being quite sure, in
view of the goodness of his aims, that they would be overlooked or even
commended by the Power above Whom he pictured in his mind's eye as a
furious old man, animated chiefly by jealousy and a desire to wreak
vengeance on and torture the helpless. For it is the lessons of the Old
Testament that sink most deeply into the souls of Mr. Knight and his
kind.

Sir John's ends were quite different. He was the very vulgarest of
self-made men, coarse and brutal by nature, a sensualist of the type
that is untouched by imagination; a man who would crush anyone who
stood in his path without compunction, just because that person did
stand in his path. But he was extremely shrewd--witness the way he saw
through Mr. Knight--and in his own fashion very able--witness his
success in life.

Moreover, since a man of his type has generally some object beyond the
mere acquiring of money, particularly after it has been acquired, he
had his, to rise high, for he was very ambitious. His natural
discernment set all his own failings before him in the clearest light;
also their consequences. He knew that he was vulgar and brutal, and
that as a result all persons of real gentility looked down upon him,
however much they might seem to cringe before his money and power, yes,
though they chanced to be but labouring men.

For instance, his wife had done so, which was one of the reasons why he
hated her, as indeed had all her distinguished relatives, after they
came to know him, although he lent them money. He knew that even if he
became a peer, as he fully expected to do, it would be the same story;
outward deference and lip service, but inward dislike and contempt. In
short, there were limits which he could never hope to pass, and
therefore so far as he was concerned, his ambitious thirst must remain
unslaked.

But he had a daughter whom Nature, perhaps because of her mother's
blood, had set in quite a different class. She had his ability, but she
was gentle-born, which he was not, one who could mix with and be
welcomed by the highest in the world, and this without the slightest
question. If not beautiful, she was very distinguished; she had
presence and what the French call "the air." Further, she would be one
of the richest women in England. Considered from his point of view,
therefore, it was but natural that he should desire her to make a
brilliant marriage and found a great family, which he would thus have
originated--