A KNIGHT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY by Edward Payson Roe (world of reading .txt) 📖

Make Every Effort Of Which We Ourselves Are Capable; But This Is Only

Half Our Duty. Since Our Tasks Are Beyond Our Strength And Ability, We

Are Equally Bound To Receive Such Human Aid As God Sends Us, And, Chief

Of All, To Ask Daily, And Sometimes Hourly, That His Strength Be Made

Perfect In our Weakness. But There Are Some Lessons Which Are Only

Learned by Experience. I Shall Feel Deeply Grieved if You Do Not Come Or

Send For Me In any Emergency Or Time Of Special Need. In parting, I Have

One Favor To Ask, And I Think I Have A Right To Ask It. I Wish You To Go

And See Your Mother, And Spend At Least An Hour With Her Before She

Returns Home. As A Matter Of Manly Duty, Be Kind And Gentle. Remember

How Deeply You Have Wounded her, And That You Are Under The Most Sacred

Obligations To Endure Patiently All Reproaches And Expressions Of Grief.

If You Will Do This You Will Do Much To Regain My Respect, And It Will

Be A Most Excellent Step Toward A Better Life. You Can Gain Society'S

Respect Again Only By Doing Your Duty, And Nothing Can Be Duty More

Plainly Than This."

 

 

 

After A Moment'S Hesitation He Said, "I Do Not Think An Interview With

Mother Now Will Do Either Of Us Any Good; But, As You Say, You Have A

Right To Ask This, And Much More, Of Me. I Will Go To Her Hotel And Do

The Best I Can; But Somehow Mother Don'T Understand Human Nature--Or, At

Least, My Nature--And When I Have Been Doing Wrong She Always Makes Me

Feel Like Doing Worse."

 

 

 

"If You Are To Succeed in your Endeavor You Are Not To Act As You Feel.

_You Are To Do Right._ Remember That In your Effort To Win The Position

You Wish In this City, You Start With At Least One Friend To Whom You

Can Always Come. Good-By," And Mrs. Arnot Returned home Weary And Sad

From The Day'S Unforeseen Experiences.

 

 

 

In Answer To Laura'S Eager Questioning, She Related what Had Happened

Quite Fully, Veiling Only That Which A Delicate Regard For Others Would

Lead Her To Pass In silence. She Made The Young Girl Womanly By Treating

Her More As A Woman And A Companion Than As A Child. In mrs. Arnot'S

Estimation Her Niece Had Reached an Age When Her Innocence And

Simplicity Could Not Be Maintained by Efforts To Keep Her Shallow And

Ignorant, But By Revealing To Her Life In its Reality, So That She Might

Wisely And Gladly Choose The Good From Its Happy Contrast With Evil And

Its Inevitable Suffering.

 

 

 

The Innocence That Walks Blindly On Amid Earth'S Snares And Pitfalls Is

An Uncertain Possession; The Innocence That Recognizes Evil, But Turns

From It With Dread And Aversion, Is Priceless.

 

 

 

Mrs. Arnot Told Laura The Story Of The Young Man'S Folly Substantially

As He Had Related it To Her, But She Skilfully Showed how One

Comparatively Venial Thing Had Led to Another, Until An Act Had Been

Committed which Might Have Resulted in years Of Imprisonment.

 

 

 

"Let This Sad And Miserable Affair Teach You," Said She, "That We Are

Never Safe When We Commence To Do Wrong Or Act Foolishly. We Can Never

Tell To What Disastrous Lengths We May Go When We Leave The Path Of

Simple Duty."

 

 

 

While She Mentioned haldane'S Resolution To Regain, If Possible, His

Good Name And Position, She Skilfully Removed from The Maiden'S Mind All

Romantic Notions Concerning The Young Man And Her Relation To His

Conduct.

