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diff --git a/old/23553-h.htm.2021-01-25 b/old/23553-h.htm.2021-01-25 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d999d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/23553-h.htm.2021-01-25 @@ -0,0 +1,1073 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Christmas Miracle, by Charles Egbert Craddock + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Christmas Miracle, by +Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree) + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Christmas Miracle + 1911 + +Author: Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree) + +Release Date: November 19, 2007 [EBook #23553] +Last Updated: March 8, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE + </h1> + <h2> + By Charles Egbert Craddock <br /> <br /> 1911 + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + He yearned for a sign from the heavens. Could one intimation be vouchsafed + him, how it would confirm his faltering faith! Jubal Kennedy was of the + temperament impervious to spiritual subtleties, fain to reach conclusions + with the line and rule of mathematical demonstration. Thus, all + unreceptive, he looked through the mountain gap, as through some + stupendous gateway, on the splendors of autumn; the vast landscape + glamorous in a transparent amethystine haze; the foliage of the dense + primeval wilderness in the October richness of red and russet; the + “hunter's moon,” a full sphere of illuminated pearl, high in the blue east + while yet the dull vermilion sun swung westering above the massive purple + heights. He knew how the sap was sinking; that the growths of the year had + now failed; presently all would be shrouded in snow, but only to rise + again in the reassurance of vernal quickening, to glow anew in the + fullness of bloom, to attain eventually the perfection of fruition. And + still he was deaf to the reiterated analogy of death, and blind to the + immanent obvious prophecy of resurrection and the life to come. His + thoughts, as he stood on this jutting crag in Sunrise Gap, were with a + recent “experience meeting” at which he had sought to canvass his + spiritual needs. His demand of a sign from the heavens as evidence of the + existence of the God of revelation, as assurance of the awakening of + divine grace in the human heart, as actual proof that wistful mortality is + inherently endowed with immortality, had electrified this symposium. + Though it was fashionable, so to speak, in this remote cove among the + Great Smoky Mountains, to be repentant in rhetorical involutions and a + self-accuser in finespun interpretations of sin, doubt, or more properly + an eager questioning, a desire to possess the sacred mysteries of + religion, was unprecedented. Kennedy was a proud man, reticent, reserved. + Although the old parson, visibly surprised and startled, had gently + invited his full confidence, Kennedy had hastily swallowed his words, as + best he might, perceiving that the congregation had wholly misinterpreted + their true intent and that certain gossips had an unholy relish of the + sensation they had caused. + </p> + <p> + Thereafter he indulged his poignant longings for the elucidation of the + veiled truths only when, as now, he wandered deep in the woods with his + rifle on his shoulder. He could not have said to-day that he was nearer an + inspiration, a hope, a “leading,” than heretofore, but as he stood on the + crag it was with the effect of a dislocation that he was torn from the + solemn theme by an interruption at a vital crisis. + </p> + <p> + The faint vibrations of a violin stirred the reverent hush of the + landscape in the blended light of the setting sun and the “hunter's moon.” + Presently the musician came into view, advancing slowly through the aisles + of the red autumn forest. A rapt figure it was, swaying in responsive + ecstasy with the rhythmic cadence. The head, with its long, blowsy yellow + hair, was bowed over the dark polished wood of the instrument; the eyes + were half closed; the right arm, despite the eccentric patches on the + sleeve of the old brown-jeans coat, moved with free, elastic gestures in + all the liberties of a practiced bowing. If he saw the hunter motionless + on the brink of the crag, the fiddler gave no intimation. His every + faculty was as if enthralled by the swinging iteration of the sweet + melancholy melody, rendered with a breadth of effect, an inspiration, it + might almost have seemed, incongruous with the infirmities of the crazy + old fiddle. He was like a creature under the sway of a spell, and + apparently drawn by this dulcet lure of the enchantment of sound was the + odd procession that trailed silently after him through these deep mountain + fastnesses. + </p> + <p> + A woman came first, arrayed in a ragged purple skirt and a yellow blouse + open at the throat, displaying a slender white neck which upheld a face of + pensive, inert beauty. She clasped in her arms a delicate infant, ethereal + of aspect with its flaxen hair, transparently pallid complexion, and wide + blue eyes. It was absolutely quiescent, save that now and then it turned + feebly in its waxen hands a little striped red-and-yellow pomegranate. A + sturdy blond toddler trudged behind, in a checked blue cotton frock, short + enough to disclose cherubic pink feet and legs bare to the knee; he + carried that treasure of rural juveniles, a cornstalk violin. An old + hound, his tail suavely wagging, padded along the narrow path; and last of + all came, with frequent pause to crop the wayside herbage, a large cow, + brindled red and white. + </p> + <p> + “The whole fambly!” muttered Kennedy. Then, aloud, “Why don't you uns + kerry the baby, Basil Bedell, an' give yer wife a rest?” + </p> + <p> + At the prosaic suggestion the crystal realm of dreams was shattered. The + bow, with a quavering discordant scrape upon the strings, paused. Then + Bedell slowly mastered the meaning of the interruption. + </p> + <p> + “Kerry the baby! Why, Aurely won't let none but herself tech that baby.” + He laughed as he tossed the tousled yellow hair from his face, and looked + over his shoulder to speak to the infant. “It air sech a plumb special + delightsome peach, it air,—it air!” + </p> + <p> + The pale face of the child lighted up with a smile of recognition and a + faint gleam of mirth. + </p> + <p> + “I jes' kem out ennyhows ter drive up the cow,” Basil added. + </p> + <p> + “Big job,” sneered Kennedy. “'Pears-like it takes the whole fambly to do + it.” + </p> + <p> + Such slothful mismanagement was calculated to affront an energetic spirit. + Obviously, at this hour the woman should be at home cooking the supper. + </p> + <p> + “I follered along ter listen ter the fiddle,—ef ye hev enny call ter + know.” Mrs. Bedell replied to his unspoken thought, as if by divination. + </p> + <p> + But indeed such strictures were not heard for the first time. They were in + some sort the penalty of the disinterested friendship which Kennedy had + harbored for Basil since their childhood. He wished that his compeer might + prosper in such simple wise as his own experience had proved to be amply + possible. Kennedy's earlier incentive to industry had been his intention + to marry, but the object of his affections had found him “too mortal + solemn,” and without a word of warning had married another man in a + distant cove. The element of treachery in this event had gone far to + reconcile the jilted lover to his future, bereft of her companionship, but + the habit of industry thus formed had continued of its own momentum. It + had resulted in forehanded thrift; he now possessed a comfortable holding,—cattle, + house, ample land; and he had all the intolerance of the ant for the + cricket. As Bedell lifted the bow once more, every wincing nerve was + enlisted in arresting it in mid-air. + </p> + <p> + “Mighty long tramp fur Bobbie, thar,—why n't ye kerry him!” y + </p> + <p> + The imperturbable calm still held fast on the musician's face. “Bob,” he + addressed the toddler, “will you uns let daddy kerry ye like a baby!” + </p> + <p> + He swooped down as if to lift the child, the violin and bow in his left + hand. The hardy youngster backed off precipitately. + </p> + <p> + “Don't ye <i>dare</i> ter do it!” he virulently admonished his parent, a + resentful light in his blue eyes. Then, as Bedell sang a stave in a full + rich voice, “Bye-oh, Baby!” Bob vociferated anew, “Don't you <i>begin</i> + ter dare do it!” every inch a man though a little one. + </p> + <p> + “That's the kind of a fambly I hev got,” Basil commented easily. “Wife an' + boy an' baby all walk over me,—plumb stomp on me! Jes' enough lef of + me ter play the fiddle a leetle once in a while.” + </p> + <p> + “Mighty nigh all the while, I be afeared,” Kennedy corrected the phrase. + “How did yer corn crap turn out!” he asked, as he too fell into line and + the procession moved on once more along the narrow path. + </p> + <p> + “Well enough,” said Basil; “we uns hev got a sufficiency.” Then, as if + afraid of seeming boastful he qualified, “Ye know I hain't got but one + muel ter feed, an' the cow thar. My sheep gits thar pastur' on the + volunteer grass 'mongst the rocks, an' I hev jes' got a few head + ennyhows.” + </p> + <p> + “But <i>why</i> hain't ye got more, Basil! Why n't ye work more and quit + wastin' yer time on that old fool fiddle!” + </p> + <p> + The limits of patience were reached. The musician fired up. “'Kase,” he + retorted, “I make enough. I hev got grace enough ter be thankful fur sech + ez be vouchsafed ter me. <i>I</i> ain't wantin' no meracle.” + </p> + <p> + Kennedy flushed, following in silence while the musician annotated his + triumph by a