after him?" asked her brother. + +"Take me home! take me home!" was all her cry, and the horses were soon +brought and mounted; while the vast crowd melted gradually away, +subdued, and exchanging half-whispered words of surprise and dismay. + +Sadly and slowly did the brother and sister make their way home to +Flixworth Manor, neither venturing a word for some miles. At last +Julia, drawing as close to her brother as possible, said in a voice of +agitated entreaty, "Walter, dear Walter, you _must_ promise me one +thing." + +"What is that?" he asked gloomily. + +She noticed his manner, and cried, "O Walter, you must; indeed you +must." + +"Must what?" he asked. + +"Oh, you must promise me not to breathe to any one at home--not to my +father, not to my aunt, not to any one at all, and least of all to +Amos--who it was that--that met with this sad accident to-day. Will you +promise me?" Walter was silent for a minute or more. "Oh!" she +exclaimed passionately, "you will, you must; I shall be miserable if you +do not." + +"But," said her brother, "will this be right? ought you not to go to +your poor wretched husband? Perhaps he is dying. I am sure Amos would +say that you ought." + +"Never mind what Amos would say," she exclaimed angrily; "I have not +given up my conscience into his keeping. It's of no use; I have +suffered enough for _him_ (you know who I mean) and from him already. +He can't be better cared for than he will be at the hospital. If I were +to go to him he would only swear at me." + +"But it will be sure to come out and be generally known who he is, +sooner or later," her brother replied; "and what good can be done by +concealing it now?" + +"Only the good of doing your poor sister a kindness," she said bitterly +and pettishly. "But I don't see why it need come out; and it will be +time for it to be known at home when it does come out." + +"Well," said Walter reluctantly, "I promise--" + +"There's a dear, good brother," she said; "you have taken a load off my +mind. And as for him, we can get to hear from the hospital people how +he is going on, and I can but go to him if they give a very bad report." + +Her brother made no further reply, and the rest of the journey was +completed almost in silence. + +Every one at the Manor was of course deeply interested in the story +which Walter had to tell, and shocked at the dreadful termination of the +exhibition in the park. That Julia looked scared and ill was naturally +no matter of wonder to anybody; to have witnessed such an accident was +enough to upset the strongest nerves. In a day or two, however, she had +pretty nearly recovered her former spirits, for the newspaper account of +the terrible catastrophe finished by stating that Signor Telitetti was +going on well; an arm and two or three ribs had been broken, and the +body generally much bruised and shaken, but the hospital surgeons did +not anticipate fatal results,--it was expected that in a few weeks the +signor would be able to go about again. But though this news had come +as a relief to Julia Vivian, and raised her spirits, there was by no +means unclouded sunshine in her face or words. Conscience _would_ +speak, and it spoke in low but distinct utterances of condemnation. She +could see, too, that Walter was not altogether feeling towards her as he +had done before the accident. She had sunk in his esteem; he clearly +did not take the same pleasure in consulting her wishes and getting up +schemes for her amusement as formerly. To her aunt and Amos she rarely +spoke, except when compelled to do so; and her father would often look +at her anxiously, fearing that her health was giving way. + +Amos wondered a little, and asked his brother if he could account for +the change in their sister; for though at times she was hurried along by +a perfect gale of boisterous spirits, at others she was swallowed up by +the profoundest gloom. Walter's answer was evasive, and left an +impression on his brother's mind that there was something amiss which +had been kept back from him. He made several loving attempts to draw +his sister out of herself, and to lead her to confide her sorrows or +difficulties to him, but all in vain: and when he attempted gently to +guide her thoughts to Him who alone could give her true peace, she would +turn from him with a vexed expression of countenance and an air of +almost disdain. Poor Amos! how grievously was he disappointed to find +the sister for whom he had done and suffered so much getting, now that +she was restored to her old home, more and more out of sympathy with him +in what was highest and best, and giving herself up to reckless and +unmitigated selfishness. But he did not, he would not despair. Much +had been accomplished already, and, though things were looking black, +and heavy clouds were gathering, he would still wait and work in faith +and patience, remembering that when the night is darkest the dawn is +nearest. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +IN THE DARK VALLEY. + +Six weeks after the sad accident in the park the squire sat in the +library after breakfast reading the county paper. Suddenly he turned +very red, and his chest heaved with emotion, as his eyes ran rapidly +through the following paragraph:-- + +"Extraordinary Proceeding at the County Hospital. + +"It will be remembered that some few weeks ago a terrible accident +happened to one Signor Telitetti, an acrobat of professedly world-wide +reputation. The unfortunate man, while performing on the high rope in +the presence of some thousands of spectators, suddenly lost his self- +possession, or experienced some failure in power, and in consequence +fell from a considerable height to the ground. He was taken to the +hospital, where, under the skilful treatment of the medical officers, he +made rapid progress towards returning health and strength, having +suffered no more serious injuries than the breaking of an arm and two or +three ribs. To the astonishment, however, and perplexity of the +hospital officials, the signor has managed to leave the premises +unobserved, and in his still feeble condition, and with his arm yet in a +sling, to get clear away, so that no one had any idea what had become of +him. The reason, however, of this move on his part is becoming pretty +plain, for it is now being more than whispered about that Signor +Telitetti is no foreigner after all, but that this name is only one +among many aliases borne by a disreputable stroller and swindler, who +some time since victimised Lady Gambit by cheating her out of twenty +pounds. There can be no doubt that the unfortunate man, dreading lest +the police should pounce upon him when he left the hospital fully cured, +contrived to elude their vigilance by taking himself off at a time when +no one would suspect him of wishing or being able to change his +quarters." + +Mr Huntingdon read this over and over again, and his brow contracted as +many painful thoughts crowded in upon him. Then, rising, he repaired to +the morning room, where the other members of the family were assembled, +reading or answering their letters. Taking the paper to Amos, he placed +his finger on the painful paragraph, and signed to him to read it. Amos +did so with a beating heart and troubled brow. "Anything amiss, +father?" asked Walter, noticing the grave look on the faces of Mr +Huntingdon and his brother. The squire made no reply, but, holding out +his hand for the paper, passed it to his younger son. Julia, looking +up, noticed the flushed face of her brother, and, before her father +could prevent her, sprang up and, leaning over Walter's shoulder, read +the article. Then, with a wild cry, she rushed out of the room. + +"Oh! what is the trouble?" exclaimed Miss Huntingdon in a tone of great +distress. Once more the paper was passed on, and she read the +humiliating paragraph. + +All were silent for a while. Then Miss Huntingdon said, "I must go to +poor Julia." + +"Do so," said the squire; "but come back as soon as you can." + +His sister soon returned, saying that her niece had been much upset by +what she had read, but would be better shortly. + +"And now," said Mr Huntingdon, "I want to know if Julia was aware who +the signor was at the time when the accident happened." + +"She was," said Walter sorrowfully. + +"And could she leave her wretched husband, wounded and perhaps dying, +without an attempt to see that he was properly cared for?" + +"Father," replied Walter, "it was so, and I deeply grieve over it. I +tried to persuade her at the time--for we both knew him too well as he +lay on the ground at our feet senseless and bleeding--I tried to +persuade her that it was her duty to go with him; but she would not hear +of it; she insisted on returning home at once, and said that he would be +well looked after at the hospital, and that if she were to go to him he +would only swear at her. So at last I gave it up; and she would not be +pacified till I promised not to mention to any one that I knew the +wretched man to be her husband. I suppose I was wrong in giving this +promise,--I have never felt comfortable about it; but she was so +miserable till I made it that I gave her my word; and that is just how +it was." + +"I quite understand you," said his father. "Poor Julia! we must make +allowances for her; but she has plainly fallen short of her duty in the +matter. I trust, however, that she has now had a wholesome lesson, poor +thing, and that for her children's sake, and all our sakes, she will be +content with her own home, and more ready to fulfil her duties as a +mother." + +Amos did not speak, but he was deeply moved. He felt that his sister's +proper place would have been at the bedside of the man who, whatever his +sins against her, was still her husband, and was when the accident had +happened, for anything she knew to the contrary, crushed and dying, and +about to be speedily separated from her for ever in this world. But she +had not so seen her duty; she had shrunk from the pain, the sacrifice. +She could not bear the thought of the interruption to her recovered home +comforts and pleasures which the work of a nurse to the stricken man +would involve. And could Amos make her see and acknowledge that she had +erred? He feared not. + +Dinner-time came. Julia was in her place as usual. There was a gloom +over all the party, but no one alluded to the sad cause. And so, things +reverted to their ordinary channel in a few days. Julia had become +again full of life and spirits, though to close observers there was +something forced and unnatural about her mirth and vivacity. And one +thing Amos noticed with special pain--it was that she carefully avoided +ever being alone with him; if they were accidentally left together by +themselves, she would in a moment or two make some excuse for leaving +the room. + +Thus did things continue, till summer had given place to the rich +beauties of autumn. It was on a mellow October morning that the post +brought a letter for Amos in a handwriting which was not familiar to +him, and from a locality with which he was not acquainted. It was as +follows:-- + +"Dear Sir,--In the course of my duties as Scripture reader in the town +of Collingford, I have come upon a case which has greatly interested me. +The reason for my troubling you about it will appear further on in my +letter. I was calling about a fortnight ago on a poor widow woman who +lives in one of the lowest parts of this town, in a miserable house, or +rather part of it. She asked me to step into a small back room and see +a lodger whom she had taken in some days before, and who was in a very +bad state of health, and indeed not likely to recover. I did as she +desired, and found a wretched-looking man seated in an old armchair, +bowed together, and racked with a severe cough. One of his arms was in +a sling, and he seemed to be suffering considerable pain in his left +side. There was something in his appearance different from that of +ordinary tramps; and when I heard him speak, I saw at once that he must +have had a good education. I could make very little out of him at +first, for he was very shy and reserved, and seemed terribly annoyed +when I read a chapter and had a prayer with him the first visit, and he +said some very sharp things against religion and the Bible. However, I +persevered, and he got a little softened, especially when I brought him +a little help and a few comforts from some Christian friends who had got +interested in him. He has always avoided speaking about himself and his +past history, and I suspect that he is hiding from the police. However, +I have nothing to do with that, and am truly sorry for him. This +morning I called and found him much worse. I asked him if he would like +me to get him into the hospital, but he would not hear of it. Then I +asked him if I could do anything more for him. He did not speak for +some time, and then he said, `Yes. Write a few lines for me to Mr Amos +Huntingdon'--he gave me your address--`and just tell him how I am. He +will know me by the name of Orlando Vivian.' `Shall I say anything +more?' I asked. `No,' he said; `please, just say that, and leave it.' +So, dear sir, I have followed the poor gentleman's wishes. I call him a +gentleman, for I think he must have been a gentleman once. Poor man! I +fear he is dying, and cannot be here very long. At the same time, I +feel it to be my duty to tell you that there is a bad fever raging in +the town, and the place where he lives is anything but clean and +healthy. And now I have only to ask your pardon for troubling you with +this long letter, and to say that I shall be very happy to do anything +for your friend, if such he is, that lies in my power, or to meet you at +the Collingford station, should you think it right to come down and see +him.--I am, dear sir, respectfully yours, James Harris." + +It hardly need be said that this letter moved Amos deeply. What could +be done? What was his duty? What was his sister's duty? He felt in +perplexity, so he took the trouble and laid it out before Him who bids +us cast on him every care. Then he betook himself to his aunt's room +and read the letter to her. "What shall I do, dear aunt?" he asked. + +"The question, I think, rather is," replied Miss Huntingdon, "What ought +not your sister to do? Clearly, to my mind, it is her duty to go to her +poor dying husband, forgive all if he shows himself really penitent, and +be with him to the last." + +"Such is my conviction too," said Amos sadly; "but I fear that Julia +will not see her duty in the light in which we see it. May I call her, +and just read the letter to her before you?" + +"Yes, dear boy, if you like." So Amos repaired to the dining-room, +where his sister and Walter were engaged in a brisk conversation. + +"What's amiss with you now?" asked Walter, noticing the serious look on +his brother's face. "You ought to be very bright this beautiful +morning. Julia and I have been planning a nice little scheme for this +afternoon. I am hoping, with the gamekeeper's help, to bag two or three +brace of partridges before dinner-time. I can drive Julia to the +gamekeeper's hut, and she can take a sketch or two while I am shooting. +The woods are looking beautiful now with their autumnal tints, and will +give lovely little bits for a sketch. Won't you join us?" + +"Well," replied Amos gravely, "it would be very nice; but just now I +have a rather important matter I want to talk to Julia about, if she +will just spare me a few minutes, and come with me to my aunt's room." + +"Dear me! what can you want with _me_?" asked his sister, turning deep +red and then very pale. "I'm sure I don't want to talk about anything +dismal this delicious morning. Oh! don't look so serious, Amos; you are +always in the dolefuls now. Why can't you be cheerful and jolly, like +Walter?" + +"I am sorry to trouble you," replied her brother, "but there is a cause +just now. I shall not keep you long, and then you can return to your +jollity if you will." These last words he uttered in a tone of reproach +which touched her spite of herself. + +She rose and followed him in silence to her aunt's room. When all were +seated, Amos produced the Scripture reader's letter, and, expressing his +deep sorrow to have to wound his sister, read it slowly out in a subdued +voice. Julia sprang from her seat, and having snatched the letter from +her brother's hand, read it through several times, her bosom heaving and +her eyes flashing, and a few tears bursting forth now and then. "It's a +hoax," she cried at last; "one of _his_ hoaxes. It can't be true." + +"I fear it _is_ true," said Amos calmly. "To me the letter bears all +the marks of truth.--Don't you think so, Aunt Kate?" + +"Yes, surely," replied Miss Huntingdon sadly; "I cannot doubt its +genuineness." + +Julia then tossed the letter to her brother and sat down. "And what is +it, then," she asked bitterly, and with knitted brows, "that you want me +to do?" + +"I think, dear Julia," said her aunt, "the real question is, What is it +your duty to do?" + +"Oh yes," she cried passionately; "my duty! Duty's a very fine thing. +It's always `duty, duty.' But there are two parties to duty: has _he_ +done his duty? He has beaten me, starved me, cursed me--is that doing +his duty? And now I am to go and nurse him in a vile fever-smitten +hole, and lose my life, and so deprive my children of a mother, because +it's my duty. I don't see it at all." + +Both her hearers looked deeply distressed. Then Amos said, "Still he is +your husband, and dying." + +"Dying!" she exclaimed sneeringly; "not he--it's all pretence. If +anything common could have killed him, such as kills other people, he +would have been dead ages ago. But he isn't like other men; he has got +a charmed life. He'll be all right again after a while." + +"And you will not go to him?" asked Amos, calmly and sadly. + +"No, certainly not," she cried indignantly. "I've suffered more than +enough already for him and from him. Besides, if you talk of duty, it +is surely my duty to think of the dear children, and not run the risk of +bringing back the fever to them, supposing I should not be killed by it +myself." + +"Then," said her brother deliberately, "_I_ shall go." + +"You, Amos!" exclaimed both his aunt and sister. + +"Yes," he said; "my own duty is now plain to me. The poor man has let +me know his case; he is my sister's husband, however unworthy a husband; +he is dying, and may be eternally lost body and soul, and by going I may +be made the means of helping on the good Scripture reader's work. The +poor dying man's heart is softened just now, and it may be that when he +hears the words of God's truth, and experiences kindness from one who +has been treated by him as I have been, he may be led to seek and find +pardon before he is taken away." + +"But," said his aunt anxiously, "you will be running a great risk of +catching the fever, and may lose your own health, and even your life." + +"I know it," he said; "I have counted the cost; and should I be taken +away, I shall merely have done my duty, and"--his voice trembled as he +proceeded--"I shall be the one best spared and least missed in the +household." As he uttered these last words, his sister, who had been +gradually crouching down shiveringly on to the floor, clasped her hands +over her face and wept bitterly, but she uttered no word. Then Amos +turned to his aunt and said, "Will you, dear aunt, kindly explain to my +father how matters are, and why I am gone?