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

Attain A

Character That Will Fit You To Dwell At Last In your Kingly Father'S

House; And I Tell You Frankly, For Your Encouragement, That You Are

Capable Of Forming Such A Character. I Will Now Bid You Good-Night, And

Leave You To Think Over What I Have Said. But Write To Me Or Come To Me

Whenever You Wish."

 

 

 

"Good-Night, Mr. Growther; Hate Yourself If You Will, But Remember That

The Bible Assures Us That 'God Is Love'; You Cannot Hate Him."

Chapter XLII (The Lever That Moves The World)

The Power Of Truth Can Scarcely Be Overestimated, And The Mind That

Earnestly Seeks It Becomes Noble In its Noble Quest. If This Can Be Said

Of Truth In the Abstract, And In its Humbler Manifestations, How

Omnipotent Truth Becomes In its Grandest Culmination And Embodied in a

Being Capable Of Inspiring Our Profoundest Fear And Deepest Love. One

May Accept Of Religious Forms And Philosophies, And Be Little Changed

Thereby. One May Be Perfectly Saturated with Ecclesiasticism, And Still

Continue A Small-Natured man. But The Man That Accepts Of Jesus Christ

As A Personal And Living Teacher, As Did The Fishermen Of Galilee, That

Man Begins To Grow Large And Noble, Brave And Patient.

 

 

 

Egbert Haldane Has Been Sketched as An Ordinary Youth. There Are

Thousands Like Him Who Have Been Warped and Marred by Early Influences,

But More Seriously Injured by A Personal And Wilful Yielding To Whatever

Form Of Evil Proved attractive. The Majority Are Not So Unwary Or So

Unfortunate As He Was; But Multitudes, For Whom Society Has

Comparatively Little Criticism, Are More Vitiated at Heart, More

Cold-Blooded and Deliberate In their Evil. One May Form A Base

Character, But Maintain An Outward Respectability; But Let Him Not Be

Very Complacent Over The Decorous And Conventional Veneer Which Masks

Him From The World. If One Imagines That He Can Corrupt His Own Soul And

Make It The Abiding-Place Of Foul Thoughts, Mean Impulses, And

Shrivelling Selfishness, And Yet Go Forward Very Far In god'S Universe

Without Meeting Overwhelming Disaster, He Will Find Himself Thoroughly

Mistaken.

 

 

 

The Sin Of Another Man Finds Him Out In swift Sequence Upon Its

Committal, And Such Had Been Haldane'S Experience. He Had Been Taught

Promptly The Nature Of The Harvest Which Evil Produces Inevitably.

 

 

 

The Terrible Consequences Of Sin Prevent And Deter From It In many

Instances, But They Have No Very Great Reformatory Power It Would Seem.

Multitudes To-Day Are _In Extremis_ From Destroying Vices, And

Recognize The Fact; But So Far From Reacting Upward Into Virtue, Even

After Vice (Save In the Intent Of The Heart) Has Ceased to Be Possible,

There Seems To Be A Moral Inertia Which Nothing Moves, Or A Reckless And

Increasing Impetus Downward.

 

 

 

It Would Appear That, In order To Save The Sinful, A Strong, And Yet

Gentle And Loving, Hand Must Be Laid Upon Them. The Stern Grasp Of

Justice, The Grip Of Pain, Law--Human And Divine--With Its Severe

Penalties, And Conscience Re-Echoing Its Thunders, All Lead Too Often To

Despondency, Recklessness, And Despair. It Would Be Difficult To Imagine

A Worse Hell Than Vice Often Digs For Its Votaries, Even In this World;

And In spite Of All Human Philosophies, And Human Wishes To The

Contrary, It Remains A Fact That The Guilty Soul Trembles At A Worse

Hereafter, And Yet No Sufferings, No Fears, No Fate Can So Appall As To

Turn The Soul From Its Infatuation With That Which Is Destroying It.

More Potent Than Commands, Threats, And Their Dire Fulfilment, Is Love,

Which Wins And Entreats Back To Virtue The Man Whom Even Omnipotence

Could Not Drive Back.

