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diff --git a/old/60028-0.txt b/old/60028-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b1391b3..0000000 --- a/old/60028-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,19860 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mary: The Queen of the House of David and -Mother of Jesus, by A. Stewart (Alexander Stewart) Walsh - -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: Mary: The Queen of the House of David and Mother of Jesus - The Story of Her Life - -Author: A. Stewart (Alexander Stewart) Walsh - -Contributor: T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt) Talmage - -Release Date: August 1, 2019 [EBook #60028] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARY: QUEEN OF HOUSE OF DAVID *** - - - - -Produced by MFR and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: By Frederick Goodall. - -MARY AND THE INFANT SAVIOUR.] - - - - - MARY: - THE - QUEEN OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID - AND - MOTHER OF JESUS. - - THE STORY OF HER LIFE. - - GABRIEL.—“Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: - Blessed art thou among women.” - - MARY.—“All generations shall call me blessed.” - - BY - REV. A. STEWART WALSH, D.D. - - WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY - REV. T. DE WITT TALMAGE, D.D. - - _ILLUSTRATED._ - - PUBLISHED EXCLUSIVELY BY - A. S. GRAY & CO. - SUCCESSORS TO - CENTRAL PUBLISHING HOUSE AND KEYSTONE PUBLISHING CO. - PITTSBURGH, PA. - 1889. - - COPYRIGHT BY H. S. ALLEN, - 1886. - COPYRIGHT OWNED BY - A. S. GRAY. - 1889. - - ARGYLE PRESS, - PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING, - 265 & 267 CHERRY ST., N. Y. - - - - - TO WOMANKIND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD - - THIS - - STORY OF A LIFE - - MOST - - BEAUTIFUL, BENEFICENT, AND INSPIRING - - Is Dedicated - - BY THE AUTHOR. - - - - -INTRODUCTION TO THE QUEEN OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID. - -BY REV. T. DE WITT TALMAGE, D.D. - - -I have been asked to open the front door of this book. But I must not -keep you standing too long on the threshold. The picture-gallery, the -banqueting hall and the throne-room are inside. All the fascinations -of romance are, by the able author, thrown around the facts of Mary’s -life. Much-abused tradition is also called in for splendid service. The -pen that the author wields is experienced, graceful, captivating, and -multipotent. As perhaps no other book that was ever written, this one -will show us woman as standing at the head of the world. It demonstrates -in the life of Mary what woman was and what woman may be. Woman’s -position in the world is higher than man’s; and although she has often -been denied the right of suffrage, she always does vote and always will -vote—by her influence; and her chief desire ought to be that she should -have grace rightly to rule in the dominion which she has already won. - -She has no equal as a comforter of the sick. What land, what street, -what house has not felt the smitings of disease? Tens of thousands of -sick beds! What shall we do with them? Shall man, with his rough hand, -and heavy foot, and impatient bearing, minister? No; he cannot soothe the -pain. He can not quiet the nerves. He knows not where to set the light. -His hand is not steady enough to pour out the drops. He is not wakeful -enough to be watcher. You have known men who have despised women, but the -moment disease fell upon them, they did not send for their friends at -the bank or their worldly associates. Their first cry was, “Take me to -my wife.” The dissipated young man at the college scoffs at the idea of -being under home influence; but at the first blast of typhoid fever on -his cheek he says, “Where is mother?” I think one of the most pathetic -passages in all the Bible is the description of the lad who went out to -the harvest fields of Shunem and got sunstruck; throwing his hands on his -temples, and crying out, “Oh, my head! my head!” and they said, “Carry -him to his mother.” And the record is “He sat on her knees till noon and -then died.” - -In the war men cast the cannon, men fashioned the muskets, men cried to -the hosts “Forward, march!” men hurled their battalions on the sharp -edges of the enemy, crying “Charge! charge!” but woman scraped the lint, -woman administered the cordials, woman watched by the dying couch, woman -wrote the last message to the home circle, woman wept at the solitary -burial, attended by herself and four men with a spade. Men did their work -with shot and shell, and carbine and howitzer; women did their work with -socks and slippers, and bandages, and warm drinks, and scripture texts, -and gentle soothings of the hot temples, and stories of that land where -they never have any pain. Men knelt down over the wounded and said, “On -which side did you fight?” Women knelt down over the wounded and said, -“Where are you hurt? What nice thing can I make for you to eat? What -makes you cry?” To-night, while we men are soundly asleep in our beds, -there will be a light in yonder loft; there will be groaning down that -dark alley; there will be cries of distress in that cellar. Men will -sleep and women will watch. - -No one as well as a woman can handle the poor. There are hundreds and -thousands of them in all our cities. There is a kind of work that men -cannot do for the destitute. Man sometimes gives his charity in a rough -way, and it falls like the fruit of a tree in the East, which fruit comes -down so heavily that it breaks the skull of the man who is trying to -gather it. But woman glides so softly into the house of want, and finds -out all the sorrows of the place, and puts so quietly the donation on the -table, that all the family come out on the front steps as she departs, -expecting that from under her shawl she will thrust out two wings and go -right up to Heaven, from whence she seems to have come down. O, Christian -young woman, if you would make yourself happy and win the blessings of -Christ, go out among the poor! A loaf of bread or a bundle of socks may -make a homely load to carry, but the angels of God will come out to -watch, and the Lord Almighty will give His messenger hosts a charge, -saying, “Look after that woman, canopy her with your wings, and shelter -her from all harm.” And while you are seated in the house of destitution -and suffering, the little ones around the room will whisper, “Who is she? -is she not beautiful?” and if you will listen right sharply, you will -hear dripping through the leaky roof, and rolling over the broken stairs, -the angel chant that shook Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest, and -on earth peace and good will to man.” Can you tell why a Christian woman, -going down among the haunts of iniquity on a Christian errand, seldom -meets with any indignity? - -I stood in the chapel of Helen Chalmers, the daughter of the celebrated -Dr. Chalmers, in the most abandoned part of the city of Edinburg; and I -said to her, as I looked around upon the fearful surroundings of that -place, “Do you come here nights to hold a service?” “Oh, yes,” she said; -“I take my lantern and I go through all these haunts of sin, the darkest -and the worst; and I ask all the men and women to come to the chapel, and -then I sing for them, and I pray for them, and I talk to them.” I said, -“Can it be possible that you never meet with an insult while performing -this Christian errand?” “Never,” she said; “never.” That young woman, -who has her father by her side, walking down the street, and an armed -policeman at each corner is not so well defended as that Christian woman -who goes forth on Gospel work into the haunts of iniquity carrying the -Bible and bread. - -Some one said, “I dislike very much to see that Christian woman teaching -these bad boys in the mission school. I am afraid to have her instruct -them.” “So,” said another man, “I am afraid too.” Said the first, “I am -afraid they will use vile language before they leave the place.” “Ah,” -said the other man, “I am not afraid of that; what I am afraid of is, -that if any of those boys should use a bad word in her presence, the -other boys would tear him to pieces—killing him on the spot.” - -Woman is especially endowed to soothe disaster She is called the weaker -vessel, but all profane as well as sacred history attests that when the -crisis comes she is better prepared than man to meet the emergency. How -often have you seen a woman who seemed to be a disciple of frivolity and -indolence, who, under one stroke of calamity, changed to be a heroine. -There was a crisis in your affairs, you struggled bravely and long, -but after a while there came a day when you said, “Here I shall have -to stop;” and you called in your partners, and you called in the most -prominent men in your employ, and you said, “We have got to stop.” You -left the store suddenly; you could hardly make up your mind to pass -through the street and over on the ferry-boat; you felt everybody would -be looking at you and blaming you and denouncing you. You hastened home; -you told your wife all about the affair. What did she say? Did she -play the butterfly; did she talk about the silks and the ribbons and -the fashions? No; she came up to the emergency; she quailed not under -the stroke. She helped you to begin to plan right away. She offered to -go out of the comfortable house into a smaller one, and wear the old -cloak another winter. She was one who understood your affairs without -blaming you. You looked upon what you thought was a thin, weak woman’s -arm holding you up; but while you looked at that arm there came into the -feeble muscles of it the strength of the eternal God. No chiding. No -fretting. No telling you about the beautiful house of her father, from -which you brought her, ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. You said, “Well, -this is the happiest day of my life. I am glad I have got from under my -burden. My wife don’t care—I don’t care.” At the moment you were utterly -exhausted, God sent a Deborah to meet the host of the Amalekites and -scatter them like chaff over the plain. There are scores and hundreds of -households to-day where as much bravery and courage are demanded of woman -as was exhibited by Grace Darling or Marie Antoinette or Joan of Arc. - -Woman is further endowed to bring us into the Kingdom of Heaven. It is -easier for a woman to be a Christian than for a man. Why? You say she -is weaker. No. Her heart is more responsive to the pleadings of divine -love. The fact that she can more easily become a Christian, I prove by -the statement that three-fourths of the members of the churches in all -Christendom are women. So God appoints them to be the chief agencies for -bringing this world back to God. The greatest sermons are not preached -on celebrated platforms; they are preached with an audience of two or -three and in private home-life. A patient, loving, Christian demeanor -in the presence of transgression, in the presence of hardness, in the -presence of obduracy and crime, is an argument from the throne of the -Lord Almighty; and blessed is that woman who can wield such an argument. -A sailor came slipping down the ratlin one night as though something -had happened, and the sailors cried, “What’s the matter?” He said, “My -mother’s prayers haunt me like a ghost.” - -In what a realm is every mother the queen. The eagles of heaven can not -fly across that dominion. Horses, panting and with lathered flanks, are -not swift enough to run to the outpost of that realm, and death itself -will only be the annexation of heavenly principalities. When you want -your grandest idea of a queen you do not think of Catherine of Russia, -or of Anne of England, or Maria Theresa of Germany: but when you want to -get your grandest idea of a queen you think of the plain woman who sat -opposite your father at the table or walked with him, arm in arm, down -life’s pathway; sometimes to the Thanksgiving banquet, sometimes to the -grave, but always together; soothing your petty griefs, correcting your -childish waywardness, joining in your infantile sports, listening to your -evening prayer, toiling for you with needle or at the spinning wheel, and -on cold nights wrapping you up snug and warm; and then, at last, on that -day when she lay in the back room dying, and you saw her take those thin -hands with which she had toiled for you so long, and put them together -in a dying prayer that commended you to the God whom she had taught you -to trust—oh, she was the queen! The chariots of God came down to fetch -her, and as she went in, all heaven rose up. You can not think of her now -without a rush of tenderness that stirs the deep foundations of your -soul, and you feel as much a child again as when you cried on her lap; -and if you could bring her back to life again to speak, just once more, -your name as tenderly as she used to speak it, you would be willing to -throw yourself on the ground and kiss the sod that covers her, crying, -“Mother! mother!” Ah, she was the queen! - -Home influences are the mightiest of all influences upon the soul. There -are men who have maintained their integrity, not because they were any -better naturally than some other people, but because there were home -influences praying for them all the time. They got a good start. They -were launched on the world with the benedictions of a Christian mother. -They may track Siberian snows, they may plunge into African jungles, they -may fly to the earth’s end, they can not go so far and so fast but the -prayer will keep up with them. Oh, what a multitude of women in heaven. -Mary, Christ’s mother, in heaven. Elizabeth Fry in heaven. Charlotte -Elizabeth in heaven. The mother of Augustine in heaven. The Countess of -Huntingdon is in heaven—who sold her splendid jewels to build chapels—in -heaven; while a great many others who have never been heard of on earth, -or known but little of, have gone into the rest and peace of heaven. What -a rest. What a change it was from the small room with no fire and one -window, the glass broken out, and the aching side and worn out eyes, to -the “house of many mansions.” Heaven for aching heads. Heaven for broken -hearts. Heaven for anguish-bitten frames. No more sitting up until -midnight for the coming of staggering steps. No more rough blows on the -temples. No more sharp, keen, bitter curses. - -Some of you will have no rest in this world; it will be toil and struggle -all the way up. You will have to stand at your door fighting back the -wolf with your own hand red with carnage. But God has a crown for you. -He is now making it, and whenever you weep a tear, He sets another gem -in that crown; whenever you have a pang of body or soul, He puts another -gem in that crown, until after a while in all the tiara there will be no -room for another splendor; and God will say to his angel, “The crown is -done; let her up that she may wear it.” And as the Lord of righteousness -puts the crown upon your brow, angel will cry to angel, “Who is she?” -and Christ will say, “I will tell you who she is; she is the one that -came up out of great tribulation and had her robe washed and made white -in the blood of the Lamb.” And then God will spread a banquet, and He -will invite all the principalities of heaven to sit at the feast, and -the tables will blush with the best clusters from the vineyards of God -and crimson with the twelve manner of fruits from the tree of life, and -water from the fountains of the rock will flash from the golden tankards; -and the old harpers of heaven will sit there, making music with their -harps, and Christ will point you out amid the celebrities of heaven, -saying, “She suffered with me on earth, now we are going to be glorified -together.” And the banquetters, no longer able to hold their peace, -will break forth with congratulation. “Hail! hail!” And there will be a -handwriting on the wall; not such as struck the Persian noblemen with -horror, but with fire-tipped fingers writing in blazing capitals of light -and love and victory: “God has wiped away all tears from all faces.” - -And now I leave you in the hands of Dr. Walsh, the author of this book. -He will show you Mary, the model of all womanly, wifely, motherly -excellence—the Madonna hanging in the Louvre of admiration for all -Christendom, and for many millions in the higher Vatican of their worship. - - T. DE WITT TALMAGE. