We were made to endure. A Heathen philosopher held the eight of the just
man's suffering, worthy of the Gods, and Christianity knows nothing more
beautiful, more holy, than the calm resignation of the pure and the
lowly, to the will of their Divine Father.
It was the will of Heaven that Rachel should not be beloved of her
earthly father. She bore her lot--not without sorrow; but, at least,
without repining. Perhaps, she was more silent, more thoughtful, than
before; but she was not less cheerful, and in one sense she was certainly
not less happy. Affliction patiently borne for the love of the hand that
inflicts it, loses half its sting. The cup is always bitter--and doubly
bitter shall it seem to us, if we drink it reluctantly; but if we
courageously dram it, we shall find that the last drop is not like the
rest It is fraught with a Divine sweetness--it is a precious balsam, and
can heal the deepest and most envenomed wound.
This pure drop Rachel found in her cup. It strengthened and upheld her
through her trial. "It is the will of God," she repeated to herself--"It
is the will of God;" and those simple words, which held a meaning so
deep, were to Rachel fortitude and consolation.
And in the meanwhile, the little world around her, unconscious of her
sufferings and her trials--for even her mother could not wholly divine
them--went on its ways. Mrs. Gray grumbled, Jane was grim, Mary was
peevish, and Mrs. Brown occasionally dropped in "to keep them going," as
she said herself.
As to Richard Jones, we will not attempt to describe the uneasiness of
mind he endured in endeavouring to follow out Rachel's advice. He did not
understand its spirit, which, indeed, she could not have explained. They
who make the will of God their daily law, are guided, even in apparently
worldly matters,--not indeed, so as never to commit mistakes, which were
being beyond humanity, but so, at least, as to err as little as possible
concerning their true motives of action. Our passions are our curse,
spiritual and temporal; and the mere habit of subduing them gives
prudence and humility in all things:--wisdom thus becomes one of the
rewards which God grants to the faithful servant.
But of this, what did Richard Jones--the most unspiritual of good men,
know? After three days spent in a state of distracting doubt, he came to
the conclusion that it was, and must be the will of Heaven that he should
have a shop. Poor fellow! if he took his own will for that of the
Almighty, did he fall into a very uncommon mistake?
Once, his mind was made up, he turned desperate, went and secured the
shop. He had all the time been in a perfect fever, lest some other should
forestall him, after which he became calm. "Did not much care about Miss
Gray's opinion--did not see why he should care about any one's opinion,"
and in this lofty mood it was that Richard Jones went and gave a loud,
clear, and distinct knock at Mrs. Gray's door.
Dinner was over--the apprentices were working--Rachel was dreaming,
rather sadly, poor girl! for she thought of what was, and of what might
have been. Mrs. Gray was reading the newspaper, when the entrance of
Richard Jones, admitted by his daughter, disturbed the quiet little
household. At once Mrs. Gray flew into politics.
"Well, Mr. Jones," she cried, "and how are you? I suppose you know they
are raising the taxes--and then such rates as we have, Mr. Jones--such
rates!"
Mrs. Gray was habitually a Tory, and not a mild one; but on the subject
of taxes and rates, Mrs. Gray was, we are sorry to say, a violent
radical. "She couldn't abide them," she declared.
"And so they axe raising the taxes, are they!" echoed Mr. Jones,
chuckling. "Eh! but that won't do for me, Mrs. Gray. I'm turning
householder--and hard by here too!" he added, winking.
Mrs. Gray did not understand at all. She coughed, and looked puzzled. Mr.
Jones saw that Rachel had not spoken to her. He continued winking,
chuckling, and rubbing his hands as he spoke.
"I am going into business, Mrs. Gray."
Mrs. Gray was profoundly astonished; Mary's work dropped on her lap as
she stared with open mouth and eyes at her father, who chucked her chin
for her.
"Yes," he resumed, addressing Mrs. Gray; "I had always a turn that way."
"Oh, you had!"
"Always, Mrs. Gray; but I hadn't got no capital; and for a man to go into
business without capital, why, ma'am, it's like a body that aint got no
soul."
"Don't talk so, Mr. Jones," said Mrs. Gray, to whom the latter
proposition sounded atheistical, "don't!"
"Well, but what's a man without capital?" asked Mr. Jones, unconscious of
his offence, "why, nothink, Mrs. Gray, nothink! Well, but that's not the
question--I've got capital now, you see, and so I am going to set up a
grocery business in the rag and bottle shop round the corner; and I hare
called to secure your custom--that's all, Mrs. Gray."
He winked and chuckled again. Rachel could not help smiling. Mrs. Gray
was grave and courteous, like any foreign potentate congratulating his
dear brother, Monsieur mon frere, on some fortunate event of his reign.
"I called to tell you that, Mrs. Gray," resumed Jones; "and, also, to ask
a favour of Miss Gray. I should be so much obliged to 'her, if she could
spare my little Mary for half an hour or so, just to look over the house
with me."
"Of course she can," replied Mrs. Gray for her meek daughter. "Go and put
on your bonnet, Mary.'"
Mary, whom the tidings of the grocer's shop had most agreeably excited,
rose with great alacrity to obey, and promptly returned, with her bonnet
on.
It was Rachel who let them out.
"You need not be in a hurry to come back, dear," she whispered; "there's
not more work than Jane and I can well manage."
Mary's only reply to this kind speech, was a saucy toss of the head. The
little thing already felt an heiress.
"How much money have you got, father?" she promptly asked, as they went
down the street,
"Sixty pounds, my dear."
"Law! that ain't much," said Mary, as if she had rolled in guineas all
her life.
"Well, it isn't," he replied candidly, and exactly in the same spirit;
for if there is a thing people promptly get used to, it is money.
Mary had always been her father's confidante; he now opened his whole
heart to her, and was thereby much relieved. To his great satisfaction,
Mary condescended to approve almost without restriction, all he had done.
She accompanied him over the house and shop--thought "the whole concern
rather dirty," but kindly added, "that when it was cleaned up a bit, it
would do;" and finally gave it as her opinion, "that there wasn't a
better position in the whole neighbourhood."
"Of course there ain't," said Mr. Jones, sitting down on the counter.
"The goodwives must either buy from me, or walk a mile. Now it stands to
reason that, rather than walk a mile, with babies crying at home, and
husbands growling--it stands to reason, I say, that they'll buy from me.
Don't it, Mary?"
"Of course it does."
"Well, that ain't all. You see I know something of business. The interest
of capital in business ranges from ten to a hundred per cent according to
luck; now I am lucky being alone, so we'll say fifty per cent, which is
moderate, ain't it, Mary?"
"Of course it is," replied that infallible authority.
"Well then: capital, sixty pounds; interest, fifty per cent. Why, in no
time, like, I shall double my capital; and when it's doubled, I shall
double it again--and so I'll go on doubling and doubling until I'm tired
--and then we'll stop. Won't we, Mary?"
The little thing laughed; her father gave her a kiss; got up from the
counter, and with the golden vision of endless doubling of capital before
him, walked out of the shop.