A KNIGHT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY by Edward Payson Roe (red seas under red skies .TXT) 📕

And Thinking Of The Haldane Family--A Consummation That Appeared to Her

Worth Any Sacrifice. When The Morning Paper Brought Another Vile Story

(Copied from The Hillaton "Courier") Of Her Son'S Misdoings, Her Adverse

View Of His Plans And Character Was Confirmed beyond The Shadow Of A

Doubt. She Felt That There Was A Fatality About The Place And Its

Associations For Him, And Her One Hope Was To Get Him Away.

She Cut The Article From The Paper And Inclosed it To Him With The

Accompanying Note:

"We Go To New York This Afternoon, And Sail For Europe To-Morrow. You

Send Us In parting a Characteristic Souvenir, Which I Return To You. The

Scenes And Associations Indicated in this Disgraceful Paragraph Seem

More To Your Taste Than Those Which Your Family Have Hitherto Enjoyed as

Their Right For Many Generations. While This Remains True, You, Of

Necessity, Cut Yourself Off From Your Kindred, And We, Who Are Most

Closely Connected, Must Remain Where Our Names Cannot Be Associated with

Yours. I Still Cherish The Hope, However, That You May Find The Way Of

The Transgressor So Hard That You Will Be Brought By Your Bitter

Experience To Accept Of My Offer And Give The World A Chance To Forget

Your Folly And Wickedness. When You Will Do This In good Faith (And My

Lawyer Will See That It Is Done In good Faith), You May Draw On Him For

The Means Of A Comfortable Support. In bitter Shame And Sorrow, Your

Mother,

"Emily Haldane."

This Letter Was A Severe Blow To Her Son, For It Contained the Last

Words Of The Mother That He Might Not See For Years. While He Felt It To

Be Cruelly Unjust To Him And His Present Aims, He Was Calm Enough Now To

See That The Distorted paragraph Which Led to It Fitted in only Too Well

With The Past, And So Had The Coloring Of Truth. When Inclined to Blame

His Mother For Not Waiting For His Versions Of These Miserable Events

And Accepting Of Them Alone, He Was Compelled to Remember That She Was

In Part Awakened from Her Blind Idolatry Of Him By The Discovery Of His

Efforts To Deceive Her In regard To His Increasing Dissipation. Even

Before He Had Entered mr. Arnot'S Counting-Room He Had Taught Her To

Doubt His Word, And Now She Had Evidently Lost Confidence In him

Utterly. He Foresaw That This Confidence Could Be Regained only By Years

Of Patient Well-Doing, And That She Might Incline To Believe In him More

Slowly Even Than Comparative Strangers. But He Was Not Disposed to Be

Very Angry And Resentful, For He Now Had But Little Confidence In

Himself. He Had Been Led, However, By His Bitter Experience And By Mrs.

Arnot'S Faithful Ministry To Adopt That Lady'S Brief But Comprehensive

Creed, He Was Learning To Trust In christ As An All-Powerful And

Personal Friend; He Was Daily Seeking To Grasp The Principles Which

Christ Taught, But More Clearly Acted out, And Which Are Essential To

The Formation Of A Noble Character. He Had Thus Complied with The Best

Conditions Of Spiritual Growth; And The Crude Elements Of His Character,

Which Had Been Rendered more Chaotic By Evil, Slowly Began To Shape

Themselves Into The Symmetry Of A True Man.

In Regard To His Mother'S Letter, All That He Could Do Was To Inclose To

Her, With The Request That It Be Forwarded, Mr. Ivison'S Defence Of Him,

Which Appeared in the "Courier" Of The Following Morning.

"You Perceive," He Wrote, "That A Stranger Has Taken Pains To Inform

Himself Correctly In regard To The Facts Of The Case, And That He Has

For Me Some Charity And Hope. I Do Not Excuse The Wrong Of My Action On

That Occasion Or On Any Other, But I Do Wish, And I Am Trying, To Do

Better, And I Hope To Prove The Same To You By Years Of Patient Effort.

