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diff --git a/old/51971-8.txt b/old/51971-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 627d5b4..0000000 --- a/old/51971-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9982 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Love That Prevailed, by Frank Frankfort Moore - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Love That Prevailed - -Author: Frank Frankfort Moore - -Illustrator: H. B. Matthews - -Release Date: May 2, 2016 [EBook #51971] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOVE THAT PREVAILED *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - -THE LOVE THAT PREVAILED - -By Frank Frankfort Moore - -Author of "The Jessamy Bride," - -"I Forbid the Bans," - -"The Fatal Gift," "The Millionaire," - -"Our Fair Daughter," etc., etc. - -Illustrated By H. B. Matthews - -New York Empire Book Company Publishers - -1907 - -[Illustration: 0001] - -[Illustration: 0008] - -[Illustration: 0009] - - -THE LOVE THAT PREVAILED - - - - -CHAPTER I - -The old church ways be good enough for me," said Miller Pendelly as -he placed on the table a capacious jug of cider, laying a friendly left -hand on the shoulder of Jake Pullsford, the carrier, as he bent across -the side of the settee with the high back. - -"I ne'er could see aught that was helpful to the trade of a smith in -such biases as the Quakers, to name only one of the new-fangled sects," -said Hal Holmes, the blacksmith, shaking his head seriously. "So I holds -with Miller." - -"Ay, that's the way too many of ye esteems a religion--' Will it -put another crown in my pocket?' says you. If't puts a crown in your -pocket,'tis a good enough religion; if't puts half-a-crown in your -pocket,'tis less good; if't puts naught in your pocket, that religion is -good for naught." - -The speaker was a middle-aged man with a pair of large eyes which seemed -to vary curiously in colour, sometimes appearing to be as grey as steel, -and again of a curious green that did not suit everybody's taste -in eyes. But for that matter, Jake Pullsford, the carrier, found it -impossible to meet everybody's taste in several other ways. He had a -habit of craning forward his head close to the face of anyone to whom he -was speaking, and this movement had something of an accusing air, about -it--occasionally a menacing air--which was distinctly distasteful to -most people, particularly those who knew that they had good reason to be -accused or to be menaced. - -"Jake Pullsford goes about the world calling his best friends liars -without the intent to hurt their feelings," was the criticism passed -upon him by Miller Pendelly. Other critics were not so sure on the -subject of his intent. He had never shown himself to be very careful of -the feelings of his friends. - -"The religion that puts naught in thy pocket is good for naught--that's -what you be thinking of, Hal Holmes," he said, thrusting his head close -to the face of the smith. But the smith did not mind. The man that -spends most of his days hammering out and bending iron to his will, -usually thinks good-naturedly of one who uses words and phrases as -arguments. - -"I don't gainsay thee, Jake," he replied. "If you know what's in my -thought better than I do myself, you be welcome to the knowledge." - -"I meant not thee in special, friend," said Jake. "What I say is that -there are too many in these days that think of religion only for what it -may bring to them in daily life--folk that make a gain of godliness." - -"And a right good thing to make a gain of, says I," remarked the miller -with a confidential wink into the empty mug which he held--it had been -full a moment before. - -"Ay, you be honest, miller: you allow that I am right and you have -courage enough to praise what the Book condemns," said Jake. - -"Look'ee here, friend," said the miller, in his usual loud voice--the -years that he had spent in his mill had caused him to acquire a voice -whose tone could successfully compete with the creaking and clattering -of the machinery. "Look'ee here, friend Jake, 'twould be easy enough for -you or me that has done moderate well for ourselves in life, to turn up -our eyes in holy horror at the bare thought of others being godly for -what they may gain in daily life, but for myself, I would not think that -I was broaching a false doctrine if I was to say to my son, 'Young -man, be godly and thou 'll find it to bring gain to thee.' What, Jake, -would 'ee have a man make gain out of ungodliness?" - -"Ay, that's a poser for him, miller: I've been thinking for that -powerful proposal ever since the converse began," said a small man who -had sat silently smoking in a high-backed chair. He was one who had -the aspect of unobtrusiveness, and a figure that somehow suggested to -strangers an apologetic intention without the courage ever to put it -in force. His name was Richard Pritchard, and he was by profession -a water-finder--a practitioner with the divining rod, but one whose -successes were never startling. - -When he had spoken, all the room, to the number of three, turned anxious -eyes upon him, as if they were surprised at his having gone so far and -feared a painful sequel. He seemed to feel that he had justified their -worst forebodings, and hastened to relieve their minds. - -"I'm all friendly, friends, and Jake in especial," he said. "Don't -forget that though a man on the spur of the moment, and in the fierce -stress of argyment, may say a bitter hard word or two, there may still -be naught in his bosom's heart but neighbourly friendship, meaning no -offence to you, Jake, that be a travelled man, viewing strange cities -quite carelessly, where plain and simple men would gape and stare." - -Jake, the carrier, gave no sign of having heard the other speak. - -"There's a many o' us in these parts as strong as in other parts, that -be ready and willing to take things as they come," said he; "to take the -parson's preaching as they take the doctor's pills." - -"Ay, wi' a wry face," acquiesced the blacksmith with a readiness that -one could see the carrier thought meant no good. - -He leant across the table once more until his face was close to the -smith's, and said: - -"That's where you be wrong, Hal Holmes. You know as well as the most -knowledgable----" - -"Meaning yourself, Jake?" said the smith drily. - -"You know well that though you may make a wry face when gulching down -the doctor's pill, ye dursn't so much as show a wrinkle or a crinkle on -your face when Parson Rodney is in his pulpit," replied the carrier with -emphasis. - -"'Cause why?" said the miller. "I'll tell ye truly--'tis because the -parson gives us no bitter pills, only----" - -"That's what I've been leading up to," cried the carrier triumphantly. -"The parson, like thousands of the rest of his cloth throughout the -length and breadth o' the land, is content to preach pleasant things -only, even as the false prophets of Israel prophesied fair things." - -"And why shouldn't he be content to preach pleasant things, friend Jake, -if so be that we be content to hear them? and for myself I would muchly -listen to an hour of pleasant things--ay, rather than half an hour of -unhappy ones." - -"Ah, miller, what would you say if the doctor, who, when he saw your -body suffering from a canker, gave you a sugar-plum and withheld his -knife from cutting out the plague spot because you were apt to be -squeamish at the sight of bloodletting!" - -There was an uneasy pause when the carrier had asked this rehearsed -question. He asked it with a triumphant air, and, as if he felt it to be -too large a question to be answered by the miller singlehanded, he, as -it were, swept the whole company by a glance into his interrogation. - -The water-finder made a motion with his hands as if trying to smooth -away an imaginary roughness in the air. There was a general feeling that -the carrier had triumphed in his argument. He was one of those people -who, by speaking in an air of triumph, succeed in making some people -believe that they have triumphed. The farmer shook his head with the -disinterestedness of an arbitrator. The smith continued looking into -the empty mug from which he had just drunk. The silence lasted several -seconds, and every second of course added to the triumph of the carrier. -The man was not, however, adroit enough to perceive this. He was -indiscreet enough to break the silence. When his eyes had gone round the -company they returned to the miller. - -"Answer me that question, man!" he cried, and then everyone knew that -he had not triumphed: the last word had not been said. - -"I'll answer you when you tell me if you wouldn't bear friendly feelings -for a doctor who gives you a sugar plum instead of blooding you when he -finds you reasonable well," said the miller. - -"'Tis when a man feels healthiest that he stands most in need of -blooding," said Jake, not very readily and not very eagerly. "And so it -is in the health of the soul. 'Let him that thinketh he stand take heed -lest he fall.' Friends, is there one among us that can lay his hand -on his heart and say that he believes that our parsons do their duty -honestly and scripturally." - -"It took you a deal o' time to lead us up to that point: you'd best ha' -blurted it out at once," remarked Hal Holmes. - -"Nay, we all knew that it was a-coming," said the farmer. "Since Jake -found himself as far away from home as Bristol city, he has never lost a -chance of a dig at the parsons." - -"I don't deny that my eyes were opened for the first time at Bristol," -said Jake. "Bristol was my Damascus, farmer." - -The farmer gave a jerk to his head, for the carrier had laid undue -emphasis upon the first syllable of the name. - -"So bad as that?" he whispered. - -The blacksmith laughed. - -"Not so bad, farmer," he said. "'Tis only our neighbour Jake that -compares himself with St. Paul, the Apostle." - -"I heard the profanity. He would ha' done better to abide at home," said -the farmer severely. - -The blacksmith laughed again. - -"There fell, as it were, scales from my eyes when I heard preaching for -the first time--when I heard a parson for the first time," resumed the -carrier, looking out of a window, and apparently unconscious of any of -the remarks of his friends. "Ay, 'twas for the first time, albeit I had -scarce missed church for a whole Sunday since I were a lad. That was -what struck me most, neighbours--that I could go Sunday after Sunday, in -good black cloth, too, and hear the holy service read, in a sort of way, -and the sacred psalms sung, while the fiddle and the double bass and the -viol made sweet music, and yet have no real and true yearning after the -truth, seems little short of a miracle, doesn't it?" - -"Not when one knows that your heart was hard, Jake--ay, sir, it must ha' -been harder than steel," said the blacksmith, shaking his head in mock -gravity. - -"You scoff, smith, you scoff, I know; but you speak the truth -unwittingly," said the carrier with some sadness. "My heart was like the -nether millstone--your pardon, miller, I meant not to say a word that -would cast a slight upon your calling: 'tis right for your nether -millstone to be hard." - -"The harder the better, and no offence, neighbour," said the miller -generously. - -"None was meant, sir," said the carrier. "We were discoursing of my -heart--hard--hard. And I was a reader o' the Book all my life. That's -the strange thing; but I sought not to understand what I read and I got -no help from parson---no, nor yet from Archdeacon Eaton, that I listened -to twice--no, nor the Dean himself in his own Cathedral at Exeter. -With the new light that came to me, I was able to perceive that their -discourse was a vain thing--not helpful to a simple man who thought -something of himself, albeit jangling with the other tinkling cymbals -every Sunday, kneeling (on the knees of my body) when we called -ourselves miserable sinners. Miserable sinners! I tell ye, friends, I -gave no thought to the words. I slurred through the General Confession -at a hand gallop--just the pace that parson gets into when he warms to -his work." - -"There's few left of the cloth and none of the laity can pass parson -when he gets warmed to it. To hear him in the Litany is like watching -him go 'cross country when he be mounted on _King George_, his big -roan," said the blacksmith reflectively. - -"There's none rides straightlier," said the farmer. "And there's no -better or steadier flyer than _King George_, first foal to my mare -_Majesty_. When I heard that parson had need of a flyer that was a -flyer, after poor _Gossip_ broke her neck at the Lyn and her master's -left arm, I held back, not being wishful to put myself for'ard, though -I knew what I knew, and knew that parson knew all I knew and maybe more; -but he got wind o' the foal, and then----" - -"One at a time, farmer--one at a time is fair play between friends," -said the miller, nodding in the direction of Jake, who had suffered the -interruption very meekly. - -"Your pardon, friend," said the farmer. "Only 'twas yourself brought in -the parson's pace. For myself, I think all the better of the cloth that -rides straight to hounds." - -"'Miserable sinners,'" said the carrier, picking up the thread which he -had perforce dropped. "I tell ye, neighbours, that there's no need for -any parson, be he a plain Vicar or of high rank such as a Dean--nay, -a consecrated Bishop--no, I'm not going too far, miller--I say in cool -blood and in no ways excited, a consecrated Lord Bishop--I say that not -one of them need travel in discourse all his pulpit life, beyond that -text 'Miserable sinners.' That was his text--the one I heard at Bristol. -'Miserable sinners.' For the first time in my life I knew what the words -meant. I felt them--I felt them--words of fire--I tell ye that I -felt them burn into me. That was at first--when he began to preach; a -red-hot iron brand stinging me all over, and before he had done I felt -as if all my poor body had been seared over and over again with red-hot -letters that go to the spelling of '_miserable sinners_' You mind Joe -Warden's trial when we were lads, and how he was branded in the forehead -and right hand before he was sent to the pillory. He uttered neither cry -nor moan when the hot iron burst his skin----" - -"I smell the smell o' 't in my nose this moment," said the water-finder -gently. The farmer nodded. - -"But the look that was on his face when he stood up there a marked man -forever!" cried the original speaker. "It told everyone that had eyes -what the man felt, and that was how I felt, multiplied an hundred fold, -when my preacher had done with me. I felt from the first that he had -singled out me--only me out of all that assembly, and when he had done -with me, I say that I could feel myself feeling as Joe Warden felt, the -rebel who suffered for slandering the King's Majesty." - -"'Tis no marvel that the man has had most of the church doors banged -in's face, if so be that he makes genteel churchgoers with ordinary -failings to feel so unwholesome," remarked the smith. - -"And so you comed away," said the farmer. "Well, I wouldn't look back -on it as if I was satisfied. If I want that sort o' preaching I'll e'en -throw myself prone on my nine-acre field when the seed's in, and command -my man Job to pass the harrow o'er the pelt o' my poor carcase." - -"I've only told you of that part of his sermon that made one feel sore -and raw with hot wounds all over," said Jake. "That was one part. I told -you not of the hand that poured soothing oil and precious ointment into -the wounds--that came after. And the oil was as holy soothing as what -ran down over Aaron's beard even unto the skirts of his garment, and -the ointment was as precious as Mary Magdalen's of spikenard--in the -alabaster box, whose odour filled the whole house. The whole life of me -became sweetened with the blessed words that fell from his lips. I felt -no longer the sting of the brand of the truth that had made me to tingle -all over. Oh, the dew of Hermon's holy hill was not more soothing than -the words of gracious comfort that came from him. I had a sense of being -healed and made whole. The joy of it! A cup of cold spring water when -one has toiled through a long hot harvest day. Oh, more than that. -The falling of a burden from off my shoulders like the great burden of -Christian, the Pilgrim; and then the joy--the confidence--the surety--I -cannot tell you how I felt--'tis over much for me, neighbours--over much -for me to attempt." - -"Say no more, Jake; you have made a good enough trial for such as us," -said the miller, laying his hand on the carrier's shoulder, and speaking -only after a long pause. The others of the party began to breathe again, -some of them very audibly. - -The carrier's eyes were shining with an expression his friends had never -before seen them wear. He had been swept away by the force and fervour -of his words, and like one who has been breathing of a rarer atmosphere -than that of the plain, he gasped for several moments, and then there -was a sob in his throat. He went quickly to the door and, letting into -the room the sudden glow of a beautiful Spring sunset, he passed into -the open air, without speaking another word. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -No one in the room had watched the man except in a furtive way, after -he had spoken, although while he was speaking every eye had been fixed -upon him. The sight of the effect of a great emotion makes some people -feel strangely abashed, and the miller and his friends were among such -persons. When the carrier had gone they remained silent for some time. -Each of them seemed to be thinking his thoughts. - -"Poor Jake!" said the miller at last. "He was ever the sort of man that -would be like to have a twist, and he hath got one now. He's made us -forget the cider, lads. Blest if the jug has been touched since Jake -began his story! Hal, man, pass the jug to your neighbour.'Tis Jake that -should have swallowed a mouthful before he left: talking is drouthier -work than listening." - -The smith passed on the jug of cider without replenishing his own mug; -and then knocked the ashes out of the bowl of his pipe. - -"I don't know that there's a deal in all this," he remarked. "What do -you say, miller?" - -"I don't say nought: I only looks on," replied the miller cautiously. - -"Ay, that may be," said the smith. "We all know Jake. He never wronged -his fellow--nay, there's some of us knows that if the worst came to the -worst with us, Jake 'ud be the first to hold out a helping hand, with a -guinea or two in it, as the case may be. Still there may be something in -what he said about being brought to feel himself a miserable sinner." - -"He allowed that the preacher on'y kept him in that suspensory way o' -thought for a brief space," said the miller. - -"Ay, there's men that be mortal sinners, and for all that their luck -is tremendous and saves 'em from the eye of their fellow-men," said the -smith. - -"I feel bound to say this to the credit o' parson," remarked the -water-finder with deprecatory suavity: "he never makes a simple -countryman feel himself to be a miserable sinner. He is of such a good -nature that he slurs over the General Confession so genteelly that I -defy the wickedest of his churchful to feel in any ways as if parson was -dictating the words to him." - -"That shows that parson's heart be in the right place," nodded the -farmer. "He gives us all to understand at a glance that he reads the -words 'cause they are set down for him in the solemn prayer book, and -hopes that there's none among his hearers who will hold him responsible -as a man for their ungentility." - -"True, sir, true; parson's an am'able gentleman, always 'cepting when the -cock he has hatched from the noblest game strain fails him in the first -main," said the blacksmith. - -"And who is he that would be different, tell me that?" cried the miller, -who had fought a few cocks in the course of his life. "Ay, we be well -content wi' parson, we be so; but I don't say that if Jake's Bristol -preacher came within earshot I would refuse to listen to him--only out -o' curiosity--only out o' curiosity. But I do wonder much that a man -o' the steadiness o' Jake Pullsford owning himself overcome by a parson -that has no church of his own." - -"'Tis as humble as allowing a toothache to be cured by a quack at -a fair, when a wholesome Doctor of Physic, like Mr. Corballis, has -wrestled, with it for a whole week," said the water-finder. - -"I hope I haven't offended any friend by my homeliness when the talk was -serious," he added, glancing around, not without apprehension. - -No one took the trouble to say a word that might place him at his ease. -The farmer took a hasty drink out of his mug, and sighed after. The -blacksmith cut up some tobacco and rolled it between his palms. There -was a long silence in the room. It seemed as if the weakness which -Jake, the carrier, had displayed had saddened the little company. It was -pretty clear that they were all thinking of it. - -"Hey, neighbours," cried the miller at last, with a loud attempt to pull -his friends together. "Hey lads, what's amiss? These be doleful dumps -that have fallen on us. A plague on Jake and his quack preacher! Now, if -I'm not better satisfied than ever with parson may I fail to know firsts -from seconds by a sniff of the dust. Come, farmer, tell Hal what answer -you gave to Squire's young lady when she asked you if you made the cows -drink wine wouldn't they milk syllabub? He told me before you looked in, -Hal! Droll, it was surely. You'd never think that the farmer had it in -him." - -"Nay, nay," said the farmer with a smile that broke up his face into -the semblance of a coloured diagram of the canals in Mars. "Nay, miller, -'twas on the spur o' the moment. I had no time to think o' some ready -reply that a young miss might think suitable to her station in life -coming from a humble yeoman that has no learning but of tillage." - -"I'll swear you'll esteem it neat as a sheep's tongue," said the miller. -"Come, farmer, out with it, and don't force me to spoil it i' the -telling." - -"Oh, well----" began the farmer, pursing out his lips and assuming the -expression of one who is forced into a position of enviable prominence. - -"Oh, well,'twas o' Tuesday last--or was it Monday, miller?" - -"You told me Monday," replied the miller. - -"Did I? Well, if I said Monday I sticks to it whatever may hap; for as -ye know me, friends, I don't go back on my word, even though I be wrong, -that being my way, so to speak, that came natural to me ever since poor -father said to me----" - -But the revelation as to the terms of his father's discourse which had -produced so lasting an impression upon him, was not to be made at that -time; for before the slow farmer had spoken, the porch door was opened, -and there appeared against the background of the spring green side -of the little valley slope, the figure of a young girl, rather tall, -wearing a cloak by the lined hood of which her pretty face was framed. - -"Hey," cried the miller, "this be an improvement. After all we won't -need your story, farmer." - -"Your servant, Master Miller--gentlemen, I am your most obedient to -command now as ever," said the girl, dropping a curtsey first to the -miller, then to his guests. "Oh, Master Hal, black but comely as usual, -and rather more idle than usual. And Farmer Pendelly, too--fresh as a -new-washed cherub on a tombstone. Master Pritchard, with his magic wand -up his sleeve, I doubt not. I didn't know that you was entertaining a -party, miller, or I--I----" - -"Don't tell us that you would ha' tarried, Nelly; that would be to pay a -bad compliment to my company as well as to me," said the miller. - -"I was about to say that I would have hurried, not tarried. Maybe I'll -not tarry even now, in spite of the attractions you hold out, sir." - -While she spoke the girl conveyed the impression of making another -general curtsey to the company, though she had merely glanced around at -them with an inclusive smile. She made a pretty pretence of drawing -her cloak around her--she had thrown back the hood immediately after -entering the room--and made a movement towards the door. - -"Don't you dare to think of fleeing, hussy," said the miller. "If you -was to flee just now, there's not one of us here that wouldn't hale thee -back by the hair o' the head--and a nobler tow line couldn't be found." - -He had put his arms about her and patted her hair, which was the -lightest chestnut in colour, and shining like very fine unspun silk. - -"Hey, Nelly, where did ye pick up that head of hair, anyway? All your -household be black as night," he continued. - -"Where's the puzzle, sir?" said she, without a suggestion of sauciness. -"I favour the night, too, only a moonlight night. My hair is the flash -o' moonlight." - -"The lass never was slack in speaking up for herself," said the -blacksmith. - -"True, friend Hal; but haven't I ever been moderate? Have I ever gone -even half-way to describe my own charms?" said the girl with a mock -seriousness that set everyone laughing--they roared when she looked at -them more seriously still, as if reproving their levity. - -"I'll not stay here to be flouted," she cried with a pout, giving the -miller a pat on the cheek. "Ah, here comes Sue to protect me. Dear Sue, -you come in good time. Tell these gentlemen that I haven't a red hair in -my head, and as for its being good only to make towing lines of----" - -Here she broke down and fell sobbing into the arms of Susan Pendelly, a -girl of about her own age, who had entered the room by the door that -led to the parlour. For a few moments Susan was puzzled, for Nelly went -through her piece of acting extremely well, but the laughter of the -miller and the smith--the farmer and the water-finder were not quite -sure, so they remained solemn--quickly let her know that Nelly was up -to a prank, so she put her arms about her and pretended to soothe her, -calling the men ill-mannered wretches, and shaking her fist at them. -Susan was a little heavy and homely in her comedy. - -"Towing line indeed!" she said, looking indignantly over Nelly's bowed -head at the men. "Towing line indeed! Why 'tis the loveliest hair in -Cornwall." - -"A towing line," said her father, laughing. "A towing line that -has drawn more craft in its wake than any twenty-oared galley of a -man-o'-war. Oh, the poor fools that try to get a grip o' that towing -line! Let me count them. First there was Spanish Roderick----" - -The girl lifted up her head from her friend's shoulder. - -"Spanish Roderigo the first!" she cried. "Oh, miller, I did think that -my reputation was safe in your keeping! Why, sir, there were three after -me long before Roderigo showed his face at the Cove." - -"I ask your pardon, madam; I did you an injustice; you began the towing -business when you were twelve----" - -"Ten, miller--ten, if you love me. You would not accuse a simple girl of -wasting her time." - -"Once again, your pardon, miss. I'll make it nine, if so be that you -wish." - -"I have no wish in the matter, sir. I'm nought but a simple country -wench with no wish but to be let live in peace." - -"Tell us how many lads are dangling after you at the present moment, -Nell--dangling like mackerel on the streamers?" - -"How could I possibly tell, sir? Do you suppose that my father knows to -a fish how many mackerel are on his cast of streamers at any time? You -should have more sense, miller. The most that I can speak for is the -five that I angled for." - -"The impudence of the girl! She allows that she angled for five!" - -"Miller, you would not have me treat them like trout and whip for them -with a rod and a single hook. Oh, no, sir, that would not be worth -the while. You see, miller, there are so many of them swimming -about--and--and--well, life is brief." - -"'Tis my belief, Nelly, that there's a hook on every hair of your head -and a foolish lad wriggling on it." - -"You compliment my fishing too highly, sir. If I thought that----" - -"Well, what would happen if you thought that, madam?" - -"Oh, well, I believe that I would e'en weave my hair into a reasonable -fishing-net to save time and a diffusion of wriggling. There now, -miller, we have had said the last word between us of this nonsense. I -know what I am, and you know what I am--a healthy, wholesome country -wench, that two or three lads think well of, and as many more think ill -of--they don't get distraught about me on the one hand, and they don't -have any particular enmity of me on the other hand. That's the way with -all girls, even such as are black-browed, and hard-voiced, which no one -has yet accused me of being, and I've walked seven miles from Porthawn -within the two hours to give you my father's message about Rowan's -corner, and when I've given it to you, I have to trudge back with a -six-pound bag of your best seconds to keep us from starvation for a day -or two." - -"You'll not trudge back before the morning if I have any say in the -matter," cried the miller's daughter, catching up the other's cloak and -throwing it over one arm. "Come hither, Nelly, and we'll have a chat -in the parlour, like the well-to-do folk that we be; these men can have -this place to themselves till the time comes to lay out supper." - -"Supper! what good pixie made you say that word?" cried the other girl. -"If you hadn't said it it would have clean gone from my mind that I -brought with me a stale fish or two that was left over from our dinner -on Sunday week. What a memory I lack, to be sure!" - -She picked up a rush basket which she had placed on the floor when she -was taking off her cloak, and handed it to Susan. - -"You young rapparee!" said the miller. "Did it not cross your foolish -pate that a basket of fish a week old and more is fully capable of -betraying its presence without the need for a laboured memory?" - -"I know that that basket betrayed its presence to me more than once as -it hung on my arm after the first three mile hither," said the girl. - -"As I live'tis a seven-pound pink salmon, and 'twas swimming in the sea -at noon this day," said Susan when she had opened the basket. - -"She must ha' heard that we were supping at the mill this eve'n, and -that I was of the company," said the blacksmith. "Mistress Polwhele, my -respects to you!" - -"Nay, Master Hal, had I known that you were to be of the company, the -salmon would ha' been a fifteen-pounder at least--that is if I wanted -any of the others to have a mouthful," laughed the girl. - -She was out of the room before the blacksmith had ceased rattling his -chair in his pretence of rising to carry out the menace he made with his -fist when she was speaking. - -The miller and his guests watched in silence the door through which she -had gone. - -"A bit of a change from Jake Pullsford, eh, friends!" remarked Hal. - -"That's what we needed sorely," said the miller. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -Life did not seem to be strenuous in the valley of the Lana, seven -miles from the fishing village of Porthawn, and thirty from Falmouth, -when the eighteenth century still wanted more than ten years of -completing its first half. To be sure, the high road to Plymouth was -not so very far away, and coaches with passengers and luggage flew daily -across the little bridge of the Lana at the rate sometimes of as much as -nine miles an hour; and the consciousness of this made the people of the -village of Ruthallion think rather well of themselves--so at least -the dwellers in the more remote parts of the region were accustomed to -affirm. The generous were ready to allow that the most humble-minded -of people would think well of themselves if they were so favourably -situated in regard to the great world as to be able to get news from -London only a few days old, simply by waiting at the turn of the -Plymouth road until a coach came up. - -But of this privilege the people of that most scattered of all Cornish -villages, Ruthallion, did not avail themselves to any marked extent, -except upon occasions of great national importance; such as the -achievement of a victory by King George's army in the Low Countries, -or by the King's ships in the West Indies. In the latter case the news -usually came from the Plymouth side of the high road. For the sober -discussion of such news in all its bearings, it was understood that the -Lana Mill, situated as it was in the valley within a few hundred yards -of the village, and having a little causeway off the Porthawn road all -to itself, occupied a most favourable position. There was no inn with a -well-lighted bar-parlour within four miles of the place, and the miller -was hospitable. He was said to be the inheritor of an important secret -in regard to the making of cider, and it was no secret that his autumnal -brew had a flavour that was unsurpassed by any cider produced in -Cornwall, or (as some people said) in the very apple-core of Devonshire -itself. - -Miller Pendelly was known to be a warm man in more senses than one. -He had not only a considerable amount of property apart from the mill, -which the unfailing waters of the Lana fed; he was a warm-hearted man, -though one of the most discreet that could be imagined. When it was a -charity to give, he gave freely, but he showed himself to be well aware -of the fact that sometimes charity consists in withholding one's hand. -He was not a man that could be easily imposed upon; though, like all -shrewd people, he allowed three or four ne'er-do-wells to borrow from -him--_once_. He talked of every such case with great bitterness on his -tongue, but with a twinkle in his eye that assured his confidants that -he knew what he was about. To rid the neighbourhood of an idle youth who -was robbing an easy-going father, was surely worth the disbursement of -five guineas; and the expatriation of a hard-drinking husband was not -dear at six. - -He, himself, was a good husband to a good wife, and the father of a -girl, who, though well favoured, was discreet--a girl who loved her home -and all it contained better than she did any possible lover. - -The miller's friends were just equal in number to the inhabitants of the -valley and of the villages of Porthawn and Ruthallion. Even the mother -of the worthless youth who had disappeared with the five guineas, and -the wife of the bibulous husband who had not returned after contracting -his loan of six, became, in the course of time, his friends, and almost -forgave him for his exercise of generosity. But among his neighbours -there were none whom he met on such friendly terms as those to whom he -turned with a side-nod of his head when the girls had gone. - -"They may spare their breath who would tell me that the ill-favoured -ones are the best daughters," said he. - -"I'll not be the first to advance that doctrine to the father of Susan -Pendelly," said the blacksmith. - -The miller laughed. - -"Sue was not in my thought," he cried--"at least not when I spoke, -though thinking of her now only makes me stronger in my opinion.'Twas -the sight of t'other lass. Merry she be and with a sharp enough tongue, -but was there ever a better daughter than Nelly Polwhele, tell me that, -Hal?" - -"A fine salmon fish it be surely," said the blacksmith. "Seven pounds, -I'll wager, if 'tis an ounce." - -"Out upon thee for a curmudgeon," shouted the miller, giving the -blacksmith a push of a vehemence so friendly that he with difficulty -retained his place on the settee. - -"'Tis a mortal pity that so spirited a mare foal will be tamed sooner -or later--that's the way with all female flesh whether well-favoured or -black-a-vised," remarked the farmer.. - -Richard Pritchard, who was the only single man present, shook his head -with as great a show of gravity as if he had spent his life taming -spirited things. - -His arrogance aroused his host. - -"And what are you that gives yourself airs, my man?" he cried. "What -call has a worm of a bachelor to let his tongue wag on a matter that -might well make owdacious fathers o' families keep dead silence? Richard -Pritchard, my good man, this talk is not for such as thee. Thou beest -a middling silent man by nature, Dick, and for that thou shouldst be -thankful when wild words be flying abroad on household matters." - -"I allow that I went too far, neighbour, though I call all to witness -that I did not open my mouth to speak," said the water-finder, with -great humility. - -"You are aye over daring, though never all through immoral, Dick," said -the blacksmith gravely. - -"I allow that I earned reproof, friend," said Richard.' "We all be -human, and many have frail thought of high language, and a proud heart -at the hope of wisdom and ancient learning. But I take reproof with no -ill-feeling." - -The miller roared at the success of his jest. - -"Richard Pritchard, if I didn't know you for a brave Welshman, I would -take you for a Dorset dairyman that's so used to the touch o' butter -they say it wouldn't melt in their mouths," he cried when he found -breath. - -At this point Mistress Pendelly bustled into the room, which was not the -kitchen, but only a sort of business-room of the mill, with the message -that supper would not be ready so soon as she could wish; the salmon -steaks took their own time to cook, she affirmed, and expressed the hope -that her friends would be able to hold out for another half hour. - -"Make no excuses, mother," said her husband. "Why, good wife, the very -sound of the frizzling will keep us alive in hope, and the smell that -creeps through the crevices of the kitchen door is nigh as satisfying as -a full meal in itself." - -"Speak for yourself if you are so minded, miller," cried Hal Holmes. -"Sup off the sound of a frizzle mixed with the sniff of a well-greased -pan, if you so please, but give me a flake or two o' salmon flesh, good -mother, the pink o' the body just showing through the silver o' the -scales. Oh, a lady born is your sea salmon with her pink complexion -shining among the folds o' her silver lace!" - -"Ay, sir, better than that your praise should be, for the fish's beauty -is more than skin deep," said the housewife, as she stood with the -kitchen door half open. - -The miller winked at his friends when she had disappeared. - -"Canst better that, Hal?" he enquired. - -"Vanity to try," replied the blacksmith. "A man's good enough maybe for -the catching o' a salmon, but it needs a woman's deft fingers to cook -it. You see through my proverb, miller?" - -"It needs no spying glass, Hal," said the miller. "The interpretation -thereof is in purpose that it needs a woman's nimble wit to put a -finishing touch to a simple man's discourse, howsoever well meant it may -be. Eh, farmer?" - -"'Tis different wi' pilchards, as is only natural, seeing what sort of -eating they be," said the farmer shrewdly; he found that he had been -wittier than he had any notion of being, and he added his loudest -chuckles (when he had recovered from his surprise) to the roaring of the -miller's laughter. - -It was Nelly Polwhele who demanded to be let into the secret of the -merriment so soon as she had returned to the room with Susan, and when -the miller told her, with an illuminating wink and a shrewd nod, she -laughed in so musical a note with her hands uplifted that the farmer -pursed out his lips in pride at his own wit. He was not without a hope -that he might find out, in the course of the evening, wherein the point -of it lay. - -Meantime Nelly was looking anxiously around the room. - -"What's gone wrong wi' the girl?" said the miller. "Oh, I see how things -be:'tis so long since she was here the place seems strange to her. Is't -not so, Nelly?" - -"Partly, sir," replied the girl. "But mainly I was looking to see where -Mr. Pullsford was hiding. You can't be supping in good style and he -absent." - -"Give no heed to Mr. Pullsford, whether he be here or not; spend your -time in telling us where you yourself have been hiding for the past -month," cried the miller. - -"She has not been hiding, she has been doing just the -opposite--displaying herself to the fashionable world," said Susan. - -"Hey, what's all this?" said the miller. "You don't mean to tell us that -you've been as far as Plymouth?" - -"Plymouth, indeed! Prithee, where's the rank and fashion at Plymouth, -sir?" cried Nelly. "Nay, sir,'tis to the Bath I have been, as befits one -in my station in life." - -"The Bath?--never," exclaimed the miller, while the girl, lifting up her -dress with a dainty finger and thumb to the extent of an inch or -two, went mincing past him down the room, followed by the eyes of the -blacksmith and the others of the party. "'Tis in jest you speak, you -young baggage--how would such as you ever get as far as the Bath?" - -"It sounds like a fancy freak, doth it not truly; and yet 'tis the sober -truth," said Nelly. "At the Bath I was, and there I kept for a full -month, in the very centre core of all the grandest that the world has in -store. I didn't find myself a bit out of place, I protest." - -"Hear the girl!" exclaimed the miller. "She talks with the cold -assurance of a lady of quality--not that I ever did meet with one to -know; but--and the fun of it is that she wouldn't be out of place in the -most extravagant company. Come, then, tell us how it came about. Who was -it kidnapped thee?" - -And then the girl told how it was that Squire Trelawny's young ladies -at Court Royal, having lost their maid, owing to her marrying in haste, -asked her to take the young woman's place for a month or two until they -should get suited. As she had always been a favourite with them, she had -consented, and they had forthwith set out for the Bath with the Squire's -retinue of chariots and horsemen, and there they had sojourned for a -month. - -"'Tis, indeed, like a story o' pixies and their magic and the like," -said the miller. "I knew that the young ladies and you was ever on the -best o' terms, but who could tell that it would come to such as this? -And I'll wager my life that within a day and a night you could tire -their hair and dust it wi' powder with the best of their ladyships' -ladies. And, prithee, what saw you at the Bath besides the flunkies o' -the quality?" - -"Oh, sir, ask me not to relate to you all that I saw and noted," said -the girl. "Every day of my life I said, 'What a place the world is to be -sure!'" - -"And so it be," said the farmer approvingly. - -"Oh, the rank and fashion, farmer, such as would astonish even you, and -you are a travelled man," said she. - -"Ay, I have been as wide afield as Falmouth on the west and Weymouth on -the east," said the farmer. "Ay, I know the world." - -"Your travels have ever been the talk of the six parishes, sir," said -the girl. "But among all the strange people that have come-under your -eyes, I'll warrant you there was none stranger than you might find at -the Bath. Have you ever in your travels crossed ladies sitting upright -in stumpy sentry boxes with a stout fellow bearing it along the streets, -winging 'twixt the pair o' poles?" - -"Naught so curious truly; but I've seen honest and honourable men that -had heard of such like," said the farmer. - -"And to think that I saw them with these eyes, and link boys, when there -was no moon, and concerts of music in the Cave of Harmony, night by -night, and two gentlemen fighting in a field--this was by chance, and -my lady passing in a chariot sent forth a shriek, so that one pistol -exploded before its time, and the bullet graded a peaceful gentleman, -who they said was a doctor of physic coming quick across the meadow, -scenting a fee!" - -"Pity is 'twasn't a lawyer. I hoard the thought that in case o' a -fight 'twixt friends, the lawyers hurry up as well as the doctors in hope -of a job," said the miller. "Well, you've seen the world a deal for one -so young, Nelly," he added. - -"And the concerts of singing and the assemblies and the beautiful polite -dance which they call the minuet were as nought when placed alongside -the plays in the playhouse," cried Nelly. - -The miller became grave. - -"There be some who see a wicked evil in going to the playhouse," he -remarked, with a more casual air than was easy to him. - -"That I have heard," said the girl. - -"They say that a part o' the playhouse is called the pit," suggested the -farmer. "Ay, I saw the name over the door at Plymouth, as it maybe did -you, miller." - -"And some jumped at the notion that that pit led to another of a -bottomless sort?" said the girl. "Well, I don't say that'twas the -remembrance of that only that drew me to the playhouse. I did get -something of a shock, I allow, when my young ladies bade me attend them -to the playhouse one night, but while I sought a fair excuse for 'biding -at our lodging on the Mall, I found myself inventing excuses for obeying -my orders, and I must say that I found it a good deal easier doing this -than t'other." - -"Ay, ay, I doubt not that--oh, no, we doubt it not," cried the miller, -shaking his head. - -Richard Pritchard shook his head also. - -"I found myself saying,'How can the playhouse be a place of evil when my -good young ladies, who are all that is virtuous, find it a pleasure to -go?'" - -The miller shook his head more doubtfully than before. - -"I think that you left the service of your young ladies in good time," -muttered the miller. - -"Do not dare to say a word against them--against even Mistress Alice, -who, I allow, hath a tantrum now and again, when the seamstress fails -her in time or mode," said the girl. "Of course when I reflected that -I was but a servant, so to speak, and that my duty was to obey my -mistresses, I would hesitate no longer. Duty is a virtue, sir, so I -submitted without a complaint." - -"Ay, you would do that," murmured the blacksmith. - -"I said to myself----" - -"Oh," groaned the miller. - -Nelly ignored the groan. She went on demurely from where she was -interrupted. - -"I said to myself, 'Should there be evil in it none can hold me -blameworthy, since I was only obeying the order of them that were set -over me.' I went and I was glad that I went, for I saw no evil in word -or act." - -"I'm grieved to hear it, Nelly," said the miller. - -"What, you are grieved to hear that I saw nothing of evil? Oh, sir!" - -"I mean that I don't like to think of a girl like thee in such a place, -Nelly. But let's make the best of a bad matter and recount to us what -you saw. It may be that by good fortune we may be able to find out the -evil of it, so that you may shun it in future." - -"Alack, I fear the chance will not come to me in the future," said Nelly -mournfully. - -"I trust not. Who was the actor that night, do you mind?" asked the -miller. - -"Her name was Mistress Woffington, and now I mind that one of my ladies -said that Mr. Long had told her that Mistress Woffington had been to -dinner with the learned provost of Dublin College in Ireland--a parson -and a scholar." - -"Oh, an Irishman!" was the comment of the miller. - -"Let the girl be, miller," said Hal Holmes. "She's making a brave fight -in the way of excusing herself. Go thy gait, Nell; give us a taste of -the quality of this Mistress Woffington." - -"Oh, Hal, she is a beauty--I never thought that the world held such. The -finest ladies of quality at the Bath, though they all copy her in her -mode, are not fit to hold a candle to her. And her clothing and her -modesty withal. They say she does the modest parts best of all." - -"Ay, I've heard that the likes of her are best in parts that have the -least in common with themselves," murmured the miller. - -"Oh, to see her when she vowed that she would be true to her lover -albeit that her ancient father, stamping about with a cudgel and a -mighty wig, had promised her to a foolish fellow in yellow silk and an -eyeglass with a long handle, and a foppish way of snuff-taking and a -cambric handkerchief! La! how the lady made a fool of him under his -very nose. This is Mistress Woffington: 'I protest, Sir, that I am but -a simple girl, country bred, that is ready to sink into the earth at the -approach of so dangerous a gentleman as your lordship.' And she make a -little face at her true lover, who is getting very impatient, in blue -and silver, at the other side of the room. 'Stap my vitals, madam,' -lisps the jessamy, dangling his cane in this fashion--you should see -them do it on the Mall--" She picked up a light broom that lay at the -side of the hearth and made a very pretty swagger across the room with -her body bent and her elbow raised in imitation of the exquisite of the -period, quite unknown to Cornwall. "'Egad, my dear, for a country wench -you are not without favour. To be sure, you lack the mode of the _haut -ton_, but that will come to you in time if you only watch me--that is, -to a certain extent. My lady, the Duchess says, "Charles is inimitable." -Ah, her Grace is a sad flatterer,'fore Gad, but she sometimes speaks the -truth.' 'What, Sir,' says the lady, 'do you think that in time I should -catch some of your grand air? I beseech you, Sir, have pity on a poor -simple maiden; do not raise false hopes in her breast.' 'Nay, pretty -charmer, I do not dare to affirm that you will ever quite catch the full -style--the air of breeding, so to speak; but you may still catch----' -'the smallpox, and faith, I think I would prefer it to him,' says Mrs. -Woffington in a whisper, that all in the playhouse can hear. 'Eh, what's -that?' lisps Mr. Floppington. 'Oh, sir, I was just saying that I fear -I am sickening for the smallpox, which runs in our family as does the -gout, only a deal faster.' 'Eh, what, what! keep away from me, girl, -keep away, I tell you.' He retreats with uplifted hands; she follows -him, with her own clasped, imploring him not to reject her. He waves his -cane in front of her as if she was a bull ready to toss him. They both -speak together, they run round the table, he springs upon the table, she -tilts it over--down he goes crying, 'Murder--murder--stop her--hold her -back!' He is on his feet again, his fine coat torn in half at the back. -She catches at it and one whole side rips off in-her hand. He makes for -the window--finds it too high to jump from--rushes to the door and down -goes the lady's father, who is in the act of entering, with a bump, and -down goes the fop with the half coat in the other direction. The lady -sits drumming with her heels on the floor between them in a shrieking -faint--thus!" - -She flung herself into a chair and her shrieks sounded shrill above the -laughter of the others. - -Suddenly the laughter came to an abrupt end, as though it were cut in -twain with a sharp knife. The girl continued for a few seconds shrieking -and rapping her heels on the floor, her head thrown back; then she -clearly became aware of the fact that something unusual had occurred. -She looked up in surprise at the men on the settee, followed the -direction of their eyes, and saw standing at the porch door a man of -medium stature, wearing a long riding cloak and carrying a book in one -hand. The doorway framed him. The dimness of the shadowy eventide made a -background for his head, the candle which Susan had lighted in the room -shone upon his face, revealing the thin, refined features of a man who -was no longer young. His face was sweetness made visible--eyes that -looked in brotherly trustfulness into the eyes of others, and that, -consequently, drew trust from others--illimitable trust. - -The girl stared at the stranger who had appeared in the doorway with -such suddenness; and she saw what manner of man he was. There was an -expression of mild surprise on his face while he looked at her, the -central figure in the room; but she saw that there was a gentle smile -about his eyes. - -"I hope that I am not an intruder upon your gaiety," said the stranger. -"I knocked twice at the door, and then, hearing the shrieks of distress, -I ventured to enter. I hoped to be of some assistance--shrieks mixed -with laughter--well, I have stopped both." - -The miller was on his feet in a moment. - -"Foolery, sir, girl's foolery all!" he said, going towards the stranger. -"Pray, enter, if you can be persuaded that you are not entering a Bedlam -mad-house." - -"Nay, sir," said the newcomer. "'Twould be foolish to condemn simply -because I do not understand. I am a stranger to this county of England; -I have had no chance of becoming familiar with your pastimes. Dear -child, forgive me if I broke in upon your merriment," he added, turning -to Nelly; "Good sir,"--he was now facing the miller--"I have ridden -close upon thirty miles to-day--the last four in the want of a shoe; my -horse must have cast it in the quagmire between the low hills. Yours -was the first light that I saw--I was in hopes that it came from a -blacksmith's forge." - -The miller laughed. - -"'Tis better than that, good sir," said he. "The truth is that the smith -of these parts is a fellow not to be trusted by travellers: his forge -is black tonight, unless his apprentices are better men than he. He is a -huge eater of salmon and divers dainties, and he will drink as much as a -mugful of cider before the night is past." - -"But he is a fellow that is ready to sacrifice a cut of salmon and a -gallon of cider to earn a sixpence for a shoe, sir," said Hal Holmes, -rising from the settee and giving himself a shake. "In short, sir, I -be Holmes, the smith, whose lewd character has been notified to your -honour, and if you trust me with your nag, I'll promise you to fit a -shoe on him within the half-hour." - -The stranger looked from the smith to the miller, and back again to the -smith, and his smile broadened. - -"Good neighbours both, I can see," he said. "I thank you, smith. How far -is it to Porthawn, pray, and what may this placed be called?" - -Before he could be answered the door opened and Jake Pullsford entered -the room. The sound of his entrance caused the stranger to turn his -head. Jake gave an exclamation of surprise. - -"Mr. Wesley!" he said in a whisper that had something of awe in its -tone. "Mr. Wesley! How is this possible? I have spent the afternoon -talking of you, sir." - -At the sound of the name the miller glanced meaningly at the smith. They -were plainly surprised. - -"Well, my brother," said Mr. Wesley, "I ask nothing better than to give -you the chance of talking to me for the next hour. I remember you well. -You are Jake Pullsford, who came to see me a month ago at Bristol. You -have been much in my thoughts--in my prayers." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -Jake was so excited at finding himself by a curious accident once -more face to face with the man who, as he had happily confessed to his -friends, had produced so great an impression upon him as to change the -whole course of his life, that he began to talk to him in his usual -rapid way, as though Mr. Wesley and himself were the only persons in the -room. - -The miller remained on his feet. The blacksmith was also on his feet. He -had assumed a professional air. After all, he was likely to be the most -important person present. The girl in the chair remained with her hands -folded on her lap. She had the aspect of a schoolgirl who has broken out -of bounds and awaits an interview with the schoolmistress. She had heard -during her visit to Bath of this Mr. Wesley and his views--at least such -views as were attributed to him by the fashionable folk who assembled to -have their gossip and intrigue flavoured by the sulphur of the waters. -He was not so easy-going as the clergymen at Bath. She could not doubt -that he would esteem it his duty to lecture her on her levity. It was -known that he abhorred playgoing. He was naturally abhorred by the -players. They had the best of reasons: when he was preaching in any town -that had a theatre, the players remained with empty pockets. - -The appearance of Mrs. Pendelly announcing that supper was ready was a -great relief to her. - -She jumped up with alacrity. Jake Pullsford came back to earth. He was -breathing hard. The visitor had signified his intention of resuming his -journey, if his horse could be shod. Jake was entreating him to pass the -night at his house, only a mile up the valley. - -The miller was beginning to feel awkward. He was hospitably inclined, -but he was not presumptuous. The blacksmith was fast losing his -professional bearing; a sniff of the salmon steaks had come through the -open door. - -It was the visitor whose tact made the situation easy for everyone. - -"Sir," he said to the miller, "I have arrived here so opportunely for -myself that I will not even go through the pretence of offering to go to -the wayside inn, which our good friend Jake Pullsford tells me is some -miles away. I know that I can throw myself on your hospitality and that -you would feel affronted if I hurried on. I have no mind to do so--to be -more exact, I should say no stomach." - -"Sir, if your reverence will honour my house I can promise you a -wholesome victual," said the miller. "Even if you was not a friend o' -my friend Jake here, who might, I think, have named my name in your ear, -you would still be welcome.". - -"I know it, sir," said Wesley, offering the miller his hand. "I thank -you on behalf of myself and my good partner whose bridle I hung over -your ring-post. A feed of oats will put new spirit in him in spite of -the loss of his shoe." - -"The horse shall be seen to, Mr. Wesley. Susan, the stable bell," said -the miller, and his daughter set a bell jangling on the gable wall. - -"Again my thanks, good friend," said Wesley. - -"May I beg your leave to be presented to my fellow-guests at your table, -sir?" - -He shook hands with the farmer, the water-finder and the smith, saying a -word to each. Then he turned to where the two young women had been. - -They had fled through the open door, Nelly having been the one to judge -of the exact moment for flight. - -They appeared at the supper table, however, but not taking their seats -until they had waited upon all the others of the party. That was the -patriarchal custom of the time. Nelly Polwhele only wished that the -severe discipline of a side table for the serving girls had been in -force at the Mill. Remote from the long oak table on which generations -of her family had dined, she might have had a pleasant chat with her -friend Susan, and then steal off, evading the lecture which she felt was -impending from the strict Mr. Wesley. As it was, the most she could do -for herself was to choose an unobtrusive place at the further end from -the clergyman. - -She hoped that the excellence of the salmon which she had carried -through the valley of the Lana would induce him to refrain from asking -any questions in regard to the game that was being played at the moment -of his entrance. - -But Mr. Wesley was vigilant. He espied her before he had finished his -salmon, and had expressed his thanks to her for having burdened herself -with it. It was his thirst for information of all sorts that had caused -him to enquire how it was possible to have for supper a fish that must -have been swimming in the sea, or at least in a salmon river, which the -Lana was not, a few hours before. Was not Porthawn the nearest fishing -village, and it was six miles away? Then it was that Mrs. Pendelly had -told him of Nelly's journey on foot bearing her father's gift to his -friend the miller. - -"I should like to have a word or two with you, my dear," said Mr. Wesley -when he had thanked her. "I wish to learn something of the people of -Porthawn. I am on my way thither to preach, and I like to learn as much -as is possible of the people who, I hope, will hear what I have to say -to them." - -Nelly blushed and tried to say that she was afraid she could tell him -nothing that he could not learn from any other source--that was what was -on her mind--but somehow her voice failed her. She murmured something; -became incoherent, and then ate her salmon at a furious rate. - -The miller, although he had felt bound to offer hospitality to the -stranger who had appeared at his door, knew that his other guests--with -the exception, it might be, of Jake Pullsford--would feel, as he himself -did, that the presence of this austere clergyman would interfere with -their good fellowship at supper and afterwards. He and his associates -knew one another with an intimacy that had been maturing for thirty -years, and the sudden coming of a stranger among them could not but -cause a certain reserve in the natural freedom of their intercourse. - -The miller had a constant fear that this Mr. Wesley would in the course -of the evening say something bitter about the parsons who hunted and -bred game-cocks and fought them, laying money on their heads--on parsons -who lived away from their parishes, allowing indifferent curates to -conduct the services of the church--of parsons who boasted of being able -to drink the Squires under the table. The miller had no confidence in -his power of keeping silent when he felt that the parson with whom -he was on the easiest of terms and for whose gamecocks he prepared -a special mixture of stiffening grain food was being attacked by a -stranger, so he rather regretted that his duty compelled him to invite -Mr. Wesley, of whom he, in common with thousands of the people of the -West country, had heard a great deal, to supper on this particular -evening. - -But in the course of the meal he began to think that he would have no -reason to put any restraint upon himself. He soon became aware of the -fact that this Reverend John Wesley was not altogether the austere -controversialist which rumour, becoming more and more exaggerated as it -travelled West, made him out to be. Before supper was over he had come -to the conclusion that Parson Rodney as a companion could not hold a -candle to this Mr. Wesley. - -The compliment in respect of the salmon had pleased both the miller and -his wife, even though it had made Nell blush; and then a bantering -word or two was said to Hal Holmes and his fine taste for salmon, and -forthwith Mr. Wesley was giving an animated account of how he had seen -the Indians in Georgia spearing for salmon on one of the rivers. This -power of bringing a wide scene before one's eyes in a moment by the use -of an illuminating word or two was something quite new to the miller and -his friends; but it was the special gift of his latest guest. With -thin uplifted forefinger--it had the aspect as well as the power of a -wizard's wand--he seemed to draw the whole picture in the air before -the eyes of all at the table--the roar of the rapids whose name with its -Indian inflections was in itself a romance--the steathily moving red -men with their tomahawks and arrows and long spears--the enormous -backwoods--one of them alone half the size of England and Wales--the -strange notes of the bird--whip-poor-will, the settlers called -it--moonlight over all--moonlight that was like a thin white sheet let -down from heaven to cover the earth; and where this silver wonder showed -the white billows of foam churned up by the swirl of the mad river, -there was the gleam of torches--from a distance they looked like the -fierce red eyes of the wild beasts of the backwood; but coming close one -could see deep down at the foot of the rapids the flash of a blood-red -scimitar--the quick reflection in the passionate surface of the water of -the red flare that waved among the rocks. Then there was a sudden splash -and a flash--another scimitar--this time of silver scattering diamonds -through the moonlight--another flash like a thin beam of light--the fish -was transfixed in mid-air by the Indian spear! - -They saw it all. The scene was brought before their eyes. They sat -breathless around the supper table. And yet the man who had this magic -of voice and eye had never once raised that voice of his--had never once -made a gesture except by the uplifting of his finger. - -"Fishing--that is fishing!" said Hal Holmes. "I should like----" - -The finger was upraised in front of him. - -"You must not so much as think of it, my friend! It would be called -poaching on our rivers here," said Mr. Wesley with a smile. - -"Then I should like to live in the land where the fish of the rivers, -the deer of the forests, the birds of the air are free, as it was -intended they should be--free to all men who had skill and craft--I -have heard of the trappers," said Hal. "It seems no sort of life for a -wholesome man to live--pulling the string of a bellows, hammering iron -into shoes, for plough-horses!