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

My Private Office. Your Duties Will Be Very Miscellaneous. Sometimes I

Shall Employ You As My Errand-Boy, Again I May Intrust You With

Important And Confidential Business. I Stipulate That You Perform The

Humblest Task As Readily As Any Other."

Haldane'S Face Flushed with Pleasure, And He Said Warmly, "I Am Not In a

Position, Sir, To Consider Any Honest Work Beneath Me, And After Your

Kindness I Shall Regard Any Service I Can Render You As A Privilege."

"A Neat Answer," Laughed mr. Ivison. "If You Do Your Work As Well I

Shall Be Satisfied. Pluck And Good Sense Will Make A Man Of You Yet. I

Want You To Understand Distinctly That It Has Been Your Readiness And

Determination, Not Only To Work, But To Do Any Kind Of Work, That Has

Won My Good-Will. Here'S A Check For A Month'S Salary In advance. Be

Here To-Morrow At Nine, Dressed suitably For Your New Position.

Good-Morning."

"Halloo! What'S Happened?" Asked mr. Growther As Haldane Came In that

Evening With Face Aglow With Gladness And Excitement.

"According To Your Theory I'Ve Been Promoted sure," Laughed the Youth,

And He Related the Unexpected event Of The Day.

"That'S Jest Like Mrs. Arnot," Said Mr. Growther, Rubbing His Hands As

He Ever Did When Pleased; "She'S Allers Givin' Some Poor Critter A

Boost. T'Other Day 'Twas Me, Now Agin It'S You, And They Say She'S

Helpin' Lots More Along. St. Peter Will Have To Open The Gate Wide When

She Comes In with Her Crowd. 'Pears To Me Sometimes That I Can Fairly

Hear Satan A-Gnashin' Of His Teeth Over That Woman. She'S The Wust Enemy

He Has In town."

"I Wish I Might Show Her How Grateful I Am Some Day," Said Haldane, With

Moistened eyes; "But I Clearly Foresee That I Can Never Repay Her."

"No Matter If You Can'T," Replied the Old Man. "She Don'T Want Any Pay.

It'S Her Natur' To Do These Things."

Haldane Gave His Whole Mind To The Mastery Of His New Duties, And After

A Few Natural Blunders Speedily Acquired a Facility In the Diverse Tasks

Allotted him. In a Manner That Was Perfectly Unobtrusive And Respectful

He Watched his Employer, Studied his Methods And Habit Of Mind, And Thus

Gained the Power Of Anticipating His Wishes. Mr. Ivison Began To Find

His Office And Papers Kept In just The Order He Liked, The Temperature

Maintained at A Pleasant Medium, And To Receive Many Little Nameless

Attentions That Added to His Comfort And Reduced the Wear And Tear Of

Life To A Hurried business-Man; And When In emergencies Haldane Was

Given Tasks That Required brains, He Proved that He Possessed a Fair

Share Of Them.

After Quite A Lapse Of Time Mr. Ivison Again Happened to Meet Mrs.

Arnot, And He Said To Her:

"Haldane Thinks You Did Him A Great Kindness In suggesting Our Present

Arrangement; But I Am Inclined to Think You Did Me A Greater, For You

Have No Idea How Useful The Young Fellow Is Making Himself To Me."

"Then You Will Have To Find A New Object Of Benevolence," Answered the

Lady, "Or You Will Have All Your Reward In this World."

"There It Is Again," Said Mr. Ivison, With His Hearty Laugh, "You And

Dr. Barstow Give A Man No Peace. I'M Going To Take Breath Before I

Strike In again."

In His New Employment, Haldane, From The First, Had Found Considerable

Leisure On His Hands, And After A Little Thought Decided to Review

Carefully The Studies Over Which He Had Passed so Superficially In his

Student Days.

Mr. Growther Persisted in occupying The Kitchen, Leaving What Had Been

Designed as The Parlor Or Sitting-Room Of His Cottage To Dust And Damp.

With His Permission The Young Man Fitted this Up As A Study, And Bought

A Few Popular Works On Science, As The Nucleus Of A Library. After

Supper He Read The Evening Paper To Mr. Growther, Who Soon Fell Into A

Doze, And Then Haldane Would Steal Away To His Own Quarters And Pursue

With Zest, Until A Late Hour, Some Study That Had Once Seemed to Him

Utterly Dry And Unattractive.