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I.—THE QUEEN’S PORTRAIT. - - “A form beloved comes again”—Inspired painters in a voyage of - discovery—Tributes to Mary, honoring all womankind—Guido’s - wish—Madonnas of many climes. Raphael’s “Transfigured - Woman”—Savonarola’s bonfire—St. Luke’s picture of the - Virgin—The Vandal spirit. Page 29 - - CHAPTER II.—THE PILGRIM, CRUSADER AND VIRGIN. - - Life a pilgrimage—Pilgrims of many faiths—A struggle for holy - places between the Pilgrim-Crusaders and Moslem—The harem and - the home—The rise of Chivalry—The Knights and “Our Lady”—The - results of the Crusades. Page 36 - - CHAPTER III.—ARMAGEDDON! “THE KEY AND SICKLE.” - - “The wandering hermit wakes the storms of war”—Acre and - Esdrælon, the “Armageddon” or “Mountain of the Gospel” of the - Scriptures—The battle-field of nations—The City of Jeanne - d’Arc. The jewel in the sickle-haft—Prince Edward, the Crusade - leader—Sultan Kha-tel—The sacking of Acre—Actors introduced. Page 48 - - CHAPTER IV.—SIR CHARLEROY; THE SOLDIER OF FORTUNE AND KNIGHT - OF SAINT MARY. - - The flight from Acre to Nazareth—The born-leader—Life estimates - with Death holding the scales—A prince honors, a bishop - blesses, and a mother loves—An epitome of paradoxes. Page 53 - - CHAPTER V.—NAZARETH. - - Nazareth, the place of Mary’s nativity—The choice of a - leader—The coward king—The Virgin’s Fount—English songsters—The - Knights’ mountain Litany—Longings for home and mother—Nain and - Endor’s lessons. Page 61 - - CHAPTER VI.—THE FUGITIVES. - - A night bivouac amid sacred scenes—The “Knight of the - Holy-Sepulcher” who fled on “a white charger with black - wings”—The funeral at dawn—Mary’s palm-bearing angel-guard—The - twelve knights separate into two parties—Will-makings and - farewells—By Endor to oblivion. Page 74 - - CHAPTER VII.—ICHABOD. - - Sir Charleroy’s band approach Shunem, the City of Elijah—The - surprise—Sir Charleroy the captive of Azrael the Mameluke—The - Mohammedan heaven depicted—“A hair, the bridge over hell”—The - odoriferous houris—A gorgeous charnel-house blasted—The - prodigal becomes the herald of purity—The Knight of Saint - Mary and the Jewish Spy—Adversity makes the Knight and the - Jew friends—The Knight instructing Ichabod—“’Till Shiloh - comes”—“The true, refined and final Judaism”—“The east and - the west embracing; truth leading.”—An honest doubt is a real - prayer. Page 82 - - CHAPTER VIII.—FROM JERICHO TO JORDAN. - - The radiant proselyte—Climbing to glory—The ghostly forms - hovering over submerged Sodom—Jordan’s sweetening—Siddim-angels - among the willows and oleanders by the Dead Sea—Summonsed - to fight for the Crescent or go to the slave mart—Nourahmal - “The light of the harem” becomes the disciple and friend of - Ichabod—A debate concerning women—A rarity and a wonder—“I told - her women had souls; she laughed like a monkey”—The flight from - Jericho by night—The lightning—God’s torch—“Canst thou dance - rocks into camels?”—A mummy’s flight, and the burial of a live - man—“Unclean”—The solemn passage of Jordan. Page 93 - - CHAPTER IX.—THE FEAST OF THE ROSE. - - A breakfast of lentils and barley in the wilderness—The gloom - of the Knight and the joy of the Jew—Sermons on fate and - songs in flowers—The poetry of Ichabod—Celibacy a reward at - Rome—Kneph “The father of his mother”—The heathen and the - Christian “Feast of the Rose”—The summary of the events in - Mary’s life and in the life of Jesus—The Egyptian Rosary—Neb-ta - the maiden sister—The egg and the cross, ancient signs of - immortality—The Copt priest—The insights of the Egyptians - symbolized by the Sphinx. Page 113 - - CHAPTER X.—AFTER EVE, ESTHER OR MARY? - - By Jabbock, in the native place of Ichabod—Israelitish - maidens keeping the feast of Esther—Religious love, filial - love and lover’s love—The poetic Jew’s rhapsody concerning - affection—God’s voice in the Garden—The ideal women of the Old - Testament and of the New—The Jew’s cry for mother—Vacillating - Sir Charleroy—“Echo’s Magic”—Jewish customs. Page 135 - - CHAPTER XI.—THE FEAST OF PURIM. - - A night-scene by Jabbock—Harrimai the priest, and his daughter - Rizpah—The religious ceremonial and the revel—Sir Charleroy - and Rizpah as “Ahasuerus and Esther”—The Knight’s secret - discovered—Conquest of a woman’s heart through pity—“Of what - metals Jewish maidens are.” Page 152 - - CHAPTER XII.—ASTARTE OR MARY? - - The Knight of Saint Mary enslaved by a Hebrew beauty—The - journey toward Bozrah—The Mameluke attack—The hand to hand - fight—Sir Charleroy wounded and Ichabod slain—Rizpah’s heroism - in peril—Espousal in the face of death—A wonderful vision. Page 170 - - CHAPTER XIII.—FROM RAMOTH GILEAD TO DAMASCUS. - - Teacher and pupil become patient and nurse—Perilous - relations—Delights, assurances, fears and clouds—Harrimai’s - discovery and his malediction—Love’s debate and - decision—Elopement by night—the Knight and the Jewess wedded at - Damascus. Page 182 - - CHAPTER XIV.—THE THEATER OF THE GIANTS. - - The death of Harrimai—A honey-moon in the “Eye of the - East”—To Bashan with the Mecca chaplet-seekers—Nature, - art and desolation—Lejah’s black lava-sea—The frenzies of - Gerash’s passion-flower—Reaction after exaltation—“A camel - voyage in-sea”—Rizpah’s challenge—Jealous of Sir Charleroy’s - love for Mary—“Illusion”—The church of Saint George at - Edrei—Recrimination—Ridicule costly to pride—Neither Christian, - Jew nor Pagan—A woman with unsettled faith—A babe poisoned by - its mother’s passion—The lamp and the palm-trees—The Knight’s - appeals—Omens—A beacon needed—Fleeing the Lejah—To Bozrah. Page 195 - - CHAPTER XV.—THE REVELS OF MEN AND THE RITES OF THEIR GODDESSES. - - Kunawat at the City of Job—The Shrine of Astarte—The Cyclopean - image—Questioning the Soul, Time and God—Hugeness, greatness; - littleness, caricature—The naked worshipers of the golden - calf—Sins exposed—Purity’s vision—Phallic mysteries—Khem—Female - deities—Dualism—Immortality by progeny and by regeneration—The - fire-worshiper’s mystic number eight, and the Jewish covenant - number seven. Page 212 - - CHAPTER XVI.—A BATTLE OF GIANTS AT BOZRAH. - - Houses forty centuries old—The old stone-house of an - ancient giant becomes the home of the knight and his - wife—How circumstances change people—Recriminations and - reconciliation—“The gall taken from animals offered to Juno, - goddess of marriage”—Rizpah’s temper that seemed brilliant - before wedlock, afterward seems to Sir Charleroy very like - that of a virago—The charming nonsense of those for the - first time parents—Shall she be named Davidah, Angela, Marah - or Mary?—The Christian and Jewish faith battle about the - cradle—The separation of husband and wife, in anger—The sick - child and the desolated, deserted wife—Rizpah longs for a - mother, such as Mary of Bethlehem. Page 224 - - CHAPTER XVII.—RIZPAH THE ANCIENT MOTHER OF SORROWS. - - After many years, Rizpah dwells in Bozrah with her - three children—Rizpah of Bozrah fascinated by Rizpah of - Gibeah—Miriamne the daughter of Rizpah—The daughter appalled - by her mother’s mysterious hallucinations—The wonders of - mother-love—The story of the ancient, Jewish “Mother of - Sorrows”—The omen of the bat and the parable of the stars. Page 245 - - CHAPTER XVIII.—THE QUEEN PROCLAIMED IN THE GIANT CITY. - - The old and the young Jews—The old Christian priest and - his Jewess proselyte—Attacked by Mamelukes—The “Old Clock - Man”—The Balsam Band—Miriamne, the Jewess proselyte, questions - concerning the queen of the old priest’s heart—The miraculous - picture of Mary at Damascus—Silver hands and feet—Crown - jewels. Page 264 - - CHAPTER XIX.—THE STORY OF MARY’S CHILDHOOD. Page 282 - - CHAPTER XX.—THE WEDDING—THE BIRTH AND THE FLIGHT. - - The birth of Jesus and the flight to Egypt—Miriamne reads - to her mother a Christian account of Mary’s espousal—Rizpah - curious but doubtful. Page 293 - - CHAPTER XXI.—THE QUEEN AND HER FAMILY IN EGYPT. - - Father Adolphus and Miriamne converse of the Holy Family’s - sojourn in Egypt—Heliopolis and the Temple of the - Sun—Fire-worshipers—At Memphis, the shrine of Apis the - sacred bull—The red heifer of Israel—The Holy Family rescued - in Egypt by a robber who afterward died on the cross next - to the Savior—The legend of a gipsy’s prophecy concerning - Jesus—Zingarella won by the Virgin. Page 312 - - CHAPTER XXII.—THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS. - - Rizpah dreading heresy yet charmed by the story of the “Girl - Wife”—“Behold my mother and brethren”—Christ’s message to his - widowed mother—The “Church of the Terror”—Rizpah’s vision - of “Glad Tidings.” Rizpah of Bozrah allured from Rizpah of - Gibeah—A hot-chase after an old love—The sword that pierced - Mary—The shadow of the cross horrifies Rizpah—The faith of the - Nazarene denounced—Miriamne driven from home by her mother. - Page 322 - - CHAPTER XXIII.—THE MISERERE AND THE EASTER ANTHEM. - - Miriamne alone at night in the giant city—A refuge at the - Christian priest’s—The midnight Miserere—Penitents—Easter at - Bozrah—Finding the mother-love in God’s heart. Page 337 - - CHAPTER XXIV.—A HEROINE’S PILGRIMAGE. - - The convert’s yearnings—“Go and tell”—When parents oppose each - other which shall the child follow?—A child of the kingdom - in a new family circle—Jesus, Mary and the elect—Miriamne’s - two great ambitions—Living apart may be as sinful as actual - divorcement—Father Adolphus encourages and Rizpah opposes - Miriamne—Rizpah recounts to Miriamne the story of her love for - Sir Charleroy, his madness and her own futile visit to London - in the effort to win him back—The curse of heredity—“I’ll - disown thee with tears in my voice and kisses in my heart.” Page 351 - - CHAPTER XXV.—CONSOLATRIX AFFLICTORUM. - - Miriamne’s welcome by the London Palestineans—The daughter - meets her father in a mad-house—Disappointment—The flight—The - search—The White Madonna of the Asylum Park—Love the remedy - of minds perturbed by hate—Pallas-Athene the virgin of the - heathen—Miriamne’s letter to her mother and its grim answer. Page 367 - - CHAPTER XXVI.—THE WEDDING AT CANA. - - Sir Charleroy giving signs of recovery under Miriamne’s - Ministries—A remarkable service in the chapel of the - Palestineans—The knight interested in the story of Cana—The - address of Cornelius, on “Home” and “Marriage”—“Is this - London or Bozrah?”—Sir Charleroy’s sudden relapse—Miriamne’s - adroit ministries—Memories that awaken hopes—The clouds again - lifting—Mary’s life motto. Page 381 - - CHAPTER XXVII.—THE STAR OF THE SEA. - - Sir Charleroy, partially restored, with Miriamne and Cornelius - journeying toward Syria—Passing Cyprus—Olympus—A storm rising - on the Mediterranean—Cornelius presses his love suit on - Miriamne—Miriamne pledges love, but pleads her mission as a - barrier to marriage—Conflicts below, tempests aloft—A dream; - Venus’s court and Mary’s triumph—Sir Charleroy in frenzy - defying the billows—An hour of peril—The “Lightning Song” of - the sailors—The twin stars—“Mary, Star of the Sea”—The victims - of fabricated consciences—Parting. Page 397 - - CHAPTER XXVIII.—THE QUEEN IN THE VALLEY OF SORROWS. - - Father and daughter at Acre—The mysterious Hospitaler—From - Acre to Joppa—“The myths are as full of women as the - women are full of myths”—The wars of men about women—At - Jerusalem—The wonderful words of the Knight-Hospitaler, turned - preacher—The _Via Dolorosa_—The Valley of Jehosaphat—The - mountain outlook—“Soldiers Speed the Cross”—Mary, the sun - of women, rising in moral grandeur above the women of the - grove-shrines—The panorama of the ages, passing before Mary’s - mind. Page 419 - - CHAPTER XXIX.—TWO DEAD HEARTS UNITING TWO LIVING ONES. - - From Jerusalem to Bozrah—The tomb of Ichabod—Sir Charleroy - argues against meeting Rizpah—Miriamne’s strong argument - in behalf of the lasting obligations of marriage—A husband - reaching the climax of revenges—Joseph by kindness kept Mary - in sweet mood and so blessed the unborn Christ—“Miriamne, - I am a bundle of contradictions!”—The news-rider—A plague - at Bozrah—De Griffin’s twins nigh death—Miriamne meets her - mother—Reconciliation—A strange funeral; only two women as - mourners and pall-bearers. Page 437 - - CHAPTER XXX.—THE “KNIGHT OF SAINT MARY” AND RIZPAH AT THE - GRAVE OF THEIR SONS. - - Father Adolphus and Sir Charleroy—A ruined temple and a - ruined man—“A woman, a woman leading in religion!”—Jesus and - Magdalena—The twelve appearings of the lingering Christ—The - Savior’s love-letter from heaven to His mother—Lucifer’s - attempt at suicide—The kiss befouled by treason—The meeting - of Sir Charleroy and Rizpah—“The tomb of giant-love grown to - mad-hate.” Page 453 - - CHAPTER XXXI.—THE ROSE, QUEEN OF HEARTS IN BOZRAH. - - A scene of domestic happiness—Love the vassal of the - will—Neb-ta in the “Judgment Hall of Truth”—The lambs that - are offered by sectarian hates—The Arcana of glorious wedded - love—Rizpah transformed—Miriamne’s public profession of - Christ—Cornelius Woelfkin again appeals for union in wedlock—An - inner and an outer Miriamne—The coronation of love—The solemn - espousal. Page 467 - - CHAPTER XXXII.—THE QUEEN AND THE GRAIL-SEEKERS. - - “The gold of my heart to the man that piloted me to - happiness”—Miriamne yearns for a world in sin—Has the Church - or God failed?—A revolutionary reformer—The story of the - grail quest—The quest of a heavenly cure for human ills—The - triumphant Adam and Eve—The queenly women of patriarchal - times—The mother of the Savior as the wife of a carpenter—What - kept her young heart from breaking—Miriamne’s farewell to - Bozrah. Page 484 - - CHAPTER XXXIII.—THE HOSPITALER’S ORATION. - - The secret meeting of the Knights at the house of Phebe—Swords - bent sickle-like and spears crossed—After war, social - victories—Sunrise at midnight—Each career determined by the - life that gives life—The girdle of Venus—Next after God, Mary - chiefly instrumental in giving the world a Savior. Page 498 - - CHAPTER XXXIV.—MEMORIALS AT BOZRAH. - - The death of Dorothea—The priest of the wayside—The wedding of - Cornelius and Miriamne—A pilgrimage to the tombs of Adolphus, - Charleroy and Rizpah. Backlook, and outlooks. Page 510 - - CHAPTER XXXV.—THE SISTERS OF BETHANY. - - The Missioners at Bethany—The site of the Home of - Jesus—Miriamne’s ideal society—The miracle age—A home, not a - throne, the place of Ascension—Will Jesus so return?—The angel - bivouac. Page 522 - - CHAPTER XXXVI.—THE QUEEN OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID. - - The Knight’s Pentecost—In the upper room of Joseph of - Arimathæa—Mary’s title and realm—Luke, the word-painter—The - smoke side and the fire side of Pentecost. Page 529 - - CHAPTER XXXVII.—THE CORONATION OF THE QUEEN. - - The Hospitaler deemed a prophet at Bethany. The legitimacy of - Jesus as the “son of David” assured through His mother—“The - reign of blood”—First born—Pagan Rome made sponsor for Mary’s - son—Doomsday books and royal charters. Page 538 - - CHAPTER XXXVIII.—THE “LIGHT OF THE HAREM” IN THE “TEMPLE OF - ALLEGORY.” - - The old church at Bethany—A dedication—The wonders of - symbolism—Idolatry and Mariolatry. Page 548 - - CHAPTER XXXIX.—CROWN JEWELS. - - The Hospitaler warns the Missioners of the Sheik of Jerusalem’s - designs—The son of Azrael—Immunity purchased—The wedding of - Beulah, Nourahmal’s grand-daughter to a Jewish convert—The - wedding address—Juno-Moneta—Crown jewels of maidens and - mothers—Mary sounding the depths of woman’s miseries—A - malediction for lust—“Knights of the White Cross”—The lost - woman dreaming of how it seems to have a mother’s arms - infolding her—The Virgin’s potent example. Page 568 - - CHAPTER XL.—THE QUEEN’S VISION OF THE AGE OF GOLD AND FIRE. - - Nourahmal wed to the Druse camel-driver—the Druse converted—The - Hospitaler’s message—Ezekiel prophecies fulfilled at Olivet—The - “Mother’s pillow”—Gabriel, the “Angel of Mothers and of - Victories.” Page 581 - - CHAPTER XLI.