s that scattereth," he read, "and yet
increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it
tendeth to poverty." "I scatter," he said; "but I don't want to increase.
Lord, spare me the consequences of my scattering! 'Withholdeth more than
is meet'! Lord, by Thy grace, that will not I! I have no objection to
poverty; but I would not have it come in that way!"
"There is that maketh himself rich," he read again, "Yet hath nothing;
there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches." "Ah," he
sighed, "to possess such riches, I would gladly make myself poor!" But
there was one text in the book of Proverbs which "Cobbler" Horn could
never read without a smile. "The poor," it ran "is hated even of his own
neighbour; but the rich hath many friends." He thought of his daily shoals
of letters, of the numerous visiting cards which had been left at the door
of his new abode, and of the obsequious attentions he had begun to receive
from the office-bearers and leading members of his church; and he called
to mind the eagerness of his fellow-voyagers to make his acquaintance.
"Ah" he mused shrewdly, "friends, like most good things, are chiefly to
be had when you don't need them!"
In these sacred studies, the days passed swiftly for "the Golden
Shoemaker." Very different were the methods by which the majority of his
fellow-passengers endeavoured to beguile the time. Amongst the least
objectionable of these were concerts, theatricals, billiards, and all
kinds of games. Much time was spent by the ladies in idle chat, to which
the gentlemen added the seductions of cigar and pipe. There were not a
few of the passengers, moreover, who resorted to the vicious excitement
of betting; and "Cobbler" Horn marked with amazement and horror the
eagerness with which they staked their money on a variety of unutterably
trivial questions. The disposition of really large sums of money was made
to depend, on whether a certain cloud would obscure the sun or not;
whether a large bird, seen as they neared the land, would sweep by on one
side of the ship or the other; whether the pilot would prove to be tall or
short; and upon a multitude of other matters so utterly unimportant, that
"the Golden Shoemaker" began to think he was voyaging with a company of
escaped lunatics.
To one gentleman, who proposed to take a bet with him as to the
nationality of the next vessel they might happen to meet, he gave a
characteristic reply.
"Thank yo
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