--Poor Julia!" he added, +raising her up gently and kissing her forehead, "all may yet be well. +May I take him _one_ kind word from you?" She did not speak, but her +bosom heaved convulsively. At last she said in a hoarse, quivering +whisper, "Yes, what you like; and--write and tell me if he is really +dying." Then she rushed out of the room to her own chamber, but +appeared at luncheon with all traces of emotion vanished from her +features. + +The squire was absent attending a business meeting in the neighbouring +town, and nothing had yet been said to Walter on the subject of his +brother's departure. That afternoon Amos set off for Collingford, and +Walter and his sister on their shooting and sketching expedition, which +proved a miserable failure, so far as any pleasure to Julia was +concerned. + +Collingford was nearly a day's journey from Flixworth Manor, so it was +not till dark that Amos arrived at the town. He sought out at once the +Scripture reader, and obtained full information as to the state of the +poor sufferer. Could he obtain lodgings in the house where the sick man +was? Mr Harris shook his head. + +"I am not afraid either of poor accommodation or of infection," said +Amos. "I am come to do a work, and am safe in the Lord's hands till it +is done. He has sent me, and he will keep me." + +The Scripture reader grasped him warmly by the hand. "You shall lodge +in my house," he said, "if you can be satisfied with humble fare and my +plain ways. I am not a married man, but I have a good old woman who +looks after me, and she will look after you too, and you can come and go +just as you please." + +"I will take you at your word, my friend," said the other, "and will +gladly pay for bed and board." + +"All right, all right," cried Mr Harris: "and for my part I am not +going to pry into your reasons for coming. You are one of the Lord's +servants on an errand of mercy and self-denying love--I can see that; +and you are welcome to my services and my silence." + +Amos thanked him warmly, and his moderate luggage was soon deposited in +the Scripture reader's dwelling. + +The next morning, after an early breakfast, the two friends--for true +friends they at once became in the bonds of the gospel, loving Christ's +image in each other--set out for Orlando Vivian's lodging. + +"You must be prepared for something very miserable," said the Scripture +reader. + +"I am prepared for anything," said the other calmly. But truly Amos was +staggered when he entered the room where sat, in the midst of gloom and +filth, the man who had been the cause of so much distress to him and +his. The atmosphere was oppressive with the concentrated foulness of +numberless evil odours. A bed there was in the darkest corner of the +room on the floor. It looked as though composed of the refuse raked +from a pig-sty, and thrust into a sack which had been used for the +conveyance of dust and bones. Bolster or pillow it had none, but +against the wall, where the bed's head was supposed to be, were three or +four logs of rough wood piled together, over which was laid a faded +cloak crumpled into a heap. Such was the only couch which the unhappy +sufferer had to lay him down upon at night, or when weary of sitting in +the high-backed, creaking armchair. Uncleanness met the eye on every +side--in the one greasy plate, on which lay a lump of repulsive-looking +food; in the broken-mouthed jug, which reeked with the smell of stale +beer; in the window, whose bemired and cobwebbed panes kept out more +light than they admitted; in the ceiling, between whose smoke-grimed +rafters large rents allowed many an abomination to drop down from the +crowded room above; in the three-legged table, which, being loose in all +its decaying joints, reeled to and fro at every touch; in the spiders, +beetles, and other self-invited specimens of the insect tribe, which had +long found a congenial home in these dismal quarters. And there--worn, +haggard, hungry, suffering, helpless--in the midst of all this +desolation, sat the broken-down, shattered stroller, coughing every now +and then as though the spasm would rend him in pieces. + +The heart of Amos was touched at the terrible sight with a feeling of +the profoundest pity, as he approached the chair occupied by the wreck +of what might have been a man noble and good, loving and loved. +Anything like resentment was entirely lost in his desire to alleviate if +he could the misery he saw before him. + +"I have brought a friend to see you," said Mr Harris, stepping forward. +The sick man raised his head slowly, and, as his eyes fell on Amos, he +trembled violently, and clutched his chair with a convulsive grasp. +Then a fit of coughing came on, and all were silent. "I will leave you +together, if you please," said the Scripture reader after a pause to +Amos. "You know where to find me if I am wanted," and he retired. + +Long was it before the unhappy man could trust himself to speak. At +last, having sipped a little of a soothing mixture which Mr Harris had +brought him, he turned his face towards his brother-in-law, who had now +taken a seat in front of him on a three-legged stool, and said, "Shall I +tell you why I sent to you, Mr Huntingdon?" Amos inclined his head. +"It was," continued the sick man, "because I have insulted you, deceived +you, entrapped you, and threatened your life. That would be in most +cases the very reason why you should have been the very last person I +should have sent to. But I believe you are _real_. I believe you are a +true Christian, if there is such a thing. _I_ am not real. I am a +sham, a cheat, a lie; my whole life has been a lie; my unbelief has been +a lie. But, if there is truth in the Bible and in Christianity, I +believe you have found it. I am sure that you are real and genuine. I +felt it when I was deceiving you, and I feel it more and more the more I +think about it. So, as I am told that it is part of the character of +those who really take the Bible for their guide to return good for evil, +I have sent to you." + +He had uttered these words in broken sentences, and now sank back +exhausted. When he had recovered himself sufficiently to listen, Amos, +deeply moved, said kindly and earnestly, "You did right, my poor friend, +to send to me; and now I am here, I must see what I can do for you." + +"But, can you really forgive me?" said the other, fixing his dark eyes +on his visitor. "Remember how I have behaved to yourself; remember how +I have behaved to your sister. Can you really forgive me." + +Amos made no immediate reply, but, taking out of his pocket a small New +Testament which he had purposely brought with him, read in a clear, +earnest voice the parable of the unmerciful servant, and, when he had +finished it, added, "How could I ever hope for forgiveness from God if I +could not forgive the transgressions of a poor fellow-sinner against +myself? Yes, my poor brother, I do freely forgive you; and oh, let me +have the happiness of seeing you seek forgiveness of Him who has still a +place in his heart and in his kingdom for you." + +The poor sufferer struggled in vain to conceal his strong emotion. +Tears, sobs would burst forth. A violent fit of coughing came on, and +for a time Amos feared a fatal result. But at length the sick man +regained composure and a lull from his cough, and then said, with slow +and painful effort, "It is true. I believe your religion is true. I +cannot doubt it. It is real, for you are real. It is real for you, +but, alas! not real for me." + +Amos was going to turn to another passage in his New Testament, but the +other waved his hand impatiently. "No more of that now," he said; "I +have other things just at present on my mind. You know that I am a +doomed man. The police are looking out for me; but I shall cheat them +yet. Death will have me first. Yes, I am a dying man.--Of course _she_ +has not come with you. Perhaps you have not told her that you were +coming. Well, it's better she shouldn't come; there's fever about, and +I have dragged her down low enough already. This is no place for her. +But I shall not be here long to trouble any of you. Will you tell her +that I am sorry for my past treatment of her? and keep an eye on the +children, will you, as you have done? Oh, don't let them come to this!" +Here the unhappy man fairly broke down. + +When he had again partially recovered, Amos begged him to keep himself +as quiet as he could, adding that all might yet be well, and that he +must now leave him, but would return again in a few hours. + +Having sought the good Scripture reader, and ascertained from him that +the medical man gave no hopes of the unhappy man living more than a few +days, Amos at once confided to his host the sad story of his sister's +marriage and its consequences, and now asked his advice and help as to +how he could make the remaining time of his brother-in-law's life as +comfortable as circumstances would permit. Mr Harris at once threw +himself heartily into the matter, and before night the dying man had +been tenderly conveyed from his miserable quarters to the Scripture +reader's own dwelling, where everything was at once done that could +alleviate his sufferings and supply his wants. + +That same evening Amos wrote to his sister in these brief words: +"Orlando is dying. A few days will end all." He purposely added no +words of persuasion, nor any account of his interview with her husband +and what he had done for his comfort; for he feared that any such +account from himself might just steel her heart against any appeal, and +make her rest satisfied with what another was doing for the man whom she +had vowed to love in sickness as well as in health. He knew that his +scrap of a letter must prove startling by its abruptness; but he had no +wish that it should be otherwise. These startling words might rouse her +to a sense of her duty; if they did not, he felt that nothing would. + +Two days passed over. Orlando Vivian grew weaker and weaker, but was +full of gratitude to Amos. He also listened with patience and respect +when the Scripture was read to him or prayer offered by his side; but he +made no remark at such times. It was on the morning of the third day +after the patient's removal to his new abode that a hired carriage drew +up at the Scripture reader's door, and, to Amos's great pleasure and +thankfulness, brought his sister. Yes, and he could tell by her +greeting of him and by her whole manner that a new light had dawned upon +her heart and conscience, in which the idol of self had been seen by her +in somewhat of its true deformity. "Oh, dear Amos!" she cried, as she +wept on his shoulder, "pardon me; pity me. I have been wrong, oh, very +wrong; but I hope, oh, I do hope that it is not yet quite too late!" +Fondly pressing her to him, her brother told her that she had his full +and forgiving love; and then he gave her an account of what he had done +since his arrival in Collingford, and told her that her husband was now +in the same house as herself, and was receiving every attention and +comfort. On hearing this, Julia Vivian would have at once rushed into +the sick chamber, but Amos checked her, warning her of the effect such a +sudden appearance might have on one in his exhausted and suffering +condition. He must himself break the news of her coming gradually. + +Entering the neat little bedroom, to his surprise Amos found his +brother-in-law painfully agitated. "You have got a visitor," he said, +in a voice scarcely audible. "I heard a carriage drive up to the door, +and since then I have heard a voice. Oh, can it be? Yes; I see it in +your eyes." + +"Calm yourself, my poor brother," said Amos; "it is even as you suppose. +Julia has come, and I am truly thankful for it." + +The humbled man tried to conceal his tears with his one uninjured hand, +and said at last, "I think I can bear it now; let her come in." + +On her brother's invitation Julia entered. The eyes of the two met,-- +the eyes of the oppressor and the oppressed; but how changed in position +now! The once down-trodden wife now radiant with health and beauty, a +beauty heightened by its passing cloud of tender sadness. The once +overbearing, heartless husband now a stranded wreck. How haggard he +looked! and how those hollow sunken eyes swam with a tearful look that +craved a pity which they seemed at the same time to despair of! And +could she give that pity? Had he not forsaken her and her children, and +left them to grinding poverty? Had he not raised his hand against her +and cruelly smitten her? Had he not laughed her to scorn? Had he not +used her as a mere plaything, and then flung her aside, as the child +does the toy which it has covered for a time with its caresses? He had +done all this, and more; and now she was there before him, but out of +his clutches, and able, without fear of harm to herself, to charge him +with his past neglect and cruelty. Yes; the outraged wife could have +done this, but the woman's heart that throbbed in her bosom forbade it. +She was the loving woman still, though the fountain of her love had been +sealed for a time. Stealing gently up to his chair, lest any sudden +movement should agitate him too much, and yet quivering all the while in +every limb from suppressed excitement, she bowed herself over him, and +gathered his head softly to her bosom, whispering, "Poor, dear Orlando, +you are glad, are you not, to see me?" Then, as the huge rapid drops of +the thunder-cloud, which has hung overhead for a time in the midst of +oppressive stillness, patter at first on the leaves one by one, and then +break into a sweeping deluge, so did a storm of weeping pour from the +eyes and heart of that crushed and spirit-broken sinner. Hardly daring +to place a hand with its pressure of answering love on the neck which +that same hand had not long since disfigured with bruises and blood, he +yet ventured at last to draw his wife closer to him, whispering, "It is +too much." Sweetly soothing him, Julia helped him to dry his tears, and +then sat down by his side, taking the hand of his uninjured arm in her +own. + +No one spoke again for a while. At last Mr Vivian roused himself to an +effort, and, disengaging his hand, looked his wife steadily and +sorrowfully in the face. "Tell me, Julia," he said, "tell me the +truth,--tell me, can you really and from your heart forgive me?--nay, do +not speak till you have heard me out,"--for she was about to give an +eager reply. "Consider well. You know what I have been to you,--the +brute, the tyrant, the traitor. Can you, then, in view of all the past, +forgive me from your heart?" + +"I can, I do, dear Orlando, from my very heart," she cried; "and surely +I too have much to be forgiven." + +"Not by me," he said earnestly. "And now," he added, "as you have +assured me of your forgiveness, and as my days in this world can be but +few,--nay, I know it, I know it,--I have two dying requests to make of +you, and only two. Will you grant me them?" + +"Oh yes, yes, dear husband, if they are in my power." + +"They are perfectly within your power. The first is, that you would try +and pay back part of my deep debt of gratitude to your noblest of +brothers, who is standing there--to Amos Huntingdon, whom _I_ dare not +call brother; and I will tell you how the payment is to be made--not in +gold or silver, for he would not take such payment, but in giving +yourself up to the service of that Saviour whom he has truly and +courageously followed. That, I know, would be the only payment he would +care to accept, and that will rejoice his heart. Will you promise?" + +"Oh, that I will!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands passionately +together. "I have misunderstood, I have thwarted dear Amos shamefully, +but now I can truly say, `His people shall be my people, and his God my +God.'" + +"Thank you for that. My second request concerns our children. Promise +me that you will not take them from under your brother's eye, and that +you will strive to bring them up as he would have you; then I shall know +that they will be spared such misery as this, that they will not need to +be reminded, by way of warning, of the disgraceful example of their +unworthy and guilty father." + +"I promise, I promise!" cried the weeping wife, burying her face in her +husband's bosom. When she raised her eyes to his again there was a +sweet smile on her features as she said, "Dearest Orlando, all may yet +be well, even should you be taken from us." + +"For you, yes; for me, I cannot say," was his reply. + +"Oh yes," she cried earnestly; "I am sure that dear Amos has put before +you the way to the better land, open to us all through our loving +Saviour; and I prayed last night--oh, so earnestly--that you might find +that way." + +"Thank you for that," he said mournfully; "it may be so; at any rate I +have got thus far--I shall not cease to cry, so long as I have breath, +`God be merciful to me a sinner.'" And these were the last words on the +poor penitent's lips. + +For three days after this interview he lingered in much pain, but +without a murmur. Whenever Mr Harris or Amos read the Word of God and +prayed he was deeply attentive, but made no remark. Julia was +constantly with him, and poured out her rekindled love in a thousand +little tender services. At last the end came: there was neither joy nor +peace, but there was not despair,--just one little ray of hope lighted +the dark valley. + +When the unostentatious funeral was over, Amos and his sister returned +home cast down yet hopeful and trustful. That evening a subdued but +happy little group gathered in Miss Huntingdon's private sitting-room, +consisting of Amos, Julia, Walter, and their aunt. When Amos had +answered many questions concerning the last days of his brother-in-law, +Walter turned to his aunt and said, "Now, dear auntie, you have some +examples of moral courage ready for us I am sure.