I May Fail Miserably, However, As You Evidently Believe. The Fact That

My Folly And Wickedness Have Driven You And My Sisters Into Exile, Is A

Very Great Sorrow To Me, But Compliance With Your Request That I Should

Leave Hillaton And Go Into Hiding Would Bring No Remedy At All. I Know

That I Should Do Worse Anywhere Else, And My Self-Respect And Conscience

Both Require That I Should Fight The Battle Of My Life Out Here Where I

Have Suffered such Disgraceful Defeat."

About Three Weeks After The Occasion Upon Which Haldane'S Human Nature

Had Manifested itself In such A Disastrous Manner As He Had Supposed,

Mrs. Arnot, Dr. Barstow, And Mr. Ivison Happened to Find Themselves

Together At An Evening Company.

"I Have Been Wishing To Thank You, Mr. Ivison," Said The Lady, "For Your

Just And Manly Letter In regard To Young Haldane. I Think It Encouraged

Him Very Much, And Has Given Him More Hopefulness In his Work. How Has

He Been Doing Of Late? The Only Reply He Makes To My Questioning Is, 'I

Am Plodding On.'"

"Do You Know," Said Mr. Ivison, "I Am Beginning To Take Quite An

Interest In that Young Fellow. He Has Genuine Pluck. You Cannot

Understand, Mrs. Arnot, What An Ordeal He Has Passed through. He Is

Naturally As Mettlesome As A Young Colt, And Yet Day After Day He Was

Subjected to Words And Actions That Were To Him Like The Cut Of A Whip."

"Mr. Ivison," Said Mrs. Arnot, With A Sudden Moisture Coming Into Her

Eyes, "I Have Long Felt The Deepest Interest In this Young Man. In

Judging any One I Try To Consider Not Only What He Does, But All The

Circumstances Attending Upon His Action. Knowing Haldane'S Antecedents,

And How Peculiarly Unfitted he Was By Early Life And Training For His

Present Trials, I Think His Course Since He Was Last Released from

Prison Has Been Very Brave," And She Gave A Brief Sketch Of His Life And

Mental States, As Far As A Delicate Regard For His Feelings Permitted,

From That Date.

Dr. Barstow, In his Turn, Also Became Interested in the Youth, Not Only

For His Own Sake, But Also In the Workings Of His Mind And His Spiritual

Experiences. It Was The Good Doctor'S Tendency To Analyze Everything and

Place All Psychological Manifestations Under Their Proper Theological

Heads.

"I Feel That I Indirectly Owe This Youth A Large Debt Of Gratitude,

Since His Coming To Our Church And His Repulse, In the First Instance,

Has Led to Decided changes For The Better In us All, I Trust. But His

Experience, As You Have Related it, Raises Some Perplexing Questions. Do

You Think He Is A Christian?"

"I Do Not Know. I Think He Is," Replied mrs. Arnot.

"When Do You Think He Became A Christian?"

"Still Less Can I Answer That Question Definitely."

"But Would Not One Naturally Think It Was When He Was Conscious Of That

Happy Change In the Study Of Good Old Dr. Marks?"