series of gay little harmonics, and young Hopeful, trudging + in the rear, executed a soundless fantasia on the cornstalk fiddle with + great brilliancy of technique. + </p> + <p> + “You uns air talkin' 'bout whut I said at the meetin' las' month,” Kennedy + observed at length. + </p> + <p> + “An' so be all the mounting,” Aurelia interpolated with a sudden fierce + joy of reproof. + </p> + <p> + Kennedy winced visibly. + </p> + <p> + “The folks all 'low ez ye be no better than an onbeliever.” Aurelia was + bent on driving the blade home. “The idee of axin' fur a meracle at this + late day,—so ez <i>ye</i> kin be satisfied in yer mind ez ye hev got + grace! Providence, though merciful, air <i>obleeged</i>, ter know ez sech + air plumb scandalous an' redic'lous.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, Aurely, hesh up,” exclaimed her husband, startled from his wonted + leniency. “I hev never hearn ye talk in sech a key,—yer voice sounds + plumb out o' tune. I be plumb sorry, Jube, ez I spoke ter you uns 'bout a + meracle at all. But I frar consider'ble nettled by yer words, ye see,—'kase + I know I be a powerful, lazy, shif'less cuss——” + </p> + <p> + “Ye know a lie, then,” his helpmate interrupted promptly. + </p> + <p> + “Why, Aurely, hesh up,—ye—ye—<i>woman</i>, ye!” he + concluded injuriously. Then resuming his remarks to Kennedy, “I know I <i>do</i> + fool away a deal of my time with the fiddle——” + </p> + <p> + “The sound of it is like bread ter me,— + </p> + <p> + “I couldn't live without it,” interposed the unconquered Aurelia. + “Sometimes it minds me o' the singin' o' runnin' water in a lonesome + place. Then agin it minds me o' seein' sunshine in a dream. An' sometimes + it be sweet an' high an' fur off, like a voice from the sky, tellin' what + no mortial ever knowed before,—an' <i>then</i> it minds me o' the + tune them angels sung ter the shepherds abidin' in the fields. I <i>couldn't</i> + live without it.” + </p> + <p> + “Woman, hold yer jaw!” Basil proclaimed comprehensively. Then, renewing + his explanation to Kennedy, “I kin see that I don't purvide fur my fambly + ez I ought ter do, through hatin' work and lovin' to play the fiddle.” + </p> + <p> + “I ain't goin' ter hear my home an' hearth reviled.” Aurelia laid an + imperative hand on her husband's arm. “Ye know ye couldn 't make more + out'n sech ground,—though I ain't faultin' our land, neither. We uns + hev enough an' ter spare, all we need an' more than we deserve. We don't + need ter ax a meracle from the skies ter stay our souls on faith, nor a + sign ter prove our grace.” + </p> + <p> + “Now, <i>now, stop</i>, Aurely!—I declar', Jube I dunno what made me + lay my tongue ter sech a word ez that thar miser'ble benighted meracle! I + be powerful sorry I hurt yer feelin's, Jube; folks seekin' salvation git + mightily mis-put sometimes, an'——” + </p> + <p> + “<i>I</i> don't want ter hear none o' yer views on religion,” Kennedy + interrupted gruffly. An apology often augments the sense of injury. In + this instance it also annulled the provocation, for his own admission put + Bedell hopelessly in the wrong. “Ez a friend I war argufyin' with ye agin' + yer waste o' time with that old fool fiddle. Ye hev got wife an' children, + an' yit not so well off in this world's gear ez me, a single man. I + misdoubts ef ye hev hunted a day since the craps war laid by, or hev got a + pound o' jerked venison stored up fer winter. But this air yer home,”—he + pointed upward at a little clearing beginning, as they approached, to be + visible amidst the forest,—“an' ef ye air satisfied with sech ez it + be, that comes from laziness stiddier a contented sperit.” + </p> + <p> + With this caustic saying he suddenly left them, the procession standing + silently staring after him as he took his way through the woods in the + dusky red shadows of the autumnal gloaming. + </p> + <p> + Aurelia's vaunted home was indeed a poor place,—not even the rude + though substantial log-cabin common to the region. It was a flimsy shanty + of boards, and except for its rickety porch was more like a box than a + house. It had its perch on a jutting eminence, where it seemed the + familiar of the skies, so did the clouds and winds circle about it. + Through the great gateway of Sunrise Gap it commanded a landscape of a + scope that might typify a world, in its multitude of mountain ranges, in + the intricacies of its intervening valleys, in the glittering coils of its + water-courses. Basil would sometimes sink into deep silences, overpowered + by the majesty of nature in this place. After a long hiatus the bow would + tremble and falter on the strings as if overawed for a time; presently the + theme would strengthen, expand, resound with large meaning, and then he + would send forth melodies that he had never before played or heard, his + own dream, the reflection of that mighty