—A CHIME AND A DIRGE AT CHRISTMAS-TIME. - - “Motherhood priced”—“Thou shalt be saved in - child-bearing”—Sylvan gods of Rome—“The Miriamites,”—“In - Rama, weeping and great mourning”—Joachim’s bleating lamb - slain—Woman’s supreme hour—Maternity’s crucifixion—“The - Cæsarian Section”—The ebbing tide and the stranded wreck, - at midnight. Page 595 - - CHAPTER XLII.—THE MOTHER OF SORROWS TRIUMPHANT AT LAST. - - The funeral of Miriamne—The Hospitaler tells the traditions of - Mary’s death and assumption—What the Druse convert said to his - camel—“The beatings of mighty wings”—The tomb of Miriamne in - Gethsemane. Page 611 - - CHAPTER XLIII.—A COFFIN FULL OF FLOWERS, AND A GIRDLE WITH - WINGS. - - Cornelius and his son at Bethany—Changed scenes—Under the - lights and shadows of Chemosh—A widower’s grief—Azrael’s - putative son razes to the ground Miriamne’s home and temple—The - legend of Mary’s coffin and girdle—The last of the new - grail-knights—A sad and dramatic tableau. Page 618 - - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - I. - - MARY AND THE INFANT JESUS, Frontispiece - - (The original painted by GOODALL.) - - PAGE - - II. - - THE BIRTH OF MARY 60 - - (The original painted by MURILLO.) - - III. - - RIZPAH DEFENDING THE DEAD BODIES OF HER RELATIONS, 250 - - (The original painted by BECKER.) - - IV. - - THE EDUCATION OF MARY, 282 - - (The original painted by CARL MULLER.) - - V. - - THE MARRIAGE OF MARY AND JOSEPH, 294 - - (The original painted by RAPHAEL.) - - VI. - - THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS, 332 - - (The original painted by MORRIS.) - - VII. - - JESUS AT THE AGE OF TWELVE WITH MARY AND JOSEPH ON THEIR WAY - TO JERUSALEM, 350 - - (The original painted by MENGELBURG.) - - VIII. - - THE YOUTH JESUS YIELDING TO THE WISHES OF HIS MOTHER, 366 - - (The original painted by W. HOLMAN HUNT.) - - IX. - - THE WEDDING AT CANA, 380 - - (The original painted by PAUL VERONESE.) - - X. - - MARY AND ST. JOHN, 433 - - (The original painted by PLOCKHORST.) - - - - -THE QUEEN OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE QUEEN’S PORTRAIT. - - “And breaking as from distant gloom, - A face comes painted on the air; - A presence walks the haunted room, - Or sits within the vacant chair. - And every object that I feel - Seems charged by some enchanter’s wand. - And keen the dizzy senses thrill, - As with the touch of spirit hand. - A form beloved comes again, - A voice beside me seems to start, - While eager fancies fill the brain, - And eager passions hold the heart.” - - -_Master, we would see a sign from Thee_, was the cunning challenge of -the Scribes and Pharisees. They were certain that, in this at least, the -hearts of the people would be with them. A sign, a scene, a symbol, were -the constant demand and quest of the olden times, as of all times. Even -Jehovah led forth to victory and trust, as necessity was upon Him in -leading human followers, “with an _outstretched arm_, and with _signs_ -and with _wonders_.” The Jews, seemingly so doubtful and so querulous, -after all articulated the longings of the universal humanity. The longing -stimulated the effort to gratify it, and forthwith the artist became the -teacher of the people. Presentments of Mary, as she might have been, and -as she was imagined to have been by those most devout, were multiplied. -Piety sought to express its regard for her by making her more real to -faith through the instrumentality of the speaking canvas, but beyond this -there was the desire to embody certain charms and virtues of character -dear to all pure and devout ones. These were expressed by pictured faces, -ideally perfect. They called each such “Mary”; and if there had never -been a real Mary, still these handiworks would have had no small value. -Who can say that those consecrated artists were in no degree moved by -the Spirit which guided David when “he opened dark sayings on the harp,” -and rapturously extolled that other Beloved of God, the Church? Music -and painting—twin sisters—equal in merit, and both from Him who displays -form, color and harmony as among the chief rewards and glories of His -upper kingdom. These also meet a want in human nature as God created -it. The artists did not beget this desire for presentments through form -and color of the woman deemed most blessed; the desire rather begot the -artists. Stately theology has never ceased truly to proclaim from the day -Christ cried “_It is finished!_” that “_in Him all fullness dwells_;” but -no theology, has been able to silence the cry of woman’s heart in woman -and woman’s nature in man which pleads through the long years, “_Show us -the mother and it sufficeth us_.” It has happened sometimes that gross -minds have strayed from the ideal or spiritual imports of Mary’s life and -fallen into idolizing her effigies. That was their fault, and must not be -taken as full proof that nothing but evil came from the portrayings of -our queen. The facts are conclusively otherwise. The painters that made -glorious ideals shine forth from the canvas unconsciously painted the -shadows largely out of the conditions of all women. Before this second -advent of the Virgin, the paganish idea that women were the “weaker sex,” -the inferiors of men, at best only useful, handsome animals, prevailed. -The renaissance of Mary, as the ideal woman, was an event seeded with -the germs of revolutionary impulses socially. Like sunrise it began in -the East, at first dimly manifest, then it became effulgent and quickly -coursed westward along the pathways of Christianity’s conquests. Like -sweet, grateful light then there came to the hearts of men the braver -true persuasion, that the woman who not only bore the Christ but won His -reverent love must have been morally beautiful and great. In the track -of this persuasion, and as its sequence, there came the conviction that -the sex, of which Mary was one, had within it possibilities beyond what -its sturdier companions had dreamed. After this it came about that the -painters, often the interpreters of human feelings, began to represent -all goodness under the form of a Madonna. Not knowing the contour -of Mary’s face they began gathering here and there, from the women -they knew, features of beauty. They combined these in one harmonious -presentment. They set out to represent the ideal woman, but had to go -to women to find her parts. It became a tribute to womankind to do this. -It was like a voyage of discovery, and the artist voyagers depicted not -only the best things in womankind, but by putting these things together -illustrated what woman could be and should be at her best. - -It was thus that Guido produced a picture of the Madonna which enravished -all that beheld it. Once he had said, “I wish I’d the wings of an angel -to behold the beatified spirits, which I might have copied.” After, here -and there, he picked out fragments of color and form on earth; then put -them into one ideal composition. It was a heart-expanding work; the work -of a prophet, since it told of what might be in woman wholly at her -best. Then he said, “the beautiful and pure idea must be in the head” -of the artist. It was a deep saying. Given the ideal, and the worker -will need only proper ambition to present a grand composition, whether -on canvas or in the patternings of the inner life. The presentments of -the Virgin rose in fineness when priests turned from their exegesis to -kneel and paint for men. The great Saint Augustine, held in high honor -by Christians of every name, redeemed from a youth of darkest sinning, -revered as his guiding star two lovely women, Monica, his mother, and -Mary, the mother of Jesus. He argues, in stalwart polemics, that through -the acknowledgment of Mary’s pre-eminence all womankind was elevated. -Her presentment, so as to be fully comprehended, was in the beginning a -blessing to every soul in being an inspiration to purer, sweeter living. -So far as such presentment now conserves the same results the work is -worthy and profitable. In all times the representations of the Virgin, -whether by the historian or the master of the studio, varied; but the -piety they awakened always seemed to be of one type, and that lofty. -Thus we have “the stern, awful quietude of the old Mosaics, the hard -lifelessness of the degenerate Greeks, the pensive sentiment of the -Siena, the stately elegance of the Florentine Madonnas, the intellectual -Milanese, with their large foreheads and thoughtful eyes, the tender, -refined mysticism of the Umbrian, the sumptuous loveliness of the -Venetian; the quaint, characteristic simplicity of the early German, so -stamped with their nationality that I never looked round me in a room -full of German girls without thinking of Albert Durer’s Virgins; the -intense, life-like feeling of the Spanish, the prosaic, portrait-like -nature of the Flemish schools, and so on.” Each time and place produced -its own ideal, but all tried to express the one thought uppermost; pious -regard for the Queen and model. All seemed to feel that in this devotion -there was somehow comfort and exaltation—and there generally were both. - -The writer of the foregoing quotation, a woman of widest culture and -admirable good sense, attested the need that many feel by her own -rapturous description of the Madonna of Raphael in the Dresden Gallery. -“I have seen my own ideal once where Raphael—inspired, if ever painter -was inspired—projected on the space before him that wonderful creation.” -“There she stands, the transfigured woman; at once completely human and -completely divine, an abstraction of power, purity and love; poised on -the empurpled air, and requiring no other support; with melancholy, -loving mouth, her slightly dilated sibylline eyes looking out quite -through the universe to the end and consummation of all things; sad, as -if she beheld afar off the visionary sword that was to reach her heart -through HIM, now resting as enthroned on that heart; yet already exalted -through the homage of the redeemed generations who were to salute her -as blessed. Is it so indeed? Is she so divine? or does not rather the -imagination lend a grace that is not there? I have stood before it and -confessed that there is more in that form and face than I have ever -yet conceived. The _Madonna di San Sisto_ is an abstract of _all_ the -attributes of Mary.” - -The foregoing representation marked a step forward in things spiritual. -Before Raphael, painters numberless, under the influence of the luxurious -and vicious Medici, had filled the churches of Florence with painted -presentments of the Virgin, characterized by an alluring beauty which -seemed next door to blasphemy. Then came that Luther of his times, -Savonarola. He thundered for purity, simplicity and reform; aiming his -blows at the depraving, sensuous conceptions of the grosser artists. He -made a bonfire in the Piazza of Florence, there consuming these false -madonnas. He was, for this, persecuted to death by the Borgia family. -They could not bear his trumpet call to Florentines, “Your sins make me -a prophet; I have been a Jonah warning Nineveh; I shall be a Jeremiah -weeping over the ruins; for God will renew His church and that will not -take place without blood—” Art heard his voice, the painters became -disgusted with their meaner handiwork, the rude, the obscene, the -mischievous was obliterated; finer, more spiritual and loftier concepts -of the Virgin appeared as proof of a reformation of morals. And Raphael, -later on, seeing these productions, felt the influence that begot them, -and then produced that masterpiece. Tradition says Saint Luke painted -a picture of the Virgin from life. The picture, reputed to have been -so painted, was found by the Turks in Constantinople when that city -fell into their conquering hands. They despoiled it of its princely -jewel-decorations, then tramped it contemptuously beneath their feet. The -latter act was typical, and the Turk still lives to trample in contempt -on honest efforts to portray with amplitude and finished details this -splendid character, whose outlines alone are presented by the Gospels. -But though the Vandal spirit survives, there survives also the strong -yearning for the representation of that woman beyond compare, and some -will still revel amid the ideals of painters, and some will be gladdened -still more by truth’s complete presentment which words alone can make. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE PILGRIM, CRUSADER AND VIRGIN. - - “There is a fire— - And motion of the soul which will not dwell, - In its own narrow being, but aspire - Beyond the fitting medium of desire; - And but once kindled, quenchless ever more, - Preys upon high adventure, nor can tire - Of aught but rest.”—“_Childe Harold._” - - -There is something very fascinating about the contemplation of life as a -continuous pilgrimage, and the fascination grows on one as the conviction -of the truth of the conception is deepened by study of it. The course of -our race has been a series of processions from continent to continent, -from age to age, from barbarism to refinement, from darkness toward -light. Whether measuring the little arcs of individuals from birth to -dust, or following along the mighty marches of our universe with all its -grouping hosts of whirling constellations, we have before us ever this -constant truth; man moves willingly or unwillingly onward, as a pilgrim -amid pilgrims. “Move on” is the constant mandate and necessity of being. -Man’s course is mapped; onward from the swaddling clothes to the shroud, -from life to dust; then onward again; while all the mighty planet fleets -of which the earth-ship is but one, move along their courses, over -trackless oceans, toward destinations, all unknown, yet concededly in a -grand as well as in an inexorable pilgrimage. Partly because the motions -of his earth-ship makes him restless, partly because he is a being that -hopes and so comes to try to find by distant quests hope’s fruitions, and -more largely because he is of a religious nature, which impels him to -seek things beyond himself, the man becomes a pilgrim. He that is content -as and where he is, always, is regarded as a fool playing with the toys -of a child, by wise men; by religionists, lack of holy restlessness is -ever adjudged to be a sign of depravity. Hence almost all religions, -whether false or true, have given birth to the pilgrim spirit. The zeal -to express and to utilize this spirit has been often pitiful to behold. -Multitudes, failing to grasp the fact that life itself is a pilgrimage, -have invented other pilgrimages and gone aside to useless, needless -miseries. But all the time they attested human nature seeking something -beyond itself, better than its present. So the tribes that lived in the -lowlands nourished traditions of descent from gods or ancestors who abode -on the mountains, and they inaugurated pilgrimages to seek inspiration -or a golden age “on high places, far away.” The chosen people of God -thus constantly were allured from the worship of the Everywhere and One -Jehovah by the enthusiasm of the heathen devotees who flocked to the -mountain fanes. Turn which way one will in the night of the ages and -the spectacle of the pilgrim is before him. Ancient Hinduism, followed -by that of to-day, witnessed annually, pilgrims counted by hundreds of -thousands to the temple of murderous Juggernaut, the Ganga Sagor, or isle -of Sacred Ganges. The Buddhists journey to Adam’s Peak in Ceylon, and -the Lamaists of Thibet travel adoringly to their Lha-Isa; the Japanese -have their pilgrim shrines amid perilous approaches at Istje, while the -Chinese, who claim to be sons of the mountains, clamber with naked knees -the rugged sides of Kicou-hou-chan. The pilgrimages of the Jews occupy -many chapters of Holy Writ, for all their ancient worthies “_not having -received the promises, but seeing them afar off ... confessed that they -were pilgrims and strangers_.” Christ confronted the pilgrim spirit -perverted in the person of the woman of Samaria, at the eastern foot of -Gerezim. She and her people rested their hopes in pilgrimages to their -supposed to be sacred places, but the Saviour declared to her by Jacob’s -well, truths, both grand and revolutionary, in these words: “The hour ... -now is when the true worshiper shall worship the Father in spirit ... not -in