第4章

I\'mverygratefultoyou，andwe\'llpartfriends。Good-night，sir。"

Thefatherheldouthishandinsilence。Theheavyportieredroppednoiselesslybehindtheson，andhewentupthewide，curvingstairwaytohisownroom。

MeantimeJohnWeightmansatinhiscarvedchairintheJacobeandining-room。Hefeltstrangelyoldanddull。TheportraitsofbeautifulwomenbyLawrenceandReynoldsandRaeburn，whichhadoftenseemedlikerealcompanytohim，lookedremoteanduninteresting。

Hefanciedsomethingcoldandalmostunfriendlyintheirexpression，asiftheywerestaringthroughhimorbeyondhim。Theycarednothingforhisprinciples，hishopes，hisdisappointments，hissuccesses；

theybelongedtoanotherworld，inwhichhehadnoplace。Atthishefeltavagueresentment，asenseofdiscomfortthathecouldnothavedefinedorexplained。Hewasusedtobeingconsidered，respected，appreciatedathisfullvalueineveryregion，eveninthatofhisowndreams。

Presentlyherangforthebutler，tellinghimtoclosethehouseandnottositup，andwalkedwithlaggingstepsintothelonglibrary，wheretheshadedlampswereburning。Hiseyefelluponthelowshelvesfullofcostlybooks，buthehadnodesiretoopenthem。Eventhecarefullychosenpicturesthathungabovethemseemedtohavelosttheirattraction。HepausedforamomentbeforeanidyllofCorot——adanceofnymphsaroundsomeforgottenaltarinavaporousglade——andlookedatitcuriously。Therewassomethingrapturousandsereneaboutthepicture，abreathofspring-timeinthemistytrees，aharmonyofjoyinthedancingfigures，thatwakenedinhimafeelingofhalf-pleasureandhalf-envy。Itrepresentedsomethingthathehadneverknowninhiscalculated，orderlylife。Hewasdimlymistrustfulofit。

"Itiscertainlyverybeautiful，"hethought，"butitisdistinctlypagan；

thataltarisbuilttosomeheathengod。ItdoesnotfitintotheschemeofaChristianlife。Idoubtwhetheritisconsistentwiththetoneofmyhouse。Iwillsellitthiswinter。ItwillbringthreeorfourtimeswhatIpaidforit。Thatwasagoodpurchase，averygoodbargain。"

Hedroppedintotherevolvingchairbeforehisbiglibrarytable。

Itwascoveredwithpamphletsandreportsofthevariousenterprisesinwhichhewasinterested。Therewasapileofnewspaperclippingsinwhichhisnamewasmentionedwithpraiseforhissustainingpowerasapillaroffinance，forhisjudiciousbenevolence，forhissupportofwiseandprudentreformmovements，forhisdiscretioninmakingpermanentpublicgifts——"theWeightmanCharities，"oneverycomplaisanteditorcalledthem，asiftheydeservedclassificationasadistinctspecies。

Heturnedhepapersoverlistlessly。Therewasadescriptionandapictureofthe"WeightmanWingoftheHospitalforCripples，"

ofwhichhewaspresident；andanarticleonthenewprofessorinthe"WeightmanChairofPoliticalJurisprudence"inJacksonUniversity，ofwhichhewasatrustee；andanillustratedaccountoftheopeningofthe"WeightmanGrammar-School"atDulwich-on-the-Sound，wherehehadhislegalresidenceforpurposesoftaxation。

ThislastwasperhapsthemostcarefullyplannedofalltheWeightmanCharities。Hedesiredtowintheconfidenceandsupportofhisruralneighbors。IthadpleasedhimmuchwhenthelocalnewspaperhadspokenofhimasanidealcitizenandthelogicalcandidatefortheGovernorshipoftheState；butuponthewholeitseemedtohimwisertokeepoutofactivepolitics。ItwouldbeeasierandbettertoputHaroldintotherunning，tohavehimsenttotheLegislaturefromtheDulwichdistrict，thentothenationalHouse，thentotheSenate。

Whynot？TheWeightmaninterestswerelargeenoughtoneedadirectrepresentativeandguardianatWashington。

Butto-nightalltheseplanscamebacktohimwithdustuponthem。

Theyweredryandcrumblinglikeforsakenhabitations。Thesonuponwhomhiscomplacentambitionhadrestedhadturnedhisbackuponthemansionofhisfather\'shopes。Thebreakmightnotbefinal；

andinanyeventtherewouldbemuchtolivefor；thefortunesofthefamilywouldbesecure。ButthezestofitallwouldbegoneifJohnWeightmanhadtogiveuptheassuranceofperpetuatinghisnameandhisprinciplesinhisson。Itwasabitterdisappointment，andhefeltthathehadnotdeservedit。

Herosefromthechairandpacedtheroomwithleadenfeet。

Forthefirsttimeinhislifehisagewasvisiblyuponhim。

Hisheadwasheavyandhot，andthethoughtsthatrolledinitwereconfusedanddepressing。Coulditbethathehadmadeamistakeintheprinciplesofhisexistence？TherewasnoargumentinwhatHaroldhadsaid——itwasalmostchildish——andyetithadshakentheeldermanmoredeeplythanhecaredtoshow。

Itheldasilentattackwhichtouchedhimmorethanopencriticism。

Supposetheendofhislifewerenearerthanhethought——theendmustcomesometime——whatifitwerenow？Hadhenotfoundedhishouseuponarock？HadhenotkepttheCommandments？

Washenot，"touchingthelaw，blameless"？Andbeyondthis，evenifthereweresomefaultsinhischaracter——andallmenaresinners——

yethesurelybelievedinthesavingdoctrinesofreligion——theforgivenessofsins，theresurrectionofthebody，thelifeeverlasting。

Yes，thatwasthetruesourceofcomfort，afterall。HewouldreadabitintheBible，ashedideverynight，andgotobedandtosleep。

Hewentbacktohischairatthelibrarytable。Astrangeweightofwearinessresteduponhim，butheopenedthebookatafamiliarplace，andhiseyesfellupontheverseatthebottomofthepage。

"Laynotupforyourselvestreasuresuponearth。"

Thathadbeenthetextofthesermonafewweeksbefore。

Sleepily，heavily，hetriedtofixhisminduponitandrecallit。

WhatwasitthatDoctorSnodgrasshadsaid？Ah，yes——thatitwasamistaketopausehereinreadingtheverse。Wemustreadonwithoutapause——Laynotuptreasuresuponearthwheremothandrustdocorruptandwherethievesbreakthroughandsteal——thatwasthetruedoctrine。

Wemayhavetreasuresuponearth，buttheymustnotbeputintounsafeplaces，butintosafeplaces。Amostcomfortingdoctrine！

Hehadalwaysfollowedit。Mothsandrustandthieveshaddonenoharmtohisinvestments。

JohnWeightman\'sdroopingeyesturnedtothenextverse，atthetopofthesecondcolumn。

"Butlayupforyourselvestreasuresinheaven。"

NowwhathadtheDoctorsaidaboutthat？Howwasittobeunderstood——inwhatsense——treasures——inheaven？

Thebookseemedtofloatawayfromhim。Thelightvanished。

HewondereddimlyifthiscouldbeDeath，comingsosuddenly，soquietly，soirresistibly。Hestruggledforamomenttoholdhimselfup，andthensankslowlyforwarduponthetable。Hisheadresteduponhisfoldedhands。Heslippedintotheunknown。

Howlongafterwardconsciouslifereturnedtohimhedidnotknow。