WAS IT PROVIDENCE?
When Rufus awoke next morning, the wind was blowing half a gale, and the
rain was coming down in torrents.
"This puts an end to my morning bath," he said to himself, with a faint
sigh. "I can have no excuse for going into the sea on a day like this,"
and he sighed again.
He was not quite sure that he welcomed the respite.
"Since it must be," he kept saying to himself, "the sooner the better."
Mrs. Tuke greeted him with a sorrowful face. "What a pity the weather's
broke before all the harvest is got in," she said.
"It does seem a pity," he answered, quietly.
"The ways of Providence is past finding out," she replied; "though no
doubt it's for some good end."
"Do you really think that Providence regulates the weather, Mrs. Tuke?"
he questioned, with a smile.
"Why, of course I do," she answered, in a tone of reproach. "Providence
over-rules everything, and not a sparrow falls to the ground without the
notice of His eye," and she walked out of the room without waiting for
him to answer.
Mrs. Tuke's theology was a puzzle to him still, but all the time he sat
at breakfast the word "Providence" kept echoing through the chambers of
his brain. What was Providence? How far did God interfere with the
operation of His own laws? Did He sometimes reach out a controlling
hand? Did He cause events to work together for a special end?
That day at the mine seemed one of the longest he had known. The wind
moaned through every crevice of door and window, the rain came down
unceasingly.
Evening came, but there was no chance of a swim in the sea. He would
have to wait until the morrow or the day following. Whatever he did, he
would have to avoid awaking suspicion.
Several times during the night he awoke and listened. The wind was still
swishing through the trees, and the patter of rain could be distinctly
heard against the window.
"If Mrs. Tuke knew," he said to himself, "she would say Providence was
interposing to prevent me putting an end to my useless life."
He lay in bed an hour longer than he would have done had the weather
been fine. "It is of no use getting up till breakfast-time," he
reflected.
He heard the postman's rat-tat-tat while he was dressing, and wondered
if there were any letters for him.
He came slowly and listlessly down the stairs. Another day of weariness
and mental distress stretched out before him. "I am only prolonging the
agony," he said to himself, as he took his lonely seat at the head of
the table.
Then his eye rested on a large envelope by the side of his place, with a
blue stamp in the corner.
He was alert in a moment. "An American letter," he said, half aloud, and
his thoughts flew off to Madeline Grover unconsciously. The address,
however, was in a man's handwriting--there could be no doubt about
that.
He tore open the envelope quickly and mechanically, and turned to the
signature at the end of the letter. "Seaward and Graythorne," he read,
and a look of perplexity came into his eyes.
He opened out the letter, and an enclosure fluttered on to his plate. He
picked it up and stared.
"There must be some mistake," he said with a gasp, and he drew his hand
across his eyes as though to remove some dimness that had gathered. Yet,
there was his own name clear and distinct enough. "Pay to the order of
Mr. Rufus Sterne the sum of five thousand dollars."
"Five thousand dollars," he muttered. "Why, that is a thousand pounds--a
thousand pounds. I must be dreaming surely."
He turned to the letter at length, and began to read. Slowly, as he
waded his way through the legal jargon, the truth began to dawn upon
him. It had to do with the property his father had accumulated. Some
Judge Cowley, of the Supreme Court of somewhere, had authorised a
distribution, and the enclosed was the sum paid on account.
That was about all he could make out. But why a firm of solicitors in
New York should be acting in a case of disputed property somewhere out
in Pennsylvania, was a problem he could not understand.
He was in no mood, however, to worry himself over legal subtleties. The
great outstanding fact--the fact that dominated all others--was that he
was in possession of a thousand pounds.
The revulsion of feeling was so great that for a moment or two it seemed
to unman him. The cords that had been strung up so long to the very
highest point of tension were suddenly relaxed. The hard stoicism with
which he had fortified himself, melted like wax in the flame of a
candle. The dull numbness of despair, which was rendering him
indifferent to life, vanished like mist before the summer sun. The joy
of hope, the dream of love, the fire of ambition, were all kindled
afresh as by an electric spark. The wailing wind, instead of sobbing
began to sing. The moaning ocean commenced to laugh and rejoice. The
rain-drops were tears of joy that Nature shed. Light and love, and
beauty and delight were everywhere. His breakfast remained untouched. He
was quite unconscious of the fact until Mrs. Tuke came into the room.
"Why, you haven't tasted your breakfast," she said, lifting her eyes and
hands in astonishment.
