"What does it say?" asked he, deeply impressed by the sad and solemn tones of the little angel.
""Forgive your enemies," Harry."
"Forgive Ben Smart, after he has almost killed me?" Julia took up the Bible, which lay on the table by the bedside--it was the one she had given him--and read several pa.s.sages upon the topic she had introduced.
Harry was ashamed of himself. The gentle rebuke she administered touched his soul, and he thought how peevish and ill-natured he had been.
"You have been badly hurt, Harry, and you are very sick. Now, let me ask you one question: Which would you rather be, Harry West, sick as you are, or Ben Smart, who struck the blow?"
"I had rather be myself," replied he, promptly.
"You ought to be glad that you are Harry West, instead of Ben Smart.
Sick as you are, I am sure you are a great deal happier than he can be, even if he is not punished for striking you."
"You are right, Julia. I have been very wicked. Here I have been grumbling and growling all the time for four days. I have learned better. It is lucky for me that I am Harry, instead of Ben."
"I am sure I have been a great deal better since I was sick than before. When I lay on the bed, hardly able to move, I kept thinking all the time; and my thoughts did me a great deal of good."
Harry had learned his lesson, and Julia"s presence was indeed an angel"s visit. For an hour longer she sat by his bed, and her words were full of inspiration; and when her father called for her he could hardly repress a tear as she bade him good night.
After she had gone Harry begged Mrs. Flint and Katy to forgive him for being so cross, promising to be patient in the future. And he kept his promise. The next day Julia came again. She read to him, conversed with him about the scenes of the preceding autumn in the woods, and told him again about her own illness. In the afternoon she bade him a final adieu, as she was to return that day to her home.
The patience and resignation which he had learned gave a favorable turn to his sickness, and he began to improve. It was a month, however, before he was able to take his place in the store again.
Without the a.s.sistance of Julia, perhaps, he had not learned the moral of sickness so well. As it was, he came forth from his chamber with truer and loftier motives, and with a more earnest desire to lead the true life.
Ben Smart had been arrested; and, shortly after his recovery, Harry was summoned as a witness at his trial. It was a plain case, and Ben was sent to the house of correction for a long term.
CHAPTER XX
IN WHICH HARRY Pa.s.sES THROUGH HIS SEVEREST TRIAL, AND ACHIEVES HIS GREATEST TRIUMPH
Three years may appear to be a great while to the little pilgrim through life"s vicissitudes; but they soon pa.s.s away and are as "a tale that is told." To note all the events of Harry"s experience through this period would require another volume; therefore I can only tell the reader what he was, and what results he had achieved in that time. It was filled with trials and temptations, not all of which were overcome without care and privation. Often he failed, was often disappointed, and often was pained to see how feebly the Spirit warred against the Flesh.
He loved money, and avarice frequently prompted him to do those things which would have wrecked his bright hopes. That vision of the grandeur and influence of the rich man"s position sometimes deluded him, causing him to forget at times that the soul would live forever, while the body and its treasures would perish in the grave. As he grew older, he reasoned more; his principles became more firmly fixed; and the object of existence a.s.sumed a more definite character. He was an attentive student, and every year not only made him wiser, but better.
I do not mean to say that Harry was a remarkably good boy, that his character was perfect, or anything of the kind. He meant well, and tried to do well, and he did not struggle in vain against the trials and temptations that beset him. I dare say those with whom he a.s.sociated did not consider him much better than themselves. It is true, he did not swear, did not frequent the haunts of vice and dissipation, did not spend his Sundays riding about the country; yet he had his faults, and captious people did not fail to see them.
He was still with Wake & Wade, though he was a salesman now, on a salary of five dollars a week. He still boarded with Mrs. Flint, though Edward was no longer his room-mate. A year had been sufficient to disgust his "fast" companion with the homely fare and homely quarters of his father"s house; and, as his salary was now eight dollars a week, he occupied a room in the attic of a first-cla.s.s hotel.
Harry was sixteen years old, and he had three hundred dollars in the Savings Bank. He might have had more if he had not so carefully watched and guarded against the sin of avarice. He gave some very handsome sums to the various public charities, as well as expended them in relieving distress wherever it presented itself. It is true, it was sometimes very hard work to give of his earnings to relieve the poor; and if he had acted in conformity with the nature he had inherited, he might never have known that it was "more blessed to give than to receive." As he grew older, and the worth of money was more apparent, he was tempted to let the poor and the unfortunate take care of themselves; but the struggle of duty with parsimony rendered his gifts all the more worthy.
Joe Flint had several times violated his solemn resolution to drink no more ardent spirits; but Harry, who was his friend and confidant, encouraged him, when he failed, to try again; and it was now nearly a year since he had been on a "spree."