mood of nature in the limpid pool + of his receptive mind. + </p> + <p> + Around were rocks, crags, chasms,—the fields which nourished the + family lay well from the verge, within the purlieus of the limited + mountain plateau. He had sought to persuade himself that it was to save + all the arable land for tillage that he had placed his house and door-yard + here, but both he and Aurelia were secretly aware of the subterfuge; he + would fain be always within the glamour of the prospect through Sunrise + Gap! + </p> + <p> + Their interlocutor had truly deemed that the woman should have been + earlier at home cooking the supper. Dusk had deepened to darkness long + before the meal smoked upon the board. The spinning-wheel had begun to + whir for her evening stint when other hill-folks had betaken themselves to + bed. Basil puffed his pipe before the fire; the flicker and flare pervaded + every nook of the bright little house. Strings of red-pepper-pods flaunted + in festoons from the beams; the baby slumbered under a gay quilt in his + rude cradle, never far from his mother's hand, but the bluff little boy + was still up and about, although his aspect, round and burly, in a scanty + nightgown, gave token of recognition of the fact that bed was his + appropriate place. His shrill plaintive voice rose ever and anon + wakefully. + </p> + <p> + “I wanter hear a bear tale,—I wanter hear a bear tale.” + </p> + <p> + Thus Basil must needs knock the ashes from his pipe the better to devote + himself to the narration,—a prince of raconteurs, to judge by the + spell-bound interest of the youngster who stood at his knee and hung on + his words. Even Aurelia checked the whir of her wheel to listen smilingly. + She broke out laughing in appreciative pleasure when Basil took up the + violin to show how a jovial old bear, who intruded into this very house + one day when all the family were away at the church in the cove, and who + mistook the instrument for a banjo, addressed himself to picking out this + tune, singing the while a quaint and ursine lay. Basil embellished the + imitation with a masterly effect of realistic growls. + </p> + <p> + “Ef ye keep goin' at that gait, Basil,” Aurelia admonished him, “daylight + will ketch us all wide awake around the fire,—no wonder the child + won't go to bed.” She seemed suddenly impressed with the pervasive cheer. + “What a fool that man, Jube Kennedy, must be! How <i>could</i> ennybody + hev a sweeter, darlinger home than we uns hev got hyar in Sunrise Gap!” + </p> + <p> + On the languorous autumn a fierce winter ensued. The cold came early. The + deciduous growths of the forests were leafless ere November waned, rifled + by the riotous marauding winds. December set in with the gusty snow flying + fast. Drear were the gray skies; ghastly the sheeted ranges. Drifts piled + high in bleak ravines, and the grim gneissoid crags were begirt with + gigantic icicles. But about the little house in Sunrise Gap that kept so + warm a heart, the holly trees showed their glad green leaves and the red + berries glowed with a mystic significance. + </p> + <p> + As the weeks wore on, the place was often in Kennedy's mind, although he + had not seen it since that autumn afternoon when he had bestirred himself + to rebuke its owner concerning the inadequacies of the domestic provision. + His admonition had been kindly meant and had not deserved the retort, the + flippant ridicule of his spiritual yearnings. Though he still winced from + the recollection, he was sorry that he had resisted the importunacy of + Basil's apology. He realized that Aurelia had persisted to the limit of + her power in the embitterment of the controversy, but even Aurelia he was + disposed to forgive as time passed on. When Christinas Day dawned, the + vague sentiment began to assume the definiteness of a purpose, and + noontide found him on his way to Sunrise Gap. + </p> + <p> + There was now no path through the woods; the snow lay deep over all, + unbroken save at long intervals when queer footprints gave token of the + stirring abroad of the sylvan denizens, and he felt an idle interest in + distinguishing the steps of wolf and fox, of opossum and weasel. In the + intricacies of the forest aisles, amid laden boughs of pine and fir, there + was a suggestion of darkness, but all the sky held not enough light to + cast the shadow of a bole on the white blank spaces of the snow-covered + ground. A vague blue haze clothed the air; yet as he drew near the + mountain brink, all was distinct in the vast landscape, the massive ranges + and alternating valleys in infinite repetition. + </p> + <p> + He wondered when near the house that he had not heard the familiar barking + of the old hound; then he remembered that the sound of his horse's hoofs + was muffled by the snow. He was glad to be unheralded. He would like to + surprise Aurelia into