He has his own standard; and if he falls below that in
his dealings with men, he departs from his integrity."
"I have nothing to say for Brantley under that view of the subject,"
said the friend. "If he has special standards of morality, and does
not live up to them, the matter is between himself and his own
conscience. We, on the outside, are not his judges."
It so happened that I met Brantley a short time afterwards. The
circumstances were favorable, and our interview unreserved. He had
sold his house, and a large part of the handsome furniture it
contained, and was living in a humbler dwelling. I referred to his
changed condition, and spoke of it with regret.
"There is no gratuitous evil," he remarked. "I have long been
satisfied on that head. If we lose on one hand, we gain on another.
And my experience in life leads me to this conclusion, that the loss
is generally in lower things, and the gain in higher."
I looked into his face, yet bearing the marks of recent trial and
suffering, and saw in it the morning dawn.
"Has it been so with you?" I asked.
"Yes; and it has always been so," he answered, without hesitation.
"It is painful to be under the surgeon's knife," he added. "We
shrink back, shivering, at the sight of his instruments. The flesh
is agonized. But when all is over, and the greedy tumor, or wasting
cancer, that was threatening life, is gone, we rejoice and are
glad.
Pages:
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51