What was his duty here at home in respect of his wife and the girl he had brought up as their daughter? He endeavored to thrust the reflection aside, and drew forth some papers which bore reference to the charities and to another matter of great public, importance which had occupied him for weeks past, and which he was on the point of bringing to a successful conclusion.
He strove now to concentrate his attention upon the papers, for he was to attend a late night meeting at eleven o'clock at which a decision was to be arrived at which was to affect thousands of poor families.
There had been a great strike in the building trade, and vast numbers of men had voluntarily thrown themselves out of employment, and had chosen what was almost next door to starvation in their adherence to a principle. The strike had been brought about chiefly by Aaron's great rival contractor, a Mr. Poynter, an employer of labor on a gigantic scale, and a man as well known as Aaron himself.
To say that these two were rivals does not necessarily imply that they were enemies, for that is a game that two must play at, and it was a game in which Aaron played no part. He did not approve of Mr. Poynter's methods--he went no farther than that.
On the other hand, Mr. Poynter hated Aaron with a very sincere and conscientious hate. He hated him because he had lost several profitable contracts which Aaron had obtained, and this hatred may be applied in a general sense because he hated every successful rival, great or small.
He hated him because Aaron was genuinely respected by large bodies of workingmen, and had great influence with them; and this hatred may also be applied in a general sense, because he hated all employers of labor who were held by their workmen in higher respect than himself.
He hated Aaron because he was a Jew, and this may certainly be applied in a general sense, because he had a bitter hatred of all Jews, and would have willingly subscribed liberally and joined in a crusade to hunt them out of the country.
That a Jew could be a good man, that he could be a just
man, that he could do anything without an eye to profit or
self-aggrandizement--these were monstrous propositions, and no man of sense, certainly no true Christian, could seriously entertain them. Mr. Poynter was a Christian, a true Christian, regular in his attendances at church and fairly liberal also in his charities, though his left hand always knew what his right hand did. And here he found another cause for hating Aaron.
He heard his name quoted as a man of large benevolence, and he went so far as to declare that Aaron's charities were a means to an end.
"He looks upon them as an investment," he said; "they bring him a good return. Did you ever know a Jew part with money without an eye to the main chance?"