geniality before her vicarious rancor for Basil's + sake should be roused anew. As he emerged from the thick growths of the + holly, with the icy scintillations of its clustering green leaves and red + berries, he drew rein so suddenly that the horse was thrown back on his + haunches. The rider sat as if petrified in the presence of an awful + disaster. + </p> + <p> + The house was gone! Even the site had vanished! Kennedy stared bewildered. + Slowly the realization of what had chanced here began to creep through his + brain. Evidently there had been a gigantic landslide. The cliff-like + projection was broken sheer off,—hurled into the depths of the + valley. Some action of subterranean waters, throughout ages, doubtless, + had been undermining the great crags till the rocky crust of the earth had + collapsed. He could see even now how the freeze had fractured outcropping + ledges where the ice had gathered in the fissures. A deep abyss that he + remembered as being at a considerable distance from the mountain's brink, + once spanned by a foot-bridge, now showed the remnant of its jagged, + shattered walls at the extreme verge of the precipice. + </p> + <p> + A cold chill of horror benumbed his senses. Basil, the wife, the children,—where + were they? A terrible death, surely, to be torn from the warm securities + of the hearth-stone, without a moment's warning, and hurled into the midst + of this frantic turmoil of nature, down to the depths of the gap,—a + thousand feet below! And at what time had this dread fate befallen his + friend? He remembered that at the cross-roads' store, when he had paused + on his way to warm himself that morning, some gossip was detailing the + phenomenon of unseasonable thunder during the previous night, while others + protested that it must have been only the clamors of “Christmas guns” + firing all along the country-side. “A turrible clap, it was,” the + raconteur had persisted. “Sounded ez ef all creation hed split apart.” + Perhaps, therefore, the catastrophe might be recent. Kennedy could + scarcely command his muscles as he dismounted and made his way slowly and + cautiously to the verge. + </p> + <p> + Any deviation from the accustomed routine of nature has an unnerving + effect, unparalleled by disaster in other sort; no individual danger or + doom, the aspect of death by drowning, or gunshot, or disease, can so + abash the reason and stultify normal expectation. Kennedy was scarcely + conscious that he saw the vast disorder of the landslide, scattered from + the precipice on the mountain's brink to the depths of the Gap—inverted + roots of great pines thrust out in mid-air, foundations of crags riven + asunder and hurled in monstrous fragments along the steep slant, unknown + streams newly liberated from the caverns of the range and cascading from + the crevices of the rocks. In effect he could not believe his own eyes. + His mind realized the perception of his senses only when his heart + suddenly plunged with a wild hope,—he had discerned amongst the + turmoil a shape of line and rule, the little box-like hut! Caught as it + was in the boughs of a cluster of pines and firs, uprooted and thrust out + at an incline a little less than vertical, the inmates might have been + spared such shock of the fall as would otherwise have proved fatal. Had + the house been one of the substantial log-cabins of the region its timbers + must have been torn one from another, the daubing and chinking scattered + as mere atoms. But the more flimsy character of the little dwelling had + thus far served to save it,—the interdependent “framing” of its + structure held fast; the upright studding and boards, nailed stoutly on, + rendered it indeed the box that it looked. It was, so to speak, built in + one piece, and no part was subjected to greater strain than another. But + should the earth cave anew, should the tough fibres of one of those + gigantic roots tear out from the loosened friable soil, should the elastic + supporting branches barely sway in some errant gust of wind, the little + box would fall hundreds of feet, cracked like a nut, shattering against + the rocks of the levels below. + </p> + <p> + He wondered if the inmates yet lived,—he pitied them still more if + they only existed to realize their peril, to await in an anguish of fear + their ultimate doom. Perhaps—he felt he was but trifling with + despair—some rescue might be devised. + </p> + <p> + Such a weird cry he set up on the brink of the mountain!