Thus The Months Glided rapidly And Serenely Away, And He Was Positively

Happy In a Mode Of Life That He Once Would Have Characterized as

Odiously Humdrum. The Terrible World, Whose Favor Had Formerly Seemed

Essential, And Its Scorn Unendurable, Was Almost Forgotten; And As He

Continued at His Duties So Steadily And Unobtrusively The Hostile World

Began To Unbend Gradually Its Frowning aspect Toward Him. Those Whom He

Daily Met In business Commenced with A Nod Of Recognition, And

Eventually Ended with A Pleasant Word. At Church An Increasing Number

Began To Speak To Him, Not Merely As A Christian Duty, But Because The

Young Man'S Sincere And Earnest Manner Interested them And Inspired

Respect.

The Fact That He Recognized that He Was Under A Cloud And Did Not Try To

Attract Attention, Worked in his Favor. He Never Asked the Alms Of A

Kindly Word Or Glance, By Looking appealingly To One And Another. It

Became His Habit To Walk With His Eyes Downcast, Not Speaking To Nor

Looking Toward Any One Unless First Addressed. At The Same Time His

Bearing Was Manly And Erect, And Marked by A Certain Quiet Dignity Which

Inevitably Characterizes All Who Are Honestly Trying To Do Right.

Because He Asked so Little Of Society It Was The More Disposed to Give,

And From A Point Of Bare Toleration It Passed on To A Willingness To

Patronize With A Faint Encouraging Smile. And Yet It Was The General

Feeling That One Whose Name Had Been So Sadly Besmirched must Be Kept At

More Than Arm'S-Length.

"He May Get To Heaven," Said An Old Lady Who Was Remarking Upon His

Regular Attendance At Church, "But He Can Never Hope To Be Received in

Good Society Again."

In The Meantime The Isolated youth Was Finding Such An Increasing Charm

In The Companionship Of The Gifted minds Who Spoke To Him From The

Printed pages Of His Little Library That He Felt The Deprivation Less

And Less.

But An Hour With Mrs. Arnot Was One Of His Chief Pleasures, To Which He

Looked forward With Glad Anticipation. For A Long Time He Could Not

Bring Himself To Go To Her House Or To Take The Risk Of Meeting any Of

Her Other Guests, And In order To Overcome His Reluctance She

Occasionally Set Apart An Evening For Him Alone And Was "Engaged" To All

Others. These Were Blessed hours To The Lonely Young Fellow, And Their

Memory Made Him Stronger And More Hopeful For Days Thereafter.

In His Christian Experience He Was Gaining a Quiet Serenity And

Confidence. He Had Fully Settled it In his Mind, As Mrs. Arnot Had

Suggested, That Jesus Christ Was Both Willing and Able To Save Him, And

He Simply Trusted and Tried to Follow.

"Come," Said That Lady To Him One Evening, "It'S Time You Found A Nook

In The Vineyard And Went To Work."

He Shook His Head Emphatically As He Replied, "I Do Not Feel Myself

Either Competent Or Worthy. Besides, Who Would Listen To Me?"

"Many Might With Profit. You Can Carry Messages From Mr. Ivison, Can You

Not Take A Message From Your Divine Master? I Have Thought It All Over,

And Can Tell You Where You Will Be Listened to At Least, And Where You

May Do Much Good. I Went, Last Sunday, To The Same Prison In which I

Visited you. And I Read To The Inmates. It Would Be A Moral Triumph For

You, Egbert, To Go Back There As A Christian Man And With The Honest

Purpose Of Doing Good. It Would Be Very Pleasant For Me To Think Of You

At Work There Every Sabbath. Make The Attempt, To Please Me, If For No

Better Reason."

"That Settles The Question, Mrs. Arnot," Said Haldane, With A Troubled

Smile. "I Would Try To Preach In choctaw, If You Requested it, And I

Fear All That I Can Say 'Out O' My Own Head,' As Mr. Growther Would Put

It, Will Be Worse Than Choctaw. But I Can At Least Read To The

Prisoners; That Is," He Added, With Downcast Eyes And A Flush Of His Old

Shame, "If They Will Listen To Me, Which I Much Doubt. You, With Your

Large Generous Sympathies, Can Never Understand How Greatly I Am

Despised, Even By My Own Class."