--Amos, you are to be a +good boy, and not to turn your back upon the teacher, as I see you are +inclined to do. I know why; but it does not matter. Julia and I want +doing good to, if you don't; so let us all attend." + +"Yes," said Miss Huntingdon, "I know what you mean, and so of course +does your brother; he does not wish to listen to his own praises, but he +must not refuse to listen to the praises of others, even though their +conduct may more or less resemble his own. I have some noble examples +of moral courage to bring before you, for I have been thinking much on +the matter since Amos and Julia left us. My heroes and heroines--for I +have some of each sex--will now consist of those who have braved death +from disease or pestilence in the path of duty. And first of all, I +must go back to our old example of moral heroism--I mean, to one who has +already furnished us with a lesson--John Howard. That remarkable man +was not satisfied with visiting the prisons, and bringing about reforms +in them for the benefit and comfort of the poor prisoners. He wished to +alleviate the sufferings of his fellow-creatures to a still greater +extent; so he formed the plan of visiting the hospitals and lazarettos +set apart for contagious diseases in various countries. Amongst other +places he went to Smyrna and Constantinople when these cities were +suffering from the plague. From Smyrna he sailed in a vessel with a +foul bill of health to Venice, where he became an inmate of a lazaretto. +Here he was placed in a dirty room full of vermin, without table, +chair, or bed. He employed a person to wash the room, but it was still +dirty and offensive. Suffering here with headache and slow fever, he +was removed to a lazaretto near the town, and had two rooms assigned +him, both in as dirty a state as that he had left. His active mind +devised a plan for making these rooms more comfortable for the next +occupant, and though opposed by the indolence and prejudices of the +people about him, he contrived secretly to procure a quarter of a bushel +of lime and a brush, and, by rising very early, and bribing his +attendant to help him, contrived to have the place completely purified. +Now his object in thus exposing himself to infection and disease was not +that he might gratify some crotchet, or get a name with the world, but +that from personal experience of the unutterable miseries of such places +as these lazarettos were, he might be better able to suggest the needful +improvements and remedies. This he had set before himself as his work; +to this he believed that duty called him; and that was enough for him. +Suffering, sickness, death, they were as nothing to him when weighed in +the balance against high and holy duty." + +"A noble hero indeed, dear auntie," cried Walter; "and now for another +of the same sort." + +"Well, my dear boy, my second example embraces many excellent men, all +devoted to the same self-denying and self-sacrificing work,--I am now +alluding to the Moravian missionaries. These truly heroic men, not +counting their lives dear, left home and friends, not to visit sunny +lands, where the charms of the scenery might in a measure make up for +the toils and privations they had to undergo, nor to find among Arctic +frosts and snows at any rate pure and refreshing breezes, though many of +them did go forth into these inclement regions to carry the gospel of +peace with them, and in so doing to endure the most terrible hardships. +But the Moravians I am now speaking of are those who volunteered to +enter the pest-houses and infected places from which they could never +come forth again. Here they lived, and here they died, giving up every +earthly comfort and attraction that they might set gospel truth before +those whose infected and repulsive bodies made them objects of terror +and avoidance to all but those self-renouncing followers of their +Saviour. Here, indeed, moral courage has reached its height." + +"How wonderful!" said Julia thoughtfully, and with a sigh; "_I_ could +never have done it." + +"No," said Miss Huntingdon; "nor does God commonly require such service +from us. And yet, dear Julia, ladies as tenderly brought up as yourself +have gone forth cheerfully to little short of certain death from +pestilential airs, and have neither shrunk nor murmured when the call +came. And this brings me to my last example of what I may call sublime +moral courage or heroism. It is taken from the records of the Church +Missionary Society. When first that society's noble work began, its +agents went forth to settle among the poor negroes of Western Africa in +the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone. But the fever that hovered on the +coast was enough to terrify any one who loved his life more than Christ. +In the first twenty years of that mission no fewer than fifty-three +male and female missionaries died at their posts. In the year 1823, out +of five who went out four died within six months, yet two years +afterwards six presented themselves for that mission; and, indeed, since +the formation of that mission there have never been men wanting--true +heroes of the Lord Jesus Christ--who have willingly offered themselves +for the blessed but deadly service. The women were as devoted as the +men. A bright young couple, the Reverend Henry Palmer and his wife, +landed at Sierra Leone on March 21, 1823. In the beginning of May, not +two full months afterwards, the husband was dead; in June, just one +month later, the wife was dead also. Yet neither spoke in their dying +moments one word of regret, but gloried in the work and in the sacrifice +they had been called to make. Another female missionary to the same +parts, a widow, said: `I have now lived one year in Africa, eight months +of which I have been a widow; but I cannot resolve to leave Africa.' +Another, whose course was finished in twenty-two short days, said to her +husband on her death-bed: `Never once think that I repent of coming here +with you.' Her only fear seemed to be lest her death should discourage +others, or damp her husband's zeal.--I have now finished my examples. I +am sure, dear children, that they are to the point; I mean, that they +are examples of the sublimest moral courage--that courage which leads +godly men and women not to shrink from duty though disease and death lie +before them or hover over their path." + +"Thank you, dearest auntie," said Walter; "you have indeed brought some +glorious examples before us, and they just fit in with the conduct of +our own dear hero here, who seems to wish us to forget that there ever +was such a person as Amos Huntingdon, but he certainly won't succeed." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +FURTHER PROGRESS. + +How greatly did Amos rejoice that now one portion of the great purpose +to which he had devoted himself had been so thoroughly accomplished; his +dear sister had been restored to her earthly home, and the death of her +unhappy husband had taken away all fear of her being withdrawn from it +again. And, better still, she, the poor wayward and wandering sheep, +who till late did not love the fold nor the Good Shepherd's voice, had +been sought and found by him, and brought back from the wilderness with +rejoicings. The heart of the good brother overflowed with gratitude and +praise for this, for it was more than he had yet dared to hope. But +there could be no doubt about it. The eyes of his sister had been +opened to see how entirely she had hitherto been living to self, while +her husband's dying words had led her to see her duty to her children, +and to mourn over her ingratitude to Amos. + +There was one little circumstance which specially touched that brother's +heart. On the Sunday after her return from her parting visit to her +husband, Julia appeared at church in deep mourning, her children wearing +the same; and at dinner she had put on a neat widow's cap. Amos had +rather expected that she would have treated her married life as a thing +so entirely to be forgotten--a thing of misery and shame, a thing of the +past to be henceforth to her and others as though it had never been, +except so far as her children were concerned--that she would have +continued to dress herself and her little ones as usual, so as not by +any outward sign to remind those around her that she had suffered any +loss, or recall their thoughts to the man who had brought nothing but +degradation to herself and disgrace to her family. He was therefore +deeply thankful to see that she had taken a different course; for it +told of a subdued and chastened spirit, and of a willingness to bear +patiently and meekly the burden which her own fault, in a measure at +least, had laid upon her. Mr Huntingdon also appreciated her conduct +in this matter, and, pressing her fondly to him as she was retiring to +rest, kissed her tenderly, and whispered in her ear, as he looked +lovingly into her tearful eyes, "Dear child, this is as it should be; +you are right, I am sure, in adopting this dress; it would have been +unworthy of you and unbecoming not to have done so." Old Harry, +however, was not quite of the same mind; but he would not wound any of +the members of the family upstairs by giving expression to his feelings +on the subject. But in the kitchen he spoke out his sentiments without +any reserve. "Put herself and the children in mourning for such a +scoundrel as him! Why, if it had been me, I'd have clothed myself and +them in scarlet and gold, just to show how glad I was to be shut of such +a scamp for good and all. But perhaps I'm wrong; they tell me the poor +man repented at the last. Well, a good thing for him if he did, for I'm +sure he'd a precious lot to repent of." + +And now Amos bent his mind and energies towards the accomplishment of +that part of his life's great purpose which lay yet nearer, if possible, +to his heart than even his sister's restoration to her father's house +and affection. His mother was still a stranger to her home;--how should +he bring her back? He felt that he must deal in the matter with a +gentle and cautious hand. His aunt and the old butler were the only +members of the household who as yet knew of his desire and intention. +Mr Huntingdon had come to acquiesce in his wife's absence as a sad +necessity, and it did not now occur to him to connect his daughter's +return with the possibility of its being directly or indirectly a link +in the recovery of the mother from her mental disorder. Walter also +never put the two things together. Indeed, the state of his mother was +so distressing a subject, that he had come to act upon the conviction +that the less he thought about it the better. + +But what could Amos do? Turning matters over in his mind, it became an +established purpose with him to bring about his mother's perfect +restoration to sanity without letting his father have any suspicion of +what he was attempting. With all his love for that father, he could not +help having a strong conviction that, were he to consult him in the +matter, the attempt at restoration would probably prove a failure. +Either Mr Huntingdon would take things into his own hands, and, acting +with characteristic impetuosity and bluffness, would most likely hinder +where he meant to help forward, or else he would fail perhaps to +understand and appreciate his son's views and methods of proceeding, and +would prevent a successful issue by his impatience or interference. So +Amos resolved that he would take the responsibility and mode of action +on himself. Should he fail, his father would not have to suffer the +pain of disappointment from that failure; should he succeed, he would +have the happiness of bringing about a loving meeting again between +those parents so dear to him, which would be to his father all the more +delightful from its taking him by surprise. Secrecy, then, was an +essential. No one must betray his purpose to his father. Therefore, +when the family had all settled down peacefully, with the young widow +sweetly and lovingly filling her place as a daughter and mother, Amos, +one evening in the early part of the summer which followed his brother- +in-law's death, betook himself to the butler's pantry. + +"Harry," he said, having seated himself on the closed lid of the plate +chest, "I want just a word with you on a subject of great importance." + +"As many words as you like, my dear young master," said the old man; +"it's always a privilege whenever I gets a visit from you, or dear Miss +Julia as was, bless her. What a pity she ever changed Miss into Mrs; +but perhaps some good man 'll get her to change it into a better Mrs +some day, and wipe the taste of that horrid cruel man's name out of all +our mouths." + +"I don't know, Harry; things are better as they are at present. My dear +sister's trial has been blessed to her, I can see; she is being brought +out by it decidedly on to the Lord's side." + +"You're right, Master Amos, you're right; and I'm nothing but a stupid +stumbling old donkey.--Now, please, sir, what's this here important +subject you wants to talk to me about?" + +"Just this, Harry. You know that I want to get back my dear mother +again among us, and I believe it can be done; but it will want a deal of +wisdom and what people call `tact' to bring it about. Now, I'm not +going to speak to my father on the subject, because I think his feelings +would so stir and excite him if I did, he would be so eager and +anxious--it's part of his nature, you know, and he cannot help it--that +he might spoil all." + +"Just so, Master Amos; he'd just be going slap-bang about it, I daresay, +and he'd drive the poor lady clean out of as many of her seven senses as +she'd got still left, poor thing." + +"Something of that kind," said Amos, smiling. "Well, you see, Harry, if +I am to undertake the matter I must do it my own way; and it will +require a great deal of care, and not a word must come out about it." + +"Ah, I see, Master Amos," said the old man, "you want me to be `mum.' +Now, you look here, sir--try now if you can get a word out of me." So +saying, Harry closed his lips tight together, stuck his hands in his +trousers' pockets, and walked about the pantry with his head in the air. + +"I am quite satisfied," said Amos, laughing. + +"You may well be so, Master Amos," said the other. "_Me_ speak about +such a thing to them maids in the kitchen, or the coachman, or stable- +boy, or any one else in the universal world! Let the whole on 'em put +together try it on, that's all." + +"Thank you, Harry," said Amos; "no one as yet knows about it but my aunt +and yourself. But I shall have to take my brother and sister into my +confidence, as I shall want their help in carrying out my plan." + +"All right, sir, all right; and, if any one mentions the poor lady +before me, you may depend upon it I shall look like a deaf and dumb +statty cut out of stone." + +Amos then sought his aunt, and, having given her briefly his own views, +asked his brother and sister to join him in Miss Huntingdon's room. He +unfolded to them his purpose, and then proceeded as follows: "What I +propose to do is this: I want to spare our dear father all pain and +trouble in the matter, and, if I am permitted to carry out my plan with +success, to give him a gentle and happy surprise at the end. But I must +have the help of my dear brother and sister. The place where our dear +mother now lives in retirement is a few miles inland from the sea-coast. +At the sea-side nearest to her residence I intend taking a house for a +time. When I have secured this, I shall invite you, dear Julia and +Walter, to be my guests there for a season. I shall easily, I have no +doubt, persuade my father to spare you, on the ground that the little +change to the sea-air will do us all good, which will be perfectly true, +and that this short holiday has been a pet scheme of my own, which will +be equally true. My father will be much occupied about electioneering +business the next two or three months, and as this will take him a good +deal from home, he will not miss us so much as he might otherwise have +done; and Aunt Kate, who knows of my plans and approves of them, will +kindly spare us for a while, and will look after the children, who will +follow us in a few days, and may be of use in carrying out my object." + +"Capital," said Walter; "but you will want a mint of money to do all +this." + +"Never mind that," replied his brother; "I have considered it all, and +you may safely leave the ways and means to me." + +"And I am sure, dear Amos," said his sister, "we shall be only too +thankful to be helpful in any way in bringing back our dear mother +amongst us." + +In about three weeks' time from this conversation, during which Amos had +been making his arrangements, he told his father of his sea-side scheme, +and received his hearty approval. "It is very good of you, my dear +boy," he said, "to provide such a nice change for your sister and +Walter. Perhaps your aunt and I may run over and see you, if this +election business will allow me any spare time." + +Mr Huntingdon was well aware that the sea-side retreat which Amos had +selected was near the place where his poor wife was in her retirement, +but this was not at all displeasing to him; for though he had never +himself mentioned that place of retirement by name to any of his family +except his sister, he thought it not improbable that his children would +have become by this time acquainted with it, and the thought that they +might go over and see their afflicted mother once or more was a comfort +to him. Not that he entertained any real hope of his wife's return to +such a state of mind as would allow of her coming home again. No such +prospect had yet been held out to him, and, indeed, while his daughter +was still shut out from his house, he had felt that, had there been +sufficient improvement in his wife's state to admit of her return, the +continued absence of her daughter, and the very mention of that +daughter's name being forbidden in the family, would have been likely to +throw her mind off its balance again. So he had learned to acquiesce in +her permanent absence as a thing inevitable, and to drown, as far as +possible, all thoughts about that absence in a multiplicity of business. +But now that Amos and his brother and sister were going to spend some +time in their poor mother's neighbourhood, there arose in Mr +Huntingdon's mind a sort of vague idea that perhaps good to her might +come of it. But the bustling election business so absorbed him at +present that he never thought of bringing that idea into a definite +shape. + +It was now, as has been said, early summer. The little family party +were sitting at breakfast the day before the intended trip to the sea, +when Walter remarked to his brother, "What do you say, Amos, to our +taking our ponies to the sea with us? It would do them good, and it +would be capital fun to have some good gallops along the sands." + +Amos turned red, and did not answer. Walter repeated his question. His +brother then replied, but with evident reluctance, "The fact is, I have +sold Prince." + +"Sold Prince!" exclaimed his brother and sister. + +"My dear Amos," said his father, "what can have induced you to sell +Prince? Surely you are imposing too great a burden on yourself. I +remember now that I have not seen you riding lately. I am very sorry +that you should have thought of such a thing. Why didn't you come to +me?" + +"My dear father," said Amos earnestly, and with a bright smile, "you +have quite enough to do with your time and money just now, so I have not +troubled you about the matter. I have a little scheme