 

 

 

Laura'S Romantic Nature Would Always Be A Source Both Of Strength And

Weakness. While, On The One Hand, It Rendered her Incapable Of A Sordid

And Calculating Scheme Of Life, On The Other, It Might Lead To Feeling

And Action Prejudicial To Her Happiness. Mrs. Arnot Did Not Intend That

She Should Brood Over Haldane Until Her Vivid Imagination Should Weave A

Net Out Of His Misfortunes Which Might Insnare Her Heart. It Was Best

For Laura That She Should Receive Her Explanations Of Life In very Plain

Prose, And The Picture That Her Aunt Presented of Haldane And His

Prospects Was Prosaic Indeed. He Was Shown To Be But An Ordinary Young

Man, With More Than Ordinarily Bad Tendencies. While She Commended his

Effort In itself, She Plainly Stated how Wanting It Was In the True

Elements Of Success, And How Great Were Her Fears That It Would Meet

With Utter Failure. Thus The Affair Ended, As Far As Laura Was

Concerned, In a Sincere Pity For Her Premature Lover, And A Mild And

Natural Interest In his Future Welfare--But Nothing More.

 

 

 

Mr. Arnot Uttered an Imprecation On Learning That His Wife Had Gone

Security For Haldane. But When He Found That She Had Acted through Mr.

Melville, In such A Way That The Fact Need not Become Known, He

Concluded to Remain Silent Concerning The Matter. He And His Wife Met At

The Dinner-Table That Evening as If Nothing Unusual Had Occurred, Both

Having Concluded to Ignore All That Had Transpired, If Possible. Mrs.

Arnot Saw That Her Husband Had Only Acted characteristically, And, From

His Point Of View, Correctly. Perhaps His Recent Experience Would

Prevent Him From Being Unduly Harsh Again Should There Ever Be Similar

Cause, Which Was Quite Improbable. Since It Appeared that She Could

Minister To His Happiness In no Other Way Save Through Her Property, She

Decided to Leave Him The One Meagre Gratification Of Which He Was

Capable.

 

 

 

The Future In its General Aspects May Here Be Anticipated by Briefly

Stating That The Echoes Of The Affair Gradually Died away. Mr. Arnot, On

The Receipt Of A Check For One Thousand Dollars From Mrs. Haldane'S

Lawyer, Was Glad To Procure Mr. Melville'S Release From The Bond For

Which His Wife Was Pledged, By Assuring The Legal Authorities That He

Would Not Prosecute. The Superior Young Man, Who Made Free Drinks The

Ambition Of His Life, Had Kept Himself Well Informed, And On Learning Of

The Order For His Arrest Left Town Temporarily For Parts Unknown. The

Papers Made The Most Of The Sensation, To The Disgust Of All Concerned,

But Reference To The Affair Soon Dwindled down To An Occasional

Paragraph. The City Press Concluded editorially That The Great

Manufacturer Had Been Harsh Only Seemingly, For The Sake Of Effect, And

With The Understanding That His Wife Would Show A Little Balancing

Kindness To The Culprit And His Aristocratic Mother. That Haldane Should

Still Remain In the City Was Explained on The Ground That He Was Ashamed

To Go Home, Or That He Was Not Wanted there.

 

Chapter XVII (At Odds With The World)

Haldane Kept His Promise To Spend An Hour With His Mother. While He Told

Her The Truth Concerning His Folly, He Naturally Tried to Place His

Action In the Best Light Possible. After Inducing Her To Take Some

Slight Refreshment, He Obtained a Close Carriage, And Saw Her Safely On

The Train Which Would Convey Her To The City Wherein She Resided. During

The Interview She Grew Much More Composed, And Quite Remorseful That She

Had Not Shown Greater Consideration For Her Son'S Feelings, And She

Urged and Even Entreated him To Return Home With Her. He Remained firm,

However, In his Resolution, And Would Receive From Her Only A Very Small

Sum Of Money, Barely Enough To Sustain Him Until He Could Look Around

For Employment.

 

 

 

His Mother Shared mrs. Arnot'S Distrust, Greatly Doubting The Issue Of

His Large Hopes And Vague Plans; But She Could Only Assure Him That Her

Home, To Which She Returned crushed and Disconsolate, Was Also His.

 

 

 

But He Felt That Return Was Impossible. He Would Rather Wander To The

Ends Of The Earth Than Shut Himself Up With His Mother And Sisters, For

He Foresaw That Their Daily Moans And Repinings Would Be Daily Torture.

It Would Be Even Worse To Appear Among His Old Acquaintances And

Companions, And Be Taunted with The Fact That His First Venture From

Home Ended in a Common Jail. The Plan Of Drifting away To Parts Unknown,

And Of Partially Losing His Identity By Changing His Name, Made A Cold,

Dreary Impression Upon Him, Like The Thought Of Annihilation, And Thus

His Purpose Of Remaining In hillaton, And Winning Victory On The Very

Ground Of His Defeat, Grew More Satisfactory.