—full of + horror, grief, and that poignant hope. The echoes of the Gap seemed + reluctant to repeat the tones, dull, slow, muffled in snow. But a sturdy + halloo responded from the window, uppermost now, for the house lay on its + side amongst the boughs. Kennedy thought he saw the pallid simulacrum of a + face. + </p> + <p> + “This be Jube Kennedy,” he cried, reassuringly. “I be goin' ter fetch + help,—men, ropes, and a windlass.” + </p> + <p> + “Make haste then,—we uns be nigh friz.” + </p> + <p> + “Ye air in no danger of fire, then?” asked the practical man. + </p> + <p> + “We hev hed none,—before we war flunged off'n the bluff we hed + squinched the fire ter pledjure Bob, ez he war afeard Santy Claus would + scorch his feet comm' down the chimbley,—powerful lucky fur we uns; + the fire would hev burnt the house bodaciously.” + </p> + <p> + Kennedy hardly stayed to hear. He was off in a moment, galloping at + frantic speed along the snowy trail scarcely traceable in the sad light of + the gray day; taking short cuts through the densities of the laurel; torn + by jagged rocks and tangles of thorny growths and broken branches of great + trees; plunging now and again into deep drifts above concealed icy chasms, + and rescuing with inexpressible difficulty the floundering, struggling + horse; reaching again the open sheeted roadway, bruised, bleeding, + exhausted, yet furiously plunging forward, rousing the sparsely settled + country-side with imperative insistence for help in this matter of life or + death! + </p> + <p> + Death, indeed, only,—for the enterprise was pronounced impossible by + those more experienced than Kennedy. Among the men now on the bluff were + several who had been employed in the silver mines of this region, and they + demonstrated conclusively that a rope could not be worked clear of the + obstructions of the face of the rugged and shattered cliffs; that a human + being, drawn from the cabin, strapped in a chair, must needs be torn from + it and flung into the abyss below, or beaten to a frightful death against + the jagged rocks in the transit. + </p> + <p> + “But not ef the chair war ter be steadied by a guy-rope from—say—from + that thar old pine tree over thar,” Kennedy insisted, indicating the long + bole of a partially uprooted and inverted tree on the steeps. “The chair + would swing cl'ar of the bluff then.” + </p> + <p> + “But, Jube, it is onpossible ter git a guy-rope over ter that tree,—more + than a man's life is wuth ter try it.” + </p> + <p> + A moment ensued of absolute silence,—space, however, for a + hard-fought battle. + </p> + <p> + The aspect of that mad world below, with every condition of creation + reversed; a mistake in the adjustment of the winch and gear by the + excited, reluctant, disapproving men; an overstrain on the fibres of the + long-used rope; a slip on the treacherous ice; the dizzy whirl of the + senses that even a glance downward at those drear depths set astir in the + brain,—all were canvassed within his mental processes, all were duly + realized in their entirety ere he said with a spare dull voice and dry + lips,— + </p> + <p> + “Fix ter let me down ter that thar leanin' pine, boys,—I'll kerry a + guy-rope over thar.” + </p> + <p> + At one side the crag beetled, and although it was impossible thence to + reach the cabin with a rope it would swing clear of obstructions here, and + might bring the rescuer within touch of the pine, where could be fastened + the guy-rope; the other end would be affixed to the chair which could be + lowered to the cabin only from the rugged face of the cliff. Kennedy + harbored no self-deception; he more than doubted the outcome of the + enterprise. He quaked and turned pale with dread as with the great rope + knotted about his arm-pits and around his waist he was swung over the + brink at the point where the crag jutted forth,—lower and lower + still; now nearing the slanting inverted pine, caught amidst the débris of + earth and rock; now failing to reach its boughs; once more swinging back + to a great distance, so did the length of the rope increase the scope of + the pendulum; now nearing the pine again, and at last fairly lodged on the + icy bole, knotting and coiling about it the end of the guy-rope, on which + he had come and on which he must needs return. + </p> + <p> + It seemed, through the inexpert handling of the little group, a long time + before the stout arm-chair was secured to the cables, slowly lowered, and + landed at last on the outside of the hut. Many an anxious glance was cast + at the slate-gray sky. An inopportune flurry of snow, a flaw of wind:—and + even now all would be lost. Dusk too impended, and as the rope began to + coil on the windlass at the signal to hoist every eye was strained to + discern the identity of the first voyagers in this aerial journey,—the + two children, securely lashed to the chair. This was well,—all felt + that both parents might best wait, might risk the added delay. The chair + came swinging easily, swiftly, along the gradations of the rise, the + guy-rope holding it well from the chances of contact with the jagged + projections of the face of the cliff, and the first shout of triumph rang + sonorously from the summit. + </p> + <p> + When next the chair