"
"But," said the stranger, "will not Mr. Merton wait another year, if
you make all the circumstances known to him?"
"No, sir," replied Mr. Bishop; "I saw him this morning, and he said he
must have the money and should be obliged to foreclose."
"He must be very hard-hearted," remarked the traveler.
"Not necessarily so," replied Mr. Bishop. "The fact is, these rich men
know nothing of the struggles of the poor. They are men, just like the
rest of mankind, and I am sure if they had but the faintest idea of
what the poor have to pass through, their hearts and purses would
open. You know it has passed into a proverb, 'When a poor man needs
help he should apply to the poor.' The reason is obvious. Only the
poor know the curse of poverty. They know how heavily it falls,
crushing the heart of man, and (to use my favorite expression) they
can at once put themselves in the unfortunate one's place and
appreciate difficulties, and are therefore ready to render assistance
as far as they are able. If Mr. Merton had the least idea what I and
my family had to pass through, I think he would be willing to wait
several years for his money rather than distress us."
With what emotion the stranger listened may be imagined.
Pages:
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364