“Thank you, sir,” said “Cobbler” Horn, “I’m sure you will. You have heard of the sudden and unexpected——”
“To be sure!” broke in the minister, leaping to his feet, and grasping his visitor’s hand, “Pardon me; I quite forgot. Let me congratulate you. Of course it’s true?”
“Yes, sir, thank you; it’s true—too true, I’m afraid.”
Mr. Durnford laughed.
“How if I were to commiserate you, then?” he said.
“No, sir,” said “Cobbler” Horn gravely, “not that either. It’s the Lord’s will after all; and it’s a great joy to me to be able to do so much that I have long wished to do. It’s the responsibility that I feel.”
“Very good,” replied the minister; “such joy is the purest pleasure wealth can give. But the responsibility of such a position as yours, is, no doubt, as you say, very great.”
“Yes, sir; I feel that I hold all this wealth in trust from God; and I want to be a faithful steward. I am resolved to use my Lord’s money exactly as I believe He desires that I should—in fact as He Himself would use it, if He were in my place.”
“Excellent, Mr. Horn!” exclaimed the minister; “you have spoken like a Christian.”
“Thank you, sir. But there’s another thing; it seems so dreadful that one man should have so much money. Do you know, sir, I’m almost a millionaire?”