four years slipped by.
let us note, briefly, the changes which they brought, and then farewell!
to helen they were years of quiet happiness, of steady improvement. there were many deficiencies in her education to be made up. with the aid of private instructors, the best of their kind, she strove earnestly to acquire the knowledge for which she had long thirsted. her father was unwilling to send her away to school, since this must deprive him of her society, on which he had learned to depend. nor was helen less unwilling to leave the father who had called forth from her so rare and beautiful a devotion. year by year her mind has expanded, while her rare loveliness has, if possible, been enhanced. helen, at nineteen, is even more charming than at fifteen.
there are some who have found this out, and helen has had repeated offers of marriage. all these she has gently but firmly refused. not one has succeeded in touching her heart.
among her suitors was one whom she treated with less ceremony. a young man, who had nearly run through a large fortune, paid assiduous court to helen, whom he had met in society, and in spite of her coldness made a declaration of love.
helen looked up from the carpet on which her eyes had 293been fixed, and said, quietly, “do you remember, mr. grover, where we first met?”
“at mrs. grosvenor’s party,” answered the young man, somewhat surprised.
“you are mistaken. that was only three months since. our first meeting dates back four years.”
“thank you for remembering it. yet i can hardly believe you correct. your face is not one to be forgotten. are you quite sure?”
“yes, i remember you perfectly.”
there was something in helen’s manner which the young man could not quite fathom. it made him uneasy, for helen’s grave tone rendered it doubtful whether the recollection was a pleasant one.
“may i ask where, and under what circumstances, we met?” he inquired.
“i was, at that time, singing at the —— theatre,” returned helen, composedly. “you followed me in the street when on my return home, and sought to force your company upon me. but for the opportune arrival of a friend, i should have been obliged to submit to the insult.”
“good heavens!” ejaculated albert grover, “are you the young singer who made such a sensation? i cannot understand it.”
“fortunes have changed with me,” said helen. “otherwise, i can well understand that you would never have honored me with your proposal of this morning. i think, mr. grover, you will hardly require any other answer.”
she left the room with dignity, leaving her suitor crestfallen, and entirely satisfied of the hopelessness of his suit.
meanwhile, where was herbert coleman?
shortly after mr. ford’s accession to fortune, he sent for the young artist at helen’s instigation, and questioned him delicately as to his plans and wishes. herbert acknowledged 294frankly his conviction, that a residence in italy, the cradle of art, would be of inestimable advantage to him in his professional career.
“i have thought of that,” said mr. ford, “and as providence has blessed me with abundant means i have determined to enable you to gratify your desire. i do not wish to compromise your independence, and therefore i will not offer to give you the requisite sum. i should be glad to have copies of some of the masterpieces of italian art. i am willing to invest five thousand dollars in this way. i will give you the commission. this will enable you to spend three years abroad. here is a check for a thousand dollars. the balance i authorize you to draw upon me for as you need it.”
“sir,” said herbert, with joyful emotion, “your generosity overwhelms me. i cannot express to you how happy you have made me. i hope that i shall prove deserving of such kindness.”
“you must thank helen,” said mr. ford. “she suggested this to me; though i think she will do me the justice to acknowledge that she did not find me very difficult to persuade.”
“dear helen,” said the young artist, turning to the young girl whose beaming face expressed how heartily she sympathized in his joy, “i am not surprised to hear this. it is so like you.”
“don’t say any more, herbert,” said helen, softly. “that repays me.”
herbert’s residence in italy has been protracted somewhat beyond the three years originally intended. he has already sent home several paintings, originals, as well as copies, which prove conclusively that he has not mistaken his vocation. he has corresponded regularly with helen, and she is eagerly expecting his return in the next steamer. they 295have tacitly dropped the old designations of brother and sister. knowing what we do of their feelings towards each other, we need not be surprised if they are bound some day by a nearer tie. mr. ford, i am assured, will interpose no objection, feeling that genius and nobility of soul far outweigh the mere accident of riches.
mr. ford has long since given up his invention as impracticable. he has gathered about him a rich library in which he spends the hours formerly given to science. a year since he laid out the plan of a large work in the department of mechanics upon which he is hard at work. it will probably require some years to complete it.
mr. sharp still acts as the business agent of mr. ford, and through his influence has obtained other business, so that he is now in receipt of a very comfortable income. justice compels me to state that in spite of his not very creditable antecedents, he serves mr. ford with ability and fidelity, and exhibits a good judgment in his management of money matters, which perhaps could hardly have been expected. he is not entirely rid of his “idiosyncrasies,” but these are now of a harmless nature. he no longer runs up bills which he is unable to liquidate, and has ceased to exercise his professional sharpness on the newsboys.
