"Yes--that is, undoubtedly, the case."
"But, is it possible for money to give peace and true enjoyment, if, in the spirit, even though not in the letter, violence is done to the laws of both G.o.d and man? Can ill-gotten gain produce heavenly beat.i.tudes?--and there are none others. The heart never grows truly warm and joyous except when light from above streams through the darkened vapours with which earth-fires have surrounded it. Oh, my husband! Turn yourself away from this world"s false allurements, and seek with me the true riches. Whatever may be your lot in life--I care not how poor and humble--I shall walk erect and cheerful by your side if you have been able to keep a conscience void of offence; but if this be not so, and you bring to me gold and treasure without stint, my head will lie bowed upon my bosom, and my heart throb in low, grief-burdened pulsations. False lights, believe me, Edward, are hung out by the world, and they lure life"s mariner on to dangerous coasts.
Let us remain on a smooth and sunny sea, while we can, and not tempt the troubled and uncertain wave, unless duty requires the venture.
Then, with virtue at the helm, and the light of G.o.d"s love in the sky, we will find a sure haven at last."
"It shall be as you wish, Edith," said Claire, as he gazed with admiring affection into the bright and glowing face of his wife, that was lovely in her beautiful enthusiasm.
"No--no, Edward! Don"t say as _I_ wish," was her quick reply. "I cannot bear that you should act merely under my influence as an external pressure. If I have seemed to use persuasion, it has not been to force you over to my way of thinking. But, cannot you see that I am right? Does not your reason approve of what I say?"
"It does, Edith. I can see, as well as feel, that you are right. But, the offer of a present good is a strong temptation. I speak freely."
"And I thank you for doing so. Oh! never conceal from me your inmost thoughts. You say that you can see as well as feel that I am right?"
"Yes; I freely acknowledge that."
"Your reason approves what I have said?"
"Fully."
"This tells you that it will be better for you in the end to accept of four hundred dollars from Mr. Melleville, than to remain with Mr.
Jasper at six hundred and fifty?"
"It does, Edith."
"Then, my husband, let the reason which G.o.d has given to you as a guide, direct you now in the right way. Do not act under influence from me--for then the act will not be freely your own--but, as a truly rational, and, therefore, a wise man, choose now the way in which an enlightened reason tells you that you ought to walk."
"I have chosen, Edith," was the young man"s low, but firm reply.
"How?" The wife spoke with a sudden, trembling eagerness, and held her breath for an answer.
"I will leave my present place, and return to Mr. Melleville."
"G.o.d be thanked!" came sobbing from the lips of Edith, as she threw herself in unrestrained joy upon the bosom of her husband.
CHAPTER VIII.
"I don"t just understand this," said Jasper to himself, after the interview with his clerk described in another chapter. "I thought him perfectly satisfied. He didn"t say he was offered a higher salary. Ah!
guess I"ve got it now. It"s only a bit of a ruse on his part to get me to increase his wages. I didn"t think of this before. Well, it has succeeded; and, in truth, he"s worth all I"ve offered him. Shrewd, quick, and sharp; he"s a young man just to my mind. Should he grow restless again, I must tempt him with the idea of a partnership at some future period. If business goes on increasing, I shall want some one with me whom I can trust and depend on more fully than on a clerk."
Thus, in the mind of Jasper, all was settled; and he was fully prepared, on the next morning, when he met Edward to hear from him that he would remain in his service. A different decision took him altogether by surprise.
"Where are you going?" he asked. Edward hesitated a moment ere replying.
"Back to Mr. Melleville"s."
"To Melleville"s! Will he give you more salary than I have agreed to pay?"
"No," was the answer; "but I have reasons for wishing to accept the place he offers me."
"Well, just as you please," said Jasper, coldly. "Every one must suit himself."
And, with the air of a person offended, he turned himself from the young man. Soon after he went out, and did not come back for two or three hours. When he re-entered the store there was an angry flash in his eyes, which rested somewhat sternly upon Claire.
"Let me say a word with you, Edward."
There happened to be no customer in to engage the clerk"s attention, and he retired, with his employer, to the back part of the store.
Jasper then turned and confronted him with a stern aspect.
"Well, young man!" said he sharply, "it seems that you have been making rather free with my good name, of late; representing me as a cheat and a swindler."
For a few moments the mind of Claire was strongly excited and in a perfect maze of confusion. The blood mounted to his face, and he felt a rising and choking sensation in his throat. Wisely he forbore any answer until he had regained his self-possession. Then, with a coolness that surprised even himself, he said--
"That"s a broad accusation, Mr. Jasper. Will you go with me to your authority?"
Jasper was not just prepared for a response like this; and he cooled down, instantly, several degrees.
"My authority is quite satisfactory," he returned, still manifesting angry feeling. "That you have been slandering me is plain; and, also, betraying the confidential transactions of the house. It is full time we parted--full time. I didn"t dream that I was warming an adder to sting me?"
"I must insist, Mr. Jasper," said Claire firmly, "that you give me your authority for all this. Let me stand face to face with the man who has so broadly accused me."
"Then you deny it all?"
"I shall neither affirm nor deny any thing. You have angrily accused me of having done you a great wrong. All I ask is your authority, and the right to stand face to face with that authority. This is no light matter, Mr. Jasper."
"Well said, young man. It is no light matter, as you will, perhaps, know to your sorrow in the end. Don"t suppose, for a moment, that I shall either forget or forgive this outrage. Leave me because I cheat in my business!" An expression of unmitigated contempt was on his face. "Poh! What hypocrisy! I know you! And let Mr. Melleville beware.
He, I more than suspect, is at the bottom of this. But he"ll rue the day he crossed my path--he will!"
And Jasper ground his teeth in anger.
By this time, Claire had become entirely self-possessed. He was both surprised and troubled; yet concealed, as far as possible, the real state of his feelings.
"So far as Mr. Melleville is concerned," said he, "I wish you to understand, that I applied to _him_ for the situation."
"Exactly! That is in agreement with what I heard. I was such a rogue that you could not live with me and keep a clear conscience--so you sought for a place with an honest man."
Claire dropped his eyes to the floor, and stood musing for some considerable time. When he raised them, he looked steadily at his employer and said--
"Mr. Jasper, I never made use of the words you have repeated."
"If not the very words, those of a like signification?"
"To whom? There is no need of concealment, Mr. Jasper." Claire was feeling less and less anxious for the result of this conference every moment. "Speak out freely, and you will find me ready to do the same. There had been some underhand work here--or some betrayal of an ill-advised confidence. The former, I am most ready to believe. In a word, sir, and to bring this at once to an issue--your informant in this matter is Henry Parker, who lives with Mr. Melleville."
The change instantly perceptible in the manner of Jasper showed that Edward"s suspicion was right. He had, all at once, remembered that, during his conversation with Melleville, this young man was near.