Many times did the work drop from the weary fingers of the sick girl, while her frame shook with the spasmodic cough which seized upon her, until at length this kind of work had to be laid aside, and our young friend was obliged to remain idle altogether. In a very short time, every penny of the carefully-saved, hard-earned little store of means was exhausted, and cold and hunger settled upon the little household. It was at this time that the dispensary physician, Dr. Jones, determined to see Mr. Aiken in behalf of his patients.
The doctor found Mr. Aiken alone in his office, and made his errand known at once. He, the kind physician, related the fallen fortunes and present misery of Mr. Morrow, and his brave daughter Katy, to the stern-eyed man of wealth, who listened to the recital in silence. When he had concluded his story, he said, after waiting a moment in vain for word or comment from the millionaire: “And, so, Mr. Aiken, I have come to see what you can do for this man who met with the injury that has made him a hopeless, helpless invalid while in your employ.”
“I do not see that I am called upon to do anything,” responded the man of means; “the rule of the corporation is to pay all expenses of an injured employee for ten weeks after the accident. This rule has been complied with in Mr. Morrow’s case, I believe.”
“But, Mr. Aiken,” interrupted Dr. Jones, “consider the circumstances of this peculiar case, for only a moment, and I am sure your sense of justice will prompt you to do something more for this unfortunate man. He was a steady, faithful, and conscientious workman, always at his post, ever discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. Through no fault of his own, an explosion occurred, depriving this man of the use of his limbs, and rendering him an invalid for life. True, the corporation paid his expenses for a time, but health did not return to him, and when that supply ceased, his daughter, a young girl, nurse, companion, and housekeeper in one, entered the mill, and labored early and late until her health gave way, and she, too, became an almost confirmed invalid I feel——”
THE INFLUENCE OF THE SPIRIT BEGINS TO SHOW ITSELF.
“There, doctor, that will do,” interrupted the rich man, “I cannot listen longer, as I have an engagement to meet in just five minutes. Here are ten dollars; give them to Mr. Morrow, and perhaps—not positively, mind you, but possibly—I may make it in my way to call upon him before many days.”
The doctor took the money tendered him, and retired from the presence of the great merchant with a sigh, thinking to himself: “Ah, well, it is true that ‘corporations have no souls,’ and it seems to me that the individuals who form these corporations have very little ones. The pitiful sum he has given me will provide for the wants of my patients for a few days only, and I must cast about in some other quarter for assistance. I will again make application for their admittance to the hospital before the money is exhausted; they will have to be separated, but it cannot be avoided;” and so musing he passed on his way.
Sweet, gentle, Lucy Aiken! Mild and benign spirit, working for a father’s enlightenment, striving to elevate the soul of a beloved parent above the selfishness of worldly interests and personal grandeur! She had no thought of allowing the matter to rest here, and she lingered by the side of that parent, filling his mind with thoughts of the suffering and destitute family whose circumstances had been so eloquently presented to him that day by his visitor, Dr. Jones, and causing him to turn in spirit toward that humble home many times, until at last, “to get rid of the thing,” he murmured, Mr. Aiken ordered his carriage and was driven down to the humble neighborhood of Morrow’s tenement.
The injured man lay stretched upon his couch in a passing paroxysm of pain as the merchant entered. By his side, leaning back in an easy chair, sat his daughter Katy, so pale, wasted and wan in appearance that she seemed more like a wraith that would vanish away at a touch than a human being. Mr. Aiken was startled at the sight that met his gaze,—the suffering inmates, the extreme destitution, yet cleanly surroundings of that humble home, spoke more eloquently to this man rolling in wealth, and wrapped up in self-sufficiency, than a hundred sermons on the poor could have done; and, strange to relate, while questioning the pallid girl concerning her own and her father’s condition, his lower lip actually trembled with emotion.