of my own which +is a bit of a secret, and it needs a little self-denial to carry it out. +I want the money more than I want Prince just now. I have found a +capital master for him, who will treat him kindly; and by-and-by I shall +be able to get him back again, perhaps. At any rate, will you be +content to trust me in the matter, dear father?" + +"Trust you, my dear boy!" exclaimed the squire; "indeed I ought, and +will, for you thoroughly deserve my trust; only it grieves me to think +that you should have parted with your favourite pony." + +"Oh, never mind that, father," replied Amos cheerily, "it will be all +right. Thank you so much for your kind confidence; what I have done +will do me no harm." + +The conversation then passed on to other subjects, but Walter was +clearly a little uneasy in his mind. "Amos," he cried, when his father +had left the breakfast-table for a few minutes to speak to a tenant who +wanted an early word with him, "are you going into business soon?" + +"Business, Walter! Not that I know of. What sort of business do you +mean?" + +"Oh, into the butter, cheese, and bacon line." + +"I don't understand you." + +"Don't you? Well, it seems to me that sundry pounds of butter which +have not spread themselves lately on your bread or toast, as they ought +to have done, are intended to turn up somewhere one of these days." + +The effect of this little speech on Amos was manifestly very +disconcerting; he turned red, looked confused, then with knitted brows +gazed at the window. Walter, sorry to have given him pain, was just +about to make some further remark, when his eyes fell on the hands of +Miss Huntingdon, which were crossed on the table. Nodding his head +profoundly towards his aunt, he dashed off at once into another subject, +and his brother soon recovered his equanimity. + +That afternoon, Walter, with his sister leaning on his arm, came and +seated himself by his aunt, who had taken her needlework to the summer- +house. Amos did not join them, being busily engaged in preparations for +the morrow's journey. "And now, auntie," said Walter, "here are two +very docile and attentive scholars come for a promised lesson on moral +courage." + +"Oh, but I have not promised them a lesson," said Miss Huntingdon, +laughing. + +"No, auntie, perhaps not; but your hands have,--these hands, which were +crossed at breakfast, they have promised the lesson." + +"Well, dear boy, that is true in a measure, but I hardly know how to +begin. I have nothing to rebuke or find fault with in you, unless it +was just a little want of consideration in your dealing with Amos; but I +am sure you meant no unkindness." + +"Certainly not, auntie, not a bit of it. But now I don't quite +understand about Amos and his leaving off taking butter. It has +something to do with that selling of his pony, I'm sure. Perhaps you +can explain it, and give us a lesson of moral courage from it, +illustrated by historical examples." + +"I will try, dear boy. The fact is--and I am under no promise of +secrecy in the matter; for while Amos is not one to sound a trumpet +before him to proclaim his good deeds, he has no wish to hide them, as +though he were half-ashamed of them--the fact is that Amos wishes to +save every penny just now, in order to be perfectly free to carry out +anything he may see it right to undertake in this scheme of his for +bringing back your dear mother once more amongst us. Every farthing +spent on himself he grudges, and he would not for the world draw on your +father; so he has not only sold his pony, but has also given up taking +butter at meals, having made me promise, as I am housekeeper and hold +the purse, to give him in money the worth of the butter he would eat, +that he may put it to this special fund for his cherished scheme. And I +have gladly consented to his wish. It is but a small matter, and he +knows it, but it is through small things that great good is brought +about. As Martin Tupper says, `Trifles light as air are levers in the +building up of character.' This self-denial on the part of dear Amos +brings out and heightens the nobility of his character; and when the +occasion for such self-denial shall have passed away, it will leave him +far advanced on the upward and heavenward road." + +"He's a brick, every inch of him," said Walter, in a voice half-choked +with tears; "and much more than a brick too--he's a great square block +of marble, or Scotch granite, as fine a one as ever Freemason tapped +with a trowel--there. And now, auntie, for the historical examples." + +"My first," said Miss Huntingdon, "is that of a very remarkable man-- +John Wesley, the father of the Methodists. An order having been made by +the House of Lords in his day for the commissioners of excise to write +to all persons whom they might have reason to suspect of having plate +without having paid the duty on it, the accountant-general for household +plate sent to Mr Wesley a copy of the order, with a letter stating that +hitherto he had neglected to make entry of his plate, and demanding that +he should do it immediately. Mr Wesley replied:--`Sir, I have two +silver tea-spoons at London, and two at Bristol. This is all the plate +I have at present; and I shall not buy any more while so many around me +want bread.--Your obedient servant, John Wesley.' + +"My next example is that of an equally remarkable man, Oberlin, the +French pastor of Ban-de-la-Roche, a wild mountainous district between +Alsace and Lorraine, where, single-handed, and in the midst of +extraordinary difficulties and privations, he was privileged to work +wonders amongst a most ignorant and poverty-stricken people. The +knowledge of several pious and excellent institutions had reached the +secluded valley where Oberlin was stationed before it was received by +the rest of France. No sooner had he learned that there were Christians +who left their homes to convey to the benighted heathen the promises of +the gospel, than he parted with all his plate, with the exception of one +silver spoon, and contributed the proceeds of the sale to mission work, +expressing at the same time his regret that he was unable to send more. +That one silver spoon he afterwards bequeathed as a legacy to the Church +Missionary Society. + +"I have yet another example of the same kind to bring forward. It is +that of a most earnest and devoted American missionary, Reverend George +Bowen of Bombay. This good man was once an infidel. His father was a +rich man; but when he himself was converted, he gave up friends, +country, and fortune, and consecrated himself and his whole life to the +service of Christ among the heathen. For many years he lived in a +miserable hut in the native bazaar, among its sadly degraded population. +Yet he was a man of deep learning and refined manners, who had +travelled much, and knew some dozen languages. After spending about a +year in India, he was led to believe that his influence would be greater +if he were not in the receipt of a salary from a missionary society; so +for thirty years past he has received none. For some years he earned +his livelihood by giving an hour daily to private tuition; for a still +longer time he has trusted to the Lord to supply his need without such +occupation, and has always had enough and to spare. + +"Now I have not mentioned these cases because I think we are all bound +to do as these good men have done. When God calls to such special +sacrifice, he gives special faith and grace for it; but he does not call +all Christians to the same. My reason for selecting these instances has +been that I might put them before you as beautiful examples of that kind +of moral courage which is exhibited in acts of exalted self-denial. And +surely we may learn from them this lesson, to be more willing than most +professing Christians are to deny self, that we may do good to others, +or carry out some great and self-sacrificing purpose. And another thing +is to be noticed in such examples as these, that it requires more moral +courage to go counter to our own tastes, likings, and habits in +comparative trifles, and to persevere in this course, than to make some +great sacrifice on the impulse of the moment." + +"Thank you, dear auntie," said Walter. "Yes, you have hit the right +nail on the head; for our dear hero Amos has been showing just such +steady, persevering moral courage. I see it all. Well, I hope I shall +be the better for what you have told us." + +At dinner-time Walter was nowhere to be found; all that was known was +that he had gone off on his pony, and had left a message behind him that +he had a little bit of business in hand, and that they must not wait +dinner for him if he should happen to be late. The other members of the +family were not particularly surprised at his absence, knowing that he +would be leaving home for the sea-side next day, and that he might have +some little matter to settle with some friend in the neighbourhood. But +they became a little anxious when old Harry remarked, in reply to a +question from his master, that he had seen Master Walter ride off two +hours ago with his rifle and fishing-rod in front of him, and that it +seemed to him a little late for catching a big fish and then blazing +away at him. By nine o'clock, however, Walter had returned, his pony +evidently having had a sharp gallop home. + +"Much sport, Master Walter?" asked the butler, who was standing in the +stable-yard when he rode up. + +"Oh, pretty good," was the reply; "just a whale or two, and some half- +dozen sharks." + +"They must have been tremendous big 'uns, I should say," remarked the +old man, "for they seem to have swallowed your rifle and your rod." + +"Ah, they just were," replied Walter; and then he made his way rapidly +into the house. + +That same night, as Amos was preparing for bed, Walter looked in, and +walking up to his brother, said, "Here, Amos, take this; it's my little +contribution towards the general expenses,"--saying which, he put ten +sovereigns into his brother's hand. + +"Walter, Walter! what does this mean?" cried Amos, touched and greatly +agitated. + +"It's all straightforward and above board," replied the other; "it means +simply that I've been and sold my favourite rifle and fishing-rod, and +one or two other trifles, and that's the money I got for them. Nay, +don't look so astonished. What! you didn't think to have a monopoly of +the self-denial, did you? You see I don't quite mean to let you." + +Amos Huntingdon--by Reverend T.P. Wilson + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +"BY THE SAD SEA-WAVES." + +Next morning the brothers and their sister set off in high spirits for +their temporary home at the sea-side. As Mr Huntingdon parted with +Julia his voice trembled and his eyes swam with tears. She had got such +a strong hold on his heart now that he felt it hard to part with her, +even for a time. "She is so like what her mother was at her age," he +said mournfully to his sister, as they turned back into the house, when +the carriage had fairly carried the young people away. Old Harry was +quite as much affected as his master, though he showed it in a different +way. The sight of "Miss Julia as was" getting into the carriage to go +off again was almost more than he could bear. She saw it, and kissed +her hand to him. At this he gave a sort of jump, and then jerked his +elbow against his side with all his might, a proceeding intended to +suppress the outward exhibition of his emotion. Then, when his master +and Miss Huntingdon had returned to the breakfast-room, he stood gazing +at a full-length portrait of Mrs Huntingdon, taken in her younger days, +which hung in the hall, and bore a very striking resemblance to Julia +Vivian as she now looked. Having feasted his eyes with the portrait for +a minute or so, Harry uttered out loud one prolonged "Well;" and them +betaking himself to his pantry, sat down after he had slammed to the +door, and put his elbows on his knees and his face between his hands. +And there he sat, his breast heaving, and his throat gurgling, till at +last the simmering of his feelings fairly boiled over in a hearty flood +of tears. "What an old fool I am!" he exclaimed at last. "It's all the +better for her; and why, then, should I take on in this way? But, eh! +she getting so like an angel--not as I ever seed one, only in a picture- +book, and that had got wings, and she ain't got none. But she's getting +the right look now; she's got into the narrow way, and so has Master +Walter too, only there's a bit of a swagger at present about his +pilgrimage, but it'll all get right. They've got Master Amos with 'em, +bless his heart, and it ain't much of the devil's head or tail as'll +show itself so long as he's got the management of things. And they'll +all be back again by-and-by, and the dear old missus too, I'm sure of +it; so it'll all be well." Comforting himself with this thought, the +old man wiped his eyes with his ample spotted pocket-handkerchief, and +proceeded with his work, which he enlivened with a half--out--loud +accompaniment of texts, scraps of hymns, and fragments of wise and +proverbial sayings. + +In the meantime the carriage was conveying the happy trio of travellers +to the station, which being safely reached, they took train, and in the +afternoon arrived at their destination. Amos had secured a nice little +roomy cottage close to the seashore, which was in the hands of a middle- +aged motherly woman, who, with her only daughter, a girl some fifteen +years of age, waited on her guests. Having deposited their luggage, and +ordered a substantial tea, the little party strolled down on to the +sands. + +It was a lovely summer day, and the sun was now hastening to the west. +The tide was still running down, though it had come nearly to the turn, +and its gentle rush, as it broke into a thousand sparkles of foam at +each returning wave, made music in their ears. Far away to the left +tall cliffs rose up, their majestic fronts scarred with the batterings +of unnumbered storms. On either hand the shore swept round, completing +the arc of one wide-extended bay, cleft in many places by paths which +led up, now through lanes overhung by rocks of various coloured sand, +and now along downs of softest turf, to the little town, or, further +off, to solitary dwellings or clustering hamlets. Pebbles of dazzling +whiteness lined the upper part of the slope down to the beach; and these +were succeeded by a broad and even flooring of tough sand, along which +visitors, old and young, found safe and ample space for exercise. There +was no grand esplanade or terrace with its throng of health and +pleasure-seekers. It was emphatically a quiet place, with its few neat +lodging-houses and humble shops, one solitary bathing-machine, and a +couple of pleasure boats now hauled up high and dry. To those who might +seek excitement at the sea, this little retreat would have proved +insufferably dull; but to those who brought their resources with them in +heart, mind, and purpose, there was all that could be needed to cheer, +elevate, and delight,--the grand old ocean, outspread in its vast +dignity of space; the invigorating breezes; the passing ships; the +glories of the most magnificent of nature's painters, even the sun +himself, who spread his tints of gold, crimson, and purple in broad, +dazzling bands from the extreme verge where sea and sky met up to the +centre of the blue vault overhead, though here in hues paler, yet as +intensely beautiful. And all around now breathed peace. No storm was +now ploughing up the water into mountains of angry foam; but a quiet +ripple and a gentle splash at regular intervals soothed the spirit by +the harmony of their ceaseless fall. + +The three travellers felt the tranquillising influence of the scene. To +Amos it was one of unmitigated pleasure. The others, no doubt, would +naturally have preferred a livelier spot, but now the consciousness that +they were there to aid in bringing about a great and noble object made +them content and happy for the time. So, after a long stroll on the +beach, they returned, when the great glowing ball of the sun had +withdrawn the extreme edge of his fiery rim below the horizon, to their +cottage. + +Having finished their evening meal, a consultation was held as to the +best way of carrying out the purpose which had brought them from home. +The obvious thing seemed to be that Amos should go over alone to the +house where his mother now lived, which was distant some eight or nine +miles from their lodgings, and see what the physician in whose keeping +she was might advise or suggest. So, early the next morning, he rode +forth with a beating heart, and at the same time a happy trust, on his +errand of love, his brother and sister having arranged to pay a visit +for the day to a fashionable watering-place about five miles distant +along the coast. + +When Amos Huntingdon had reached his mother's retreat and told his +errand, he confided to the good physician under whose charge Mrs +Huntingdon was placed his great purpose, and the hope that it might now +be accomplished, since his sister had returned to her home. The kind- +hearted friend at once entered into his plans, and gave him every +encouragement to hope that he would meet with good success. But care +and judgment and tact must be used, lest, in endeavouring to bring back +the mind to its old balance, anything should be done which might rather +throw it further out. Nothing sudden or exciting must be attempted; for +the delicate structure, which care and sorrow had disarranged, must be +brought into a right adjustment by gentle and cautious treatment. The +jarring chords could not be made to vibrate in tune by sweeping them +with a rough and unsympathising stroke; all could be reduced to harmony +only by some loving and judicious action which would draw up or slacken +the discordant strings with a force which would be felt only in its +results. It was therefore arranged that on the morrow the physician +should bring his patient to the sea-side at noon, and that, while he and +she were seated in view of the waves, and were listening to their +soothing plashing, Amos and his brother and sister should pass near, and +be guided in what they should do as circumstances might suggest. "Your +mother," said the physician, "simply wants her mind clearing; all is +more or less confused at present. She grasps nothing distinctly; and +yet she is often very near a clear perception. But it is with her mind +as with a telescope: it is near the right focus for seeing things +clearly, but simply it wants the adjustment which would bring it to the +point of unclouded vision, and then, when that adjustment has been +reached, it wants to be kept fixed at the right focus. I cannot but +hope that we may be able to come near to that adjustment to-morrow." + +Amos returned to his cottage much comforted. His brother and sister had +not yet come back from their visit to the neighbouring watering-place; +but at last they appeared, but