"Poor Haldane Has Been Conscious Of Many Changes And Experiences, But I

Do Not Despise Or Make Light Of Any Of Them. It Is Certainly Sensible To

Believe That Every Effect Has A Cause; And For One I Believe That These

Strange, Mystical, And Often Rich And Rapturous Experiences, Are Largely

And Perhaps Wholly Caused in many Instances By The Direct Action Of

God'S Spirit On The Human Spirit. Again, It Would Seem That Men'S

Religious Natures Are Profoundly Stirred by Human And Earthly Causes,

For The Emotion Ceases With The Cause. It Appears To Me That If People

Would Only Learn To Look At These Experiences In a Sensible Way, They

Would Be The Better And Wiser For Them. We Are Thus Taught What A Grand

Instrument The Soul Is, And Of What Divine Harmonies And Profound

Emotions It Is Capable When Played upon By Any Adequate Power. To Expect

To Maintain This Exaltation With Our Present Nature Is Like Requiring Of

The Athlete That He Never Relax His Muscles, Or Of The Prima Donna That

She Never Cease The Exquisite Trill Which Is But The Momentary Proof Of

What Her Present Organization Is Capable. And Yet It Would Appear That

Many, Like Poor Haldane, Are Tempted on One Hand To Entertain No

Christian Hope Because They Cannot Produce These Deep And Happy

Emotions; Or, On The Other Hand, To Give Up Christian Hope Because These

Emotions Cease In the Inevitable Reaction That Follows Them. In my

Opinion It Is When We Accept Of Christ As Saviour And Guide We Become

Christians, And A Christian Life Is The Maintenance Of This Simple Yet

Vital Relationship. We Thus Continue Branches Of The 'True Vine.' I

Think Haldane Has Formed this Relationship."

"It Would Seem From Your Account That He Had Formed it, Consciously, But

A Very Brief Time Since," Said Dr. Barlow, "And Yet For Weeks Previous

He Had Been Putting Forth What Closely Resembles Christian Effort,

Exercising Christian Forbearance, And For A Time At Least Enjoying Happy

Spiritual Experiences. Can You Believe That All This Is Possible To One

Who Is Yet Dead In trespasses And Sins?"

"My Dear Dr. Barstow, I Cannot Apply Your Systematic Theology To All Of

God'S Creatures Any More Than I Could Apply A Rigid And Carefully

Lined-Out System Of Parental Affection And Government To Your Household.

I Know That You Love All Of Your Children, Both When They Are Good And

When They Are Bad, And That You Are Ever Trying To Help The Naughty Ones

To Be Better. I Am Inclined to Think That I Could Learn More Sound

Theology On These Points In your Nursery And Dining-Room Than In your

Study. I Am Sure, However, That God Does Not Wait Till His Little

Bewildered children Reach A Certain Theological Mile-Stone Before

Reaching Out His Hand To Guide And Help Them."

"You Are Both Better Theologians Than I Am," Said Mr. Ivison, "And I

Shall Not Enter The Lists With You On That Ground; But I Know What

Mill-Life Is To One Of His Caste And Feeling, And His Taking Such Work,

And His Sticking To It Under The Circumstances, Is An Exhibition Of More

Pluck Than Most Young Men Possess. And Yet It Was His Only Chance, For

When People Get Down As Low As He Was They Must Take Any Honest Work In

Order To Obtain A Foothold. Even Now, Burdened as He Is By An Evil Name,

It Is Difficult To See How He Can Rise Any Higher."

"Could You Not Give Him A Clerkship?" Asked mrs. Arnot.

"No, I Could Not Introduce Him Among My Other Clerks. They Would Resent

It As An Insult."

"You Could Do This," Said Mrs. Arnot With A Slight Flush, "But I Do Not

Urge It Or Even Ask It. You Are In a Position To Show Great And Generous

Kindness Toward This Young Man. As He Who Was Highest Stooped to The

Lowliest, So Those High In station And Influence Can Often Stoop To The

Humble And Fallen With A Better Grace Than Those Hearer To Them In rank.

If You Believe This Young Man Is Now Trustworthy, And That Trusting Him

Would Make Him Still More So, You Could Give Him A Desk In your Private

Office, And Thus Teach Your Clerks A Larger Charity. The Influential And

Assured in position Must Often Take The Lead In these Matters."

Mr. Ivison Thought A Moment, And Then Said: "Your Proposition Is

Unusual, Mrs. Arnot, But I'Ll Think Of It. I Make No Promises, However."

"Mr. Ivison," Added mrs. Arnot, In her Smiling, Happy Way, "I Hope You

May Make A Great Deal Of Money Out Of Your Business This Year; But If,

By Means Of It, You Can Also Aid In making a Good And True Man, You Will

Be Still Better Off. Dr. Barstow Here Can Tell You How Sure Such

Investments Are."

"If I Should Follow Your Lead And That Of Dr. Barstow, All My Real

Estate Would Be In the 'Celestial City,'" Laughed mr. Ivison. "But I

Have A Special Admiration For The Grace Of Clear Grit, And This Young

Fellow, In