A KNIGHT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, Edward Payson Roe [top young adult novels TXT] 📗

Of Viciousness From The

Mare, That Was Now Most Sheeplike In her Docility; And Thus, With His

Confiding Victim, He Jogged along Through The Crowded street, The Object

Of General Approval And Outspoken Commendation.

 

 

 

"My Dear Young Friend," Began The Doctor Fervently, "I Feel That You

Have Already Repaid Me Amply For My Labors In your Behalf."

 

 

 

"Thank You," Said Haldane Demurely; "I Think We Are Getting Even."

 

 

 

"This Has Been A Very Mysterious Affair," Continued the Doctor Musingly;

"Surely 'A Horse Is A Vain Thing For Safety.' One Is Almost Tempted to

Believe That Demoniacal Possession Is Not Wholly A Thing Of The Past.

Indeed, I Could Not Think Of Anything Else While Dolly Was Acting So

Viciously And Unaccountably."

 

 

 

"I Agree With You," Responded haldane Gravely, "She Certainly Did Come

Down The Street Like The Devil."

 

 

 

The Doctor Was A Little Shocked at This Putting Of His Thoughts Into

Plain English, For It Sounded somewhat Profanely. But He Was In no Mood

To Find Fault With His Companion, And They Got On Very Well Together To

The End Of Their Brief Journey. The Young Scapegrace Was Glad, Indeed,

That It Was Brief, For His Self-Control Was Fast Leaving Him, And Having

Bowed a Rather Abrupt Farewell To The Doctor, He Was Not Long In

Reaching One Of His Haunts, From Which During The Evening, And Quite

Late Into The Night, Came Repeated peals Of Laughter, That Grew More

Boisterous And Discordant As That Synonyme Of Mental And Moral Anarchy,

The "Spirit Of Wine," Gained the Mastery.

 

 

 

The Tidings Of Her Son'S Exploit In rescuing The Doctor Were Not Long In

Reaching Mrs. Haldane, And She Felt That The Good Seed sown That Day Had

Borne Immediate Fruit. She Longed to Fold Him In her Arms And Commend

His Courage, While She Poured out Thanksgiving That He Himself Had

Escaped uninjured, Which Immunity, She Believed, Must Have Resulted from

The Goodness And Piety Of The Deed. But When He At Last Appeared with

Step So Unsteady And Utterance So Thick That Even She Could Not Mistake

The Cause, She Was Bewildered and Bitterly Disappointed by The Apparent

Contradictoriness Of His Action; And When He, Too Far Gone For

Dissimulation, Described and Acted out In pantomime The Doctor'S Plight

And Appearance, She Became Half Hysterical From Her Desire To Laugh, To

Cry, And To Give Vent To Her Kindling Indignation.

 

 

 

This Anger Was Raised almost To The Point Of White Heat On The Morrow.

The Cause Of The Old Mare'S Behavior, And The Interview Which Had Led to

The Practical Joke, Soon Became An Open Secret, And While It Convulsed

The Town With Laughter, It Also Gave The Impression That Young Haldane

Was In a "Bad Way."

 

 

 

It Was Not Long Before Mrs. Haldane Received a Note From An Indignant

Fellow Church-Member, In which, With Some Disagreeable Comment, Her

Son'S Conduct Was Plainly Stated. She Was Also Informed that The Doctor

Had Become Aware Of The Rude Jest Of Which He Had Been The Subject. Mrs.

Haldane Was Almost Furious; But Her Son Grew Sullen And Obstinate As The

Storm Which He Had Raised increased. The Only Thing He Would Say As An

Apology Or Excuse Amounted to This:

 

 

 

"What Else Could He Expect From One Who He So Emphatically Asserted was

A Sinner?"

 

 

 

The Mother Wrote At Once To The Doctor, And Was Profuse In her Apologies

And Regrets, But Was Obliged to Admit To Him That Her Son Was Beyond Her

Control.

 

 

 

When The Doctor First Learned the Truth His Equanimity Was Almost As

Greatly Disturbed as It Had Been On The Previous Day, And His First

Emotions Were Obviously Those Of Wrath. But A Little Thought Brought Him

To A Better Mood.

 

 

 

He Was Naturally Deficient In tact, And His Long Habit Of Dwelling Upon

Abstract And Systematic Truth Had Diminished his Power Of Observantly

And Intuitively Gauging The Character Of The One With Whom He Was

Dealing. He Therefore Often Failed wofully In adaptation, And His

Sermons Occasionally Went Off Into Rarefied realms Of Moral Space, Where

Nothing Human Existed. But His Heart Was True And Warm, And His Master'S

Cause Of Far More Consequence To Him Than His Own Dignity.

