The straight road is shortest and surest

The straight road is shortest and surest by A. L. O. E. is a Victorian-era moral tale for young readers. Set in an English country house, it explores conscience, duty, and temptation, arguing that the path of obedience to God is safer than clever shortcuts. On the eve of his sister Mina’s wedding at Cortley Hall, fourteen-year-old Wilfred Marsden discovers a hidden will in the Oak Room that leaves the estate to their frugal cousin, Tom Benson, not to Wilfred’s noble father. Dreading the ruin of his family’s happiness and charities, Wilfred tries to destroy the will—first by fire, then by burying it, and finally by sinking it in the river. Conscience dogs him; he falls into the water and is rescued by John Allfrey, who also retrieves the roll without reading it and later returns it to Mina. Tended through a feverish night, Wilfred recognizes God’s mercy, faces the terror of his deceit, and resolves to take the straight path of duty, learning that the honest road, however hard, is the shortest and surest.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.