“Your articles.”
“Oh! Mr. Galloway—”
“No thanks, my boy. I am in your debt far deeper than I like to be! A trifling thing such as this”—touching the parchment—“cannot wipe out the suspicion I cast upon you, the disgrace which followed it. Perhaps at some future time, I may be better able to atone for it. I hope we shall be together many years, Arthur. I have no son to succeed to my business, and it may be—But I will leave that until the future comes.”
It was a valuable present gracefully offered, and Mr. Channing and Arthur so acknowledged it, passing over the more important hint in silence.
“Children,” said Mr. Channing, as, the festivities of the day at an end, and the guests departed, they were gathered together round their fireside, bereft of Constance “what a forcible lesson of God’s mercy ought these last few months to teach us! Six months ago, there came to us news that our suit was lost; other troubles followed upon it, and things looked dark and gloomy. But I, for one, never lost my trust in God; it was not for a moment shaken; and if you are the children I and your mother have striven to bring up, you did not lose yours. Tom,” turning suddenly upon him, “I fear you were the only impatient one.”
Tom looked contrite. “I fear I was, papa.”
“What good did the indulgence of your hasty spirit do you?”
“No good, but harm,” frankly confessed Tom. “I hope it has helped me to some notion of patience, though, for the future, papa.”
“Ay,” said Mr. Channing. “Hope on, strive on, work on, and trust on! I believe that you made those your watchwords; as did I. And now, in an almost unprecedentedly short time, we are brought out of our troubles. While others, equally deserving, have to struggle on for years before the cloud is lifted, it has pleased God to bring us wonderfully quickly out of ours; to heap mercies and blessings, and a hopeful future upon us. I may truly say, ‘He has brought us to great honour, and comforted us on every side.’”
“I HAVE BEEN YOUNG, AND NOW AM OLD; AND YET SAW I NEVER THE RIGHTEOUS FORSAKEN, NOR HIS SEED BEGGING THEIR BREAD.”