"Do not be alarmed, Rachel; it shall not hurt thee," said Josiah, still fancying she had seen a snake.
"Oh no, it is dead! and the ground is all b.l.o.o.d.y! and it looks as pale as George did, when they took him out of the pond."
Frightened in his turn, Josiah burst from the hold of the terrified child; and, bidding her sit down on the bank till he returned, the two friends, with faces almost as white as Rachel"s, proceeded to the spot she described.
What language can describe the horror they felt, when, on turning the projection of the lane, they beheld the mangled body of Daniel Simpson, lying dead across the path.
This wretched young man had stayed drinking late at the fair; and, returning home in a taxed cart, in a state of intoxication, the horse took fright, and, turning suddenly down this narrow lane, Simpson lost his balance, and fell out of the cart, with violence to the ground; and, the wheel going over his head, he was killed on the spot.
Thus did this wicked young man come to a deplorable end, on the very night that a twelvemonth before he had so successfully plotted against the peace of the poor Irishman and Josiah Shirley.
George was so dreadfully agitated at this shocking sight, that Josiah could scarcely keep him from fainting; and, calling Rachel, he bade her lead George home, and fetch a.s.sistance from the village, whilst he remained by the body.
Pat Lary, with some working hands, immediately ran to the spot, and, raising the mangled remains of Simpson on a hurdle, they were conveyed to the next house, there to remain till the Coroner"s inquest could be held on the body.
When Josiah returned home, he found George leaning against the window in the parlour, pale and in tears. Knowing his unfortunate a.s.sociation with the deceased, Josiah was not surprised, that the untimely death of this unfortunate young man should deeply affect his friend; and, kindly taking his hand, the amiable boy strove to comfort him.
"George! dear George! pray dry these tears: they really distress me.
Though Simpson merited his death, remember that G.o.d is merciful, and all-sufficient to save."
"Oh, Josiah! I, too, have merited death!" exclaimed the agitated George, burying his face in Shirley"s bosom, and giving way to a fresh burst of grief.
"We are all liable to err, George, and merit death every hour in the day, if it were only for our vile ingrat.i.tude to that great and munificent Being from whom we received the principles of our existence, and upon whose bounty we depend from day to day. We cannot be saved by our own righteousness; did not we read together last night, in the Psalms--That G.o.d did not find one perfect amongst the children of men.
Then dry these unavailing tears, and return thanks to that divine Providence that has saved thee from a similar fate."
George returned no answer to this speech for some minutes, but seemed to be struggling with intense and overpowering feelings; at length, turning toward Josiah, with a face burning with conscious shame, he said--
"Yes, Josiah, G.o.d has indeed called me to a sense of my past wickedness; and I will no longer withhold from you the base cruelty with which I suffered an innocent fellow-creature to bear the disgrace of my own infamous conduct."
Then casting his eyes to the ground, in faltering accents, he continued--
"Josiah, you suspected that poor Irishman of having broken your trees.
The dear, honest creature is innocent. I was the perpetrator, in conjunction with that wretched Simpson."
Josiah started back, whilst the surprise he felt was strongly marked on his countenance.
"Thee, George Hope! Oh, poor Lary, how basely I have injured him."
"Oh, do not--do not say so!" cried George, weeping bitterly. "I only am to blame. Ah, Josiah! dear good Josiah! I fear you will never love me, or call me friend or brother, after this disgraceful disclosure. Yet do forgive me? and I will never act so unworthily again." He would have thrown himself at his feet, but the n.o.ble boy prevented him, by raising him in his arms.
"Indeed, George, I did not suspect thee of such a crime; but I forgive thee, from my very heart. But poor Lary! I cannot pardon myself for having suspected him, without being certain of his guilt; and then the circ.u.mstance of the hatchet being found in the garden, and Rachel"s rabbits being in his son"s possession--how could all that come about?"
"Oh, Josiah!" replied George, "the more I reveal of this dreadful business, the more shocking it will appear; but, as I have commenced the narration, I will continue it to the end."