--no life whatsoever." Wesley smiled. - -"Ah, if you but knew aught of the terror of the backwoods," said he. "If -you but knew of it--one vast terror--monstrous--incredible. A terror by -day and by night. I was used to stand on one of the hills hard by our -little settlement, and look out upon the woods whose skirts I could see -in the far distance, and think of their immensity and their mystery. -Hundreds of miles you might travel through those trackless forests -until the hundreds grew into thousands--at last you would come upon-the -prairie--hundred and hundreds of miles of savage country--a mighty ocean -rolling on to the foot of the Rocky Mountains! Between the backwoods-and -the mountains roll the Mississippi River--the Ohio, the Potomac. Would -you know what the Mississippi is like? Take the Thames and the Severn -and the Wye and the Tyne and the Humber--let them roll their combined -volume down the one river bed; the result would be no more than an -insignificant tributary of the Mother of Waters--the meaning of the name -Mississippi." - -There was more breathlessness. When Hal Holmes broke the silence -everyone was startled--everyone stared at him. - -"Grand! grand!" he said in a whisper. "And your eyes beheld that wonder -of waters, sir?" - -Mr. Wesley held up both his hands. - -"I--I--behold it?" he cried. "Why, there is no one in England whose eyes -have looked upon that great river. Had I set out to find it I should -have had to travel for a whole year before reaching it--a year, even if -the forests had opened their arms to receive me, and the prairie had -offered me a path I spoke with an Indian who had seen it, and I spoke -with the widows of two men who had gone in search for it. Four years had -passed without tidings of those men, and then one of the Iroquois tribe -found a tattered hat that had belonged to one of them, on the borders of -the backwoods, not a hundred miles from his starting place. Of the other -nothing has yet been forthcoming. I tell you, friends, that I was used -to let my eyes wander across the plain until they saw that forest, and -they never saw it without forcing me to look upon it as a vast, -monstrous thing--but a living creature--one of those fabled dragons that -were said to lie in wait to devour poor wretches that drew nigh to it. -Nay, when I looked upon it I recalled the very striking lines in John -Milton's fine epic of 'Paradise Lost': - - 'With head uplift above the wave, and eyes - - That sparkling blazed; his other parts besides - - Prone on the flood, extended long and large, - - Lay floating many a rood,--" - -"One must needs be a dweller among the adventurers in America in order -to understand in its fulness how terrible a monster those backwoods -are thought to be. There it stretched, that awful mass--that monstrous -mother of that venomous brood--the huge snakes that lurk in the -undergrowth, the fierce lynx, the terrible panther, the wolf and the -wildcat. I have heard, too, of a certain dragon and the vampire--a -huge bat that fans a poor wretch asleep by the gentle winnowing of its -leather wings only to drain his life's blood. These are but a few of the -brood of the backwoods. Who can name them all? The poisonous plants that -shoot out seeds with the noise of the discharge of a musket, the -swamps made up of the decay of a thousand years--breathing fevers and -agues--the spectre of starvation lurks there unless you have weapons and -the skill to use them--fire--they told me of the prairie fires--a blast -of flame five miles broad--sometimes twenty miles broad--rushing along -driving before it beasts and birds until they drop in sheer exhaustion -and become cinders in a minute--these are some of the terrors that dwell -in the backwoods, but worst of all--most fierce--inexorable, is the Red -Indian. Tongue of man cannot tell the story of their treachery--their -torturings. Our settlers do not fear to face the beasts of the -backwoods--the rattlesnakes--the pestilence of the swamps--the most -cruel of these is more merciful than the Indian." - -They listened as children listen to a fairy tale, and they knew that -they were hearing the truth. There was not one of them that had not -heard something of the story of the founding of the settlement along the -coast of the new Continent, from the Bay Colonies and Plymouth Rock in -the North to Carolina in the South. The spirit of adventure which had -given Drake and Raleigh their crews from the men of the West country -gave no signs of dying out among their descendants. They listened -and were held in thrall while this man, who had come among them with -something of the reputation of a pioneer--a man boldly striking out a -new track for himself, told them of the perils faced by their countrymen -on the other side of that sea which almost rolled to their very doors. -He carried them away with him. They breathed with him the perfume of the -backwoods and became imbued with the spirit of mystery pervading them. -He carried them away simply because he himself was carried away. He felt -all that he spoke about; this was the secret of his power. He could not -have made them feel strongly unless by feeling strongly himself. - -But his aim was not limited to his desire to arouse their interest in -the romance of the backwoods. He spoke of the troubles of the young -settlement to which he had gone out, of the bravery of the settlers, -men and women--of the steadfast hope which animated them in facing their -anxieties--their dangers. What was the power that sustained them? In one -word, it was faith. - -Without the least suggestion of preaching, he talked to them of Faith. -He talked as if it was not merely a sentiment--a cold doctrine to be -discussed by the aid of logic--nay, but as a real Power--a Power that -could move mountains. Such as had it had the greatest gift that Heaven -offered to mankind. It was a gift that was offered freely--all could -have it, if they so willed; and this being so, how great would be the -condemnation of those who refused to accept it! - -And the people who had eagerly drunk in all that he had to say of the -mystery of the backwoods were even more interested when he talked of -this other mystery. There had been no dividing line in his subject; -the Faith of which he was now speaking with all the eloquence of -simple language that fell like soft music on their ears, was a natural -part--the most actual part of his story of the great half-known West. - -They listened to him while he discoursed for that marvellous half-hour, -and the prayer that followed seemed also a part--the suitable closing -part of that story of trial and trouble and danger rendered impotent by -Faith. Surely, when such a gift could be had for the asking, they should -ask for it. He prayed that the hearts of all who were kneeling might be -opened to receive that saving grace of Faith. - -"Hal, my friend," said the miller, when they stood together at the -entrance to the lane, having seen Mr. Wesley drive off with Jake. "Hal, -for the first time these sixteen years I have seen thee rise from thy -supper without searching about for thy pipe!" - -"My pipe? List, old friend, while I tell thee that to pass another such -evening I would break my pipe into a hundred pieces and never draw a -whiff of 'bacca between my teeth," said Hal. "Moreover, a word in thy ear: -I would not have it made public; I'll smoke no more 'bacca that comes -to me by a back way. I believe that why I didn't smoke this evening was -by reason of the feeling that was in me that 'twould be a solemn sin for -me to let him have even a sniff of 'bacca that had been run." - -The miller laughed. - -"Why, Hal, he did not preach to us to give the Preventive men their -due," he said. - -"No, no. If he had I might ha' been the less disposed to do the right -thing. But now--well, no more smuggled 'bacca for me." - -"Good:--good--but wherefore this honest resolve, Hal Holmes?" - -"I know not. Only I seem somehow to look at some things in a new light." - -"And that light will not let your tinder be fired over a pipe o' 'bacca -that has paid no duty? That's right enough, but what I need to learn -from you is the reason of all this." - -"Ah, there you have me, friend. I can give you no reason for it; only -the notion came over me quite sudden like, that for ten year I had been -doing what I should ha' turned from, and I made the resolve now to turn -now before it was too late. That's all, and so, good-night to you, Mat, -and God bless you. I be to get that shoe on before he starts from Jake's -house i' the morn, and he said he would start betimes." - -The miller laughed again, but very gently, and held out his hand to the -other without a word. It was not until the blacksmith had disappeared -down the lane that his friend said in a low voice: - -"It beats me clean. There must be a sort of magic in the man's tongue -that it works those wonders. All the time that he was telling us his -story o' the woods I was making up my mind to be a better man--to have -more charity at heart for my fellows--to be easier on such as cannot pay -all that they have promised to pay. And now here's Hal that confesses -to the same, albeit he has never gone further out of the straight track -than to puff a pipe that has paid nothing to King George's purse. And -the man gave no preacher's admonition to us, but only talked o' the -forest and such-like wild things.... Now, how did he manage to bring -Faith into such a simple discourse?... Oh, 'tis his tongue that has -the magic in it! Magic, I say; for how did it come that when he spoke I -found myself gazing like a child at a picture--a solid, bright picture -o' woods and things?... Oh, 'tis true magic, this--true!" - - - - -CHAPTER V - -Oh, that a man could speak to men in the language of the Spring!" cried -Mr. Wesley, when his horse stopped unbidden and unchidden and looked -over the curved green roof of the hedge across the broad green pasturage -beyond. "Oh, that my lips could speak that language which every ear -can understand and every heart feel! What shall it profit a man to -understand if he does not feel--feel--feel? The man who understands is -the one who holds in his hand the doctor's prescription. The man who -feels is the one who grasps the healing herbs; and 'tis the Spring that -yields these for all to gather who will." - -And then, automatically he took his feet out of the stirrups for greater -ease, and his eyes gazed across the meadow-land which sloped gently -upward to the woods where the sunbeams were snared among the endless -network of the boughs, for the season was not advanced far enough -to make the foliage dense; the leaves were still thin and -transparent--shavings of translucent emerald--a shade without being -shadowy. - -Everything that he saw was a symbol to him. He looked straight into the -face of Nature herself and saw in each of its features something of the -Great Message to man with which his own heart was filled to overflowing. -He was a poet whose imagination saw beneath the surface of everything. -He was a physician who could put his finger upon the pulse of Nature and -feel from its faintest flutter the mighty heart which throbbed through -the whole creation. - -What man was there that failed to understand the message of Nature as -he understood it? He could not believe that any should be so dense as to -misinterpret it. It was not a book written in a strange tongue; it was a -book made up of an infinite number of pictures, full of colour that any -child could appreciate, even though it had never learned to read. There -was the meadow beyond the hedgerow. It was full of herbs, bitter as well -as sweet. Could anyone doubt that these were the symbols of the Truth; -herbs for the healing of the nations, and if some of them were bitter to -the taste, were their curative properties the less on this account? Nay, -everyone knew that the bitterest herbs were oftentimes the most healing. -What a symbol of the Truth! It was not the dulcet truths that were -purifying to the soul of man, but the harsh and unpalatable. - -"God do so to me and more also if ever I should become an unfaithful -physician and offer to the poor souls of men only those Truths that -taste sweet in their mouths and that smell grateful to their nostrils!" -he cried. - -And he did not forget himself in the tumult of his thought upon his -message. He was not the physician who looked on himself as standing in -no need of healing. - -"I have tasted of the bitter medicine myself and know what is its power. -Oh, may I be given grace to welcome it again should my soul stand in -need of it!" - -A lark rose from the grass of the sloping meadow and began its ecstatic -song as it climbed its ærie ladder upward to the pure blue. He listened -to the quivering notes--a bubbling spring of melody babbling and -wimpling and gurgling and flitting and fluttering as it fell through the -sweet morning air. - -"Oh, marvel of liquid melody!" cried the man, letting his eyes soar -with the soaring bird. "What is the message that is thine! What is that -message which fills thy heart with joy and sends thee soaring out of the -sight of man, enraptured to the sky? Is it a message from the sons of -men that thou bear-est to the heavens? Is it a message from Heaven that -thou sendest down to earth?" - -A butterfly fluttered up from beyond the hedge, carrying with it the -delicate scent of unseen primroses. It hovered over the moss of the bank -for a moment and then allowed itself to be blown like a brown leaf in -the breeze in a fantastic course toward the group of harebells that made -a faint blue mist over a yard of meadow. - -He watched its flight. The butterfly had once been taken as an emblem of -the immortality of the soul, he remembered. Was it right that it should -be thought such a symbol, he wondered. In latter years it was looked on -as an example of all that is fickle and frivolous. Was it possible that -the ancients saw more deeply into the heart of things--more deeply into -the spirit of these forms of Nature? - -"Who can say what wise purpose of the Creator that gaudy insect may -fulfil in the course of its brief existence?" said he. "We know that -nothing had been made in vain. It may be that it flutters from flower to -flower under no impulse of its own, but guided by the Master of Nature, -whose great design would not be complete without its existence. That -which we in our ignorance regard as an emblem of all that is vain and -light may, in truth, be working out one of the gravest purposes of the -All Wise." - -He remained under the influence of this train of thought for some time. -Then his horse gave a little start that brought back his rider from the -realm into which he had been borne by his imagination. He caught up the -rein, slipped his feet into his stirrups, and perceived that it was the -fluttering dress of a girl, who had apparently sprung from the primrose -hollow beyond the hedge, that had startled the animal. It seemed that -the girl herself was also startled; she stood a dozen yards away, with -her lips parted, and gave signs of flight a moment before he recognised -her as one of the girls who had been at the Mill the night before--the -girl who had been the central figure in the game which his entrance had -interrupted. - -"Another butterfly--another butterfly!" he said aloud, raising his hand -to salute Nelly Polwhele, who dropped him a curtsey with a faint reply -to his "Good-morning." - -He pushed his horse closer to her, saying: - -"A fair morning to you, my child! You are not a slug-a-bed. Have you -come for the gathering of mushrooms or primroses? Not the latter; the -borders of the Mill stream must be strewn with them to-day." - -"I am on my way to my home, sir," she replied. "I set out on my return -to the village an hour ago. I should be back in less than another--'tis -scarce four mile onward." - -"I remember that you told me you had come from Porthawn--my destination -also. I wished for a chat with you, but somehow we drifted a long -way from Porthawn--we drifted across the Atlantic and got lost in the -backwoods of America." - -"Ah, no, sir, not lost," said the girl. - -"I was a poor guide," said he. "I have only had a glimpse of the -backwoods, and so could only lead you all a rood or two beyond their -fringes of maple. The true guide is one that hath been on every forest -track and can tell by the tinges on the tree trunk in what direction -his feet tend. What a pity 'tis, my dear, that we cannot be so guided -through this great tangled forest of life that we are travers-. ing now -on to the place of light that is far beyond--a place where there is no -darkness--a shelter but no shadow! There, you see, I begin to preach to -the first person whom I overtake. That is the way of the man who feels -laid upon him the command to preach." - -"It does not sound like preaching, sir," said the girl. "I would not -tire listening to words like that." - -"That is how you know preaching from--well, from what is not preaching: -you tire of the one, not of the other?" said he, smiling down at her. - -She hung her head. Somehow in the presence of this man all her readiness -of speech--sharpness of reply--seemed to vanish. - -"I do not say that you have not made a very honest and a very excellent -attempt to convey to me what is the impression of many people," he -resumed. "But there is a form of preaching of which you can never grow -weary. I have been listening to it since our good friend Hal Holmes -helped me to mount the horse that he had just shod." - -"Preaching, sir?" she said. "There are not many preachers hereabouts. -Parson Rodney gives us a good ten minutes on Sunday, but he does not -trouble us on week-days." - -"Doth his preaching trouble you on Sunday, child? If so, I think more -highly of your parson than I should be disposed to think, seeing that -I have heard nothing about him save that he is the best judge of -a game-cock in Cornwall. But the sermon that makes a listener feel -troubled in spirit is wholesome. Ah, never mind that. I tell you that -I have been listening to sermons all this lovely morning--the sermon of -that eminent preacher, the sun, to the exhortation of the fields, the -homily of the bursting flowers, the psalm of the soaring lark, the -parable of the butterfly. I was thinking upon the butterfly when you -appeared." - -"You are different from Parson Rodney, if it please you, sir." - -"It does please me, my child; but, indeed, I am sure that there are -worse parsons than those who take part in the homely sports of their -parish, rude though some of these sports may be. I wonder if your ears -are open to the speech--the divine music of such a morn as this." - -"I love the morning, sir--the smell of the flowers and the meadows--the -lilt of the birds." - -"You have felt that they bring gladness into our life? I knew that your -child's heart would respond to their language--they speak to the heart -of such as you. And for myself, my thought when I found myself drinking -in of all the sweet things in earth and air and sky--drinking of that -overflowing chalice which the morning offered to me--my thought--my -yearning was for such a voice as that which I heard come from everything -about me on this Spring morning. 'Oh, that a man might speak to men in -the language of this morn!' I cried." - -There was a long pause. His eyes were looking far away from her. He -seemed to forget that he was addressing anyone. - -She, however, had not taken her eyes off his face. She saw the light -that came into it while he was speaking, and she was silent. It seemed -to her to speak just then would have been as unseemly as to interrupt at -one's prayers. - -But in another moment he was looking at her. - -"You surely are one of the sweet and innocent things of this dewy morn," -said he. "And surely you live as do they to the glory of God. Surely you -were meant to join in creation's hymn of glory to the Creator!" - -She bent her head and then shook it. - -"Nay," said he, "you will not be the sole creature to remain dumb while -the Creator is revealing Himself in the reanimation of His world after -the dark days of Winter, when the icy finger which touched everything -seemed to be the finger of Death!" - -His voice had not the inflection of a preacher's. She did not feel as if -he were reading her a homily that needed no answer. - -But what answer could she make? She was, indeed, so much a part of the -things of Nature that, like them, she could only utter what was in -her heart. And what was in her heart except a consciousness of her own -unworthiness? - -"Ah, sir," she murmured, "only last night had I for the first time a -sense of what I should be." - -His face lit up again when she spoke. His hands clasped, mechanically as -it seemed. - -"I knew it," he said in a low voice, turning away his head. "I was -assured of it. When my horse cast his shoe I felt that it was no -mischance. I heard the voice of a little child calling to me through the -night. No doubt crossed my mind. I thank Thee--I thank Thee abundantly, -O my Master!" - -Then he turned to Nelly, saying: - -"Child, my child, we are going the same way. Will you give me permission -to walk by your side for the sake of company?" - -"Nay, sir, will not you be weary a-walking?" she said. "'Tis a good -three mile to the Port, and the road is rough when we leave the valley." - -"Three miles are not much," said he, dismounting. "The distance will -seem as nothing when we begin to talk." - -"Indeed that is so, sir," said she. "Last night fled on wings while you -were telling us the story of the backwoods." - -"It fled so fast that I had no time to fulfil my promise to ask you -about your friends at Port-hawn," said he. "That is why I am glad of -the opportunity offered to me this morning. I am anxious to become -acquainted with all sorts and conditions of people. Now, if I were to -meet one of your neighbours to-day I should start conversation by asking -him about you. But is there any reason why you should not tell me about -yourself?" - -She laughed, as they set out together, Mr. Wesley looping his horse's -bridle over his arm. - -"There is naught to be told about myself, sir; I am only the daughter of -a fisherman at Porthawn. I am the least important person in the world." - -"'Tis not safe, my child, to assign relative degrees of importance to -people whom we meet," said he. "The most seemingly insignificant is very -precious in the sight of the Master. Who can say that the humblest of -men or women may not be called upon some day to fulfil a great purpose? -Have you read history? A very little knowledge of history will be enough -to bear out what I say. When the Master calls He does not restrict -Himself to the important folk; He says to the humblest, -'Follow Me and do My work--the work for which I have chosen thee.' God -forbid that I should look on any of God's creatures as of no account. -What is in my thought just now is this: How does it come that you, who -are, as you have told me, the daughter of a fisherman in a small village -far removed from any large city--how does it come that you speak as a -person of education and some refinement? Should I be right to assume -that all the folk at your village are as you in speech and bearing?" - -The little flush of vanity that came to her face when he had put his -question to her lasted but a few seconds. - -She shook her head. - -"I have had such advantages--I do not know if you would look on them -as advantages, sir; but the truth is that the Squire's lady and her -daughters, have been kind to me. My father did the Squire a service a -long time ago. His son, Master Anthony, was carried out to sea in his -pleasure boat and there was a great gale. My father was the only man who -ventured forth at the risk of his life to save the young gentleman, and -he saved him. They were two days in the channel in an open boat, and -my father was well-nigh dead himself through exhaustion. But the young -squire was brought back without hurt. The Squire and his lady never -forgot that service. My father was given money to carry out the plans -that he had long cherished of making the port the foremost one for -fishing on our coast, and the ladies had me taught by their own -governess, so that I was at the Court well nigh every day. I know not -whether or not it was a real kindness." - -"It was no real kindness if you were thereby made discontented with your -home and your friends." - -"Yes, Mr. Wesley; that is just what came about. I thought myself a deal -better than anyone in the village--nay, than my own father and mother. -I had a scorn of those of my neighbours who were ignorant of books and -music and the working of embroidery, and other things that I learned -with the young ladies. I was unhappy myself, and I knew that I made -others unhappy." - -"Ah, such things have happened before. But you seemed on good terms with -the miller's family and the others who supped last evening at the Mill. -And did not you walk all the way from your village carrying that heavy -fish for their entertainment?--our entertainment, I may say, for I was -benefited with the others." - -The girl turned her head away; she seemed somewhat disturbed in her -mind. She did not reply at once, and it was in a low voice that she said: -"A year ago I--I--was brought to see that--that--I cannot tell you -exactly how it came about, sir; 'tis enough for me to say that something -happened that made me feel I was at heart no different from my own folk, -though I had played the organ at church many times when Mr. Havlings was -sick and though the young ladies made much of me." - -Mr. Wesley did not smile. He was greatly interested in the story which -the girl had told to him. Had she told him only the first part he -would have been able to supply the sequel out of his own experience and -knowledge of life. Here was this girl, possessing the charms of youth -and vivacity, indiscreetly educated, as people would say, "above her -station," and without an opportunity of mingling on equal terms with -any except her own people--how should she be otherwise than dissatisfied -with her life? How could she fail to make herself disagreeable to the -homely, unambitious folk with whom she was forced to associate? - -He had too much delicacy to ask her how it was that she had been brought -to see the mistake that she had made in thinking slightingly of her -own kin who remained in ignorance of the accomplishments which she -had acquired? He had no difficulty in supplying the details which she -omitted. He could see this poor, unhappy girl being so carried away by -a sense of her own superiority to her natural surroundings as to presume -upon the good nature of her patrons, the result being humiliation to -herself. - -"I sympathise with you with all my heart, dear child," he said. "But the -lesson which you have had is the most important in your education--the -most important in the strengthening of your character, making you see, -I doubt not, that the simple virtues are worthy of being held in far -higher esteem than the mere graces of life. Your father would shake his -head over a boat that was beautifully painted and gilded from stem to -stern. Would he be satisfied, do you think, to go to sea in such a craft -on the strength of its gold leaf? Would he not first satisfy himself -that the painted timbers were made of stout wood? 'Tis not the paint -or the gilding that makes a trustworthy boat, but the timber that is -beneath. So it is not education nor graceful accomplishments that -are most valuable to a man or woman, but integrity, steadfastness of -purpose, content These are the virtues that tend to happiness. Above -all, the most highly cultivated man or woman is he or she that has -cultivated simplicity. I thank you for telling me your story in answer -to my enquiry. And now that you have satisfied my curiosity on this -point, it may be that you will go so far as to let me know why it was -that you were filling the room in the Mill with shrieks last evening -when I entered." - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -Nelly Polwhele gave a little jump when Mr. Wesley had spoken. It had -come at last. She had done her best to steal away from the explanation -which she feared she would have to make to him. But somehow she did -not now dread facing it so greatly as she had done in the Mill. She had -heard that the Reverend Mr. Wesley was severe, as well as austere. She -had heard his Methodism mocked by the fashionable folk at Bath, story -after story being told of his daring in rebuking the frivolities of the -day. She had believed him to be an unsympathetic curmudgeon of a man, -whose mission it was to banish every joy from life. - -But now that she had heard his voice, so full of gentleness--now that -his eyes had rested upon her in kindliness and sympathy--now that she -had heard him not disdain to spend an hour telling her and her friends -that romance of the backwoods, thrilling them by his telling of it, her -dread of being rebuked by him for her levity was certainly a good deal -less than it had been. Still she looked uneasily away from him, and -they had taken a good many steps in silence together before she made an -attempt to answer him. And even then she did not look at him. - -"'Twas a piece of folly, I am afraid, sir," she said in a low tone. "At -least you may esteem it folly, though it did not fail to amuse the -good people at the Mill," she added in an impulse of vanity not to be -resisted. - -"I had no doubt that it was a domestic game," said he. "They were all -roaring with laughter. Had you heard, as I did, from without, the loud -laughter of the men and above it the wild, shrill shrieks, you would, I -am sure, have been as amazed as I was." - -She laughed now quite without restraint. - -"Bedlam--Bedlam--nothing less than Bedlam it must have seemed to you, -Mr. Wesley," she said. - -"I will not contend with you as to the appropriateness of your -description," said he, smiling, still kindly. - -"The truth is, sir, that I have just returned from paying my first visit -to the Bath," said she. "'Twas the greatest event in my simple life. I -went to act as dresser to the Squire's young ladies, and they were so -good as to allow me to see mostly all that there was to be seen, and to -hear all that there was to be heard." - -"What--all? That were a perilous permission that your young ladies gave -to you." - -"I know not what is meant by all, but I heard much, sir; singers and -preachers and players. I was taken to the Cave of Harmony for lovely -music, and to the playhouse, where I saw Mistress Woffington in one of -her merry parts. I was busy telling of this when you entered the Mill. I -was doing my best to shriek like Mistress Woffington." - -She spoke lightly and with a certain assurance, as though she were -determined to uphold her claim to go whithersoever she pleased. - -She was in a manner disappointed that he did not at once show himself to -be shocked. But he heard her and remained silent himself. Some moments -passed; but still he did not speak; he waited. - -Of course she began to excuse herself; he knew that she would do so. The -uneasily confident way in which she had talked of the playhouse had told -him that she would soon be accusing herself by her excuses without the -need for him to open his lips. - -"You will understand, sir, I doubt not, that I was but in the position -of a servant, though my ladies treated me graciously; I could not but -obey them in all matters," she said. - -"Does your saying that mean that you had some reluctance in going to the -playhouse?" he asked her. - -"I was not quite--quite--sure," she replied slowly. "I had heard that -the playhouse was a wicked place." - -"And therefore you were interested in it--is that so?" - -"But I asked myself, 'Would my young ladies go to the playhouse--would -the Squire, who surely knows a good deal about wickedness, having lived -for so many years in London--would the Squire and his lady allow them to -go to the playhouse if there was anything evil in it?'" - -"And so you went and you were delighted with the painted faces on both -sides of the stage, and you have remained unsettled ever since, so that -you must needs do your best to imitate an actress whose shamelessness of -living is in everybody's mouth? I know that you imitated this Woffington -woman to your young ladies when you returned warm and excited from the -playhouse, and they laughed hugely at your skill." - -Nelly stood still, so startled was she at the divination of her -companion. - -"How came you to hear that?" she cried. - -"Were we not alone in the bedroom? Who could have told you so much?" - -"And when you returned to your home you were not many hours under its -roof before you were strutting about feeling yourself to be decked -out in the fine clothes which you had seen that woman wear in the -playhouse?" - -"You have been talking to someone--was it Jake Pullsford? But how could -he have known? Oh, sir; you seem to have in yourself a power equal to -that of the water-finder's wand, only surer by a good measure." - -"And you saw no evil in the playhouse?" he said gently. - -"I do not want to go again, Mr. Wesley," she said. "But indeed I dare -not say that I saw any of the wickedness that I have heard of, in the -theatre." - -"What, are you not in yourself an example of the evil?" said he. - -"What--I, sir? Surely not, Mr. Wesley. Whatever you may have heard you -could hear nothing against me," she cried, somewhat indignantly. - -Her indignation lent her boldness and she turned to him, saying: - -"I affirm, sir, and I am not ashamed to do so, that I saw nothing of -evil in the playhouse, and I made up my mind that instead of spending my -days hidden away in a lonely village far from all the pleasures of life, -I would try my fortune as an actress. I believe that I have some gift -of mimicry--my ladies told me so. Why, sir, you allowed that my shrieks -frightened you outside the Mill." - -"Child, your feet are on a path perilous," said he. "You were indignant -when I said that you were in yourself an example of the evil of going to -the playhouse. Every word that you have spoken since has gone to prove -the truth of my assertion. Do you say that the unsettling of your mind -is no evil due to your visits to the playhouse--the unsettling of your -mind, the discontent at your homely and virtuous surroundings, the -arousing of a foolish vanity in your heart and the determination to -take a step that would mean inevitable ruin to such as you--ruin and the -breaking of your father's heart?" - -He spoke calmly, and in his voice there was more than a suggestion of -sorrow. - -She had become pale; she made an attempt to face him and repel his -accusations, but there was something in his face that took all the -strength out of her. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed -bitterly. He watched her for some moments, and then he put a soothing -hand upon her arm. - -"Nay, dear child, be not overcome," said he. "Have you not said to me -that you have no wish ever to enter the playhouse again? Let that be -enough. Be assured that I will not upbraid you for your possession of -that innocence which saved you from seeing aught that was wrong in -the play or the players. Unto the pure all things are pure. Unto the -innocent all things are harmless. You were born for the glory of God. If -you let that be your thought day and night your feet will be kept in the -narrow way." - -She caught his hand and held it in both her own hands. - -"I give you my promise," she cried, her eyes upon his face; they were -shining all the more brightly through her tears. - -"Nay, there is no need for you to give me any promise," he said. "I will -have confidence in your fidelity without any promise." - -"You will have to reckon with me first, you robber!" - -[Illustration: 0008] - -They both started at the sound of the voice. It came from a scowling man -who, unperceived by them, had come through a small plantation of poplars -on the slope at one side of the road, and now leaped from the bank, high -though it was, and stood confronting them. - -The girl faced him. - -"What do you here, John Bennet?" she cried. "Have you been playing the -spy as usual?" - -"You are one of them that needs to be watched, my girl," said he. -"You know that I speak the truth and that is why you feel it the more -bitterly. But rest sure that I shall watch you and watch you and watch -you while I have eyes in my head." - -He was a lank man, who wore his own red hair tied in a queue. He had -eyes that certainly would make anyone feel that the threat which he had -uttered to the girl was one that he was well qualified to carry out; -they were small and fierce--the eyes of a fox when its vigilance is -overstrained. - -He kept these eyes fixed upon her for some moments, and then turned them -with the quickness of a flash of light upon Wesley. - -"I heard what she said and I heard what you said, my gentleman," -said he. "You will have faith in her fidelity--the fidelity of Nelly -Polwhele. I know not who you are that wears a parson's bands; but parson -or no parson I make bold to tell you that you are a fool--the biggest -fool on earth if you have faith in any promise made by that young -woman." - -"Sir," said Wesley, "you called me a thief just now. My knowledge of the -falsehood of that accusation enables me to disregard any slander that -you may utter against this innocent girl." - -"I called you a thief once and I shall call you so a second time," cried -the man. "You have stolen the love of this girl from me--nay,'tis no use -for you to raise your hand like that. I know you are ready to swear -that you said nothing except what a good pastor would say to one of his -flock--swear it, swear it and perjure yourself, as usual--all of your -cloth do it when the Bishop lays his hands upon their wigs, and they -swear to devote their lives to the souls of their parishes and then -hasten to their rectories to get on their hunting boots--their hunting -boots that are never off their legs save when they are playing bowls or -kneeling--kneeling--ay, in the cock-pit." - -"Silence, sir!" cried Wesley. "Pass on your way and allow us to proceed -on ours." - -"I have told your reverence some home truths; and as for yonder girl, -who has doubtless tricked you as she did me----" - -"Silence, sir, this instant! You were coward enough to insult a man who -you knew could not chastise you, and now you would slander a girl! There -is your way, sir; ours is in the other direction." - -He had his eyes fixed on the man's eyes, and as he faced him he pointed -with his riding whip down the road. The man stared at him, and then -Nelly saw all the fierceness go out of his eyes. He retreated slowly -from Mr. Wesley, as though he were under the influence of a force upon -which he had not previously reckoned. Once he put his hands quickly up -to his face, as if to brush aside something that was oppressing him. -His jaw fell, and although he was plainly trying to speak, no words came -from his parted lips. With a slow indrawing of his breath he followed -with his eyes the direction indicated by the other's riding whip. A -horseman was trotting toward them, but in the distance. - -Then it was that the man recovered his power of speech. - -"You saw him coming--that emboldened you!" he said. "Don't fancy that -because I was a bit dazed that 'twas you who got the better of me. I'll -have speech with you anon, and if you still have faith in that girl----" - -The sound of the clattering hoofs down the road became more distinct. -The man took another quick glance in the direction of the sound, and -then with an oath turned and leapt up to the green bank beside him. He -scrambled up to the top and at once disappeared among the trees. - -Wesley and the girl stood watching him, and when he had disappeared -their eyes took the direction that the man's had taken. A gentleman, -splendidly mounted on a roan, with half a dozen dogs--a couple of sleek -spaniels, a rough sheep dog and three terriers--at his heels, trotted -up. Seeing the girl, he pulled up. - -"Hillo, Nelly girl!" he cried cheerily, when she had dropped him a -curtsey. "Hillo! Who was he that slunk away among the trees?" - -"'Twas only John Bennet, if you please, parson," said she. - -"It doth not please me," said he. "The fellow is only fit for a madhouse -or the county gaol. He looked, so far as I could see, as if he was -threatening you or--I ask your pardon, sir; your horse hid you." - -When he had pulled up Mr. Wesley had been on the off side of his horse -and half a dozen yards apart from the girl; so that the stranger had no -chance of seeing the bands that showed him to be a clergyman. - -"You arrived opportunely, sir," he said. "I fear if the man had not -perceived you coming in the distance, we might have found ourselves in -trouble." - -"What, did the fellow threaten you? Shall I set the dogs upon his -track? Say the word and I'll wager you _King George_ against your sorry -skewbald that he'll find himself in trouble before many minutes are -over," cried the stranger. - -"Nay, sir; the man hath gone and we are unharmed," said Wesley. - -"The scoundrel! Let me but get him within reach of my whip!" said the -other. "But the truth is, Nelly, that the fellow is more than half -demented through his love for you. And i' faith, I don't blame him. Ah, -a sad puss you are, Nelly. There will not be a whole heart in the Port -if you do not marry some of your admirers." - -Then he turned to Wesley, saying: - -"You are a brother parson, sir, I perceive, though I do not call your -face to mind. Are you on your way to take some duty--maybe 'tis for Josh -Hilliard; I heard that he had a touch of his old enemy. But now that I -think on't 'twould not be like Josh to provide a substitute." - -"I have come hither without having a church to preach in, sir; my name -is Wesley, John Wesley." - -"What, the head of the men we christened Methodists at Oxford?" - -"The same, sir. I believe that the name hath acquired a very honourable -significance since those days. I hope that we are all good churchmen, at -any rate." - -"I don't doubt it, Mr. Wesley; but you will not preach in my church, -sir, of that you may rest assured." - -"You are frank, sir; but pray remember that I have not yet asked your -permission to do so." - -The other laughed, and spoke a word or two to his horse, who was -becoming impatient and was only controlled with difficulty. - -"A fair retort, Mr. Wesley--a fair retort, sir," he said. "I like your -spirit; and by my word, I have a sort of covert admiration for you. I -hear that none can resist your preaching--not even a Bishop. You have -my hearty sympathy and good will, sir, but I will not go to hear you -preach. The truth is that you are too persuasive, Mr. Wesley, and I -cannot afford to be persuaded to follow your example. I find the Church -a very snug nest for a younger son with simple country tastes and a -rare knowledge of whist; I am a practical man, sir, and my advice upon -occasion has healed many a feud between neighbours. I know a good horse -and I ride straight to hounds. In the cockpit my umpiring is as good law -as the Attorney General could construe for a fee of a thousand guineas. -Ask anyone in this county what is his opinion of Parson Rodney and -you will hear the truth as I have told it to you. I wish you luck, Mr. -Wesley, but I will not countenance your preaching in my church; nor will -I hear you, lest I should be led by you to reform my ways, as I suppose -you would say; I am a younger son, and a younger son cannot afford to -have doubts on the existing state of things, when the living that he -inherits is of the net value of eight hundred pounds per annum. So fare -you well, sir, and I beg of you not to make my flock too discontented -with my ten-minute sermons. They should not be so, seeing that my -sermons are not mine; but for the most part Doctor Tillotson's--an -excellent divine, sir--sound--sound and not above the heads of our -gaffers. Fare thee well, Nelly; break as few hearts as thy vanity can do -with." - -And Parson Rodney, smiling gallantly, and waving his whip gracefully, -whistled to his dogs, and put his roan to the trot for which he was -eager. - -"An excellent type," murmured Wesley. "Alas! but too good a type. Plain, -honest, a gentleman; but no zeal, no sense of his responsibility for the -welfare of the souls entrusted to his keeping." - -He stood for some time watching the man on the thoroughbred. Then he -turned to Nelly Polwhele, saying: - -"We were interrupted in our pleasant chat; but we have still three miles -to go. Tell me what the people think of Parson Rodney." - -"They do not think aught about him, Mr. Wesley; they all like him: he -never preaches longer than ten minutes." - -"A right good reason for their liking of him--as good a reason as he had -for liking the Church; it doth not exact overmuch from him, and it saves -him from sponging on his friends. The Church of England has ever been an -indulgent mother." - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -Such a sight had never been seen in Cornwall before: on this Sunday -morning an hour after sunrise every road leading to the village of -Porthawn had its procession of men, women, and children, going to hear -the preacher. The roads became dusty, as dry roads do when an army of -soldiers passes over them; and here was an army of soldiers along, with -its horse and foot and baggage-waggons--such an army as had never been -in the West since the days of Monmouth's Rebellion; and this great march -was the beginning of another rebellion, not destined to fail as the -other had failed. Without banners, without arms, with no noise, with no -shoutings of the captains, this great force marched to fight--to take -part in an encounter that proved more lasting in its effects than -any recorded in the history of England since the days of the Norman -Invasion. - -The Cornish crowds did not know that they were making history. The -people had heard rumours of the preacher who had awakened the people of -Somersetshire from their sleep of years, and who, on being excluded -from the churches which had become Sabbath dormitories, had gone to the -fields where all was wakefulness, and had here spoken to the hearts of -tens of thousands. - -The reports that spread abroad by the employment of no apparent agency -must have contained some element that appealed with overwhelming power -to the people of the West. The impulse that drove quiet folk from their -homes and induced them to march many miles along dusty roads upon the -morning of the only day of the week that gave them respite from toil was -surely stronger than mere curiosity. They did not go into the wilderness -to see a reed shaken by the wind. There was a seriousness of purpose -and a sincerity about these people which must have been the result of a -strong feeling among them that the existing order of things was lacking -in some essentials--that the Church should become a stimulating force to -them who were ready to perish, and not remain the apathetic force that -it was when at its best, the atrophying influence that it was when at -its worst. - -That the ground was ready for the sowing was the opinion of Wesley, -though few signs had been given to him to induce this conclusion, but -that he had not misinterpreted the story of the Valley of Dry Bones was -proved by the sight of the multitudes upon the roads--upon the moorland -sheep-tracks--upon the narrow lanes where the traffic was carried on by -pack-horses. There they streamed in their thousands. Farmers with their -wives and children seated on chairs in their heavy waggons, men astride -of everything that was equine--horses and mules and asses--some with -their wives or sisters on the pillion behind them, but still more riding -double with a friend. - -On the wayside were some who were resting, having walked seven or eight -or ten miles, and had seen the sun rise over the hills on that scented -Spring morning. Some were having their breakfast among the primroses -under the hedges, some were smoking their pipes before setting forth to -complete their journey. Mothers, were nursing their infants beneath the -pink and white coral of the hawthorns. - -"'Tis a fair," said Hal Holmes to his friend, Dick Pritchard, who was -seated by his side in a small pony cart made by himself during the -winter. - -"Salvation Fair," hazarded the water-finder. "Salvation Fair I would -call it if only I was bold enough." - -The smith shook his head. - -"That is how it will be styled by many, I doubt not," he said. "And -being as it must be, a strange mixture of the two--a church-going and a -fairgoing--I have my fears that 'twill fall 'twixt the two. If the thing -was more of a failure 'twould be a huge success. You take me, Dick?" - -"Only vague, Hal--only vague, man," replied the water-finder, after a -long cogitating pause. "When you spake the words there came a flash upon -me like the glim from the lanthorn when 'tis opened sudden. I saw the -meaning clear enough like as 'twere a stretch of valley on an uneven -night of moonlight and cloud. Seemed as if there was a rift in your -discourse and the moon poured through. But then the clouds fled across -and I walk in the dark. Say 't again, Hal, and it may be that 'twill be -plain. I have oft thought that your speech lit up marvellous well." - -The blacksmith grinned. - -"Maybe that is by reason of my work with the forge," he said. "The -furnace is black enough until I give it a blast with the bellows and -then 'tis a very ruby stone struck wi' lightning." - -"Maybe--ay, very likely," said the little man doubtfully. - -The smith grinned again. - -"You don't altogether see it with my eyes, friend," he said. "How could -you, Dick, our trades being natural enemies the one to t'other? My best -friend is fire, yours is water. But what was on my mind this moment was -the likelihood that the light-hearted may be fain to treat this great -serious field gathering as though it were no more than a fair. Now, -I say still that if 'twas no more than a gathering together of two or -three parishes none would think of it in light of a fair, but being as -'tis--a marvel of moving men and women--why, then, there may be levity -and who knows what worse." - -"Ay, it looks as if the carcase of the hills was alive and moving with -crawling maggots," remarked Dick. The summit of the hill on the road -had been reached, and thus a view was given him and his companion of -the hollow in the valley beyond, which was black with the slow-moving -procession. - -And there were many who, while anxious for the success of the meeting, -shared Hal Holmes's fears and doubts as to its result. What impression -could one man make upon so vast an assembly in the open air, they asked -of each other. They shook their heads. - -These were the sober-minded people who sympathised with the aims of -the preacher--God-fearing men and women to whom his hopes had been -communicated. They knew that hundreds in that procession on the march to -the meeting-place were no more serious than they would be had they been -going to a fair. They were going to meet their friends, and they were -impelled by no higher motives than those which were the result of the -instinct of the gregarious animals. Many of them lived far away from a -town or even a village, in the wilder parts of the Duchy, and they laid -hold on an opportunity that promised to bring them in contact with a -greater crowd than they had ever joined before. The joy of being one of -the crowd was enough for them; the preaching was only an insignificant -incident in the day's proceedings. The sober-minded, knowing this, -were afraid that in these people the spirit of levity might be aroused, -especially if they could not hear the words of the preacher, and the -consequences would be disastrous. - -And doubtless there were hundreds of the dwellers along the coast who -would have been pleased if grief came to an enterprise that threatened -their employment as smugglers or the agents of smugglers. Smuggling and -wrecking were along the coast, and pretty far inland as well, regarded -as a legitimate calling. Almost everyone participated in the profits of -the contraband, and the majority of the clergy would have been very -much less convivial if they had had to pay the full price for their -potations. Preaching against such traffic would have been impolitic -as well as hypocritical, and the clergy were neither. The parson who -denounced his congregation for forsaking the service on the news of a -wreck reaching the church was, probably, a fair type of his order. -His plea was for fair play. "Let us all start fair for the shore, my -brethren." - -Such men had a feeling that the man who had come to preach to the -multitude would be pretty sure to denounce their fraud; or if he did -not actually denounce it he might have such an influence upon their -customers as would certainly be prejudicial to the trade. This being -so, how could it be expected that they should not look forward to the -failure of the mission? - -And there was but a solitary man to contend against this mixed -multitude! There was but one voice to cry in that wilderness--one voice -to awaken those who slept. The voice spoke, and its sound echoed round -the wide world. - -He stood with bared head, with a rock for his pulpit, on a small plateau -overlooking a long stretch of valley. On each side there was an uneven, -sloping ground--rocks overgrown with lichen, and high tufts of coarse -herbage between, with countless blue wild flowers and hardy climbing -plants. The huge basin formed by the converging of the slopes made a -natural amphitheatre, where ten thousand people might be seated. Behind -were the cliffs, and all through the day the sound of the sea beating -around their bases mingled with the sound of many voices. A hundred feet -to the west there hung poised in its groove the enormous rocking stone -of Red Tor. - -Perhaps amongst the most distant of his hearers there was one who might -never again have an opportunity of having the word that awakens spoken -in his hearing. There might be one whose heart was as the ground in -Summer--waiting for the seed to be sown that should bring forth fruit, -sixtyfold or an hundredfold. That was what the man thought as he looked -over the vast multitude. He felt for a moment overwhelmed by a sense -of his responsibility. He felt that by no will of his own he had been -thrust forward to perform a miracle, and he understood clearly that the -responsibility of its performance rested with him. - -For a moment the cry of the overwhelmed was in his heart. - -"It is too much that is laid upon me." - -For a moment he experienced that sense of rebellion which in a supreme -moment of their lives--the moment preceding a great achievement for -the benefit of the world--takes possession of so many of the world's -greatest, and which has its origin in a feeling of humility. It lasted -but for a moment. Then he found that every thought of his mind--every -sense of his soul--was absorbed by another and greater force. He had -a consciousness of being possessed by a Power that dominated every -sensation of his existence. That Power had thrust him out from himself -as it were, and he felt that he was standing by wondering while a voice -that he did not know to be his own went forth, and he knew that it -reached the most remote of the people before him. It was like his own -voice heard in a dream. For days there had been before his eyes the -vision that had come to the prophet--the vision of the Valley of Dry -Bones. He had seemed to stand by the side of the man to whom it had been -revealed. He had always felt that the scene was one of the most striking -that had ever been depicted; but during the week it was not merely its -mysticism that had possessed him. He felt that it was a real occurrence -taking place before his very eyes. - -And now he was standing on his rock looking all through that long -valley, and he saw--not the thousands of people who looked up to him, -but ranks upon ranks and range upon range of dead men's bones, bleaching -in the sunshine--filling up all the hollows of the valley forsaken of -life, overhung by that dread legend of a battle fought so long ago -that its details had vanished. There they stretched, hillocks of white -bones--ridges of white bones--heaps upon heaps. The winds of a thousand -years had wailed and shrieked and whistled, sweeping through the valley, -the rains of a thousand years had been down upon them--hail and snow -had flung their pall of white over the whiteness of the things that lay -there, the lightnings had made lurid the hollow places in the rocks, and -had rent in sunder the overhanging cliffs--there was the sign of such -a storm--the tumbled tons of black basalt that lay athwart one of the -white hillocks--and on nights of fierce tempest the white foam from the -distant sea had been borne through the air and flung in quivering -flakes over cliffs and into chasm--upon coarse herbage and the blue rock -flowers. But some nights were still. The valley was canopied with stars. -And there were nights of vast moonlight, and the white moonlight spread -itself like a great translucent lake over the white deadness of that -dreary place.... - -The man saw scene after scene in that valley as in a dream. And then -there came a long silence, and out of that silence he heard the voice -that said: "Can these dead bones live?" - -There was another silence before the awful voice spoke the command: - -"Let these bones live!" - -Through the moments of silence that followed, the sound of the sea was -borne by a fitful breeze over the cliff face and swept purring through -the valley. - -Then came the moment of marvel. There was a quivering here and -there--something like the long indrawing of breath of a sleeper who has -slept for long but now awakens--a slow heaving as of a giant refreshed, -and then in mysterious, dread silence, with no rattling of hollow -skeleton limbs, there came the great moving among the dry bones, and -they rose up, an exceeding great army. - -Life had come triumphant out of the midst of - -Death. That was what the voice said. The whole valley, which had been -silent an hour before, was now vibrating, pulsating with life--the -tumult of life which flows through a great army--every man alert, at his -post in his rank--waiting for whatever might come--the advance of the -enemy, the carrying out of the strategy of the commander. - -Life had come triumphant out of the midst of death, and who would dare -now to say that the deepest spiritual life might not lie hidden from -sight among the bleaching heaps of dead bones that strewed the valley -from cliffy to cliffs--hidden but only waiting for the voice to cry -aloud: - -"Let these bones live!" - -"Oh, that that Dread Voice would speak through me!" cried the preacher. - -That was the first time he became conscious of the sound of his own -voice, and he was startled. He had heard that other voice speaking, -carrying him away upon the wings of its words down through the depths -of that mystic valley, but now all was silent and he was standing with -trembling hands and quivering lips, gazing out over no valley of mystery -alive with a moving host, but over a Cornish vale of crags; and yet -there beneath his eyes were thousands of faces, and they looked like -the faces of such as had been newly awakened after a long -sleep--dazed--wondering--waiting.... - -He saw it. The great awakening had come to these people, and now they -were waiting--for what? - -He knew what he had to offer them. He knew what was the message with -which he had been entrusted--the good news which they had never heard -before. - -And he told it with all simplicity, in all humility, in all -sincerity--the evangel of boundless love--of illimitable salvation, not -from the wrath to come--he had no need to speak of the Day of Wrath--his -theme wras the Day of Grace--salvation from the distrust of God's -mercy--salvation from the doubts, from the cares of the world, from the -lethargy that fetters the souls of men, from the gross darkness and from -the complacency of walking in that darkness. - -He let light in upon their darkness and he forced them to see the -dangers of the dark, and, seeing, they were overwhelmed. For the first -time these people had brought before their eyes the reality of sin--the -reality of salvation. They had had doctrines brought before them in the -past, but the tale of doctrines had left them unmoved. They had never -felt that doctrines were otherwise than cold, impassioned utterances. -Doctrines might have been the graceful fabrics that clothed living -truths, but the truth had been so wrapped up in them that it had -remained hidden so far as they were concerned. They had never caught a -glimpse of the living reality beneath. - -But here was the light that showed them the living thing for which they -had waited, and the wonder of the sight overwhelmed them. - -The voice of the preacher spoke to them individually. That was the sole -mystery of the preaching--the sole magnetism (as it has been called) of -the preacher. - -And that was the sole mystery of the manifestation that followed. Faces -were streaming with tears, knees were bowed in prayer; but there were -other temperaments that were forced to give expression to their varied -feelings--of wonder, of humiliation, of exultation. These were not to be -controlled. There were wild sobbings, passionate cries, a shout or -two of thanksgiving, an outburst of penitence--all the result of the -feelings too strong to be controlled, and all tokens of the new life -that had begun to pulsate in that multitude--all tokens that the Valley -which had been strewn with dry bones had heard the voice that said: - -"Let these dry bones live." - -There was a great moving among the dry bones, and they stood up, an -exceeding great army. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -His preaching had ceased, but the note that he had struck continued to -vibrate through the valley. He had spoken with none of the formality of -the priest who aims at keeping up a certain aloofness from the people. -This Mr. Wesley had spoken as brother to brother, and every phrase that -he uttered meant the breaking down of another of the barriers which -centuries had built up between the pulpit and the people. - -They proved that they felt this to be so when he came among them. -Warm hands were stretched out to meet his own--words of blessing were -ejaculated by such as were able to speak; but infinitely more eloquent -were the mute expressions of the feeling of the multitude. Some there -were who could not be restrained from throwing themselves upon his -shoulders, clasping him as if he had indeed been their brother from whom -they had been separated for long; others caught his hands and kissed -them. Tears were still on many faces, and many were lighted up with an -expression of rapture that transfigured their features. - -He made no attempt to restrain any of the extravagances to which that -hour had given birth. He knew better than to do so. He had read of the -extravagant welcome given by the people of a town long besieged to -the envoys who brought the first news of the approach of the relieving -force, and he knew that he was there as an envoy to tell the people -about him of their release. He had himself witnessed the reception given -to the King's Posts that brought the tidings of the last peace, and he -knew that he himself was a King's Messenger, bearing to these people the -tidings of Peace and Goodwill. - -He had a word of kindness and comfort and advice to all. He was an elder -brother, talking to the members of his own family on equal terms. But -soon he left the side of these new-found brethren, for his eyes had not -failed to see some who were sitting apart among the low crags--some in -silent dejection, bearing the expression of prisoners for whom no order -of release has come, though they had seen it come for others. But all -were not silent: many were moaning aloud with ejaculations of despair. -In the joy that had been brought to their friends they had no share. -Nay, the message that had brought peace to others had brought despair -to them. They had been happy enough before, knowing nothing of or caring -nothing for, the dangers that surrounded them in the darkness, and the -letting in of the light upon them had appalled them. - -He was beside them in a moment, questioning them, soothing their fears, -removing their doubts, whispering a word or two of prayer in their ears. -Jake, the carrier, had been right: the preacher had balm for the wounds -of those who suffered. He went about among them for hours, not leaving -the side of any who doubted until their doubts had been removed and they -shared the happiness that the Great Message brought with it. But the -evangel had arisen upon that valley as the Daystar, with healing in its -wings. - -When the multitude dispersed, the church bells were making melody over -the hills and through the dales. The Reverend Mr. Wesley was a good -churchman, and he took care that his preaching did not interfere with -the usual services. His object was to fill the churches with devout men, -and not merely the body of the churches, but the pulpits as well. - -For himself, he withdrew from his friends and walked slowly up one of -the tracks leading to the summit of the cliffs a few miles beyond the -village of Porthawn. He wished to be alone, for amid all his feelings -of thankfulness for the good which he knew had been done through his -preaching, there came to him a doubt. Had he been faithful in his -delivery of the Message? Had he yielded up everything of self to the -service of the Master? Had he said a word that might possibly become -a stone of stumbling to the feet that had just set out upon the narrow -way? - -That was the fear which was ever present with him--the possibility -that the Message had failed in its power by reason of his frailty in -delivering it--the possibility that he might attribute to himself some -of the merit of the Message. - -The hours which he passed in loneliness almost every day of his life, -the solitary rides covering thousands of miles, his long walks without -a companion, were devoted to self renunciation. He was more afraid of -himself than of any enemy from without. He sometimes found himself in -such a frame of mind as caused him to admire the spirit that led the -priests of the heathen beliefs in the East to torture and mutilate -themselves in the attainment of what appeared to them to be holiness. -He knew that their way was not the right way, and the object which -they strove to achieve was not a worthy one; but he could not deny the -self-sacrifice and its value. - -Yes, but was it not possible that self-sacrifice might, if performed -ostentatiously, become only another form of self-glorification? - -It was only now that this thought flashed upon him. He had walked along -the cliff path for a mile or two, and soon became aware of the pangs of -hunger. It was nothing for him to set out to preach without having more -than a bite or two of bread, and to go fasting until the afternoon. He -had never regarded this as an act of self-sacrifice. But how had he felt -when some of his friends had made much of these facts, entreating him -to be more mindful of his health? Had he not felt a certain pride in -thinking that his health was regarded as important? - -And now, when he should return to the house where he was a guest--it -was the house of a Mr. Hartwell, the owner of a mine in the tin district -some distance from Porthawn--would not his hours of fasting preceding -and following the exertion of preaching to so great a multitude in the -open air make him appear akin to a martyr in the eyes of the people with -whom he might come in contact? - -Nay, could he deny that he felt some vanity in the reflection that -here again he would be seriously remonstrated with for his disregard of -himself? - -Even his orderly mind was unable to differentiate between the degrees of -self-sacrifice and self-satisfaction involved in this simple question of -fasting and eating, and he was troubled that his attempts to do so -were not wholly successful. It was like the man that, in his hours of -exhaustion, he should be dissatisfied with what was really the result -of his exhaustion. This trivial self-examination was, though he did not -know it, only the result of his neglect of the wants of his body. Yes, -but this fact did not make it the less worrying to him. - -He had been led by the charm of the day to walk farther than he had -intended, and he was so exhausted that he found it necessary to rest in -a dip of the cliffs above the little bay. On each side of him stretched -the broken shore, a short crescent patch of sand at every dip in that -long, uneven wall, and marking the outline of its curve was the white -floss of the lazy ripples. Behind him was the coarse sand-herbage of the -broken shore, and in front of him stretched the sea. A white bird or two -hovered between the waters and the cliff summit, and far away a revenue -cutter showed its white sails. Sunlight was over all. The warm air -seemed imbued with the presence of God, which all might breathe and -become at peace with all the world. - -It came over the face of the waters, upon the face of the man who -reclined upon a cushion of springy herbage that quite hid the shape of -the rock at whose base it found root. The feathery touch upon his -brow soothed him as a mother's hand soothes her child and banishes its -distrust. He lay there and every doubt that had oppressed him vanished. -He was weary and hungry, but he felt that the grace of heaven was giving -him food in the strength of which he might wander in the wilderness for -forty days. - -He closed his eyes and with the faint hum of the little bees that droned -among the blue cliff-flowers,--with the faint wash of the ripples upon -the unnumbered pebbles of the beach--a sweet sleep crept over him. - -When he awoke it was not with a start, but as gently as he had fallen -asleep. For a moment he had a fear that he had overslept himself. He -turned to look at the sun and saw standing only half a dozen yards -away the girl by whose side he had walked a few mornings before to the -village. - -The picture that she made to his eyes was in keeping with the soothing -sights and sounds of this placid day. She wore a white kirtle and cap, -but the latter had failed to restrain the abundant hair which showed -itself in little curls upon her forehead, and in long strands of -sunshine over her ears and behind them. She was pleasant to look at--as -pleasant as was everything else of nature on this day; and he looked at -her with pleased eyes for some time before speaking. - -As for Nelly, she was not watching him; but he could see that she had -seen him; she had only turned away lest he should have a man's distaste -to be caught sleeping in the daytime. He perceived this the moment -that he spoke and she turned to him. The little start that she gave was -artificial. It made him smile. - -"I am at your mercy; but you will not betray my weakness to anyone," he -said, smiling at her. - -"Oh, sir!" she cried, raising her hands. - -"You saw me sleeping. I hope that 'twas not for long," he said. - -"I did not come hither more than five minutes agone, sir," she replied. -"You cannot have slept more than half an hour. I came to seek you after -the preaching." - -"You have not been at your church, girl?" he said. - -"I was at your church, Mr. Wesley. I like Parson Rodney. I did not go to -his church." - -He shook his head. - -"I like not such an answer, child.'Twould grieve me to learn that there -were many of my hearers who would frame the same excuse." - -She hung her head. - -"I am sorry, sir," she said. "It was my intent to go to Parson Rodney's -church, if only to see how vast a difference there was 'twixt--that is--I -mean, Mr. Wesley, that--that my intention was to be in church, only when -I saw that you had wended your way alone through the valley, not going -in the direction of Mr. Hartwell's house, but far away from it--what -could one do, sir, who knew that you could not have had a bite to eat -since early morning--and after such a preaching and an after-meeting -that filled up another fasting hour? 'He has no one to look after him,' -said my mother in my ear. 'He is a forlorn man who thinks that he is -doing God's service by forgetting that his body must be nourished if his -soul is to remain sound.'" - -"That is what your mother said--'tis shrewd enough. And what did you -reply? Mind that the answer hath a bearing upon your staying away from -church, Nelly." - -"I said naught, Mr. Wesley; but what I did was to hurry to our home and -pack you a basket of humble victuals and--here it is." - -She picked up a reed basket from the grass and brought it beside him. -Kneeling then on a stone she raised the lid and showed him a dish of -cooked pilchards, some cakes of wheat bread and a piece of cream cheese -laid on a pale green lettuce. - -She had spread the coarsest and whitest napkin he had ever seen on the -face of the crag at his elbow, and with the air of a bustling housewife -laid a plate and knife and fork for him, talking all the time--reproving -him quite gravely and even severely for his inattention to his -stomach--there was no picking and choosing of words in Cornwall -or elsewhere during that robust century. She gave him no chance of -defending himself, but rattled on upbraiding him as if he had been a -negligent schoolboy, until she had laid out his picnic for him, and had -spread the butter on one of the home-made cakes, saying: - -"There, now, you must not get upon your feet until you have put down all -that is before you. If you was to make the attempt to do so your long -fast would make you so faint that you would run a chance of tottering -over the cliff." - -He saw that there was no need for him to say a word. What could he say -in the face of such attention to his needs as the girl was showing? - -"I submit with a good grace, my dear," he said when her work was done -and she paused for breath. "Why should not I submit? I am, as you said, -weak by reason of hunger, and lo, a table is spread for me with such -delicacies as would tickle the appetite of a man who has just partaken -of a heavy meal, and I am not that man. Happier than the prophet, I am -fed not by ravens, but by a white dove." - -"Oh, sir," she said, her face shining with pleasure. "Oh, sir, I protest -that even in the genteelest society at the Bath, I never had so pretty a -compliment paid to me." - -He had paid his compliment to her in a delicate spirit of bantering, so -as to make no appeal to her vanity, and he saw that her pleasure was not -the result of gratified vanity. - -"But concerning yourself, my dear," he cried when he had his fork in -his hand, but had as yet touched nothing. "If I was fasting you must be -also." - -"What, sir, did I omit to say that I returned to my home after -your preaching?" she said. "Oh, yes; I got the basket there and the -pilchards. My father despises pilchards, but I hope that you----" - -"I ama practical man, Nelly, and I know, without the need to make a -calculation on paper, that you could not be more than a few minutes in -your cottage, and that all that time was spent by you over my basket. -I know such as you--a hasty mouthful of cake and a spoonful of milk -and you say, 'I have dined.' Now I doubt much if you had so much as a -spoonful of milk, and therefore I say that unless you face me at this -table of stone, I will eat nothing of your store; and I know that that -would be the greatest punishment I could inflict upon you. Take your -place, madam, at the head of the table." - -She protested. - -"Nay, sir, I brought not enough for two--barely enough to sustain one -that is a small feeder until he has the opportunity of sitting down to a -regular meal." - -"I have spoken," he said. "I need but a bite! Oh, the long fasting -journeys that I have had within the year!" - -She still hesitated, but when, at last, she seated herself, she did not -cause him to think that he had made her feel ill at ease; she adapted -herself to the position into which he had forced her, from the moment -she sat opposite to him. She forgot for the time that he was the -preacher on whom thousands of men and women had hung a couple of hours -before, and that she, if she had not been with him, would have been -eating in a fisherman's cottage. - -She had acquired, through her association with the Squire's young -ladies, something of their manners. Her gift of quick observation was -allied to a capacity to copy what she observed, and being, womanlike, -well aware of this fact, she had no reason to feel otherwise than at -ease while she ate her share of the pilchards, and made him feel all the -time that she was partaking of his hospitality. - -As for the preacher, he felt the girl's thoughtfulness very deeply. It -seemed that she was the only one of the thousands who had stood before -him that had thought for his needs. Her tact and the graceful way in -which she displayed it, even down to her readiness to sit with him lest -he should feel that she was remaining hungry, pleased him; and her -chat, abounding with shrewdness, was gracefully frank. He felt refreshed -beyond measure by her freshness, and he rose to walk to the house -where he was a guest, feeling that it was, indeed, good for him to have -changed the loneliness of his stroll for the companionship which she -offered him. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -The question had often been discussed by him to the furthest point -possible (as he thought) for its consideration to be extended; and how -was it that he found himself debating it at this time in its crudest -form? He had long ago settled it to his own satisfaction, that his life -was to be a lonely one through the world. Not for him were to be the -pleasant cares of home or wife or child. Not for him was the tenderness -of woman--not for him the babble of the little lips, every quiver of -which is a caress. His work was sufficient for him, he had often said, -and the contemplation of the possibility of anything on earth coming -between him and his labours, filled him with alarm. He felt that if he -were to cease to be absorbed in his work, he should be unfaithful to his -trust. The only one that was truly faithful was the one who was ready to -give up all to follow in the footsteps of the Master. - -But being human and full of human sympathy, he had often felt a moment's -envy entering the house of one of his friends who was married and become -the father of children. The hundred little occurrences incidental to a -household, where there was a nursery and a schoolroom, were marked by -him--the clambering of little chubby legs up to the father's knee--the -interpretation of the latest phrase that fell from baby lips--the charm -of golden silk curls around an innocent child's face--all these and a -score of other delights associated with the household had appealed to -him, giving him an hour's longing at the time, and a tender recollection -at intervals in after years. - -"Not for me--not for me," he had said. So jealous was he of his work -that, as has been noted, the possibility of his becoming absorbed--even -partially--by anything that was not directly pertaining to his work, -was a dread to him. He set himself the task of crushing down within him -every aspiration that might tend to interfere with the carrying out -of the labour of his life, and he believed that, by stern and strict -endeavour, he had succeeded in doing so. - -Then why should he now find himself considering the question which he -believed he had settled forever? Why should he now begin to see that the -assurance that it was not good for a man to be alone was based upon a -knowledge of men and was wise? - -He found an apt illustration of the wisdom of the precept in the conduct -of the girl who had shown such thoughtfulness in regard to him. "Mentem -mortalia tangunt," was the _sors Virgiliana_ which came to his mind at -the moment. He recognised the truth of it. A man was affected by the -material conditions of his life. If the girl had not shown such thought -for his comfort, he would well-nigh have been broken down by his -exhausting labours of the day, followed up by an exhausting walk along -the cliffs. He might not have returned to the house at which he was -staying in time to dine, before setting out for a long drive to another -place for an afternoon's meeting. So absorbed was he apt to be in his -preaching that he became oblivious to every consideration of daily life. -What were to him such trivial matters as eating and drinking at regular -intervals? He neglected the needs of his body, and only when he had -suffered for so doing did he feel that his carelessness was culpable. On -recovering from its' immediate effects, however, he fell back into his -old habits. - -But now the thought that came to him was that he had need for someone to -be by his side as (for example) Nelly Polwhele had been. He knew quite -well, without having had the experience of married life, that if he had -had a wife, he would not have been allowed to do anything so unwise as -to walk straight away from the preaching to the cliffs, having eaten -nothing since the early morning, and then only a single cake of bread. -A good wife would have drawn him away from the people to whom he was -talking, to the house where he was a guest, and when there have set -about providing for him the food which he lacked and the rest which he -needed to restore him after his arduous morning's work, so that he might -set out for the afternoon's preaching feeling as fresh as he had felt in -the morning. - -He was grateful to the girl, not only for her attention to him, but -also for affording him an illustration favourable to his altered way of -looking at a question which he fancied had long ago been settled forever -in his mind. (He had long ago forgiven the woman, who, in America, had -taught him to believe that a life of loneliness is more conducive to -one's peace of mind than a life linked to an unsympathetic companion.) - -And having been led to such a conclusion, it was only reasonable that he -should make a resolution that, if he should ever be so fortunate as to -meet with a virtuous lady whom he should find to possess those qualities -which promised most readily to advance the work which he had at heart, -he would not be slow to ask her to be his companion to such an end. - -This point settled to his satisfaction (as he thought), he mounted his -horse, after a week's stay in the valley of the Lana, and made his way -to the tinners of Camlin, twenty miles further along the coast Here -he was received with open arms, and preached from his rock pulpit to -thousands of eager men and women an hour after sunrise on a summer -morning. - -On still for another fortnight, in wilder districts, among people who -rarely entered a church, and whom the church made no attempt to reach. -These were the people for him. He was told that he was going forth to -sow the seed in stony ground, but when he came and began to sow, he -found that it fell upon fruitful soil. Here it was impossible for him -to find a huge congregation, so scattered were the inhabitants. But this -was no obstacle to him: he asked for no more than a group of hearers -in every place, and by the time that night came he found that he had -preached to thousands since sunrise. Beginning sometimes at five o'clock -in the morning, he would preach on the outskirts of a village and hold -a second service before breakfasting six miles away. It was nothing for -him to preach half a dozen times and ride thirty miles in one of these -days. - -But as he went further and further on this wonderful itinerary of his, -that sense of loneliness of which he had become aware at Porthawn seemed -to grow upon him. During those intervals of silence which he spent on -horseback, his feeling of loneliness appeared to increase, until at last -there came upon him a dread lest he should affect his labours. He had a -fear that a despondent note might find its way into his preaching, and -when under such an influence he made a strong effort in the opposite -direction, he was conscious of an artificial note; and, moreover, by the -true instinct of the man who talks to men, he was conscious that it was -detected by his hearers. - -He was disappointed in himself--humiliated. How was it that for years -he had been able to throw off this feeling of walking alone, through -the world, or making no effort to throw it off, to glory in it, as it -were--to feel all the stronger because of it, inasmuch as it could not -come without bringing with it the reflection that he--he alone--had been -chosen to deliver the message to the multitudes--the message of Light to -the people that walked in darkness? - -He could not understand how the change had come about in him, and not -being able to understand it, he felt the more humiliated. - -And then, one day, riding slowly along the coach road, he saw a young -woman standing waiting for a change of horses for her post chaise at the -door of a small inn. - -He started, for she had fair hair and a fresh face whose features bore -some resemblance to those of Nelly Polwhele--he started, for there came -upon him, with the force of a revelation, the knowledge that this was -the companionship for which he was longing--that unconsciously, she had -been in his thoughts--some way at the back of his thoughts, to be sure, -but still there--that, only since he had been her companion had his need -for some sweet and helpful companionship become impressed upon him.. - -He rode on to his destination overwhelmed by the surprise at the result -of this glimpse which had been given to him into the depths of his -own heart. The effect seemed to him as if with the sight of that -stranger--that young woman on the roadside--a flash of lightning had -come, showing him in an instant what was in the depths of his heart. - -He tried to bring himself to believe that he was mistaken. - -"Impossible--impossible!" he cried. "It is impossible that I should be -so affected--a village girl!... And I did not talk with her half a dozen -times in all!... Kind, thoughtful, with tact--a gracious presence, a -receptive mind.... Ah, it was she undoubtedly who set me thinking--who -made me feel dissatisfied with my isolation, but still.. . oh, -impossible--impossible!" - -And, although a just man, the thoughts that he now believed himself to -have in regard to Nelly Polwhele were bitter rather than sweet. He -began to think that it was too bold of her--almost immodest--to make the -attempt to change the whole course of the life of such a man as he was. -He had once courted the lonely life, believing it to be the only -life for such as he--the only life that enabled him to give all his -thoughts--all his strength--oh, all his life--all his life--to the work -which had been appointed for him to do in the world of sinners; but lo! -that child had come to him, and had made him feel that he was not so -different from other men. - -Under the influence of his bitterness, he resented her intrusion, as -it were. Pshaw! the girl wras nothing. It was only companionship as -a sentiment that he had been longing for; he had a clear idea of the -companionship that he needed; but he had never thought of the companion. -It was a mere trick of the fancy to suggest that, because the young -woman had sent his thoughts into a certain groove, they must of -necessity be turned in the direction of the young woman herself. - -He soon found, however, that it is one thing for a man to prove to the -satisfaction of his own intelligence that it would be impossible that he -should set his heart on a particular young woman, but quite another to -shut her out from his heart. He had his heart to reckon with, though he -did not know it. - -Before the day had passed he had shut the doors of his heart, and he -believed that he had done right. He did not know that he had shut those -doors, not against her, but upon her. - -Like all men who have accomplished great things in the world, he was -intensely human. His sympathy flowed forth for his fellow-men in all -circumstances of life. But he did not know himself sufficiently well to -understand that what he thought of with regret as his weaknesses, were -actually those elements wherein lay the secret of his influence with -men. - -He had just succeeded, he fancied, in convincing himself that it was -impossible he could ever have entertained a thought of Nelly Polwhele as -the one who could afford him the companionship which he craved, when a -letter came to him from Mr. Hartwell, whom he had appointed the leader -of the class which he had established at Porthawn, entreating him to -return to them, as they were in great distress and in peril of falling -to pieces, owing to the conduct of one of their members, Richard -Pritchard by name. - -Could he affirm that the sorrow which he felt on receiving this news was -the sum of all the emotions that filled his heart at that moment? - -He laid down the letter, saying, - -"It is the Lord's doing." - -And when he said that, he was thinking, not of the distress in which his -children at Porthawn found themselves by reason of Richard Pritchard, -but of the meaning of the summons to himself. - -"It is the trial to which my steadfastness is to be put," he said. "I am -not to be allowed to escape without scathe. Why should I expect to do so -when others are tried daily? There can be no victory without a battle. -The strength of a man is developed by his trial. I am ready. Grant me -grace, O Lord, to sustain me, and to keep my feet from straying!" - -He prepared himself for this journey back to Porthawn, and he was -presently amazed (having been made aware of his own weakness) to find -himself thinking very much less about himself and scarcely at all about -Nelly Polwhele, nor that the chance of seeing her again had, without the -least expectation on his part, came to him. He found himself giving -all his thoughts to the question of his duty. Had he been over-hasty in -accepting the assurances of all these people at Porthawn to whose souls -peace had come through his preaching? Was he actuated solely by a hope -to spread abroad the Truth as he had found it, or had a grain of the -tares of Self been sown among the good seed? Had there been something of -vanity in his desire to increase the visible results of his preaching? - -These were his daily questionings and soulsearching, and they had been -ever present with him since he had put his hand to the plough. He was -ever apt to accuse himself of vainglory--of a lack of that spirit of -humility which he felt should enter into every act--every thought of his -life. He thought of himself as the instrument through which his Master -spake to His children. Should the harp vaunt itself when a hand sweeps -over its strings, making such music as forces those who hear to be -joyful or sad? Should the trumpet take credit to itself because through -its tubes is blown the blast that sends an army headlong to the charge? - -After his first preaching in the valley of the Lana, hundreds of those -who heard him had come to him making a profession of the Faith that he -preached. He asked himself now if it was not possible that he had been -too eager to accept their assurance. He had had his experiences of the -resultat the emotions of his listeners being so stirred by his preaching -that they had come to him with the same glad story; but only to become -lukewarm after a space, and after another space to lapse into their -former carelessness. The parable of the Sower was ever in his mind. The -quick upspring-ing of the seed was a sign that it had fallen where there -was no depth of earth. And this sowing was more hopeless than that on -stony ground--than that among thorns. - -He feared that he had been too hasty. He was a careless husbandman -who had been too ready to assume that a plentiful harvest was at hand, -because he had sown where there was no depth of earth. He should have -waited and watched and noted every sign of spiritual growth before -leaving the field of his labours. - -These were some of his self-reproaches which occupied all his thoughts -while making his return journey to Porthawn, thus causing all thought of -Nelly Polwhele to be excluded from his mind. He had caught a glimpse of -the Lana winding its way through the valley before he had a thought of -her, and then it was with some bitterness that he reflected that, all -unknown to himself, he had shortened his stay in this region because -he had had an instinct that a danger would threaten him if he were -to remain. Instinct? Now he was dealing with a force that was wholly -animal--wholly of the flesh, and the flesh, he knew, was waging -perpetual war with the things that appertained to the spirit. - -He urged his horse onward. Whatever danger might threaten himself by his -returning to this region, he would not shrink from it; what was such a -danger compared with that threatening the edifice of Faith which he had -hoped had been built up in the midst of the simple people of the land? - -He urged his horse forward, and on the afternoon of the second day of -his journey he was within a few hours' journey of Ruthallion Mill. -He meant to call at the Mill, feeling sure that he would get from the -miller a faithful and intelligent account of all that had happened -during the three weeks of his absence from this neighbourhood. Miller -Pendelly, once the champion of the old system of lifeless churchgoing, -had become the zealous exponent of the new. He was the leader of -the little band that formed the nucleus of the great organisation of -churchmen who, under the teaching of Wesley, sought to make the Church -the power for good among the people that it was meant to be. Jake -Pullsford, who had spread the story of Wesley's aims among his friends -before the preacher had appeared in Cornwall, had given evidence of the -new Light that had dawned upon him when he had heard Wesley at Bristol. -Both these were steadfast men, not likely to cause offence, and if -Wesley had heard any report of their falling short of what was expected -of them he would have been more than disappointed. - -It was through Richard Pritchard, the professional water-finder, that -offence had come or was likely to come, Mr. Hartwell's letter had told -him. He remembered the man very clearly. He had had some conversation -with him, and Jake had satisfied him as to the sincerity of his belief. -He had never been otherwise than a clean-living man, and he had studied -many theological works. But he had not impressed Mr. Wesley as being a -person of unusual intelligence. His remarkable calling and the success -with which he practised it all through the West had caused Him to appear -in the eyes of the people of the country as one possessing certain -powers which, though quite legitimate, being exercised for good, were -bordering on the supernatural. Wesley now remembered that he had had -some doubt as to the legitimacy of the man's calling. Believing, as he -did, so fully in the powers of witchcraft, he had a certain amount of -uneasiness in accepting as a member of the little community which he -was founding, a man who used the divining rod; but the simplicity of -Pritchard and his exemplary character, were in his favour, so much as to -outweigh the force of. Wesley's objection to his mode of life. - -Now, as he guided his horse down the valley road, he regretted bitterly -that he had allowed his misgivings to be overcome so easily. Like all -men who have accomplished great things in the world, the difficulties -which occasionally beset him were due to his accepting the judgment -of others, putting aside his own feelings or tendencies, in certain -matters. The practice of the virtue of humility, in regard to his -estimation of the value of his own judgment, had cost him dearly upon -occasions. - -It was all the more vexatious to reflect that the man through whom the -trouble (whatever it might be) was impending, was the last one in the -world from whom any trouble might reasonably be looked for. This was -probably the first time in his life that he had reached any prominence -in the little circle in which he lived. To be allowed to remain in the -background, seemed to be his sole aspiration. His fear of giving offence -to anyone seemed to be ever present with him, and his chief anxiety was -to anticipate an imaginary offence by an apology. How a man who was so -ludicrously invertebrate should become a menace to the stability of a -community that included such robust men as the miller, the carrier, and -the smith, to say nothing of Farmer Tregenna and Mr. Hartwell, the mine -owner, was more than Wesley could understand. It was this element of -mystery that caused him to fear that Pritchard had all along been an -agent of the Enemy--that his noted successes with the divining rod were -due to his connection with the Powers of Darkness, and that his getting -within the fold of the faithful was, after all, only what might have -been expected from one whose tactics were devised for him by the Old -Serpent--the origin of every evil since the expulsion from Paradise. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -He spent an hour at the Old Waggoner Inn at the corner of the River -Road, and while his horse was getting a feed in the stable he had some -bread and cheese in the inn parlour--a large room built to accommodate -the hungry coach passengers, who, accustomed to break their journey to -or from Plymouth, were at this house. - -The room was not crowded when he arrived, but in the course of the next -half-hour two additional parties entered, and while tankards were filled -and emptied, and pewter platters of underdone beef laden with pickles -were passed round, there was a good deal of loud talk, with laughter and -an interchange of friendly, if rude, humour. Wesley had had a sufficient -experience of inn parlours to prevent his being greatly interested by -the people here or their loud chat. - -This was only at first, however, for it soon became clear to him that -the conversation and the jests were flowing in one channel. Then he -became interested. - -"Come hither, friend Thomas, and pay all scores," cried one jovial young -fellow to an elderly stout farmer who had been standing in the bar. - -"Not me, lad," cried the farmer. "By the Lord Harry, you've the -'impidence'!". - -"What, man, pay and look joyous. What will all your hoard of guineas be -to you after Monday?" cried the younger man. - -"'Twill be worth twenty-one shillings for every guinea, if you must -know," replied the farmer. - -"Nay, sir, you know well that there will be no use for your guineas at -the Day of Judgment, which, as surely as Dick Pritchard is a prophet, -will happen on Monday," said the other. - -"I'm ready to run the chance, i' the face o' the Prophet Pritchard," -said the farmer. "Ay, and to show what's in me, I am ready 'twixt now -and Sunday to buy any property at a reasonable discount rate that any -believer in Dick Pritchard may wish to sell." - -"Good for you, farmer--good for you!" shouted a dozen voices, with the -applause of rattling pewters on the table. - -"Let Dick stick to his trade--water and not fire is his quality; he'd -best leave the Day of Judgment in subtler hands," growled a small, -red-faced man, who was cooling himself this Summer day with Jamaica rum. - -There was some more laughter, but it was not of a hearty sort; there was -a forced gaiety in it that Wesley easily detected. - -"By my troth, the fellow's prophecy hath done a good turn to the -maltster; there hath been more swilling, hot and cold, since he spoke a -week ago yesterday, than in any month of ordinary calm weather, without -a sniff of brimstone in it," said Mr. Hone, the surgeon of the revenue -men, who was in the act of facing a huge beef-steak with onions and a -potato baked with a sauce of tansy. - -"Small blame to the drouthy ones; they know full well that by this day -week they will be ready to pay Plymouth prices for a mugful o' something -cooling," remarked a traveller. - -"Gentlemen and friends, all, I make bold enough to affirm that this -matter is too grave an one to be jested on or to be scoffed at," said a -tall, pale-faced young man. "I tell you, sirs, that there may be more in -this thing than some of us suspect." - -"What, Mr. Tilley, are you feeble enough to believe that an event of -such considerable importance to the Government as the Day of Judgment -would be announced through such an agent? This Dick Pritchard is a -common man, as full of ignorance as a young widow is of tricks," said -the surgeon, looking up from his plate. - -"Ignorant? ay, doubtless, Mr. Hone; but how many ignorant men have yet -won an honourable place in the book of the prophets, sir?" asked the -young man. "Seems to any natural man, sir, that ignorance, as we call -ignorance, was the main quality needful for an ancient old prophet that -spake as he was moved." - -"That was in the Antique Dispensation, Mr. Tilley; you must not forget -that, sir," cried the surgeon. - -"Ay, that's sure; 'tis a different age this that we live in," said an -acquiescent voice behind the shelter of a settle. - -"I'd as lief credit a Christian as a Jew in such a matter: the Jews seem -to have had this business of prophecy as exclusive in their hands as -they have the trade of money now," said the traveller. "The Jewish seers -busied themselves a good deal about the Day of Judgment, why should -not a humble Christian be permitted a trifle of traffic on the -same question, since it is one that should be of vital interest to -all--especially innkeepers in hot weather?" - -There was only a shred of laughter when he had spoken. It was clear that -in spite of some of the jeers against the water-finder that had taken -place in the room, there was a feeling that whatever he had taken it -upon him to say--it seemed to Wesley that it had reference to the Day -of Judgment on the next Monday--should not be treated with levity. The -jocular tone of a few men who were present was distinctly forced. Upon -several faces Wesley perceived an expression that reminded him of that -upon the faces of some of the prisoners under sentence of death whom he -had visited in his young days at Oxford. - -"Say what you will, gentlemen," resumed the young man called Tilley, -"this Dick Pritchard is no ordinary man. I have seen him at work with -his wizard's wand', and inside five minutes o' the clock he had shown -us where to bore for water in a meadow slope that was as deeply pitted -before with borings as if it had an attack of smallpox. Ay, sirs, a -hole had been dug here and another there--and there--and there--" he -indicated with his finger on the floor the locality of the diggings to -which he referred--"but not a spoonful of water appeared. Then in comes -our gentleman with a sliver of willow between his palms, and walks over -the ground. I was nigh to him, and I affirm that I saw the twig twist -itself like a snake between his fingers, jerking its tip, for all the -world like the stumpy head of an adder, first in one direction, anon -in another--I'll swear that it turned, wicked as any snake, upon Dick -himself at one time, so that he jerked his hands back and the thing fell -on the grass, and if it did not give a kind of writhe there, my eyes -played me false. But he picked it up again and walked slowly across the -ground, not shunning in the least as an ordinary man would have done, if -he had his wits about him, the parts that showed the former borings that -had come to naught. 'Twas in full boldness, just between two of the old -holes, that he stopped short, and says he, 'There's your spring, and -'tis not six foot from the surface. I'll wait to have a mugful, if I -don't make too bold,' says he, 'for'tis strangely drying work, this -waterfinding.' And by my faith, sirs, the fellow had a pitcher of the -softest spring water from that spot before an hour had gone and the rude -scum of the field had been rinsed away." - -The silence that followed the man's story was impressive. It seemed as -if the cloud which had been overhanging the company had become visible. -No man so much as glanced at his neighbour, but every one of them -stopped eating or drinking at that moment, and stared gloomily straight -in front of him. Only one man, however, uttered a groan. - -"Lord have mercy on us!--the rocks and the mountains--the great and -terrible day of the Lord!" he murmured. - -Then it was that a couple of men passed their hands over their -foreheads. - -"I would sooner see my cattle die of drouth than call in a -water-finder," said the farmer. "I've oft-times said that he has a -partner in his trade. In my young days, a water-finder was burnt at the -stake, for 'twas clearly proven that he was in league with the Fiend: -after drinking o' the water that he drew from the bowels o' th' earth -the husbandman's son was seized wi' a fit and down he fell like a log -and was only saved by the chance of the curate passing near the farm. -Though but a young man, he saw at once that the boy had been tampered -with.'Twas by good luck that he had with him a snuffbox made of the -cedar wood of Lebanon at Jerusalem, where King Solomon built his temple, -and 'tis well known that neither witch nor warlock can stand against -such. Before you could say 'Worm,' the young parson had made a circle -o' snuff around the poor victim, and with a deadly screech the fiend -forsook the boy and 'twas said that it entered into a young heifer of -promise, for she went tearing out of her byre that same night and was -found all over a lather wandering on Dip-stone Sands in the morning. Ay, -they burnt the water-finder at the next 'Sizes, the testimony being so -clear as I say." - -"'Tis time they burnt Dick Pritchard," said someone else in a low voice. -"Though I'm not sure that 'tis in the Book that mere water-finding is -heinous." - -"Maybe not, but sure a proof o' the gift o' prophecy is burnable in the -New Dispensation," suggested another. - -A big man sprang to his feet. His face was pale and his hands were -nervous. He clapped his palms together. - -"Every man in the room has a tankard with me," he cried. "I'll pay the -score for all. What use is the blunt to me after Monday? But now is our -time, lads. Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die!" - -The sentiment was greeted with a loud and harsh laugh by some men, but -by a serious shake of the head by others. A young man started a ribald -song. - -"Shame, sir, shame, a parson's present in the room," cried an elderly -man, who was seated near Wesley. - -The lilt was interrupted, and two or three fingers were pointed toward -Wesley, who was half hidden from most of the people in the room. Now he -stood up and faced them all. - -"Hey,'tis Wesley the preacher himself!" cried the surgeon, and -expressions of surprise were uttered in various directions. - -"You have come in good time to superintend the winding up of the world, -Mr. Wesley. Nay, don't be over modest;'tis one of your own children -hath said it," said another. "What, sir; would you disown your own -offspring?" - -Wesley had held up his hand twice while the man was speaking. - -"Friends, I am John Wesley," he said. "I have come sixty miles and -better, having heard from Mr. Hartwell that I was needed in regard to -this same Pritchard, but having been made acquainted with no points of -detail. Sirs, since I entered this room I have, I believe, learned all -that Mr. Hartwell forbore to tell me, and now I hasten to give you my -assurance that I cannot countenance aught that this man Pritchard said. -I deplore most heartily that he should be so far misled as to take upon -him to utter a statement of prophecy touching the most awful event that -our faith as believers takes a count of. Brethren, we are told that we -know not the day nor the hour when that dread shall fall upon the world. -That is the written Word of the Most High, and any man who, whether -under the impulse of vanity or in the sincere belief that he possesses -the gift of prophecy, is presumptuous, is likely to become a stumbling -block and a rock of offence. That is all that I have to say at this -time. I have said so much in the hope that all who hear me will refrain -from attributing to the influence of my preaching or teaching, an act or -a statement which I and my associates repudiate and condemn." - -He inclined his head slowly, and then, picking up his hat, left the -room. But before he reached the door every man in the room had risen -respectfully, though no word was spoken by anyone present. Even after -his departure there was a silence that lasted for several minutes. -Everyone seemed to have drawn a long breath as of relief. - -"Gentlemen, I think you may breathe freely once more: the world will -last over Monday after all," said the surgeon. - -"Ay, the master has spoken and disowned his pupil," said another. - -"Maybe that's because he feels chagrined that he lost the chance that -Dick Pritchard grappled with," suggested the pale youth. - -"Boy," said the traveller, with a contemptuous wave of the hand. "Boy, -Mr. Wesley is a man of learning and a man of parts, not a charlatan in a -booth at a fair." - -"Or one with the duck's instinct of seeking for water with a quack--ay, -a quack with a quack," said the surgeon. - -"Well, if the world is not to expire on Monday, we would do well to drink -her health, so hey for a gallon of old ale so far as it goes," cried the -man with the shaking head. - -The opinion seemed to be all but general, that some sign of hilarity -would not now be so much out of place as it seemed to be a quarter of an -hour earlier, and the landlord was zealous in support of this view. He -promised them a tipple worthy of the name, even if the world were to -break up in a day or two! - -But long before the company were satisfied Wesley was on his horse -riding slowly down to Ruthallion Mill. - -He felt deeply pained by his experience in the inn parlour. So this was -what Mr. Hartwell had hinted at in his letter--this assumption of the -divine gift of the prophet by Pritchard. And the subject of his prophecy -was one that every charlatan who had existed had made his own! He -himself could remember more than one such prediction being made by men -who were both ignorant and vain. One of them had afterwards stood in -the pillory and another--the more sincere--had gone to a mad-house. It -seemed to him strange that they should have had a following, but -beyond a doubt their prediction had been widely credited, and the men -themselves had achieved a notoriety which was to them the equivalent to -fame. They had had their followers even after the date which they named -in their prophecies had gone by without any disaster to the world. It -seemed that the people were so glad at escaping that they had no room in -their thoughts for any reproach for the false prophet. - -He knew, however, that in the case of Richard Pritchard, the same -leniency would not be shown. He knew that his own detractors--and -they were many who regarded his innovations as a direct menace to the -Church--would only be too glad of the chance which was now offered to -them of ridiculing him and his out-of-doors preaching, pointing out, as -they most certainly would, that Richard Pritchard represented the first -fruit of his preaching, and that his assumption of the authority of a -prophet was the first fruit of his Methodism. - -But it was not only by reason of the possible injury that would be done -to the movement which he had inaugurated in Cornwall that he was vexed. - -He had been greatly pained to observe the spirit in which the most awful -incident on which the mind of man could dwell was referred to by the -men in the inn parlour--men fairly representative of the people of the -neighbourhood. The Day of Wrath had been alluded to with levity by some, -in a spirit of ridicule by others; while one man had made it the subject -of a wager, and another had made it an excuse for drunkenness! - -He was grieved and shocked to reflect that it was Pritchard's connection -with his mission that had produced this state of things. He felt certain -that if the man had remained outside the newly founded organisation, he -would not have taken it upon himself to speak as a prophet. - -But he felt that he could not lay the blame for what had occurred at the -door of anyone whom he had appointed to help him in his work, and who -had advanced the claims of Pritchard, for who could have foreseen that -a man who seemed abnormally modest and retiring by nature should develop -such a spirit? Beyond a doubt the man's weak head had been turned. He -had become possessed of a craving after notoriety, and now that he had -achieved it, he would be a very difficult person to deal with. This -Wesley perceived when he began to consider how to deal with the source -of the affair. - -The most difficult point in this connection was his feeling that the man -was quite sincere in his belief, that upon him the spirit of prophecy -had descended. He felt sure that the man was unaware of the existence of -any motive in his own heart apart from the desire to utter a warning and -a call to repentance to the people of the world, as Jonah the prophet, -had done to the people of Nineveh. - -That fact, Wesley perceived, made it a matter of great difficulty both -to silence Pritchard, and to hold him up as a charlatan. - -He was indeed greatly perplexed in mind as he rode down the valley path -leading to the Mill. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -Wesley could not, of course, know that Pritchard was at that time -in the Mill awaiting his arrival. But it was the case that the -water-finder, learning that the coming of Mr. Wesley was looked for -during the afternoon, had gone to the Mill early and had rejected the -suggestion made by the blacksmith and Jake Pullsford, that he should -not appear in the presence of Mr. Wesley until he was sent for. He was -almost indignant at the hint conveyed to him in an ambiguous way by Hal -Holmes, that it would show better taste if he were to remain away for -the time being. - -"Take my word for 't, Dick, you'll be brought face to face with him soon -enow," said Hal. "You'll be wishful that you had ne'er been born or -thought of. Mr. Wesley is meek, but he isn't weak, and 'tis the meek -ones that's the hardest to answer when the time comes, and it always -comes too soon. Before your Monday comes you'll be wishful to hide away -and calling on the mountains to cover ye." - -"List to me, Hal; there's naught that will say nay to me when my mind is -made up, and go to face Mr. Wesley I shall," Dick had replied. - -The blacksmith folded his big bare arms and looked at him with curiosity -from head to foot. - -"A change has come o'er a good many of us since Mr. Wesley began to -preach, but what's all our changes alongside yours, Dick Pritchard?" he -said, shaking his head as though he relinquished this task of solving -the problem which had been suggested to him. "Why, you was used to fear -and tremble at the thin noise of your own voice, Dick Pritchard. With -these ears I have heard you make an apology for saying 'Thank ye,' on -the score that you were too bold. But now you are for rushing headlong -to meet the man that you scarce dare lift your hat to a month or two -agone." - -"I hadn't learned then all that there's in me now, Hal," replied the -water-finder. "I always did despise myself, being unmindful that to -despise myself was to do despite to Heaven. Doesn't it stand to reason, -Hal, that the greater a man thinks himself, the greater is the honour he -does to his Maker? I think twice as much of God since I came to see what -a man He made in me." - -"That's a square apology for conceit, Dick, and I don't think aught the -better of you for putting it forward at this time and in such a case as -this. What, good fellow, would you be at the pains to magnify a man's -righteousness pace for pace with his conceit? At that rate, the greater -the coxcomb the more righteous the man." - -Dick was apparently lost in thought for some time. At last he shook his -head gravely, saying: - -"Not for all cases, Hal, not for all cases. You be a narrow-souled -caviller, I doubt; you cannot comprehend an argyment that's like a -crystal diamond, with as many sides to it as a middling ignorant man -would fail to compute." - -"That may be, but I've handled many a lump of sea-coal that has shown -as many sides as any diamond that was ever dug out of the earth, and it -seems to me that your talk is more like the sea-coal than the crystal, -Dick, my friend," said the blacksmith. "Ay, your many-sided argyments -are only fit to be thrust into the furnace, for all, their sides." - -"Mr. Wesley will comprehend," said Pritchard doggedly; "though even Mr. -Wesley might learn something from me. Ay, and in after years you will -all be glad to remember that you once dwelt nigh a simple man by name -Richard Pritchard." - -"In after years?" cried Hal Holmes. "Why, where are your after years to -come from, if the end of all things is to be on us on Monday?" - -"Don't you doubt but that 'twill come to an end on Monday," said the -water-finder, "however you may twist and turn. Be sure that you be -prepared, Hal Holmes. You have been a vain-living blacksmith, I am -feared, and now you side with them that would persecute the prophets. -Prepare yourself, Hal, prepare yourself." - -This was the style in which the man had been talking for some time, -astonishing everyone who had known his extreme modesty in the past; and -this was the strain in which he talked when he had entered the Mill, -and found the miller, Jake Pulls-ford and Mr. Hartwell seated together -awaiting the arrival of Wesley. - -The man's entrance at this time surprised them. They knew he was -aware that Mr. Wesley was returning in haste, owing solely to his, -Pritchard's, having put himself forward in a way that his brethren could -not sanction, and it never occurred to them that he would wish to -meet Mr. Wesley at this time. They were, as was Hal Holmes, under the -impression that when Wesley arrived Pritchard's former character might -show itself once more, causing him to avoid even the possibility of -meeting the preacher face to face. - -They were soon undeceived. The water-finder was in no way nervous when -he came among them. - -When he had in some measure recovered from his surprise, the miller said: -"We looked not for thy coming so soon, Dick, but maybe 'tis as well that -thou 'rt here." - -"How could I be away from here unless I had hastened to meet Mr. Wesley -on his way hither?" said Pritchard. "I have been trembling with desire -to have his ear for the past week. It is laid on me to exhort him -on some matters that he neglected. These matters can be neglected no -longer." - -The miller looked at Jake Pullsford, and the latter sat aghast. He was -so astounded that he could only stare at Pritchard, with his hands on -his knees and his head in its usual poise, craning forward. Some moments -had passed before he succeeded in gasping out, after one or two false -starts: - -"You--you--you--Dick Pritchard--you talk of exhorting Mr. Wesley? Oh, -poor fellow! poor fellow! Now, indeed, we know that you are mad!" - -"Mr. Wesley should ha' found out the gift that is mine," said Pritchard, -quite ignoring the somewhat frank utterance of the carrier. "I suspected -myself during several months of having that great gift of prophecy.'Twas -no more than a suspicion for some time, and I dare not speak before I -was sure." - -"And what made thee sure, Dick?" asked the miller. - -"'Twas reading how the great prophet, Moses, made water flow from the -rock," replied Pritchard. "'What,' said I to my own self. 