not in the best of spirits. Something +had gone wrong with them, but Amos was too anxious to talk over the +morrow's effort to ask them many questions about their excursion. + +And now the critical day arrived. The sun rose gloriously, lighting up +the heavens as he emerged from his eastern bed with a fan-shaped +outpouring of his rays which streamed up over one hemisphere of the +heavens, painting the edges of myriads of small fleecy clouds with a +transient crimson splendour. The sea was almost glass-like in its +calmness, only heaving up and down sluggishly, as though reluctant to be +moved in its mighty depths. But, further out, a gentle breeze was +filling the snowy sail of some graceful cutter as it stole across the +bay, or steadily swelled out the canvas of some stately ship as she sped +on with all sail crowded on her towards the desired harbour. + +Just a few minutes before noon, Amos, with beating heart, saw his friend +the physician conducting two ladies to a sunny bench on the edge of the +shingles, facing the open sea. "Let us go," he said to his brother and +sister, "and walk near them, but take no notice at first." So they all +repaired to the beach, and with deeply anxious hearts drew near the +little group. Which of the two ladies was their mother? One of them +would probably be the physician's wife. They neared the sitters, and +passed on in front of them slowly, arm in arm. Who would have thought +that mother and children, who had not met for years, were now so close +to one another, and yet must for a while remain severed still? As the +three on foot were passing the bench, Amos just bowed his head to the +physician, and then looked at his two lady companions; and so did his +brother and sister. There could not be a moment's doubt--the children +knew their mother at once. The dear familiar face was there, and not +materially changed. And did the mother know her children? Something +told her that they were beings in whom she had an interest; she saw in +them something familiar. Yet she had not at all as yet grasped their +relation to her with a realising consciousness. + +"Pass on," said the physician softly; and they passed on. A look of +bewilderment and pain came over the face of the afflicted lady as the +three walked forward. She followed them eagerly with her eyes. They +turned towards her again, walking slowly back, and her face at once +lighted up with a smile. "Sit down near us," whispered the physician to +Amos, as he came up close to him, and all three sat on the sloping bank +not many feet away from the bench. Oh, how the heart of Amos ached with +yearning to throw his arms round his mother's neck; but he knew that it +must not be yet. Julia and Walter also found it hard to restrain their +impetuosity. + +"Who are they?" at last said Mrs Huntingdon to the doctor. These were +the first words that for seven years had fallen from that mother's lips +on the ears of her children. How full of music were they to those who +had so long mourned her loss! + +"They are visitors come here for change of air and to enjoy the sea," +was the reply. + +She looked puzzled. "I think I have seen them before," she said, and +put her hand to her forehead. + +"Shall they sing something?" asked the physician. + +"Oh yes! it will be so sweet; it will remind me of old times," she said. + +Then Walter and his sister, at a nod from the doctor, began the touching +duet, "What are the wild waves saying?" + +Their mother listened with delight. Then she said, "That used to be one +of my songs; I used to sing it with--with--ah, yes, with my husband +Walter. Pray sing something else." + +Then the three united in singing "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds." + +As verse after verse was given by the three voices melodiously blending, +a new light seemed to dawn into the lady's eyes. "Ah!" she cried, "I +used to sing that hymn with my dear children. Let me see. Yes, with +Julia, and Walter, and Amos.--These are my dear children, are they not?" + +"Yes, yes, dear mother," cried Julia, unable to control herself. + +"Who called me mother?" cried Mrs Huntingdon excitedly, and was about +to rise, but the physician gently held her back, and motioned to her +children to restrain themselves. + +All was silent for a while, and then the medical man began to talk in an +ordinary way with the young people on indifferent subjects, but all the +while marking the effect of their voices on their mother. She was +manifestly coming to feel that those voices were very familiar to her, +and to have her heart and thoughts drawn out towards the speakers. "We +will move on now," said the physician after a few minutes had been spent +in general conversation. Then, giving his arm to his patient, he turned +to her children and said, "Shall we meet here again the day after to- +morrow at the same hour?" Amos bowed his assent, and, without any +special word of farewell, they parted. + +On the appointed morning the same party met on the beach. The good +doctor at once began, "I have brought your mother to see you to-day, my +young friends. She was a little confused when you last met, not having +been quite well; but I believe you will find her comfortable now." + +"Yes," said Mrs Huntingdon, "it is all right now. Yes, I see you are +my dear children, Julia, and Amos, and Walter; but what a long time it +seems since I last saw you! Come to me, my children." + +They gathered round her, eager to show their love, and yet fearing to be +too demonstrative. + +"Ah, well," she continued, "Dr Atkin has told me all about it. He says +that I have not been well--that my mind has been confused, but is +getting better now. Yes, you are my Julia, and you are my Walter and +Amos. How kind of you to come and see me. And--and--your father, my +husband, how is he? How it all crowds back upon me!" + +"You must not excite yourself, dear mother," said Amos. + +"No, dear boy, that's true," she replied; "but all will be well, no +doubt. Will you sing me a hymn?" So they all drew close to her, Julia +laying her head in her lap, and there feeling a mother's tears dropping +fast upon her forehead, while Amos and Walter each held a hand. Then +all joined in a hymn, Mrs Huntingdon taking her part. + +As the party were breaking up, Dr Atkin took Amos aside and told him +that the lost balance was now nearly recovered, that his mother had +become able to think connectedly, and that the tangle in her mind had, +through the judicious intercourse with her children, and the +associations that intercourse had called forth, been unravelled and +smoothed out. She might now form one of their party at the cottage, and +by a careful avoidance on their part of all undue excitement, and the +engaging her in cheerful and well-chosen subjects of conversation, the +restored reason would become settled and strengthened, and she might +return in a few weeks to her old home, and be able to bear by degrees +the recurrence of old memories which old familiar scenes would call up, +and the resuming of those duties and responsibilities from which her +infirmities had so long shut her out. + +Oh, with what thankfulness did Amos hear the physician's conclusion; and +how warm and loving was the welcome which greeted the poor restored one +as she entered, a few days later, the sea-side cottage, and took her +place in the comfortable armchair arranged for her in a snug corner, +where she could look out upon the sea, and at the same time be close to +all those dear ones who were now once more truly her own. And day by +day, as the mind of that beloved mother became clearer and stronger, +they were able with prudent gentleness to make her understand the state +of things at home and the sad history of her unhappy son-in-law; while +at the same time Amos never lost an opportunity of directing his dear +mother to that Word of consolation, which he knew would be to her, as it +had been to himself, the only true and satisfying fountain of abiding +peace. And thus it was that she now learned to love that Bible which, +in former days, had never been really her stay, for she had not then +given her heart to Him who is the author, the centre, and the giver of +all truth, peace, and consolation. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +A SLIP ON THE ROAD. + +It will be remembered that Julia and Walter had an excursion to a +neighbouring fashionable watering-place about five miles distant, and +spent the day there while Amos was making his first call at his mother's +retreat, and that they returned in the evening out of spirits, something +evidently having gone amiss with them. The incidents of that excursion +will sufficiently explain the cause of their depression. + +It can readily be understood that Walter's progress in the higher paths +of duty on which he had now sincerely entered was not at all times +equally rapid. He was always meaning well, and could "put on a spurt +and row hard against the stream," as he himself expressed it, from time +to time, but the long, steady, and regular stroke he found it very hard +to keep up. Naturally full of spirits, cherished and encouraged in +thoughts of his own superiority, and accustomed, as long as he could +remember, to have pretty much his own way, it was no light thing for him +to put a curb on his inclinations, or to check sudden impulses when they +were in the direction of what was dashing or generous. So that, while +his deliberate convictions were on the side of all that was right, he +was very liable to be led to swerve a little from the narrow path when +any sudden strain was put upon him by his own natural or acquired +tastes, where he could not gratify these with a safe conscience. + +With Julia the case was different. Long had she resisted the hand that +would have led her heavenwards by trial and sorrow. High-spirited, +self-willed, and self-absorbed though not selfish, she had struggled +long against those cords of love which were drawing her out of the +pathway of error and death. But she had yielded at last, and, having +yielded, she struggled no longer. Her one great and abiding desire now +was to make progress on the higher road. Not that she had lost her +relish for amusement or her interest in outward things; but her spirit +was chastened,--a new light burned within her. Not that she loved +Walter less, but she loved Amos more; her heart was now more in unison +with his, and she could now appreciate the delicacy, and deep +tenderness, and consideration of his self-sacrificing love towards +herself, which she had in time past so cruelly flung back upon him, and +occasionally almost resented. So that now she felt it to be both her +duty and her privilege to mark and copy the nobility of his unpretending +but sterling character. + +Such were brother and sister as they cantered off along the sands on the +morning when Amos set off to call on and consult Dr Atkin about his +mother. It was a charming summer day. The sea was sparkling in its +numberless wavelets; a gentle breeze blew with just so much pressure in +the faces of the riders as to add vigour to their spirits as they +plunged forward against it. Sea-birds wheeled round and round before +them, and everything spoke of brightness and enjoyment. The five miles, +partly along the sands and partly along roads skirting the edge of the +cliffs, and affording a magnificent extent of sea-view, were soon +completed. Walter was full of life and fun, only regretting that he +could not work up his sister into a mood as buoyant as his own. +However, he did his best, and satisfied himself that it was only natural +that the pressure of old sorrows could not yet be wholly taken off from +Julia's heart. + +And now they were come to the outskirts of the little town. It was the +height of the season, and gaiety and frolic seemed masters of the place. +Old and young were to be met with at every turn, and, with the +exception of the manifest invalids, all looked radiant with smiles, as +though determined--and who could blame them?--to extract as much +pleasure out of their little period of holiday as the place and its +occupations could afford them. It so happened that the watering-place +was this day flooded with one or two large arrivals of excursionists. +These had evidently come down with the intention of making the very most +of their time, and doing the whole thing thoroughly. Walter and his +sister were highly entertained by watching some of these excursionists. +Here, for instance, was the family of a worthy mechanic who were intent +on getting the utmost possible out of the occasion that time and means +would allow. Father, mother, children old and young, including a baby, +with the wife's old father and mother, made up the party. Hastening +from the station to the beach, the whole family sat down together on the +sands for some ten minutes or so, inhaling, with widely opened mouths, +copious draughts of sea-air. Then the younger ones mounted donkeys, and +the father and mother each a pony, while the old folks looked on. +Having raced about hither and thither on the jaded animals in abrupt +jerks of speed prompted by the resounding blows of the owners of the +unfortunate brutes, all betook themselves to a sailing-boat; and landed +again after half-an-hour's sail, mostly pale, and with dismay in their +looks, which manifestly proclaimed that "a life on the ocean wave" was +certainly not a life to their taste. Then the old grandfather called to +the driver of an open carriage, and took an airing in it with his wife, +both sitting close behind the coachman with their backs to the horses, +and leaving the best seat vacant, utterly unconscious that they were +occupying the less desirable position, and smiling all the while blandly +on the general public, pleased to have, for once in a way, a little +taste of the pleasures of a higher grade of society than their own. The +ride over, the entire party, baby and all, dived into some obscure +region, where an unlimited amount of hot water and stale shrimps could +be had for a very trifling charge. + +While Walter and his sister were amusing themselves by watching the +excursionists, they became aware of being the object of notice to two +young men who were walking slowly along the esplanade near them. But +they were so absorbed with what for the time had got their attention, +that they failed to give any special heed to these strangers. Having +put up their horses, they made for the sea, and mingled with the +numerous comers and goers, keeping a special eye, from time to time, on +the mechanic's family and their doings. They were gazing down from the +esplanade upon the busy crowds rushing backwards and forwards on the +sands below them, when the two young men who had before noticed them +passed slowly by them, raising their hats. The two were Saunders and +Gregson. Now, it is true that Walter had, as he called it, dissolved +partnership with these his old companions, and had not met them since +the day of the sad disaster in the park; but, nevertheless, there still +lingered in his heart a measure of liking for them which he could not +altogether get rid of, and a certain amount of regret that all +intercourse with them had been broken off. So he looked round +hesitatingly as he marked their salutation, and they noticed it. Again +they neared one another, and this time the young men smiled, and Walter +returned the smile. Then the two stopped, and Gregson said, "Come, old +fellow, shake hands; you've treated us rather shabbily to cut us as you +have done, but we cannot bear the thought of our old friendship being so +easily broken up. We've had many a jolly day together, and why should +it not be so again?" He held out his hand, and Walter could not, or did +not, resist the impulse to grasp it warmly. Then Saunders must have a +similar grip, and Walter could not bring himself to refuse it. After +this Julia was introduced, and the four went about amicably together, +the two young men warming up, as they saw Walter's resolution melting +away, and rattling on with all sorts of light and frivolous talk, which +grated sadly on the ear and heart of Julia Vivian. + +It was now one o'clock, when Gregson exclaimed, "You must all come to +the Ship, and dine at my expense. Nay, my dear old fellow"--addressing +Walter--"I'll not hear of a refusal. You know how I let you in for that +second sovereign at the match, when Jim Jarrocks won so cleverly. I +didn't mean it, of course, but you must allow me the pleasure of making +some little amends by having you and your sister as my guests to-day." +Julia tried, by a gentle pressure of her brother's arm, to dissuade him +from accepting the invitation, but without avail. Walter felt that he +was now "in for it," and must go through with it. So the four +companions walked to the Ship Hotel, and partook of an excellent dinner +ordered by Gregson, in a private room which commanded a full view of the +sea and the crowds of pleasure-seekers who were swarming along the +sands. Both the young host and his friend Saunders drank wine and beer +freely. Walter, who had never been given to excess, was more cautious; +but partly from the excitement of the occasion, and partly, it may be, +to drown some uncomfortable whisperings of conscience, he took more of +these stimulating drinks than he would have thought of doing under +ordinary circumstances, and the result was that he was prepared, when +the meal was over, to take his part in any scheme of fun or frolic that +his new companions might propose. Julia saw this with deep shame and +regret, but she also saw that now was not the time to remonstrate. She +did speak to her brother, as they were leaving the hotel, about +returning at once, as she did not wish to be late; but Walter replied in +an impatient tone that there was plenty of time, and they might as well +have a little bit of fun first. So, with trembling heart she took his +arm as they emerged on to the esplanade, resolved that, at any rate, +come what might, she would keep close to her brother, and be as much a +check upon him as possible. + +The four now made their way to the sands. As they did so, they observed +a considerable number of the visitors making their way in a body towards +a spot where a crowd had evidently assembled. "What's up now?" cried +Gregson. "Let us go and see." They all joined the stream of walkers, +and at last reached a spot where a large company of listeners were +gathered round a group of men, some of whom were distributing tracts +among the people, while one with a grave but pleasing countenance, +standing on a stout oak stool which was firmly planted among the +shingles, was giving out a verse of a popular hymn preparatory to +addressing the spectators. + +"Ain't this capital?" said Gregson to Walter and Saunders in a loud +whisper. "Won't we just have a rare bit of fun!" He then spoke in a +low voice in Saunders's ear, and the young man stole round to the +opposite side of the crowd. When the hymn had been sung, and the +speaker was in the very act