Our hero occasionally heard from Rockville; and a few months before the event we are about to narrate he had spent the pleasantest week of his life with Julia Bryant, amid those scenes which were so full of interest to both of them. As he walked through the woods where he had first met the "little angel"--she had now grown to be a tall girl--he could not but recall the events of that meeting. It was there that he first began to live, in the true sense of the word. It was there that he had been born into a new sphere of moral existence.
Julia was still his friend, still his guiding star. Though the freedom of childish intimacy had been diminished, the same heart resided in each, and each felt the same interest in the other. The correspondence between them had been almost wholly suspended, perhaps by the interference of the "powers" at Rockville, and perhaps by the growing sense of the "fitness of things" in the parties. But they occasionally met, which amply compensated for the deprivations which propriety demanded.
But I must pa.s.s on to the closing event of my story--it was Harry"s severest trial, yet it resulted in his most signal triumph.
Edward Flint was always short of money. He lived extravagantly, and his increased salary was insufficient to meet his wants. When Harry saw him drive a fast horse through the streets on Sundays, and heard him say how often he went to the theatre, what b.a.l.l.s and parties he attended--when he observed how elegantly he dressed, and that he wore a gold chain, a costly breastpin and several rings--he did not wonder that he was "short." He lived like a prince, and it seemed as though eight dollars a week would be but a drop in the bucket in meeting his expenses.
One day, in his extremity, he applied to Harry for the loan of five dollars. Our hero did not like to encourage his extravagance, but he was good-natured, and could not well avoid doing the favor, especially as Edward wanted the money to pay his board. However, he made it the occasion for a friendly remonstrance, and gave the spendthrift youth some excellent advice. Edward was vexed at the lecture; but, as he obtained the loan, he did not resent the kindly act.
About a fortnight after, Edward paid him the money. It consisted of a two-dollar bill and six half dollars. Harry was about to make a further application of his views of duty to his friend"s case, when Edward impatiently interrupted him, telling him that, as he had got his money, he need not preach. This was just before Harry went home to dinner.
On his return Mr. Wake called him into the private office, and when they had entered he closed and locked the door. Harry regarded this as rather a singular proceeding; but, possessing the entire confidence of his employers, it gave him no uneasiness.
"Harry," Mr. Wake began, "we have been losing money from the store for the last year or more. I have missed small sums a great many times."
"Indeed!" exclaimed Harry, not knowing whether he was regarded as a confidant or as the suspected person.
"To-day I gave a friend of mine several marked coins, with which he purchased some goods. These coins have all been stolen."
"Is it possible, sir!"
"Now, we have four salesmen besides yourself. Which stole it?"
"I can form no idea, sir," returned Harry. "I can only speak for myself."
"Oh, well, I had no suspicion it was you," added Mr. Wade, with a smile. "I am going to try the same experiment again; and I want you to keep your eyes on the money drawer all the rest of the afternoon."
"I will do so, sir."
Mr. Wade took several silver coins from his pocket and scratched them in such a way that they could be readily identified, and then dismissed Harry, with the injunction to be very vigilant.
When he came out of the office he perceived that Edward and Charles Wallis were in close conversation.
"I say, Harry, what"s in the wind?" asked the former, as our hero returned to his position behind the counter.
Harry evaded answering the question, and the other two salesmen, who were very intimate and whose tastes and amus.e.m.e.nts were very much alike, continued their conversation. They were evidently aware that something unusual had occurred, or was about to occur.
Soon after, a person appeared at the counter and purchased a dozen spools of cotton, offering two half dollars in payment. Harry kept his eye upon the money drawer, but nothing was discovered. From what he knew of Edward"s mode of life, he was prepared to believe that he was the guilty person.
The experiment was tried for three days in succession before any result was obtained. The coins were always found in the drawer; but on the fourth day, when they were very busy, and there was a great deal of money in the drawer, Harry distinctly observed Edward, while making change, take several coins from the till. The act appalled him; he forgot the customer to whose wants he was attending, and hastened to inform Mr. Wake of the discovery.
"Where are you going, Harry?" asked Edward, as he pa.s.sed him.
"Only to the office," replied he; and his appearance and manner might have attracted the attention of any skillful rogue.
"Come, Harry, don"t leave your place," added Edward, playfully grasping him by the collar, on his return.
"Don"t stop to fool, Edward," answered Harry, as he shook him off and took his place at the counter again.
He was very absent-minded the rest of the forenoon, and his frame shook with agitation as he heard Mr. Wake call Edward shortly after.
But he trembled still more when he was summoned also, for it was very unpleasant business.