'What, Richard -Pritchard, hath not all thy life been spent in performing that great -miracle of Moses, and hast not known the greatness of thy gift?' And -then I made search and found that water-finding has been the employment -of most of the great prophets, Elijah being the foremost. Like to a -flash from a far-off cannon gun, that reaches the eyes before ever the -sound of the boom comes upon the ear, the truth was revealed to me. I -knew then that the gift of the Tishbite was mine." - -It was Jake Pullsford who now looked at the miller. The miller shook his -head. - -"'Twould not matter much what you thought of yourself, Dick," said the -miller, "if only you had not been admitted to our fellowship; but things -being as they be---" - -He shook his head again. - -"What overcomes me is the thought of thy former habit of life, Dick," -said the carrier. "Why, up to a month agone, a man more modest, shy and -tame speaking, wasn't to be found in all the West Country. Why, man, -I've seen thee sweat at the sound of thine own voice, like as if thou -hadst been a thief a-hearing o' the step of an officer! Meek! Meek is no -name for it! I give thee my word that it oft made me think shame of all -manhood in the world to hear thee make apology for a plain truth that, -after all, thou wast too bashful to utter!" - -"You could not see my heart, Miller," said Pritchard. "'Twas only that -I was humble in voice; I know now that in spirit I was puffed up with -pride, so that I could hardly contain myself. But even after the truth -came upon me in that flash, I was ready to treat the likes of you, -Miller--ay, even the likes of thee, Jake Pullsford, as mine equal, so -affable a heart had I by birth." - -"You promoted yourself a bit, Dick," remarked the miller. "But I've -always observed that when a man tells another in that affable way that -he regards the other as his equal, he fancies in the inwardness of his -heart, that he is far above the one he gives such an assurance to." - -"I feel a sort of light of knowledge within me ready to break forth -and tell me a wonderful reply to that remark of yours, Miller," said -Pritchard. "Tarry a while, and give me time for the light to-break forth -with fulness, and you'll be rewarded; friends, you will hear a reply -that will make you all stand back in amaze, and marvel, as I have done, -how noble a thing is the gift of speech--saying a phrase or two that -makes the flesh of man tingle. All I ask is time. It may not come to me -within the hour, but----" - -"Here's one that hath come to thee, my man, and he will listen to all -you have to say: I hear the sound of his horse on the lane," cried the -miller. - -Jake Pullsford sprang from the settle, and strained himself to look out -of the window. - -"Right;'tis Mr. Wesley, in very deed," he said. - -"That's as should be," cried Pritchard, with an air of satisfaction that -made the others feel the more astonished. - -And when Wesley had entered and greeted his-friends, including the -water-finder, they were a good deal more astonished at the attitude -taken by Pritchard. Without wasting time over preliminaries, he assumed -that Wesley had come to the Mill in order not to admonish him, but to be -admonished by him. Before Mr. Wesley had time to say more than a -word, Pritchard had become fluent on the subject of the preacher's -responsibilities. It was not for Mr. Wesley to go wandering in the -uttermost parts of Cornwall, he said; he should have remained at -Porthawn to consolidate the work that he had begun; had he done so until -he had gathered in every soul, the Lord might have been as merciful to -the world as He had been to Nineveh in the days of Jonah. But Mr. Wesley -had, like Jonah, fled from his duty, and the next Monday was to be the -Day of Judgment. - -Wesley listened gravely until the man got upon his feet and with an -outstretched finger toward him, cried: - -"I have been mocked by some, and held in silent despite by others--all -of them professing to be of the Household of Faith, because the Spirit -of prophecy came upon me, and I announced the truth. Nor, Mr. Wesley, -will you dare to join with the disbelievers and say straight out that -the first Monday will not be the Last Day that will dawn on this world?" - -"No," said Wesley, "I would not be so presumptuous as to lay claim to -any knowledge that would entitle me to speak on a subject of such awful -import. '_Ye know not the day nor the hour_'--those were the words of -our Lord, and anyone who makes profession of knowing either, commits a -grievous sin." - -"Ay, anyone but me," said Pritchard. "But the revelation was made to -me--I take no glory to myself. The great and terrible Day of the Lord -cometh next Monday, and they shall cry unto the rocks to fall on them -and the mountains to cover them. What other place could that refer to if -not Ruthallion and Porthawn; is't not that Buthallion is in the heart of -the hills and Porthawn the place of rocks?" - -With all gentleness Wesley spoke to the man of the great need there was -for caution on the part of anyone venturing to assign times and seasons -to such prophecies as had been uttered respecting the mystery of -the Last Judgment. He tried to show him that however strong his own -conviction was on the subject of the Revelation, he should hold his -peace, for fear of a mistake being made and enemies being afforded a -reason for railing against the cause which they all had at heart. The -interpretation of prophecy, he said, was at all times difficult and -should certainly not be lightly attempted even by those men who had -spent all their lives dealing with the subject, with the light of -history to guide them. Nothing could exceed the tact, patience and -gentleness with which the pastor pleaded with this erring one of his -flock--the miller and Jake Pullsford were amazed at his forbearance; -they learned a lesson from him which they never forgot. He was patient -and said no word of offence all the time that they were waxing irritable -at the foolishness of the man who sat shaking his head now and again, -and pursing out his lips after the manner of pig-headed ignorance when -objecting to the wisdom of experience. - -It was all to no purpose that Wesley spoke. The man listened, but -criticised with the smile of incredulous superiority on his face almost -all the time that Wesley was speaking--it varied only when he was -shaking his head, and then throwing it back defiantly. It was all to no -purpose. - -"You are right, Mr. Wesley, in some ways," he cried. "But you talk of -the interpretation of prophecy. Well, that is within your sphere, and I -durstn't stop you so far. Ay, but I am not an interpreter of prophecy--I -am the very prophet himself. Friends, said not I the truth to you this -hour past--how I felt as it were a burst of flame within me, whereby I -knew that I had been possessed of the spirit of prophecy? The gift of -water-finding, which has been mine since my youth, was only bestowed -upon the major prophets, Moses being the chief; and when I read of -Elijah, who in the days of the grievous water famine was enabled by -the exercise of his gift, and guided by the hand of the Lord, to find -water--even the running brook Chereth--in the midst of a land that was -dusty dry, all unworthy doubt was set at rest. Is it not written that -Elijah, the prophet, was to come back to earth to warn the people of the -Great Day being at hand?" - -"Dear friend, stay thy tongue for a moment--say not words that might not -be forgiven thee even by the Most Merciful," cried Wesley. - -"You are a great preacher and a faithful servant--up to a certain point, -Mr. Wesley; but you are not as I am," replied Pritchard firmly, but not -without a tone of tenderness. "You are a preacher; I am the prophet. I -have spoken as Jonah spoke to the men of Nineveh: 'Yet forty days -and Nineveh shall be overthrown.' 'In eleven days the world shall be -overthrown,' said I, feeling the flame within me." - -"The people of Nineveh repented and the destruction was averted," said -Wesley. "Have there been signs of a great repentance among the people -who got tidings of your prediction?" - -"My prophecy has everywhere been received with ridicule," replied the -man proudly. - -"I can testify to that," said Jake Pullsford. "I travel about, as you -know, and I hear much of what is talked over from here to Devon, and -only for a few light-headed women--ready to believe that the moon was -the sun if they were told so from the pulpit--only for these, it might -be said that Dick's foolishness would ha' fallen on ears as deaf as an -adders." - -"I, myself, can bear witness to the evil effect that has been produced -among a people who were, I hoped, ready for the sowing of the good -seed," said Wesley. "It was a great sorrow to me to hear the lightness -of talk--the offer of wagers--the excuse of drunkenness--all the result -of Richard Pritchard's indiscretion." - -"And everywhither it has been received as coming from us--from us -whom you have instructed in the Truth, sir," said Jake. "'Tis not Dick -Pritchard that has been ridiculed, but we whom they call Methodists. -That is the worst of it." - -"And now that I have paved the way for you, the preacher, Mr. Wesley, -you will be able for three days to exhort the people to repentance," -said Pritchard, with the air of a man accustomed to give advice on grave -matters, with confidence that his advice would be followed. - -"My duty is clear," said Wesley. "I shall have to disclaim all sympathy -with the statements made by Richard Pritchard. Souls are not to be -terrorised to seek salvation. I am not one of those ministers who think -that the painting of lurid pictures of the destruction of the earth and -all that is therein the best way of helping poor sinners. Nay, there -have come under mine own eyes many instances of the very temporary -nature of conversions brought about by that paradox of the gospel of -terror. But need we look for guidance any further away than the history -of Jonah and the Ninevites? The prophet preached destruction, and -the people repented. But how long did the change last? The fire and -brimstone had to be rained down upon them before the sackcloth that they -assumed was worn out." - -"On Monday the fire and brimstone will overwhelm the whole world, -and woe be to him that preacheth not from that text till then!" cried -Pritchard. He was standing at one end of the table facing the window -that had a western aspect, and as he spoke, the flaming beams of the -sinking sun streamed through the glass and along the table until they -seemed to envelop him. In spite of the smallness of his stature he -seemed, with the sunbeams striking him, to possess some heroic elements. -The hand that he uplifted was thin and white, and it trembled in the -light. His face was illuminated, not from without only; his eyes were -large and deep, and they seemed staring at some object just outside the -window. - -Watching him thus, everyone in the room turned toward the window--Wesley -was the only exception; he kept his eyes fixed upon the man at the -foot of the table. He saw his eyes move as if they were following the -movements of someone outside, and their expression varied strangely. -But they were the eyes of a man who is the slave of his nerves--of a -visionary who is carried away by his own ill-balanced imagination--of the -mystic who can see what he wishes to see. - -Wesley was perplexed watching this man whose nature seemed to have -completely changed within the month. He had had a good deal of strange -experience of nervous phases, both in men and women who had been -overcome by his preaching, but he had never before met with a case that -was so strange as this. The man was no impostor; an impostor would have -been easy to deal with. He was a firm believer in his own mission and in -his own powers, and therein lay the difficulty of suppressing him. - -And while Wesley watched him, and everyone else seemed striving to catch -a glimpse of the object on which the man's eyes were fixed, the light -suddenly passed out of his eyes and they became like those of a newly -dead man, staring blankly at that vision which comes before the sight -of a soul that is in the act of passing from the earth into the great -unknown Space. There he stood with his hand still upraised, and that -look of nothingness in his staring eyes.. - -Wesley sprang up from the table to support him when he fell, and he -appeared to be tottering after the manner of a man who has been shot -through the heart while on his feet; and Wesley's movement caused the -others to turn toward the man. - -In a second the miller was behind him with outstretched arms ready to -support him. Pritchard did not fall just then, however. Breathlessly -and in a strained silence, the others watched him while he swayed to -the extent of a hand's breadth from side to side, still with his hand -upraised and rigid. For some minutes--it might have been five--he stood -thus, and in the end he did not collapse. He went slowly and rigidly -backward into Wesley's arms, and then down into his own chair, his eyes -still open--still blankly staring, devoid of all expression. - -"Dead--can he be dead?" whispered Jake, slipping a hand under his -waistcoat. - -Wesley shook his head. - -"He is not dead, but in a trance," he replied. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -For half an hour the four men in that room sat watching with painful -interest the one who sat motionless in the chair at the end of the -table. There was not one of them that had not a feeling of being a -watcher by the side of a bed on which a dead body was lying. Not a -word was exchanged between them. In the room there was a complete -silence--the silence of a death chamber. The sound of the machinery of -the mill--the creaking of the wooden wheels, and the rumbling of the -grindstones--went on in dull monotony in the mill, and from the kitchen, -beyond the oaken door, there came the occasional clink of a pan or -kettle; and outside the building there was the clank of the horses of a -waggon, and the loud voices of the waggoners talking to the men in one -of the lofts, and now and again directing the teams. A cock was crowing -drowsily at intervals in the poultry run, and once there was a quacking -squabble amongst the ducks on the Mill race. And then, with the lowing -of the cows that were being driven to the milking shed, came the -laughter of a girl, passing the waggoners. - -But in the room there was silence, and soon the dimness of twilight. - -And then John Wesley prayed in a low voice. - -***** - -Enough light remained in the room to allow those watchers to see when -consciousness returned to the man's eyes: he was facing the window. But -before the expression of death changed to that of life, his arm, that -was still stiffly outstretched, and seeming all the more awkward since -he had ceased to be on his feet, fell with a startling thud upon the -edge of the table. It was as if a dead man had made a movement. Then his -eyes turned upon each in the room in turn. He drew a long breath. - -"You are among friends, Dick; how feel you, my man?" said Jake -Pullsford, laying his hand upon Pritchard's that had fallen upon the -table. - -"I saw it again--clear--quite clear, Jake," said Pritchard. - -"What saw ye, friend Dick?" asked Jake. - -"The vision--the Vision of Patmos. The heavens rolled together like -a scroll--blackness at first--no mind o' man ever conceived of such -blackness--the plague of Egypt was snow-white to compare. And then 'twas -all flame--flame--flame. The smith's furnace hath but a single red eye -of fire, but its sharp brightness stings like a wasp. But this--oh, -millions upon millions of furnace eyes, and every eye accusing the world -beneath. Who can live with everlasting burning?--that was what the Voice -cried--I know not if it was the strong angel, or him that rode upon the -White Horse, but I heard it, and all the world heard it, and the most -dreadful and most unusuallest thing of all was the sight of that White -Horse, plunging and pawing with all the fiery flames around it and -above and below! And the Voice said, 'There shall be no more sea,' and -forthwith all the tide that had been flowing in hillocks into Porthawn -and teasing the pebbles where the shallows be, and lapping the Dog's -Teeth reef, wimpling around the spikes--all that tide of water, I say, -began to move out so that every eye could see it move, and the spikes -o' the reef began to grow as the water fell, till the bases of the rocks -appeared with monstrous weeds, thick as coiled snakes, and crawling -shells, monstrous mighty that a man might live in; and then I saw the -slime of the deep, thick as pitch and boiling and bubbling with the heat -below, even as pitch boils over the brazier when the boats lie bottom -up on the beach. And then I saw a mighty ship lying in the ooze--a ship -that had become a wreck, maybe a hundred years agone, half the timbers -rotted from the bends so that she was like some monster o' the deep with -its long ridges of ribs showing fleshless as a skeleton. And then -the Voice cried, 'The Sea gave up its Dead.'... You shall see it for -yourselves on Monday--ay, all that came before mine eyes.'Twas Mr. -Wesley preached on the great moving among the dry bones--they were dry -in that valley, but in the dread secret depths where the sea had been -these were damp with the slime of ages, and they crawled together, bone -unto bone, throwing off the bright green seaweeds that overlaid them -like shrouds of thin silk. They stood up together all in the flesh, and -I noted that their skin was the yellow pale skin of the drowned, like -the cheeks of a female who holds a candle in her hands and shades the -flame with one of her palms. Flame--I saw them all by the light of the -flaming sky, and some of them put up their saffron hands between their -faces and the flame, but the light shone through their flesh as you have -seen the sun shine through a sere leaf of chestnut in the autumn." - -He stopped suddenly and drew a long breath. For some moments he breathed -heavily. No one in the room spoke. A boy went past the door outside -whistling. - -When the man spoke again it was in a whisper. He turned to Wesley. - -"Mr. Wesley, I knew not that I had the gift until I heard you preach," -he said. "I only suspected now and again when I felt the twitchings of -the twig between my hands when I was finding the water, that I was not -as other men; but when I heard you preach and saw how you carried all -who listened away upon your words as though they were not words, but a -wave of the sea, and the natural people the flotsam of the waste, I -felt my heart swell within me by reason of the knowledge that I had been -chosen to proclaim something great beyond even all that you could teach. -And now 'tis left for you to stand by my side and tell all that have -ears to hear to prepare for the Great Day. It is coming--Monday. I would -that we had a longer space, Sir, for, were it so, my name would go forth -through all the world as yours has done--nay, with more honour, for a -prophet is ahead of the mere preacher. But you will do your best for the -world in the time allowed to us, will you not, Mr. Wesley?" - -He laid his hand on one of Wesley's, firmly and kindly. - -"My poor brother!" said Wesley gently. "God forgive me if I have been -the means of causing hurt to even the weakest of my brethren. Let us -live, dear brother, as if our days in the world were not to be longer -than this week, giving our thoughts not to ourselves, but to God; -seeking for no glory to attach to our poor names, but only to the Name -at which every knee must bow. Humility--let us strive after humility. -What are we but dust?" - -The man looked at him--there was still some light in the room--and after -the lapse of a few moments he said: - -"You have spoke a great truth, Mr. Wesley. Humility is for all of us. -Pray that I may attain it, brother. It should come easy enough to some -that we know, but for such as you and me, especially me, dear -brother,'tis not so easy. The gift of prophecy surely raises a humble -man into circumstances so lofty that he is above the need for any abject -demeanour. Ay, now that I reflect on't, I am not sure that I have any -right to be humble. 'Twould be like flouting a gift in the face of the -giver. 'Twould be like a servant wearing a ragged coat when his master -hath provided him with a fine suit of livery." - -He had risen from his place, and now he remarked that the evening had -come and he had far to travel. He gave Wesley his hand, nodded to the -others and went through the door without another word. - -The men whom he left in the room drew long breaths. One of them--the -farmer--made a sound with his tongue against his teeth as one might do -when a child too young to know better breaks a saucer. The miller gave -an exclamation that went still further, showing more of contempt and -less of pity. Mr. Hartwell, the mine-owner, who was a quiet, well-read -man, said: - -"I have heard of cases like to his; I have been reading of revivals, -as some call such an awakening as has taken place through Mr. Wesley's -preaching, and every one of them has been followed by the appearance -of men not unlike Dick Pritchard in temper--men who lose themselves -in their zeal--get out of their depth--become seized by an ambition to -teach others before they themselves have got through the primer." - -"For me, I call to mind naught but the magic men of Egypt," said Jake -Pullsford. "They were able to do by their traffic with the Evil One all -that Moses did by miracle. I always had my doubts about the power that -Dick Pritchard professed--finding water by the help of his wand of -hazel--as 'twere a wizard's wand--maybe the staves of the Egyptian -sorcerers were of hazel--I shouldn't wonder. And now he falls into -a trance and says he sees a vision, equalling himself to St. John at -Patmos! For myself I say that I never knew of a truly godly man falling -into a trance. My grandfather--you are old enough to remember him, -farmer?" - -"I mind him well--pretty stiff at a bargain up to the end," said the -farmer with a side nod of acquiescence. - -"We be talking of the same man," resumed the miller. "Well, I say that -he told me of one such mystical vision seer that came from Dorset in his -young days, and he saw so many things that he was at last tried for -sorcery and burnt in the marketplace. Ah, those were the days when men -wasn't allowed by law to go so far as they do now-a-days. Why,'tis only -rarely that we hear of a witch burning in these times." - -Wesley held up his hand. - -"I had my misgivings in regard to Pritchard from the first," he said. -"And when I got news that he had been causing you trouble I felt that he -had indeed been an agent of the Evil One. But now--God forbid that I -should judge him in haste. I scarce know what to think about him. I have -heard of holy men falling into trances and afterwards saying things that -were profitable to hear. I am in doubt. I must pray for guidance." - -"The man is to be pitied," said Mr. Hartwell. - -"You heard the uplifted way he talked at the last--like a fool full of -his own conceit? Have you heard yet, Mr. Wesley, what an effect his -prediction has had upon the country?" - -"I heard naught of it until I had entered the parlour at the inn where -I dined to-day, but I think I heard enough to allow of my forming some -notion of the way his prediction was received. Some were jocular over -it, a few grave, and a large number ribald." - -"You have described what I myself have noticed, sir," said Mr. Hartwell. -"Only so far as I can see there are a large number who are well-nigh -mad through fear. Now what we may be sure of is that these people, when -Monday passes, will turn out open scoffers at the truth. And you may -be certain that your opponents will only be too glad of the opportunity -thereby afforded them of discrediting your labours; they will do their -best to make Methodism responsible for the foolishness and vanity of -that man?" - -"I perceived that that would be so the moment I got your letter," -said Wesley. "And yet--I tell you, brethren, that I should be slow to -attribute any imposture to this man, especially since I have heard him -speak in this room. He believes that he has been endowed by Heaven with -the gift of prophecy." - -"And he only acknowledges it to boast," said Mr. Hartwell. "It is his -foolish boasting that I abhor most, knowing, as I do full well, that -every word that comes from him will be used against us, and tend to cast -discredit upon the cause which we have at heart." - -Wesley perceived how true was this view of the matter, but still he -remained uncertain what course to adopt in the circumstances. He knew -that it was the fervour of his preaching that had affected Pritchard, as -it had others; he had heard reports of the spread of a religious mania -at Bristol after he had preached there for some time; but he had always -succeeded in tracing such reports to those persons who had ridiculed his -services. This wras the first time that he was brought face to face with -one who had been carried away by his zeal to a point of what most people -would be disposed to term madness. - -He had known that there would be considerable difficulty dealing with -the case of Pritchard, but he had also believed that the man would -become submissive if remonstrated with. It had happened, however, that, -so far from becoming submissive, Pritchard had reasserted himself, -and with so much effect that Wesley found himself sympathising with -him--pitying him, and taking his part in the face of the others who were -apparently but little affected by the impassioned account the man had -given of his vision when in the trance. - -It was not until the night had fallen that they agreed with Wesley that -it might be well to wait for a day or two in order that he should become -acquainted with some of the effects of the prediction, and thus be in -a position to judge whether or not he should take steps to dissociate -himself and his mission from the preaching of the man Pritchard. - -He had not, however, gone further than Port-hawn the next day before he -found out that the impression produced by the definite announcement that -the Day of Judgment was but forty-eight hours off was very much deeper -than he had fancied. He found the whole neighbourhood seething with -excitement over the prophecy. It had been made by Pritchard, he learned, -in the course of a service which had been held in a field on the first -Sunday after Wesley's departure, and it had been heard by more than a -thousand of the people whom Wesley's preaching had aroused from lethargy -to a living sense of responsibility. Religious fervour had taken hold -upon the inhabitants of valley and coast, and under its influence -extravagance and exuberance were rife. Only at such a time would -Pritchard's new-found fervour have produced any lasting impression, but -in the circumstances his assumption of the mantle of the prophet and his -delivery of the solemn warning had had among the people the effect of -a firebrand flung among straw. He had shouted his words of fire to -an inflammable audience, and his picture of the imminent terror had -overwhelmed them. The shrieks of a few hysterical women completed what -his prediction had begun, and before the evening the valley of the Lana -was seething with the news that the world was coming to an end within -the month. - -All this Wesley heard before he left the Mill, and before he had ridden -as far as the coast village he had ample confirmation of the accuracy -of the judgment of his friends, who had assured him that the cause which -they had at heart was likely to suffer through the vanity of Pritchard. -He also perceived that the man had good reason for being puffed up on -observing the effect of his deliverance. In a moment he had leaped into -notoriety from being a nonentity. It seemed as if he had been ashamed of -hearing his own voice a short time before, and this fact only made him -appear a greater marvel to himself as well as to the people who had -heard him assume the character of a prophet of fire and brimstone. It -was no wonder, Wesley acknowledged, that the man's head had been turned. - -The worst of the matter was that he was referred, to by nearly all -the countryside as Wesley's deputy. Even the most devoted of Wesley's -hearers seemed to have accepted Pritchard as the exponent of the methods -adopted by Wesley to get the ears of the multitude. In their condition -of blind fervour they were unable to differentiate between the zeal of -the one to convey to them the living Truth and the excess of the other. -They were in the condition of the French mob, who, fifty years later, -after being stirred by an orator, might have gone to think over their -wrongs for another century had not a madman lighted a torch and pointed -to the Bastille. - -It was only to be expected that the opponents of the great awakening -begun by Wesley should point to the extravagance of Pritchard and call -it the natural development of Methodism. Wesley's crusade had been -against the supineness of the Church of England, they said; but how much -more preferable was this supineness to the blasphemy of Methodism as -interpreted by the charlatan who arrogated to himself the power of a -prophet! - -He was pained as he had rarely been since his American accusers had -forced him to leave Georgia, when he found what a hold the prediction -had got on the people. He had evidence of the extent of Pritchard's -following even during his ride to Port-hawn. At the cross roads, not two -miles from the Mill, he came upon a large crowd being preached to by a -man whom he had never seen before, and the text was the Judgment Day. -The preacher was fervid and illiterate. He became frantic, touching -upon the terror that was to come on Monday; and his hearers were -shrieking--men as, well as women. Some lay along the ground sobbing -wildly, others sang a verse of a hymn in frenzy. - -Further along the road a woman was preaching repentance--in another -two days it would be too late; and in the next ditch a young woman was -making a mock of her, putting a ribald construction upon what she was -saying. Further on still he came to a tavern, outside which there was a -large placard announcing that the world would only last till Monday, and -having unfortunately a large stock of beer and rum in fine condition, -the innkeeper was selling off the stock at a huge reduction in the price -of every glass of liquor. - -Wesley had no difficulty in perceiving the man's generosity was being -appreciated. The bar was crowded with uproarious men and women, and some -were lying helpless on the stones of the yard. - -On the wall of a disused smithy a mile or two nearer the coast there was -chalked up the inscription: - -"The Methodys have bro' about the Ende of the World. Who will bring -about the Ende of the Methodys? Downe with them all, I saye." - -He rode sadly onward, with bowed head. He felt humiliated, feeling that -the object for which he lived was humiliated. - -And the worst of the matter was, he saw, that these people who were -making a mock of the Truth, some consciously, others unconsciously, were -not in a condition to lend an ear to any remonstrance that might come -from him. The attitude assumed by Pritchard was, Wesley knew, typical -of that which would be taken up by his followers, and the mockers would -only be afforded a new subject for ridicule. - -"Is it I--is it I who am an unprofitable servant?" he cried out of -the depth of his despondency. "Is it I that have been the cause of the -enemy's blasphemy? What have I done that I should be made a witness of -this wreckage of all that I hoped to see accomplished through my work?" - -For some time he felt as did the man who cried "It is enough! I am not -better than my fellows." - -He let his rein drop on his horse's neck when approaching the house -where he was to be a guest. The day was one of grey mists rolling from -the sea through the valley, spreading wisps of gauze over the higher -slopes, which soon whirled into muslin scarfs with an occasional ostrich -plume shot through with sunshine. At times a cataract of this grey sea -vapour would plunge over the slopes of a gorge and spread abroad into -a billowy lake that swirled round the basin of the valley and then -suddenly lifted, allowing a cataract of sunshine to pour down into the -hollows which were dewy damp from the mist. - -It was a strange atmosphere with innumerable changes from minute to -minute. - -"For me the shadows of the mist--the shadows touched by no ray of -sunshine," he cried when he felt the cold salt breath of the vapour upon -his face. - -And then he bowed his head and prayed that the shadows might flee away -and the Daystar arise once more to lighten the souls of the people as he -had hoped that they would be enlightened. - -When he unclosed his eyes, after that solemn space in which a man -stretches out weak hands, "groping blindly in the darkness," hoping that -they will touch God's right hand in that darkness and be guided into a -right path, he saw the tall figure of a man standing on a crag watching -him. - -The man had the aspect of a statue of stone looking out of a whirl of -sea-mist. - -Wesley saw that it was Bennet, the man by whom he had been met when he -was walking through this Talley for the first time with Nelly Polwhele. -He had heard a great deal about the man during the few weeks that he -had sojourned in the neighbourhood. He found that he was a man of some -education--certainly with a far more intimate knowledge of the classics -than was possessed by most of the parsons west of Exeter. He had been a -schoolmaster in Somerset, but his erratic habits had prevented him from -making any position for himself. He had become acquainted with Nelly -Polwhele at Bristol, and his devotion to her amounted almost to a -madness. It was all to no purpose that she refused to listen to him; -he renewed his suit in season and out of season until his persistence -amounted to persecution. Of course Nelly found many self-constituted -champions, and Bennet was attacked and beaten more than once when off -his guard. When, however, he was prepared for their assault he had shown -himself to be more than a match for the best of them. The fact that he -had disabled for some weeks two of his assailants did not make him any -more popular than he had been in the neighbourhood. - -There he stood looking at Wesley, and there he remained for several -minutes, looking more than ever like a grey stone figure on a rough -granite pedestal. - -It was not until Wesley had put his horse in motion that the man held up -one hand, saying: - -"Give me one minute, Mr. Wesley. I know that you are not afraid of me. -Why should you be?" - -"Why, indeed?" said Wesley. "I know not why I should fear you, seeing -that I fear no man who lives on this earth?" - -"You came hither with a great blowing of trumpets, Mr. Wesley," said -the man. "You were the one that was to overthrow all the old ways of the -Church--you were to make such a noise as would cause the good old dame -to awake from her slumber of a century. Well, you did cause her to -awake; but the noise that you made awoke more than that good mother, the -Church of England--it aroused a demon or two that had been slumbering in -these valleys, and they began to show what they could do. They did not -forget their ancient trick--an angel of light--isn't that the wiliest -sorcery of our ancient friend, the Devil, Mr. Wesley?" - -"You should know, if you are his servant sent to mock me," said Wesley. - -"You have taught the people a religion of emotion, and can you wonder -that the Enemy has taken up your challenge and gone far beyond you -in the same direction? He found a ready tool and a ready fool in your -ardent disciple with the comical Welsh name--Richard Pritchard, to wit. -He has shown the people that you were too tame, and the water-finder -hath found fire to be more attractive as a subject than insipid water. -You are beaten out of the field, Mr. Wesley. As usual, the pupil hath -surpassed the master, and you find yourself in the second place." - -Wesley sat with his head bent down to his horse's neck. He made no reply -to the man's scoff; what to him was the scoffing of this man? When one -is sitting in the midst of the ruins of his house what matters it if the -wind blows over one a handful of dust off the roadside? - -"John Wesley, the preacher, hath been deposed, and Pritchard, the -prophet, reigns in his stead," the man went on. "Ay, and all the day you -have been saying to yourself, 'What have I done to deserve this? What -have I done to deserve this?' Dare you deny it, O preacher of the Gospel -of Truth?" - -Wesley bowed his head once more. - -"Mayhap you found no answer ready," Bennet cried. "Then I'll let you -into the secret, John Wesley. You are being rightly punished because you -have been thinking more of the love of woman than of the Love of God." - -Wesley's head remained bent no longer. - -"What mean you by that gibe, man?" he cried. - -"Ask your own heart what I mean," said the man fiercely. "Your own heart -knows full well that you sought to win the love of the woman who walked -with you on this road little more than a month ago, and who ministered -to you on the day of your great preaching--you took her love from those -to whom she owed it, and you have cherished, albeit you know that she -can never be a wife to you." - -"The Lord rebuke thee," said Wesley, when the man made a pause. - -"Nay,'tis on you that the rebuke has fallen, and you know it, John -Wesley," cried Bennet, more fiercely than ever. "Nelly Polwhele would -have come to love me in time had not you come between us--that I know--I -know it, I tell you, I know it--my love for her is so overwhelming -that she would not have been able to hold out against it. But you came, -and--answer me, man: when it was written to you that you were to return -hither in hot haste to combat the folly of Pritchard, did not your heart -exult with the thought singing through it, 'I shall see her again--I -shall be beside her once more'?" - -Wesley started so that his horse sprang forward and the man before him -barely escaped being knocked down. But Bennet did not even pretend that -he fancied Wesley intended riding him down. He only laughed savagely, -saying: - -"That start of yours tells me that I know what is in your heart better -than you do yourself. Well, it hath made a revelation to you now, Mr. -Wesley, and if you are wise you will profit by it. I tell you that if -you think of her again you are lost--you are lost. The first rebuke has -fallen upon you from above.'Tis a light one. But what will the second -be? Ponder upon that question, sir. Know that even now she is softening -toward me. Come not between us again. Man, the love of woman is not -for such as you, least of all the love of a child whose heart is as the -heart of the Spring season quivering with the joy of life. Now ride on, -sir, and ask your reason if I have not counselled you aright." - -He had spoken almost frantically at first; but his voice had fallen: he -had become almost calm while uttering his last sentences. - -He took off his hat, stepped to one side, and pointed down the road. -He kept his arm stretched out and his fingers as an index, while Wesley -looked at him, as if about to make a reply. - -But if Wesley meant to speak he relinquished his intention. He looked -at the man without a word, and without breaking the silence, urged his -horse forward and rode slowly away. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -John Wesley had ample food for thought for the remainder of his -journey. He knew that the man who had appeared to him so suddenly out of -the mist had for some time been on the brink of madness through his wild -passion for Nelly Pol-whele, which brought about a frenzy of jealousy -in respect of any man whom he saw near the girl. The fierceness of his -gibes was due to this madness of his. But had the wretch stumbled in his -blindness over a true thing? Was it the truth that he, Wesley, had all. -unknown to himself drawn that girl close to him by a tenderer cord than -that which had caused her to minister to his needs after he had preached -his first great sermon? - -The very idea of such a thing happening was startling to him. It would -have seemed shocking to him if it had not seemed incredible. How was it -possible, he asked himself, that that girl could have been drawn to love -him? What was he to attract the love of such a young woman? He was -in all matters save only one, cold and austere. He knew that his -austereness had been made the subject of ridicule--of caricature--at -Oxford and Bath and elsewhere. He had been called lugubrious by reason -of his dwelling so intently on the severer side of life, and he had -never thought it necessary to defend himself from such charges. He was -sure that they were not true. - -That was the manner of man that he was, and this being so, how was it -possible that he should ever draw to himself the love of such a bright -creature as Nelly Polwhele? What was she? Why, the very opposite to him -in every respect. She was vivacious--almost frivolous; she had taken a -delight in all the gaieties of life--why, the first time he saw her she -had been in the act of imitating a notorious play-actress, and, what -made it worse, she was playing the part extremely well. To be sure she -had taken his reproof with an acknowledgment that it was deserved, and -she had of her own free will and under no pressure from him promised -that she would never again enter a playhouse; but still he knew that the -desire for such gaieties was not eradicated from her nature. It would be -unnatural to suppose' that it was. In short, she had nothing in common -with him, and to fancy that she had seen anything in him to attract her -love would be to fancy the butterfly in rapture around a thistle. - -Oh, it was incredible that such a thing should happen. The notion was -the outcome of the jealousy of that wretch. Why, the first time that the -man had seen them together had he not burst out on them, accusing him -of stealing away the child's affection, although he had not been ten -minutes by her side? - -Of course the notion was preposterous. He felt that it was so, and at -the same moment that this conviction came to him, he was conscious of a -little feeling of sadness to think that it was so. The more certain he -became on the matter the greater was the regret that he felt. - -Was it curious that he should dwell upon what the man had said last -rather than upon what he had said first? But some time had passed -before he recalled the charge that Bennet had brought against him almost -immediately after they had met--the charge of having Nelly Polwhele in -his thoughts rather than the work with which he had been entrusted by -his Maker. The man had accused him of loving the girl, and declared that -his present trouble was the rebuke that he had earned. - -He had been startled by this accusation. Was that because he did not -know all that was in his own heart? Could it be possible that he loved -Nelly Polwhele? Once before he had asked himself this question, and he -had not been able to assure himself as to how it should be answered, -before he received that letter calling him back to this neighbourhood; -and all thoughts that did not bear upon the subject of that' letter were -swept from his mind. He knew that he heard in his ear a quick whisper -that said: - -"_You will be beside her again within four days_;" but only for a single -second had that thought taken possession of him. It had come to him with -the leap up of a candle flame before it is extinguished. That thought -had been quenched at the moment of its exuberance, and now he knew -that this accusation brought against him was false; not once--not for a -single moment, even when riding far into the evening through the lonely -places of the valley where he might have looked to feel cheered by such -a thought, had his heart whispered to him: - -"_You will be beside her again within four days_." - -She had not come between him and the work which he had to do. - -But now the man had said to him all that brought back his thoughts to -Nelly Polwhele; and having, as he fancied, answered the question which -he put to him respecting her loving him, he found himself face to face -with the Question of the possibility of his loving her. - -It came upon him with the force of a blow; the logical outcome of his -first reflections: - -"If I found it incredible that she could have any affection for me -because we have nothing in common, is not the same reason sufficient to -convince me that it is impossible I could love her?" - -He was exceedingly anxious to assure himself that the feeling which he -had for her was not the love which a man has for a woman; but he did not -feel any great exultation on coming to this logical conclusion of his -consideration of the question which had been suggested to him by the -accusations of Bennet; on the contrary, he was conscious of a certain -plaintive note in the midst of all his logic--a plaintive human -note--the desire of a good man for the love of a good woman. He felt -very lonely riding down that valley of sea-mist permeated not with the -cold of the sea, but with the warmth of the sunlight that struck some of -the highest green ridges of the slopes above him. His logic had led him -only into his barren loneliness, until his sound mental training, which -compelled him to examine an argument from every standpoint, asserted -itself and he found that his logic was carrying him on still further, -for now it was saying to him: - -"_If you, who have nothing in common with that young woman, have been -led to love her, what is there incredible in the suggestion that she has -been led to love you?_" - -Then it was that he was conscious of a feeling of exultation. His own -heart seemed to be revealed to him in a moment. Only for a moment, -however; for he gave a cry, passing his hand athwart his face as if to -sweep away a film of mist from before his eyes. - -"Madness--madness and disaster! The love of woman is not for such as -I--the man spoke the truth. The love of woman is not for me. Not for me -the sweet companionship, the fireside of home, the little cradle from -which comes the little cry--not for me--not for me!" - -He rode on, and so docile had his mind become through the stern -discipline of years, not once did his thoughts stray to Nelly from -the grave matter which he had been considering when he encountered -bennet--not once did he think even of Bennet. What he had before him -was the question of what steps he should take to counteract the mischief -which had been done and was still being done by the man who had taken it -upon him to predict the end of the world. - -A change seemed to have come over his way of looking at the matter. -Previously he had not seen his way clearly; the mist that was sweeping -through the valley seemed to have obscured his mental vision. He had -been aware of a certain ill-defined sympathy in regard to the man since -he had shown himself to be something of a mystic; his trance and, his -account of the vision that he had seen had urged Wesley's interest -into another channel, as it were; so that he found himself considering -somewhat dreamily the whole question of the trustworthiness of visions, -and then he had been able to agree with his friends at the Mill who had -certainly not taken very long to make up their minds as to how Pritchard -should be dealt with. - -Now, however, Wesley seemed to see his way clearly. He became practical -in a moment. He perceived that it was necessary for him to dissociate -himself and his system from such as Pritchard--men who sought to play -solely upon the emotions of their hearers, and who had nothing of the -Truth to offer them however receptive their hearers' hearts had become. -He did not doubt that Pritchard would take credit to himself for the -non-fulfilment of his prophecy. He would bring forward the case of Jonah -and Nineveh. Jonah had said definitely that Nineveh would be destroyed -on a certain day; but the inhabitants had been aroused to repent, and -the city's last day had been deferred. He would take credit to himself -for arresting the Day of Judgment, his prophecy having brought about the -repentance of his neighbours at Porthawn and Ruthallion, and thus the -fact of his prophecy not being realised would actually add to the -fame which he had already achieved, and his harmfulness would be -proportionately increased. - -Wesley knew that not much time was left to him and his friends to take -action as it seemed right to him. The day was Friday, and he would -preach on Sunday and state his views in respect of Pritchard and his -following, so that it should be known that he discountenanced their -acts. He had seen and heard enough during his ride through the valley to -let him know how imminent was disaster to the whole system of which he -was the exponent. - -He had succeeded in banishing from his mind every thought which he had -had in regard to Nelly Polwhele; so that it was somewhat disturbing for -him to come upon her close to the entrance gates to the Court. She was -carrying a wicker bird cage containing two young doves; he heard her -voice talking to the birds before he recognised her. For a moment lie -felt that he should stop his horse and allow her to proceed so far in -front of him that she should reach the village without his overtaking -her; but a moment's reflection was enough to assure him that to act in -this way would be cowardice. He had succeeded in banishing her from -his mind, and that gave him confidence in his own power to abide by the -decision to which he had come respecting her. To avoid her at this time -would have been to confess to himself that he was not strong enough to -control his own heart; and he believed that he was strong enough to do -so. Therefore he found himself once more beside her and felt that he was -without a trouble in the world. - -Of course she became very red when he spoke her name and stooped from -his saddle to give her his hand. She had blushed in the same way an hour -before when old Squire Trevelyan had found her with his daughters and -said a kindly word to her. - -"I have been to my young ladies," she said, "and see what they have -given to me, sir." She held up the cage and the birds turned their heads -daintily in order to eye him. "They were found in a nest by one of the -keepers, and as my ladies are going to London they gave the little birds -to me. I hope they will thrive under my care." - -"Why should they not?" he said. "You will be a mother to them and they -will teach you." - -She laughed with a puzzled wrinkle between her eyes. - -"Teach me, sir?" - -"Ay, they will teach you, I would fain hope, how becoming is a sober -shade of dress even to the young." - -"Do I need to be taught such a lesson, Mr. Wesley?" she cried, and -now her face was in need of such a lesson. She spoke as if hurt by his -suggestion. - -"I have never seen you dressed except modestly and as is becoming to -a young woman," he replied. "Indeed I meant not what I said to be a -reproach. I only said what came first to mind when I saw those dainty -well-dressed creatures. My thought was: 'Her association with such -companions will surely prevent her from yielding to the weakness of most -young women. She will see that the dove conveys gentleness to the mind, -whereas the peacock is the type of all that is to be despised.' Then, my -dear child, the pair of turtle doves is an emblem of sacrifice." - -"Is that why they were chosen as the symbols of love?" said the girl, -after a pause. - -He looked at her curiously for some time. He wondered what was in her -mind. Had she gone as far as her words suggested in her knowledge of -what it meant to love? - -"I think that there can be no true love without self-sacrifice," said -he. "'Tis the very essence--the spiritual part of love." - -"Is It so in verity, sir?" she cried. "Now I have ever thought that what -is called love is of all things the most selfish. Were it not so why -should it provoke men to quarrel--nay, the quarrelling is not only on -the side of the men. I have seen sisters up in arms simply because the -lover of one had given a kindly glance to the other." - -"To be ready to sacrifice one's self to save the loved one from -disaster--from trouble in any shape or form--that is the love that is -true, he assured of that, Nelly," said he. "Love, if it be true, will -help one to do one's duty--to our Maker as well as to our fellow-men, -and to do that duty without a thought of whatever sacrifices it may -demand. Love, if it be true, will not shrink from the greatest sacrifice -that can be demanded of it--separation from the one who is beloved--a -dividing asunder forever. That is why it is the noblest part of a man's -nature, and that is why it should not be lightly spoken of as is done -daily." - -"Ah, sir," she said, "that may be the love that poets dream of; I have -read out of poetry books to my ladies at the Court, when they were -having their hair brushed. There was the poet Waller, whom they liked to -have read to them, and Mr. Pope, in places. Mr. Marlowe they had a great -regard for. They all put their dreams of love into beautiful words that -would make the coldest of us in love with love. But for the real thing -for daily life I think that simple folk must needs be content with the -homelier variety." - -"There is only one sort of love, and that is love," said he. "'Tis a -flower that blooms as well in a cottage garden as in the parterres of a -palace--nay, there are plants that thrive best in a poor soil, becoming -stunted and losing their fragrance in rich ground, and it hath oft -seemed to me that love is such a growth." - -"And yet I have heard it said that love flies out at the window when -poverty comes in by the door," she said. - -"That never was love; 'twas something that came in the disguise of -love." - -"I do believe that there are many such sham things prowling about, and -knocking at such doors as they find well painted. Some of them have -heard of silver being stored away in old jugs, and some have gone round -to the byres to see exactly how many cows were there before knocking at -the door." - -He smiled in response to her smiling. And then suddenly they both became -grave. - -"Have you had recent converse with that man Bennet?" he asked suddenly. - -She swung the bird cage so quickly round that the doves were well-nigh -jerked off their perch. She had flushed at the same moment, and a little -frown was upon the face that she turned up to him. - -"Why asked you that question? Is it because you were speaking of the -sham loves, sir?" she asked. - -"I ask your pardon if I seem somewhat of a busybody, Nelly Polwhele," -he said. "But the truth is that I--I find myself thinking of you at -times--as a father--as an elder brother might think of--a sweet sister -of tender years." - -Now she was blushing rosier than before, and there was no frown upon -her forehead. But she did not lower her eyes or turn them away from his -face. There was about her no sign of the bashful country girl who has -been paid a compliment by one above her in rank. She did not lower her -eyes; it was he who lowered his before her. - -"'Tis the truth, dear child, that I tell you: I have been strangely -interested in you since the first day I saw you, and I have oft wondered -what your future would be. I have thought of you in my prayers." - -"I do not deserve so much from you, sir," she said softly, and now her -eyes were on the ground, and he knew by the sound of her voice that they -were full of tears. She spoke softly--jerkily. "I do not deserve so much -that is good, though if I were asked what thing on earth I valued most I -should say that it was that you should think well of me." - -"How could I think otherwise, Nelly?" he asked. "You gave me your -promise of your own free will, not to allow any further longing after -the playhouse to take possession of you, and I know that you have kept -that promise. You never missed a preaching and you were ever attentive. -I do not doubt that the seed sown in your heart will bear good fruit. -Then you were thoughtful for my comfort upon more than one occasion -and--Why should you not dwell in my thoughts? Why should you not be -associated with my hopes? Do you think that there is any tenderer -feeling than that which a shepherd has for one of his lambs that he has -turned into the path that leads to the fold?" - -"I am unworthy, sir, I have forgotten your teaching even before your -words had ceased to sound in mine ears. I have not scrupled to deceive. -I led on John Bennet to believe that I might relent toward him, when all -the time I detested him." - -"Why did you do that?" he asked gravely. - -"It was to induce him to come to hear you preach, Mr. Wesley," she -replied. "I thought that it was possible if he heard you preach that he -might change his ways as so many others have changed theirs, and so I -was led to promise to allow him to walk home with me if he came to the -preaching. I felt that I was doing wrong at the time, though it did not -seem so bad as it does now." - -"But you did not give him any further promise?" - -"None--none whatsoever. And when I found that he was unaffected by your -preaching I refused him even the small favour--he thought it a -favour--which I had granted him before. But I knew that I was -double-dealing, and indeed I have cried over the thought of it, and when -I heard that you were coming back I resolved to confess it all to you." - -"I encountered the man not more than half an hour ago," said he. - -She seemed to be surprised. - -"Then he has broken the promise which he made to me," she cried. "He -gave me his word to forsake this neighbourhood for two months, at least, -and I believed that he went away." - -"By what means were you able to obtain such a promise from him?" asked -Wesley. - -She was silent for some time--silent and ill at ease. At last she said -slowly: - -"I fear that I was guilty of double dealing again. I believe he went -away with the impression that I would think with favour of him." - -"I fear that you meant to convey such an impression to him, Nelly." - -"I cannot deny it sir. I admit it. But I got rid of him. Oh, if you knew -how he persecuted me you would not be hard on me." - -"My poor child, who am I that I should condemn you? I do not say that -you were not wrong to deceive him as you did; the fact that your own -conscience tells you that you were wrong proves that you were." - -"I do not desire to defend myself, sir; and perhaps it was also wrong -for me to think as I have been thinking during the past week or two that -just as it is counted an honourable thing for a general in battle to -hoodwink his enemy, so it may not be quite fair to a woman to call her -double dealing for using the wits that she has for her own protection. -Were we endowed with wits for no purpose, do you think, Mr. Wesley?" - -Mr. Wesley, the preacher of austerity, settled his countenance--not -without difficulty--while he kept his eyes fixed upon the pretty face -that looked up innocently to his own. He shook his head and raised a -finger of reproof. He began to speak with gravity, his intention being -to assure her of the danger there was trying to argue against the -dictates of one's conscience. If cunning was the gift of Nature, -Conscience was the gift of God--that was in his mind when he began to -speak. - -"Child," he began, "you are in peril; you - -"A woman," she cried. "I am a woman, and I know that there are -some--they are all men--who assert that to be a woman is to be incapable -of understanding an argument--so that----" - -"To be a woman is to be a creature that has no need of argument because -feeling is ever more potent than argument," said he. "To be a woman is -to be a creature of feeling; of grace, of tenderness--of womanliness. If -your conscience tells you that you were wrong to deceive John Bennet, -be sure that you were wrong; but Heaven forbid that I should condemn you -for acting as your womanly wit prompted. And may Heaven forgive me if -I speak for once as a man rather than a preacher. 'Tis because I have -spoken so that I--I--oh, if I do not run away at once there is no -knowing where I may end. Fare thee well, child; and be sure--oh, be sure -that your conscience is your true director, not your woman's wits--and -least of all, John Wesley, the preacher." - -He laid his hand tenderly upon her head; then suddenly drew it back with -a jerk as if he had been stung upon the palm. His horse started, and he -made no attempt to restrain it, even when it began to canter. In a few -seconds he had gone round the bend on the road beneath the trees that -overhung the wall of the Trevelyan demesne. - -He had reached the house where he was to lodge before he recollected -that although he had been conversing with Nelly Polwhele for close upon -twenty minutes--although they had touched upon some topics of common -interest, neither of them had referred even in the most distant way -to the matter which had brought about his return to the neighbourhood; -neither of them had so much as mentioned the name of Pritchard, or -referred to his prophecy of the End of all things. - -As a matter of fact a whole hour had passed before John Wesley -remembered that it was necessary for him to determine as speedily as -possible what form his protest against the man and his act should take. - -His sudden coming upon Nelly Polwhele had left a rather disturbing -impression upon him--at first a delightfully disturbing impression, and -then one that added to the gravity of his thoughts--in fact just such a -complex impression as is produced upon an ordinary man when coming out -of the presence of the woman whom he loves, he knows not why. - -The sum of his reflections regarding their meeting was that while he -had an uneasy feeling that he had spoken too impulsively to her at the -moment of parting from her, yet altogether he was the better of having -been with her. A cup of cool water in the desert--those were the words -that came to him when he was alone in his room. After the horrible -scenes that he had witnessed while riding through the valley--after the -horrible torture to which he had been subjected by the gibes of John -Bennet--she had appeared before his weary eyes, so fresh, so sweet, so -gracious! Truly he was the better for being near her, and once more he -repeated the word: - -"A cup of cool water in the desert land." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -Wesley lost no time in announcing to his friends the decision to which -he had come. He was to preach on Sunday at the place where his first -meeting had been held, and he felt sure that his congregation would -be sufficiently large for his purpose, which was to let it be known -throughout the country that he and all those who were associated with -him in his work in Cornwall discountenanced Pritchard in every way. To -be sure there was very little time left to them to spread abroad the -news that Mr. Wesley had returned and would preach on Sunday. Only a -single day remained to them, and that was not enough to allow of the -announcement being made outside an area of twenty-five or thirty miles -from Porthawn; but when Mr. Hartwell and Jake Pullsford shook their -heads and doubted if this preaching would bring together more than a few -hundred people, these being the inhabitants of the villages and hamlets -within a mile or two of Porthawn, Wesley explained that all that was -necessary to be done would be accomplished even by a small congregation. -All that should be aimed at was to place it on record that Pritchard had -done what he had done on his own responsibility and without any previous -consultation with the leader of the movement with which he had been -associated. But, of course, the more people who would be present the -more fully his object would be accomplished, and Wesley's friends sent -their message with all speed and in every direction. - -"I would fain believe that the news of this distressing folly of -Pritchard's has not spread very far abroad," said Wesley. "I travelled, -as you know, through a large portion of the country on my return, and -yet it was not until I had reached the head of the valley that the least -whisper of the matter reached me; I would fain hope that the trouble -will be only local." - -"Those who are opposed to us will take the best of care to prevent it -from being circumscribed," said Mr. Hartwell. "The captain of my mine -tells me that there is excitement as far away as Falmouth and Truro -over the prediction. In some districts no work has been done for several -days. That news I had this morning." - -"'Tis more serious than I thought possible it could be," said -Wesley. "Our task is not an easy one, but with God's help it shall be -fulfilled." Going forth through the village in the early afternoon, he -was surprised to find so much evidence of the credence which the people -had given to the prediction and so pronounced a tendency to connect it -with the movement begun by Wesley in the early Summer. It seemed to be -taken for granted that Wesley had come back to urge upon them the need -for immediate repentance. This Pritchard had done with great vehemence -ever since he had prophesied the Great Day. - -Wesley found his old friends agitated beyond measure--even those who -had professed to have received the Word that he had preached. No boats -except those owned by Nelly Polwhele's father had put off to the fishing -ground for some days, and, strange to say, although Isaac Polwhele held -that Pritchard had gone too far in all that he had said, he returned on -Friday morning from his night's fishing with a strange story of lights -seen in the depths of the Channel--something like fires seething beneath -the surface--of wonderful disturbances of the waters, although only the -lightest of breezes was hovering round the coast; and of a sudden sound, -thunderous, with the noise as of a cataract tumbling in the distance, -followed by the rolling of large waves in spite of the fact that for the -time there was not a breath stirring the air. - -The old fisherman told his story of these things without any reserve; -but while he was still disposed to give a contemptuous nod when anyone -mentioned Pritchard's name, his experience through that night had done -much to widen Pritchard's influence until at last there seemed to be -neither fisherman nor boat-builder that did not dread the dawning of -Monday. - -And yet Nelly had not spoken one word about the prophecy when he had -talked with her a few hours before! - -This circumstance caused Wesley no little surprise. He asked himself if -Polwhele's girl was the only sensible person in the neighbourhood. While -the other people were overwhelmed at the prospect of a catastrophe on -Monday, she had gone to visit her young ladies and brought back with her -a pair of young doves. - -He began to feel that he had never given the girl credit for some of -those qualities which she possessed--qualities which certainly are not -shared by the majority of womankind. - -Her father told him before he had reached the village something of the -marvels which had come under his notice only two nights before. But he -tried to make it plain that he did not attach any great importance to -them: he did not regard them as portents, however other people might be -disposed to do so. The old fisherman was shrewd enough to guess that -Mr. Wesley's sympathies were not with Pritchard. Still he could not -deny that what he had seen and heard surpassed all his experience of the -Channel, although he allowed that he had heard of the like from the -lips of mariners who had voyaged far and wide, and had probably -been disbelieved in both hemispheres, by the best judges of what was -credible. He had heard, for instance, of parallels where through long -sultry nights the ocean had seemed one mass of flame. But he himself was -no deep-sea sailor. - -"A sea of flame is common enough in some quarters," said Wesley. "I -myself have seen the Atlantic palpitating like a furnace, and our ship -dashed flakes of fire from the waters that were cloven by her cut-water. -But the sounds which you say you heard--think you not that they came -from a distant thunderstorm?" - -"Likely enough, sir, likely enough," replied the man after a pause; but -he spoke in a way that assured Mr. Wesley that he knew very well that -the sounds had not come from a thunderstorm, however distant. He had had -plenty of experience of thunderstorms, near at hand as well as far off. - -"Or Admiral Hawke's ships--might not some of the Admiral's fleet have -come within a mile or two of the coast and discharged their carronades?" -Wesley suggested. - -"Ay, sir, the boom of a ship's gun carries a long way on the water," -said the fisherman, but in a tone that suggested graver doubt than -before. - -"'Tis clear you are convinced that what you heard was stranger than -either thunder or gunpowder," said he. - -"Nay, sir, what I am thinking of is the sudden uprise of the sea," said -Polwhele. "Without warning our smack began to sway so that the mast -well-nigh went by the board, albeit there was ne'er a draught o' wind. -And there was summat besides that I kept back from all the world." - -"A greater mystery still?" said Wesley. - -"The biggest of all, sir; after the last rumblings my mates thought that -we had been long enough anchored on the fishing bank; so we got in the -grapple and laid out sweeps to pull the smack to the shore." - -He made another pause, and looked into the face of his auditor and then -out seawards. He took a step or two away and stood thoughtfully with -pursed out lips. - -"And then?" said Wesley. - -"And then, sir, then--sir, the oar blades refused to sink. They struck -on something hard, though not with the hardness of a rock or even a sand -bank. 'Twas like as if they had fallen on a floating dead body--I know -what the feel is, sir. When the _Gloriana_, East Indiaman, went ashore -forty years agone, and broke up on the Teeth--you know the reef, sir--we -were coming on the bodies o' the crew for weeks after, as they came to -the surface, as bodies will after eight days--some say ten, but I stick -to eight." - -"But if you came upon the body of a drowned man the night before last -you would surely have reported it, Polwhele," said Wesley. - -"It were dead bodies that we touched wi' our blades, but they was the -dead bodies of fishes. There they floated, sir, thick as jelly bags -after a Spring tide--hundreds of them--thousands of them--all round the -boats--big and little--mackerel and cod and congers and skates and some -monsters that I had never seen before, with mighty heads. They held the -boat by their numbers, blocking its course till we got up a flare o' -pitch and held it out on an oar and saw what was the matter. That was -how it came about that we landed with fish up to the gunwale, though we -had hauled in empty seines--or well-nigh empty half an hour before. -And if all the other boats had been out that night they would have been -filled likewise. I tell you, sir, all we picked up made no difference -to the shoals that was about us. But I said no word to mortal man about -this event nor e'en to my own wife. What would be the good? I asks you, -sir. The poor folk be troubled enow over Dick Pritchard, as no doubt -you heard. I would that Tuesday was safe o'er us. List, you can hear the -voice o' Simon Barwell baying the boys into the fold like a sheep dog. -Simon was a sad evil liver before he heard you preach, sir, and now he's -telling the lads that they have only another day and half to repent, so -they'd best not put it off too long." - -Wesley looked in the direction he indicated and saw a young fellow -mounted on a fish barrel, haranguing a group of men and women. He was -far off, but his voice every now and again reached the place where -Wesley and the old man stood. - -"There be some that holds that Simon himself would ha' done well to -begin his repentance a while back," resumed Polwhele. "And there's some -others that must needs scamp their penitence, if I have a memory at all; -howsomever, Dick Pritchard----" - -"Ah, friend," said Wesley, "if I could think that the repentance which -is being brought about through fear of Monday will last, I would take -joy to stand by the side of Pritchard and learn from him, but alas, I -fear that when Monday comes and goes----" - -"But will it come and go?" cried the old man eagerly. - -"I cannot tell--no man living can tell if to-morrow will come and go, or -if he will live to see the day dawn. We know so much, but no more, and I -hold that any man who says that he knows more is tempting the Lord." - -"And I hold with you, Mr. Wesley; only not altogether so fast since -those happenings I have rehearsed to you. What was it slew them fish, -sir?" - -"I cannot tell you that. I have heard that some of your mines are -pierced far below the sea, and that for miles out. Perhaps we shall hear -that a store of gunpowder exploded in one of them, throwing off the roof -and killing the fish in the water over it--I do not say that this is the -only explanation of the matter. I make no pretence to account for all -that you saw and heard. I have heard of earthquakes beneath the water." - -"Earthquakes in divers places, Mr. Wesley, 'twas from that text Dick -Pritchard preached last Sunday." The man's voice was lowered, and there -was something of awe in his whisper. "He prophesied that there would be -an earthquake in divers places--meaning the sea--before the coming of -the terrible day, Monday next. Now you know, sir, why I said naught that -was particular--only hazy like--that none could seize hold upon about -Thursday's fishing. But I've told you, Mr. Wesley, whatever may happen." - -He took off his hat and walked away, when he had looked for some moments -into Wesley's face, and noted the expression that it wore. - -And, indeed, Wesley was perturbed as he turned and went up the little -track that led to the summit of the cliffs, and the breezy space that -swept up to the wood. He was greatly perturbed by the plain statement -of the fisherman. He had been anxious to take the most favourable view -of Pritchard and his predictions. He had believed that the man, however -foolish and vain he might be, had been sincere in his conviction that he -was chosen by Heaven to prophesy the approaching end of all things; but -now the impression was forced upon him that the man was on a level with -the soothsayers of heathendom. - -Even though he had taken a ludicrously illiterate view of the text, -"There shall be earthquakes in divers places," he had made it the -subject of another prediction, and it seemed as if this prediction -had actually been realised, although only a single fisherman, and he a -friend of Pritchard's, was in a position to testify to it. - -Wesley had heard it said more than once that the finding of water by the -aid of a divining rod was a devil's trick; but he had never taken such a -view of the matter; he affirmed that he would be slow to believe that a -skill which had for its object so excellent an object as the finding of -a spring of the most blessed gift of water, should be attributed to the -Enemy. He preferred to assume that the finding of water was the result -of a certain delicacy of perception on the part of the man with the -hazel wand, just as the detection of a false harmony in music is due to -a refinement of the sense of hearing on the part of other men. - -But was he to believe that any man possessed such a sense as enabled him -to predict an earthquake? - -It was impossible for him to believe it. And what then was he to think -of the man who had foretold such an event--an event which had actually -taken place within a week of his prediction? - -The man could only be a soothsayer. The very fact of his corrupting -the text out of the Sacred Word was a proof of this. If he were in the -service of God, he would never have mistaken the word in the text to -mean the sea. The man was a servant of the Evil One, and Wesley felt -once more that he himself had been to blame in admitting him to his -fellowship, without subjecting him to such tests as would have proved -his faith. - -And then he found himself face to face with the further question: If -the man had, by reason of his possession of a certain power, achieved -success in his forecast of one extraordinary event, was it to be assumed -that the other event--the one of supreme importance to the world, and -all that dwell therein--would also take place? - -What, was it possible that the Arch Enemy had been able to get -possession of the secret which not even the angels in heaven had -fathomed, and had chosen this man to communicate it to some people in -the world? - -What, was it possible that Satan, if he acquired that secret, would -allow it to be revealed, thereby losing his hold upon as many of the -people of the world as became truly repentant, and there was no doubt -that Pritchard had urged repentance upon the people? - -It was a tangled web that Wesley found in his hand this day. No matter -which end of it he began to work upon, his difficulties in untangling -seemed the same. He was fearful of doing the man an injustice; but how -could he, as a faithful servant, stand by and see the work with which he -had been entrusted, wrecked and brought to naught? - -And then another point suggested itself to him: what if this prediction -became the means of calling many to repentance--true repentance--how -dreadful would be his own condemnation if he were to oppose that which -had been followed by blessing! - -It was the flexibility and the ceaseless activity of his mind that -increased the difficulties of his position. He, and he only, could -look at the matter from every standpoint and appreciate it in all its -bearings. If he had not had the refuge of prayer, having faith that he -would receive the Divine guidance, he would have allowed the vanity--if -it was vanity--of Pritchard to be counteracted in the ordinary--in what -seemed to be the natural way--namely, by the ridicule which would follow -the nonfulfilment of his prophecy. - -He prayed. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -He had seated himself on the trunk of a fallen tree on the edge of the -wood, and he had a feeling that he was not alone. The Summer ever seemed -to him to be a spiritual essence--a beautiful creature of airy flashing -draperies, diffusing perfumes a& she went by. He had known the joy of -her companionship for several years, for no man had ampler opportunities -of becoming acquainted with the seasons in all their phases. - -There was the sound of abundance of life in the woods behind him, and -around the boles of the scattered trees in front of him the graceful -little stoats were playing. At his feet were scattered all the wild -flowers of the meadow. Where the earth was brown under the trees, -myriads of fairy bells were hanging in clusters, and in the meadow the -yellow buttercups shone like spangles upon a garment of green velvet. -He was not close enough to the brink of the cliffs to be able to see -the purple and blue and pink of the flowers scattered among the coarse -herbage of the rocks. But the bank of gorse that flowed like a yellow -river through the meadow could not be ignored. In the sunlight it was a -glory to see. - -The sky was faintly grey, but the sea was of the brightest azure--the -pure translucent blue of the sapphire, and it was alive with the light -that seemed to burn subtly within the heart of a great jewel. But in the -utter distance it became grey until it mingled imperceptibly with the -sky. - -The poet-preacher saw everything that there was to be seen, and his -faith was upheld as it ever was, by the gracious companionship of -nature, and he cried now: - -"Oh, that a man could speak to men in the language of the Summer!" - -Why could not all eyes of men look forth over that sea to where the -heaven bowed down and mingled with it? Why could not men learn what was -meant by this symbol of the mystic marriage of heaven and earth? Why -should they continue to refuse the love which was offered them from -above? - -Everything that he saw was a symbol to him of the love of which he -was the herald--the love which is followed by a peace that passeth all -understanding. He was conscious of this peace leaning over him with -outstretched wings, and he felt that the answer to his prayer had come. -He would make no further attempt to solve the difficulties which had -perplexed him. The voice that breathed the message that soothed him was -the same that Elijah heard, and it said: - -"Rest in the Lord, and He shall direct thy ways." - -He remained there for another hour, and then rose and made his way -slowly toward the village. - -The meadow track led to a broad gap in the hedge of gorse, and just -as he had passed through, he was aware of the quick pattering of a -galloping horse on the short grass behind him, and before he had time to -turn, the horseman had put his mount to the hedge, making a clear jump -of it. - -"What, ho!" cried the man, apparently recognising Wesley before the -horse's feet had reached the ground. "What, ho!" and he pulled the -animal to its haunches. - -Wesley saw that he was Parson Rodney, the good-humoured Rector who had -spoken to him when he had been on the road with Nelly six weeks before. - -"Ho, Mr. Wesley, I had heard that you were returning to us," he cried. -"Is it your thought that at Monday's Assize you will run a better chance -if you are found in good company? What, sir, never shake your head in so -gloomy a fashion. The Prophet Pritchard may be wrong. I was thinking of -him when I came upon a clump of guzzlers reeling along the road an hour -ago--reeling along with the buttercups as yellow as gold under their -feet, and the sunlight bringing out all the scents of the earth that we -love so well--I thought what a pity 'twould be if the world should come -to an end when all her creatures are so happy!" - -"Pardon me, Reverend sir," said Wesley. "But I have at heart too much -sorrow to enjoy any jest, least of all one made upon a matter that seems -to me far too solemn for jesting." - -"Pshaw! Mr. Wesley, what is there serious or solemn in the vapourings of -a jackanapes?" cried the other. "What doth a parson of our church--and -a learned parson into the bargain--a Fellow of his College--not a dunce -like me--what, I say, doth such an one with the maunderings of a vain -and unlettered bumpkin whom his very godfathers and godmothers made -a mark for ridicule when they had him christened Richard--Richard -Pritchard?" - -"Ah, sir," said Wesley, "you witnessed what you did an hour ago on the -roadside--you saw what I saw, and yet you can ask me why I should be -troubled. Were not you troubled, Mr. Rodney?" - -"Troubled? Oh, ay; my horse became uneasy when one of the drunken -rascals yelled out a ribald word or two across the hedge--I am very -careful of my horse's morals, sir; I never let him hear any bad -language. When we are out with the hounds I throw my kerchief over his -ears when we chance to be nigh the Master or his huntsmen. That is why I -laid over the rascal's shoulders with my crop, though the hedge saved -them from much that I intended. Trust me, Mr. Wesley, that is the way -such fellows should be treated, and as for this Pritchard--faugh! a -horsewhip on his back would bring him to his senses, though as a Justice -of the Peace, I would be disposed to let this precious water-finder find -what the nature of a horse-pond is like. Why, in Heaven's name, do you -trouble yourself about him?" - -"It was I who gave him countenance at first, sir. He made profession to -me and I trusted him. I fear that the work on behalf of which I am very -jealous may suffer through his indiscretion." - -"His indiscretion? _your_ indiscretion, you surely mean, Mr. Wesley." - -"I accept your correction, sir." - -"Look ye here, Mr. Wesley, I have more respect for you, sir, than I have -for any man of our cloth--ay, even though he may wear an apron and lawn -sleeves. I know that as a clergyman I am not fit to black your shoes, -but I am equally sure that as a man of the world, with a good working -knowledge of human nature, I am beyond you; and that is why I tell you -that this movement of yours has--well, it has too much movement in it to -prove a lasting thing. You have never ridden to hounds or you would know -that 'tis slow and steady that does it. If you keep up the pace from the -start, you will be blown before the first half-hour is over, and where -will you be when you have a double ditch to hop over? Why, you'll be up -to your neck in the mire of the first. Mr. Wesley, there are a good -many ditches to be got over in the life of a beneficed clergyman of your -Church and mine; and, my word for it, you would do well to take them -slowly, and reserve your strength. You want to go too fast ahead--to -rush your hedges--that's how the thorns in the flesh thrive, and this -Pritchard is only one of the many thorns that will make your life -wearisome to you, and bring your movement to an end. You have never said -a hard word about me, Mr. Wesley, though you had good reason to do so; -and I have never said aught but what is good about you." - -"I know it, sir. Others have called me a busybody--some a charlatan." - -"They were fools. You are the most admirable thing in the world, sir--a -zealous parson; but a thoroughbred horse is not the best for daily use; -a little blood is excellent, but not too much. Your zeal will wear you -out--ay, and it will wear your listeners out sooner. You cannot expect -to lead a perpetual revival, as people call it, and that's why I am -convinced that the humdrum system, with a stout woollen petticoat here -and a bottle of sound port there, is the best for the parsons and the -best for the people." - -"Your views are shrewd, and I dare not at this moment say that they are -not justifiable. But for myself--sir, if God gives me strength, I shall -not slacken the work with which I believe He hath entrusted me--until -our churches are filled with men and women eager in their search after -the Truth." - -"If all your friends were like you, the thing might be accomplished, -Mr. Wesley; but the breakdown of your methods--your Methodism--will come -through your introduction of the laity as your chief workers. You will -find yourself face to face with Pritchards, and the last state of the -people will be, as it is now, worse than the first. You may have -done some good since you came here to preach a month ago, but you -have--unwittingly, I say--done great mischief. My parishioners were -heretofore living quite comfortably, they were satisfied with my -ministrations, such as they were. I have heard it said that a healthy -man does not know that he has any liver or spleen or vitals within his -body:'tis only the sick that have that knowledge. Well, the same is true -in respect to their souls. Sir, there was not a man of my flock that -knew he had a soul. There was a healthy condition of things for you!" - -"Sir, I entreat of you not to mock!" - -"I am not mocking, friend Wesley. What have people in the state of life -to which the majority of my parishioners have been called, to do with -the state of their souls? There should be a law that no man below the -Game Law qualification shall assume that he has a soul." - -"I cannot listen further to you, Mr. Rodney." - -"Nay, Mr. Wesley, whatever you be, I'll swear that you are no coward: -you will not run away by reason of not agreeing with an honest -opponent--and I am not an opponent--I am only an honest friend. I say -that my people were simple, homely people who respected me because I -never wittingly awoke a man or woman who went asleep in my church, and -because I never bothered them with long sermons, when they could hear -their Sunday dinners frizzling in their cottages--they respected me for -that, but more because they knew I had a sound knowledge of a horse, a -boat, a dog and a game-cock." - -"Mr. Rodney----" - -"Pshaw, Wesley, have you not eyes to see that the Church of England -exists more for the bodies than the souls of the people? I would rather -see a good, sturdy lot of Englishmen in England--good drinkers of honest -ale, breeders of good fat cattle, and growers of golden wheat--honest, -hard swearers of honest English oaths, and with selfrespect enough -to respect their betters--I would rather have them such, I say, than -snivelling, ranting Nonconformists, prating about their souls and -showing the whites of their eyes when they hear that an educated man, -who is a gentleman first and a parson afterwards, follows the hounds, -relishes a main in the cockpit, and a rubber of whist in the rectory -parlour and preaches the gospel of fair play for ten minutes in his -pulpit, and the rest of the twenty-four hours out of it." - -"And I, Mr. Rodney, would rather hear of the saving of a sinner's soul -by a Nonconformist ranter, Churchman though I be, than see the whole -nation living in comfortable forgetfulness of God." - -Parson Rodney laughed. - -"I will give you another year of riding to and fro and telling the -peasantry that they have souls," he said. "You will not make us a nation -of spiritual hypochondriacs, Mr. Wesley. For a while people will fancy -that there is something the matter with them, and you'll hear a deal of -groaning and moaning at your services; but when the novelty of the thing -is gone, they will cease to talk of their complaints. Englishmen are -stronger in their bodies than in their souls, and the weaker element -will go to the wall, and your legs will be crushed against that same -wall by the asses you are riding. Why, already I know that you have -suffered a bruise or two, through the shambling of that ass whose name -is Pritchard. The unprofitable prophet Pritchard. A prophet? Well, 'tis -not the first time that an ass thought himself a prophet, and began to -talk insolently to his master. But Balaam's animal was a hand or two -higher than his brother Pritchard; when he began to talk he proved -himself no ass, but the moment the other opens his mouth, he stands -condemned. Lay on him with your staff, Mr. Wesley; he has sought to make -a fool of you without the excuse that there is an angel in your way. I -have half a mind to give his hide a trouncing myself to-morrow, only I -could not do so without giving a cut at you, who are, just now, holding -on by his tail, hoping to hold him back in his fallow, and, believe me, -sir, I respect you with all my heart, and envy your zeal. Good-day to -you, Mr. Wesley; I hope I may live to see you in good living yet; if -you worry to a sufficient degree the powers that be, they will assuredly -make you a Dean, hoping that in a Cathedral Close, where everything -slumbers, you will fold your hands and sleep comfortably like the rest. -I doubt if you would, sir. But meantime if you will come to my humble -rectory this evening, I can promise you a Tubber with a good partner, -and a bottle of Bordeaux that the King of France might envy, but that -has paid no duty to the King of England." - -"I thank you for your invitation, sir; but you know that I cannot accept -it." - -"I feared as much, sir. But never mind, I hope that I shall live -until you are compelled to accept my offer of hospitality to you as my -Bishop." - -He waved his hand, and gave his horse, who had never heard his master -talk for so long a time at a stretch and whose impatience had for some -time given way to astonishment, a touch with the spur. Wesley watched -him make a beautiful jump over the gate that led into the park, beyond -which the rectory nestled on the side of a hill among its orchards. - -He turned with a sigh to the cliff path leading beyond the village to -where Mr. Hartwell's house stood, separated from the beach only by a -wall of crags, and a few rows of weather-beaten trees, all stretching -rather emaciated arms inland. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -Wesley had preached under varying conditions in different parts of -England, but never under such as prevailed on this Sunday, when he set -out in the early morning with his friend, Mr. Hartwell, for the pulpit -among the crags which he had occupied several times during his previous -stay at Porthawn. - -When he set out from the Hartwells' house the grey sea-mist, which had -been rolling round the coast and through the valley of the Lana for -several days past, was as thick as a fog. It was dense and confusing -to one who faced it for the first time. It was so finely grey that one -seemed to see through it at first, and boldly plunged into its depths; -but the instant that one did so, its folds closed over one as the dense -waters of the sea do over a diver, and one was lost. Before one had -recovered, one had the feeling of being smothered in a billow of grey -gauze, smooth as silk that has been dipped in milk, and gasped within -the windings of its folds. It was chilly, with the taste of the salt sea -in its moisture. It took the heart out of one. - -"This is nothing, sir," said Mr. Hartwell. "Lay your hand upon my arm -and you will have no trouble: I could find my way along our cliffs -through the thickest weather. I have been put to the test before now." - -"I am not thinking so much of ourselves as of our friends whom we expect -to meet us in the valley," said Wesley. "How, think you, will they be -able to find their way under such conditions?" - -"I do not assume that this mist is more than a temporary thing--it comes -from the sea well-nigh every Summer morn, but perishes as it rolls over -the cliffs," said Mr. Hartwell. - -"It was clinging to the ridges of the valley slopes when I rode through, -almost at noon yesterday," said Wesley. - -"Stragglers from the general army that we have to encounter here," said -the other. "When the phalanx of sea-mist rolls inland, it leaves its -tattered remnants of camp followers straggling in its wake. I believe -that when we reach the place we shall find ourselves bathed in -sunshine." - -"May your surmise prove correct!" said Wesley. - -And so they started breaking into the mist, feeling its salt touch upon -their faces and hearing the sound of the waves breaking on the beach -below them. It was curiously hollow, and every now and then amid the -noise of the nearer waves, there came the deep boom from the distant -caves, and the sob of the waters that were choked in the narrow passage -between the cliffs and the shoreward limits of the Dog's Teeth. - -They had not gone more than half a mile along the track that led to the -pack horse road, when they heard the sound of voices, near at hand, with -a faint and still fainter far-off hail. The next moment they almost ran -into a mixed party of travellers on the same track. - -Mr. Hartwell was acquainted with some of them. They came from a hamlet -high up in the valley a mile from Ruthallion. - -"We are bound for the preaching," said one of them. "What a wandering -we have had for the past two hours! We lost our way twice and only -recovered ourselves when we gained the horse road." - -"We are going to the preaching also," said Mr. Hartwell. - -"How then does it come that we meet you instead of overtaking you?" -asked the other. - -There was a silence. The halloa in the distance became fainter. - -"One of us must be wrong," said Wesley. - -"We don't match our knowledge against Mr. Hartwell's," said the -spokesman of the strangers. - -"I am confident that I know the way," said Mr. Hartwell. "I only left -the main track once, and that was to cut off the round at Stepney's -Gap." - -"On we go then, with blessings on your head, sir," said the other man. -"Friends, where should we ha' landed ourselves if we had fallen short of -our luck in coming right on Mr. Hartwell? Would we not do kindly to give -a halloa or twain to help those poor hearts that may be wandering wild?" -he added, pointing in the direction whence the hail seemed to come. - -"Ay,'twould be but kind," said an old man of the party. "Oh,'tis a dread -and grisly mishap to be wandering wild in an unknown country." - -Forthwith the younger ones sent out answering hails to the halloas that -came to them. But when the next sounds reached their ears like echoes of -their own shouts, it seemed that they came from quite another quarter. - -"I could ha' taken my davy that the lost ones was off another point o' -the compass," said the old man. - -"No, Comyn," said another. "No, my man, they came from thither." - -He pointed straight in front of him. - -"From where we stand that should be the Gap," said Mr. Hartwell. - -"A special comfortable place to be wandering wild in is the Gap, for if -you walk straight on it carries you to the mighty ocean, and if you walk -back you will reach your own home safe, if it be in that direction," -said the old man with emphasis. - -"Was this mist far up the valley?" Wesley enquired. - -"Not more than a league, sir," replied the old man. "'Twas a sunlit morn -when we made our start, and then it came down on us like a ship in full -sail. There goes another hail, and, as I said, it comes from behind -us. Is there one of us that has a clear throat. 'Kish Trevanna, you was -a gallery choir singer in your youth, have you any sound metallic notes -left that you could cheer up the lost ones withal? Come, goodman, be not -over shy. Is this a time to be genteel when a parson's of the company, -waiting to help and succour the vague wanderers?" - -"The call is for thee, Loveday, for didst not follow the hounds oft -when there was brisk work in Squire's coverts?" said the man to whom the -appeal was made. - -"We must hasten onward," said Mr. Hartwell, making a start. "'Tis most -like that we are overtaking whomsoever it be that was shouting a hail. -Forward, friends, and feel your way to the pack-horse road." - -The whole party began to move, Mr. Hartwell and Wesley leading, and -before they had proceeded for more than two hundred yards they heard the -sound of talking just ahead of them, and the next moment a group of men -loomed through the mist. Friends were also in the new party. - -"Were you them that sang out?" asked one of them. - -"Only in answer to your hail; we be no cravens, but always ready to help -poor wanderers," replied the talkative old man. - -"We did not sound a note before we heard a hail," said the questioner in -the new party. "We have not strayed yet, being bound for the preaching." - -"Have you been on the horse road?" asked Hartwell. - -"The horse road? Why, sir, the horse road lies down the way that you -came," said the other. - -"Surely not, my friend. How could we have missed it?" said Hartwell. - -"If 'twasn't for the fog I could walk as steady for it as a mule," said -the old man. "Ay, friends, us any mule under a pack saddle, for I have -traversed valley and cleft an hundred times in the old days, being well -known as a wild youth, asking your pardon for talking so secular when a -parson is by. I am loath to boast, but there was never a wilder youth in -three parishes, Captain Hartwell." - -(Mr. Hartwell had once been the captain of a mine.) - -"Surely we should be guided by the sound of the sea," said Wesley. "A -brief while ago I heard the boom of waters into one of the caves. If we -listen closely we should learn if the sound is more distinct and thereby -gather if we are approaching that part of the cliff or receding from -it." - -"Book-learning is a great help at times, but 'tis a snare in a streaming -fog, or in such times of snow as we were wont to have in the hard years -before the Queen died in her gorgeous palace," remarked the patriarch. - -"One at a time, grandfather," said a man who had arrived with the last -party. "There's not space enough for you and the ocean on a morn like -this. Hark to the sea." - -They stood together listening, but now, through one of the mysteries of -a fog, not a sound from the sea reached them. They might have been miles -inland. - -"I have been baffled by a fog before now," said a shepherd. "Have -followed the bleat of an ewe for a mile over the hills, and lo, the -silly beast had never left her lamb, and when I was just over her she -sounded the faintest." - -"Time is passing; should we not make a move in some direction?" said -Wesley. "Surely, my friends, we must shortly come upon some landmark -that will tell us our position in a moment." - -"I cannot believe that in trying to cut off the mile for the Gap I went -grossly astray," said Mr. Hartwell. "I am for marching straight on." - -"Straight on we march and leave the guidance to Heaven," said Wesley. - -On they went, Wesley marvelling how it was that men who should have -known every inch of the way blindfold, having been on it almost daily -all their lives, could be so baffled by a mist. To be sure Mr. Hartwell -had forsaken the track at one place, but was it likely that he had got -upon a different one when he had made his detour to cut off a mile of -their journey. - -On they walked, however, their party numbering fourteen men, and then -all of a sudden the voice of the sea came upon them, and at the same -moment they almost stepped over the steep brink of a little chasm. - -"What is this?" cried Hartwell. "As I live'tis Gosney hollow, and we are -scarcely half a mile from my house! We have walked a good mile back on -our steps." - -"Did not I tell you how I followed the ewe?" said the shepherd. "'Tis -for all the world the same tale. Sore baffling thing is a sea-mist." - -"The valley will be full o' lost men and women this day," remarked the -old man. - -There is no condition of life so favourable to the growth of despondency -as that which prevails in a fog. The most sanguine are filled with -despair when they find that their own senses, to which they have trusted -for guidance and protection, are defeated. The wanderers on this Sunday -morning stood draped by the fog, feeling a sense of defeat. No one made -a suggestion. Everyone seemed to feel that it would be useless to make -the attempt to proceed to the crags where the preaching was to be held. - -"Think you, Mr. Wesley, that this state of weather is the work of -the Fiend himself?" asked the talkative old man. "I know 'tis a busy -question with professing Christians, as well as honest Churchmen--this -one that pertains to the weather. Stands to reason, for say I have a -turnip crop coming on and so holds out for a wet month or two, while a -neighbour may look for sunshine to ripen his grain. Now if so be that -the days are shiny my turnips get the rot, and who is to blame a weak -man for saying that the Foul Fiend had a hand in prolonging the shine; -but what saith my neighbour?" - -"Hither comes another covey of wandering partridges," said one of the -first party, as the sound of voices near at hand was heard. - -"Now, for myself, I hold that 'tis scriptural natural to say that aught -in the matter that pertains to the smoke of the Pit is the Devil's own -work, and if such a fog as this comes not straight out the main flue -of----" - -The old man's fluency was interrupted by the arrival of the new party, -Nelly Polwhele and her father. - -"You are just setting out for the preaching, I suppose; so we are not -so late as we feared," cried the girl. "Still, though we shall certainly -not be late for the preaching, however far behind we may be, we would do -well to haste." - -Wesley surely felt less despondent at the cheery greeting of the girl. -He laughed, saying: - -"'Tis all very well to cry 'Haste,' child; know that it Has taken us a -whole hour to get so far." - -"Is't possible that you have been out for an hour, sir?" she cried. -"Surely some man of you was provident to carry with him a compass on -such a morn as this?" - -"You speak too fast, maid; book-learning has made thee talkative; a -mariner's compass is for the mariners--it will not work on dry land," -said the old man. - -"Mine is one of the sort that was discovered since your sensible days, -friend--ay, as long agone as that; it works on land as well as on sea. -If a bumpkin stands i' the north its finger will point dead to him. -Wouldst like to test it thyself?" said Nelly's father. Before the old -man had quite grasped his sarcasm, though it was scarcely wanting in -breadth, he had turned to Mr. Hartwell, displaying a boat's compass in -its wooden box. - -"'Twas Nelly bade me carry it with us," he Said. "I worked out all the -bearings o' the locality before we started, and I can make the Red Tor -as easy as I could steer to any unseen place on the lonely ocean. Here -we be, sir; west sou'west to the Gap, track or no track; then west -and by nor'-west a little northerly to the lift o' the cliff, thence -south-half-east to the Red Tor. Up wi' your grapples, friends, we'll be -there before the sermon has begun or even sooner if we step out." - -Wesley, and indeed all of the party except perhaps the pessimistic old -man, whose garrulity had suffered a check, felt more cheerful. Hartwell -clapped Polwhele on the back, saying: - -"You are the man we were waiting for. Onward, pilot; we shall reach the -Tor in good time, despite our false start and the delay it made to us." -They started along the track, Polwhele at their head, and Wesley with -Mr. Hartwell and Nelly immediately behind him. - -"There's a whole sermon in this, child," said the preacher. - -"A whole sermon, sir?" said she. - -"There should be only one sermon preached by man to men, and this -is it," said Wesley. "The poor wandering ones standing on a narrow -causeway, with danger on every side, and the grey mist of doubt in -the air. The sense of being lost--mark that, dear child,--and then the -coming of the good Pilot, and a complete faith in following Him into -the place of safety which we all seek. There is no sermon worth the -preaching save only this." On they went, Polwhele calling out the -bearings every now and again, and as they proceeded they came upon -several other travellers, more or less forlorn--all were hoping to reach -the Red Tor in time; so that before the abrupt turn was made from the -pack-horse track, there was quite a little procession on the way. - -Never had Wesley had such an experience as this. - -Out from the folds of the impenetrable mist that rolled through the -hollows of the low mounds that formed that natural amphitheatre, came -the sound of many voices, and the effect was strange, for one could not -even see that a mass of people was assembled there. The hum that the -newcomers heard when still some distance away became louder as -they approached, and soon they were able to distinguish words and -phrases--men calling aloud to men--some who had strayed from the friends -were moving about calling their names, and occasionally singing out a -hail in the forlorn hope of their voices being recognised; then there -came the distressed wail of a woman who had got separated from her -party, and with the laughter of a group who had got reunited after many -wanderings. There was no lack of sounds, but no shape of men or women -could be distinguished in the mist, until Wesley and his party were -among them. And even then the dimly seen shapes had suggestions of the -unreal about them. Some would loom larger than human for a few moments, -and then vanish suddenly. Others seemed grotesquely transfigured in the -mist as if they had enwrapped themselves in a disguise of sackcloth. -They seemed not to be flesh and blood, but only shadows. Coming suddenly -upon them, one felt that one had wandered to another world--a region of -restless shadows. - -How was any man to preach to such a congregation? How was a preacher to -put force into his words, when failing to see the people before him? - -When Wesley found himself on the eminence where he had spoken to the -multitude on his first coming to Cornwall, and several times later, he -looked down in front of him and saw nothing except the fine gauze of the -grey clouds that rolled around the rocks. He stood there feeling that he -was the only living being in a world that was strange to him. He thought -of the poet who had gone to the place of departed spirits, and realised -his awful isolation. How was he to speak words of life to this spectral -host? - -He had never known what fear was even when he had faced a maddened crowd -bent upon the most strenuous opposition to his preaching: he had simply -paid no attention to them, and the sound of his voice had held them -back from him and their opposition had become parched. But now he felt -something akin to terror. Who was he that he should make this attempt to -do what no man had ever done before? - -He fell upon his knees and prayed aloud. Light--Light--Light--that was -the subject of his prayer. He was there with the people who had walked -in darkness--he had walked with them, and now they were in the presence -of the One who had said "Let there be Light." He prayed that the Light -of the World might appear to them at that time--the Light that shineth -through the darkness that comprehended Him not. He prayed for light to -understand the Light, as the poet had done out of the darkness of his -blindness. - - "So much the rather, Thou Celestial Light, - - Shine inward and the mind through her way - - Irradiate; there plant eyes; all mists from thence - - Purge and disperse that I may see and tell - - Of things invisible to mortal sight." - -And after his prayer with closed eyes, he began to preach into that -void, and his text was of the Light also. His voice sounded strange to -his own ears. - -It seemed to him that he was standing in front of a wall, trying to make -his words pass through it. This was at first; a moment later he felt -that he was speaking to a denser multitude than he had ever addressed -before. The mist was before his eyes as a sea of sad grey faces waiting, -earnest and anxious for the message of gladness which he was bringing -them. His voice rose to heights of impressiveness that it had never -reached before. It clove a passage through the mist and fell upon the -ears of the multitude whom he could not see, stirring them as they had -never been stirred before, while he gave them his message of the Light. - -For close upon half an hour he spoke of the Light. He repeated the -word--again and again he repeated it, and every time that it came from -his lips it had the effect of a lightning flash. This was at first. He -spoke in flashes of lightning, uttered from the midst of the cloud of a -night of dense blackness; and then he made a change. The storm that -made fitful, fiercer illumination passed away, and after an interval -the reiteration of the Light appeared again. But now it was the true -Light--the light of dawn breaking over a sleeping world. It did not come -in a flash to dazzle the eyes and then to make the darkness more dread; -it moved gradually upward; there was a flutter as of a dove's wing over -the distant hills, the tender feathers of the dawn floated through the -air, and fell upon the Eastern Sea, quivering there; and even while one -watched them wondering, out of the tremulous spaces of the sky a -silver, silken thread was spread where the heaven and the waters met--it -broadened and became a cincture of pearls, and then the thread that -bound it broke, and the pearls were scattered, flying up to the sky and -falling over all the waters in beautiful confusion; and before the world -had quite awakened, the Day itself gave signs of hastening to gather up -the pearls of Dawn. The Day's gold-sandalled feet were nigh--they were -shining on the sea's brim, and lo! the East was bright with gold. Men -cried, "Why do those feet tarry?" But even while they spoke, the wonder -of the Morn had come upon them. Flinging down his mantle upon the -mountains over which he had stepped--a drapery of translucent lawn, the -splendour of the new light sprung upward, lifting hands of blessing over -the world, and men looked and saw each other's faces, and knew that they -were blest. - -And the wonder that he spoke of had come to pass. While the preacher had -been describing the breaking light, the light had come. All unnoticed, -the mist had been dissolving, and when he had spoken his last words the -sunlight was bathing the preacher and the multitude who hung upon his -words. The wonder that he told them of had taken place, and there did -not seem to them anything of wonder about it. Only when he made his -pause did they look into each other's faces as men do when they have -slept and the day has awakened them. Then with the sunlight about them, -for them to drink great draughts that refreshed their souls, he spoke of -the Light of the World--of the Dayspring from on High that had visited -the world, and their souls were refreshed. - -And not one word had he said of all that he had meant to say--not one -word of the man whom he had come so far to reprove. - -No one was conscious of the omission. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -The day became sultry when the mist had cleared away, and by noon the -heat was more oppressive than had been known all the Summer. Wesley -was exhausted by the time he set out with Mr. Hartwell to return to the -village. They needed no mariner's compass now to tell them the way. - -They scarcely exchanged a word. They seemed to have forgotten the -conditions under which they had gone forth in the early morning. A new -world seemed to have been created since then--a world upon which the -shadow of darkness could not fall for evermore. - -They had gone straight to the cliffs, hoping for a breath of air -from the sea to refresh them; but they were disappointed; the air -was motionless and the reflection of the sunlight from the waves was -dazzling in its brilliancy. - -"I should have thought that the very weight of this heavy atmosphere -would make the sea like glass," said Wesley, while they rested on the -summit of the cliff. "And yet there are waves such as I have never -seen on this part of the coast unless when something akin to a gale was -blowing." - -"I daresay there was a strong breeze blowing, though we did not feel it -in the shelter of the hollow of the Tor," said his companion. - -"True; it would require a strong wind to sweep away the mist so -suddenly," said Wesley. - -"Ah, sir," said the other, "I did not think of a wind in that -connection. Was it the fingers of the wind, think you, that swept that -thick veil aside, or was it the Hand that rent in twain the veil of the -Temple?" - -"I am reproached, brother," said Wesley. "Let us give thanks unto God. -May He give us grace to think of all things as coming from Him--whether -they take the form of a mist which obscures His purpose, or the darkness -of a tempest on which He rides. I know myself wanting in faith at all -times--in that faith without reserve which a child has in his father. I -confess that for a moment in the morning I had the same thought as that -which was expressed by the old man who joined us: I thought it possible -that that fog which threatened to frustrate our walk had been sent by -the Enemy. Should I have thought so if our work had been hindered in -very truth? I dare not say no to that question. But now I know that it -helped rather than obstructed, us." - -"There can be no doubt about that," said Hartwell. "For myself, I say -that I was never so deeply impressed in my life as at that moment when -I found myself looking at you; you were speaking of the world awakening, -and it seemed to me that I had been asleep--listening to the sound of -your voice--the voice of a dream, and then I was full awake, I knew not -how. I tell you, Mr. Wesley, I was not conscious of the change that was -taking place--from darkness to light." - -"Nor was I," said Wesley. "My eyes were closed fast while I was -preaching. I had closed them to shut out that incongruous picture of -obscurity, while I thought of the picture of the breaking of light; -when I opened my eyes the picture that I had been striving to paint was -before me. It was the Lord's doing." - -While they remained resting on the cliff the officer of the Preventive -men came upon them. He knew Hartwell, and had, when Wesley had been -in the neighbourhood before, thanked him for the good influence his -preaching had in checking the smuggling. - -He now greeted them cordially and enquired if they had come from the -village, adding that he hoped the fishing boats had not suffered from -the effects of the tide. - -"We left the port early in the morning, and in the face of the mist. -What is the matter with the tide?" said Hartwell. - -"You have not been on the beach? Why,'tis a marvel, gentlemen," cried -the officer. "The like has not been seen since I took up my appointment -in this neighbourhood--a tide so high that the caves are flooded to the -roof. List, sirs; you can hear naught of the usual boom of the waters -when the pressed air forces them back." - -They listened, but although there was the usual noise of the waves -breaking along the coast, the boom from the caves which had been heard -at intervals through the mist was now silent. - -"As a rule 'tis at high tide that the sound is loudest," said Hartwell. - -"That is so," said the officer. "The higher the water is, the more the -air in the caves becomes pressed, and so the louder is the explosion. -But this day the water has filled the caves to the roof, leaving no air -in their depths to bellow. One of my men, on his patrol an hour ago, was -overtaken by the tide at the foot of the cliffs at a place high above -spring tide mark. He had to climb to safety. He did so only with -difficulty. Had he been at Nitlisaye, nothing would have saved him." - -"What, are Nithsaye sands flooded? Impossible," cried Hartwell. - -"Flooded up to Tor, sir. I tell you the thing is a marvel!" - -"All the more so, since there is no wind to add to the force of the -tide," said Wesley. - -"True, sir; there was a strong breeze in the early morning that swept -the sea-mist over the shore; but there has not been a capful since," -said the officer. - -"But see the waves! Are they the effects of the early wind, think you, -sir?" asked Wesley. - -"Maybe; but if so, this also is past my experience of this coast, sir," -replied the man. "But I allow that when I was sailing with Captain -Hawke in the West Indies I knew of the waters of the Caribbean Sea being -stirred up like this in the dead calm before a hurricane that sent us on -our beam ends, and one of our squadron on to the Palisades Reef at Port -Royal." - -"Do you fear for a hurricane at this time?" asked Wesley. - -"A gale, maybe; but no such hurricane as wrecks the island it swoops -down on in the Leewards, sir. Oh, a hurricane in very deed! Our ship's -cutter--a thirty-foot boat swung in on the iron davits--and lashed down -to iron stanchions on the deck--was whisked adrift as if it had been an -autumn leaf. I say it went five hundred fathom through the air and no -man saw it fall. I saw a road twenty foot wide shorn through the dense -forest for five miles as clean as with a scythe, as you go to Spanish -Town--a round dozen of planters' houses and a stone church had once -stood on that cutting. They were swept off, and not a stone of any one -of them was ever found by mortal after. Oh, a hurricane, indeed! We need -expect naught like that, by the mercy of Heaven, gentlemen; though I -care not for the look of yon sun." - -They glanced upwards. The sun had the aspect of being seen through a -slight haze, which made it seem of a brazen red, large and with its -orb all undefined. It looked more like the red fire of a huge lighted -brazier than the round sun, and all around it there was the gleam as of -moving flames. - -"Looks unhealthy--is't not so?" said the officer. - -"There is a haze in the air; but the heat is none the less," said -Hartwell. - -"I like it not, sirs. This aspect of the sun is part and parcel of some -disturbance of nature that we would do well to be prepared for," said -the officer, shaking his head ominously. - -"A disturbance of nature? What mean you? Have you been hearing of the -fishing-boats that have been hauled up on the stones at the port for the -past two days? Have you taken serious account of the foolishness of a -man who calls himself a prophet?" asked Hartwell. - -The officer laughed. - -"Oh, I have heard much talk of the Prophet Pritchard," he said. "But you -surely do not reckon me as one of those poor wretches whom he has -scared out of their lives by threatening them with the Day of Judgment -to-morrow? Nay, sir; I placed my trust in a statement that begins with -soundings, the direction of the wind and its force, the sail that is -set, the last cast of the log, the bearings of certain landmarks, -and the course that is being steered. My word for it, without such a -preface, any statement is open to doubt." - -"And have you received such a statement in regard to your 'disturbance -of nature,' sir?" - -"That I have, sirs. Our cutter was cruising about a league off shore -two nights ago, light breeze from west-nor'-west, sail set; mainsail, -foresail, jib, speed three knots. Hour, two bells in the morning, Master -in charge on deck, watch, larboard--names if necessary. Reports, night -sultry, cloudless since second dog watch, attention called to sounds as -of discharge of great guns in nor'-nor'west. Lasted some minutes, not -continuous; followed by noise as of a huge wave breaking, or the fall -of a cataract in same quarter. Took in jib, mainsail haul, stand by to -lower gaff. No further sounds reported, but sea suddenly got up, though -no change of wind, force or direction, and till four bells cutter sailed -through waves choppy as if half a gale had been blowing. After four -bells gradual calm. Nothing further to report till eight bells, when -cutter, tacking east-nor'east, all sail set, gunner's mate found in it -a dead fish. Master reports quantity of dead fish floating around. -Took five aboard--namely, hake two, rock codling one, turbot two, -rock codling with tail damaged. That's a statement we can trust, Mr. -Hartwell. Yesterday it was supplemented by accounts brought by my men -of the coast patrol, of quantities of dead fish washed ashore in various -directions. And now comes this marvellous tide. Sirs, have not I some -grounds for touching upon such a subject as 'a great disturbance of -nature'?" - -"Ample, sir, ample," said Wesley. "Pray, does your West Indian -experience justify you in coming to any conclusion in regard to these -things?" - -"I have heard of fish being killed by the action of a volcano beneath -the sea," said the officer. "I have heard it said that all the Leeward -Islands are volcanos, though only one was firing broadsides the year -that I was with my Lord Hawke. 