of commencing his discourse, a loud mew from +Gregson, who was affecting to look very solemn, made the good man pause. +He made a second attempt; but now a noise as of two cats fighting +violently came from the opposite side of the concourse. The poor +preacher looked sadly disconcerted; but when the pretended mewing and +wrangling were continued, the sense of the ludicrous seemed to prevail +in the crowd over everything else, and there was one general outburst of +laughter, in which no one joined more heartily than Walter. The crowd +began to surge backwards and forwards, and many to move off. But the +preacher still maintained his stand. "Come here! come here!" cried +Gregson in an undertone to Walter. Julia felt her brother suddenly +disengage his arm from hers, and then he was lost in the crowd. A few +minutes later, and there was a movement among the audience--if it could +now be called an audience--in the rear of the speaker; and during the +confusion, Julia, who was gazing intently on the spot where the preacher +stood, saw two faces crouching down for a moment. One was Gregson's, +the other was Walter's; and then two hands clutched the legs of the +stool, and the preacher was pitched head-foremost into the sand. A roar +of mirth followed this performance, but it soon gave place to cries of +"Shame! shame!" Then there was a lull, and then a profound silence, as +the good man who had been so cruelly used planted his feet firmly among +the shingles, and said in a clear and unfaltering voice, "My friends, +may the Lord forgive these misguided young men for their uncalled-for +and unprovoked interference and ridicule! But their malice shall not +stop the good work. Here I stand to preach God's truth; and here I mean +to stand, if the Lord will, every day during the season, opposition or +no opposition, persecution or no persecution. Let us sing another verse +of a hymn." Amidst the profoundest stillness, and evidently with the +hearty sympathy of the bulk of his hearers, the good evangelist +proceeded with his holy work. + +"Come along! come along!" whispered Gregson, creeping round to Walter, +who had now regained his sister, and was feeling heartily ashamed of +himself. They all hastened back to the hotel. Walter was now +thoroughly subdued, and with a very cold leave-taking of his former +friends, he and his sister sought their horses, and made the best of +their way to the cottage, exchanging but few words as they rode along. +Such was the shameful and sorrowful ending of what had promised to be a +very happy day. + +And now, when Mrs Huntingdon had been a few days established in the +cottage, by her own earnest request, and with the hearty concurrence of +her children, their aunt came over to spend a little time with them. +This she could the more easily do as her brother was fully occupied with +his endeavours to secure the return of the candidate whose politics he +agreed with. Surely there can be few, who have a large circle of +relations of different degrees of nearness, who have not among these +some pre-eminently special ones who draw to themselves a more than +ordinary share of affection from all their kindred--a special sister, or +brother, or cousin, who does not however, make others less loved, while +being the privileged object of a peculiarly tender regard. Such a +special aunt was Miss Huntingdon to all her nephews and nieces. A visit +from her was everywhere hailed with rejoicing. And so now every heart +was glad when she joined the little party at the sea-side cottage. To +Mrs Huntingdon the coming of her sister-in-law was eminently +beneficial; for her tender love, her wise and judicious counsels, her +earnest prayers, all helped to establish the restored mother in a +healthful and happy tone of mind, and were the means of guiding her to +that perfect peace which dwells nowhere but in the hearts of those who +have sought and found in their Saviour the friend who loves above all +others. + +When Miss Huntingdon had been at the cottage two or three days, and was +walking with Amos and Walter by the ebbing waves, Julia having remained +behind with her mother, Walter suddenly stopped, and said, "Auntie, I +have something very sad to tell you, and I want your advice." + +Both his aunt and Amos looked at him with surprise and anxiety, and then +the former said, "Well, dear boy, I am sorry that there should be +anything troubling you; but if I can be of any use or comfort to you in +the matter. I shall be only too glad." + +"Sit down here then, Aunt Kate, if you please, on this bank; and if you +are not both of you heartily ashamed of me and disgusted with me when I +have told you all, well, you ought to be." + +When all three were seated, Walter fully related his adventure at the +watering-place, concluding with the attack upon the preacher, laying a +full share of blame on himself, and ending with the words, "Now, dear +auntie, what do you say to that?" + +Both his hearers looked very grave, and were silent for some time. At +last Miss Huntingdon, laying her hand lovingly on Walter's shoulder, +said, "Dear boy, it is certainly a sad story, but you were led into what +you did from want of watchfulness; and as you are now aware of your +fault, and are sorry for it, I should not, if I were you; needlessly +distress myself, but just make, if you can, some amends." + +"Ah! that's the point," cried Walter; "you mean, of course, make some +amends to the good preacher. Yes, that can be done, for he said he +should be at his post at the same hour every day during the season. But +it will require some moral courage to do it, and no little of that +valuable article too. Now I am sure, dear auntie, you have in that +cabinet of your memory one drawer at least full of examples of moral +courage, and you can pick me out one to suit this case." + +"Yes, dear boy," said his aunt, smiling, "I daresay I can; for ever +since you first asked me to help you in the matter of moral courage by +examples drawn from real life, I have been noticing and storing up in +one of these drawers you speak of whatever instances of moral courage +have come before me in my reading." + +"What, then, is it to be to-day, dear Aunt Kate? Can you find me one +that will show me how I ought to act in this sad business?" + +After reflecting for a few minutes, Miss Huntingdon began: "I have +rather a strange moral hero to mention now, and yet he is a most real +one. His name is James Comley. He was for years a confirmed infidel--a +most intelligent man, but in utter spiritual darkness. He lived at +Norwich, and carried on the business of a tea-dealer. He had +indoctrinated his wife and children with his own infidel views, and had +never lost an occasion of publicly assailing the truths of religion. +But at last he was brought to see the misery of his condition. He +prayed earnestly for light, and God gave it him at last, and he became a +truly changed man. And now, mark his conduct after this change had +taken place. He at once tore down some lying placards which covered the +shutters of his shop and the whole front of his house--placards which +stated that his tea business was `The Eastern Branch of the Great +European Tea Company,' which company, in fact, had no existence. He +disposed of about seventy empty tea-chests, which had been so arranged +in his shop as to suggest the idea of an immense stock. A huge bale of +unused placards he carried into the Norwich market-place, where he +addressed the crowd that awaited his arrival, and then carried this +bundle of lies to Mousehold Heath, where, after the singing of a hymn, +praying, and addressing the crowd which had accompanied him, he +committed it to the flames. He after this began publicly to preach that +gospel which for nine years in Norwich he had done his best to destroy. +Here was true moral courage indeed; and perhaps his example may be a +help to you, dear Walter, in showing you what you ought to do." + +Her nephew had listened with the deepest interest, and now remained +buried in thought. At length he said: "True, dear auntie; I see it all; +my duty is plain enough. James Comley had publicly insulted God and +religion, and he made amends as far as he could do so. At any rate he +showed his sincerity by coming out boldly as an honest man, and as one +who was sorry for the past, by his publicly burning those placards and +then preaching the truth which he used to deny and revile. And I ought +to do the same. I mean that, as I did a public wrong in open daylight, +and before many people, to that good man at Stringby, so my duty is to +go over to Stringby and just as publicly to confess to him, and to the +people who may be there, and in open daylight, my sorrow for what I did. +That's just it, auntie, is it not?" + +"It will certainly be making the best use of my example, dear boy," she +replied, "and will be showing true moral courage; but no doubt it will +involve much self-denial, and require much strength from the only true +fountain of strength." + +"It shall be done, and to-morrow," said Walter firmly. + +"Would it be any comfort or help to you if I were to go with you?" asked +Amos. + +"The greatest comfort in the world," cried his brother joyfully; "yes, +and let Julia come too. She was grieved to see me led away as I was, +and it will therefore be a happiness to me if she will come with us and +hear my confession." + +And so it was arranged. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +UNEXPECTED FRUIT. + +The next day, after luncheon, the brothers, with their sister, started +for Stringby, but not in very buoyant spirits. Walter had no thought of +drawing back, nevertheless he felt an almost overwhelming shrinking from +the task which he had undertaken. The loving smile, however, and gentle +words of affectionate concern with which his aunt had cheered him as +they set off were a source of much strength and comfort to him; they +hovered around his heart like the shadowing wing of an angel whenever +the scorching heat of his furnace of trial swept by anticipation across +his shrinking spirit. He had thought it wiser not to confide to his +mother either the cause of his shame or his intended amends. + +The weather was clear and bright as they began their ride, but a smart +shower burst upon them when they had accomplished half the distance, and +forced them to go out of their way to take shelter. Would the preacher, +distrusting the sky, have given up his work just for this afternoon? If +so, what pain and humiliation Walter would be spared! Oh, how he clung +for a few moments to the hope that it might be so! for then he would +have made the amends and the sacrifice, and shown the moral courage, _in +intention_, and, at the same time, would be spared the actual heavy +trial itself. But then he dashed away these thoughts from him, and with +an inward prayer nerved himself for the coming effort. + +Amos, as he rode by his side, seemed to guess what was passing through +his mind, and said, "Can I speak to the preacher for you, Walter? It +will save you some pain, and, as I shall be speaking for another, I +should not have the same difficulty that you might feel." But this +suggestion at once roused Walter out of all his fears. "No, no, dear +Amos," he cried, "no; I have put my foot in it, and I must go through +with it. Your being with me will be a great help, and it would not be +right for me to accept any further assistance from you." + +Little more was said on the way. Julia scarcely opened her lips, but +there was a sweet peace on her fair face. She felt that her brother +Walter was going to do the right thing, and, though she thoroughly +sympathised with him in his natural shrinking from his task, she was +satisfied that he could not now retreat if he would do what duty plainly +called him to. So they trotted or cantered leisurely along, while the +dashing of the waves, and their ceaseless ebb and flow, seemed to remind +them of that love which, in the midst of the ceaseless ebb and flow of +this world's trials, and of man's personal failures and advances in the +life of holiness, ever comes, like the sea-breeze, in breathings of +spiritual health and heavenly pity to the souls that are pressing onward +and upward to the land unclouded by sin. + +At last the watering-place was gained. It seemed to Walter and his +sister more thronged than ever. Several large excursion trains had +brought their many hundreds of eager and excited holiday-keepers. +Esplanade, sands, and by-streets were swarming with passers to and fro. +Would they meet Gregson and Saunders there? Most earnestly did Walter +and his sister, and indeed Amos also, hope that they would not. +However, little time was there for scanning the faces of those they met, +for now they pressed rapidly forward, Walter leading the way, as he was +anxious to plunge at once into his difficult work and get it over as +speedily as possible. "You know," he said to Amos with a faint smile, +"it's just like going to the dentist's. When you get into his room, you +don't go and ask to look at his instruments,--those horrid pinchers, and +pliers, and screw-looking things,--it's quite bad enough to feel them; +and the sooner the wrench comes the sooner it'll be over. So now for my +wrench." As he said this, they came within sight of the place where the +unhappy disturbance occurred in which he had taken a part. A crowd had +gathered, on the outskirts of which, people were moving backwards and +forwards, but there were no sounds of uproar or interruption as they +reached it. All were very attentive. The preacher--the sight of whom +caused the blood to rush into Walter's face--was the same he had +encountered before. The good man was standing on his stool giving out +two lines of a well-known hymn. And then a noble volume of praise from +those united voices rolled up towards heaven. + +Walter could see in a moment that the preacher's eye had rested on him, +and that he remembered him. So, flinging his horse's reins to his +brother, he slipped off his saddle and elbowed his way vigorously +through the crowd. "Stop, young man," said the evangelist calmly and +solemnly, as he saw Walter pressing forward. But Walter made his way +close up to him, and, while the other was evidently perplexed as to the +meaning of his conduct, said quietly to him, "I am not come here to-day +to hinder or make game, but to ask pardon." The other looked at him in +amazement, and for a moment knew not what to say. Then, while there +arose a strange buzz of surprise and excitement among the bystanders, +Walter asked, "May I stand in your place for a minute, and say a few +words to these people?" The good man was clearly taken quite aback by +this request, and looked hard at him who had made it. Was this a scheme +for turning the preacher and his work into open ridicule? The other +members of the evangelist's party seemed to think so, and advised him to +refuse; that it was only a dodge on the young man's part to get up a +piece of extra rich entertainment for his friends, who, no doubt, would +not be far off. The good man had come down from his stool while these +remarks were being addressed to him. He hesitated, but when he turned +to Walter and looked in his face his mind was made up at once; for there +was something, he said, in that face which satisfied him that good would +come out of his yielding to the request made, and not evil. So, while +the spectators were looking on and listening with breathless +expectation, he said, in a clear voice, audible to those on the utmost +verge of the great assembly,--"Friends, before I address you, a young +man has asked leave to occupy my place for a short time. He shall do +so, for I have confidence in him that he will not abuse the liberty I +give him." + +There was a murmur of approbation and intense interest as Walter mounted +the stool and looked upon the sea of upturned faces round him. He was +very pale, and his voice trembled at first, but soon grew calm and firm. +"My friends," he began, "I have come here to-day to do an act of +justice. Some days ago I was a spectator in this place, as you are now. +This good man, the preacher, stood then where I now stand. He had come +here to try and do you good; I came, I am sorry to say, in a different +spirit. Joining with others as wrong and foolish as myself, I +interrupted and ill-treated this servant of the good Master, our +Saviour. I am come to-day to make what amends I can. As I then +publicly ill-treated him, so I now equally publicly ask his pardon for +what I did then; and I earnestly beg you all to give him a patient +hearing, and to encourage him in his work of love." + +Not a word of this short address was lost by a single hearer, though the +last part was almost stifled by the speaker's emotion. As for the +preacher, he knew not how to contain himself. When Walter had sprung to +the ground amidst the profoundest silence, both his hands were grasped +by the good man whose pardon he had asked, who, as he shook them warmly, +could only say at the moment, "The Lord bless you! the Lord be praised!" +Then, recovering himself, he sprang upon the stool, and cried out, +"That's a right noble young man, dear friends! There's real courage +there, and a generous heart, and no mistake. He has asked my pardon for +what he did, and, had I twenty hearts, he should have it from the bottom +of each. I thought, when he came here a few days since and put a little +hindrance in the way, `Now, the devil's very busy; what a crafty being +he is!' Ah, but see now. After all, he only outwits himself by his own +craftiness. The Lord brings good out of Satan's evil. Well, now, let +us proceed with our proper work." These words were followed by a hearty +cheer from the assenting crowd, and then all listened attentively while +the good man gave a plain, practical, faithful, and pointed gospel +address. + +When this was over, and the crowd was dispersing, Amos, whose heart was +all in a happy glow, drew near the preaching-place with Julia, both of +them having now dismounted. The good evangelist's fellow-helpers were +distributing tracts among the retiring audience, while the preacher +himself was in earnest conversation with Walter. Julia held out her +hand for some tracts, saying to the man who gave them, "I will do my +best to distribute them among those who will be likely to benefit by +them. Please let me have as many as you can spare." He gladly did so. + +In a short time all had left, except the preacher and his friends, Amos, +and his brother and sister. As Walter was about to go, he took out his +purse and said to the good man who had so heartily forgiven his former +unkindness, "You must allow me to offer you a contribution to your tract +fund. I am sure you will understand me. I am not asking you to accept +this as any compensation for my abominable treatment of you the other +day, but simply as a little token of my sincere desire to help on your +good work in however small a way." + +The offering was at once and gratefully accepted. "There