an still not
persuaded he could accept, and really most unwilling to decline. The
next morning the merchant was up very early, and bolting into his
friend's room, he woke him from a sound slumber, exclaiming, 'Aleck, I
have got to be absent to-day--shall not be in till evening; but I have
thought your affair all over, and decided that you must come, and that
forthwith. As to the little objection which troubles you, here is what
will obviate it; and mind you, Aleck, if you ever allude to this
circumstance, either to me or to any living being, I swear, by Jupiter
Ammon, your favorite old heathen, that I will never again recognize you
as friend.'

Thus delivering himself, he thrust a check for a thousand dollars into
the hands of the astonished clergyman, who lay listening to his
harangue, fully convinced his friend was actually out of his wits. The
next instant the door was closed; and rubbing his eyes to satisfy
himself he was not dreaming, he examined the piece of paper in his hand,
and read it forward and backward, upside down, and right side up, until
he actually began to comprehend what it meant. More than this, he fully
appreciated the act, and accepted it; and further, he never did allude
to the circumstance, not even so much as to thank his friend. It is
true, when the latter came back that evening and the two shook hands,
that Harry felt a peculiar pressure, and observed a peculiar expression
in Aleck's eyes, which he fancied for the moment were moist.

So Mr. Chellis was ordained over the church in New York. Years ran
away. He became a famous divine, justly celebrated through town and
country. We know the position Mr. Tenant enjoyed. The two always
maintained their old intimacy. When alone together, it was still 'Aleck'
and 'Harry.' College jokes were repeated, college days lived over, and,
while together, it would seem that neither was a day the older for the
years that had rolled over them. It is not to be wondered at then that
on receiving the unlooked-for intelligence of Hiram Meeker's conduct he
should desire to consult his old friend and lay the case before him.

Apologizing for keeping the reader so long on the threshold of Dr.
Chellis's study, we will now enter with him, and report the conference.

'Aleck, I am in trouble.' That was the first remark after the greeting.

Never before had Mr. Tenant made such an observation to his friend. The
old merchant had borne his failure like a man, accepting it