'Twas at Martinique which we took from -the French. Even before the island came in sight, our sails were black -with dust and our decks were strewn with cinders. But when we drew nigh -to the island and saw the outburst of molten rocks flying up to the very -sky itself--sir, I say to you that when a man has seen such a sight as -that, he is not disposed to shudder at all that a foolish fellow who has -never sailed further than the Bristol Channel may prate about the Day of -Judgment." - -"And to your thinking, sir, an earthquake or some such convulsion of -nature hath taken place at the bottom of our peaceful Channel?" said -Wesley. - -"In my thinking, sir, yes. But I would not say that the convulsion was -at the bottom of the Channel; it may have been an hundred leagues in -the Atlantic. And more is to come, sirs; take my word for it, more is to -come. Look at yonder sun;'tis more ominous than ever. I shall look out -for volcano dust in the next rain, and advise the near-, est station -east'ard to warn all the fishing craft to make snug, and be ready for -the worst. I should not be surprised to find that the tide is still -rising, and so I wish you good-morning, sirs." - -He took off his hat and resumed his patrol of the coast. - -"This is a day of surprises," said Wesley. - -"The story of the fish is difficult to believe, in spite of the cocoon -of particulars in which it is enclosed," said Hartwell. "The greatest -marvel in a mariner's life seems to me to be his imagination and his -readiness of resource when it comes to a question of memory. A volcano -mountain in our Channel!" - -"Do not condemn the master of the revenue cutter too hastily," said -Wesley. "His story corresponds very nearly to that narrated to me -yesterday by Polwhele." - -"Is't possible? True, Polwhele was the only fisherman who went out to -the reef three nights ago," said Hartwell. "And the strange sounds----" - -"He heard them also--he thought that they came from a frigate -discharging a broadside of carronades." - -Hartwell was silent for some time. At last he said: - -"I could wish that these mysterious happenings had come at some other -time. Are you rested sufficiently in this place, sir? I am longing for -a cool room, where I can think reasonably of all that I have seen and -heard this day." - -Wesley rose from the hollow where he had made his seat and walked slowly -down the sloping path toward the village. But long before they had -reached the place of his sojourning, he became aware of a scene of -excitement in the distance. The double row of straggling cottages -that constituted the village of Porthawn they had left in the morning -standing far beyond the long and steep ridge of shingle, at the base of -which the wrack of high water lay, was now close to the water's edge. -The little wharf alongside of which the fishing boats were accustomed -to lie had been hauled up practically to the very doors of the houses. -Scores of men and women were engaged in the work of hauling them -still higher, not by the machinery of the capstans--the capstans were -apparently submerged--but by hawsers. The sound of the sailors' -"Heave ho!" came to the ear of Wesley and his companion a few seconds -after they had seen the bending to the haul of all the people who were -clinging to the hawsers as flies upon a thread. The shore was dark with -men running with gear-tackles with blocks, while others were labouring -along under the weight of spars and masts that had been hastily -outstepped. - -Mr. Hartwell was speechless with astonishment. - -"It is indeed a day of wonder!" exclaimed Wes--ley. "A high tide? Ay; -but who could have believed such an one possible? Should we not be doing -well to lend them a hand in their emergency?" - -He had to repeat his question before the other had recovered from his -astonishment sufficiently to be able to reply. - -"Such a tide! Such a tide!" he muttered. "What can it mean? Lend a hand? -Surely--surely! Every hand is needed there." - -They were compelled to make a detour landward in order to reach the -people, for the ordinary path was submerged, but they were soon in the -midst of them, and bending to the work of hauling, until the drops fell -from their faces, when the heavy boat at which they laboured had her -bowsprit well-nigh touching the window of the nearest house. - -Wesley dropped upon a stone and wiped his forehead, and some of the -fishermen did the same, while others were loosing the tackles, in -readiness to bind them on the next boat. - -Nelly Polwhele was kneeling beside him in an instant--her hair had -become unfastened, for she had been working hard with the other women, -and fell in strands down her back and over her shoulders. Her face was -wet. - -"Oh, sir; this is overmuch for you!" she cried. - -"Far overmuch, after all that you have gone through since morning. Pray -rest you in the shade. There is a jug of cider cooling in a pail of -water fresh drawn from the well. You need refreshment." - -He took her hand, smiling. - -"I am refreshed, dear child," he said. "I am refreshed." - -"Why should that man he treated different from the rest of us; tell -me that," came the voice of a man who had been watching them, and now -stepped hastily forward. Wesley saw that he was Bennet. "Is there a man -in the village who doesn't know that 'tis John Wesley and his friends -that has brought this visitation upon us? Was there anything like to -this before he came with his new-fangled preaching, drawing down the -wrath of Heaven upon such as have been fool enough to join themselves -to him? Was there any of you, men, that thought with trembling limbs and -sweating foreheads of the Day of Judgment until John Wesley turned -the head of that poor man Pritchard, and made him blaspheme, wrapping -himself in Wesley's old cloak, and telling you that'twas the mantle of a -prophet?" - -Nelly had risen to her feet before his last sentence was spoken, but a -moment afterward she sprang to one side with a cry. She was just in -time to avoid the charge of a man on horseback. But Bennet was not so -fortunate. Before he was aware of a danger threatening him, he felt -himself carried off his feet, a strong man's hands grasping the collars -of his coat, so that he was swung off the ground, dangling and scrawling -like a puppet. Down the horse sprang into the water, until it was -surging over the pommel of the saddle. Then, and only then, the rider -loosed his hold, reining in his horse with one hand, while with the -other he flung the man headforemost a couple of yards farther into the -waves. - -"The hound! the hound! that will cool his ardour!" cried Parson Rodney, -backing his horse out of the water, while the people above him roared, -and the man, coming to the surface like a grampus, struck out for a part -of the beach most remote from the place where he had stood. - -Wesley was on his feet and had already taken a step or two down the -shingle, for Parson Rodney's attitude suggested his intention of -preventing the man from landing, when he saw that Bennet was a strong -swimmer, and that he, too, had put the same interpretation upon the -rider's raising of his hunting crop. - -"Sir," said Parson Rodney, bringing his dripping horse beside him, "I -grieve that any man in my parish should put such an affront upon you. -Only so gross a wretch would have done so. Thank Heaven the fellow is -not of Porthawn, nor a Cornishman at all. If you do not think that my -simple rebuke has been enough, I am a Justice, and I promise you to send -him to gaol for a month at next session." - -"Sir, you mean well by me," said Wesley; "but I would not that any human -being were placed in jeopardy of his life on my account." - -"That is because you are overgentle, sir," said Rodney. "Thank Heaven, -my fault does not lie in that direction." - -"Repent, repent, repent, while there is yet time In a few more hours -Time shall be no more!" came a loud voice from the high ground above the -bank. - -Everyone turned and saw there the figure of Richard Pritchard, standing -barehead in the scorching sun, his hands upraised and his hair unkept; -and a curious nondescript garment made apparently of several sacks -hastily stitched together, with no sleeves. On his feet he wore what -looked like sandals--he had cut down the upper portion of his shoes, -so that only the sole remained, and these were fastened to his feet by -crossed pieces of tape. He was the prophet of the Bible illustration. It -was plain that he had studied some such print and that he had determined -that nothing should be lacking in his garb to make complete the part -which he meant to play. - -Up again went the long, lean, bare arms, and again came the voice: - -"O men of Porthawn, now is the accepted time, now is the Day of -Salvation. Yet a few more hours and Time shall be no more. Repent, -repent, repent, while ye have time." - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -There could be no doubt about the depth of the impression which the -strange figure and his unusual garb produced upon the people. - -There he stood on the high ground above the houses, the man who had -prophesied the end of the world, while beneath them tumbled the waves of -a sea where they had never seen sea water before! The occurrence, -being so far outside their experience, had about it the elements of the -supernatural--the aspect of a miracle. Was this the beginning of the end -of all? they asked themselves. To these people the daily ebb and flow of -the tide, ever going on before their eyes, was the type of a regularity -that nothing could change; and never once had the water been forced, -even under the influence of the strongest gale from the southwest, -beyond the summit of the shingle-heap--never until this day. - -It was an awful thing that had come to pass before their eyes, and while -their brains were reeling beneath its contemplation there rang out that -voice of warning. The man who had predicted an event that was not more -supernatural in their eyes than the one which had come to their very -feet, was there bidding them repent. - -But strange to say, there was not one among the-people assembled -there who made a motion--who cried out in conviction of the need for -repentance, as hundreds had done upon every occasion of John. Wesley's -preaching, although it had contained no element that, in the judgment of -an ordinary person, would appeal with such force to the emotions of the -villagers as did the scene in which Pritchard now played a part. - -They remained unmoved--outwardly, however shrinking with terror some of -them may have been. Perhaps it was they felt that the man had, in a way, -threatened them physically, and they had a feeling that it would show -cowardice on their part to betray their fear, or it may have been that, -as was nearly always the case when a prophet came to a people, they -attributed to the bearer of the messages of the ill the responsibility -for the ills which he foretold--however it may have been, the people -only glanced up at the weird figure, and made no move. - -But the appearance of the man at that moment had the effect of making -them forget the scene which had immediately preceded the sound of his -voice. No one looked to see whether or not John Bennet had scrambled -back to the beach or had gone under the waters. - -"It is coming--it is coming: I hear the sound of the hoofs of the pale -Horse--yonder is the red Horse spoken of by the prophet at Patmos, but -the White Horse is champing his bit. I hear the clink of the steel, -and Death is his rider. He cometh with fire and brimstone. -Repent--repent--repent!" - -"I have a mind to make the fellow repent of his impudence," said Parson -Rodney. "The effrontery of the man trying to make me play a part in his -quackery. I wonder how this water-finder would find the water if I were -to give him the ducking I gave to the other?" - -"You would do wrong, sir," said Wesley. "But I feel that I have no need -to tell you so: your own good judgment tells you that yonder man is to -be pitied rather than punished." - -"Oh, if that is the view you take of the matter, you may be sure that -I'll not interfere," cried the other. "The fellow may quack or croak or -crow for aught I care.'Twas for you I was having thought. But I've no -intention of constituting my humble self your champion. I wish you well; -and I know that if the world gets over the strain of Monday, we shall -never see you in our neighbourhood again." - -"The elements shall melt with fervent heat. You feel it--you feel it on -your faces to-day: I foretold it, and I was sent to cry unto all that -have ears to hear, 'Repent--repent--repent'!" - -"The fellow has got no better manner than a real prophet," laughed -Parson Rodney; but there was not much merriment in his laughter. "I -have a mind to have him brought before me as an incorrigible rogue and -vagabond," he continued. "An hour or twain in the stocks would make -him think more civilly of the world. If he becomes bold enough to be -offensive to you, Mr. Wesley, give me a hint of it, and I'll promise you -that I'll make him see more fire and brimstone than he ever did in one -of his ecstatic moods; and so good-day to you, sir." - -He put his horse to a trot, and returned the salutes of the men who were -standing idly watching Pritchard in his very real sackcloth. - -But he had scarcely ridden past them when he turned his horse and called -out: - -"Wherefore are you idle, good men? Do you mean to forsake the remainder -of your smacks?" - -A few of the fishermen looked at one another; they shook their heads; -one of them wiped his forehead. - -"'Twill be all the same after Monday, Parson," said that man. - -"You parboiled lobster-grabber!" cried the Parson. "Do you mean to say -that you have the effrontery to believe that addle-pate up there rather -than a clergyman of the Church of England? Look at him. He's not a -man.'Tis a poor cut torn from, a child's picture Bible that he is! Do -you believe that the world would come to an end without your properly -ordained clergyman giving you a hint of it? Go on with your work, if you -are men. Repent? Ay, you'll all repent when 'tis too late, if you fail -to haul up your boats so that their backs get not broken on that ridge. -If you feel that you must repent, do it hauling. And when you've done -your work, come up to the Rectory and cool your throats with a jug of -cider, cool from the cellar, mind." - -"There shall be no more sea," came the voice of the man on the mound; it -was growing appreciably hoarser. - -"No more sea?" shouted the parson. "That's an unlucky shot of yours, my -addle-pated prophet; 'tis too much sea that we be suffering from just -here." - -Wesley had not reseated himself. He put his hand upon Mr. Hartwell's -arm. The latter understood what he meant. They walked away together. - -"I have seen nothing sadder for years," said Wesley. "I have been asking -myself if I am to blame. Should not I have been more careful in regard -to that unhappy man?" - -"If blame is to be attached to any it is to be attached to those who -recommended the man to you, and I was among them," said Hartwell. "I -recall how you were not disposed to accept him into our fellowship by -reason of his work with the divining rod; but we persuaded you against -your judgment. I, for one, shall never forgive myself." - -"Was ever aught so saddening as that travesty of the most solemn -event?" said Wesley. "And then the spectacle of that well-meaning but -ill-balanced man! A clergyman of our Church--you saw him turn to mock -the wretch? He made a jest upon the line that has never failed to send a -thrill through me: 'No more sea.' Shocking--shocking!... Friend, I -came hither with the full intention of administering a rebuke to -Pritchard--of openly letting it be understood that we discountenanced -him. But I did not do so to-day, and I am glad of it. However vain -the man may be--however injuriously he may affect our aims among the -people--I am still glad that I was turned away from saying a word -against him." - -Mr. Hartwell was too practical a man to look at the matter in the same -light. But he said nothing further about Pritchard. When he spoke, which -he did after a time, it was about Bennet. He asked Wesley if he could -guess why the man had spoken to him so bitterly. Why should the man bear -him a grudge? - -Wesley mentioned that Bennet had come upon him when he was walking with -Polwhele's daughter from the Mill. - -"Ah, that is the form of his madness--he becomes insanely jealous of -anyone whom he sees near that girl. But one might have thought that -you at least--oh, absurdity could go no further! But a jealous man is -a madman; he is incapable of looking at even the most ordinary incident -except through green glasses. You are opposed to clergymen marrying, are -you not, Mr. Wesley? I have heard of your book-----" - -"I wrote as I was persuaded at that time," replied Wesley. "But more -recently--I am not confident that I did not make a mistake in my -conclusions. I am not sure that it is good for a man to be alone; and -a clergyman, of all men, needs the sympathy--the sweet and humane -companionship of a woman." - -"True, sir; but if a clergymen makes a mistake in his choice of a wife, -there can be no question that his influence declines; and so many men -of your cloth wreck themselves on the quicksand of matrimony. I daresay -that 'tis your own experience of this that keeps you single, though you -may have modified your original views on the subject. Strange, is't not, -that we should find ourselves discussing such a point at this time? -But this seems to be the season of strange things, and 'twould be the -greatest marvel of all if we ourselves were not affected. Is it the -terrible heat, think you, that has touched the heads of those two men?" - -"I scarce know what I should think," said Wesley. "The case of Pritchard -is the more remarkable. Only now it occurred to me that there may be a -strange affinity between the abnormal in nature and the mind of such a -man as he.'Twould be idle to contend that he has not been able as a -rule to say where water is to be found on sinking a shaft; I have heard -several persons testify to his skill in this particular--if it may be -called skill. Does not his possession of this power then suggest that -he may be so constituted that his senses may be susceptible of certain -vague suggestions which emanate from the earth, just as some people -catch ague--I have known of such in Georgia--when in the neighbourhood -of a swamp, while others remain quite unaffected in health?" - -"That is going too far for me, sir," said Hartwell. "I do not need to -resort to anything more difficult to understand than vanity to enable -me to understand how Pritchard has changed. The fellow's head has been -turned--that's all." - -"That explanation doth not wholly satisfy me," said Wesley. "I think -that we have at least some proof that he was sensible of something -abnormal in Nature, and this sensibility acting upon his brain disposed -him to take a distorted view of the thing. His instinct in this matter -may have been accurate; but his head was weak. He receives an impression -of something strange, and forthwith he begins to talk of the Day of -Judgment, and his foolish vanity induces him to think of himself as -a prophet. The Preventive officer thinks that there hath been an -earthquake. Now there can, I think, be no doubt that Pritchard was -sensible of its coming; Pol-whele told you yesterday that he had -predicted an earthquake in the sea, although it seemed that his -illiteracy was accountable for this: and now there comes this remarkable -tide--the highest tide that the memory of man has known." - -"You have plainly been giving the case of Pritchard much of your -attention," said Hartwell; "but I pray you to recall his account of the -vision which he said came to him when he fell into that trance. 'Twas -just the opposite to a high tide--'twas such an ebbing of the water as -left bare the carcase of the East Indiaman that went ashore on the Dog's -Teeth reef forty years ago." - -"True; but to my way of thinking it matters not whether 'twas a -prodigious ebb or a prodigious flow that he talked of so long as he was -feeling the impression of the unusual--of the extraordinary. Mind you, -I am only throwing out a hint of a matter that may become, if approached -in a proper spirit, a worthy subject for sober philosophical thought. -God forbid that I should take it upon me to say at this moment that the -power shown by that man is from the Enemy of mankind, albeit I have at -times found myself thinking that it could come from no other source." - -"You are too lenient, I fear, Mr. Wesley. For myself, I believe simply -that the man's head has been turned. Is't not certain that a devil -enters into such men as are mad, and have we not proof that witches -and warlocks have sometimes the perverted gift of prophecy, through the -power of their master, the Old Devil?" - -"I cannot gainsay it, my brother, and it is because of this you say, -that I am greatly perplexed." - -They had been walking very slowly, for the heat of the day seemed to -have increased, and they were both greatly exhausted. Before entering -Mr. Hartwell's house they stood for a short time looking seaward. There, -as before, the waves danced under the rays of the sun, although not a -breath of air stirred between the sea and the sky. The canopy of the -heaven was blue, but it suggested the blue of hard steel rather than -that of the transparent sapphire or that of the soft mass of a bed of -forget-me-nots, or of the canopy of clematis which clambered over the -porch. - -The sun that glared down from the supreme height was like to no other -sun they had ever seen. The haze on its disc, to which the Preventive -officer had drawn their attention an hour earlier, had been slowly -growing in the meantime, until now it was equal to four diameters of the -orb itself, and it was so permeated with the rays that it seemed part of -the sun itself. There that mighty furnace seethed with intolerable fire, -and so singular was the haze that one, glancing for a moment upward with -hand on forehead, seemed to see the huge tongues of flame that burst -forth now and again as they do beneath a copper cauldron on the furnace -of the artificer. - -But this was not all, for at a considerable distance from the molten -mass, which had the sun for its core, there was a wide ring apparently -of fire. Though dull as copper for the most part, yet at times there -was a glow as of living and not merely reflected flame, at parts of the -brazen circle, and flashes seemed to go from the sun to this cincture, -conveying the impression of an enormous shield, having the sun as the -central boss of shining brass, on which fiery darts were striking, -flying off again to the brass binding of the targe. - -"Another marvel!" said Wesley; "but I have seen the dike more than once -before. Once 'twas on the Atlantic, and the master of our ship, who was -a mariner of experience, told me that that outer circle was due to the -sun shining through particles of moisture. Hold up a candle in the mist -and you have the same thing." - -"I myself have seen it more than once; 'tis not a marvel, though it has -appeared on a day of marvels," said Hartwell; and forthwith they entered -the house. - -They were both greatly exhausted, the fact being that before setting -out for the preaching in the early morning they had taken no more than a -glass of milk and a piece of bread, and during the seven hours that -had elapsed they had tasted nothing, though the day had been a most -exhausting one. - -In a very few minutes the cold dinner, with the salad, which had been in -readiness for their return, found them grateful; and after partaking of -it Wesley retired to his room. - -He threw himself upon a couch that stood under the window; a group of -trees, though birch and not very bosky, grew so close to the window that -they had made something of a shade to the room since morning, so that -it was the coolest in the house. It was probably this sense of coolness -that refreshed him so far as to place him within the power of sleep. He -had thought it impossible when he entered the house that he should be -able to find such a relief, exhausted as he had been. But now he had -scarcely put his head on the pillow before he was asleep. - -Several hours had passed before he opened his eyes again. He was -conscious that a great change of some sort, that he could not at once -define, had taken place. The room was in shadow where before it had -been lighted by flecks of sunshine, but this was not the change which -appealed to him with striking force; nor was it the sense of being -refreshed, of which he was now aware. There was a curious silence in the -world--the change had something to do with the silence. He felt as he -had done in the parlour of Ruthallion Mill when he had been talking -to the miller and the machinery had suddenly stopped for the breakfast -hour. That was his half-awakened thought. - -The next moment he was fully awake, and he knew what had happened: when -he had fallen asleep the sound of the waves had been in his ears without -cessation, and now the sea was silent. - -He thought that he had never before been in such a silence. It seemed -strange, mysterious, full of awful suggestions. It seemed to his vivid -imagination that the world, which a short time before had been full of -life, had suddenly swooned away. The hush was the hush of death. The -silence was the silence of the tomb. "'Tis thus," he thought, "that a -man awakens after death--in a place of awful silences." - -And then he felt as if all the men in the world had been cut off in a -moment, leaving him the only man alive. - -It continued unbroken while he lay there. It became a nightmare -silence--an awful palpable thing like a Sphinx--a blank dumbness--a -benumbing of all Nature--a sealing up of all the world as in the hard -bondage of an everlasting Winter. - -He sprang from his couch unable to endure the silence any longer. He -went to the window and looked out, expecting to see the flat unruffled -surface of the channel, where the numberless waves had lately been, -sparkling with intolerable, brilliance, and every wave sending its voice -into the air to join the myriad-voiced chorus that the sea made. - -He looked out and started back; then he drew up the blind and stared out -in amazement, for where the sea had been there was now no sea. - -He threw open the window and looked out. Far away in the utter distance -he saw what seemed like a band of glittering crimson on the horizon. -Looking further round and to the west he saw that the sun was more than -halfway down the slope of the heavens in that quarter and it was of the -darkest crimson in colour--large, but no longer fiery. - -Then there came a murmur to his ears--the murmur of a multitude of -people; and above this sound came a hoarse, monotonous voice, crying: - -"I heard one say to me: 'There shall be no sea--there shall be no more -sea'; and the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, -before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. Repent--repent--repent!" - -Far away he could see the figure of the man. He stood on the summit of -the cliff beyond the path, and, facing the sinking sun, he was crimson -from head to foot. Seen at such a distance and in that light he looked -an imposing figure--a figure that appealed to the imagination, and not -lacking in those elements which for ages have been associated with the -appearance of a fearless prophet uplifting a lean right arm and crying -"Thus saith the Lord." Wesley listened and heard his cry: - -"There shall be no more sea! Repent--repent--repent!" - -[Illustration: 0223] - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -What think you now, sir?" Hartwell asked of Wesley when the latter had -descended the stairs and entered the little parlour of the house. - -"I am too greatly amazed to think," replied Wesley. "But since you put -thinking into my head, I would ask you if you think it unnatural that a -great ebb should follow an unusually high tide?" - -It was plain that Hartwell was greatly perturbed. - -"Unnatural? Why, has not everything that has happened for the past three -days been unnatural?" he cried. "Sir, I am, I thank God, a level-headed -man. I have seen some strange things in my life, both in the mines and -when seafaring; I thought that naught could happen to startle me, but I -confess that this last--I tell you, sir, that I feel now as if I were -in the midst of a dream. My voice sounds strange to myself; it seems to -come from someone apart from me--nay, rather from myself, but outside -myself." - -"'Tis the effect of the heat, dear friend," said Wesley. "You should -have slept as I did." - -"I did sleep, sir; what I have been asking myself is 'Am I yet awake?' I -have had dreams before like to this one--dreams of watching the sea and -other established things that convey to us all ideas of permanence and -regularity, melting away before my very eyes--one dread vision showed -me Greta Cliff crumbling away like a child's mound built on the -sand--crumbling away into the sea, and then the sea began to ebb and -soon was on the horizon. Now, I have been asking myself if I am in the -midst of that same dream again. Can it be possible? Can it be possible?" - -He clapped his hand to his forehead and hastened to the window, whence -he looked out. Almost immediately he returned to Wesley, saying: - -"I pray you to inform me, sir, if this is the truth or a dream--is it -really the case that the sea has ebbed so that there is naught left of -it?" - -"You are awake, my brother," said Wesley, "and 'tis true that the sea -hath ebbed strangely; but from the upper windows 'tis possible to see a -broad band of it in the distance. I beseech of you to lie down on your -bed and compose yourself. This day has tried you greatly." - -The other stared at him for a few moments and then walked slowly away, -muttering: - -"A mystery--a mystery! Oh, the notion of Dick Pritchard being a true -prophet! Was it of such stuff as this the old prophets were made? God -forgive me if I erred in thinking him one of the vain fellows. Mr. -Wesley's judgment was not at fault; he came hither to preach against -him; but not a word did he utter of upbraiding or reproof." - -Wesley saw that the man was quite overcome. Up to this moment he had -shown himself to be possessed of a rational mind, and one that was -not easily put off its balance. He had only a few hours before been -discussing Pritchard in a sober and unemotional spirit; but this last -mystery had been too much for him: the disappearance of the sea, which -had lately climbed up to the doors of Porthawn, had unhinged him and -thrown him off his balance. If the phenomenon had occurred at any other -time--under any less trying conditions of weather--he might have been -able to observe it with equanimity; but the day had been, as Wesley -said, a trying one. The intense heat was of itself prostrating, and -demoralising even to Wesley himself, and he had schooled himself to be -unaffected by any conditions of weather. - -Suddenly Hartwell turned toward his visitor, saying: - -"And if the man was entrusted to predict the falling away of the sea, is -there anyone that will say that the remainder of his prophecy will not -be fulfilled?" - -"I entreat of you, brother, to forbear asking yourself any further -questions until you have had a few hours' sleep," said Wesley. - -"What signifies a sleep now if before this time to-morrow the end of all -things shall have come?" Hartwell cried almost fiercely. "Nay, sir, I -shall wait with the confidence of a Christian; I shall not be found as -were the foolish virgins--asleep and with unlighted lamps. There will be -no slumber for me. I shall watch and pray." - -"Let us pray together, my brother," said Wesley, laying his hand on the -man's shoulder affectionately. He perceived that he was not in a mood to -be reasoned with. - -It was at this moment that the door was opened and there entered the -room the miller and Jake 'Pullsford. - -Wesley welcomed their coming; he had hopes that they would succeed in -persuading his host to retire; but before they had been in the room for -more than a few minutes Hartwell had well-nigh become himself again. - -The newcomers were not greatly affected by anything that had happened. -They were only regretful that the mist of the morning had prevented them -from reaching the Red Tor in time for the preaching. They had started -together, but had stopped upon the way to help a party of their friends -who were in search of still another party, and when the strayed ones -had been found they all had thought it prudent to remain at a farm where -they had dined. - -"On our way hither we met with one who had been to the preaching," said -Jake. "He told us something of what we had missed." - -"Were you disappointed to learn that no reference had been made to the -very matter that brought me back to you?" asked Wesley. - -Jake did not answer immediately. It was apparent that he had his own -views on this matter, and that he had been expounding them to his -companion on their walk from the farm to the coast. - -"Mr. Wesley, 'tis plain to me that the skill at divination shown by that -man comes from below, not from above," he said. "And do you suppose that -our enemies will take back any of the foul things they have said about -our allying ourselves with sorcery when they hear of the wonderful -things that are now happening?" - -"Brother," said Wesley, "if the principles of the Truth which we have -been teaching are indeed true, they will survive such calumnies--nay, -they will take the firmer hold upon all who have heard us by reason of -such calumnies. The gold of the Truth has oft been tried by the fire of -calumny and proved itself to be precious." - -"You saw the man play-acting in his sackcloth?" said the carrier. - -Wesley shook his head sadly. - -"'Twas deplorable!" he said. "And yet I dare not even now speak against -him--no, not a word." - -"What, sir, you do not believe that he is a sorcerer and a soothsayer?" -cried Jake. - -"I have not satisfied myself that he is either," replied Wesley. "More -than once since I saw how much evil was following on his predictions I -have felt sure that he was an agent of our Arch-enemy, but later I have -not felt quite so confident in my judgment. No, friend, I shall not -judge him. He is in the hands of God." - -"And I agree with Mr. Wesley," said the miller. - -Jake Pullsford, with his hands clasped behind him and his head craned -forward, was about to speak, when Hal Holmes entered the room. He was -excited. - -"Have you seen it?" he cried before he had greeted anyone. "Have you -seen it--the vision of his trance at the Mill--the tide sliding away as -it hath never done before within the memory of man?--the discovery of -the bare hollow basin of the sea? Have you been within sight of the -Dog's Teeth?" - -"We--Mr. Hartwell and I--have not been out of doors for six hours; but -we are going now," said Wesley. "We have seen some of the wonders that -have happened; we would fain witness all." - -"Oh, sir," said the blacksmith, "this one is the first that I have seen, -and seeing it has made me think that we were too hasty in condemning -poor Dick Pritchard. We need your guidance, sir. Do you hold that a -man may have the gift of prophecy in this Dispensation, without being a -sorcerer, and the agent of the Fiend?" - -"Alas! 'tis not I that can be your guide in such a matter," said Wesley. -"You must join with me in seeking for guidance from above. Let us go -forth and see what is this new wonder." - -"'Tis the vision of his trance--I saw it with these eyes as I passed -along the high ground above the Dog's Teeth Reef--the reef was well-nigh -bare and naked," said Hal. "Who is there of us that could tell what the -bottom of the sea looked like? We knew what the simple slopes of the -beach were--the spaces where the tide was wont to ebb and flow over -are known to all; but who before since the world began saw those secret -hidden deeps where the lobsters lurk and crabs half the size of a -man's body--I saw them with these eyes a while agone--and the little -runnels--a thousand of them, I believe, racing through channels in the -slime as if they were afraid to be left behind when the sea was ebbing -out of sight--and the sun turned all into the colour of blood! What does -it all mean, Mr. Wesley--I do not mean the man's trance-dream, but the -thing itself that hath come to pass?" - -"We shall go forth and be witnesses of all," said Wesley. - -He was not excited; but this could not be said of his companions; they -betrayed their emotions in various ways. Mr. Hartwell and the miller -were silent and apparently stolid; but the carrier and the smith talked. - -Very few minutes sufficed to bring them to the summit of the cliff that -commanded a full view seaward. At high tide the waves just reached -the base of these cliffs, and the furthest ebb only left bare about a -hundred feet of sand and shingle, with large smooth pebbles in ridges -beyond the groins of the out-jutting rocks. But now it was a very -different picture from that of the ordinary ebb that stretched away to -the horizon under the eyes of our watchers. - -The sandy breadth, with its many little ribs made by the waves, sloped -into a line of sparse sea weed, tangled tufts of green and brown, and -some long and wiry, and others flat with large and leathery bosses, like -the studs of a shield. But beyond this space the rocks of the sea-bed -began to show, There they were in serrated rows--rocks that had never -before been seen by human eyes. Some lay in long sharp ridges, with -here and there a peak of a miniature mountain, and beyond these lines -of ridges there was a broad tableland, elevated in places and containing -huge hollow basins brimming over with water, out of which every now and -again a huge fish leaped, only to find itself struggling among the thick -weeds. Further away still there was a great breadth of ooze, and then -peak beyond peak of rocks, to which huge, grotesque weeds were clinging, -having the semblance of snakes coiled round one another and dying in -that close embrace. - -Looking over these strange spaces was like having a bird's-eye view -of an unexplored country of mountains and tablelands and valleys -intersected by innumerable streams. The whole breadth of sea-bed was -veined with little streams hurrying away after the lost sea, and all the -air was filled with the prattling and chattering that went on through -these channels. - -And soon one became aware of a strange motion of struggling life among -the forests of sea weed. At first it seemed no more than a quivering -among the giant growths; but soon one saw the snake's head and the -narrow shoulders of a big conger eel, from five to seven feet long, -pushed through the jungle of ooze, to be followed by the wriggling body; -there were congers by the hundred, and the hard-dying dog-fishes by the -score, flapping and forcing their way from stream to stream. Stranded -dying fish of all sorts made constant movements where they lay, and -whole breadths of the sea-bed were alive with hurrying, scurrying -crabs and lobsters and cray-fish. Some of these were of enormous size, -patriarchs of the deep that had lurked for ages far out of reach of the -fisherman's hook, and had mangled many a creel. - -The weirdness of this unparalleled picture was immeasurably increased -by its colouring, for over all there was spread what had the effect of a -delicate crimson gauze. The whole of the sea-bed was crimson, for it was -still dripping wet, and glistening with reflections of the red western -sky. At the same time the great heat of the evening was sucking the -moisture out of the spongy sea weeds, and there it remained in the form -of a faint steam permeated with the crimson light. - -And through all that broad space under the eyes of the watchers on -the cliff there was no sign of a human being. They might have been the -explorers of stout Cortez who stared at the Pacific from that peak in -Darien. It was not until they had gone in silence for a quarter of a -mile along the cliff path that they saw where the people of the village -had assembled. The shore to the westward came into view and they saw -that a crowd was there. The sound of the voices of the crowd came to -their ears, and above it the hard, high monotone like that of a town -crier uttering the words that Wesley had heard while yet in his room: - -"There shall be no more sea. Repent--repent--repent." - -Once more they stood and looked down over the part of the coast that -had just been disclosed--the eastern horn of Greta Bay, but no familiar -landmark was to be seen; on the contrary, it seemed to them that they -were looking down upon a new and curious region. The line of cliffs was -familiar to their eyes, but what was that curious raised spine--that -long sharp ridge stretching outwards for more than a mile on the -glistening shore? - -And what was that strange object--that huge bulk lying with one end -tilted into the air on one shoulder of that sharp ridge? - -All at once Wesley had a curious feeling that he had seen all that -before. The sight of that mighty bulk and the knowledge that it was the -heavy ribbed framework of a large ship seemed familiar. But when or how -had he seen it? - -It was not until Hartwell spoke that he understood how this impression -had come to him. - -"You see it--there--there--just as he described it to us when he awoke -from his trance?" said Hartwell. - -And there indeed it was--the fabric of the East Indiaman that had been -wrecked years before on the Dog's Teeth Reef, and there was the Dog's -Teeth Reef laid bare for the first time within the memory of man! - -It was the skeleton of a great ship. The outer timbers had almost wholly -disappeared--after every gale for years before some portion of the -wreckage had come ashore and had been picked up by the villagers; but -the enormous framework to which the timbers of the hull had been bolted -had withstood the action of the waves, for the ship had sunk into a -cradle of rock that held her firmly year after year. There it lay like -the skeleton of some tremendous monster of the awful depths of the -sea--the Kraken--a survival of the creatures that lived before the -Flood. The three stumps of masts which stood up eight or ten feet above -the line of bulwarks gave a curious suggestion to a creature's deformed -legs, up in the air while it lay stranded on its curved back. - -And the crimson sunset shot through the huge ribs of this thing and -spread their distorted shadows sprawling over the sands at the base of -the reef and upon the faces of the people who stood looking up at this -wonder. - -"There it is--just as he saw it in his trance!" said Hal Holmes. "He saw -it and related it to us afterward. What are we to say to all this, Mr. -Wesley? All that he predicted so far has come to pass. Are we safe in -saying that yonder sun will be setting over a blazing world to-morrow?" - -"I do not dare to say anything," replied Wesley. "I have already -offered my opinion to Mr. Hartwell, which is that there may be a kind of -sympathy between the man and the earth, by whose aid he has been able -to discover the whereabouts of a spring in the past and to predict these -marvels of tides." - -"That is a diviner's skill derived from the demons that we know inhabit -the inside of the earth," cried Jake Pullsford. "He has ever had -communication with these unclean things." - -"That works so far as the tides are concerned," said the smith. "It -stands to reason that the demons of the nether world must know all -about the ebb and flow; but how did he foresee the laying bare of yonder -secret?" He pointed to the body; of the wreck. - -"Was it not the same demons that dragged the ship to destruction on the -reef, and is't not within their province to know all that happens below -the surface of the sea?" said the carrier. - -"Doubtless," said the smith. "But I find it hard to think of so -moderately foolish a fellow as Dick Pritchard being hand in glove with -a fiend of any sort, and not profiting more by the traffic--as to his -secular circumstances, I should say." - -"And I find it hard to think of him as urging men to repent, if he be an -ally of the Evil One," said Hartwell. - -"This is not a case in which the wisdom of man can show itself to be -other than foolishness," said Wesley. "But I am now moved to speak to -the people who have come hither to see the wonder. Let us hasten onward -to the highest ground. My heart is full." - -He went on with his friends to a short spur of the cliff about twenty -feet above the shingle where groups of men and women were straying; -most of them had been down to the wreck and nearly all were engaged -in discussing its marvellous appearance. Some of the elder men were -recalling for the benefit of the younger the circumstances of the loss -of the great East Indiaman, and the affluence that had come to a good -many houses in the Port, when the cargo began to be washed ashore before -the arrival of the Preventive men and the soldiery from Falmouth. - -But while the larger proportion of the people were engaged in -discussing, without any sense of awe, the two abnormal tides and the -story of the wreck, there were numbers who were clearly terror-stricken -at the marvels and at the prospect of the morrow. A few women were -clinging together and moaning without cessation, a girl or two wept -aloud, a few shrieked hysterically, and one began to laugh and gibber, -pointing monkey hands in the direction of the wreck. But further on half -a dozen young men and maidens were engaged in a boisterous and an almost -shocking game preserved in Cornwall and some parts of Wales through -the ages that had elapsed since it was practised by a by-gone race -of semi-savages. They went through it now in the most abandoned and -barbaric way, dancing like Bacchanalians in a ring, with shouts and wild -laughter. - -John Wesley, who knew what it was to be human, had no difficulty in -perceiving that these wretched people were endeavouring in such excesses -to conceal the terror they felt, and he was not surprised to find a -number of intoxicated men clinging together and singing wildly in the -broad moorland space that lay on the landward side of the cliffs. - -"This is the work of Pritchard the water-finder, and will you say that -'tis not of the Devil?" cried Jake Pullsford. - -"Poor wretches! Oh, my poor brothers and sisters!" cried Wesley. "Our -aim should be to soothe them, not to denounce them. Never have they been -subjected to such a strain as that which has been put upon them. I -can understand their excesses. 'Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we -die'--that is the cry which comes from all hearts that have not been -regenerated.'Tis the cry of the old Paganism which once ruled the world, -before the sweet calm of Christianity brought men from earth to heaven. -I will speak to them." - -He had reached the high ground with his friends. There was a sudden spur -on the range of low cliffs just where the people were most numerous. -They had come from all quarters to witness the wonders of this lurid -eve, and, as was the case at Wesley's preaching, everyone was asking of -everyone else how so large an assembly could be brought together in a -neighbourhood that was certainly not densely populated. On each side -of him and on the beach below there were crowds, and on every face the -crimson of the sinking sun flamed. He went out to the furthest point of -the cliff-spur and stood there silent, with uplifted arms. - -In a moment the whisper spread: - -"Mr. Wesley has come--Mr. Wesley is preaching!" - -There was the sound of many feet trampling down the pebbles of the -beach. The people flowed toward him like a great wave slowly moving over -that place now forsaken by the waves. The young men and maidens who had -been engaged in that fierce wild dance among the wiry herbage flocked -toward him, their faces shining from their exertions, and stood catching -their breath. The old men who had been staring stolidly through the -great ribs of the hulk, slouched through the ooze and stood sideways -beneath him, their hands, like the gnarled joints of a thorn, scooped -behind their ears lest they should lose a word. The women, with -disordered hair, tears on their faces, the terror of anticipation -in their eyes, waited on the ground, some kneeling, others seated in -various postures. - -Then there came a deep hush. - -He stood there, a solitary figure, black against the crimson background -of the western sky, his arms still upraised. It might have been a statue -carved out of dark marble that stood on the spur of the cliff. - -And then he began to speak. - -His hands were still uplifted in the attitude of benediction; and the -words that came from him were the words of the Benediction. - -"The Peace of God which passeth all understanding." - -The Peace of God--that was the message which he delivered to that -agitated multitude, and it fell upon their ears, soothing all who heard -and banishing their fears. He gave them the message of the Father to His -children--a message of love, of tenderness--a promise of protection, of -infinite pity, of a compassion that knew no limits--outliving the life -of the world, knowing no change through all ages, the only thing that -suffered no change--a compassion which, being eternal, would outlive -Time itself--a compassion which brought with it every blessing that man -could know--nay, more--more than man could think of; a compassion that -brought with it the supreme blessing that could come to man--the Peace -of God which passeth all understanding! - -He never travelled outside this message of Divine Peace, although he -spoke for a full hour. - -And while he spoke the meaning of that message fell upon the multitude -who listened. They felt that Peace of which he spoke falling gently -upon them as cold dew at the close of a day of intolerable heat. They -realised what it meant to them. The Peace descended upon them, and they -were sensible of its presence. The dread that had been hanging over them -all the day was swept away as the morning mist had been dispersed. The -apprehension of the Judgment was lost in the consciousness of a Divine -Love surrounding them. They seemed to have passed from an atmosphere of -foetid vapours into that of a meadow in the Spring time. They drank deep -draughts of its sweetness and were refreshed. - -When he had begun to speak the sun was not far from setting in the -depths of a crimson sky, and before he had spoken for half an hour the -immense red disc, magnified by the vapours in the air, was touching the -horizon. With its disappearance the colour spread higher up the sky and -drifted round to the north, gradually changing to the darkest purple. -Even then it was quite possible for the people to see one another's -features distinctly in the twilight, but half an hour later the figure -of the preacher was but faintly seen through the dimness that had fallen -over the coast. The twilight had been almost tropical in its brevity, -and the effect of the clear voice of many modulations coming out of the -darkness was strange, and to the ears that heard it, mysterious. Just -before it ceased there swept upon the faces of his listeners a cool -breath of air. It came with a suddenness that was startling. During all -the day there had not been a breath. The heat had seemed to be so solid, -and now the movement of the air gave the impression of the passing of a -mysterious Presence. It was as if the wings of a company of angels were -winnowing the air, as they fled by, bringing with them the perfume of -their Paradise for the refreshing of the people of the earth. Only for -a few minutes that cool air was felt, but for that time it was as if the -Peace of God had been made tangible. - -When the preacher ended with the words with which he had begun, the -silence was like a sigh. - -The people were on their knees. There was no one that did not feel that -God was very nigh to him. - -And the preacher felt it most deeply of all. There was a silence of -intense solemnity, before the voice was heard once more speaking to -Heaven in prayer--in thanksgiving for the Peace that had come upon this -world from above. - -He knew how fully his prayer had been answered when he talked to the -young men and maidens who had been among his hearers. The excitement of -the evening had passed away from all of them. At the beginning of his -preaching there had been the sound of weeping among them. At first it -had been loud and passionate; but gradually it had subsided until at the -setting of the sun the terror which had possessed them gave place to the -peace of the twilight, and now there was not one of them that did -not feel the soothing influence that comes only when the angel of the -evening hovers with shadowy outspread wings over the world. - -They all walked slowly to their homes; some belonged to Porthawn and -others to the inland villages of the valley of the Lana, as far away as -Ruthallion, and the light breeze that had been felt during the preaching -became stronger and less intermittent now. It was cool and gracious -beyond expression, and it brought with it to the ears of all who walked -along the cliffs the soothing whisper of the distant sea. The joyous -tidings came that the sea was returning, and it seemed that with that -news came also the assurance that the cause for dread was over and past. - -And all this time the preacher had made no allusion to the voice that -had sounded along the shore in the early part of the evening predicting -the overthrow of the world. All that he had done was to preach the -coming of Peace. - -"You may resume your journeying, Mr. Wesley, as soon as you please. May -he not, friend Pullsford?" said Hartwell when he had returned to his -house. "There is no need for us to keep Mr. Wesley among us when we -know that he is anxious to resume his preaching further west. You never -mentioned the man's name, sir, and yet you have done all--nay, far more -than we thought it possible for you to accomplish." - -"There is no need for me to tarry longer," replied Wesley. "But I pray -of you, my dear friends, not to think that I do not recognise the need -there was for me to return to you with all speed. I perceived the great -danger that threatened us through Pritchard, and I was glad that you -sent for me. I hope you agree with me in believing that that danger is -no longer imminent." - -"I scarce know how it happened," said Hartwell; "but yesterday I had -a feeling that unless you preached a direct and distinct rebuke to -Pritchard, the work which you began here last month would suffer -disaster, and yet albeit you did no more than preach the Word as you -might at any time, making no reference to the things that have happened -around us, I feel at the present moment that your position is, by the -Grace of God, more promising of good than it has ever been." - -"Ay," said Jake Pullsford. "But I am not so sure that the vanity of that -man should not have been crushed. There is no telling to what length -he may not go after all that has happened. The people should ha' been -warned against him, and his sorceries exposed.". - -"Think you, Jake, that the best way to destroy the vanity of such as -he would be by taking notice of what he said and magnifying it into a -menace?" said Hartwell. "Believe me, my friend, that Mr. Wesley's way is -the true one. Dick Pritchard's vanity got its hugest filip when he heard -that Mr. Wesley had come back to preach against him. It will receive its -greatest humiliation when he learns that Mr. Wesley made no remark that -showed he knew aught of him and his prophecies." - -"He will take full credit to himself for what has happened--of that you -may be sure," said Jake, shaking his head. "Ay, and for what did not -happen," he continued as an afterthought. "Be certain that he will claim -to have saved the world as Jonah saved the Ninevites. He will cling to -Jonah to the end." - -"I am glad that I came hither when you called for me, my brethren," -said Wesley. "Let us look at the matter with eyes that look only at the -final issue. I would fain banish from my mind every thought save one, -and that is spiritual blessing of the people. If they have been -soothed by my coming--if even the humblest of them has been led to -feel something of what is meant by the words 'the Peace of God,' I give -thanks to God for having called me back. I have no more to say." - -And that was indeed the last word that was said at that time respecting -Pritchard and his utterances. Wesley and his friends felt that, however -deeply the people had been impressed by the natural phenomena which had -followed hard on his predictions of disaster to the world, he would not -now be a source of danger to the work which had been begun in Cornwall. -Wesley had, by his preaching, showed that he would give no countenance -to the man. Those who thought that it would be consistent with his -methods and his Methodism to take advantage of the terror with which the -minds of the people had become imbued, in order to bring them into the -classes, that had already been formed, were surprised to find him doing -his utmost to banish their fears. He had preached the Gospel of Peace, -not of Vengeance, the Gospel of Love, not of Anger. - -Awakening shortly after midnight, Wesley heard the sound of the washing -of the waters on the pebbles at the base of the cliffs. There was no -noise of breaking waves, only the soft, even lisp and lap of the last -ripples that were crushed upon the pebbles--grateful and soothing to his -ears. - -Suddenly there came to him another sound--the monotone of the watchman -calling out of the distance: - -"Repent--repent--repent! The Day of the Lord is at hand. Who shall abide -the Day of His Wrath? Repent--repent--repent!" - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -The sunlight was in his room when he awoke. He had a sense of -refreshment. A weight seemed lifted off his heart. He remembered how -he had awakened the previous morning in the same bed with a feeling of -perplexity. He had found it impossible to make up his mind as to the -course he should pursue in regard to Pritchard. He had been fearful of -being led to rebuke a man who might have been made the means of leading -even one sinner to repentance. He asked himself if he differed as much -from that man as the average churchman did from himself in his methods. -He knew how grievous he regarded the rebukes which he had received from -excellent clergymen who looked on his field preaching with the sternest -disapproval; and who then was he that he should presume to rebuke a man -who had been led by his zeal beyond what he, Wesley, thought to be the -bounds of propriety? - -He had felt great perplexity on awakening on that Sunday morning; but he -had been given help to see his way clearly on that morning of mist, and -now he felt greatly at ease. He had nothing to reproach himself with. - -He recalled all the events of the day before--all that his eyes had -seen--all that his ears had heard; and now that he had no further need -to think about Pritchard, it was surprising how much he had to recall -that had little to do with that man. He himself felt somewhat surprised -that above all that had been said to him during the day the words that -he should dwell longest upon were a few words that had fallen from Mr. -Hartwell. He had hinted to Mr. Hartwell that John Bennet had acted so -grossly in regard to him, through a mad jealousy; and Mr. Hartwell, -hearing this, had lifted up his hands in amazement, and said: - -"Absurdity could go no further!" - -When Hartwell said those words Wesley had not quite grasped their full -import; his attention had been too fully occupied with the further -extravagance which he had witnessed on the part of Pritchard. But now -that his mind was at ease he recalled the words, and he had sufficient -selfpossession to ask himself if his host considered that the absurdity -was to be found in Bennet's fancying that he, Wesley, was his rival. If -so, was the absurdity to be found in the fancy that such a young woman -could think of him, Wesley, in the light of a lover; or that he should -think of the young woman as a possible wife? - -He could not deny that the thought of Nelly Polwhele as his constant -companion had more than once come to him when he was oppressed with a -sense of his loneliness; and he knew that when he had got Mr. Hartwell's -letter calling him back to Porthawn he had felt that it might be that -there was what some men called Fate, but what he preferred to call -the Hand of God, in this matter. Was he being led back to have an -opportunity of seeing her again, and of learning truly if the regard -which he thought he felt for her was to become the love that sanctified -the marriage of a man with a woman? - -Well, he had returned to her, and he had seen (as he fancied) her face -alight with the happiness of his return. For an hour he had thought of -the gracious possibility of being able to witness such an expression -upon her face any time that he came from a distant preaching. The -thought was a delight to him. Home--coming home! He had no home; and -surely, he felt, the longing for a home and a face to welcome him at the -door was the most natural--the most commendable--that a man could have. -And surely such a longing was not inconsistent with his devotion to the -work which he believed it was laid upon him to do while his life lasted. - -He had seen her and talked with her for a short time, and felt refreshed -by being under the influence of her freshness. But then he had been -forced to banish her from his mind in order to give all his attention to -the grave matter which had brought him back to this place. He had walked -by her side through the mist the next day, and never once had he allowed -the thought of her to turn his eyes away from the purpose which had -called him forth into the mist of the morning. He thought of her -thoughtfulness in the matter of the mariner's compass with gratitude. -That was all. His heart was full of his work; there was no room in it -for anything else. - -But now while he sat up in the early sunshine that streamed through his -window he felt himself free to think of her; and the more he thought of -her the more he wondered how he could ever have been led to believe what -he had already embodied in a book respecting the advantages of celibacy -for the clergy. A clergyman should not only have a knowledge of God; -a knowledge of man was essential to success in his calling; and a -knowledge of man meant a wide sympathy with men, and this he now felt -could only be acquired by one who had a home of his own. The influence -of the home and its associations could not but be the greatest to which -a man was subject. The ties that bind a man to his home were those which -bind him to his fellow-men. The _res angusta domi_, which some foolish -persons regarded as detrimental to a man's best work, were, he was now -convinced, the very incidents which enabled him to do good work, for -they enabled him to sympathise with his fellows. - -Theologians do not, any more than other people, feel grateful to those -who have shown them to be in the wrong; but Wesley had nothing but the -kindliest feelings for Nelly Polwhele for having unwittingly led him -to see that the train of reasoning which he had pursued in his book was -founded upon an assumption which was in itself the result of an immature -and impersonal experience of any form of life except the Academic, and -surely such a question as he had discussed should be looked at from -every other standpoint than the Academic. - -Most certainly he was now led to think of the question from very -different standpoints. He allowed his thoughts to wander to the girl -herself. He thought of her quite apart from all womankind. He had never -met any young woman who seemed to possess all the charms which endear -a woman to a man. She was bright as a young woman should be, she was -thoughtful for the needs of all who were about her, she had shown -herself ready to submit to the guidance of one who was older and more -experienced than herself. He could not forget how she had promised him -never again to enter the playhouse which had so fascinated her. Oh, she -was the most gracious creature that lived--the sweetest, the tenderest, -and surely she must prove the most devoted! - -So his imagination carried him away; and then suddenly he found himself -face to face with that phrase of Mr. Hartwell's "_Absurdity could go no -further_." - -And then, of course, he began to repeat all the questions which he -had put to himself when he had started on his investigations into the -matter. Once more he said: - -"_Where lies the source of all absurdities?