He then faithfully informed the young Quaker of the whole transaction, not sparing himself at all in the relation. Josiah was shocked and astonished at the depravity of heart, and the depth of dissimulation, that had been shown throughout this disgraceful affair; and, when George finished speaking, he grasped his hand firmly, and said:--
"Bless the hour, George, when the waters ingulfed thee, and the long and lingering illness which bowed down thy exhausted frame, if they were the means of s.n.a.t.c.hing thee from guilt like this."
"And, above all," cried George, pressing Josiah"s hand to his heart, "the kind friend who not only forgave the injuries I had so undeservedly heaped upon his head, but saved my worthless life, at the peril of his own, and, by his unremitting care and advice, has brought me to a full conviction of my past guilt."
"Say no more, George; I have only one request to make, which will sufficiently repay me for all my trouble. Let us go instantly to poor Lary and state the case to him; I cannot be happy till I have asked his pardon for the unjust suspicion which I have attached to his name. I know the honest creature so well that I am sure we shall never have any reason to repent trusting to his generosity."
This George willingly consented to do; and he felt so much happier since he had opened his mind to his friend, that he no longer dreaded the interview with Lary; and, after breakfast, the two friends stepped across to Lary"s cottage.
They found the poor Irishman sitting on the bench before his door, tr.i.m.m.i.n.g some plants to put in "Squire Hope"s garden; and, taking a seat on either side of him, the young gentlemen informed him of the cause of their visit. The Irishman listened to them with surprise and wonder; but, when they proceeded to ask his forgiveness, Pat interrupted them, by saying, "That it was not fit for young gentlemen like them to ask pardon of a poor fellow, such as the likes of Pat Lary; and that he forgave them from his very soul; and as to the poor lad that"s gone, he has been punished enough, Heaven knows; Pat Lary bears no malice against him."
"But, Patrick, why did not thee boldly deny the charge I brought against thee?" said Josiah.
"Why, your honour, I was not sober, and I thought I might have done it,"
replied honest Pat; "besides, was there not my hatchet staring me in the face, as much as to say, "Pat Lary, you know you did it?" Would it have been right, Master Shirley, to have denied my own? However, I always thought one day I should find out I did not do it."
This speech would have upset the young gentlemen"s gravity at another time: and Josiah could scarcely forbear smiling, as Pat continued--
"And since you gave me that good advice, Master Shirley, I have never been intoxicated since; and, now I have seen the shocking end of that poor lad, I think I shall never give way to strong drink again."
"In truth, friend," said Josiah, shaking hands with him, "if thou hadst been soberly inclined, Simpson never dare have taken thy tools, and I never had suspected thee."
They then made the poor gardener a handsome present, and returned home.
When once this painful load was removed from George Hope"s mind, he rapidly improved in health and spirits; and, before the midsummer vacation commenced, Mr. Carter proclaimed him sufficiently recovered to return to school.
The young friends parted mutually attached to each other; and, on leaving the house of the good Quakers, George grasped Josiah firmly by the hand, and said--
"Accept, my dear Josiah, my boundless grat.i.tude and affection. You have taught me a lesson I never shall forget during the remainder of a life I owe to your care,--that moral virtues are confined to no rank or station in life; that such exist among every cla.s.s and sect of people; and that the greatest of all weaknesses is that of despising any one because he may differ in opinion from ourselves.
"For your sake, I will never judge any one before I have gained a thorough knowledge of his character; and, whatever my prejudices may have been, I frankly own, that to the day of my death I shall have reason to bless the name of a Quaker."
THE END.
INSTRUCTIVE TOY-BOOKS,
1. Christian Alphabet; ill.u.s.trative of the New Testament.
2. Scripture Alphabet; ill.u.s.trative of the Holy Bible.
3. Ladder to Learning; or, Sure Road to Wealth.
4. Royal Alphabet; or, the History of an Apple Pie.
5. Pretty Alphabet; or, Path to Learning strewed with Flowers.
6. Peac.o.c.k"s Alphabet; or, Birds taught their Letters.