"He had a constant fight against sin, I dare say," observed Walter, "but as for the work of which his mother had spoken, I think that he must have left that alone altogether: how could he look after the souls of other people; he had enough to do to take care of his own."
"Oh! You will hear—you will hear," whispered Nelly.
"In the first place," said Viner, "he prayed for others, especially for his master and companion; he asked that God's kingdom might come in their hearts. Such prayers are never in vain, for even if the petition be not granted, the Lord returns it in blessings into the bosom of him who offers it in charity and faith. But my father did not content himself with this. He found out in a street, not very far from his shop, a woman who had once been known to his mother. She had married and fallen into great poverty, and was now living in wretchedness in a small garret, with three children who were dependent upon her. My father had no money to bestow, but he did what he could: he found the family in a state of ignorance, and dirt, almost degraded to the level of the beasts that perish; he roused the mother to exertion by his words; he offered a weekly visit to read the Bible to her, for she was unable herself to read; he undertook on Sundays to teach her young children, looking upon the poor ignorant little ones as lambs whom the Lord had appointed him to feed."
"At first he met with little gratitude, and even some opposition, and the task of teaching, which was new to him, seemed intolerably irksome; much would he have preferred a walk on the bright Sabbath evenings to passing them in that close garret with noisy children. But difficulties gradually were smoothed away before him; even the woman herself became his pupil, children of other lodgers joined his little flock, and gladly shared his instructions; and as my father looked round upon this infant ragged school, he felt how great was the honour, how deep the joy of being permitted thus to labour for the spread of God's kingdom of grace."
"But while he quietly pursued this Christian work, my father had also to endure the Christian fight, and to try the strength of his principles upon an occasion that sorely tested his faith. One day, when he was serving behind the counter, his master overheard him, in reply to a question from a customer, frankly own that he did not believe that the colours of a print which he was showing would bear washing. The presence of the lady prevented anything at the moment but an angry look from the master, but when she had quitted the shop without purchasing anything, the torrent of his anger burst forth. My father had to submit to hear himself called a blockhead and a fool, and submitted in silence; for he thought of his widowed mother, the difficulty which she had in procuring for him this place, and the distress which she would feel if she lost it. But when his master, having exhausted his rage, began to give him a lesson in the ways of the world which went directly against conscience and religion, when he was ordered to be ready to utter a falsehood whenever that falsehood might serve his employer, my father felt that the time had come for him to make a stand, and risk anything rather than his soul."
"'I can only speak what is true,' he said modestly but firmly; how difficult he found it to utter that short sentence, but how thankful was he when he had done so!"
"'You must obey what I order, or march out of my shop!' exclaimed the master, his face reddening with passion."
"It was a great relief to my father that customers entering at the moment broke short the conversation; and he was truly glad that he was able, before they left, without having swerved in the least from truth, to make a considerable addition to the money in the till. It seemed as though Providence were helping him through the difficulties which he had boldly faced in obedience to duty."
"And did he always keep firm?" asked Walter.
"Always; he never even gave an equivocal answer."