 

 

 

In The Flood God Overwhelmed the Sinful World In sudden Destruction, But

The Race Continued sinning all The Same. At Last God Came Among Men, And

Shared in their Lot And Nature. He Taught Them, He Sympathized with

Them, He Loved them, He Died for Them, And When The Wondrous Story Is

Told As It Should Be, The Most Reckless Pause To Listen, The Most

Callous Are Touched, And Those Who Would Otherwise Despair In their

Guilt Are Led to Believe That There Is A Heart Large And Tender Enough

To Pity And Save Even Such As The World Is Ready To Spurn Into A

Dishonored grave.

 

 

 

The Love Of God As Manifested in christ Of Nazareth Is Doing More For

Humanity Than All Other Influences Combined. The Best And Noblest

Elements Of Our Civilization Can Be Traced either Directly Or Indirectly

To Him, And Shadows Brood Heavily Over Both The Lands And Hearts That

Neither Know Nor Care For Him.

 

 

 

It Would Seem, Then, That Not The Wrath Of God, But His Love, Is Most

Effective In separating Men From The Evil Which Would Otherwise Destroy

Them. God Could Best Manifest This Love By Becoming a Man "Made Like

Unto His Brethren"; For The Love Of God Is Ever Best Taught And Best

Understood, Not As A Doctrine, But When Embodied in some Large-Hearted

And Christlike Person.

 

 

 

Such A Person Most Emphatically Was Mrs. Arnot; And Because Of These

Divine Characteristics Her Gentle, Womanly Hand Became More Potent To

Save Young Haldane Than Were All The Powers Of Evil And The Downward

Impetus Of A Bad Life To Destroy.

 

 

 

How Very Many, Like Him, Might Be Saved, Were More Women Of Tact And

Culture, Large-Hearted also And Willing To Give A Part Of Their Time To

Such Noble Uses!

 

 

 

By A Personal And Human Ministry, The Method That Has Ever Been Most

Effective In god'S Providence, Haldane Was At Last Brought Into Close,

Intimate Relations With The Divine Teacher Himself. He Was Led to Look

Away From His Own Fitful Emotions And Vague Experiences To One Who Was

His Strong And Unchanging Friend. He Was Led to Take As His Daily Guide

And Teacher The One Who Developed peter The Fisherman, Paul The Bigot,

Luther The Ignorant Monk, Into What They Eventually Became, And It Was

Not Strange, Therefore, That His Crude, Misshapen Character Should

Gradually Assume The Outlines Of Moral Symmetry, And That Strength

Should Take The Place Of Weakness. He Commenced to Learn By Experience

The Truth Which Many Never Half Believe, That God Is As Willing To

Lovingly Fashion The Spiritual Life Of Some Humble Follower As He Is To

Shape The Destiny Of Those Who Are To Be Famous In the Annals Of The

Church And The World.

 

 

 

To Haldane'S Surprise He Was Not Discharged from His Humble Position In

Mr. Ivison'S Employ, And The Explanation, Which Soon Afterward Appeared,

Gave Him Great Encouragement. The Man Whom He Had So Severely Punished

In His Outburst Of Passion, Vented his Spite By Giving To The _Morning

Courier_ An Exaggerated and Distorted account Of The Affair, In which

The Youth Was Made To Exchange Places With Himself, And Appear As A

Coarse, Quarrelsome Bully.

 

 

 

When Haldane'S Attention Was Called to The Paragraph His Face Flushed

With Indignation As He Read It; But He Threw The Paper Down And Went To

His Work Without A Word Of Comment. He Had Already About Despaired of

Anything Like Justice Or Friendly Recognition From The Public, And He

Turned from This Additional Wrong With A Feeling Not Far Removed from

Indifference. He Was Learning The Value Of Mrs. Arnot'S Suggestion, That

A Consciousness Of One'S Own Integrity Can Do More To Sustain Than The

World'S Opinion, And Her Words On The Previous Evening Had Taught Him

How A Companionship, And Eventually A Character, Might Be Won That Could

Compensate Him For All That He Had Lost Or Might Suffer.

 

 

 

His Persecutor Was, Therefore, Disappointed in seeing How Little

Annoyance His Spite Occasioned, Nor Was His Equanimity Increased by A

Message From Mr. Ivison Ordering His Instant Discharge.

 

 

 

The Following Morning The Foreman Of The Room In which Haldane Worked

Came To Him With Quite A Show Of Friendliness, And Said:

 

 

 

"It Seems Ye'Re In luck, For The Boss Takes An Interest In ye. Read

That; I Wouldn'T A' Thought It."