"Haven't I?" he said, with a smile.
"And your bacon is quite cold."
"I forgot all about it, Mrs. Tuke."
"And your tea is like ditch-water."
"I'm very sorry."
"It's like throwing money away."
"Oh, never mind."
"But I do mind, I hate wastefulness, especially in young people."
"Well, forgive me this time. I've had a surprise."
"Oh, indeed! A pleasant surprise, I hope. You've had enough of the other
sort."
"A very pleasant surprise. Now, brew me a fresh pot of tea and warm up
the bacon. I really feel as if I had got an appetite."
"Well, it's time you had. You've been wasting to a shadow the last six
months," and Mrs. Tuke hurried out of the room.
Rufus laughed aloud when she was gone. He felt he would either have to
laugh or cry. "If only granny were here I should hug her," he said to
himself. "I feel so buoyant that I could almost hug Mrs. Tuke."
The wind was still blowing strong from the west as he made his way over
the hill to the mine, but its voice was like a song in his ears. The
rain had ceased, though the sky was still dark with clouds; but all the
landscape seemed flooded with golden sunshine. His nerves were tingling
with a new joy, his eyes sparkling with an unwonted fire. He was glad to
be alive again, glad to feel the wind of heaven upon his face.
How wearily he had dragged his steps over the hill morning by morning;
how dull and continuous had been the pain at his heart! Now all sense of
weariness was gone; he seemed to tread on air; his heart was light and
buoyant, and all the pain had passed away.
He paused a moment where he paused a year before to look at a patch of
green lawn that sloped away from Trewinion Hall. A vision of Madeline
Grover came back to him for a second and vanished.
"If it be God's will," he said to himself, reverently, and with a smile
upon his face he continued his way.
During the dinner hour he lodged the precious draft in the bank, and
then hurried back to the mine again. In a day or two he got word that
the draft was quite in order, and had been duly honoured. With that
message vanished his last fear, for he had dreamed the previous night
that the whole thing was a hoax and the draft not worth the paper on
which it was printed.
His first act was to pay back Felix Muller what he owed him with
interest. This he did by cheque.
"I cannot see him," he said to himself. "He would pour ridicule on my
beliefs, and laugh my new-found faith to scorn. Moreover, I am not sure
that he will be grateful, and I would not like my faith in him to be
totally destroyed."
Saturday, being half-holiday, he made his way to Tregannon, to see his
grandparents and tell them the news. The old folks were greatly
excited, and the Rev. Reuben hunted up all the papers and correspondence
dealing with his son's property. The names of Seaward and Graythorne did
not appear, however, in any of the documents; nor was the name of Judge
Cowley ever mentioned.
"I do not understand it at all," the old man said in his most solemn
tones. "But then what can you expect in a new country like America?
Everything appears to be haphazard and go-as-you-like."
"Haphazard or no," Rufus replied, "the property has not been all eaten
up by the lawyers."
"Well, yes," the old gentleman said, reflectively, "there would appear
after all, to be some sense of honesty and justice in the country. But
why don't you take a journey across and look after things for yourself?"
Rufus gave a little start, and looked at his grandfather with a
questioning light in his eyes.
"I mean it," the old man said, quietly. "If I were a few years younger
nothing would please me better."
"It had never occurred to me," Rufus replied, slowly and thoughtfully.
"Then think about it. You can travel cheaply in these days; besides, you
may be able to pick up ideas."
"Yes, that is true," he answered, reflectively. "At any rate it is worth
considering."
For the rest of the evening Rufus thought of little else. Conversation
ranged over a dozen topics, but he heard scarcely half of what was said.
Constantly his thoughts harked back to his grandfather's suggestion, and
his eyes caught a far-away expression.
"I think you are tired," his granny said to him at length, and she
looked at him with a quizzical smile on her wrinkled face.
"I am a little."
"Will you remain while we have prayers?" she questioned, hesitatingly.
"Yes granny. I would like to hear grandfather pray again."
They both started, and looked at him and then at each other, but neither
made any remark.
The chapter the old man read was a long one, and the prayer was longer
still, but Rufus showed no sign of weariness. In fact, the little
granny's quick ears fancied they heard a whispered "Amen" when the
prayer ended.
Rufus rose slowly from his knees with a serene look upon his handsome
face.
"My dear boy, we have never ceased praying for you," his granny said,
placing her thin hands upon his strong shoulders and looking up into his
face.
