Alls For the Best | Page 5

be heavenly, it will show
itself in good deeds to the neighbor; but, if infernal, in acts of
selfishness that disregard the neighbor.
"I will observe this Mr. Gray," said I, as I walked homeward from the
company, "and see whether the report touching him be true. If he is,
indeed, a 'Christian,' as they affirm, the Christian graces of meekness
and charity will blossom in his life, and make all the air around him
fragrant."
Opportunity soon came. Fletcher Gray was a store-keeper, and his life
in the world was, consequently, open to the observation of all men. He
was likewise a husband and a father. His relations were, therefore, of a
character to give, daily, a test of his true quality.
It was only the day after, that I happened to meet Mr. Gray under
circumstances favorable to observation. He came into the store of a
merchant with whom I was transacting some business, and asked the
price of certain goods in the market. I moved aside, and watched him
narrowly. There was a marked change in the expression of his
countenance and in the tones of his voice. The former had a sober,
almost solemn expression; the latter was subdued, even to plaintiveness.
But, in a little while, these peculiarities gradually disappeared, and the
aforetime Mr. Gray stood there unchanged--unchanged, not only in
appearance, but in character. There was nothing of the "yea, yea," and
"nay, nay," spirit in his bargain-making, but an eager, wordy effort to
gain an advantage in trade. I noticed that, in the face of an asservation

that only five per cent. over cost was asked for a certain article, he still
endeavored to procure it at a lower figure than was named by the seller,
and finally crowded him down to the exact cost, knowing as he did,
that the merchant had a large stock on hand, and could not well afford
to hold it over.
"He's a sharper!" said the merchant, turning towards me as Gray left the
store.
"He's a Christian, they say," was my quiet remark.
"A Christian!"
"Yes; don't you know that he has become religious, and joined the
church?"
"You're joking!"
"Not a word of it. Didn't you observe his subdued, meek aspect, when
he came in?"
"Why, yes; now that you refer to it, I do remember a certain peculiarity
about him. Become pious! Joined the church! Well, I'm sorry!"
"For what?"
"Sorry for the injury he will do to a good cause. The religion that
makes a man a better husband, father, man of business, lawyer, doctor,
or preacher, I reverence, for it is genuine, as the lives of those who
accept it do testify. But your hypocritical pretenders I scorn and
execrate."
"It is, perhaps, almost too strong language, this, as applied to Mr.
Gray," said I.
"What is a hypocrite?" asked the merchant.
"A man who puts on the semblance of Christian virtues which he does
not possess."
"And that is what Mr. Gray does when he assumes to be religious. A
true Christian is just. Was he just to me when he crowded me down in
the price of my goods, and robbed me of a living profit, in order that he
might secure a double gain? I think not. There is not even the live and
let live principle in that. No--no, sir. If he has joined the church, my
word for it, there is a black sheep in the fold; or, I might say, without
abuse of language, a wolf therein disguised in sheep's clothing."
"Give the man time," said I. "Old habits of life are strong, you know. In
a little while, I trust that he will see clearer, and regulate his life from
perceptions of higher truths."

"I thought his heart was changed," answered the merchant, with some
irony in his tones. "That he had been made a new creature."
I did not care to discuss that point with him, and so merely answered,
"The beginnings of spiritual life are as the beginnings of natural life.
The babe is born in feebleness, and we must wait through the periods of
infancy, childhood and youth, before we can have the strong man ready
for the burden and heat of the day, or full-armed for the battle. If Mr.
Gray is in the first effort to lead a Christian life, that is something. He
will grow wiser and better in time, I hope."
"There is vast room for improvement," said the merchant. "In my eyes
he is, at this time, only a hypocritical pretender. I hope, for the sake of
the world and the church both, that his new associates will make
something better out of him."
I went away, pretty much of the merchant's opinion. My next meeting
with Mr. Gray