HOW TO ATTAIN TRUE GREATNESS. 47

 

“You shall be cleared,” was the positive
answer. And he was cleared. Justice was
subverted—property to a large value lost
—and an accomplished villain turned loose
upon the community, by the venal tact
and eloquence of a skilful lawyer.

In these two instances we have an ex-
hibition of the characters of the two indi-
viduals, ripening for maturity. Both pos-
sessing fine talents, both were eminent,
both successful,—but the one was a curse,
and the other a blessing to society. And
all this, because their ends of life were
different.

Time passed on, and Abercrombie, as
the mere tool of a political party, elected
by trick and management, under circum-
stances humiliating to a man of feeling and
principle, became a representative in the
State legislature. But he was a repre-
sentative, and this soothing opiate to his
ambition quieted every unpleasant emotion.
Conscious, in the state of political feeling,
that there was little or no possible chance