 

 

 

But He Soon Began To Learn How Serious, How Disheartening, Is The

Condition Of One Who Finds Society Arrayed against Him.

 

 

 

It Is The Fashion To Inveigh Against The "Cold And Pitiless World"; But

The World Has Often Much Excuse For Maintaining This Character. As

Society Is Now Constituted, The Consequences Of Wrong-Doing are Usually

Terrible And Greatly To Be Dreaded; And All Who Have Unhealthful

Cravings For Forbidden Things Should Be Made To Realize This. Society

Very Naturally Treats Harshly Those Who Permit Their Pleasures And

Passions To Endanger Its Very Existence. People Who Have Toilsomely And

Patiently Erected their Homes And Placed therein Their Treasures Do Not

Tolerate With Much Equanimity Those Who Appear To Have No Other Calling

Than That Of Recklessly Playing With Fire. The Well-To-Do, Conservative

World Has No Inclination To Make Things Pleasant For Those Who Propose

To Gratify Themselves At Any And Every Cost; And If The Culprit Pleads,

"I Did Not Realize--I Meant No Great Harm," The Retort Comes Back, "But

You Do The Harm; You Endanger Everything. If You Have Not Sense Or

Principle Enough To Act Wisely And Well, Do Not Expect Us To Risk Our

Fortunes With Either Fools Or Knaves." And The Man Or The Woman Who Has

Preferred pleasure Or Passing Gratification Or Transient Advantage To

That Priceless Possession, A Good Name, Has Little Ground For Complaint.

If Society Readily Condoned those Grave Offences Which Threaten Chaos,

Thousands Who Are Now Restrained by Salutary Fear Would Act Out

Disastrously The Evil Lurking In their Hearts. As Long As The Instinct

Of Self-Preservation Remains, The World Will Seem Cold And Pitiless.

 

 

 

But It Often Is So To A Degree That Cannot Be Too Severely Condemned.

The World Is The Most Soulless Of All Corporations. In dealing With The

Criminal Or Unfortunate Classes It Generalizes To Such An Extent That

Exceptional Cases Have Little Chance Of A Special Hearing. If By Any

Means, However, Such A Hearing Can Be Obtained, The World Is Usually

Just, And Often Quite Generous. But In the Main It Says To All: "Keep

Your Proper Places In the Ranks. If You Fall Out, We Must Leave You

Behind; If You Make Trouble, We Must Abate You As A Nuisance." This

Certainty Has The Effect Of Keeping Many In their Places Who Otherwise

Would Drop Out And Make Trouble, And Is, So Far, Wholesome. And Yet, In

Spite Of This Warning Truth, The Wayside Of Life Is Lined with Those

Who, For Some Reason, Have Become Disabled and Have Fallen Out Of Their

Places; And Miserably Would Many Of Them Perish Did Not The Spirit Of

Him Who Came "To Seek And Save The Lost" Animate True Followers Like

Mrs. Arnot, Leading Them Likewise To Go Out After The Lame, The Wounded,

And The Morally Leprous.

 

 

 

Haldane Was Sorely Wounded, But He Chose To Make His Appeal Wholly To

The World. Ignoring Heaven, And Those On Earth Representing Heaven'S

Forgiving and Saving Mercy, He Went Out Alone, In the Spirit Of Pride

And Self-Confidence, To Deal With Those Who Would Meet Him Solely On The

Ground Of Self-Interest. How This Law Works Against Such As Have Shown

Themselves Unworthy Of Trust, He At Once Began To Receive Abundant

Proof.

 

 

 

He Returned to The Hotel Whence He Had Just Taken His Mother, But The

Proprietor Declined to Give Him Lodgings. It Was A House That Cherished

Its Character For Quietness And Eminent Respectability, And A Young

Gambler And Embezzler Just Out Of Prison Would Prove An Ill-Omened

Guest. On Receiving a Cold And Peremptory Refusal To His Application,

And In the Presence Of Several Others, Haldane Stalked haughtily Away;

But There Was Misgiving and Faintness At His Heart. Such A Public Rebuff

Was A New And Strange Experience.

 

 

 

With Set Teeth And Lips Compressed he Next Resolved