"And if all men would so
pursue the right and the just, how different would be the result for
each, as the sure adjustment of advancing years gave them their true
places in the world's observation!"
The Judge spoke in a half--absent way, and with a shade of regret in
his tones; Wallingford noted this with a feeling of concern.
"Let us be friends in the future," he added, again offering his hand
to Wallingford.
"It will be your fault, not mine, if we are not fast fiends, Judge.
I have never forgotten the obligations of my boyhood; and never
ceased to regret the alienation you have shown. To have seemed in
your eyes ungrateful, has been a source of pain whenever I saw or
thought of you."
The two men parted, each feeling better for the interview. A day or
two afterwards Wallingford received a note from Judge Bigelow asking
him, as a particular favor, to call at his office that evening. He
went, of course. The Judge was alone, and received him cordially.
But, his countenance soon fell into an expression of more than usual
gravity.
"Mr. Wallingford," he said, after the passage of a few casual
observations, "I would like to consult you in strict confidence on
some matters in which I have become involved.
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