_" - -And equally as a matter of course he was once again led in the direction -that his thoughts had taken before until he found himself enquiring if -the world held another so sweet and gracious and sympathetic. - -It was not until he was led once more to his starting-point that he -began to feel as he had never done before for those of his fellow-men -who allowed themselves to be carried away by dwelling on the simplest of -the questions which engrossed him. - -"'Tis a repetition of yesterday morning," said he. "We set out -pleasantly enough in the mist, and after an hour's profitless wandering -we found ourselves at the point whence we had started--ay, and the young -woman was waiting for us there in person." - -Was that morning's wandering to be typical of his life? he wondered. Was -he to be ever straying along a misty coast, and evermore to be finding -himself at the point whence he had started, with Nelly Polwhele waiting -for him there? - -An absurdity, was it? - -Well, perhaps--but, after all, should he not be doing well in asking Mr. -Hartwell what had been in his mind when he had made use of that phrase? - -Mr. Hartwell had undoubtedly something in his mind, and he was a -level-headed man who had accustomed himself to look at matters without -prejudice and to pronounce an opinion based on his common sense. It -might be that he could see some grave reason why he, Wesley, should -dismiss that young woman forever from his thoughts--forever from his -heart. - -But, of course, he reserved to himself the right to consider all that -Mr. Hartwell might say on this matter, and--if he thought it right--to -exercise his privilege of veto in regard to his conclusions. He was not -prepared to accept the judgment of Mr. Hartwell without reserve. - -Following this line of thought, he quickly saw that whatever Mr. -Hartwell might have to say, and however his conclusions might be put -aside, it would be necessary for him, Wesley, to acquaint all those men -who were associated with him in his work with his intention of marrying -a certain young woman. There were his associates in London, in Bristol, -in Bath, and above all there was his brother Charles. Would they be -disposed to think that such a union would be to the advantage or to the -detriment of the work to which they were all devoted? - -The moment he thought of his brother he knew what he might expect. Up to -that moment it had really never occurred to him that any objection that -might not reasonably be overruled, could be offered to his marrying -Nelly Polwhele. But so soon as he asked himself what his brother -would say when made aware of his intention, he perceived how it was -conceivable that his other friends might agree with Mr. Hartwell. For -himself, he had become impressed from the first with some of those -qualities on the part of Nelly Polwhele which, he was convinced, made -her worthy of being loved by the most fastidious of men. He had long ago -forgotten that she was only the daughter of a fisherman, and that she -owed her refinement of speech to the patronage of the Squire's daughters -whose maid she had been. - -But what would his brother say when informed that it was his desire to -marry a young woman who had been a lady's maid? Would not his brother be -right to assume that such a union would be detrimental to the progress -of the work in which they were engaged? Had they not often talked -together deploring how so many of their brethren in the Church had -brought contempt upon their order through their loss of self-respect in -marrying whomsoever their dissolute patrons had ordered them to marry? -What respect could anyone have for his lordship's chaplain who was -content to sit at the side table at meals and in an emergency discharge -the duties of a butler, and comply without hesitation to his lordship's -command to marry her ladyship's maid, or, indeed, any one of the -servants whom it was found desirable to have married? - -The thing was done every day; that was what made it so deplorable, he -and his brother had agreed; and in consequence day by day the influence -of the clergy was declining. Was he then prepared to jeopardise the work -to which he had set his hand by such a union as he was contemplating? - -He sprang to his feet from where he had been sitting by the window. - -"Heaven forgive me for having so base a thought!" he cried. "Heaven -forgive me for being so base as to class the one whom I love with such -creatures as his patron orders his chaplain to marry! She is a good -and innocent child, and if she will come to me I shall feel honoured. I -shall prove to all the world that a woman, though lowly-born, may yet be -a true helpmeet for such as I. She will aid me in my labours, not impede -them. I know now that I love her. I know now that she will be a blessing -to me. I love her, and I pray that I may ever love her truly and -honestly." - -It was characteristic of the man that the very thought of opposition -should strengthen him. An hour earlier he had been unable to assure -himself that his feeling for her was love, but now he felt assured on -this point: he loved her, and he had never before loved a woman. She was -the first fruit of his mission to Cornwall. She had professed the -faith to which even he himself had failed to attain until he had been -preaching for years. Bound to her by a tie that was the most sacred that -could exist between a man and a woman, his most earnest hope was to hold -her to him by another bond whose strands were interwoven with a sympathy -that was human as well as divine. His mind was made up at last. - -He was early at breakfast with his host, but he did not now think it -necessary to ask Mr. Hartwell what he had meant by his reference to the -absurdity of John Bennet's jealousy. The morning gave promise of a day -of brilliant sunshine and warmth. There was nothing sinister in the -aspect of the sun, such as had been noted on the previous day. - -"Ah, sir," said Hartwell, "you came hither with a blessing to us all, -and you will leave with a sense of having accomplished by the exercise -of your own judgment far more than we looked for at such a time. The -boats have put out to the fishing ground once more, and the dread that -seemed overhanging our poor friends sank with the setting sun last -evening." - -"Not to me be the praise--not to me," said Wesley, bowing his head in -all humility. After a few moments he raised his head quite suddenly, -saying: - -"You have referred to my judgment, dear friend; I wonder if you think -that in many matters my judgment is worthy to be depended on?" - -"Indeed, sir, I know of no man in the world whose judgment in all -reasonable matters I would accept sooner than yours," replied Hartwell. -"Why, Mr. Wesley, who save you would have foreseen a way of avoiding the -trouble which threatened us by such means as you adopted? Were not -we all looking for you to administer a rebuke to the man whose vanity -carried him so far away from what we held to be discreet? Was there -one of us who foresaw that the right way of treating him was to let him -alone?" - -"I dare not say that 'twas my own judgment that guided me," said Wesley. -"But--I hope, friend Hartwell, that I shall never be led to take any -step that will jeopardise your good opinion of my capacity to judge what -course is the right one to pursue in certain circumstances." - -"Believe me, Mr. Wesley, after the events of yesterday I shall not -hesitate to say that you were in the right and I in the wrong, should I -ever be disposed to differ from you on a matter of moment. But I cannot -think such a difference possible to arrive," said Hartwell. - -"Differences in judgment are always possible among good friends," said -Wesley. - -"I should like to have a long talk with you some day, Mr. Wesley, on -the subject of the influence of such powers as are at the command of -Pritchard," said Hartwell. "Are they the result of sorcery or are they a -gift from above? I have been thinking a great deal about that trance of -his which we witnessed. How was it possible for him to foresee the place -and the form of that wreck, think you?" - -"Howsoever his powers be derived," replied Wesley, "the lesson that we -must learn from his case is that we cannot be too careful in choosing -our associates. For myself, I have already said that I mistrusted him -from the first, as I should any man practising with a divining rod." - -"We should have done so, too, sir, only that we had become so accustomed -to his water-finding, it seemed as natural to send for him when sinking -a well as it was to send for the mason to build the wall round it when -the water was found." - -This was all that they said at that time touching the remarkable -incidents of the week. Both of them seemed to regard the case of -Pritchard as closed, although they were only in the morning of the day -which the man had named in his prediction. Mr. Hartwell even assumed -that his guest would be anxious to set out on his return to the west -before noon, and he was gratified when Wesley asked for leave to stay on -for a day or two yet. - -Wesley spent an hour or two over his correspondence, and all the time -the matter which he had at heart caused him to lay down his pen and lie -back in his chair, thinking, not upon the subject of his letters, but -upon the question of approaching Nelly Polwhele, and upon the question -of the letter which he would have to write to his brother when he had -seen the girl; for whether she accepted him or refused him, he felt that -it was his duty to inform his brother as to what had occurred. - -The result of his meditations was as might have been expected. When a -man who is no longer young gives himself up to consider the advisability -of offering marriage to a young woman with whom he has not been in -communication for much more than a month, he usually procrastinates in -regard to the deciding scene. Wesley felt that perhaps he had been too -hasty in coming to the conclusion that a marriage with Nelly would bring -happiness to them both. Only a few hours had elapsed since he had, as he -thought, made up his mind that he loved her. Should he not refrain from -acting on such an impulse? What would be the consequence if he were to -ask the young woman to be his wife and find out after a time that he -should not have been so sure of himself? Surely so serious a step as -he was contemplating should be taken with the utmost deliberation. He -should put himself to the test. Although he had been looking forward to -seeing the girl this day, he would not see her until the next day--nay, -he was not confident that he might not perceive that his duty lay in -waiting for several days before approaching her with his offer. - -That was why, when he left the house to take the air, he walked, not -in the direction of the village, where he should run the best chance of -meeting her, but toward the cliffs, which were usually deserted on week -days, except by the Squire's grooms, who exercised the horses in their -charge upon the fine dry sand that formed a large plateau between the -pathway and the struggling trees on the outskirts of Court Park. - -He went musing along the cliff way, thinking of the contrast between -this day and the previous one--of the contrast between those sparkling -waves that tossed over each other in lazy play, and the slime and ooze -which had lain bare and horrid with their suggestions of destruction -and disaster. It was a day such as one could scarcely have dreamt of -following so sinister a sunset as he had watched from this place. It was -a day that made him glad that he had not uttered a harsh word in rebuke -of the man who had troubled him--indeed he felt most kindly disposed -toward Pritchard; he was certainly ready to forgive him for having been -the means of bringing him, Wesley, back to this neighbourhood. - -He wondered if it had not been for Pritchard, would he have returned to -Ruthallion and Porthawn. Was the affection for Nelly, of which he had -become conscious during his journeying in the west, strong enough at -that time to carry him back to Porthawn, or had it matured only since he -had come back to her? - -He wondered and mused, strolling along the path above the blue Cornish -waters. Once as he stood for a while, his eyes looked longingly in the -direction of the little port. He felt impatient for more than a few -moments--impatient that he should be so strict a disciplinarian in -regard to himself. It was with a sigh he turned away from where the -roofs of the nearest houses could just be seen, and resumed his stroll -with unfaltering feet. He had made his resolution and he would keep to -it. - -But he did not get further than that little dip in the cliffs where he -had once slept and awakened to find Nelly Polwhele standing beside him. -The spot had a pleasant memory for him. He remembered how he had been -weary when he had lain down there, and how he had risen up refreshed. - -Surely he must have loved her even then, he thought. What, was it -possible that he had known her but a few days at that time? His -recollection of her coming to him was as that of someone to whom he had -been attached for years. - -He smiled as he recalled the tale which he had once read of the magician -Merlin, who had woven a bed of rushes for the wife of King Mark, on -which she had but to lie and forthwith she saw whomsoever she wished to -see. Well, here he was in the land of King Mark of Cornwall, and there -was the place where he had made his bed.... - -He had been contemplating the comfortable hollow between the rocks, -thinking his thoughts, and he did not raise his eyes for some time. When -he did he saw Nelly Polwhele coming toward him, not along the cliffs, -but across the breadth of moorland beyond which was the Court Park. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -Tis by a happy chance we are brought together," Wesley said while he -held her hand. - -But Nelly Polwhele made haste to assure him that it was not by chance; -she had been with her young ladies at the Court, she said, and from -the high ground she had spied upon him on his walk, and had come to him -through the sparse hedges of the park. - -He smiled at the eagerness with which she disclaimed such an ally as -chance. He had not had a wide experience of young women, but he had a -shrewd conviction that the greater number of them would have hastened to -acknowledge his suggestion rather than to repudiate it. She was innocent -as a child. - -"By whatsoever means we have been brought together, I for one must think -it happy," said he. "Do you go to your friends yonder every day?" - -"Oh, no, sir; but they have charged me to keep them apprised of your -preaching since you came hither, and thus I went to them yesterday--that -was after your morning preaching--and to-day to tell them of the -evening. Oh, sir, surely there was never aught seen that would compare -with the happenings of yester eve! Even while I was rehearsing all to my -young ladies, I had a feeling that I was telling them what I had seen -in a dream. I do think that I have had a dream more than once that was -strangely like all that was before my eyes--a dream of drowning and -seeing in a blood-red light the mysteries of the sea-bed." - -"A strange thing, my child! I have never seen a stranger thing," said -he. "It did not seem a wonder to me that the people were so agitated." - -"They thought for sure that the end of the world had come," said she. -"And indeed I began to feel that poor Dick Pritchard had truly been sent -to warn us." - -"And how was his warning taken by many?" he cried. "Worse than the -Ninevites were some that I saw here. Of sackcloth there was none on -their limbs--of repentance their hearts were empty. I hope, my child, -that you did not see some of those whom I saw here--dancing--wild--pagan -creatures of the woods! And their dance! Pagan of the worst--an orgy of -the festival of the god Saturn--an abomination of Baal and Ashtoreth. -And I asked myself, 'Is it possible that this is how a solemn warning of -the coming of the Dreadful Day is taken by a Christian people? But you, -I trust, did not see all that came before me?" - -"I saw enough to tell me that Dick Pritchard's warning was not a true -one," said she. "I was by the side of father below the wreck. He had -seen the _Gloriana_ founder, and if Dick Pritchard had prophesied that -he should live to look upon her hull again after all the years that have -passed, he would have laughed. And some of the men about us on the beach -that had never been bare of water since the world began, talked like -wild men. If the world was to come to an end before another set o' sun -they meant to enjoy themselves--the Court--they whispered of breaking -through the doors of the Court and feasting for once and for the last -time. One of them--David Cairns is his name--cried that at the -Day of Judgment all men were equal, and he would head any band of -fellows that had the spirit to face the Squire and call for the key of -the cellar. Father called him a rascal, and he replied. Some were taking -his part and some the part of father, when the cry went up that Mr. -Wesley was nigh. That was the end of the strife, sir." - -"To tell me this last is to gladden my heart, my dear," he said, and -again he clasped one of her hands in both his own. But he did not do so -with the fervour of a lover. His heart was not dwelling upon the purpose -which he had been considering since he rose; the girl's story had -absorbed him. "And now I hope that the good folk will settle down once -more into their quiet and useful lives," he added. - -"They will not be able to do so for some time," she replied, shaking her -head. "All who were present at the preaching have already returned to -their work; the boats that were idle for nearly a week put out to the -fishing early in the morning; but there are other places where Dick -Pritchard's talk was heard, and the miners made it a good excuse for -quitting their labour." - -"Poor fellows, I shall go among them at once; I may be able to help -them," said he. - -"Do you think of going at once, sir?" she asked quickly. - -"At once," he replied. "Is there any time to lose?" - -"And you will not return to us?" - -Her question came from her like a sigh--a sigh that is quickly followed -by a sob. - -He looked at her for some moments in silence. He had a thought that if -he meant to tell her that he loved her, no better opportunity would be -likely to present itself. This was for the first few moments, but his -thought was succeeded by a feeling that it would be a cruelty to shock -this innocent prattling child with his confession. She could not be -otherwise than shocked were he to tell her that his desire was to get -her promise to marry him. He would adhere to his resolution to wait. He -would make another opportunity if one did not present itself. - -"If it be God's will I shall return to you," he said. "Yes, in good -time--in good time." - -"I am glad," she said. "It was because I feared that you would go away -at once and not return for a long time, that I made haste to reach you -when I saw you from the park." - -"Why should my going affect you, Nelly?" he asked. He wondered if the -opportunity which he looked for, and yet was anxious to avoid, would -persist in remaining within easy reach. - -"I--I--the truth is, sir, that I wanted--I wished greatly--to ask your -advice," she said. - -"I hope you will not find that you have placed overmuch dependence on -me," he said. "Let us walk along the cliffs and talk as we pursue our -way. Not that I am anxious to leave this spot; it bears many happy -memories to me. Was it not here that you came to me on the day of my -first preaching, ministering to my needs?" - -She flushed with pleasure. - -"Ah, sir, all I did was as nothing compared with the good that has come -to me through your words. I want your counsel now. I am sometimes very -unhappy by reason of my doubts in a matter on which I should have none." - -"Tell me your grief, dear child. Have you not lived long enough to know -that when the cause of your unhappiness is told to another, it weighs -less heavily upon you? What, did you not confide in me on Saturday? 'Tis -surely not from that man Bennet that----" - -"Oh, no; he has naught to do with my trouble. It comes not from anyone -but my own self--from my own foolishness. You have a mind to hear the -story of a young girl's foolishness who knew not her own mind--her own -heart?" - -"If you are quite sure that you wish to tell it to me. You may be -assured that you will find in me a sympathetic listener. Is there any -one of us that can say in truth that his heart or hers has not some time -been guilty of foolishness?" - -"The worst of it is that what seems foolishness to-day had the semblance -of wisdom yesterday. And who can say that to-morrow we may not go back -to our former judgment?" - -"That is the knowledge that has come to you from experience." - -"It has come to me as the conclusion of my story--such as it is." - -"'Tis sad to think that our best teacher must ever be experience, my -child. But if you have learned your lesson you should be accounted -fortunate. There are many to whom experience comes only to be neglected -as a teacher." - -"I have had experience--a little--and all that it has taught to me is -to doubt. A year ago I thought that I loved a man. To-day I do not know -whether I love him or not--that is all my poor story, sir." She had not -spoken fluently, but faltering--with many pauses--a little wistfully, -and with her eyes on the ground. - -He stopped suddenly in his walk. He, too, had his eyes upon the ground. -He had not at once appreciated the meaning of her words, but after a -pause it came upon him: he understood what her words meant to him. - -She loved another man. - -How could he ever have been so foolish as to take it for granted that -such a girl as this was free? That was the first thought which came to -him. Had he not heard how every youth for miles round was in love with -Nelly Polwhele? Had he not seen how one man had almost lost his senses -through love of her? - -And yet he had been considering the question of asking her to marry -him, assuming from the very first that she must be free! He had been -considering the matter from his own standpoint, asking himself if it -would not be well to be assured of his own love for her before telling -her that he loved her; and he came to the conclusion that he should -not use any undue haste in saying the words which, he hoped, would link -their lives together. He had never entertained a suspicion that he might -be too late in making his appeal to her. It was now a shock to him to -learn, as he had just done, that he was too late. - -It took him some time to recover himself. - -"I ask your pardon," he said. "I pray you to tell to me again what you -have just said." - -"I am well-nigh ashamed to say it, sir," she murmured. "I am afraid that -you may not think well of me. You may think that there is some truth in -the reports that have gone abroad concerning me." - -"Reports? I have heard no reports. I thought of you as I found you, -and all that I thought was good. I think nothing of you now that is not -good. Ah, child, you do not know what direction my thoughts of you have -taken! Alas! alas!" - -It was her turn to be startled. He saw the effect that his words had -produced upon her, and he hastened to modify it. He felt that he had no -right to say a word that might even in a distant way suggest to her the -direction in which his thoughts--his hopes--had so recently led him. - -"Have I spoken too vaguely?" he said. "Surely not. But I will be -explicit, and assure you that from the day we walked through the valley -side by side I have thought of you as a good daughter--an honest and -innocent young woman, thoughtful for the well-being of others." - -"Oh, sir, your good opinion is everything to me!" she cried. "But I -feel that I have not earned it truly. Vanity has ever been my besetting -sin--vanity and fickleness. That is what I have to confess to you now -before asking you for your counsel." - -"God forbid that I should give you any counsel except that which I am -assured must be for your own well-being. Tell me all that is weighing on -your heart, and, God helping me, I will try to help you." - -"I will tell you all--all that I may tell, sir.'Tis not much to tell, -but it means a great deal to me. In brief, Mr. Wesley, a year ago I was -at Bristol and there I met a worthy man, who asked me to marry him. I -felt then that I loved him so truly that 'twould be impossible for me -ever to change, and so I gave him my promise. I had been ofttimes wooed -before, but because my heart had never been touched the neighbours all -affirmed that I had the hardest heart of any maiden in the Port. They -may have been right; but, hard-hearted or not, I believed that I loved -this man, and he sailed away satisfied that I would be true to him." - -"He was a mariner?" - -"He is a master-mariner, and his ship is a fine one. He sailed for the -China Seas, and 'twas agreed that after his long voyage we were to be -married. That was, I say, a year ago, and I was true to him until----" - -She faltered, she gave him a look that he could not understand, and then -all at once she flung herself down on the short coarse herbage of the -cliff, and began to weep with her hands over her face. - -He strove to soothe her and comfort her, saying she had done naught -that was wrong--giving her assurance that a way out of her trouble would -surely he found if she told him all. - -"What am I to do?" she cried, looking piteously up to him, with shining -eyes. "What am I to do? I got a letter from him only on Friday last, -telling me that he had had a prosperous voyage and had just brought his -ship safe to Bristol, and that he meant to come to me without delay. Oh, -sir,'twas only when I had that letter I found that I no longer loved him -as I did a year ago." - -"Is there another man who has come between you, my child?" he asked -gravely. - -"Heaven help me! there is another," she faltered. - -"And does he know that you are bound by a promise to someone else? If -so, believe me he is a dishonourable man, and you must dismiss him from -your thought," said he. - -She shook her head. - -"He is an honourable man; he has never said a word of love to me. He -knows nothing of my love for him. He at least is innocent." - -"If he be indeed a true man he would, I know, give you counsel which I -now offer to you; even if he suspected--and I cannot but think that -if he sees you and converses with you, no matter how seldom, he will -suspect--the sad truth--he will leave your side and so give you an -opportunity of forgetting him, and all may be well." - -"Ah, sir, think you that 'tis so easy to forget?" - -"Have you not just given me an instance of it, Nelly? But no; I will not -think that you have forgotten the one to whom you gave your promise. -I like rather to believe that that affection remains unchanged in your -heart, although it be for a while obscured. You remember how we lost our -way on the morning of yesterday? We saw not the shore; 'twas wreathed in -mist; but the solid shore was here all the same, and in another hour a -break dispersed the mist which up till then had been much more real to -us than the shore; the mist once gone, we saw the substance where we had -seen the shadow. Ah, dear child, how often is not the shadow of a love -taken for the true--the abiding love itself. Now dry your tears and tell -me when you expect your true lover to come to you." - -"He may arrive at any time. He will come by the first vessel that leaves -Bristol river. He must have left already. Oh, that sail out there may be -carrying him hither--that sail----" - -She stopped suddenly, and made a shade of one hand over her eyes while -she gazed seaward. After a few moments of gazing she sprang to her feet -crying: - -"The boats--you see them out there? What has happened that they are -flying for the shore? They should not be returning until the night." - -He looked out across the waters and saw the whole fleet of fishing -smacks making for the shore with every sail spread. - -"Perhaps the boats have been unusually successful and thus have no need -to tarry on the fishing ground," he suggested. - -She remained with her eyes upon them for a long time. A look of -bewilderment was upon her face while she cried: - -"Oh, everything is topsy-turvy in these days! Never have I known all the -boats to make for the shore in such fashion, unless a great storm was to -windward, and yet now----" - -She caught him by the arm suddenly after she had remained peering out to -the southern horizon with an arched hand over her eyes. - -"Look there--there!" she said in a whisper, pointing seaward. "Tell me -what you see there. I misdoubt my own eyes. Is there a line of white -just under the sky?" - -He followed the direction of her finger. For some moments he failed -to see anything out of the common; the sea horizon was somewhat -blurred--that was all. But suddenly there came a gleam as of the sun -quivering upon a thin sword blade of white steel out there--it quivered -as might a feather in the wind. - -"'Tis a white wave," he said. "See, it has already widened. A great wave -rolling shoreward." - -"List, list," she whispered. - -He put his hand behind his ear. There came through the air the hollow -boom of distant thunder, or was it the breaking of a heavy sea upon a -rocky coast? The sound of many waters came fitfully landward, and at the -same moment a fierce gust of wind rushed over the water--they marked its -footsteps--it was stamping with the hoofs of a war-horse on the surface -of the deep as it charged down upon the coast. - -Before the two persons on the cliff felt it on their faces, bending -their bodies against its force, a wisp of mist had come over the sun. -Far away there was a black cloud--small, but it looked to be dense as a -cannon ball. She pointed it out, and these were her words: - -"A cannon ball!--a cannon ball!" - -The gust of wind had passed; they could hear the trees of the park -complaining at first and then roaring, with the creaking of branches as -it clove its way through them. Flocks of sea birds filled the air--all -were flying inland. Their fitful cries came in all notes, from the -plaintive whistle of the curlew and the hoarse shriek of the gull to the -bass boom of a bittern. - -Then the cannon ball cloud seemed to break into pieces in a flame of -blue fire, more dazzling than any lightning that ever flashed from -heaven to earth, and at the same instant the sun was blotted out, though -no cloud had been seen approaching it; the pall seemed to have dropped -over the disc, not to have crept up to it. - -"A storm is on us," he said. "Whither can we fly for shelter?" - -"The stones of Red Tor," she replied; "that is the nearest place. There -is plenty of shelter among the stones." - -"Come," he cried, "there is no moment to be lost. Never have I known a -storm fall so quickly." - -She was tarrying on the cliff brow watching the progress of the fishing -boats. - -"They will be in safety before disaster can overtake them," she said. - -Then she turned to hasten inland with him; but a sound that seemed to -wedge its way, so to speak, through the long low boom, with scarcely a -quiver in it, of the distant thunder, made her look round. - -She cried out, her finger pointing to a white splash under the very -blackness of the cloud that now covered half the hollow of the sky dome -with lead. - -"Never have I seen the like save only once, while the great gale was -upon us returning from Georgia," said he. "'Tis a waterspout." - -It was a small spiral that came whirling along the surface of the water -whence it had sprung, and it made a loud hissing sound, with the swish -of broken water in it. It varied in height from three feet to twenty, -until it had become a thick pillar of molten glass, with branching -capitals that broke into flakes of sea-foam spinning into the drift. -Its path through the sea was like the scythe-sweep of a hurricane on -the shore. Its wake was churned up like white curd, and great waves fled -from beneath its feet. - -Wesley and his companion stood in astonishment, watching that wonder. -Its course was not directly for the cliff where they were standing; but -they saw that if it reached the shore it would do so a hundred yards or -thereabouts to the westward. - -They were not wrong. It reached the shore not farther away from them. -It struck the sand where the sun had dried it, and in a moment it had -scooped out a hollow eight or ten feet deep; then it whirled on to the -shingle. They heard the noise as of the relapse of a great wave among -the pebbles, sweeping them down beneath the scoop of its talons; only -now it seemed as if the prow of a frigate had dashed into the ridge of -pebbles and was pounding its way through them. It was a moving pillar -of stones that struck furiously against the stones of the cliff--an -avalanche in the air that thundered against the brow, breaking away -a ton of rock, and turning it into an avalanche that slid down to the -enormous gap made in the shingle. At the same instant there was the roar -of a cataract as the whirling flood of the waterspout broke high in the -air and dropped upon the land. It was as if a lake had fallen from the -skies in a solid mass, carrying everything before it. - -It was the girl who had grasped Wesley by the arm, forcing him to -rush with her to the higher ground. Together they ran; but before they -reached it they were wading and slipping and surging through a torrent -that overflowed the cliff, and poured in the wave of a waterfall over -the brink and thundered upon the rocks beneath. - -They only paused to take breath when they reached the highest ledge of -the irregular ground beyond the cliff pathway. There was a tangle -of lightning in the air--it fell from a cloud that had black flowing -fringes, like a horse's tail trailing behind it, and it was approaching -the shore. They fled for the rocks of the Bed Tor. - -If he had been alone he never would have reached the place. The air was -black with rain, and he and his companion seemed to be rushing through -a cloud that had the density of velvet. It was a blind flight; but this -girl of the coast needed not the lightning torch that flared on every -side of them to guide her. She held his arm, and he suffered himself -to be led by her. She even knew where the sheltering rocks were to -be found; they had not to search for them. At the back of the slight -eminence that had formed his pulpit, half a dozen basalt boulders of -unequal size lay tumbled together. Two of them were on end and three -others lay over them, the remaining one lying diagonally across the -arched entrance to what had the appearance of the ruin of a doorway four -feet high. The high coarse herbage of the place, with here and there -a bramble branch, was thick at this place, and if the girl and the -companions of her childhood had not been accustomed to play their games -here, calling the hollow between the stones their cave sometimes, their -palace when it suited them, it would have escaped notice. - -She bent her head and crept under the stones of the roof, and he -followed her. They had a depth of scarcely three feet behind them, for -the bank of the mound against which the stones lay sloped naturally -outward, and the height was not more than four feet; but it was a -shelter, although they had to kneel upon its hard floor. It was a -shelter, and they had need of one just then. The cloud had burst over -them just as they reached their hospitable cleft in the rocks, and the -seventh plague of Egypt had fallen upon the rude amphitheatre of the -Red Tor--it was hail mingled with fire; and when a pause came, as it -did with a suddenness that was more appalling than the violence of the -storm, the ninth plague was upon them. The darkness might have been -felt. They could see nothing outside. They knew that only ten yards away -there was another pile of rocks with a few stunted trees springing from -their crevices; but they could not even see this landmark. Farther away, -on a small plateau, was the celebrated rocking-stone of Red Tor; but it -seemed to have been blotted out. They could hear the sound of the wind -shrieking over the land, making many strange whistlings and moanings -through the hollows among the stones--they could hear the sound of -thousands of runnels down the banks, but they could see nothing. - -In that awful black pause Wesley began to repeat the words of the -eighteenth Psalm: - -"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my -strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and my high tower.... - -"In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard -my voice out of his temple, and my cry before him, even into his ears. - -"Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills -moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. - -"There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth -devoured: coals were kindled by it. - -"He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his -feet. - -"And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings -of the wind. - -"He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were -dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. - -"At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail -stones and coals of fire. - -"The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; -hail stones and coals of fire. - -"Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out -lightnings, and discomfited them. - -"Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world -were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy -nostrils.... - -"For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my -darkness." - -Before he had come to the last stanza the battle of the elements had -followed the brief truce. - -The first flash was blinding, but before they had instinctively put -their hands up to their eyes they had seen every twig of the skeleton -trees outlined against the background of fire--they had seen the black -bulk of the rocking-stone, and for the first time they noticed that -it had the semblance of a huge hungry beast crouching for a leap. The -thunder that followed seemed to set the world shaking with the sway of -the rocking-stone when someone had put it in motion. - -"Is it true?--is it, indeed, true?" cried the girl between the peals of -thunder. He felt her hands tighten upon his arm. - -"The Rock of Ages is true," he said; but the second peal swallowed up -his words. - -He heard her voice when the next flash made a cleft in the cloud: - -"Is it true--the prophecy--has it come?" - -Then he knew what was in her mind. - -"Do you fear it?" he cried, and he turned his face toward her. Another -flaring sword made its stroke from the heavens, and by its blaze he saw -that she was smiling while she shook her head. - -He knew that she had no fear. Across his own mind there had flashed the -same thought that had come to her, taking the form of the question which -she had put to him: "Is the prophecy about to be realised?" - -He felt perfectly tranquil in the midst of the storm; and the reflection -that the tranquillity of the girl was due to his influence was sweet to -him. The roar of the thunder had become almost continuous. They seemed -to be the centre of a circle of livid flame. The intervals of darkness -were less numerous than those during which the whole sky became -illuminated. The floods came rather more fitfully. For a few minutes at -a time it seemed as if an ocean had been displaced, as if an ocean had -been suspended above them, and then suddenly dropped with the crash of a -waterfall. Immediately afterward there would be a complete cessation of -rain and the crash of waters. The thunder sounded very lonely. - -More than once there were intervals of sudden clearness in the air. For -minutes at a time they could see, even after the blinding flash of a -javelin of lightning, every object outside their sheltering place; then -suddenly all would be blotted out. At such moments it seemed as if the -blackness above them was solid--a vast mountain of unhewn marble falling -down upon them. They had the impression of feeling the awful weight of -its mass beginning to crush them. They became breathless--gasping. - -Once a flash fell close to them, and there was a noise of splintering -wood and the hiss of water into which a red-hot bar has been dipped. -A second afterward a blazing brand was flung in front of them, and the -smoke hung dense in the heavy air. By the light that was cast around -they saw that one of the trees growing on the little mound close to them -had been struck and hurled where it lay. - -It blazed high for a few minutes, and then the girl cried out. She had -got upon her feet, though forced to keep her head bent. He thought that -she was pointing out to him the thing that had happened; but in a moment -he perceived that her eyes were fixed upon some object beyond the mound -that had been struck. It was, however, only when the next flash came -that he saw out there the figure of a man--he recognised him: it was -Pritchard. - -He stood bareheaded with his sackcloth garment clinging to him--the -lightning was reflected from it as if it had been made of steel, for the -water was streaming down its folds--on the summit of the rocks that were -piled together on the slope of the bank not twenty yards away. He was -gesticulating, but his bare arms were above his head. - -So much Wesley saw in the single glimpse that was allowed to him. After -the flash the darkness swallowed him up once more; but even before the -next flash came he was visible, though faintly, by the light of the -blazing tree, for the trunk had not fallen directly between where he -was standing and the shelter. The red light flickered over his body, and -showed his attitude--his hands were now clasped over his head, and he -was facing the quarter whence the storm was coming. Then there fell -another torrent of rain and hail, and he was hidden by that watery sheet -for some minutes. Suddenly, as before, the rain ceased, and there was -another interval of clearness, that showed him standing with his arms -extended. And when the thunder peal rolled away his voice was heard -calling out passionately, though his words were indistinct; they were -smothered in the noise of the thousand torrents of the Tor. - -In a moment Wesley had pushed himself through the opening of his shelter -and hurried to his side. He caught him by the arm. - -"Come!" he cried. "Have you not read, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy -God'? Man! is this a time to seek destruction?" - -The man turned upon him. - -"It has come--it has come--the great and terrible Day, and I am its -prophet!" he shouted. "You did not believe me. I was mocked more than -any prophet; but it has come. All has been fulfilled, except calling -to the rocks and the mountains. No voice has called to them but mine. -I have called to the rocks to cover me and the hills to hide, but none -else. But you will join me--you will add your voice to mine that the -Scriptures may be fulfilled, John Wesley. Call upon them as I do. Fall -upon us, O rocks--cover us, O hills!" - -He stretched out his arms once more and bowed his head on every side, -shouting out his words, amid the blaze of the lightning and the rattle -of the thunder. - -"Wretch!" cried Wesley, but then he checked himself. He had now no doubt -that the man had become a maniac. "My poor friend--brother--let me be -your guide at this time. Let us talk over the matter together. There is -a place of safety at hand." - -"What, you, John Wesley, talk of safety; know you not in this dread hour -that the Scripture must be fulfilled?" shouted the man. "What will your -judgment be who would make the Holy Writ to be a vain thing? I tell you, -sir, that it will be a lie if you do not join with me in calling -upon the rocks to fall upon us? This is the place that was prophesied -of--these are the very rocks--yonder are the very hills. They will not -move--they must be stubborn until another voice be joined with mine. O -rocks, fall--fall--fall!" - -Wesley grasped one of the frantic arms that were outstretched. He could -not temporise with the wretch again. - -"You shall not dare!" he cried. "I may not stand by and hear such a -mockery." - -The man wrenched his arm free. - -"The mockery is yours, sir," he shouted. "You will not save the truth -of the Scriptures when it is left for you to do so. Think of your own -condemnation, man--think that there are only two of us here, and if we -remain silent we are guilty of blasphemy, for we are preventing the -fulfilment of this prophecy." - -A discharge of lightning that had the semblance of a pair of fiery -fetters went from hill to hill, and when Wesley recovered the use of his -eyes he saw that the man was pointing to the slight eminence on which -the rocking-stone was poised. - -"It has been shown to me--thank God that it has been shown to me before -'tis too late," he cried. "If you, John Wesley, refuse to aid me, power -shall be given me alone to fulfil the Scriptures. The rocks shall obey -me. I am the chosen vessel." - -A torrent of rain swept between them, with the sound of a huge wave -striking upon the flat face of a cliff. Wesley spread out his arms. One -of them was grasped by the girl, who had crept to his side, and he felt -himself guided back to the shelter. - -He lay back upon the sloping rock thoroughly exhausted, and closed his -eyes. - -A minute had passed before he opened them again, hearing the girl cry -out. - -Another of the comparatively clear intervals had come, and it was -sufficient to show the great rocking-stone in motion and the figure that -was swaying it. To and fro it went on its heels' keel, the man making -frantic efforts to increase the depth to which it rose and fell. To -and fro, to and fro it swayed, and every fall was deeper than the last, -until at last it was swinging so that the side almost touched the rock -beyond. The man thrust his shoulder beneath the shoulder of the moving -mass of stone, pushing it back every time it bowed toward him. Never -before had it swung like this. At last it staggered on to the edge of -the cup on which it was poised--staggered, but recovered itself and -slipped into its place again. It swung back and jerked out of the cup as -before. One more swing, with the man flinging his whole weight upon it; -for a second it trembled on the edge of the hollow fulcrum, and then--it -failed to return. It toppled slowly over upon the granite rock. For -a moment its descent was retarded by the man, who was crushed like a -walnut beneath it, then with a crash of broken crags it fell over the -brink of the height to the ground, fifteen feet beneath. - -Wesley left the girl with her hands pressed against her eyes and hurried -to the fallen mass. A man's hand projected from beneath it--nothing -more. But for this it would have been impossible to say that a body was -beneath it. The mighty stone did not even lie flat on the ground; it had -made a hollow for itself in the soft earth. It had buried itself to the -depth of a foot, and beneath its base Pritchard lay buried. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -Not until the afternoon had the storm moderated sufficiently to allow -of Wesley and his companion returning to Porthawn. For a full hour after -the fall of the rocking-stone they remained together in the shelter. -They were both overcome by the horror of what they had witnessed. -Happily the charred crown of branches which remained on the tree that -had been struck down, after the rain had extinguished the blaze, was -enough to hide the fallen stone, and that ghastly white thing that lay -thrust out from beneath it like a splash of lichen frayed from the crag. -But for another hour the tempest continued, only with brief intervals, -when a dense and smoky greyness took the place of the blackness. It -seemed as if the storm could not escape from the boundary of the natural -amphitheatre in the centre of which was the mound which Wesley had used -as his pulpit; and to that man whose imagination was never a moment -inactive, the whole scene suggested a picture which he had once seen of -the struggle of a thousand demons of the Pit, around a sanctified place, -for the souls of those who were safe within the enclosure. There were -the swirling black clouds every one of which let loose a fiery flying -bolt, while the winds yelled horribly as any fiends that might be -struggling with obscene tooth and claw, to crush the souls that were -within the sacred circle. The picture had, he knew, been an allegory; he -wondered if it were not possible that certain scenes in Nature might be -equally allegorical. He hoped that he was not offending when he thought -of this citadel of his faith--this pulpit from which he had first -preached in Cornwall--being assailed by the emissaries of the -Arch-enemy, and jet remaining unmoved as a tower built to withstand -every assault of the foe. - -The whole scene assumed in his imagination a series of fierce assaults, -in all of which the enemy was worsted and sent flying over the plain; he -could hear the shrieks of the disappointed fiends--the long wail of the -wounded that followed every impulse; and then, after a brief interval, -there came the renewed assault--the circling tumult seeking for a -vulnerable point of entrance. But there it stood, that pulpit from whose -height he had preached the Gospel to the thousands who had come to hear -him, and had gone forth to join the forces that are evermore at conflict -with the powers of evil in the world, There stood his pulpit unmoved in -the midst of the tumult. He accepted the symbolism, and he was lifted -up by the hope that his work sent forth from this place would live -untouched by the many conflicts of time. - -He was able to speak encouraging words to his companion every time -the thunder passed away; and he was more than ever conscious of the -happiness of having her near to him at this time. He knew that he had -loved her truly; for his love had been true enough and strong enough to -compel him to give her the advice that precluded his ever being able -to tell her of his own feeling for her. The joy of her gracious -companionship was not for him; but he would do all that in him lay to -assure her happiness. - -He knew that he was able to soothe her now that she had received a shock -that would have been too much for most women. The horror of the mode of -the man's death, quite apart from the terror of the tempest, was enough -to prostrate any ordinary man or woman. It was very sweet to him to feel -her cling to his arm when they crawled back to their shelter. He laid -his hand tenderly upon the hand that clasped him, and he refrained from -saying a word to her at that moment. When the storm had moderated in -some measure he spoke to her; and he was too wise to make any attempt -to turn her thoughts from the tragedy which, he knew, could not possibly -fade from her mind even with the lapse of years. - -"He predicted truly so far as he himself was concerned," he said -gravely. "The end came for him as he said. Poor wretch! He may have -possessed all his life a curious sense beyond that allowed to others--an -instinct--it may not have been finer than the instinct of a bird. I have -read that one of the desert birds will fly an hundred miles to where -a camel has fallen by the way. The camel itself has, we are told, an -instinct that guides it to water. But I do not say that he was not an -agent of evil. There is evidence to prove that sorcery can give the -power to predict what seems to be the truth, but it is only a juggling -of the actual truth. The manner of that poor wretch's death makes one -feel suspicious. He predicted the end of the world; well, the world came -to an end, so far as he was concerned. You perceive the jugglery? But -his was a weak mind. He may have been lured on to his own destruction. -However this may be, his end was a terrible one. I grieve that it was -left for us to witness it." - -She shook her head. - -"I shall never forget to-day," she said. "I had a feeling more than -once when the lightning was brighter than common, and the world seemed -to shake under the rattle of the thunderclap, that the next moment would -be the last." - -"There was no terror on your face--I saw it once under the fiercest -flash," said he. - -"At first--ah, I scarce know how I felt," said she. "But when I heard -your words saying,'Rock of Ages,' my fear seemed to vanish." - -"The lines ring with the true confidence that only the true Rock of Ages -can inspire," said he. - -And thus he gradually led her thoughts away from the ghastly thing that -she had seen, though he had begun talking to her about it. At this time -the storm, which had been hurtling around the brim of the huge basin -of the valley, had succeeded in its Titanic efforts to free itself from -whatever influence it was held it fettered within the circle; and though -the rain continued, there was only an occasional roll of thunder. The -roar that now filled the valley was that of the sea. It came to them -after the storm like the voice of an old friend shouting to them to be -of good cheer. - -And all that the preacher said to her was founded upon the text that the -sea shouted for them to hear. For a time at least the horror that she -had looked upon passed out of her mind; and when he pointed out to her -that the rain had almost ceased, she suffered herself to be led away -from their place of shelter by the further side of the central mound, -without straining her eyes to see where the rocking-stone lay; she -had not even a chance of noting the strangeness brought about by the -disappearance of a landmark that she had seen since she was a child. But -as they walked rapidly toward the little port, a cold fear took hold of -her. - -"Can a single cottage remain after such a storm--can anyone be left -alive?" she cried, and he saw that the tears were on her face. - -"Do not doubt it," he said. "To doubt it were to doubt the goodness of -God. Some men are coming toward us. I have faith that they bring us good -news." - -Within a few minutes they saw that it was Mr. Hartwell and two of his -men who had come in search of Wesley. Before they met, Nelly had asked -how the port had fared--the boats, what of the boats? - -"All's well," was the response, and her hands clasped themselves in joy -and gratitude. - -Never had such a tempest been thrown on the coast, Hartwell said, but -absolutely no damage had been done to building, boat, or human being. -Some trees had been struck by the lighting in the outskirts of the park, -and doubtless others had suffered further inland; but the fishing boats -having had signs of the approach of the storm, had at once made for -the shore, and happily were brought to the leeward of the little wharf -before the first burst had come. - -When he had told his tale he enquired if either of them had seen -anything of Pritchard. - -"He appeared suddenly where we saw him yesterday," he continued, "and -his cry was that we should join him in calling upon the rocks to fall on -us. He would not be persuaded to take shelter, and he was seen to wander -into what seemed to be the very heart of the storm." - -Wesley shook his head, and told his story. - -The man whose prophecy of the end of the world had spread within certain -limits a terror that was recalled by many firesides, and formed a -landmark in the annals of two generations, was the only one who perished -in the great thunderstorm, which undoubtedly took place within a day or -two of the date assigned by him to see the destruction of the world. - -John Wesley had no choice left him in the matter. His host insisted on -his going into a bed that had been made as warm as his copper pan of -charcoal could make it, after partaking of a spiced posset compounded in -accordance with a recipe that was guaranteed to prevent the catching of -a cold, no matter how definitely circumstances conspired in favour of a -cold. - -His garments had become sodden with rain from the waterspout at the -outset of the storm, and he had been forced to sit for several hours in -the same clothes. He could not hope to escape a cold unless by the help -of this famous posset, the housekeeper affirmed; and she was amazed to -find him absolutely docile in this matter. She had been voluble in her -entreaties; but she came to the conclusion that she might have spared -herself half her trouble; she had taken it for granted that she was -talking to an ordinary man, who would scoff at the virtues of her -posset, and then make all his friends miserable by his complaints when -he awoke with a cold on him. Mr. Wesley was the only sensible man she -had ever met, she declared to her master, with the sinister expression -of a hope that his example of docility would not be neglected by others. - -He went to bed, and after listening for some hours to the roaring of -the sea, he fell asleep. The evening had scarcely come, but he had never -felt wearier in all his life. - -He slept for eight hours, and when he awoke he knew that he had done -well to yield, without the need for persuasion, to the advice of the -housekeeper. He felt refreshed in every way; and after lying awake for -an hour, he arose, dressed himself, and left the house. This impulse to -take a midnight walk was by no means unusual with him. He had frequently -found himself the better for an hour or two spent in the darkness, -especially beside the sea. Midnight was just past. If he were to remain -in the air for some time, he might, he thought, be able to sleep until -breakfast-time. - -The night was cool, without being cold, and there was a sweet freshness -in the air which had certainly been wanting when he had walked along the -cliffs in the afternoon. The thunderstorm did not seem at that time to -have cleared the atmosphere. He was rather surprised to find that there -was such a high sea rolling at this time, and he came to the conclusion -that there had been a gale while he was asleep. Clouds were still hiding -the sky, but they held no rain. - -He shunned the cliff track, going in the opposite direction, which led -him past the village, and on to the steep sandy bay with its occasional -little peninsulas of high rocks, the surfaces of which were not covered -even by Spring tides. Very quiet the little port seemed at this -hour. Not a light was in any window--not a sound came from any of the -cottages. He stood for a long time on the little wharf looking at the -silent row of cottages. That one which had the rose-bush trained over -the porch was the home of the Polwheles, he knew, and he remained with -his eyes fixed upon it. It seemed as if this had been the object of his -walk--to stand thus in front of that house, as any youthful lover might -stand beneath the lattice that he loved. - -He had his thoughts to think, and he found that this was the time to -think them. They were all about the girl who slept beyond that window. -He wondered if he had ever loved her before this moment. If he had -really loved her, how was it that he had never before been led to this -place to watch the house where she lay asleep? Was it possible that he -had fancied he knew her before he had passed those hours with her when -the storm was raging around them? He felt that without this experience -he could not possibly have known what manner of girl she was. - -And now that he had come to know her the knowledge came to him with the -thought that she was not for him. - -He had set out in the morning feeling that perhaps he had been too hasty -in coming to the conclusion that because, when far away from her he had -been thinking a great deal of his own loneliness and the joy that her -companionship would bring to him, he loved her. That was why he had -wished to put himself to the test, and he had fancied that he was doing -so when he had walked in the opposite direction to that in which the -village lay so that he might avoid the chance of meeting her. - -But in spite of his elaborate precautions--he actually thought that -it had shown ingenuity on his part--he had met her, and he had learned -without putting the question to her that she was not for him. He -recalled what his feeling had been at that moment. He had fancied that -he knew all that her words meant to him; but he had deceived himself; it -was only now that he knew exactly the measure of what they meant to him. -It seemed to him that he had known nothing of the girl before he had -passed those dark hours by her side. - -At that time it was as if all the world had been blotted out, only he -and she being left alone. - -This feeling he now knew was what was meant by loving--this feeling that -there was nothing left in the world--that nothing mattered so long as he -and she were together--that death itself would be welcome if only it did -not sunder them. - -And he had gained that knowledge only to know that they were to be -sundered. - -It was a bitter thought, and for a time, as he stood there with his eyes -fixed upon the cottage, he felt as if so far as he was concerned the -world had come to an end. The happiness which he had seen before him as -plainly as if it had been a painted picture--a picture of the fireside -in the home that he hoped for--had been blotted out from before his -eyes, and in its stead there was a blank. It did not matter how that -blank might be filled in, it would never contain the picture that had -been torn away from before him when she had of her own free will told -him the story of her love. - -He felt the worst that any man can feel, for the worst comes only when a -man cries out to himself: - -"Too late--too late!" - -He was tortured by that perpetual question of "Why? Why? Why?" - -Why had he not come to Cornwall the previous year? Why had he not seen -her before she had gone to Bristol and given her promise to the other -man? - -But this was only in the floodtide of his bitterness; after a space -it subsided. More reasonable thoughts came to him. Who was he that -he should rail against what had been ordered by that Heaven in whose -ordering of things he had often expressed his perfect faith? What would -he say of any man who should have such rebellious thoughts? Could this -be the true love--this that made him rebel against the decree of an -all-wise Providence? If it was true it would cause him to think not of -his own happiness, but of hers. - -Had he been thinking all the time of his own happiness? he asked -himself. Had she been denied to him on this account? He feared that it -was so. He recalled how he had been thinking of her, and he had many -pangs of self-reproach when he remembered how in all the pictures of the -future that his imagination had drawn he was the central figure. He -felt that his aim had been an ignoble one. Selfishness had been the -foundation of his love, and therefore he deserved the punishment that -had fallen upon him. - -'He continued his walk and went past the cottage on which his eyes had -lingered. For a mile he strolled, lost in thought along the sandy bay, -disturbing the sea birds that were wading about the shallow pools in -search of shell fish. The tide was on the ebb and he walked down the -little ridges of wet beach until he found himself at the edge of that -broad grey sea that sent its whispering ripples to his feet. He had -always liked to stand thus in winter as well as summer. Within an hour -of dawn the sea seemed very patient. It was waiting for what was to -come--for the uprising of the sun to turn its grey into gold. - -He never failed to learn the lesson of the sea in all its moods; and now -he felt strengthened by looking out to the eastern sky, though it was -still devoid of light. He would have patience. He would wait and have -faith. Light was coming to the world, and happy was the one to whom was -given the mission of proclaiming that dawn--the coming of the Light of -the World. - -Even when he resumed his stroll after he had looked across the dun -waters he became conscious of a change in the eastern sky. The clouds -that still clung to that quarter were taking on to themselves the pallor -of a pearl, and the sky edge of the sea was lined with the tender