 

 

 

As He Considered the Matter Maturely He Came To The Conclusion That

There Must Have Been Something Wrong On Both Sides. If He Had Presented

The Truth Properly The Young Man Could Not Have Acted so Improperly.

After Recalling The Whole Affair, He Became Satisfied that He Had Relied

Far Too Much On His Own Strong Logic, And It Had Seemed to Him That It

Must Convince. He Had Forgotten For The Moment That Those Who Would Do

Good Should Be Very Humble, And That, In a Certain Sense, They Must Take

The Hand Of God, And Place It Upon The One Whom They Would Save.

 

 

 

Thus The Honest Old Clergyman Tried to Search Out The Error And Weakness

Which Had Led to Such A Lamentable Failure In his Efforts; And When At

Last Mrs. Haldane'S Note Of Sorrowful Apology And Motherly Distress

Reached him, His Anger Was Not Only Gone, But His Heart Was Full Of

Commiseration For Both Herself And Her Son. He At Once Sat Down, And

Wrote Her A Kind And Consolatory Letter, In which He Charged her

Hereafter To Trust Less To The "Arm Of Flesh" And More To The "Power Of

God." He Also Inclosed a Note To The Young Man, Which His Mother Handed

To Him With A Darkly Reproachful Glance. He Opened it With A

Contemptuous Frown, Expecting To Find Within Only Indignant Upbraidings;

But His Face Changed rapidly As He Read The Following Words:

 

 

 

 

"My Dear Young Friend--I Hardly Know Which Of Us Should Apologize. I

Now Perceive And Frankly Admit That There Was Wrong On My Side. I

Could Not Have Approached you And Spoken To You In the Right Spirit,

For If I Had, What Followed could Not Have Occurred. I Fear There

Was A Self-Sufficiency In my Words And Mariner Yesterday, Which Made

You Conscious Of Dr. Marks Only, And You Had No Scruples In dealing

With Dr. Marks As You Did. If My Words And Bearing Had Brought You

Face To Face With My August Yet Merciful Master, You Would Have

Respected him, And Also Me, His Servant. I Confess That I Was Very

Angry This Morning, For I Am Human. But Now I Am More Concerned lest

I Have Prejudiced you Against Him By Whom Alone We All Are Saved.

Yours Faithfully,

 

 

 

"Zebulon Marks."

 

 

 

 

The Moment Haldane Finished reading The Note He Left The Room, And His

Mother Heard Him At The Hat-Rack In the Hall, Preparing To Go Out. She,

Supposing That He Was Again About To Seek Some Of His Evil Haunts,

Remonstrated sharply; But, Without Paying The Slightest Attention To Her

Words, He Departed, And Within Less Than Half An Hour Rang The Bell At

The Parsonage.

 

 

 

Dr. Marks Could Scarcely Believe His Eyes As The Young Man Was Shown

Into His Study, But He Welcomed him As Cordially As Though Nothing

Unpleasant Had Occurred between Them.

 

 

 

After A Moment'S Hesitation And Embarrassment Haldane Began:

 

 

 

"When I Read Your Note This Evening I Had Not The Slightest Doubt That I

Was The One To Apologize, And I Sincerely Ask Your Pardon."

 

 

 

The Old Gentleman'S Eyes Grew Moist, And He Blew His Nose In a Rather

Unusual Manner. But He Said Promptly:

 

 

 

"Thank You, My Young Friend, Thank You. I Appreciate This. But No Matter

About Me. How About My Master? Won'T You Become Reconciled to Him?"

 

 

 

"I Suppose By That You Mean, Won'T You Be A Christian?"

 

 

 

"That Is Just What I Mean And Most Desire. I Should Be Willing To Risk

Broken Bones Any Day To Accomplish That."

 

 

 

Haldane Smiled, Shook His Head, And After A Moment Said:

 

 

 

"I Must Confess That I Have Not The Slightest Wish To Become A

Christian."

 

 

 

The Old Gentleman'S Eager And Interested expression Changed instantly To

One Of The Deepest Sorrow And Commiseration. At The Same Time He

Appeared bewildered and Perplexed, But Murmured, More In soliloquy Than

As An Address To The Young Man:

 

 

 

"O Ephraim! How Shall I Give Thee Up?"