martha grey still finds a home with helen, and is her tried and confidential friend. she is no longer obliged to labor hard for a scanty remuneration. her “lines have fallen in pleasant places.” privation and discomfort have been succeeded by ease and luxury. a month since she was surprised by a proposal of marriage from mr. sharp. she refused him gently, telling him that she should never marry. i do not think she will. she has never recovered from an early disappointment, which, without robbing her of happiness, has made it impossible for her to love again. mr. sharp has resigned himself to his rejection with commendable 296philosophy. there is reason to believe that he was actuated less by a romantic attachment, than by the thought that martha, as the intimate friend of helen, would not come to him a portionless bride. he has already so far recovered from his disappointment, that he is paying devoted attentions to a wealthy widow, who seems disposed to smile upon his suit, whose “idiosyncrasies” of temper are such, that success would indeed be disastrous. i have had some qualms of conscience, in rewarding mr. sharp with such a measure of worldly prosperity, feeling that he ought rather to have been punished than recompensed; but if he should persevere in his present suit, and eventually succeed, i feel that the sternest advocate of “poetical justice” may well be satisfied.
mrs. morton still keeps her boarding-house, and still meets with a fair share of patronage. helen occasionally calls upon her. she has not forgotten her kindness in the days when she stood in need of a friend. m’lle fanchette is still one of her lodgers. she does not grow old, having been twenty-seven for the last fifteen years. she brings her charms to bear upon each successive lodger whom she regards as eligible, but no one has yet had the courage to propose. there is reason to believe that she will remain mademoiselle to the end of this chapter.
margaret and jacob wynne! i name margaret first, for hers is the nobler nature. jacob’s brief imprisonment had a most salutary influence upon him. he no longer upbraids without reason, nor arouses her quick jealousy by his neglect. mr. ford (after all we prefer the old name) throws considerable business into his hands, and this, with what he obtains from other quarters, gives him a comfortable support. it would be difficult to recognize in margaret, with her quiet look, and subdued demeanor, the wild, wayward, 297desperate woman, who made her way through the fierce storm to her mother’s dwelling.
immediately after the division of the estate, lewis rand went to europe, where he has remained ever since. his feelings are so imbittered against his cousin, that he has refused to answer a letter containing overtures of reconciliation. he makes his head-quarters at paris, where he lives in elegant style, and receives the homage which wealth always commands. but does he find in his riches the full satisfaction which he anticipated? i answer, no. he finds, too late, that happiness must be earned; it can never be bought. to those who, like helen, consecrate their lives to the noblest objects, and study to promote the happiness of all around them, the blessing comes unsought. for the love that stimulates to good deeds, is like mercy “twice blest; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
and so, reader, farewell! what remains in store for helen ford, whether of joy or of sorrow, it is not mine to read. let us hope that her life may brighten continually till its close; that her years, whether few or many, may be made happy by the consciousness of duty well performed; that she may dispense liberally unto others of the good gifts with which god has crowned her, and make her life a benefaction to humanity!
horatio alger, jr.
the enormous sales of the books of horatio alger, jr., show the greatness of his popularity among the boys, and prove that he is one of their most favored writers. i am told that more than half a million copies altogether have been sold, and that all the large circulating libraries in the country have several complete sets, of which only two or three volumes are ever on the shelves at one time. if this is true, what thousands and thousands of boys have read and are reading mr. alger’s books! his peculiar style of stories, often imitated but never equaled, have taken a hold upon the young people, and, despite their similarity, are eagerly read as soon as they appear.
mr. alger became famous with the publication of that undying book, “ragged dick, or street life in new york.” it was his first book for young people, and its success was so great that he immediately devoted himself to that kind of writing. it was a new and fertile field for a writer then, and mr. alger’s treatment of it at once caught the fancy of the boys. “ragged dick” first appeared in 1868, and ever since then it has been selling steadily, until now it is estimated that about 200,000 copies of the series have been sold.
—“pleasant hours for boys and girls.”
a writer for boys should have an abundant sympathy with them. he should be able to enter into their plans, hopes, and aspirations. he should learn to look upon life as they do. boys object to be written down to. a boy’s heart opens to the man or writer who understands him.
—from “writing stories for boys,” by horatio alger, jr.
