WEALTH WITHOUT WINGS. 157

 

quiring wealth. And as to the true riches, which
many around him were laying up where no moth
could corrupt nor thieves break through and steal,
he rejected them as of no account. |

With such a man as Leonard Jasper, holding the
position of head of a family, how little of the true
home spirit, so full of tenderness and mutual love,
is to be expected! Had Mrs. Jasper been less a
woman of the world; had she been capable of lov-
ing any thing out of herself, and, therefore, of lov-
ing her husband and children, with that true love
which seeks their higher good, a different state of
things would have existed in this family, spite of
Jasper’s unfeeling sordidness. But, as it was, no
fire of love melted the natural perverseness inherited
by the children, and they grew up, cherishing mu-
tual antagonism, and gradually coming to regard
their parents only as persons with power to thwart
their inclinations, or as possessing the means of
gratifying their desires.

With all his wealth, how few were the real sources
of happiness possessed by Jasper! Pressed down
with anxiety about the future, and forced to toil be-
yond his strength, how many of life’s truest bless-
ings were poured into the lap of Edward Claire !

The sleep of the poor clerk, that night, was sound
and refreshing. The merchant tossed to and fro on
his pillow until long after the midnight watches ad-
vanced upon the morning; and then, when wearied
nature claimed her due, he slept only for brief pe-
riods, continually startled by frightful dreams.

At an early hour next day, he called upon Grind,

Who was still his legal adviser.
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