Conclusion

“Austin and Bessie were married last evening,” remarked Parson Hawley, one of Austin’s well-wishers, as he stretched his feet out at his own fireside.

“I am glad to hear it,” replied his wife happily. “Austin is a fine young man, and Bessie will make him a good, true helpmeet. May the sun shine brightly on their lives all the way.”

“What is your prophecy on Austin’s life, my dear?” the good man continued. “We have watched him rear his family, and have noted many of his cares and responsibilities, and have felt for him in his perplexities and difficulties. Has he succeeded in what he undertook? Have the results rewarded his sacrifice?”

“I could answer your questions better a few years hence. Look at our own children. Did it always seem as if they were going to repay us for the care and toil we gave them? When they were in the transition stage of life, as Austin’s children now are, did they show the effect of our efforts as we wished them to? I think not. I remember sleepless nights and careworn days when it seemed that one or the other would surely bring us sorrow. And there were two of us of mature years. Wait till Austin’s children have another ten years on their heads and then you can better judge. This one thing I do know, that it is an impossibility that boys and girls should live with a man who has lived and is living as Austin, whose whole life has been one of unselfish sacrifice and devotion, and not be the better for it.”

“You are right, Wife. We have all expected them to be just like him, when that would have been an impossibility. But do the children appreciate what he has done as they should?”

“Ah, Henry, what a question for a man of your age to ask! Do the children appreciate what he has done! Did you ever see children in their teens who appreciated what their rearing had cost, not in dollars and cents, but in tears and prayers and pain? I think not. Just wait till those children have felt the load of responsibility settle upon their shoulders, fitting itself to their capacity; just let them shed a few tears of sorrow and anguish, and let them sacrifice, as they will do, for love’s sweet sake—and then they will appreciate him and all he has done.”

“That is so, Mother. We had to wait a while before our children could understand the reason for some of our dealings with them. But now we do not regret our toil and care, since we are rewarded by their love and appreciation. Come to think of it, we did not have that object in view in their training. It was not for our pleasure, but for their good that we worked.”

“And so it has been with Austin. He gave his young life for them. He has done his duty by them, and he is a better man for it. Even if he saw no reward in them, what it has done for him has been worth it all. See his strength of character, the earnestness and purpose of life; look at Austin as we know him, and can we say that he is not already reaping the reward of his efforts and sacrifice?”

“Character,” said the good man, after a while, “character is not a gift but a growth. With Austin it found good soil to grow in, and he has given it the right kind of cultivation—sacrifice, devotion to a noble purpose, honesty, sincerity—to make it develop well. Yes, you are right. It has paid. I was thinking of what he had given up for them. The pleasures of youth, the fun and the frolic that other boys get. But they are of lesser value, while he has tasted of the real things of life. Yes, it has all paid well.”

“But let us not think that the children are even now ungrateful. Amy is quick to praise him and what he has done; she sees many things in a new light since wifehood and motherhood have come to her. And Harry, while he never could bear to depend on Austin, realizes quite forcibly what his brother has done. Nell is at her most thoughtless age, but down in her heart she appreciates her brother; the stamp of his life will be found in her, you may be certain. Lila is devoted to him. And he has many, many friends and admirers.”

“What will his life be from now on? Will he continue to develop? Will he realize those early hopes and desires? What do you say?”

“ ‘I [am] no prophet, neither [am] I a prophet’s son,’* (Amos 7:14) so I shall not answer those questions. But I know this, that he has chosen a helpmeet who will be an encouragement and help to him in becoming all that God would have him to be. The future lies in the hand of God. May He bless them and make them all He designs in their lives.”