 

 

 

Hope Sprang Up Anew In the Young Man'S Breast As He Read The Following

Words:

 

 

 

Editor Courier.--_Dear Sir:_ You Will Doubtless Give Space For This

Correction In regard To The Fracas Which Took Place In my Factory A Day

Or Two Since. You, With All Right-Minded men, Surely Desire That No

Injustice Should Be Done To Any One In any Circumstances. Very Great

Injustice Was Done To Young Haldane In your Issue Of To-Day. I Have

Taken Pains To Inform Myself Accurately, And Have Learned that He

Patiently Submitted to A Petty Persecution For A Long Time, And At Last

Gave Way To Natural Anger Under A Provocation Such As No Man Of Spirit

Could Endure. His Tormentor, A Coarse, Ill-Conditioned fellow, Was

Justly Punished, And I Have Discharged him From My Employ. I Have

Nothing To Offer In extenuation Of Young Haldane'S Past Faults, And, If

I Remember Correctly, The Press Of The City Has Always Been Fully As

Severe Upon Him As The Occasion Demanded. If Any Further Space Is Given

To His Fortunes, Justice At Least, Not To Say A Little Encouraging

Kindness, Should Be Accorded to Him, As Well As Severity. It Should Be

Stated that For Weeks He Has Been Trying To Earn An Honest Livelihood,

And In a Situation Peculiarly Trying To Him I Have Been Told That He

Sincerely Wishes To Reform And Live A Cleanly And Decent Life, And I

Have Obtained evidence That Satisfies Me Of The Truth Of This Report. It

Appears To Me That It Is As Mean A Thing For Newspapers To Strike A Man

Who Is Down, But Who Is Endeavoring To Rise Again, As It Is For An

Individual To Do So, And I Am Sure That You Will Not Consciously Permit

Your Journal To Give Any Such Sinister Blow. Respectfully Yours, John

Ivison.

 

 

 

In Editorial Comment Came The Following Brief Remark:

 

 

 

We Gladly Give Mr. Ivison'S Communication A Prominent Place. It Is Not

Our Intention To "Strike" Any One, But Merely To Record Each Day'S

Events As They Come To Us. With The Best Intentions Mistakes Are

Sometimes Made. We Have No Possible Motive For Not Wishing Young Haldane

Well--We Do Wish Him Success In achieving a Better Future Than His Past

Actions Have Led us To Expect. The City Would Be Much Better Off If All

Of His Class Were Equally Ready To Go To Work.

 

 

 

Here At Least Was Some Recognition. The Fact That He Was Working, And

Willing To Work, Had Been Plainly Stated, And This Fact Is An Essential

Foundation-Stone In the Building Up Of A Reputation Which The World Will

Respect.

 

 

 

Although The Discharge Of The Leading Persecutor, And Mr. Ivison'S

Letter, Did Not Add To Haldane'S Popularity At The Mill, They Led to His

Being Severely Let Alone At First, And An Increasingly Frank And Affable

Manner On The Part Of The Young Man, As He Gained in patience And

Serenity, Gradually Disarmed those Who Were Not Vindictive And Blind

From Prejudice.

 

 

 

Poor Mrs. Haldane Seemed destined to Be Her Son'S Evil Genius To The

End. When People Take A False View Of Life There Seems A Fatality In all

Their Actions. The Very Fact That They Are Not In accord With What Is

Right And True Causes The Most Important Steps Of Their Lives To Appear

Ill-Timed, Injudicious, And Unnatural. That They Are Well-Meaning and

Sincere Does Not Help Matters Much, If Both Tact And Sound Principles

Are Wanting. Mrs. Haldane Belonged to The Class That Are Sure That

Everything Is Right Which Seems Right To Them. True, It Was A Queer

Little Jumble Of Religious Prejudices And Conventional Notions That

Combined to Produce Her Conclusions; But When Once They Were Reached, No

Matter How Absurd Or Defective They Appeared to Others, She Had No More

Doubt Of Them Than Of The Copernican System.

 

 

 

Her Motherly Feelings Had Made Her Willing To Take Her Son To Some

Hiding-Place In europe; But Since That Could Not Be, And Perhaps Was Not

Best, She Had Thoroughly Settled it In her Mind That He Should Accept Of

Her Offer And Live At Her Expense The Undemonstrative Life Of An Oyster

In The Social And Moral Ooze Of The Obscurest Mud-Bank He Could Find. In

This Way The Terrible