this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” “Go call thy husband and come hither. -Whosoever drinketh the water I shall give shall never thirst.” There were -volumes in the golden sentences and they plainly said no need to travel -far to find the Everywhere God Who ever comes where men are to satisfy -their every thirst. “Go call thy husband.” Go to thy home and find the -water of life through doing God’s will; it is better to be a missionary -than a pilgrim unless the pilgrim be also missioner. But the truths of -that hour have found tardy acceptance among many. The children of Jacob -are pilgrims throughout the earth, and the disciples of Christ, since -His departure, have gone pilgriming often, as did their fathers before -them. Constantine, the Roman emperor, and his mother, Helena, by example -and precept, urged Christendom to re-embark in such pious journeys, and -at the end of the first thousand years of its existence, Christianity -had hosts of disciples actuated by the same old passion that sent -religionists everywhere to seek shrines, fanes and blessings. Then the -belief began to be held everywhere among Christians that the millennial -period was at hand. Multitudes abandoned friends, sold or gave away their -possessions, and hastened toward the Holy Land, where they believed -Jesus Christ was to appear to judge the world. Here two pilgrim tides, -utterly opposed to each other, met; the Christian and the Mohammedan. -The followers of the False Prophet, like other men, were imbued with -the pilgrim spirit. Some of these thought perfection could be attained -only within the precincts of Babylon or Bagdad, and others sincerely -believed that they could find peculiar nearness to heaven about the -stone-walled Kaaba of Mecca. It was held to be not only a privilege but -a duty, incumbent upon all, to take these religious journeys; hence men -and women, young and old, undertook them. Even the decrepit were under -the obligation, and they must either undertake the work, though failure -by death were certain, or hire a proxy to go in their behalf. So was -rolled up stupendously the numbers of pilgrim graves which have marked -this earth of ours. The Christian pilgrims for a time thronged toward -Palestine, first as a small stream, then as a torrent. Europe at large -was aroused, and all impulses converged toward the Holy Sepulcher. The -soldiers of the Cross soon added swords to their equipments; the flashing -of spears outshone the altar lights, and almost before they realized it -the priests and pious pilgrims were transformed to mailed knights. There -was a root to the impulse, and that the universally felt need of ideals, -patterns, personages of heroic mold in all goodness, to show men how to -live. The pilgrims turned their eyes to the worthies of the past, and -soon came to believe that they could best imbibe their spirit amid their -tombs and former abodes. Like most religionists they grew to believe God -their especial friend, and they therefore soon came to feel that, against -all odds, He would help them to victory. Then they easily grew to believe -that death in their crusades would merit the martyr’s crown. Their -courage was unbounded, for many went out with a passion to die in the -cause they had embraced. The following crusades were marked by conflicts -between Moslem and Christian, filled with fanatical and merciless fury, -though both the opposing hosts claimed to be doing all they did in God’s -name and under his especial direction. “_Deus vult_,” “God wills it,” -was the war-cry of a mighty army, each of which bore on his banner and -on his breast the sign of the Cross, the emblem eternally exalted by the -Prince of Peace, who willingly died that others might live; but these -soldiers were bent on slaying those they could not convert. They were in -a transitional state, passing from being pilgrims to being missionaries, -but the course was a bloody one. They promoted their self-complacency by -persuading themselves that it was a heaven-offending wrong to continue -to suffer heretics to occupy the places made sacred by the Saviour when -in the world. Then multitudes of Christian priests taught that the pious -needed free course to visit the holy places of the East, that they -might upbuild their faith and their grasp of theological abstractions -by beholding objects associated with the tenets they had adopted. The -Moslems had no interest in these proceedings beyond a desire to thwart -them. The Christians, to be sure, had the moral disadvantage of being -invaders, but then censure of them is mitigated by the fact that Syria -was stolen property to the Turk. The latter held it by the stern title -deed of the sword. The reader of this summary will be chiefly advantaged -by remembering that this conflict was one of the mightiest efforts in -the direction of missionary work ever attempted by man, and that being -attempted by force it failed utterly. Now the Crusaders were believers -in Christ and devoted to Mary. These facts awaken questions as to how, -since the spirits of these twain are finally to conquer all hearts, their -champions were so defeated? The Crusaders desired to promote the glory of -the Man of men and the woman of women, but sought it by aims only weakly -worthy, and means often atrocious. It never matters to Christ’s kingdom -who possesses His grave if He only possesses all hearts. The Crusaders, -beginning with a warm sentiment of respect for the Virgin, suffered -their sentimentality to run mad, and mad sentiment is ripe for folly and -defilement. An opal, they say, will change its color when its wearer is -sick; so a man wearing a priceless virtue on the sleeve of his creed, -will find its luster bedimmed when evil sickens his heart. The Crusaders -had grand banners, mottoes, war-cries and ideals, but they did not know -how to honestly and truly apply them. Their efforts and results well -serve to emphasize the truth that moral advances are made with grander -forces than those of the sword; that in the end the heroes and heroines -of the world’s regeneration will appear potent and regnant solely in -the sweetness, truth and exaltation of personal character. Crusader and -Moslem, at heart, were each desirous of making the world better, but they -each, in fact for a time made it fearfully worse. Probably the followers -of the Cross and the followers of the Crescent would have been glad to -have bestowed all kindness each on the other, if only the one would have -accepted the creed of the other. But the humanity and charity of each -were as to the other eclipsed utterly by a zeal for theories. There was -need to both that there arise a harmonizing ideal. It would seem as if -Providence suffered these opposing pilgrims to peel each other until each -in sheer disgust was driven to seek some better way. An able historian -affirms that the Crusades did not “change the fate of a single dynasty, -nor the boundaries and relative strength of a nation”—but they did leave -a history, the contemplation of which affords rare thought-food. The -conflict ended in the utter route and flight of the Christians. The -tragedy ended at Acre, but there were left some things that took shape in -men’s thinking, and the world was made thereby better. The populations -and properties of Christian Europe had been squandered to a startling -degree in these religious wars, and it was fitting that there be some -return to compensate. The result of all others, that grew out of the -Crusades, and was indeed also a leading cause of their vigor, was the -rising of the spirit of chivalry. The dawn of chivalry first begat brave -fighting, but in time the chivalrous discovered a theater for their -activity amid the amenities of peace. Chivalry was a rebound from the -rugged, barbarous belief of the semi-civilized, whose trust was in brute -force and whose constant _dictum_ was, “Might makes right.” Men became -impressed with a spirit of tenderness, and, little by little the duty -and beauty of the strong’s helping the weak dawned upon humanity. To -be chivalrous, by the unwritten laws of custom, became the obligation -of every man who sought popular respect. Chivalry was in the creed of -the noble and brave, and men delighted to become the companions of lone -pilgrims, patrons of beggars, protectors of children and defenders of -women. Toward the gentler sex, the spirit of chivalry finely expressed -itself by not only defending helpless females amid physical perils, but -by according to womankind distinguished courtesy, refined politeness, -and all those proper respects that so appropriately garnish and ornament -the social intercourse of the sexes in properly cultivated societies. -Before the advent of this chivalric time, women had been deemed as -generally every way inferior to men; chiefly desirable as ministers to -the necessities or appetites of their lords; useful as mothers, but -worthy of very little respect, confidence or lasting admiration. The dawn -of this new and fine gallantry was a step toward woman’s disinthrallment. -Chivalry tried to express itself in the Crusades; defeated, its ardor -still burned, and Europe felt its beneficent glow long after the -conflict for Syrian sepulchers had ceased. And here it is of the utmost -importance that the reader forget not the key fact, that before the -advent of the attractive spirit of chivalry, men’s minds in Christian -communities were profoundly penetrated and wondrously incited by a deep -and new regard for the _Queenly woman Mary, the mother of Jesus_! She -had been almost rediscovered. By a common consent, Christian pulpits -had begun sounding her praises, as the ideal woman; a woman worthy of -the veneration and emulation of all. The various religious communities -vied with each other in doing her honor. The Cistercians declared her -purity by wearing white, the Servi wore black to commemorate her touching -sorrows, and other bodies elected as their distinguishing badges, various -garbs or signs solely to proclaim their allegiance to their ideal woman. -A popular moral coronation of Mary resulted. The Crusaders outran all -others in their adulation of, and committal to, the wondrous woman. They -were the first to call her “Our Lady.” She was THE Lady of the hearts -of all. These chivalrous soldiers to her spoke their pious vows, from -her besought holy favors, and in her name, with sacred oaths, committed -their all to effort to wrest all Palestine from the enemies of Mary’s -Son.[1] Now these millions of men were not mad, nor in pursuit of a -phantom. It was all very real to them. They desired to express a long -pent-up natural feeling, and they found an object all satisfactory in -Mary. The Crusaders returned finally and for good from battling with -Moslem; they returned thoroughly, disastrously defeated: but with their -love for Mary all aglow. When they first called her “Our Lady,” there -may have been an admixture of irreverence and dilettante in the thought -of many; they were purged of these in the hurricane of battle and in the -terrors of that inhospitable land of their pilgrimages. Amid trials, -far away from his home, often in severe want, frequently confronting -slavery and death, the Christian knight while adding “_Ave Marie_” to his -“_Patre Nostre_,” learned to think of the Madonna as his mother. Missing -the latter keenly, worshiping the other unfeignedly, woman took a high -throne in his esteem. Sword conquest began to seem to the war-wearied -soldier very insignificant as compared to a ministry of comfort, peace -and good will. The defeated Crusaders returned to scatter through all -Europe a new gospel of humanity. They exalted the Queen of David’s line -and forgot to recount the fortunes of war in the East in expounding the -dawning beauties of the woman that entranced them and the queenship this -ideal had gained over their minds. So they prepared multitudes of the -sterner sex for a lasting belief in the worthfulness of true womanhood -at its best. The Christian world was ripe for such a revival, when the -priests began to thunder “On to Jerusalem!” but men needed not so much -war as conversion; not so much relics and tombs as loving principles -exemplified. It is wonderful how conversion womanizes some men. That -is a triumph of the spiritual over the sensual, the beautiful over the -gross. It will make a man of brutal, selfish fiber, in time, as tender -as a mother toward her child and as self-denying as a maid toward her -lover. The Crusaders started out to rescue the tomb of the dead Saviour -from unbelievers and failed, but they returned to herald the renaissance -of Mary, the disenslaving of woman; to call the state, the home and -individuals to all the refinements which the exaltation of such an ideal -of necessity offered. Toward this advening the rising spirit of chivalry -was bending the finest hearts when the clarions of war, sounded from -altar and baptistry, summoned all to raise the red banner against the -Moslem. Right here it is worthy of notice that God’s providence presented -other, though allied, principles in the conflict against the Orientals. -Two pilgrim hosts, thinking to choose their own ways, were wisely led to -better goals than they knew. The Turk presented the throng of the harem -as his family; the Christian was committed to the union of only two in -holy wedlock. One party presented a banner with a Cross, forever the -emblem of self-sacrifice; the other the Crescent, emblem of youthfulness -increasing, a hint ever of the hope of endless lust, whether borne of the -master of a harem or by the heathen follower of the ancient moon-horned -Astarte. The last at Acre, by the Syrian border of the Mediterranean Sea, -the Saracen hugged victory and the Cross-bearers were utterly routed. -So reads human history, but in truth the defeat was only apparent and -local. The followers of the Crescent, holding the creed of lust and -making pleasure of sense their end came surely toward their destruction -when successes encouraged them in their courses; the followers of the -Cross, on the other hand, had within some germs of truth, life-giving in -themselves and too beautiful to be suffered to die from the earth. Trial -and defeat watered these germs and the knightly hosts returned to Europe -by thousands to proclaim finer doctrines than those by which the priest -had incited them to war. The returning soldiers were transformed from -pilgrims to missionaries, from being taught to teaching, from restorers -of Palestine’s graves to restorers of European society. Of the “Teutonic -Knights of Saint Mary,” a fine and representative order, an impartial -historian writes: “They defended Christianity against the barbarians of -Eastern Europe.” “After many bloody encounters introduced German manners, -language and morals.” Of the Knighthood, as a whole, says another, “the -institution that could breed such characters as these, obviously rendered -an enduring service to humanity. Its spirit lives on, offering examples -which the young still welcome in their joyous, dreamy days. The ideal -still remains, purified by time, freed from its frailties, and aids in -fashioning modern sentiment to the conception and admiration of the -Christian gentleman.” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ARMAGEDDON; THE KEY AND SICKLE. - - “From the moist regions of the western star, - The wandering hermits wake the storm of war; - Their limbs all iron, their souls all flame; - A countless host the Red Cross warriors came.”