is no fear," +said the good man, smiling, "of my taking offence at anything which the +Lord sends me, or at the way in which he chooses to send it. The work +is his, and the silver and the gold are his, and he supplies us with the +means in the best way, as he sees it, and therefore in the very best +way. So I thank you for your contribution, and accept it with pleasure; +and I think we shall neither of us forget this day as long as we live, +neither on this side of the river nor on the other." + +With a hearty farewell on both sides, Walter and his companions +remounted their horses, and rode slowly away, full of happy thoughts: +Walter very happy, because he had been enabled to do what his conscience +had bidden him; Amos quite as happy, because the brother he loved so +dearly had behaved so nobly; and Julia calmly happy, because she felt +that bright sunshine had poured through a dark cloud which had brooded +for a while sadly over her spirit. And there was something yet more +stirring in her heart in consequence of all that she had seen and +heard,--it was a rising desire to be doing some real good to others, and +to be doing this at the cost of personal sacrifice and self-denial. Ah, +what a new and strange desire was this in one who had, till lately, +allowed the idol of self to occupy the shrine of her heart. To be +thinking of others, to be steadily keeping the good of others in view, +to put self-pleasing in the background, or to find it in pleasing +others, and that, too, from love to one who for her sake pleased not +Himself,--this was something wondrous indeed to her, and yet how full of +real and heavenly brightness when it had truly found an entrance into +her soul! + +But how and where was she to begin? She had a little bundle of tracts +in her hand; should she begin at once with these? Of all things which +she once would have shrunk from, nothing would have then been more +repulsive than the office of a distributer of tracts. Some years +before, when once asked by a pious friend of her aunt if she would like +a few tracts to give away as she might have opportunity, her reply had +been, "She had rather not, for she believed that tracts were vulgar, +canting things, commonly given by hypocrites to their neighbours when +they wanted to deceive them under a cloak of affected godliness." She +had been rather proud of this reply, which certainly for the time had +the effect of completely shutting up the good lady who had recommended +the tracts to her notice. But now she felt very differently, and looked +at the little bundle in her hand, thinking how she might use it to the +best advantage. Not that she felt naturally drawn to the work; it would +require a considerable effort on her part to bring herself to offer a +tract to a stranger, and a far greater effort to accompany the offer +with a word or two from herself; but she now believed that she _ought_ +to make the effort, and that word "ought," the idea of "duty" which it +kept before her, was beginning to exercise a constraining force hitherto +unknown to her. And there was a special advantage in the tract. Just +the giving of it without comment would be a good preparation for more +close and personal work in the loving Master's service. So, grasping +the papers with a trembling hand, she began to look out for an +opportunity of parting with some of them, and she had not long to wait. +When the little party turned away from the spot where the preaching had +been held, and were thinking of returning to their cottage, as they were +just directing their horses' heads homewards, Julia uttered a sort of +suppressed cry or exclamation, which at once drew the anxious attention +of both her brothers to her. + +"Anything amiss, dear Julia?" asked Amos and Walter together. + +"No, not exactly," she said in a troubled voice, and with a scared look. +Then, recovering herself, she pointed to a young woman dressed rather +fantastically, who had just passed them in a direction opposite to that +in which they were going. "Do you see that woman?" she asked in a low +humbled voice; "she is one I have reason to know too well. She was +associated in a theatre with poor Orlando. Oh, I wish I could do her +some good! Let us follow her; perhaps she would take a tract." + +Who would have thought of such a speech from Julia Vivian a few days +back? But the earnest desire to do that poor outcast creature good had +evidently got possession of her, and so the three turned their horses' +heads in the direction in which the actress was walking. But the object +of their loving pursuit had now quickened her pace, and turned up a by- +street before they could come up with her. Should they follow? Some +impulse urged them forward. The side street led to a square or large +open piece of ground, in the centre of which was erected a temporary +theatre. The woman whom they were following was just about to enter +this building, but turned about and looked back before doing so. Her +eyes met those of Julia, and she at once recognised her with a peculiar +smile, which sent the blood rushing back to Julia's heart, and made her +for the moment half resolve to turn and fly from the place. But she +resisted the feeling and held her ground. The next moment the woman had +entered the theatre. The little party lingered for a few moments, and +then the theatre door again opened, and several persons in various stage +dresses came out and gazed on the newcomers. Then they began to wink at +one another as they stared at Julia, and to break out into a broad grin. +How earnestly did the object of their curiosity and merriment long to +rush away out of the reach of those mocking eyes and sneering lips! Yet +she did not move. A purpose was coming into her heart; she might never +have such an opportunity again. Yet how weak she felt in herself. But +then she lifted up her heart in prayer to the Strong One, and, turning +with blanched face, but perfect calmness, to her brothers, asked them to +help her to dismount, and then, leaving her horse's reins in Walter's +hands, advanced towards a group of some dozen persons of different ages +who had come out of the theatre to gaze and to make merry. + +"You know me, I see," she said, in a voice sweet and sad, but clear as a +bell in its utterances, "and I know you. You knew my poor husband in +times gone by, but not lately. He is dead; and your time must come too. +He was pointed to that Saviour who alone can make a death-bed happy, +and I _hope_ he was able to see him. His last words were, `God be +merciful to me a sinner.' You and I shall probably never meet again. I +have gone back to my early home, and wish to forget the past, but I +could not see Jenny Farleigh go by without wishing to say a kind word to +her, and this has brought me to you. I believe God has changed my +heart; I have learned to know something of the love of my Saviour, and I +am happier now than I have ever been all my life. Oh, if you would only +give up your present life and come to the same Saviour, how happy you +would be! Don't be angry with me for saying this, but just each of you +take one of these little papers from my hand as a token of good-will on +my part, and read it when you are alone." + +She paused, having uttered these words with deep feeling, but at the +same time in a steady and fearless voice. The effect on her hearers was +overpowering. Not a scornful eye, not a sneering lip remained when she +had finished, but sobs and tears burst from those who had for long years +known little other than fictitious weeping. Each took the offered +tract, each returned with warmth the kind pressure of her hand as she +parted from them; and as she remounted her horse, one voice was heard to +say, "Poor thing! God bless her!" Then all shrank back into the +theatre, and the happy three turned homeward once again. And oh, with +what deep thankfulness did all make their way along the cliffs, and then +close to the incoming tide, whose every wave seemed to throw up for them +a sparkle of joy in its glittering spray! Few words, however, were +spoken. Amos could hardly realise that this moral heroine was the +sister whom he had once known so weak, so self-willed, so unimpressible +for anything that was good and holy. Walter also was utterly staggered +and humbled when he reflected on what he had just witnessed, though at +the same time he was truly happy in having been strengthened to carry +out his own noble and self-denying purpose. As for poor Julia, she +could hardly believe that she herself was the person who had addressed +that group outside the theatre walls. Oh, it was so strange, so +terrible, and yet so blessed! for through that newly-opened door of work +for the gracious Master bright rays from the flood of glory in which he +ever dwells had been pouring in upon her soul. + +The happy three reached their cottage, overflowing with love to one +another, and all anxious that Miss Huntingdon should be a sharer in +their happiness, when she should hear what a bright and blessed day had +been granted them. So they sought her in the evening, when their mother +had retired to rest. Seated at her bedroom window, the four looked +forth upon the mighty deep, now rolling in its great waves nearer and +nearer, and every wave flashing in the silver light of the full-orbed +moon. And surely the moonlight streaming down upon those waves, like +God's calm peace on the billows of earthly trial, was in sweet harmony +with the feelings of that little group, as Amos and Julia poured out +their account of Walter's noble address, and as Amos and Walter told of +the unexpected and loving self-sacrifice exhibited in the conduct of +their darling sister. Need it be said that in Miss Huntingdon they had +one who listened with almost painful interest and thankfulness to the +adventures of that never-to-be-forgotten day? Drawing them all round +her, she poured out her heart in praise to God for what he had done in +them and by them, and in prayer that they might be enabled to persevere +in the glorious course on which they had all now entered. And now, when +all were again seated--a little mound or pyramid of young hands being +heaped together over one another in Miss Huntingdon's lap--Walter's +voice was first heard. "I want an anecdote, an example of moral +courage, auntie; and it must be a female one this time, for we have a +moral heroine here, there can be no doubt about that." + +"There is no doubt of it, I am sure," replied his aunt; "and there can +be no difficulty in finding moral heroines, as well as moral heroes. +Indeed, the only difficulty lies in making the most suitable selection +from so many. Our dear Julia has shown a moral courage such as I am +certain she could not have done had she not sought strength from the +only unfailing fountain of strength; and so I will take as my example +one who was surrounded, as Julia was, by persons and circumstances which +might well have daunted the stoutest heart, much more the heart of a +poor and desolate young woman. And my example will be the more +appropriate because it will bring before us a scene which is closely +connected with the seashore--such a seashore, it may be, as we are now +gazing on, with its sloping sands, and waves rushing up higher and +higher on the beach. My heroine, then--and she had a fellow-heroine +with her--was a humble Scottish girl who lived in the reign of Charles +the Second, when the poor and pious Covenanters were bitterly and +remorselessly persecuted, even to the death, because they would not do +violence to their consciences and deny the Lord who bought them. Many +of them, you know, were hunted by the king's savage soldiery among the +hills and mountains, and, when overtaken, were slain in cold blood, even +when in the act of prayer. + +"Margaret Wilson, my heroine, was a young girl of eighteen. She was +taken prisoner by the soldiers, tried, and condemned to die, because she +steadily and courageously refused to acknowledge the supremacy of any +other than Christ in the Church. A few words might have saved her life; +but she would not utter them, because they would have been words of +falsehood, and, though she dared to die, she dared not tell a lie. So +they brought her out to the seashore, such as is before us now. The +tide was rising, but had not then begun long to turn. She had a fellow- +sufferer with her of her own sex--one who, like herself, preferred a +cruel death to denying Christ. This fellow-sufferer was an aged widow +of sixty-three. The sentence pronounced against them both was that they +should be fastened to stakes driven deeply into the sand that covered +the beach, and left to perish in the rising tide. The stake to which +the aged female was fastened was lower down the beach than that of the +younger woman, in order that the expiring agonies of the elder saint, +who would be first destroyed, might shake the firmness of Margaret +Wilson. The water soon flowed up to the feet of the old woman; in a +while it mounted to her knees, then to her waist, then to her chin, then +to her lips; and when she was almost stifled by the rising waves, and +the bubbling groan of her last agony was reaching her fellow-martyr +farther up the beach, one heartless ruffian stepped up to Margaret +Wilson, and, with a fiendish grin and mocking laugh, asked her, `What +think you of your friend now?' And what was the calm and noble reply? +`What do I see but Christ, in one of his members, wrestling there? +Think you that _we_ are the sufferers? No. It is Christ in us--he who +sendeth us not on a warfare upon our own charges.' She never flinched; +she sought no mercy from man. The waves reached her too at last; they +did the terrible work which man had made them do. The heroic girl +passed from the hour of mortal struggle into the perfect peace of her +Saviour's presence." + +As she finished, Julia looked with tearful eyes into her aunt's face, +and said gently, "Dear auntie, Christ was her strength; and," she added +in a whisper, "I believe he was mine." + +"Yes, yes, precious child," said Miss Huntingdon, drawing her closely to +her, "I am sure it was so; and the one great lesson we may learn from +our three heroines is this, `I can do all things through Christ who +strengtheneth me.'" + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +THE CROWN WON. + +All was now peace in the little cottage. Mrs Huntingdon's once clouded +mind was daily gaining in clearness and strength, not only from the +loving and judicious attentions of her children, but still more from the +inward peace which had now made its dwelling in her heart. Ah! surely +in nothing is that declaration of holy Scripture, that godliness has the +promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come, +more evidenced than in the healthful tone which God's peace in the soul +imparts to a mind once disordered and diseased. Few, comparatively, are +aware in how many cases that which the world so specially prizes, "a +sound mind in a sound body," is enjoyed by its possessor because that +mind belongs to one whom God is keeping by his indwelling Spirit in +perfect peace. It was so with Mrs Huntingdon. She had found the only +true rest, and so was daily making progress in strength both of body and +mind. And her thorough establishment in this improvement in physical +and mental health was helped forward by the presence of her +grandchildren, whom Miss Huntingdon had brought with her to the cottage. +Their coming carried her back in thought to the days when her own +children were as young, and bridged over the gulf of sorrow which had +come in between; so that the painful impressions made when memory +recalled that sorrow grew fainter and fainter in the happy light that +shone on the path of present duties, just as the waking terrors from +some frightful and vivid dream fade away more and more, till they vanish +and are forgotten in the full, broad, morning sunshine and the realities +of work-day life. Nor were her grandchildren a source of comfort and +improvement to her alone. Their own mother had now learned to look upon +them in a very different light--no longer as clogs impeding her steps as +she pressed on in pursuit of pleasure and excitement, but as precious +charges intrusted to her by the great Master, to be brought up for him, +and in training of whom to walk on the narrow way by her side she would +herself find the purest and highest happiness to be enjoyed on earth. +So all things were now going on brightly at the cottage. Peace, +harmony, and love had their abode there; and never did a happier party +go down to meet the incoming tide, and listen to its gentle music, than +might be seen when Mrs Huntingdon, her children, grandchildren, and +sister-in-law issued forth for a morning stroll along the beach, to +gather shells, or drink in the bracing air, as they watched some passing +ship, or the sea-birds as they dashed across the spray. + +But now thoughts of home, and of the restoration to that home of their +dear mother, were busy in the hearts of Amos and his brother and sister. +Mrs Huntingdon herself ventured only a hint or two on the subject, for +she felt that in this matter she must leave herself in the hands of her +children. When _they_ saw that the fitting time was come, doubtless the +return would be brought about. On the other hand, Amos was most anxious +to spare his father any pain which he might suffer from anything like an +abrupt disclosure of the intended return home of his wife. The matter +would require gentle and delicate handling, lest the happiness of that +return should in any degree be marred to Mr Huntingdon by his feeling +that his advice should have been asked and his wishes consulted before +even so happy a consummation should be brought about. So, after the +subject had been talked over with Miss Huntingdon, it was unanimously +resolved that she should be the person to break the happy tidings of his +wife's restoration to health to her brother, and should advise with him +as to the most suitable day for her going back again to the old home. +To this arrangement she cheerfully consented, and in a few days returned +alone to Flixworth Manor, to the great satisfaction of Mr Huntingdon, +who was getting heartily tired of his solitary life. + +And now she had to make her important disclosure, and how should she +best do this? Unknown to her, the way had already been partially +opened; for one evening, when the squire was taking his dinner all +alone, and Harry was waiting on him, he said to the old man, "Rather +dull work, Harry, without the young mistress and the children." + +"Ay, sir, to be sure," was the butler's reply; "the house ain't like the +same. It has got quite like old times again." + +"Yes," said his master, sadly and thoughtfully; "something like old +times. Well, we shall have Mrs Vivian back again shortly." + +"And the old missus too, maybe, afore so very long," said the other +quickly. + +"What _do_ you mean?" asked his master in a disturbed voice. + +"Oh, beg pardon, sir," cried