"I hope you will continue to pray for me," he answered, quietly. "I
shall need all your prayers."
"Rufus?" the old man said, in a questioning tone, and he turned suddenly
and looked into his grandson's eyes.
Rufus felt that, having said so much, he was bound to say more.
"No, grandfather," he answered, quietly; "you must not claim me as a
returning prodigal. Your creed is as far beyond me as ever. But--I
think--I think I have found the Christ."
Instantly the old man's arms were about his neck, and, raising his face,
he laughed aloud.
"It is enough," he said, exultantly. "It is enough! To God be all the
praise."
The ice being broken, conversation flowed in a deeper channel, and when
the Rev. Reuben laid his head upon his pillow that night, it was with a
kindlier feeling in his heart for those who doubted, and with a larger
charity for those who preached a broader creed.
"It is very strange," he mused, "that my preaching should have driven
the lad to doubt, while the preaching of my successor should have helped
him back to faith."
On the following morning Rufus went with the old people to chapel. The
place seemed very cool and restful after the glare of the sunshine
outside, and while the familiar hymns were being sung he felt like a boy
again.
Marshall Brook took for his text: "Are ye not better than many
sparrows?" It was a quiet, thoughtful, searching sermon, without
dogmatism and with no trace of declamation. The care of the Great Father
for His children, the doctrine of a Divine Providence, was unfolded
carefully, lucidly, reasonably. There was no attempt to ignore
difficulties or to give scientific objections the go-by. Providence was
not in conflict with the operations of nature. Providence worked on
parallel lines. The universal Spirit was ever moving upon the hearts of
men, suggesting, inspiring, renewing.
"I am hungry and in need," said the preacher, "and someone is moved to
bring me help. Why did he think of me at all? Who put the impulse into
his heart? Ordinarily, it may be, he is not a generous man; yet he
trampled down his selfishness, and came to my succour when I needed it
most.
"Was it a miracle? Not in the ordinary sense, and yet in truth it was a
miracle. To me it was the interposition of God's Providence. God saw my
need and sent His help."
Rufus did not hear the end of the sermon. He was thinking of his own
case. Help came to him when he needed it most. He had prayed for death,
prayed that he might be saved from an act which was unworthy of any
true man. And in the very nick of time salvation came. Was it a mere
accident, a stroke of luck, a fortunate turn in the wheel of chance? Or
was it Providence, an impulse or an inspiration from the all-pervading
Spirit?
His faith was but a tender plant as yet, and it would need much
watchfulness and care if it was to grow.
He was brought back from his reflections by the announcement of Cowper's
well-known hymn:
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Rufus stood up with the rest and tried to sing, but a lump rose in his
throat constantly and threatened to choke him. It seemed as if every
line met his case and expressed some experience of his own:
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain:
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
The congregation sang on with deep feeling and emotion. Most of them had
known trouble. Many had experienced the joy of deliverance. And the tune
was one that seemed exactly to suit the words:
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour.
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
How wonderfully true and apposite it all was! More than once he swept
his hand across his eyes to remove the mist that had gathered. Surely
God had led him to that little chapel that morning. He knelt with the
rest when the benediction was pronounced, and breathed an audible "Amen"
at the close.
Marshall Brook walked home with him and remained to dinner and to
afternoon tea. But they did not spend the time in discussing knotty
theological problems; their talk ran on the strange happenings and
experiences of life.
After the evening's service Rufus walked all the way back to St. Gaved,
so that he might be in time for his work on the following morning. The
way did not seem a bit long. He had so much to think about, so much to
dream about, so much to be grateful for and to rejoice in, that the old
church tower loomed into sight before he knew he had covered half the
distance.
He astonished Captain Tom next morning by throwing up his post.
"You really don't mean it?" was the incredulous reply.
"I do. I am going to America, and the sooner you can let me off the
better I shall be pleased." And he told Captain Tom some of the things
that had happened.
"You are in the right of it, sonny," was the reply. "Yes, you are in the
right," and he laughed, good-humouredly. "And, mark my words, we shall
see some time what we shall see."
"No doubt about that," Rufus answered, with a smile.
"I'm glad you think so. Yes, some time we shall see what we shall see,"
and he laughed again. "But,"--and he took off his hat and scratched his
head, "my stars! but won't it be just----Well, well, we'll wait and see.
You have my best wishes, sonny, and my blessing."
On the following Saturday but one, Rufus sailed for New York.