—REGINALD HEBER. - - -As a traveler climbs the mountain to see the sunrise, so he that would -overlook the past or present must needs clamber to some lofty point of -vision in a significant era or historic location. There are two plains in -Syria; one lying along the Mediterranean, the other jutting out from the -base of the former toward Jordan; the two together, in shape very like -a sickle, have witnessed events wonderfully instructive and determinate -to the student of the philosophy of time’s course. These two plains -are known respectively as Esdrælon and Acre. The sea and the mountains -give these plains their sickle shape, and the geographical outlines are -constantly suggestively before the mind as one remembers these plateaus -not only as the highways but the battle-fields of the ancient nations. -For while, as one says, “the face of nature smiles”—“no spot on earth -more fertile,” he also says “no field on earth was so fattened by the -blood of the slain.” There the Philistines, the Ptolemys, Antiochus, the -Maccabees, Herod, Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, Salah-ed-din, Cœur-de-Lion, -Melek-Seruf and Napoleon, each in turn, put their ambitions and their -beliefs to the stern arbitrament of swords. There the kingdom of the -House of David struggled for life; there the splendid dream of the -Crusaders ended as a nightmare. - -As a jewel in the haft of the sickle, at the northerly end of the plain -by the sea, sits the city of Acre. This city compels the attention of -the preacher and student of history and gives theme to him who blends -symbol into song. Acre gave its name to its adjacent country round about, -and though both city and plain witnessed many a change of master in the -past, those changing masters, to gratify their whims or strengthen their -policies from time to time, giving the places various names. The Knights -of Saint John made it their elect city, honoring it as Saint Jean de -Acre, the martyr maid of France. From the city itself one may look out -over the sea-highway of nations; from the drear and lofty mountains of -its surrounding country one may look over many memorable places. Acre was -often called the “Key of Palestine” by the soldier strategists and by the -chroniclers of events. To their testimony is added that of the inspired -writers and prophets who made it their key and mountain of outlook -frequently. - -These plains, dotted all about by sacred places, memorable for two great -victories; Barak over the Canaanites and Gideon over the Midianites; and -two great disasters, the death of Saul and the death of Josiah, became -to the Jews the symbol of the conflict of right and wrong. Prophetically, -and in the serene hope that righteousness at last would prevail, the -plain was called Armageddon, “the Mountain of the Gospel.” We hear the -rapt Zechariah thus descanting: “The Lord also shall save the glory of -the house of David and the house of David shall be as God.” “And it -shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the -nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of -David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of -supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and -they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be -in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.” - -The prophet looked forth to the Pentecostal day of salvation and the -assured victories of David’s great successor. Following this ancient -seer, John the beloved, in the Visions of the Apocalypse repeats, these -oracles. During the wars of the Crusaders, Acre was sometimes in their -possession and sometimes held by their Turkish foes. In the year 1191 -Richard the Lion Heart wrested it from the infidel leader Salah-ed-din. -The Christians held it firmly until 1291, the time when the last wave -of the Crusader advance ebbed, in bloody defeat, from the shores of -the Holy Land. For two hundred years the believer of the West and the -Moslem grappled with each other in deadly conflict; war’s fortunes -often changing, but the awful price in human misery and human blood was -inexorably exacted at every stage of the conflict. Acre was the focus -toward which the eddying tides ever and anon moved; therefore it saw not -only the end but the worst of the Crusades. - -Our story begins A. D. 1291 at Acre, the Key of Palestine, in Armageddon, -“the mountain of the Gospel.” The situation may be briefly depicted: -Acre was filled with a mixed and un-homogeneous population. There were -the ubiquitous Galilean traders, without politics; shrewd to the last -degree in traffic and courtly as a Parisian; there some secret, sullen, -silent enemies of the Christian invaders, awaiting the coming end; there -hundreds of those camp-following nondescript “good lord and good devil” -characters, and there the remnants of the Crusader armies. The latter -were not only diminished as to numbers but greatly degraded in moral -tone. Their warfare had been belittled to a defense and a retreat. The -adventurers were uppermost; courts-martial, intrigues and fanfaronade -were their occupation daily. Prince Edward, the Christian leader, had -made a sworn treaty with the Moslems long before this time; but his -pious followers had quickly, wickedly violated it. Thereupon the Sultan, -Kha-tel, had made an irrevocable treaty with himself, sealed with the -most awful oath he could register, that he would never tire until he -had exterminated the last of the Western invaders now circumscribed and -besieged in Acre. With 200,000 dusky followers the Sultan besieged the -last stronghold of the Crusaders. The hearts of the defenders sank within -them, and scores sought safety in homeward flight, loading down every -vessel bound for Europe. Among the first fugitives was the chief leader, -Hugh de Lusignan, who wore the phantom title, “King of Jerusalem.” He -preferred the safety of distant Cyprus to the doubtful regality which -was overshadowed with nearing death. Only 12,000 were left to represent -the Crusade cause which once mustered millions. May 18, 1291, the devoted -city was stormed by the Turks; an entrance was effected and a murderous -carnage, heaping the streets with the dead, and redding the foam of the -moaning sea, followed. But there was no easy victory to the Moslem, for -the steady, vigorous, brilliant, desperate fighting of the knights, -laying low piles of their foes for every one of themselves that fell, -compelled the respect of the Sultan’s host. The Turks attempted to gain -a surrender by offering bribes; these failing, terms were offered. The -latter, which included permission for the Crusade remnant to depart the -country in peace, were accepted. But the Sultan, taught, if he needed -the lesson, by the perfidy of Prince Edward’s Christian truce-breakers, -quickly broke his promise of safe conduct. Though the retreating band was -in no way party to the wrong he sought to avenge, they were mercilessly -ambuscaded. There followed another struggle to the death, a handful -against a host and but few succeeded in cutting their way through the -cordon of death. History has often recounted the preceding events up to -the point; from this point it is proposed to lead the reader along the -career of a fragment tossed out of the foregoing whirlpool of disaster. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -SIR CHARLEROY; THE SOLDIER OF FORTUNE AND KNIGHT OF SAINT MARY. - - “’Tis quickly seen, - Whate’er he be, ’twas not what he had been; - That brow in furrowed lines had fixed at last, - And spoke of passion but of passion past.” - - ... - - “Chained to excess, the slave of each extreme, - How woke he from the wildness of his dream? - Alas! he told not, but he did awake, - To curse the withered heart that would not break.”—“_Lara._” - - -The course of the knights fleeing from Acre was turned toward Nazareth. -There being but one way open to them, they took that way quickly and -with one accord. The fugitives from Acre represented various knightly -orders, but they were disorganized, without any definite destination and -without an authorized leader. Among them was Sir Charleroy de Griffin, -a knight famed for valor, a central and commanding personage; one that -would have attracted attention in almost any assembly of men. As he -went, so went the rest of the fleeing Christians, and when he reined in -his panting steed, after a time, at the top of a fir-crested knoll not -far from Nazareth, the knights following him did likewise. Then they -drew around him in a semi-circle, without command, and simultaneously, -as if to solicit his direction. They had followed the course he took -because he took it, and now with one accord they halted because he had -done so. There is to some a subtile influence that makes them leaders of -men; so the disorganized Crusaders, by an unvoiced but fully expressed -concession, admitted the leadership of this dashing horseman. Some may -designate this a triumph of personal magnetism, but be that as it may, -it was a fact that Sir Charleroy was chief. Sir Charleroy, just at the -time of the foregoing incident, presented an admirable study for the -philosopher or painter. From his saddle he was able to overlook leagues -of bright landscape, but he could not claim the protection of a foot of -it; for the first time in his life he yearned for home, now a spreading -sea, and a wall of death shut it out from him apparently for ever; by -circumstances absolute sovereign almost of the men about him, but doubt -and danger were confounding all his ability to give commands. He fell -into a train of thought, leaving his comrades to converse with their -pawing steeds and to questionings within themselves as to the future. -Sir Charleroy had reached an eminence in life, one of those points of -out-look where a man’s past meets him and demands review, that it may -explain the present. He believed that he had reached very nearly the end -of his career, and in that belief he began to weigh it for what it was -worth. In imagination he saw one writing the story of his life. Sir -Charleroy, the refugee, began faithfully to review Sir Charleroy, the -wayward youth, pleasure-seeker and reckless man. The former dictated -mentally to the imaginary scribe: “Write, Charleroy de Griffin was the -son of a stalwart French Baron, used to duels and trained to war. The boy -inherited from his father a splendid physique, of which he was unduly -proud, and a restless disposition that he never sincerely asked God to -control. By the death of the baron, his son, an infant, was left to the -sole tutelage of his English mother. The latter was of high birth, by -nature a noble woman, and in every way worthy of a better son than the -one whom he had turned out to be. She had idolized her brawny spouse in -his lifetime, and when she had recovered from the shock his death caused, -her yearning heart, little by little, turned from the idol in the tomb -to the child he had left her. Ere long she lived again in the rapture -of a love all absorbing, all bestowing, all ruling. She lavished her -affection on the youth, not because he was particularly lovable, for he -was not, but because he was the only one left her to love, and she was so -constituted that she must love; the necessity of loving to her made it -easy. - -“Then there were many things in the features and form of her son that -reminded her of the man who, in brighter days, had won entirely her -maiden heart and her young wife love. The child was wont to wonder why -his mother embraced him as she did sometimes, with a wondering, startled, -wild, passionate embrace; but when he got older he discerned the meaning -of these outbreaks. He knew that the mother-heart was having a vision of -past wifehood, memory’s grace-given solace of widowhood. Besides this -the embraces were her appealings or warnings to death; her heart suddenly -seizing as if to shelter and save her last and only idol; for the thought -would sometimes come with shadows deep enough, that perhaps the boy -might also die. Such love would have been a prized wealth and blessing -to some; but in this case, on the one hand, it unfitted this mother for -the proper disciplining of this son, and this son though, sometimes, when -his conceit permitted it, realizing that the love was given, not won, -began to expect it as his due or despise it for its lavishness. In due -time he entered the period expressively designated, ‘The monster age.’ -This is the time when expanding young life has outgrown the tenderness of -infancy and failed of putting on manly and womanly graces; a time when -there is a mighty ambition to put on the characteristics of adult life -and a mighty lack of ability gracefully to wear them. At this period, -perhaps, the majority of youths of both sexes, are interesting chiefly -for what they have been, or what it is hoped they will be. They feel, -conscious of their growing powers, great self-conceit, and with their -growth comes an expansion of their capacities and wants. The plenitude of -their wantings makes them avaricious, hence parsimonious toward others of -every thing, especially of gratitude. Reverence for elders, respect for -fathers, holy regard for mothers, tenderness toward women, chief charms -of youth, are buried in the tomb of other virtues by great, selfish, -ugly demons of desire. The monster age came to Charleroy in its full -virulence, but his mother discerned little of his monstrosity; what she -did discern, all unasked, she condoned. She believed all things, hoped -all things good of him, although seldom comforted by an expression or -act of gratitude on his part. She was to be pitied; but it may be said -that the lad was to be pitied almost as much as herself. It was the old -story over; she unconsciously went about destroying her own happiness -and though she would have willingly died if need be in his behalf, she -harmed him beyond estimate by her indulgent loving. Then the youth was -surrounded by those who sought the favor of the baroness by constantly -sounding in her ears, and in the ears of the boy, praises of the dead -baron. They told of his daring, they descanted upon his adventures, his -powers, his wisdom. He was the widow’s idol, and the incense was grateful -to her, but the worst of it was that they befooled the lad by continually -assuring him that he was the image of his father, and surely destined to -equal, if not surpass, his sire in deeds of valor. A dangerous burden is -wealth; whether it come as great name or great intellect, great physical -strength or as much gold, it is a fateful load which few can gracefully -support. The youth had wealth in all the foregoing directions; if he -had had a mother whose love loved wisely enough to save, if it need be -by pain, he might have been saved; but her love infatuated her. The -youth’s folly brought him frequently into shameful entanglements; but she -extricated him each time. Nobody ever heard of her even rebuking him; as -to chastising him, that were a thing abhorrent to her thoughts. His face -always bespoke his pardon in advance with her. She would have smitten -her husband’s corpse, as it lay in its coffin, as soon as she would have -smitten the one whose features constantly reminded her of him her heart -had held most dear. Then she hoped, with a mother’s large-hearted faith, -that each escapade would be the last. But as the youth grew older his -acts were bolder. Again and again, without notice and with heartless -inconsiderateness, he left his home to pursue some adventure, and again -and again, mother’s love followed him, ever to find him at last in some -sore plight, and then quickly to forgive him. By the time Charleroy had -reached his majority, the family fortune had been severely tried and -depleted in paying the penalty of his follies. He himself had become an -old young man, with too many gray hairs and too much experience for one -of his years. - -“At that time, a few enthusiasts having determined to make one last -effort to secure the Holy Sepulcher, Charleroy de Griffin ardently -enlisted in the pre-doomed enterprise, allured largely by its very -desperateness. The crusade spirit was then a fitful dying flame -throughout Europe. England and France were left practically alone to -furnish the men and the money for the last crusade. Prince Edward of -France was its leader, and De Griffin, having in his veins the blood -of both of the supporting nations, a French name, a splendid physique, -together with a fearless, dashing temperament, was enthusiastically -hailed to the enlistment and pushed forward to leadership. ‘_Sir_ -Charleroy de Griffin!’ smilingly called out Prince Edward, the day of -review, before the one set for departure. The young man’s comrades, many -of whom had been his associates in former days of wassail, hearing the -Prince’s word, shouted out with one accord, ‘Knighted! The prince has -knighted de Griffin! Hurrah for Sir Charleroy!’ The day following Sir -Charleroy bowed his head, as he stood on the quay ready to embark, to -receive the benediction of a bishop. As the sacrist laid his hands on the -young man’s head, the latter, throwing back his cloak, reverently touched -the cross he had attached to his bosom with his jeweled sword-hilt. The -young knight for a little while was very complacent; for he was enjoying -a sentimental emotion of virtue, arising from sophistries with which his -mind toyed. Some way he felt he had become a soldier of the holy Christ, -and somehow it seemed to him he was making atonement for past follies -by now placing himself side by side with the pious and noble. Though in -reality only bent on seeking excitement, adventure, change, he looked -forward to the rewards of conscience belonging alone to the penitent, -and to a possible public canonizing as one going forth to die for God. -A little piety paralleling one’s own desires is often made to do great -service in silencing the clamors from within. His proud, tearful mother -was by his side. Passionately she kissed his cross, then his brow, then -his eyes and then his lips; leaving on the brow the glistening, dewy -jewels that told the story of the heart which bade him stay, yet go. The -young knight was for once in his life very serious, but tearless. After -all this, in rapid steps, followed the disaster at Acre; the desperate -struggle outside the city; the flight toward Nazareth. Sir Charleroy -finally stands between the sea and the city, a mother’s idol ready to -be broken; at twenty-five, near the apparent apex and end of a life, -having had great opportunities, now, with all lost, he stands there an -epitome of paradoxes. He had made life a pursuit of pleasure only to -find the pursuit ending in misery; he had enlisted to serve the Prince -of Peace, but that service he had undertaken with the sword; he had -championed, as he said, the cause of Christ, the all-conquering, but he -meets utter defeat. He had taken for his patron saint Mary, after years -of libertinism. He elected Mary, he said, because his mother was so like -her. But Sir Charleroy’s mother demoralized her son by over-indulgence, -while Mary, though informed by Gabriel that her offspring was divine, -followed her child as a true mother, with the divinely appointed -authority of a mother, serenely, constantly directing his career up to -the feast of Jerusalem, where he began to reveal his divine commission. -Even then, motherhood affirmed its rights in the very presence of God -manifest, in the question: ‘_Son, why hast thou dealt thus?_’ Nor was -the right challenged, for ‘_he went down and was subject to_’ father -and mother!” At this point Sir Charleroy ceased mentally tracing his -own career, and lifting his eyes looked intently toward Nazareth. “Ah,” -he said, but so that none could hear his words, “my mother loved as -many another, in part selfishly, for the joy of abandoned love, and I -squander that patrimony like a spendthrift, to my harm. Mary’s love for -her son was like his for the world, a constant self-abnegation. That love -survives as an inspiration to the world. By these contrasts I explain my -failure in life, and the present is the natural sequence of the past.” - -[Illustration: By Murillo. - -THE BIRTH OF MARY.] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -NAZARETH. - - “This is indeed the blessed Mary’s land, - Virgin and Mother of our dear Redeemer! - All hearts are touched and softened by her name; - Alike the bandit with the bloody hand, - The priest, the prince, the scholar and the peasant, - The man of deeds, the visionary dreamer, - Pay homage to her as one ever present.”—LONGFELLOW—“_Golden Legend_.” - - “I walked along the top of the hills overlooking Nazareth. A - glorious scene opened on the view. The air was perfectly serene - and clear. I remained for some hours lost in contemplation of - the wide prospect and the events connected with the scene. One - of the most beautiful and sublime prospects on earth.”—ROBINSON’S - _Biblical Researches_. - - -The avenging Turks easily persuaded themselves that they could serve God -better by participating in the sacking of fallen Acre than by pursuing -the conquered, fleeing Christian knights; so they let the latter escape -inland, while they themselves returned to the pillage. Ere long, by -stealth, good fortune and Providential leading, the fugitives arrived -unmolested at the top of a hill, overlooking the little city of Nazareth, -forever memorable as having been once the earthly abiding place of Jesus -and Mary. On the way thither scarcely a sentence had been spoken, -for each felt that murmuring would be harmful, mirth inopportune. -They chose their course indifferently, all following Sir Charleroy de -Griffin because he rode bravely and onward. The fugitives paused, partly -sequestered by the shrubbed hillock, forgetting for a time all else in -admiration of the outspreading panorama in view. Heaven and earth were -smiling at each other; thousands of leagues of sky were filled with the -raptured songs of larks, while as echo and challenge of the songs from -above, the thrush and robin of the grass knoll and thicket responded. -From the plains of El Battaf on the north to Esdrælon on the south -Nature, God’s flower queen, had decked the earth everywhere with blossoms -of pinks, tulips and marigolds. - -“Those dusky cowards,” spoke Sir Charleroy, “though numbering ten to one, -will not seek us here; they’ll wait an opportunity to ambuscade us.” - -“We’ve broken our knight’s pledge, never to flee more than the distance -of four French acres from a foe, and yet methinks we’ve made them respect -our swords; that’s something to say, though we’ve not made them respect -our creed.” It was a Knight of the Golden Cross that spoke. - -Sir Charleroy continued, while his eyes turned toward the city: “I thirst -for the waters of a fount in Nazareth as did David once for one in -Bethlehem.” - -“For all of our getting at it, Nazareth’s water might as well be in -Ethiopia,” spoke a Hospitaler. - -“I’ve a yearning that comes near to sending me on a charge into the city.” - -“That would be a hot pursuit of death surely.” - -“A fair one, then, since death has been long pursuing us.” After a -moment’s pause Sir Charleroy continued: - -“Ah, death! None can escape, none overtake him; see we are his prisoners -now, yet he tantalizes us by a show of immunity. As a sarcophagus is let -down by suspending ropes in tedious stages, with jogglings and pauses, -into the grave, so passes each through perils and sickenings from life to -death. No, no, an undue fear of death intoxicates us until phantasmagoria -possess the brain. We call these hopes; they are delusive! But will any -of you follow for a charge down to the Virgin’s fountain? We can not -more than die; that we must soon, in any event. I think I could die more -complacently, having cooled my thirst where she was wont to cool hers.” - -“Ugh,” exclaimed the Templar, with a shudder of disgust, “the fountain -flows out through an old stone coffin! By my plume! while drinking there -I’d be fancying that the ghost of the one robbed of his last house -were leering at me and reveling in the thought that I’d soon be poor -and thirstless as he. Verily the flavor of a drink depends much on the -goblet!” - -“We may have plenty of miserable fancies, if we only court such; for -me, Templar, I prefer to comfort myself by cheerier thoughts; while I -drank there, I’d think of the coolings of death’s streams; of her, that -at this fountain slaked her body’s thirst and from the chalice of death -drank serenely at last. My sword, the gift of my king, after having -shed torrents of blood, hangs uselessly at my side. It seems cruel as -powerless; ay, ’tis hateful! My mother gave me, on my departure, better -gifts by far; tears, kisses, undying love, and the charge to call on Mary -if ever evil befell me. The latter I know not how to do; but still my -weak faith, methinks, would be helped to cry ‘Mother’ to God, if I could -only stand where that mother stood who won the first love of the infant -Jesus, the last anxious thoughts of the God man.” - -“Sir Charleroy is unusually pious to-night; but alas, though I’ve -been taught to say our church’s _Litany_, calling on ‘the Virgin most -faithful,’ ‘Virgin most merciful,’ ‘Help of the Christian,’ ‘Lady of -Victories,’ I can not use those phrases here. Where’s the help, the -mercy, the victory now? The _Litany_, belongs to England!” - -“We are in our present plight because we have won heaven’s neglect -through having more vices than graces, probably.” - -“Whatever the cause, the mocking disappointment is apparent. It is -nigh thirteen hundred years since the Holy son and His mother began -proclaiming and exemplifying the White Kingdom here. Now in all this -land of theirs, we thirteen, fateful number, alone are left of those who -openly own His cause. Yea, and the city where He grew in favor, these -nature-blessed plains whose flowers gave Him picture sermons, are all -filled with burrowing monsters eternally at war with Him and His.” - -“Faith will rest until assured that the Promiser is dead, and that can -never be, Sir Knight.” - -“My faith staggers at the sights of Nazareth. Chief, look yonder.” - -The knights all now called Sir Charleroy chief, when addressing him. - -“At what?” - -“The ruins!” - -“Ah, all that’s left of our Crusader church. They say it was built on the -very spot where Mary fell fainting, when she saw the Nazarenes in wrath -dragging her son away to cast him down from the precipice to death. But -He escaped, though the church since built did not!” - -“True; therefore it seems to me that the hand on time’s dial turns -backward. This city is filled with creatures having hearts as hard as -the limestone walls of the cave-like houses they fittingly inhabit. If -Christ and His Mother were again on earth as before, mercy’s ministers, -the present inhabitants of Nazareth would surpass His ancient persecutors -in the zeal with which they would drag not only Him but His mother to the -cliffs.” - -“Over the door of yon ruined church, some hand of faith carved the word -‘Victory!’ The word is there yet, and though the hand that carved it is -dead, the faith which prompted it hath victory assured it.” - -“‘Victory,’ in ruins! A meaningless boast, as it seems to me, Sir -Charleroy. Such victory as ours; shadowy and very distant!” - -At that moment one of the Templars, who had been secretly praying behind -a cactus hedge, drew near and the Hospitaler addressed him: - -“Brother, any token?” - -“Praise Jehovah! yes, of peace.” - -“How came it?” - -“In my communings, God brought to my mind how the wondrous Deborah, not -far from here, pushed the pusillanimous Barak from his refuge among the -pistacas and oaks, from waverings to courage and to glorious victory over -God’s foes.” - -“A happy thought; ‘the stars on their course fought against Sisera!’” - -“Barak was called the ‘thunderbolt,’ but Deborah was the ‘lightning.’ The -lightning gave force to the bolt and God to the lightning.” - -Sir Charleroy, catching the last sentence, joined in the debate: - -“Gentlemen, there is another lesson on the brow of that history; it is, -that women, having more trust, cleave closer to God in peril than do men. -Men are in a panic when their devices fail; women have fewer devices to -fail, hence are less easily confounded. For that reason God sent out our -race in pairs.” - -“Hermon’s breast holds the last ray of the setting sun,” remarked the -Golden Cross. - -“And the Transfiguration of Christ is recalled! I think some angel of God -is holding the sunlight there for our instruction, now,” exclaimed the -chief. - -“Our instruction?” queried the Templar. “I do not discern its meaning; -campaigning I fear has dulled my brain.” - -“The Son of Mary, on yon mount, met Elijah, representative of the -prophets, Moses, representative of the law; both called from the -deathless land to proclaim the fulfillment of all prophecy and law -through His coming passion.” - -“And still I question how this applies to us?” - -“A Knight of the _Red Cross_ should easily discern that suffering unto -death for truth’s sake is the way, all prophecy declares that a reign -of law transforming things to spiritual splendor shall at last come to -earth.” - -“Ah, Sir Charleroy, the interpretation is entrancing, but why did the -glory need to fade into night, and to be followed by Gethsemane and -Calvary?” - -“Life is but a series of temporary glimpses of the glory that shall be -revealed. Night and cloud come and go, yet the sun never dies.” - -“But, Sir Charleroy, was it not hard that the loving Immanuel should be -forced to bide these pangs though ever pursuing true righteousness?” - -“Yea, Templar, but the glory of the Transfiguration came to all that -group while Jesus prayed; as the angel hastened to minister when -Gethsemane was darkest. These things teach that heaven watches its own, -with succor according to want; great light at hand to baffle great -darkness and royal answers for anxious prayers!” - -“You mean, Sir Charleroy, that we few, surrounded by a sea of enemies, -in an inhospitable land, far from home, should despise each despairing -thought?” - -“Good Templar, I am certain of this, anyway: Suffering for the right has -full reward, for after passion as Christ’s, so to His followers there -comes the ascension.” - -“Amen,” fervently ejaculated several surrounding knights, and Sir -Charleroy felt the glow that he felt that time the English bishop blessed -him. - -As they thus communed, the sun had quietly sunk down into the far-off -Mediterranean, flooding the west with light like molten gold. Doubtless -one thought came to each at the sight; for all smiled sadly when one -remarked: “The _West_ is very beautiful to-night!” They thought with -deep yearnings of home. But the darkness quickly drew over the scene and -the song of the baleful nightingales began to start forth here and there -from thickets which, in the darkness, appeared like plumes of mourning -on acres of black velvet. One knight, for a while entranced by the grim, -gloomy spectacle, shuddered; then looked up as if to say: “When will -the moon rise? the darkness is oppressive!” Another tried to cheer his -comrades by crying: “England’s songsters know us and come to sing us into -hopefulness!” - -“Men, to rest; you’ll need it.” It was Sir Charleroy who spoke. -Responsibility made him motherly. - -“Let us revel awhile in memories of better days,” replied the Templar. - -“But listen; do you not hear afar off something like the moaning of the -winds before a storm?” - -“What of it? A storm could add little to our misery.” - -“The sound you hear is the cry of jackal and wolf; our omens. Forget now -all unnerving thoughts of home and steel yourselves to meet hard fortune. -For a while rest. Rest is now our wisdom; night, our mother; for a time -in safety she will swaddle us within her black garments. And then——” - -“Even so, good Sir Charleroy, and I’m thinking this is her last visit to -us. She has come, I guess, to lead us to the portals of eternal day.” - -“When I say good-night to you, comrades, it will be with the expectation -of next saying good-morning where the wicked cease from troubling,” -solemnly said the Golden Cross. - -“But,” interrupted the Hospitaler, “while the pulse beats we have a -mortgage on time and a duty to plan to live.” - -“Bravely said; now tell us how to plan,” exclaimed several knights. - -“Merge all our orders into one, for the present; elect a leader, and——” -The Hospitaler paused, for he could not guess the needs or course of -the future. But the knights quickly acquiesced in the unity of action -proposed. - -“Who shall lead?” was the next question. - -“I nominate,” shouted the Hospitaler, “the one whom we all believe must -be under the especial care of the good angels of these places sacred to -all revering mother Mary.” - -The knights, with one voice, responded, “Sir Charleroy de Griffin, -Teutonic Knight of the Order of St. Mary!” - -The little band dared their danger for a moment by a spontaneous cheer. - -“We have no priest to anoint the chief of the Refugees, but with God to -witness, let each who would ratify the choice place hilt to shield, as an -oath of service and defense.” - -Every hilt rang against Sir Charleroy’s shield, as the Hospitaler ceased -speaking. - -“Comrades,” said