The Channings | Page 9

be over."
Charley lifted his head. "The worry, papa?"

"Ay, my boy. The agitation--the perpetual excitement--the sickening
suspense--the yearning for the end. You cannot understand this,
Charley; you can none of you picture it, as it has been, for me. Could I
have gone abroad, as other men, it would have shaken itself off amidst
the bustle of the world, and have pressed upon me only at odd times
and seasons. But here have I lain; suspense my constant companion. It
was not right, to allow the anxiety so to work upon me: but I could not
help it; I really could not."
"We shall manage to do without it, papa," said Arthur.
"Yes; after a bit, we shall manage very well. The worst is, we are
behindhand in our payments; for you know how surely I counted upon
this. It ought to have been mine; it was mine by full right of justice,
though it now seems that the law was against me. It is a great affliction;
but it is one of those which may be borne with an open brow."
"What do you mean, papa?"
"Afflictions are of two kinds. The one we bring upon ourselves,
through our own misconduct; the other is laid upon us by God for our
own advantage. Yes, my boys, we receive many blessings in disguise.
Trouble of this sort will only serve to draw out your manly energies, to
make you engage vigorously in the business of life, to strengthen your
self-dependence and your trust in God. This calamity of the lost lawsuit
we must all meet bravely. One mercy, at any rate, the news has brought
with it."
"What is that?" asked Mrs. Channing, lifting her sad face.
"When I have glanced to the possibility of the decision being against
me, I have wondered how I should pay its long and heavy costs;
whether our home must not be broken up to do it, and ourselves turned
out upon the world. But the costs are not to fall upon me; all are to be
paid out of the estate."
"That's good news!" ejaculated Hamish, his face radiant, as he nodded
around.
"My darling boys," resumed Mr. Channing, "you must all work and do
your best. I had thought this money would have made things easier for
you; but it is not to be. Not that I would have a boy of mine cherish for
a moment the sad and vain dream which some do--that of living in
idleness. God has sent us all into the world to work; some with their
hands, some with their heads; all according to their abilities and their

station. You will not be the worse off," Mr. Charming added with a
smile, "for working a little harder than you once thought would be
necessary."
"Perhaps the money may come to us, after all, by some miracle,"
suggested Charley.
"No," replied Mr. Channing. "It has wholly gone from us. It is as much
lost to us as though we had never possessed a claim to it."
It was even so. This decision of the Lord Chancellor had taken it from
the Channing family for ever.
"Never mind!" cried Tom, throwing up his trencher, which he had
carelessly carried into the room with him. "As papa says, we have our
hands and brains: and they often win the race against money in the long
run."
Yes. The boys had active hands and healthy brains--no despicable
inheritance, when added to a firm faith in God, and an ardent wish to
use, and not misuse, the talents given to them.

CHAPTER III
.
CONSTANCE CHANNING.
How true is the old proverb--"Man proposes but God disposes!" God's
ways are not as our ways. His dealings with us are often mysterious.
Happy those, who can detect His hand in all the varied chances and
changes of the world.
I am not sure that we can quite picture to ourselves the life that had
been Mr. Channing's. Of gentle birth, and reared to no profession, the
inheritance which ought to have come to him was looked upon as a
sufficient independence. That it would come to him, had never been
doubted by himself or by others; and it was only at the very moment
when he thought he was going to take possession of it, that some
enemy set up a claim and threw it into Chancery. You may object to the
word "enemy," but it could certainly not be looked upon as the act of a
friend. By every right, in all justice, it belonged to James Channing; but
he who put in his claim, taking advantage of a quibble of law, was a
rich man and a mighty one. I should not like to take possession of
another's money in such