glaze -that appears on the inner surface of a white shell, and its influence -was felt upon the objects of the coast. The ridges of the peninsular -rocks glimmered, and the outline of the whole coast became faintly seen. -It was coming--the dawn for which the world was waiting was nigh. The -doubts born of the night were ready to fly away as that great heron -which rose in front of him fled with winnowing wings across the surface -of the sea. - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -The first faint breath of the dawn--that sigh of light of which the air -was scarcely conscious--made him aware as he walked along the sands -of the fact that the beach was strewn with wreckage. He found himself -examining a broken spar upon which he had struck his foot. Further on he -stumbled over a hen-coop, and then again a fragment that looked like the -cover of a hatchway. - -He had heard nothing about a vessel's having come ashore during the -tempest of the morning; but there was nothing remarkable in the sudden -appearing of wreckage on this wild Cornish coast. Almost every tide -washed up something that had once been part of a gallant ship. Wreckage -came without anyone hearing of the wreck from which it had come. He -examined the broken spar, and his fancy showed him the scene at the -foundering of such a ship as the _Gloriana_, whose carcase had been -so marvellously uncovered on the Sunday evening. He had had enough -experience of seafaring to be able to picture the details of the -wreckage of such a ship. - -He left the beach and went on to the ascent of the higher part of the -shore, thinking that it might be that when the dawn strengthened it -might reveal the shape of some craft that had run ashore on the outer -reef at this dangerous part of the coast; and even before he reached the -elevated ground the dawn light had spread its faint gauze over the -sea, and the shapes of the rocks were plain. He looked out carefully, -scanning the whole coast, but he failed to see any wreck between the -horns of the bay. - -But when he had continued his slow walk for a few hundred yards he -fancied that he saw some objects that looked dark against the pale -sands. At first he thought that he was looking at a rock that had some -resemblance to the form of a man; but a movement of a portion of the -object showed that it was indeed a man who was standing there. - -Wesley had no mind for a companion on this stroll of his, so he went a -short way inland in order to save himself from being seen, and he did -not return to the sandy edge of the high ground until he judged that he -had gone beyond the spot where he had seen the man. Turning about, he -found that he had done what he intended: he saw the dark figure walking -from where he had been, in the direction of the sea. - -But by this time the light had so increased that he was able to see that -the man was walking away from the body of another that was lying on the -beach. - -He had scarcely noticed this before the man stopped, looked back, and -slowly returned to the body. But the moment he reached it Wesley was -amazed to see him throw up his arms as if in surprise and then fling -himself down on the body with his hands upon its throat. - -Wesley knew nothing except that the man's attitude was that of one who -was trying to strangle another. But this was surely enough. He shouted -out and rushed toward the place with a menace. - -The man was startled; his head went back with a jerk, but his hands did -not leave the other's throat. Wesley had to drag him back by the collar, -and even then he did not relax his hold until the body had been lifted -up into a sitting position. The moment the man's fingers were loosed the -head fell back upon the sand. - -Wesley threw himself between the two, and the instant that he turned -upon the assailant he recognised John Bennet. - -"Wretch!" he cried, "what is it that you would do? What is it that you -have done--murderer?" - -Bennet stared at him as if stupefied. Then he burst into a laugh, but -stopped himself suddenly. - -"Mr. Wesley, is it?" he cried. "Oh, sir, is't you indeed that pulls my -hands off his throat? There is something for the Devil to laugh at in -that." - -"Man, if you be a man and not a fiend, would you strangle one whom the -sea has already drowned?" cried Wesley. - -"I have the right," shouted Bennet, "for he would be dead by now if I -had not succoured him." - -"If it be true that you saved him from an imminent death, at that time, -wherefore should you strive to murder him now?" said Wesley. - -"I did not see his face then--it was dark when I stumbled on him. Only -when I turned about when the dawn broke I saw who he was. Go your ways, -Mr. Wesley. The man is mine by every law of fair play. Stand not between -us, sir, or you shall suffer for it." - -"Monster, think you that I shall obey you while a breath remains in my -body? I shall withstand you to the death, John Bennet; you shall have -two murders laid at your door instead of one." - -The man laughed as before. Then he said: - -"That is the point where the devils begin to laugh--ho! ho! John -Wesley!" - -"I have heard one of them," said Wesley. - -"Oh, you fool, to stay my hand! Know you not that the man lying there is -none other than he whom Nelly Polwhele has promised to marry?" - -"And is not that a sufficient reason why you should do your best to save -him--not take his life away?" - -For more than a minute the man was too astonished to speak. At last he -said: - -"Is it that you are mad, John Wesley? Heard you not what I said?" - -"Every word," replied Wesley. - -"You cannot have taken in my words," the other whispered. "Think, sir, -that is the foolish thing that stands between you and her--you love -her--I have seen that." - -[Illustration: 0293] - -"And I stand between you and him--that is enough for the present -moment," said Wesley quickly, facing the man, whom he noticed sidling -round ready to leap upon the body lying on the beach. - -Bennet saw that his cunning was overmatched. "Fool! I cry again," he -said in a low tone. "Would not I slay a score such as you and he for -her sake? A man's soul can only be lost once, and I am ready to go to -perdition for her--I have counted the cost. The best of the bargain is -with me! Out of my way, sir--out of my way!" - -He took a few steps back, preparing to rush at the other. Wesley kept -his eyes upon him and stood with his feet firmly planted to stand -against his violence. But before the man could make his rush there was -sudden flash of light in his face, dazzling him and Wesley as well. The -light shifted. - -Wesley turned to see whence it came. There was the sound of a hard boot -on the pebbles and a man's voice said: - -"Avast there! Don't move a hand. I have a pistol covering ye, and a -cutlash is in my belt." - -"You have come in good time, whoever you be," said Wesley. "But you will -have no need to use your weapons, sir." - -"Ay, ay, but if there's a move between ye, my gentlemen, I'll make -spindrift o' your brains. Ye hear?" was the response. - -The man, who had flashed his lantern upon them--the dawn was still very -faint--came beside them and showed that he had not made an empty boast. -Wesley perceived that he was one of the Preventive men, fully armed. - -He kept the blaze of his lantern on Bennet's face and then turned it on -Wesley, whom he appeared to recognise. - -"In Heaven's name, sir, what's this?" he cried. - -"Take no thought for us," said Wesley. "Here lies a poor wretch washed -ashore. Give me your help to bring back life to him. No moment must be -lost--the loss of a minute may mean the loss of his life." - -He was already kneeling beside the prostrate figure. The Preventive man -followed his example. They both exclaimed in one voice: - -"He is alive!" - -"God be thanked," said Wesley solemnly. "I feared----" - -"You have treated him with skill, sir," said the man. "You did not give -him a dram?" - -"I have only been here a few minutes; the saving; of him from drowning -is not due to me," said Wesley. - -The man had his ration of rum in his knapsack, and was administering it, -Bennet standing by without a word. - -"We must get help to carry him to the nearest house," said the -Preventive man. - -"I shall hasten to the village," said Wesley. But he suddenly checked -himself. He knew that Ben-net's cunning would be equal to such a device -as to get rid of the revenue officer for the few minutes necessary to -crush the life out of the man on the sand. "No, on second thought yonder -man--his name is Bennet--will do this duty. John Bennet, you will hasten -to the nearest house--any house save Polwhele's--and return with at -least two of the fishermen. They will come hither with two oars and a -small sail--enough sailcloth to make into a hammock for the bearing of -the man with ease. You will do my bidding." - -"I will do your bidding," said Bennet after a pause, and forthwith he -hurried away. - -"What is all this, sir?" asked the man in a low tone when he had gone. -"I heard your voice and his--he is half a madman--they had the sound of -a quarrel." - -"You arrived in good time, friend," said Wesley. "You say this man was -treated with skill in his emergency; if so, it must be placed to the -credit of John Bennet. I can say so much, but no more." - -"I'll ask no more from you, sir," said the other, slowly and -suspiciously. "But if I heard of Ben-net's murdering a man I would -believe it sooner than any tale of his succouring one. He is a bit loose -in the hatches, as the saying is; I doubt if he will bear your message, -sir." - -"I shall make this sure by going myself," said - -Wesley. "I am of no help here; you have dealt with the half drowned -before now." - -"A score of times--and another score to the back of the first," said the -man. "I tell you this one is well on the mend. But a warm blanket will -be more to him than an anker of Jamaica rum. You do well to follow -Bennet. Would the loan of a pistol be of any confidence to you in the -job?" - -"There will be no heed for such now, even if I knew how to use one," -said Wesley. - -He perceived that the man had his suspicions. He hurried away when he -had reached the track above the shingle. - -It was quite light before he reached the nearest cottage, which stood -about a hundred yards east of the Port Street, and belonged to a -fisherman and boatwright named Garvice. The men and his sons had their -tar-pot on the brazier and had already begun work on a dinghy which lay -keel uppermost before them. - -They looked with surprise at him when he asked if they had been long at -work. - -"On'y a matter o' quartern hour," replied the old man. - -"Then you must have seen John Bennet and got his message?" said Wesley. - -"Seen John Bennet? Ay, ay--still mad. Message? No message i' the world. -What message 'ud a hare-brainer like to 'un bear to folk wi' the five -senses o' Golmighty complete?" the old man enquired. - -"Do you tell me that Bennet said naught to you about a half-drowned man -needing your help?" asked Wesley. - -"No word. Even if so rigid a madman ha' carried that tale think ye we'd -be here the now?" - -"'Tis as well that I came, though I thought it cruel to distrust him," -said Wesley. - -He then told the man what was needed, and before he had spoken a dozen -words the old man had thrown down his tar-brush and was signalling his -sons to run down one of the boats to the water. - -"Paddle round in half the time takes t' walk," he said. "No back -breakin', no bone shakin 's my morter. Down she goes." - -Wesley was glad to accept a seat in the stern sheets of the small boat -which was run down to the water, not twenty yards from the building -shed; and when he returned with the three boatmen to that part of the -coast from which he had walked, he found the man to whose aid he had -come sitting up and able to say a word or two to the revenue man, who -was kneeling beside him, having just taken his empty rum bottle from his -mouth. - -Old Garvice looked as if he felt that he had been brought from his work -under false pretences. He plodded slowly across the intervening piece of -beach a long way behind Mr. Wesley, and the Preventive man had reported -the progress to recovery made by the other before the Garvice family had -come up. The Garvices had had more than a nodding acquaintance with the -revenue authorities before this morning. - -"John Bennet is a bigger rascal than I thought, and that's going far," -said the Preventive man when Wesley told him that no message had been -given at the Port. "If I come face to face with him, them that's nigh -will see some blood-letting. Why, e'en Ned Garvice, that I've been -trying to lay a trap for this twelve year, lets bygones be bygones when -there's a foundered man to succour." - -"Where is 'un?" enquired the old man with pointed satire, looking round -with a blank face. - -The bedraggled man sitting on the beach was able to smile. - -"Wish I'd had the head to bid you ask Neddy Garvice to carry hither a -bottle of his French brandy--ay, the lot that you run ashore when the -cutter fouled on the bank," said the Preventive man. - -"Oh, that lot? Had I got a billet from you, Freddy Wise, I'd ha' put a -stoup from the kegs o' the _Gorgon_ into my pocket," said the old man -wickedly. Mr. Wesley did not know that the _Gorgon_ was a large ship -that had come ashore the previous year, and had been stripped bare by -the wreckers. "Oh, ay; the _Gorgon_ for brandy and the _Burglarmaster_ -for schnapps, says I, and I sticks to that object o' creed, Freddy, -whatsoe'er you says." The _Bourghermeister_ was the name of another -wreck whose stores the revenue men had been too slow to save some years -before. - -But while these pleasantries were being exchanged between the men Wesley -was looking at the one in whose interests he was most concerned. He was -lying with his head supported by a crag on which Fred Wise had spread -his boat cloak. His face was frightfully pallid, and his forehead was -like wax, only across his temple there was a long ugly gash, around -which the blood had coagulated. His eyes were closed except at intervals -when he started, and they opened suddenly and began to stare rather -wildly. His arms hung down and his hands were lying limp on the beach -palms up, suggesting the helplessness of a dead man. He was clearly -a large and strongly built fellow, who could sail a ship and manage a -crew, using his head as well as his hands. - -The others were looking at him critically; he was so far recovered that -they did not seem to think there was any imperative need for haste in -the matter of carrying him to a bed; although they criticised him as if -he were dead. - -"Worser lads ha' gone down and heard of for nevermore," said the old -fisherman. "Did he know that Squire Trevelyan buries free of all duty -all such as the sea washes up 'tween tides? That's the Vantage to be -drowned on these shores; but the Squire keeps that knowledge like a -solemn secret; fears there'd be a rush--they'd be jammin' one t'other -amongst crags as for who'd come foremost to his own funeral." - -"Tis no secret o' gravity, Ned Garvice, that you give orders to your -boys to carry you down in the cool o' the evening when you feel your -hour's at hand, and lay ye out trim and tidy for the flood-tide, so that -ye get a free funeral, and Parson Rodney's 'Earth t' earth' thrown into -the bargain," said Wise. - -"I've learned my sons to honour their father, and it puts 'un back a long -way in their 'struction to be face to face wi' 'un as has a hardened -scoff for his grey hairs," said the fisherman. "Go your ways, lads, and -gather limpits so ye hear not evil words that shake your faith in your -ancient father. But what I can't see is how he got them finger-marks on -his neck." - -He pointed to the man on the beach. - -"They ha' the aspect o' finger marks, now ha' they not, sir?" said Wise -meaningly, turning to Wesley. - -"My thought, friends, amounts to this: I have heard that in cases -of rescue from drowning quickness is most needful for the complete -restoration of the sufferer," said Wesley. "Now, sirs, I ask you is this -the moment for light gossip, when yonder poor fellow lies as if he had -not an hour's life in his body?" - -"There's summat i' that, too," said old Garvice, as if a matter which -he had been discussing had suddenly been presented to him in an entirely -new light. - -"Oh, sir," said the Preventive man, "when a corpse has revived so far -'tis thought best that he should have a short rest; it kind o' way knits -the body and soul together all the closer. The man is in no danger now, -I firmly believe; but, as you say, there's no need for wasting any more -time. Give us a heave under his other armpit, my lad. Heave handsomely; -there's naught but a thin halfhour 'twixt him and eternity--mind that, -and you won't jerk. Who's for his heels?" - -The elder of Garvice's sons--a big lad of twenty--obeyed the -instructions of the revenue man, and Wesley and the old fisherman went -to the feet. - -"'Vast hauling! Set me up on end," said the man over whom they were -bending. He spoke in a low voice and weak; he did not seem to have -sufficient breath to make himself heard. - -"Hear that?" said the fisherman with a sagacious wink. "There's the -lightsome and blithe quarter-deck voice o' your master-mariner when -warping into dock and his missus a-waitin' for 'un rosy as silk on the -pier-head.'Tis then that if so be that a man's genteel, it will out." - -"'Vast jaw, my hearty!" murmured the man wearily. - -"That's the tone that fills the air wi' th' smell o' salt beef for me -whene'er I hears 'un--ay, sirs, salt beef more lifelike and lively than -this high ship-master who I trow hath ofttimes watched a ration toddle -round the cuddy table like to a guileless infant." - -"Heave all, with a will!" cried Wise, and the four men raised the other -as tenderly as a bulk so considerable could be taken off the ground, -and bore him with some staggering and heavy breathing, down to where the -youngest of the Garvice family was keeping the dinghy afloat over the -rapidly shallowing sand. - -An hour later, when the day was still young, Wesley was kneeling by his -bedside giving thanks to Heaven for having allowed him to participate in -the privilege of saving a fellow-creature from death. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -He slept for an hour or two, but awoke feeling strangely unrefreshed. -But he joined Hartwell at breakfast and heard the news that the latter -had acquired during his usual half-hour's stroll through the village. - -After shaking his guest warmly by the hand, Hartwell cried: - -"What, Mr. Wesley, was it that you did not believe you had adventure -enough for one Summer's day, that you must needs fare forth in search of -others before sunrise?" - -Wesley laughed. - -"I ventured nothing, my good friend," he said. "I came upon the -shipwrecked man by the blessing of God, in good time. I have been -wondering since I rose if he had suffered shipwreck. Did you learn so -much at the village--and pray hath he fully recovered himself?" - -"I dare not say fully, but he has recovered himself enough to be able to -tell his story," replied Hartwell. - -"And he was wrecked?" - -"Only swamped at sea. He is a ship-master, Snowdon, by name, but 'twas -not his own craft that went down, but only a miserable coasting -ketch that ventured from Bristol port to Poole with a cargo of -pottery--something eminently sinkable. Strange to say, Captain Snowdon -set out from Bristol, wanting to go no further than our own port; for -why? you ask. Why, sir, for a true lover's reason, which may be reckoned -by some folk as no reason at all--namely a hope to get speedily by the -side of his mistress, this lady being none other than our friend, the -pretty and virtuous young woman known as Nelly Polwhele." - -"Ah! Nelly Polwhele?" - -"None other, sir. It seems that Nelly met this good master-mariner a -year ago at Bristol, and following the usage of all our swains, he falls -in love with her. And she, contrary to her usage of the stay-at-home -swains who piped to her, replies with love for love. But a long voyage -loomed before him, so after getting her promise, he sails for the China -Seas and the coast of the Great Mogul. Returning with a full heart and, -I doubt not, a full pocket as well, he is too impatient to wait for the -sailing of a middle-sized packet for Falmouth or Plymouth, he must needs -take a passage in the first thing shaped like a boat that meant to come -round the Lizard, and this was a ketch of some ten ton, that opened -every seam before the seas that the hurricane of yesterday raised up in -the Channel, and so got swamped when trying to run ashore on some soft -ground. Nelly's shipmaster, Mr. Snowdon, must have been struggling in -the water for something like four hours, and was washed up, well-nigh at -the very door of the young woman's cottage, and so--well, you know -more of the remainder of the story than doth any living man--not even -excepting the Captain himself." - -"And the young woman--have you heard how she received her lover?" asked -Wesley. - -"Ah, that is the point at which Rumour becomes, for a marvel, discreetly -silent," replied Hartwell. "I suppose it is taken for granted that the -theme has been dealt with too frequently by the poets to have need to be -further illustrated by a fisherman's daughter. Take my word for it, sir, -the young woman, despite her abundance of womanly traits, is a good and -kind and true girl at heart. She hath not been spoiled by the education -which she received as companion to the Squire's young ladies." - -"That was my judgment, too," said Wesley. "I pray that the man will be -a good husband to her. His worldly position as the master of an East -Indiaman is an excellent one." - -"He will make her a very suitable husband," said Hartwell. "I must -confess that I have had my fears for her. She is possessed of such -good looks--a dangerous possession for such a young woman, sir. These, -coupled with her intimate association with the Squire's daughters, might -have led her into danger. A less sensible girl would certainly be likely -to set her cap at someone a good deal above her in station--a dangerous -thing--very dangerous!" - -"No doubt, sir. And now you are disposed to think that her happiness is, -humanly speaking, assured?" - -"I think that she is a very fortunate young woman, and that the man is -even more fortunate still. Old Polwhele, in his whimsical way, however, -protests that he wishes the man whose intent it is to rob him of his -daughter, had got drowned. He grumbled about the part you played in the -matter--he was very whimsical. 'What, sir,' he grumbled to me just now, -'is Mr. Wesley not content with looking after our souls--is he turning -his attention to our bodies as well? Old Polwhele has a nimble wit." - -"It was not I, but John bennet, who was fortunate enough to restore the -man: he treated him altogether skilfully, the revenue patrol-man told -me." - -Hartwell threw up his hands in surprise. Then he frowned. He was plainly -puzzled for some time. At last he said: - -"Mr. Wesley, if Bennet saved that man's life he must have stumbled on -him while it was yet dark--too dark to let him see the man's face." - -"But how should he know who the man was, even if he had seen his face?" - -"He was acquainted with Mr. Snowdon at Bristol, and his grievance was -that if Snowdon had not appeared, the girl would have accepted his own -suit. Oh, yes; it must have been too dark for him to see the man's face, -or it would have gone hardly with the poor fellow." - -There was a considerable pause before Wesley said: - -"You are right, it was too dark to allow him to recognise the man's -features. Has he been seen at the village during the morning?" - -"If he has I heard nothing of it," replied Hartwell, "it might be as -well to say a word of warning to Mr. Snowdon respecting him; he is a -madman, and dangerous. You do not forget the mad thing he said about you -on Sunday, sir?" - -"I have not forgotten it," said Wesley in a low voice. "I have not -forgotten it. I think that I shall set out upon my journey this -afternoon." - -The pause that he made between his sentences was so slight as to suggest -that they were actually connected--that there was some connection -between the thing that Bennet had said and his own speedy departure. - -His host, who was in good spirits after his walk in the early sunshine, -gave a laugh and asked him in no spirit of gravity if he felt that it -was necessary for him to fly lest Captain Snowdon should develop the -same spirit of jealousy that had made Bennet fit for Bedlam. - -Wesley shook his head and smiled. - -"Need I ask your pardon for a pointless jest, sir?" cried Hartwell. -"Nay, dear sir and brother, I hope you will find good reason for -remaining with us for a few days still. You have had a trying time since -you came, Mr. Wesley; and I do not think that you are fit to set out on -so rude a journey." - -"I confess that I feel somewhat exhausted," said Wesley, "but I have -hope that an hour or two in the saddle will restore me." - -Hartwell did his best to persuade him to reconcile himself to the idea -of staying in the neighbourhood for at least another day, but without -success. - -"I must go. I feel that I must go, grateful though I be to you for your -offer of hospitality," said Wesley. - -"Then I will not say a further word. If it be a matter of feeling with -you, I do not feel justified in asking you to change your intention," -said Hartwell. "I shall give orders as to your horse without delay." - -But the horse was not needed that day, nor was it likely to be needed -for some time to come, for within the hour after breakfast Mr. Wesley -was overcome by a shivering fit and compelled to take to his bed. It -became plain that he had caught a chill--the wonder was that it had not -manifested itself sooner, considering that he had sat for so long the -day before in his saturated garments, and the very trying morning that -he had had. Mr. Hartwell, who had some knowledge of medicine, and a -considerable experience of the simpler maladies to which his miners were -subject, found that he was more than a little feverish, and expressed -the opinion that he would not be able to travel for a full week. Wesley, -who, himself, knew enough about the treatment of disease to allow of -his writing a book on the subject, agreed with him, that it was not -necessary to send for a physician, who might possibly differ from both -of them in his diagnosis. - -For three days he remained in bed, and in spite of the fact that -he would have nothing to say to the Peruvian bark which his host so -strongly recommended, his feverish tendency gradually abated, and by -careful nursing he was able to sit up in his room by the end of a week. - -In the meantime he had many visitors, though he refrained from seeing -any of them. His host told him that Miller Pendelley, Jake Pullsford, -and Hal Holmes had driven more than once from Ruthallion when they -heard of his illness; but of course the earliest and most constant of -the enquirers after his health were Nelly Polwhele and her lover. Mr. -Hartwell told him how greatly distressed they were, and perhaps it was -natural, he added, that the girl should be the one who laid the -greatest emphasis upon the fact that they were the cause of Mr. Wesley's -suffering. She was undoubtedly a sweet and unselfish girl, Hartwell -said; and he feared that Captain Snowdon thought that she was making -too great a fuss in referring to the risks which he, Wesley, had run to -bring her happiness. Snowdon, being a man, had not her imagination; and -besides his life had been made up of running risks for the benefit -of other people, and he was scarcely to be blamed if he took a less -emotional view of, at least, the incident of Wesley's finding him -exhausted on the shore in the early dawn. - -"I spoke with him to-day," said Hartwell when his guest was able to hear -these things, "and while he certainly showed himself greatly concerned -at your sickness, he grumbled, half humorously, when he touched upon -the way he was being neglected by the young woman. 'I am being hardly -treated, sir,' he said. 'What is a simple master-mariner at best -alongsides a parson with a persuasive voice? But when the parson adds on -to his other qualities the dash and derring-do of a hero it seems to me -that a plain man had best get into his boat, if so be that he have one, -and sail away--it boots not whither, so long as he goes. Oh, ay, sir, I -allow that your Mr. Wesley hath made short work of me.' Those were his -words; and though they were followed by an earnest enquiry after your -health, I could see that he would as lief that he owed his life to a -more ordinary man." - -"If I had not been overtaken by this sickness he would have had no cause -for complaint," said Wesley. After a pause he touched with caution upon -a matter over which he had been thinking for some time. - -"Mr. Snowdon heard nothing about a rival other than myself in the young -woman's regard?" he said. - -"Oh, not he," replied Hartwell quickly. "Snowdon is not the fellow to -listen to all that the gossips may say about Madam Nelly's liking for -admiration--he knows well that so pretty a thing will be slandered, even -when she shows herself to be wisely provident by seeking to have two -strings to her bow. But, indeed, whatever her weakness may have been -in the past, she hath been a changed girl since you first came hither. -Captain Snowdon has no rival but yourself, sir, and I am certain that -the honest fellow would not for the world that the young woman abated -aught of her gratitude to you. He has too large a heart to harbour any -thought so unworthy of a true man." - -"God forbid that anything should come between them and happiness," said -Wesley. - -"'Tis all unlikely," said his host. "He must see that her love for him -must be in proportion to her gratitude to you for having done all that -you have done for him. If she did not love him dearly she would have no -need to be half so grateful to you." - -Wesley said nothing more on this point. He had not forgotten what Nelly -had confided to him and the counsel which he had given her just before -the hurricane had cut short their conversation on the cliffs. She had -told him her story, confessing that the man to whom she had given her -promise was less dear to her now that she was in daily expectation of -meeting him after the lapse of a year than he had been when they had -parted; and he had defined, in no doubtful language, the direction in -which her duty lay. - -For the rest of the time that they were together neither he nor she had -made any reference to this matter; but he had not ceased to think upon -it. After what Mr. Hartwell had said he felt reassured. He had brought -himself to feel that he could only be happy if the girl's happiness were -assured; and he believed that this could only be accomplished by her -keeping the promise which she had given to a man who was worthy of her. -However she might have fancied that her love had waned or turned in -another direction during the year they had been parted, he was convinced -that it would return, as true and as fresh as before, with the return -of Captain Snowdon. - -All that Hartwell had said bore him out in this view which he was -disposed to take of the way of this maid with the man. Hartwell was -a man of judgment and observation, and if there had been any division -between the two people in whom they were interested, he would -undoubtedly have noticed it. He had described the grievance of which -Snowdon had complained in a humorous way; and Wesley knew that if the -man felt that he had a grievance of the most grievous sort that can fall -upon a man, he would not have referred to it in such a spirit. - -And then the day came when Wesley was able to talk, without being hushed -by his hospitable friend, of mounting his horse and resuming his-journey -in the west. He had many engagements, and was getting daily more anxious -to fulfil them before the summer should be over. - -"If it rested with me, sir," said Hartwell, "I would keep you here -for another month and feel that I was the most favoured of men; but in -this-matter I dare not be selfish. I know what, with God's blessing, you -seek to accomplish, and I feel that to stay you from your journey would -be an offence." - -"You have been more than good to me, my brother," said Wesley. "And now -in parting from, you, I do not feel as did the Apostle Paul when leaving -those friends of his who sorrowed knowing that they should see his face -no more. I know that your sorrow is sincere, because I know how sincere -is my own, but if God is good to us we shall all meet again after a -season." - -"That is what we look forward to; you have sown the good seed among us -and you must return to see what your harvest will be," said Hartwell. - -They agreed that his horse was to be in readiness the next morning. This -was at their noon dinner, and they had scarcely risen from the table -when the maidservant entered with the enquiry if Mr. Wesley would allow -Captain Snowdon to have a word with him in private. - -"I was expecting this visitor," said Hartwell. "It would be cruel for -you to go away without receiving the man, albeit I think that you would -rather not hear him at this time. Let me reassure you: he will not be -extravagant in his acknowledgment of the debt which he owes to you; he -is a sailor, and scant of speech." - -"Why should I not see him?" said Wesley. "I am not afraid to face him! -even a demonstration of his gratitude. Pray let him be admitted." - -Very different indeed was the stalwart man who was shown into the room -from the poor half-drowned wretch whom Wesley had helped to carry -from the shore to the boat. Captain Snowdon stood over six feet--a -light-haired, blue-eyed man who suggested a resuscitated Viking of the -milder order, brown faced and with a certain indefinable expression of -shrewd kindliness which might occasionally take the form of humour and -make itself felt by a jovial slap on the back that would make most men -stagger. - -He was shy, and he had plainly been walking fast. - -These were the two things that Wesley noticed when Hartwell was shaking -hands with the man, and the latter had wiped his forehead with a -handkerchief as splendid as the western cloud of a sunset in the -Tropics--a handkerchief that seemed a floating section of the Empire of -the Great Mogul--dazzling in red and yellow and green--a wonder of the -silk loom. - -"You and Mr. Wesley have already met, Mr. Snowdon," said Hartwell with a -smile, and forthwith quitted the room. - -Captain Snowdon looked after him rather wistfully. He seemed to be under -the impression that Mr. Hartwell had deserted him. Then he glanced with -something of surprise in the direction of Wesley, and was apparently -surprised to see his hand stretched out in greeting. He took the hand -very gingerly and with nothing of a seaman's bluffness or vigour. - -"Seeing you at this time, Captain Snowdon, makes me have a pretty -conceit of myself," said Wesley. "Yes, sir, I feel inclined to boast -that I was one of the four who bore you from the high beach to the -boat--I would boast of the fact only that I know I should never be -believed. You do not seem to have suffered by your mishap." - -"Thank you, sir, I am a man that turns the corner very soon in matters -of that sort, and then I race ahead," replied the master-mariner. - -"You have become accustomed to such accidents, sir," said Wesley. - -"Ay, sir, the salt sea and me have ever been friends, and more than once -we have had a friendly tussle together, but we bear no malice therefor, -neither of us--bless your heart, none whatever," said Snowdon. "Why, the -sea is my partner in trade--the sea and the wind, we work together, but -you, Mr. Wesley, I grieve to see you thus, sir, knowing that 'twas on my -account. What if you'd been finished off this time--wouldn't the blame -fall on me? Shouldn't I be looked on as your murderer?" - -"I cannot see on what principle you should, sir," said Wesley. "In the -first place the chill from which I have now, by the blessing of Heaven, -fully recovered, was not due to my having been one of the four men who -carried you down the beach, though I should have no trouble in getting -anyone to believe that I suffered from exhaustion. No, Mr. Snowdon, I -had contracted the complaint before I was fortunate enough to come upon -you in my early morning's walk." - -"Anyway, sir, you earned my gratitude; though indeed, I feel as shy as a -school miss to mention such a word in your presence. If I know aught -of you, Mr. Wesley, and I think that I can take the measure of a man -whether he be a man or a parson, if I know aught of you, sir, I repeat, -you would be as uneasy to hear me talk of gratitude as I should be to -make an offer to talk of the same." - -"You are right in that respect, Mr. Snowdon. Between us--men that -understand each other--there need be no protestation of feeling." - -"Give me your hand, sir; you have just said what I should like to say. -I feel that you know what I feel--you know that if there was any way for -me to prove my gratitude---- " - -"Ah, you have said the word again, and I understood that it was to be -kept out of our conversation. But I am glad that you said so much, for -it enables me to say that you have the means of showing your gratitude -to Heaven for your preservation, and I know that you will not neglect -such means. You will be a good husband to Nelly Polwhele--that is the -way by which you will show how you appreciate the blessing of life!" - -Captain Snowdon's face became serious--almost gloomy--as gloomy as the -face of such a man can become. He made no reply for a few moments. He -crossed the room and looked out of the window. Once more he pulled -out his handkerchief and mopped his brow with that bit of the gorgeous. -Orient. - -Then he turned to Wesley, saying: - -"Mr. Wesley, sir, I have come to you at this; time to talk about Nelly -Polwhele, if I may make so bold." - -"I can hear a great deal said about Nelly Polwhele so long as it is all -that is good," said Wesley. - -"I am not the man to say aught else," said Snowdon. "Only--well, sir, -the truth is I don't quite know what to make of Nelly." - -"Make her your happy wife, Captain Snowdon," said Wesley. - -"That's what I look forward to, sir; but she is not of the same way of -thinking, worse luck!" - -"You cannot mean that she--she--what, sir, did not she give you her -promise a year ago?" - -"That she did, sir; but that's a year ago. Oh, Mr. Wesley, I believe -that all of her sex are more or less of a puzzle to a simple man, and in -matters of love all men are more or less simple, but Nelly is more of a -puzzle than them all put together." - -"How so? I have ever found her straightforward and natural--all that a -young woman should be.". - -"Ay, sir; but you have not been in love with her." - -Wesley looked at him for a moment or two without a word. Then he said: - -"Pray proceed, sir." - -"The truth is, Mr. Wesley, the girl no longer loves me as she did, and -all this time my love for her has been growing," said Snowdon. "Why, -sir, she as good as confessed it to me no later than yesterday, when I -taxed her with being changed. 'I must have another year,' she said. 'I -cannot marry you now.'Twould be cruel to forsake my father and mother,' -says she. 'You no longer love me, or you would not talk like that,' says -I, and she hung her head. It was a clear minute before she said, 'That -is not the truth, dear. How could I help loving you when I have given -you my promise. All I ask is that you should not want me to marry you -until I am sure of myself--another year,' says she. Now, Mr. Wesley, you -are a parson, but you know enough of the affairs of mankind to know what -all of this means--I know what it means, sir; it means that another -man has come between us. You can easily understand, Mr. Wesley, that -a well-favoured young woman, that has been educated above her station, -should have her fancies, and maybe set her affections on someone that -has spoken a word or two of flattery in her ear." - -"I can scarce believe that of her, Mr. Snowdon. But she was at the Bath -a few months ago, and perhaps--Mr. Snowdon, do you think that any words -of mine--any advice to her--would have effect?" - -The sailor's eyes gleamed; he struck his left palm with his right fist. - -"Why, sir, that's the very thing that I came hither to beg of you," he -cried. "I know in what esteem she holds you, Mr. Wesley; and I said to -myself yesterday when I sat on the crags trying to worry out the day's -work so that I might arrive at the true position of the craft that I'm -a-trying to bring into haven--says I, ''Tis trying to caulk without -oakum to hope to prevail against a young woman that has a fancy that -she doesn't know her own mind. But in this case if there's anyone living -that she will listen to 'tis Mr. Wesley.' Those was my words." - -"I cannot promise that I shall prevail with her; but I have confidence -that she will at least hearken to me," said Wesley. - -"No fear about that, sir," cried the other, almost joyfully. He took a -step or two toward the door, having picked up his hat, which he stood -twirling for a few moments. Then he slowly turned and faced Wesley once -again. - -"Mr. Wesley," he said in a low voice. "Mind this, sir: I would not have -you do anything in this matter unless you feel that 'twould be for -the good of the girl. 'Tis of the girl we have to think in the first -place--the girl and her happiness. We must keep that before us, mustn't -we, sir? So I ask of you as a man of judgment and wisdom and piety to -abstain from saying a word to her in my favour unless you are convinced -that I am the man to make her happy. Look at me, sir. I tell you that -I will not have the girl cajoled into marrying a man simply because she -has given him her promise. What! should she have a life of wretchedness -simply because a year ago she did not know her own mind?" - -"Captain Snowdon, give me leave to tell you that you are a very noble -fellow," said Wesley. "The way you have acted makes me more certain than -ever that Nelly Polwhele is the most fortunate young woman in Cornwall, -no matter what she may think of the matter. Since I have heard you, sir, -what before was a strong intention has become a duty. Hasten to Nelly -and send her hither." - -The man went to the door quickly, but when there he hesitated. - -"To be sure 'twould be better if you was to speak to her without her -knowing that I had been with you; but we cannot help that; we are not -trying to trick the girl into keeping her promise," said he. - -"The knowledge that you have been with me would make no difference to -her," said Wesley. "She knows that I would not advise her against my -judgment, to please even the man who, I know, loves her truly as man -could love woman." - -Captain Snowdon's broad back filled up the doorway in an instant. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -John Wesley sat alone in the room, thinking his thoughts. They were -not unhappy, though tinged with a certain mournfulness at times. -The mournful tinge was due to the reflection that once more he must -reconcile himself to live alone in the world. For a brief space he had -had a hope that it might be given to him to share the homely joys of his -fellow-men. He now saw that it was not to be; and he bowed his head to -the decree of the Will which he knew could not err. - -Alone? How could such a reflection have come to him? How could he who -sought to walk through the world with the Divine companionship of the -One to whom he trusted to guide his steps aright feel lonely or alone? - -This was the thought that upheld him now. He could feel the hand that he -knew was ever stretched out to him. He touched it now as he had touched -it before, and he heard the voice that said: - -"I have called ye friends." - -He was happy--as happy as the true man should be who knows that the -woman whom he loves is going to be made happy. He now perceived that -everything had been ordered for the best, this best being the ultimate -happiness of the woman whom he loved. He now saw that although he might -strive to bring happiness to her, he might never succeed in doing so. -Even if she had loved him her quick intelligence could not fail -to whisper to her what the people around them would be saying out -loud--that John Wesley had married the daughter of a humble fisherman of -Cornwall, and that that was no match for him to make. She would hear -it said that John Wesley, who was ever anxious for the dignity of the -Church to be maintained, had shown himself to be on the level with my -lord's greasy, sottish chaplain, who had showed himself ready to marry -my lady's maid when commanded to do so by his master, when circumstances -had made such an act desirable. - -Would such a young woman as Nelly Polwhele be happy when now and again -she should hear these whispers and the consciousness was forced upon her -that John Wesley was believed to have made a fool of himself? - -But even to assume what her thoughts would be was to assume that she had -loved him, and this she had never done. He was convinced that she had -never ceased to love the man to whom she had given her promise. To be -sure, she had told him when they had been together on the cliffs that -someone else had come into her life. But that he believed to be only a -passing fancy of hers. It was impossible that such a young woman, having -given her promise to so fine a fellow as Captain Snowdon, should allow -his place in her heart to be taken by anyone else. - -He wondered if the Squire had a son as well as daughters. Nelly had -talked to him often enough about the young ladies, but not a word had -she breathed about a young gentleman. If there was a son, would it -be beyond the limits of experience that this village girl should be -captivated by his manners--was it beyond the limits of experience that -the young man might have been fascinated by the beauty of the girl and -so have talked to her as such young men so often did, in a strain of -flattery that flattered the poor things so that they were led to hope -that an offer of marriage was approaching? - -He resolved to make enquiry on this point from Nelly herself should she -still maintain that her affection had changed. But meantime---- - -His lucubrations were interrupted by the sudden return of Captain -Snowdon. He was plainly in a condition of great excitement. His coat was -loose and his neckerchief was flying. - -"We are too late, Mr. Wesley," he cried. "We are too late. The girl has -given both of us the slip. I called at the cottage to fetch her hither. -I did not find her at home. This is what was put into my hand." - -He thrust out a piece of paper with writing upon it. - -"_I cannot stay--I dare not stay any longer where I am forced to see you -every day, and am thus reminded of my promise which I know I cannot now -keep. Please try not to follow me; 'twould be of no use. I must be apart -from you before I make up my mind. I am very unhappy, and I know that -I am most unhappy because I have to give pain to one who is the best of -men._ - -"_Nelly._" - -"You have read it?" cried Snowdon. "I had no notion that her whimsies -would carry her so far. Oh, she is but a girl after all--I tell you that -she is no more than a girl." - -"She is a girl, and I think that she is the best that lives, to be a -blessing to a good man's life," said Wesley, returning the letter to his -trembling hand. - -"The best? The best? She has made a fool of the man who would have died -to save her from the least hurt, and you call her the best!" he cried, -walking to and fro excitedly, crumpling up the letter with every stride. - -"She is the best," said Wesley. "Sir, cannot you see that those lines -were written by a woman who is anxious to be true to herself? Cannot you -see that her sole fear is that she may do an injustice to the man who -loves her?" - -"You see things, sir, that none other can see; I am but a plain man, Mr. -Wesley, and I can see naught in this letter save the desire of a fickle -young woman to rid herself of a lover of whom she has grown weary. Well, -she has succeeded--she has succeeded! She exhorts me not to follow her. -She need not have been at the trouble to do so: I have no intention of -following her, even if I knew whither she has gone. Have you any guess -as to the direction she has taken? Not that I care--I tell you, sir, I -have no desire to follow her. Who do you suspect is her lover?" - -"Mr. Snowdon," said Wesley, "her lover stands before me in this room. -The poor child has had her doubts, as any true girl must have when she -thinks how serious a step is marriage, and the best way that you can -dissipate such doubts is to show to her that you have none.'Tis left for -you to prove yourself a true man in this matter, Captain Snowdon, and I -know that, being a true man, you will act as a true man should act." - -"I know not what you would suggest, sir, but I can promise you that if -you hint that I should seek to follow her, you make a mistake," said -Snowdon. - -"She may go whithersoever she pleases. I have no mind to be made a fool -of a second time by her. I have some self-respect still remaining, let -me tell you, Mr. Wesley." - -"You may be sure that no advice to sacrifice it will come from me, sir," -said Wesley. "Oh, Mr. Snowdon, did not you come to me an hour ago to -ask me to be your friend in this matter? Did you not ask me to give my -advice to the young woman of whom we have been speaking? Was not that -because you believed that my advice would be right?" - -"I know that it would have been right, Mr. Wesley; but now----" - -"If you could trust to me to give her good advice, why cannot you prove -that this was your hope, by hearkening to the advice which I am ready to -give to you?" - -The big man, who was standing in the middle of the room, had made -several passionate attempts to speak, but none of them could be called -successful. When Wesley had put his last question, he tried to frame a -reply. He put out an arm with an uplifted forefinger and his lips began -to move. Not a word would come. He looked at Wesley straight in the -face for a long time, and then he suddenly turned away, dropped into the -nearest chair, and bent his head forward until his chin was on his hand, -and he was gazing at the floor. - -Wesley let him be. He knew something of men and their feelings, as well -as their failings. - -There was a long silence before the man arose and came to him, saying in -a low voice: - -"Mr. Wesley, I will trust to your judgment. I will do whatsoever you bid -me." - -Wesley grasped him by the hand. - -"I had no doubt of you, my friend," he said. "I felt that any man whom -Nelly Polwhele loved----" - -"Ay, loved--loved!" interjected Snowdon. - -"Loves--loves--in love there is no past tense," said Wesley. "She loved -you, and she loves you still--she will love you forever. You will come -with me, and I know that mine will be the great happiness of bringing -you together. What greater happiness could come to such as I than this -which, by the grace of Heaven, shall be mine?" - -"She gave you her confidence? You know whither she has fled?" - -Wesley shook his head. - -"She told me nothing; remember that I have not seen her since you -returned to her," he said. "But I think that I can say whither she has -gone.'Tis but six or seven miles from here. Have you heard of Ruthallion -Mill?" - -The mariner struck the palm of his left hand with his right fist. The -blow had weight enough in it to make the casements quiver. - -"Wherefore could I not have thought of the Mill?" he cried.' "I was fool -enough to let a thought of Squire Trevelyan's Court come into my mind." - -"I have no doubt that we shall find her at the Mill," said Wesley. "The -miller has been a second father to her, and, besides, he has a daughter. -'Tis to friends such as these that she would go for succour and sympathy -in her hour of trouble." Captain Snowdon mused for a moment. - -"How do I know that they will be on my side, Mr. Wesley?" he asked. -"They may reckon that she has been ill-used--that she has a right to -change her mind and to choose whomsoever she will." - -"Mr. Snowdon," said Wesley, "it doth not need that one should be -possessed of a judgment beyond that of ordinary people to decide the -right and the wrong of this affair in which we all take a huge interest. -Come, sir, let us prepare for the best and not for the worst. What, are -you a master-mariner and yet have not learned that the best way to stamp -out a mutiny is by a display of promptitude. Let us lose no time over -the discussion of what the result of our action may be--let us act at -once." - -He went to the door.. - -"Nay, sir; but you are a sick man--how will you make this journey?" said -Snowdon. - -"I am no longer a sick man," said Wesley. "I would not give a second -thought to the setting out upon a journey to the Mill on foot. But there -will be no need for this. Mr. Hartwell will lend us his light cart; it -will hold three." - -"Three? But we are but two, sir." - -"Ay, Mr. Snowdon--only two for the journey to the Mill; but we shall -need an extra seat for our return." - -A few words to Mr. Hartwell and his easy running waggon was at the door. -The drive through the valley of the Lana on this lovely afternoon had -an exhilarating effect upon Captain Snowdon, for Wesley took care that -their conversation should be-on topics far removed from their mission -at this time. He wished to be made acquainted with his companion's views -respecting many matters of the Orient. Was it possible that the Jesuits -had sent missionaries to the Indies and even to China? Had Captain -Snowdon had any opportunity of noting-the result of their labours? Had -Captain Snowdon learned if the Jesuits discountenanced any of the odious -native customs such as the burning of widows--the throwing of infants -into the sacred river of Ganges? Or did the missioners content -themselves with simple preaching? - -The journey to the Mill was all too short to allow of Captain Snowdon's -answering more than a few of the questions put to him by the discreet -Mr. Wesley, and it was not until they were turning down the little lane -that the ship-master came to an abrupt end of his replies, and put the -nervous question to his companion: - -"Shall we find her here, or have we come on a wild-goose chase?" - -In a few minutes they were in her presence--almost in her presence; they -caught sight of her flying through the inner door when they entered the -Mill room. - -The miller, in his shirtsleeves and wearing his working apron, gave a -loud laugh and shouted "Stop thief!" but his daughter and her mother -were looking grave and tearful. They moved to the door by which Nelly -had made her escape, but checked themselves and returned to greet Wesley -and Snowdon. They hoped that the sun had not been overwarm during the -drive through the valley, and that Mr. Wesley had fully recovered from -his sickness. - -The miller came to the point with his usual directness. - -"You have come to carry the girl home with you, I doubt not?" he said; -and forthwith his wife and daughter made for the door. - -Captain Snowdon looked ill at ease. He glanced toward the outer door. - -"How oft have I not told her that a judgment would fall upon her for -the heartburnings that she brought about--all through her kindness o' -heart?" continued the miller. "Poor daughter! But they all go through -the same course, Captain, of that you may be assured, albeit I doubt not -that you think that so dread a case as yours has never been known i' -the world before. When the marriage day draws nigh, the sweetest and the -surest of them all has a misgiving. Don't be too ready to blame them, -sir. The wonder is that when she sees so many errors hurried into under -the name of marriage, any maid can bring herself to take upon her the -bondage." Captain Snowdon nodded sideways and looked shyly down. - -"Nature is stronger than experience, miller," said Wesley. "I am -bold enough to think that you could give Mr. Snowdon a pinch of your -experience in your garden, after you have told Nelly that I seek a word -with her here. I am pretty certain that I shall have completed my task -before your experiences as a married man are exhausted." - -"Right, sir," said the miller. "Captain, I show you the door in no -inhospitable spirit. I'll join you in the turning of a pinion." - -Captain Snowdon seemed pleased to have a chance of retiring, returning -to the open air; he hurried out by one door, while the miller went -through the other and shouted for Nelly. His wife's remonstrance with -him for his unfeeling boisterousness reached Wesley, who was now alone -in the room. - -He was not kept long waiting. Nelly entered, the miller leading her by -the hand, and then walking slowly to the outer door.. - -"My dear, you know why I have come hither," said Wesley, taking her hand -in both of his own. "You asked for my counsel once, and I gave it to -you. I could only give it to you at that time in a general way. I had -not seen the man to whom you had given your promise; but having seen -him, and knowing what manner of man he is--and I am something of a judge -of a man's character--I feel that I would be lacking in my duty to you, -dear child, if I were to refrain from coming to you to plead for--for -your own happiness." - -"Have I forfeited all your esteem by my behaviour, sir?" she cried, -still holding his hand and looking at him with piteous eyes. "Do you -think of me as a light-minded girl, because I confessed to you--all that -I did confess?" - -"I have never ceased to think of you with affection," he said. - -"Ah! the affection of a man who is esteemed by all the world, for a poor -girl who touched the hem of his life, and then passed away never to be -seen by him again." - -She spoke in a curious tone of reproach. He looked at her, asking -himself what she meant. - -"Child, child, you little know how I have thought of you," he said -slowly. "Do you believe that the path of my life has been so gilded with -sunshine that I take no count of such hours as we passed together when -we walked through the valley, side by side--when we sat together on the -cliffs?" - -She gave a little cry of joy and caught up his hand and kissed it. - -He was startled. He turned his eyes upon her. She was rosy red. Her head -was bowed. - -In that instant he read her secret. - -There was a long silence. Only occasionally a little sob came from her. - -"Child," he said in a low voice. "Child, you have been very dear to me." - -She looked up with streaming eyes. - -"Say those words again--again," she cried in faltering tones. - -"They are true words, my dear," he said. "The life which it has been -decreed that I shall lead must be one of loneliness--what most men and -all women call loneliness. Such joys of life as love and marriage and a -home can never be for me. I have given myself over body and soul to the -work of my Master, and I look on myself as separate forever from all the -tenderness of life. They are not for me." - -"Why should they not be for you? You have need of them, Mr. Wesley?" - -"Why should they not be for me, do you ask?" he cried. "They are not for -me, because I have been set to do a work that cannot be done without -a complete sacrifice of self. Because I have found by the bitterest -experience, that so far as I myself am concerned--I dare not speak for -another--these things war against the Spirit. If I thought it possible -that a woman should be led to love me I would never see her again." - -"Oh, do not say that--do not say that!" she said piteously. - -"I do say it," he cried. "Never--never--never would I do so great an -injustice to a woman as to marry her. I tell you that I would think of -it as a curse and not a blessing. I know that I have been appointed to -do a great work, and I am ready, with God's help, to trample beneath my -feet everything of life that would turn my thoughts from that work. The -words are sounding in my ear day and night--day and night, 'If any man -come to Me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children -and brethren and sisters--yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my -Disciple.'" - -He stood away from her, speaking fervently. His face, pale by reason -of his illness, had become paler still: but his resolution had not -faltered, his voice had not broken. - -She had kept her eyes fixed upon him. The expression upon her face was -one of awe. - -She shuddered when he took a step toward her and held out a thin white -hand to her. She touched it slowly with her own. - -"Nelly," he said, "there is a joy in self-sacrifice beyond any that -the world can give. I look on you as one of my children--one of that -Household of Faith who have told me that they had learned the Truth from -my lips. My child, if you were called on to make any great sacrifice for -the Truth, would you not make it? Although I may seem an austere man to -you, I do not live so far apart from those who are dear to me as to be -incapable of sympathising with them in all matters of their daily life. -I think you knew that or you would not have confessed to me that you -fancied your love had suffered a change." - -She rose from her chair, and passed a hand wearily across her face. - -"A fancy--it was a fancy--a dream--oh, the most foolish dream that ever -a maiden had," she said. "Has it ever been known that a maiden fancied -she loved the shadow of a dream when all the time her heart was given to -a true man?" - -"Dear child, have you awakened?" he asked. - -"My dreaming time is past," she replied. - -"I may bid Captain Snowdon to enter?" he said. - -"Not yet--not yet--I must be alone; I will see him in another hour." - -He kissed her on the forehead, and went with unfaltering feet into the -sunshine. - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Love That Prevailed, by Frank Frankfort Moore - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOVE THAT PREVAILED *** - -***** This file should be named 51971-8.txt or 51971-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/7/51971/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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