With shame and grief, as of one doing an unclean thing--but
her boys must have their start--she did as she was advised. Then for a
long while she could not sleep at night and was haunted by a presage of
disaster. Yet what happened? She started her boys, and in a few years
found her capital doubled into the bargain, on which she sold out and
went back again to Consols and died in the full blessedness of
fund-holding.
She thought, indeed, that she was doing a wrong and dangerous thing, but
this had absolutely nothing to do with it. Suppose she had invested in
the full confidence of a recommendation by some eminent London banker
whose advice was bad, and so had lost all her money, and suppose she had
done this with a light heart and with no conviction of sin--would her
innocence of evil purpose and the excellence of her motive have stood her
in any stead? Not they.
But to return to my story. Towneley gave my hero most trouble. Towneley,
as I have said, knew that Ernest would have money soon, but Ernest did
not of course know that he knew it. Towneley was rich himself, and was
married now; Ernest would be rich soon, had _bona fide_ intended to be
married already, and would doubtless marry a lawful wife later on.
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