Harry; "I hardly knew what I was saying--it +came natural like; but stranger things has happened afore now. You must +excuse me, master; I meant no harm." + +The dinner over, the squire leaned back in his armchair, and began to +turn over many thoughts in his mind. Harry's words kept recurring to +him, "And the old missus too." Well, why not? Hitherto he had never +thought the matter over at all. He knew that his wife had continued +much the same, neither better nor worse. He knew also that to have +brought her back while her daughter was shut out of the house would have +only been the means of aggravating her complaint; and it had not yet +seriously occurred to him that Julia's return might remove a difficulty +and be a step towards restoring her mother to her old place in her home. +But Harry's words now disturbed him and made him restless,--"And the +old missus too." Could it indeed be brought to pass? Might not the +sight of her daughter in the old home, occupying the place she used to +hold, and of the other children living with her in harmony and love, act +so beneficially on her as to restore her, with judicious and tender +treatment, to reason, happy intelligence, and home once more? As he +admitted these thoughts into his heart, his bosom heaved, the tears fell +fast from his eyes, he pressed his hand on his forehead, and, looking +up, murmured a prayer for guidance. Harassed and worn by electioneering +business, and sickened with the din and unnatural excitement connected +with it, how he yearned for the quiet peace and affectionate realities +of his home society; and with that yearning came now a special longing +to see once more, in her accustomed chair, her who had dwelt so long in +banishment from him. And yet he scarcely knew how to take the first +step in the bringing about of that which he so earnestly desired. "I +must leave it till Kate comes home," he said to himself with a sigh; +"she will be sure to suggest the right thing, and to go the right way to +work in the matter." How great, then, were the relief and happiness of +Miss Huntingdon when, on the evening of the day of her return home, her +brother himself introduced the subject by saying, "Dear Kate, I have +been thinking a good deal of late whether it would not be possible to +get my dear Mary back to her old home again. You know one great +hindrance has now been removed. She will find our dear Julia once more +ready to welcome her, and that, I daresay, if the meeting were well +managed, might go a great way towards her cure." + +With what joy, then, did Miss Huntingdon gradually unfold to her brother +the fact that the cure had already been accomplished, and that nothing +now remained but for him to fix the day for receiving back to his heart +and home her who had been so long separated from him. Most gladly did +he acquiesce in the plans proposed by his sister as to the day and +manner of his wife's return, promising that he would duly restrain +himself at the first meeting, and that he would endeavour to erase, by +his future consideration and attention to her every wish, any painful +scar that might remain from harshness or unkindness in times past. Miss +Huntingdon was most deeply thankful that her path had been thus smoothed +by the wise and tender hand that guides all the footsteps of the +trusting people of God; and she felt sure that a bright eventide was in +store for those so truly dear to her. With her brother's consent she +wrote to the cottage, fixing an early day for the return home, thinking +it wiser to remain at Flixworth Manor herself, that her presence, when +the earnestly desired meeting should take place, might be a comfort to +all parties, and might help to dispel any little cloud which memories of +the past might cause to hover even over an hour so full of gladness. +The day came at last. All outside the Manor-house was as bright as +well-kept walks, closely-mown turf, and flower-beds gay with the rich +and tastefully blended tints of multitudes of bright and fragrant +flowers, could make it. Harry had taken the fine old entrance hall +under his own special care. How the bedrooms or sitting-rooms might +look was not his concern, but that the hall should look its venerable +best, and that the plate should be bright, that was his business; it was +for him to see to it, and see to it he did. Never were plate-powder and +wash-leather put into more vigorous exercise, and never was old oak +staircase and panelling bees'-waxed and rubbed with more untiring +energy; so that, as the western sun poured his rays in through windows +and fanlight, a cheery brightness flashed from a hundred mirror-like +surfaces, including some ancestral helmets and other pieces of armour, +which glowed with a lustre unknown by them in the days when they were +worn by their owners. "That'll do, and no mistake," said the old man +half out loud, as, dressed in his best, he walked from one corner of the +hall to another, standing a while at each to take in fully all the +beauties of the prospect. "Yes, that'll do; don't you think so, Polly?" +Now this question was addressed, not to a fellow-servant, for all were +at the time busily engaged elsewhere, but to a grey parrot, one of those +sedate and solemn-looking birds whose remarks are generally in singular +contrast to their outward gravity of demeanour. The parrot made no +reply, but looked a little bewildered. "Ah, I see how it is," said +Harry; "you are puzzled at so much brightness. Why, you can see +yourself reflected a dozen times. What a satisfaction it will be to the +dear old missus to see a likeness of herself in every panel as she walks +upstairs." Satisfied with this thought, he looked round him once again +with an air of considerable contentment--as well he might, for +everything spoke of comfort, refinement, and welcome, and of the +diligent hands and loving hearts which had provided these. So, with one +more glance round, he again exclaimed, "Yes, it'll do; and I think the +dear old missus 'll think so too," at the same time bowing low to the +parrot, whose only reply, "Pretty Poll," was appreciative rather of her +own attractions than of those of her surroundings. + +And now a sound of wheels was heard, and all the inmates of the house +crowded into the hall. A minute more and the steps were reached, and +the hall-door was opened by a trembling but faithful hand. The young +people were the first to alight; and then Mrs Huntingdon, handed out of +the carriage by Walter, and leaning on the arm of Amos, entered once +more the home she had left so sadly. Her husband's arms were at once +round her, but he restrained himself by a strong effort, and just drew +her gently very closely to him, whispering to her, as audibly as tears +would let him, "Welcome home again, my dear, dear wife." And she +returned the loving pressure, and spoke in subdued voice her +thankfulness to be at home with him once more; and then they stood apart +and gazed earnestly at each other. Ay, there was change in each. Time +and care and sorrow had done their work and ploughed their furrows; but +there was a sweet peace which neither had before seen in the other, and, +to Mr Huntingdon's glad surprise and almost awe, a heavenly beauty in +his recovered wife's face which he knew not then how to account for, but +he was not long in learning its source. + +And now, as husband and wife, once more united, were about to move on, +old Harry stepped forward, and with the profoundest of bows, and a very +unsteady voice, wished his old mistress all health and happiness for +many long years among them. Mrs Huntingdon could not trust herself to +speak, but she held out her hand to him, which he took as gently in his +own as if it had been some article of ornamental glass of a peculiarly +brittle nature, and then saluted it with a fervent kiss; after which, +rather abashed at his own proceeding, he shrank back, and allowed the +happy travellers to make their way upstairs. But he could not be +satisfied with having given so partial a vent to his feelings. So, when +the hall was again all his own, he began to trip round it in a measured +sort of dance, to the intense amusement of Julia and Walter, who were +looking over the banisters from above on the performer, who was not +conscious at the moment of being so observed. On the old man went, +waxing more and more energetic, till at last he swayed himself into the +centre of the hall, and gave expression to the vehemence of his feelings +in a complicated sort of movement which he intended for a jump or +spring, but which brought him down on all fours, amidst a burst of +irrepressible laughter from the young people who were looking on. A +little disconcerted, Harry was just recovering his feet, when the +parrot, who had learned a few short phrases in times past, principally +from Walter, and had now been eyeing Harry's movements, with his grey +head on one side, and his thoughtful eye twinkling restlessly, +exclaimed, in an almost sepulchral voice, "What's up now?" The old man +stared comically at the unexpected speaker, and then said, as he brushed +the dust off his knees, "What's up now? why, you stupid old bird, +there's a great deal that's up now. I'm up now, though I was down a +minute ago. And Miss Julia as was and Master Walter's up now, for +they're up on the landing a-laughing at me. And the dear old missus is +up now; she's up in her room with master, and we don't want her to be +down in spirits no more. There, Polly, I've answered your question, and +answered it well, I think." + +Never did a happier party gather round the dinner-table at Flixworth +Manor; never did the old butler ply his office with a readier hand and a +brighter countenance. Dinner over, and all being grouped together in +the drawing-room, where many loving words had passed, Walter turned to +his father and said, "I have two requests to make to you, dear father." + +"Well, my boy, what are they? they must be strange and unreasonable +indeed if I refuse to grant them on such a night as this." + +"I don't think, father, that you will call them so." + +"Well, what are they?" + +"The first is, that Amos may be our chaplain just for once at family +prayers to-night." + +All looked surprised, but none more so than Amos himself. Half rising +from his seat, he laid a remonstrating hand upon his brother's arm; but +it was now too late. The colour flushed over his face, and he looked +uneasily at his father's countenance, which was much troubled; yet there +was no look of anger there, but rather a shade of deep sadness had crept +over it. The truth was, Mr Huntingdon had always entertained a +profound respect for religion, and an equally profound contempt for +hypocrites; but nothing beyond this had till lately been thought by him +to be necessary for his taking his place in society as a respectably +religious man. He wished all his dependants to be sober and honest, and +to go to church, read their Bibles, and say their prayers; and what more +could be required of him or them? And, in order to set a good example +in his family and to his tenants, he always himself conducted family +prayers night and morning, reading a few verses of Scripture, and a +plain and suitable prayer. Nevertheless, he had simply done this +hitherto as a duty, as a matter of form, and always rose from his knees +with a mingled feeling of satisfaction at having performed a duty, and +of relief that a somewhat irksome task was over. But now a new view of +religion, its duties and privileges, had begun to dawn upon him; but +still he had scarce light enough yet to see his way to taking a +different stand. So, when Walter preferred his request that Amos should +be chaplain for that evening, a painful sense of deficiency on his own +part clouded his spirit, while at the same time he was truly anxious to +do anything which would be a step in the direction of real improvement +and spiritual blessing to his household. The cloud, however, soon +melted away, and holding out his hand to Walter, and grasping his hand +warmly, he said, "With all my heart, my dear boy; nothing could be +better. Let Amos be chaplain to-night, and not to-night only. I am +getting old, and his younger voice and more experience in such matters +will make it a good thing for us all if he will take the family prayers +whenever he is at home." As he concluded with faltering voice, Amos +began to remonstrate in words of earnest deprecation; but his father +stopped him, and, laying his hand on his shoulder, kindly said, "Do it +to please me, and to please us all, dear boy." Then, turning to Walter, +with every shade removed from his countenance, he asked, "And what is +your second request?" + +"That's not a very hard one to grant," replied Walter, smiling, "though +perhaps you may repent of saying `Yes' when you suffer the consequences. +My second request is, that I may be allowed to make a short speech when +family prayers are over." + +"Granted at once, my son," was Mr Huntingdon's reply; "I am sure you +will have an attentive audience." + +"Ah, it may be so, father; but I'm not sure that every member of my +attentive audience will hear me willingly." + +And now, when the gong had sounded and the whole family, including the +servants, were gathered for the evening devotion, Amos, calm and +collected, took his seat at the table, and when all were assembled, +opened the Bible, which Harry had, by his master's direction, put before +him, at the hundred and third Psalm. Deeply touching were those fervent +words read out with solemn earnestness and pathos by the young man, in +the presence of those he loved so dearly, specially when he lingered on +the third and fourth verses, "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who +healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who +crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies." The psalm +finished, all knelt, and then, in tones low and trembling at first, but +gaining in power and firmness as he proceeded, Amos poured out his heart +in supplication and thanksgiving,--thanksgiving that all the members of +that family were once again united under that roof in health and peace; +and supplication that they might henceforth, if spared, go hand in hand +along the narrow way, as true followers of Him whose service is perfect +freedom. + +Not a tearless eye was there in that company as all rose from their +knees, no one being so deeply affected as Mr Huntingdon, who drew Amos +to him with a tenderness which more than repaid his son for every +sacrifice and suffering in the past. "And now," said his father, when +the servants had left the room, "we are all waiting for your promised +speech, Walter." The smile with which the young man rose to his feet +passed away as he saw all eyes earnestly fixed on him. For a moment he +hesitated, and then began: "Father and mother dear, I have been learning +for some time past some very important lessons; and my two teachers are +here before you--the one is my dear aunt Kate, and the other is my dear +brother Amos. My aunt has taught me with her lips, and my brother by +his life.--Nay, Amos, you must not interrupt the speaking. At this +moment I am in possession of the house.--My lessons have been on the +subject of moral courage. I used to think I was very brave, and didn't +need any instruction on such a subject. I looked down upon, and would +have despised, only I couldn't, the noblest brother that ever brother +had.--Ay, ay, it's no use shaking your head, Amos; I am speaking nothing +but the truth.--Over and over again I have shown myself a moral coward; +over and over again Aunt Kate has set before me, at my own request, +examples of moral heroism from history and real life, just to suit my +case and stir me up to better things; and over and over again I have +seen acted out by my brother there the very lessons I have been so slow +in learning. Ah, it has been grand teaching! We have had such a lot of +moral heroes,--Columbus, and Washington, and Howard, and Luther, and +Fletcher, and a score more. But here is my moral hero," saying which he +threw one arm round his weeping brother's neck, and put a hand over his +mouth as he proceeded. "Yes, you must hear me out now. Here is the +brother who, with a moral courage that never nagged, that no unkindness, +no misunderstanding could bend, has been carrying out for years one +great purpose, which God has permitted him this day to bring to a full +accomplishment. That purpose we all see fulfilled in our complete +family gathering to-night. Yes; Amos is my hero of heroes, and he +_shall_ hear me say it. I ask his pardon now for all my unworthy +treatment of him. He _is_ my hero, for he has nobly conquered. He has +conquered us all, but none more completely than the brother who looks +upon it as one of his dearest privileges to be permitted to love him and +to try and copy his example." + +What could Amos do? what could he say? Clinging to the impulsive +brother who had thus spoken out impetuously what all felt to be true, +and sobbing out his regrets that such words should have been spoken of +one who felt himself to be so undeserving of them, he was utterly at a +loss what to reply, nor did any one for the moment venture to add a +word. But at last the silence was broken by the clear and gentle voice +of Miss Huntingdon. "It may be, dearest ones, that a few words from +myself may not be out of place after dear Walter's speech. He has +indeed spoken the truth. Our noble Amos has certainly shown us, in the +carrying out of his great heart-purpose, true moral courage in many of +its most striking forms. But he has not been alone in this. I have +been a privileged teacher by word of mouth, as Walter has said; and +right nobly has he learned and applied his lessons, and been pressing +forward in his brother's steps. And not only so, but dear Julia has +been also learning and practising these lessons. And now I think I need +occupy the teacher's place no longer. I would rather give up my place +to the great Teacher of all,--to Him who both by word and example shows +us moral heroism in its perfection of sublimity. I have not hitherto +ventured specially to dwell on him as being in this, as in every other +excellence, the one perfect pattern, because Walter wished to be +encouraged by examples in those who were imperfect and shortcoming +creatures like ourselves. But I would now express the hope that we may +all henceforth find our happiness in taking Him for our teacher, guide, +and model who never shrank from duty, even when to perform it wrung from +him tears of agony and a bloody sweat, and who held on his course +through evil report and good report, spite of blasphemy, persecution, +and a bitter and shameful death, till he had finished the work which his +Father had given him to do, and had won for us the victory over sin and +death, and an imperishable crown of glory." + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Amos Huntingdon, by T.P. 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