The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-10-11

way. but tipslly helpless In It.
| Northwick did not answer: no walked to the
| other end OF the station set OF for ladies. and
Putney did not follow him. The train oame In
and Northwck went out and got aboard.
CHAPTER VII
The President Of tho Board. who had called
Northwlck thief. and yet had got him q
chance to make himself an honest man. was
awake at the hour the defaulter absoonded,
after passing quite as sleepless Q night He
| had kept dinner engagement, hoping to for
| get Northwick. but he seemed to be eating and
drinking him at overy course. When he came
home toward IL o'clock. he went to his library
and sat down before the fire. His wife had
gone to bed. and his son and daughter were
at ball: and no sat there alone. smoking i'm
patiently.
Ho told the man who looked in to sec II no
wantcd anything that he might 60 to bed: he
need not sit up for the young people Hilary
had that kind Of confederation for servants,
and no liked to practise It: he liked to realize
that he was practising It now. in moment
when every habit of his life might very well
yield to the great and varying anxieties which
beset him.
He had an ideal Of conduct. Of what was due
from him to himself. As gentleman and cit
iHen. and he could not conceal from himself
that he had been mainly instrumental In the
escape Of rogue from justice when he got the
Board to give Northwiok chance His ideals
had not hitherto stood In the way Of his comfort,
his entire repose OF mind. any moro than they
had impaired his prosperity. though they were
Of q kind far above those which commercial
honor permits man to be content with.
He held himself bound. as man Of
rkotn r;rn n Arnl 81,
have public spirit, and had q great deal Of it.
He believed that he owed 1t to the community
to do nothing to lower its standards Of per-
sonal integrity and responsibility; and he dis
dnguished himself by o gratifled conscious
ness from those people OF chromo-morality.
who held all sorts OF loose notions on suoh
points. His name stood not merely for 80 much
money: many names stood for far more: but
It meant reliability. it meant honesty. it
meant good faith. He really loved these
things. though. no doubt, he loved them
less for their own sake than because they were
spiritual properties Of Eben Hilary. He did
not expect everybody else to have them. but
his theory OF life exacted that thoy should be
held the chief virtues. He was SO conscious Of
their value that no ignored all those minor
qualities in himself which rendered him not
only beatable bit even lovablS; he was not
aware Of having any sort Of foibles. 30 that
any error OF conduct in himself surprised him
even more than 1t panied him. 1t was not easy
to recognize It: but when he once saw 1t, he
was not only willing but eager to repair It
Tho error that he had committed In North
wicks case. II it WAS IN error. was one that
presented peculiar difficulties. as every error
in life does: the errors love an infinite COM
plexity OF disguise. and masquerade as all
sorts Of things There were moments when
a, ~, hot; ,od
to him nothing less than the repayment Of
Northwiek's thofts from his own pocket would
satisfy the claims Of justice to his fellow losers
II Northwick ran away: and then. again. it
looked like the act OF wise mercy which it had
appeared to him when he was urging the Board
- give the man chance as the only thing
which they could hopefully do in the ciroum-
stances. as common sense. as business. But It
was now 30 obvious that man like Northwick
could and would do nothing but run away II
he should get the chance that he seemed to
have been his accomplish when he used the
force OF his personal character with them in
Northwick's behalf. He was In ridiculous
position. there was no doubt Of that. and he
was not going to get out Of it without much
painful wear and tear Of prde OF self-respect
After a long time he looked at the clock and
found it still early for tho return OF his young
people. He was inpatient to see his son. and
to get tho situation in the light OF his mind
and see how it looked there. He had already
told him OF tho deialcatioh. and Of what the
Board had decided to do with Northwck: but
this was while he was still In the glow OF action.
and he had spoken very hurrledly with Matt.
who came in just as he was going out to din
ner: it was before his cold At came on.
He had reached that time OF lifo when man
likes to lay his troubles before his son: and In
tho Wow his son usually took Of his troubles,
Hilary seemed to find another mood Of his
own. 1t was a fresher. different self dealing
with them: for tho fellow was not only younger
and more vigorous: he was another tempera-
ment with the same interests and often the
same principles. He had disappointed Hilary
in some ways. but he had gratifled his pride In
the very ways he had disappointed him. The
father had expected the son to go into business.
and Matt did 60 into the mills at Ponkwasset
whore no was to be superintendent In the
course. But one day he came home
and told his father that he had begun to have
his doubts OF the existing relations OF capital
and labor. and until he could see his way
clearer he would rather glvo UP his chance
with the company. TWAS keen disappoint-
mont to Hilary: no mado no concealment Of
that: but no did not quarrel with his son about
II. He robustly tolerated Mats queer notions.
dotted ON his children and behaved as II every
thing they did was right. no matter II 1t put
him In the wrong. but because he chose to ro-
spect the fellows principles. II those were his
principles. He had his own principles. and
Matt should have his II he liked. He bore en-
tirely well the purpose Of going abroad that
Matt expressed. and he wished to give him
much more money than the fellow would take
10 carry on those researches which no
made In his travels Whom he came
back and published his monograph on
work and wages In Europe. Hilary
paid the expense. and took as unselfsh an in
terest In tho slow and moagro sale OF the little
book as II IL had cost him nothing.
Eben Hilary had been q crank. too. In his
day. 80 far as to have gone counter to the most
feeling Of business in Boston. when
no camo out IN abolitionist His individual
Impulse TO radicalism had exhausted itself In |
that direction We are each OF us good for only |
> certain degree Of advance In opinion: |
lew mon are indefinitely progressive: and |