rested on the cabin beside the window, a thrill of + anxiety and anger went through Kennedy's heart to note, from his perch on + the leaning pine, a struggle between husband and wife as to who should go + first. Each was eager to take the many risks incident to the long wait in + this precarious lodgment. The man was the stronger. Aurelia was forced + into the chair, tied fast, pushed off, waving' her hand to her husband, + shedding floods of tears, looking at him for the last time, as she + fancied, and calling out dismally, “Far'well, Basil, far'-well.” + </p> + <p> + Even this lugubrious demonstration could not damp the spirits of the men + working like mad at the windlass. They were jovial enough for bursts of + laughter when it became apparent that Basil had utilized the ensuing + interval to tie together, in preparation for the ascent with himself, the + two objects which he next most treasured, his violin and his old hound. + The trusty chair bore all aloft, and Basil was received with welcoming + acclamations. + </p> + <p> + Before the rope was wound anew and for the last time, the aspect of the + group on the cliff had changed. It had grown eerie, indistinct. The pines + and firs showed no longer their sempervirent green, but were black amid + the white tufted lines on their branches, that still served to accentuate + their symmetry. The vale had disappeared in a sinister abyss of gloom, + though Kennedy would not look down at its menace, but upward, always + upward. Thus he saw, like some radiant and splendid star, the first torch + whitely aglow on the brink of the precipice. It opened long avenues of + light adown the snowy landscape,—soft blue shadows trailed after it, + like half-descried draperies of elusive hovering beings. Soon the torch + was duplicated; another and then another began to glow. Now several drew + together, and like a constellation glimmered crownlike on the brow of the + night, as he felt the rope stir with the signal to hoist. + </p> + <p> + Upward, always upward, his eyes on that radiant stellular coronal, as it + shone white and splendid in the snowy night. And now it had lost its + mystic glamour,—disintegrated by gradual approach he could see the + long handles of the pine-knots; the red verges of the flame; the blue and + yellow tones of the focus; the trailing wreaths of dun-tinted smoke that + rose from them. Then became visible the faces of the men who held them, + all crowding eagerly to the verge. But it was in a solemn silence that he + was received; a drear cold darkness, every torch being stuick downward + into the snow; a frantic haste in unharnessing him from the ropes, for he + was almost frozen. He was hardly apt enough to interpret this as an + emotion too deep for words, but now and again, as he was disentangled, he + felt about his shoulders a furtive hug, and more than one pair of the + ministering hands must needs pause to wring his own hands hard. They + practically carried him to a fire that had been built in a sheltered place + in one of those grottoes of the region, locally called “Rock-houses.” Its + cavernous portal gave upon a dark interior, and not until they had turned + a corner in a tunnel-like passage was revealed an arched space in a + rayonnant suffusion of light, the fire itself obscured by the figures + about it. His eyes were caught first by the aspect of a youthful mother + with a golden-haired babe on her breast; close by showed the head and + horns of a cow; the mule was mercifully sheltered too, and stood near, + munching his fodder; a cluster of sheep pressed after the steps of half a + dozen men, that somehow in the clare-obscure reminded him of the shepherds + of old summoned by good tidings of great joy. + </p> + <p> + A sudden figure started up with streaming white hair and patriarchal + beard. + </p> + <p> + “Will ye deny ez ye hev hed a sign from the heavens, Jubal Kennedy?” the + old circuit-rider straitly demanded. “How could ye hev strengthened yer + heart fur sech a deed onless the grace o' God prevailed mightily within + ye? Inasmuch as ye hev done it unto one o' the least o' these my brethern, + ye hev done it unto me.” + </p> + <p> + “That ain't the <i>kind</i> o' sign, parson,” Kennedy faltered. “I be + lookin' fur a meracle in the yearth or in the air, that I kin view or + hear.” + </p> + <p> + “The kingdom o' Christ is a spiritual kingdom,” said the parson solemnly. + “The kingdom o' Christ is a <i>spiritual</i> kingdom, an' great are the + wonders that are wrought therein.” + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Christmas Miracle, by +Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE *** + +***** This file should be named 23553-h.htm or 23553-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/5/5/23553/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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