 

 

 

Haldane Was Touched by The Venerable Man'S Tone And Manner, More Than He

Would Have Thought Possible, And, Feeling That He Could Not Trust

Himself Any Longer, Determined to Make His Escape As Soon As

Practicable. But As He Rose To Take His Leave He Said, A Little

Impulsively:

 

 

 

"I Feel Sure, Sir, That If You Had Spoken And Looked yesterday As You Do

This Evening I Would Not Have--I Would Not Have--"

 

 

 

"I Understand, My Young Friend; I Now Feel Sure That I Was More To Blame

Than Yourself, And Your Part Is Already Forgiven And Forgotten. I Am Now

Only Solicitous About _You_."

 

 

 

"You Are Very Kind To Feel So After What Has Happened, And I Will Say

This Much--If I Ever Do Wish To Become A Christian, There Is No One

Living To Whom I Will Come For Counsel More Quickly Than Yourself.

Good-Night, Sir."

 

 

 

"Give Me Your Hand Before You Go."

 

 

 

It Was A Strong, Warm, Lingering Grasp That The Old Man Gave, And In the

Dark Days Of Temptation That Followed, Haldane Often Felt That It Had A

Helping and Sustaining Influence.

 

 

 

"I Wish I Could Hold On To You," Said The Doctor Huskily; "I Wish I

Could Lead You By Loving Force Into The Paths Of Pleasantness And Peace.

But What I Can'T Do, God Can. Good-By, And God Bless You."

 

 

 

Haldane Fled rather Precipitously, For He Felt That He Was Becoming

Constrained by A Loving Violence That Was As Mysterious As It Was

Powerful. Before He Had Passed through The Main Street Of The Town,

However, A Reckless Companion Placed an Arm In his, And Led him To One

Of Their Haunts, Where He Drank Deeper Than Usual, That He Might Get Rid

Of The Compunctions Which The Recent Interview Had Occasioned.

 

 

 

His Mother Was Almost In despair When He Returned. He Had, Indeed,

Become To Her A Terrible And Perplexing Problem. As She Considered the

Legitimate Results Of Her Own Weak Indulgence She Would Sigh Again And

Again:

 

 

 

"Never Was There A Darker And More Mysterious Providence. I Feel That I

Can Neither Understand It Nor Submit."

 

 

 

A Sense Of Helplessness In dealing With This Stubborn And Perverse Will

Overwhelmed her, And, While Feeling That Something Must Be Done, She Was

At A Loss What To Do. Her Spiritual Adviser Having Failed to Meet The

Case, She Next Summoned her Legal Counsellor, Who Managed her Property.

 

 

 

He Was A Man Of Few Words, And An Adept In worldly Wisdom.

 

 

 

"Your Son Should Have Employment," He Said;

 

 

 

  "'Satan Finds Some Mischief Still

  For Idle Hands,'

 

 

 

"Etc., Is A Sound Maxim, If Not First-Class Poetry. If Mr. Arnot, The

Husband Of Your Old Friend, Is Willing To Take Him, You Cannot Do Better

Than Place Your Son In his Charge, For He Is One Of The Most Methodical

And Successful Business Men Of My Acquaintance."

 

 

 

Mrs. Arnot, In response To Her Friend'S Letter, Induced her Husband To

Make A Position In his Counting-House For Young Haldane, Who, From A

Natural Desire To See More Of The World, Entered into The Arrangement

Very Willingly.

 

 

 

Chapter III (Chained to An Iceberg)

Hillaton, The Suburban City In which The Arnots Resided, Was Not Very

Distant From New York, And Drew Much Of Its Prosperity From Its

Relations With The Metropolis. It Prided itself Much On Being a

University Town, But More Because Many Old Families Of Extremely Blue

Blood And Large Wealth Gave Tone And Color To Its Society. It Is True

That This Highest Social Circle Was Very Exclusive, And Formed but A

Small Fraction Of The Population; But The People In general Had Come To

Speak Of "Our Society," As Being "Unusually Good," Just As They

Commended to Strangers The Architecture Of "Our College Buildings,"

Though They Had Little To Do With Either.

 

 

 

Mrs. Arnot'S Blood, However, Was As Blue As That Of The Most Ancient And

Aristocratic Of Her Neighbors, While In character And Culture She Had

Few Equals. But With The Majority Of Those Most Cerulean In their Vital

Fluid The Fact That She Possessed large Wealth In her Own