"Please Remember That I Am Of Your Class Now, For You Are Of The

Household Of Faith. I Know What You Mean, Egbert. I Am Glad That You Are

So Diffident And So Little Inclined to Ask On The Ground Of Your

Christian Profession That The Past Be Overlooked. If There Is One Thing

That Disgusts Me More Than Another It Is The Disposition To Make One'S

Religion A Stepping-Stone To Earthly Objects And The Means Of Forcing

Upon Others A Familiarity Or A Relationship That Is Offensive To Them. I

Cannot Help Doubting a Profession Of Faith That Is Put To Such Low Uses.

I Know That You Have Special Reason For Humility, But You Must Not Let

It Develop Into Timidity. All I Ask Is That You Read To Such Poor

Creatures In the Prison As Will Listen To You A Chapter In the Bible,

And Explain It As Well As You Can, And Then Read Something Else That You

Think Will Interest Them."

Haldane Made The Attempt, And Met, At First, As He Feared, With But

Indifferent Success. Even Criminals Looked at Him Askance As He Came In

The Guise Of A Religious Teacher. But His Manner Was So Unassuming, And

The Spirit "I Am Better Than Thou" Was So Conspicuously Absent, That A

Few Were Disarmed, And Partly Out Of Curiosity, And Partly To Kill The

Time That Passed so Slowly, They Gathered at His Invitation. He Sat Down

Among Them As If One Of Them, And In a Voice That Trembled with

Diffidence Read A Chapter From The Gospels. Since He "Put On No Airs,"

As They Said, One And Another Drew Near Until All The Inmates Of The

Jail Were Grouped around Him. Having Finished the Chapter, Haldane

Closed the Bible And Said:

"I Do Not Feel Competent To Explain This Chapter. Perhaps Many Of You

Understand It Better Than I Do. I Did Not Even Feel That I Was Worthy To

Come Here And Read The Chapter To You, But The Christian Lady Who

Visited you Last Sunday Asked me To Come, And I Would Do Anything For

Her. She Visited me When I Was A Prisoner Like You, And Through Her

Influence I Am Trying To Be A Better Man. I Know, My Friends, From Sad

Experience, That When We Get Down Under Men'S Feet, And Are Sent To

Places Like These, We Lose Heart And Hope; We Feel That There Is No

Chance For Us To Get Up Again, We Are Tempted to Be Despairing and

Reckless; But Through The Kindness And Mercy Of That Good Lady, Mrs.

Arnot, I Learned of A Kindness And Mercy Greater Even Than Hers. The

World May Hate Us, Scorn Us, And Even Trample Us Down, And If We Will Be

Honest With Ourselves We Must Admit That We Have Given It Some Reason To

Do All This--At Least I Feel That I Have--But The World Can'T Keep Us

Down, And What Is Far Worse Than The World, The Evil In our Own Hearts

Can'T Keep Us Down, If We Ask Jesus Christ To Help Us Up. I Am Finding

This Out By Experience, And So Know The Truth Of What I Am Saying. This

Bible Tells Us About This Strong, Merciful One, This Friend Of Publicans

And Sinners, And If You Would Like Me To Come Here Sunday Afternoons And

Read About Him, I Will Do So Very Gladly, But I Don'T Wish To Force

Myself Upon You If I'M Not Wanted."

"Come, My Hearty, Come Every Time," Said An Old Sailor, With A

Resounding Oath. "Tain'T Likely I'Ll Ever Ship With Your Captain, For

Sech As I'Ve Come To Be Couldn'T Pass Muster. Howsumever, It'S Kind O'

Comfortin' To Hear One Talk As If There Was Plenty Of Sea-Room, Even

When A Chap Knows He'S Drivin' Straight On The Rocks."

"Come, Oh, Come Again," Entreated the Tremulous Voice Of One Who Was

Crouching a Little Back Of His Chair.

Haldane Turned, And With A Start Recognized the Fair Young Girl, Whose

Blue Eyes And Madonna-Like Face Had, For A Moment, Even In the Agony Of

His Own Shame, Secured his Attention While In the Police Court, More

Than A Year Before. She Was Terribly Changed, And Yet By That Strange

Principle By Which We Keep Our Identity Through All Mutations, Haldane

Knew That She Was The Same, And Felt That By A Glance He Could Almost

Trace Back Her Life Through Its Awful Descent