Sir Charleroy, “I thank you for your confidence in this -hour when the issue is life or death. Let us seek the God of battles.” -The knights formed a hollow square about their leader, and all kneeled -upon the earth. - -Their wondering steeds seemed to catch the spirit of their riders, -and, drawing near, drooped their heads. For a few moments there was -awing silence, and then in deep measured tones the Hospitaler began -chanting, “_Kyrie Eleison_” (Lord have mercy). The companions responded, -“_Christi Eleison_.” Then, amid those scenes of sacred history, the -kneeling soldiers, together, and without command, with only the stars for -altar-lights, solemnly chanted a portion of the sublime Litany of their -church. Galilee never before, nor since, heard a more sincere orison: -“Pour forth, we beseech Thee, oh, Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that -we to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the -message of an angel, may by His passion and His cross be brought to the -glory of His resurrection, through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.” - -As they arose, a Templar spoke: “Companions, if it so please you, put -a seal, the seal of the Red Cross Knights, upon our act.” So saying, -the knight crossed his feet, then spread out his arms horizontally; -similitude of the crucifixion. All reverently imitated the action, -meanwhile, their swords being in hand with blades crossing, forming a -fence of steel. - -“Comrades,” spoke Sir Charleroy, with emotion, “I accept the trust, and -vow by Him that gave the single-handed Elijah on yonder far-off wrinkled -Carmel, sign by fire, that confounded Baal and its regal hosts, to lead -you to liberty and home or to glorious graves.” - -“_In hoc signo vinces_, living or dead,” was the chorused response. Just -then the rising moon flooded their interlaced swords with light, and, as -they glittered, the knights took it for an omen that there was a blessing -in the union of their swords. - -“Sir Charleroy, I proclaim thee king of Jerusalem; what say you, -comrades?” exclaimed a hitherto silent Knight of St. John. Once more -every knight’s sword touched the leader’s shield. - -“Nobly proclaimed!” remarked the Templar. “When De Lusignan deserted us, -ceasing to be kingly, he ceased to be king.” - -“Have charity, men,” interrupted their chief; “it takes a world of -courage to fall with a falling cause when a way of escape is open.” - -“Oh, we’ll have charity; the same that Tancred had for that brave -preacher and craven soldier, Hermit Peter; the latter ran from peril and -Tancred raced him back. We can not reach Lusignan to whip him to duty, -but we can vote him dethroned and dead. All cowards are dead to the -brave.” - -“But, companions, I must decline the presumptuous title and phantom -throne. Jerusalem shall have, to us, but one king; the Son of Mary. For -the future, to you, let me be simply Sir Charleroy. Now let us be moving.” - -“Whither?” anxiously inquired several knights in a breath. - -“Over the valley to the cactus hedges against the limestone cliffs before -us, where runs along the great highway from Damascus to Egypt. We shall -not need the route to either point, probably; but those hills are full of -caves for the living and tombs for the dead.” All obeyed. - -“Why so thoughtful?” said the Hospitaler to the Knight of the Golden -Cross, who marched along with his cloak partly shielding his face. - -“I’m living in the past,” he sententiously answered. - -“The past? Ah, to make up by a back journey for an expected briefing of -thy future?” - -“No, raillery here, Hospitaler. I was just wishing that since we are so -near Endor, Saul’s witch would call up some saintly Samuel to tell us -where we shall be this time to-morrow.” - -“Oh, Golden Cross, know we can best bear the good or evil of the future -by seeing it only as it comes; for me, I prefer to think of another -place, near us, but having a more helpful incident for the memory of such -as we.” - -“Dost thou mean Nain?” - -“The same. There a dead only son was raised from the bier to comfort a -widowed mother.” - -“Well said, Hospitaler,” responded Sir Charleroy, “and let us not forget -that it was a mother’s tearful prayers that won the working of the -miracle.” - -“Alas, knight,” sighed the Templar, “we have no mothers to so petition -for us here, if we be quenched ere long.” - -“Some of us have living mothers who never cease to pray for us, nor will -until their breath ceases. In this land, where God appeared through -motherhood, I have a strong confidence that our mothers’ prayers, -re-enforced by our appealing but unvoiced needs, will move the motherhood -of God, if such I may call His tenderest lovings. I’ll trust to-night my -mother’s prayers, reaching from England to Heaven and from thence to -here, further than all the sympathy forgetful Europe will vouchsafe us. A -nation cheered us to battle, and yet it will never seek for the fragments -defeat has left; but the man never lived, no matter what his ill deserts, -whom true mother love and eternal God love ever forgot.” After this long -address, Sir Charleroy again felt the glow within and the approvings that -he felt on the quay when the bishop’s hands were on his head. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE FUGITIVES. - - “’Tis not in mortals to command success; - But we’ll do better, Sempronius; we’ll deserve it.”—_Cato._ - - -The fugitives slept, some in the obliviousness of complete fatigue and -others restlessly, their minds perturbed by dreams of their impending -perils. Dawn summoned all to renewed activity, but its coming was not -greeted joyfully by the knights. - -“Sir Charleroy,” mournfully spoke a Hospitaler to the former, as they met -at the outskirts of the camping place, “our comrade, the Knight of the -Holy Sepulcher, made good his escape from this woeful country during the -early morning, before dawn, as our comrades were sleeping!” - -“Why, impossible!” questioningly responded the chief. - -“Alas, ’twas rather impossible for him not to go!” - -“I’m in no humor for such petty jesting! See, his steed is there yet,” -and Sir Charleroy turned on his heel impatiently as he spoke. - -“Pardon, companion, he that departed was borne away by the white charger -with black wings!” - -“Dead?” - -“Mortals say ‘dead’ of such, but it were better to say he is free.” - -“_Peace to his soul_,” fervently spoke Sir Charleroy. - -“Ah, knight, thou canst not imagine the peacefulness of his going!” - -“But why were we not summoned? We might have consoled him at least; -perhaps we might have healed. What was his malady?” - -“A poisoned arrow wounded him in the retreat from Acre. He did not -realize his peril until the agonies of the end were wracking his body. -Then he said, ‘Too late; it’s useless to attempt resistance of the -inevitable.’” - -“Now this is pitiful—a humiliation of us all. Heavens, Hospitaler! -there’s not a knight among us who would not have periled his life in -effort in the dying man’s behalf.” - -“But he cautioned me against disturbing any one on his account. ‘Poor -men,’ he said, ‘they’ll need all the rest they can get for the struggles -of the day to come.’ Only once did he seem to yearn for a remedy, and -that time he spoke mostly as one dreaming. I remember his every word—‘I -wish I could bathe these hot and bleeding wounds in the all-healing nards -said to exude exhaustlessly from the image of the Virgin Most Merciful at -Damascus.’ I roused him, then, with an appeal for permission to summon -thee, but he forbade me.” - -“Thou shouldst have overridden all protests of his! By my tokens! I’d -have emulated faithful Elenora, who sucked the poison from the dagger -stab given her spouse, our knightly Prince Edward, by the would-be -assassin at Acre.” - -“I could not resist him; his face shone in the moonlight with heavenly -brightness; mine was covered with tears. Oh, chief, the dying man spoke -like an angel. Once he said: ‘It is sweet to go out here, nigh where the -resurrection angel, Gabriel, gave Mary the glad tidings that her humanity -was to join with the Good Father to bring forth One capable of sounding -each human sorrow here and hereafter. He overcomes the dread last enemy -of all our race!’ I watched as he fixed his dying gaze upon the golden -cross he wore; his last words still fill and inflame my soul: ‘Brother, -good-night—say this to each for me. I feel great darkness creeping -in to possess this broken, weary body. It comes to stay, but my soul -moves forth out of its dungeon. I see gates most lofty, all glorious, -and oh, so near! They open to an eternal day.’ Then he breathed his -last, murmuring tenderly: ‘I’m going; good-night; good-morning!’” The -Hospitaler ended his recital with a great sob, then burying his face in -his cloak, was silent. - -Presently the knights formed a hollow square about an old tomb in the -hillside. The Hospitaler supported tenderly the head of the dead comrade -in his lap. On the naked breast of the corpse lay the many-pointed golden -cross of the Knights of the Sepulcher, while round the body was wrapped a -Templar’s banner, with its significant emblem, two riders on one horse; -symbol of friendship and necessity. - -“Let the one who received the dying prayer of our brave companion speak,” -said Sir Charleroy. The knights all knelt, and the Hospitaler still -reverently supporting the head of the dead, spoke. “Knight of Christ, -sleep; the clamors of war shall no more disturb thee. The dead at least -are just and merciful. Israelite, Mohammedan and Christian may lie -together in these vales, reconciled at last. They that would not share -a loaf to save life to one another, in death share quietly all they -have, their beds. The ashes of the long sleepers have no contentions; -here are no crowdings of each other; no misunderstandings; no alarms. -Sleep, soldier, thy worthy warfare finished; thy cause appealed to the -Judge of All! Sleep and leave us to battle on ’mid perils and pain. -Sleep thy body, while thy soul fathoms the mysteries to us inscrutable. -Rest now, and leave us here a little longer to wonder why it is that -human creatures must needs inhumanly oppose and slay each other for the -enthroning of Truth, the friend, the quest of all! Sleep, and leave us to -wonder why death and conflict are the openers of the gates of life and -peace.” Some of those kneeling wept, but they were too much depressed to -speak. Quietly they laid the body within its resting place; quietly they -sealed up the tomb’s entrance. Then they mounted their steeds at their -chief’s command. - -“There are but twelve of us left; a lucky number. Perhaps the breaking -of the fateful spell believed to follow the number thirteen, was death’s -beneficence!” It was the Templar who so spoke. - -“It is said, Templar,” responded Charleroy, “that our Mary, in her -girlhood, was escorted ever by an invisible heavenly guard, a thousand -strong. In the guard there were twelve palm-bearing angels of rare -splendor, commissioned to reveal charity.” - -“A worthy companionship, chief!” - -“I’m inclined to pray heaven to send again to these parts the beautiful -twelve, to assure us good fortune and victory.” - -“Surely the prayers of us all join thine, Sir Charleroy; but methinks -we have forgotten how to pray aright, or heaven has forgotten to answer -us. We have been praying and fighting for months only to find at last -that our prayers and our battlings are alike vain. I fear there are no -palm-bearing angels at hand.” - -The horsemen slowly wended their way back to the hill-top, overlooking -Nazareth, on which they first paused the night before. Again they halted -to admire the prospect, as well as to look for a route of safe retreat. -Nazareth was astir. The little band on the hill could hear the morning -trumpeters calling the Moslem to worship. - -“Gentlemen,” said the leader of the band on the hill, “it is wisdom to -divide into two parties, and make for the sea by different routes. At -Cæsarea we may find some vessels with which to leave these to us fateful -shores. If we meet the foe anywhere, the odds against us now are so great -that death or enslavement must be the result. Perhaps if there be two -parties one may escape.” The knights paused about their leader a few -moments in affectionate debate; all opposing at first the plan that was -to scatter them, but all, finally, convinced that it was the highest -wisdom to go on their ways apart. Lots were cast by the eleven, De -Griffin not participating. Four were grouped in one party and seven in -the other by the result. - -“I’ll join the weaker party, remembering the five wounds of Jesus,” said -Sir Charleroy, reining his steed to the smaller company. A moment after -he continued: “Now, good souls, away with grief; part we must; here and -now. May God go tenderly with the seven, a covenant number. Now make your -wills; then a brief farewell; then use the spur.” - -“Wills?” said a Templar, and they all smiled in a sickly way at the -word. “We knights, boasting our poverty, our holding of all we have in -community, know nothing of will-making.” - -“True, the pelf we each have is small enough; a few keep-sakes, our arms -and such like; but our love is something. Let’s will that, and if we’ve -aught to say before we die, we’d better say it now. There is work ahead, -and plenty of it. There will be no time for _ante-mortem_ statement -when we meet the cimeters of the Crescent.” So spoke Sir Charleroy. He -continued, “My slayer will take good care of my jewels.” He commenced -writing upon a bit of parchment, using for rest the pommel of his saddle. -In a few moments he paused. - -“Wilt thou read thine, that we may know how to make ours, chief?” -inquired one near him. - -“A message to my mother; that’s all.” - -“Enough; that’s sacred.” - -“Yes—but—no. Misery has knit us into one family. I feel to confide.” So -saying, he read his writing, omitting only the portion that recited their -recent vicissitudes:— - - “And now, beloved mother, we turn from Nazareth toward the sea - with only a forlorn hope of reaching it. I long to meet thee, - but the longing must, I fear, content itself in reaching out my - heart’s best love across the distant ocean toward thyself. It - is all I can give in return for the mysterious consciousness - that thine is a constant presence. My memory teems with records - of my life-long ingratitude toward thyself, that gave me birth - and all a loving heart could bestow, and now I’m tasting - bitterest remorse for all those selfish days of mine. I wish - I could recall their acts. Take these words as my request for - pardon. I shall bind this little parchment scrap in my belt in - a vague hope that some way, some time, it may reach thee. If it - do, remember it is sent to bear to thee, beloved mother, the - assurance that thy once wayward boy remembers now, as he has - for months, as the brightest, best, most exalting and blessed - things of all his life, thy loving words, thy patient trust in - him and all thy pious exhortations. I thank God now for all my - trials and perils. They have brought me to full prizing of thy - goodness and near to the religion thou dost profess.” - -The reader paused, and the companion knights at once began begging him to -inscribe messages for them each, he being the only one in all the company -having the priestly gift of the pen. Most of them said, “To my mother” -or “To my sister, write;” but one blushed as he said, “I’ve no mother -nor sister.” His comrades rallied him at once: “Name her, the other only -woman!” - -“A heart as brave as thine, knight,” said the Hospitaler to the blushing -youth, “has a queen on its throne, somewhere.” - -The youth blushed more and drew away a little. - -“Only a lover,” said the Templar. “Lovers, absent, assuage their -pinings by new mating! They forget; mothers never do. Write for us, Sir -Charleroy.” - -The blush of the youth deepened to anger, evincing his heart’s high -protest against any hint of doubt being aimed at his queen; but he was -self-restraining, silent. “I’ll not reveal her by defense even,” was his -whispered thought. - -The writing was finished. “Farewell! Forward.” - -The chief suited the action to the commands, and soon his steed was -dashing swiftly away with its rider, followed by the others of his party. -The seven departed toward Nain; perhaps it was an ominous choice, for -their route led them toward the cave of incantation, where Endor’s witch -called up for Saul the shade of Samuel. Most likely the words of the dead -prophet to the haunted warrior, “To-morrow thou shalt be with me,” would -have told the fate of the seven that morning fittingly, for they were -never heard from by any of their earthly friends. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -ICHABOD. - - “Oh, that many may know - The end of this day’s business, ere it come; - But it sufficeth that the day will end, - And then the end is known.”—_Julius Cæsar._ - - -A tedious ride brought the five knights nigh Shunem, the City of Elijah. - -“We’ll find no prophet’s chamber here for such as we,” remarked Sir -Charleroy. - -“Perhaps,” said a comrade, “we may by force or cajoling find a breakfast; -a cake or cruse of oil.” - -“Anyhow,” replied the chief, “we must try for a little food. We can -neither fight nor flee with gaunt hunger on our flanks. Who knows, after -all, but that we may happen on a humane being in these parts.” - -“Well, good captain, if we should find a Shulamite, black, but comely, -she might be as loving to thee as that one of old was to Solomon, -although——” - -The sentence was broken off by the interrupting command of Sir Charleroy, -“Men, quick to cover; to the lemon-tree grove on the right!” - -A glance back revealed a host of armed men behind the knights. - -“All saints defend!” cried the Templar, as the little band wheeled toward -the refuge. - -The tale of the battle to the death that ensued, is quickly told. - -Sir Charleroy, though he had fought with reckless bravery, as one hotly -pursuing death, alone survived. A bludgeon blow felled him; when he -recovered consciousness, he beheld standing by his side a gorgeously -bedecked Moslem. The clangor of the conflict was over; the blood in -which he weltered, and the vicious eyes that watched him, were all that -reminded the knight of what had recently transpired. Presently the latter -addressed the one that stood guard: - -“Why is the infidel so tardy in finishing his work?” - -“Is the Crusader in a hurry to reach night?” sententiously replied the -man of gorgeous trappings. - -“He would like to stay long enough to execute a murderer—the chief of thy -horde.” - -“My horde? Thou knowest me?” - -“Oh, yes, ‘Azrael, Angel of Death,’ thy minions call thee; but I defy -thee as I loathe thee.” - -The chief’s brow darkened; his sword rose in air, and he exclaimed: -“Hercules was healed of a serpent bite, ages ago, at Acre; Islamism in -the same place recently; I must finish the hydra by cutting off thy -hissing head, Christian.” - -Sir Charleroy steadily met his captor’s gaze, eye to eye, and was silent. - -The chief paused; then lowering his sword, toyed its point against the -cross on the prostrate man’s breast. - -“Bitter tongue, thou dost worship a death sign; dost thou so love death?” - -“Death befriends those who wear that sign in truth; this is my comfort -standing now at the rim of earth’s last night.” - -“Thy bright red blood and unwrinkled brow bespeak youth, the power to -enjoy life. Youth and such power is ever a prayer for more time; thou -liest to thyself and me by professing to seek thy end.” - -“How wonderful! The ‘Angel of Death’ is a soul-reader as well as a -murderer!” bitterly rejoined Sir Charleroy. - -“Well, then, refute me! Here’s thy greasy, blood-stained sword; now go, -by thine own hands, if thou darest, to judgment.” - -“Trusting God, I may defy thee; yet not hurry Him!” - -“I like the Christian’s metal. I might let him live.” - -“Life would be a mean gift now; a painful departure from the threshold of -Paradise, to renew weary pilgrimages.” - -“I may be merciful.” - -“I do not believe it.” - -“Thou shalt.” - -“When I believe in the tenderness of jackals and tigers, in the sincerity -of transparent hypocrisy, I’ll praise the mercy of Azrael.” - -“Our holy Koran reveals a bridge finer than a hair, sharper than a sword, -beset with thorns, laid over hell. From that bridge, with an awful -plunge, the wicked go eternally down; over it safely, swiftly, the holy -pass to happiness. Art ready to try that bridge?” - -“Ready for the land of forgetfulness; no swords nor crescents are there.” - -“No, thou wouldst only reach Orf, the partition of hell, where the -half-saints tarry; thy bravery merits that much; but I’ll teach thee to -reach better realms.” - -“Turk, Mameluke, ’tis fiendish to prejudge a dying soul; leave judgment -to God, and share now all that is within thy power, my body, with thy fit -partners, the vultures!” - -“A living slave is worth more to me than a dead knight; I’ve an humor to -let thee live.” - -“Oh, most merciful hypocrite! I did not think thou couldst tell the truth -so readily; but let me, I beseech thee, be the dead knight.” - -“What if I save thy life, teach thee the puissant faith of Islam, give -thee leadership, and with it opportunity to win entrance to that highest -Paradise, whose gateway is overshadowed by swords of the brave? There -thou mayest dwell forever with Allah and the adolescent houris.” - -“Enough; unless thou dost aim to torture me! I’m a Knight of Saint Mary, -and thou full well knowest the measure of my vows; how throughout this -land my Order has warred against thy hateful polygamy, thy gilded lusts -here, thy Harem heaven hereafter! Ye thrive by luring to your standards -men aflame now with the fire that burns such souls at last in black -perdition. I tell thee to thy teeth, thou and thine are living devils. -But ye war against the wisdom of the world and the law of God; though -triumphing now, ye will rot amid your riots and victories.” - -The chief’s face grew black as night for an instant, but recovering -himself, he continued, sarcastically at first, then with the zeal of a -proselyter: - -“Speak low, thou, last dying vestige of a wan faith! Thou mightst make my -solemn followers yell with ridiculing laughter! I tell thee of life and -of a faith as natural as nature herself. Listen; there is for the brave -and faithful a Paradise whose rivers are white as milk as odoriferous -as musk. There are sights for the eye, fetes most delicious and music -never ceasing to ravish; these lure the brilliantly-robed faithful to the -black-eyed daughters of Pleasure. One look at them would reward such as -we for a world-life of pain; and the children of the prophet’s faith are -given the eternities to companion these splendid creatures whose forms -created of musk know no infirmity, but survive, always, as adolescent -fountains. The heaven of Islamism is eternal youth, eternally luxurious.” - -“It befits the Angel of Death to gild a deformed hell with bedazzling -words. Thou and thine glorify lust, and thy heaven, like thy harem, is -but a brothel after all. Now let me blast thy gorgeous charnel-house with -the lightning of God’s Word: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart for they -shall see God!’” - -Sir Charleroy had raised himself up as he was speaking; now he fell back, -exhausted. He again felt the glow in his heart that he felt on the quay -when the English bishop blessed him; but it seemed more real now than -then, and the approvings of conscience some way came with rebukes that -caused tears to flow. He felt something akin to real penitence for a life -that had not been always up to the ideal that this debate had caused him -to exalt. As he fell back he closed his eyes and turned his face from his -captor; the act was a prayer to be helped to shut out of his mind the -picture of gilded lust depicted by the false teacher that stood by. For -a few moments the wounded man was left to his own thoughts, and then his -heart went out toward home crying like a sick or lost child in the night, -for “_Mother!_” Once more he returned to that duality of existence which -comes when one enters into personal introspections. There seemed to be -two Sir Charleroys, one writing the history of the other, and the writer -was recording such estimates as these: “As he lay there, nigh death, he -drew near to God. He had once been a rover, seeking the wildest pleasures -of the European capitals; but meeting passion, presented as the ultimate -of life, for all eternity, his soul recoiled from it and he became the -herald of purity. Once he had friends, wealth and physical prowess; -but he squandered them as a prodigal; when he lay bleeding, powerless -in body, amid strangers, a slave, he rose to the majesty of a moral -giant.” The Sir Charleroy that was thus reviewed was comforted, and he -stood off from the picture in imagination to admire it, as one standing -before a mirror. Just then he thought of his mother and Mary, his ideal, -standing on either side of him, before the same presentment. It might -have been a dream; but he believed they smiled through tears, pressed -their beating hearts to his and upheld him by their arms with tenderness -and strength. His captor left him for a few moments only, undisturbed. -At a sign from Azrael, he was soon carried away by a guard; the parley -was ended and he that had so bravely spoken doomed to confront that -that is to the vigorous mind the worst of happenings, uncertainty. For -months the captive mechanically submitted to the fortunes of the Sheik’s -caravan; in health improving; in spirit depressed, numbed. The knight -had constantly before him three grim certainties, escape impossible; -rebellion useless; each day hope darkened by further departure from the -sea. The captive’s treatment from the Sheik was not unkind. The latter -met him by times with a sort of courtly condescension, varied only by an -occasional penetrating, questioning glance. They had little conversation, -yet the Sheik’s looks plainly said: “When thou art subdued, sue for -favors; they’ll be granted.” De Griffin nursed his pride and firmness -and prevented all familiarity on Azrael’s part. The latter was puzzled -sometimes, sometimes angered; but he was too polite to show his feelings. -For months the only conversation between the two alert, strong men might -be summed up in these words on the Sheik’s part: “Slave, freedom and -heaven are sweet.” “Knight, Allah knows only the followers of the Prophet -as friends.” On the knight’s part a look of scorn or an expression of -disgust was the sole reply. - -In the Sheik’s retinue was another captive, a Jew. He was constantly -near the knight; for being more fully trusted than the latter, the -Sheik had made the Israelite in part the custodian of the Christian. -The knight discerned the relationship very quickly; though both Jew and -chief endeavored to conceal it. Sir Charleroy, at the first, treated his -companion captive with loathing and resentment, as a spy. After a time, -the “sphinx, eyes open, mouth shut,” as Azrael described Sir Charleroy, -deemed it wise and politic to make the Jew his ally. The resolution once -formed, he found many circumstances to aid in bridging the gulf that -separated the captive and his guard; the cultured Teutonic leader and the -wandering Israelite. They both hated the same man, their captor; both -loathed the religion he was covertly aiming to lure them to; both were -anxious for freedom. They gave voice to these feelings when together, -alone, and ere long sympathy made them friends. The next step was natural -and easy; the stronger mind took the leadership of the two, and Sir -Charleroy became teacher; his keeper became his pupil and _protégé_. - -The twain one day, after this change of relation, walked together -conversing, on a hill overlooking Jericho, by which place the Sheik’s -caravan was encamped. - -“Ichabod, thou wearest a fitting name.” - -“I suppose so, since my mother gave it. But why say so now?” - -“Ichabod, ‘glory departed,’ thou art like thy people—despoiled.” - -“Oh, Lord! how long?” piously exclaimed the Jew. - -“Till Shiloh comes!” - -“Verily it is so written,” was the Jew’s reply. - -“But He has come, Israelite!” - -“Where?” the startled Jew questioned, drawing back as if he expected his, -to him mysterious, companion to throw back his tunic and declare: “_I am -he!_” - -“In the world and in my heart.” - -“Ah, Sir Knight, Israel’s desolation refutes all that.” - -“Jew, thine eyes are veiled. I’ll teach thee to see Him yet.” - -The Jew was puzzled. - -The twain fell into prolonged converse, and then in that lone place the -Crusader waxed eloquent, preaching Christ and Him crucified to one of -Abraham’s seed. - -When the two captives descended to their tents, each was conscious of a -new, peculiar joy. One had the joy of having proclaimed exalted truth, -faithfully, to the almost persuading of his hearer; the other was moving -about in the growing delight and wonder of a new dawning faith. - -At frequent intervals Ichabod besought the knight to take him “_to the -mountain_.” - -Each visit thither was a delight to the new inquirer. - -On such a journey one day spoke Ichabod: “Christian, I am consumed with -anxiety to hear thy words and another anxiety lest they do me harm. I -am thinking, thinking, by day, and, what little time my thoughts permit -sleep, I’m filled with wondrous dreams! I fear to lose my old faith, and -yet it becomes like Dead Sea apples under the light of this new way. So -new, so infatuating. None I’ve met, and I’ve met many, ever so moved -me. Why, knight, I’ve traversed half the world; sometimes as wealth’s -favorite, sometimes of necessity in misfortune; I’ve seen the faiths of -Egypt and India in their homes, and walked amid the temples of great -Rome, but with abiding contempt for all not Israelitish. Not so this -creed of the knight affects me.” - -“And for good reason; I offer thee the true, new, refined and final -Judaism!” - -“It seems so, and yet I tremble. I dare not doubt; that’s sin; but here’s -the puzzle that harasses me: What if, in doubting these things I’m now -told, I be doubting the very truth, the Jewish faith!” - -“Ichabod, thy heart has been a buried seed awaiting the spring. It has -come.” - -“Oh, knight, I’m trusting my dear soul to thee. As a dog his master, a -maid her lover, so blindly I follow thee. I can not go back: I can not -pause nor can I go onward alone. I’m in the misery of a joy too great to -be borne, almost, and yet too much my master to be given up. Oh, knight, -thou art so wise, so strong! Steady me; hold me up! I can only pray and -adjure thee to be sincere with me; only sincere; that’s all; as sincere -as if thou wert ministering to the ills of a sick man battling death.” - -The child of Abraham, with a sudden movement, flung his arms with all -vehemence about Sir Charleroy. The East and the West embracing, truth -leading, love triumphant. - -“Poor Ichabod, if thou hadst no soul, thy clingings and yearnings would -bind me to thee faithfully. Thou hast tried to give me charge over that -that is immortal. A Higher Being has it in loving trust; were it not so, -I’d turn in dread from thy confiding!” - -“Is mine so bad a soul, master?” - -“Indeed, no. Its preciousness to Him that created it, is what would make -me dread its partial custody.” - -“Thou’lt help me, master, now?” - -“For three objects I’ll willingly die; my mother; our lady, and the soul -of one who abandons himself, as thou, to my poor pilotage.” - -“Then, thou strangely lovest me. Oh, this but more persuades me that thy -faith is right; it makes thee so good to a stranger, a slave, a hated -Jew!” - -“But then we are so apart and so unlike each other!” - -“No, Jew, I want to show that humanity is one. The very creed I’m trying -to teach thee and would fain have all thy race, ay, all mankind fully -understand, is full of love, joy, peace. These follow it as naturally -as the flower the stem, the humming the flying wing made to fly and be -musical.” - -“Oh, my dear light, with thee I’m in joy and wilderment. Thy presence -seems to bring me hosts of crowned truths, all seeking to enter my -being. I feel like a tired runner ready to faint when thou’rt absent, -but when thou talkest the tired runner is plunged into a cooling ocean, -whose circling waves, as it were charged with the stimulus of tempered -lightnings, glowing with a million rainbows, overwhelm, lift up and rest -him. I’m floating thereon now!” - -“Thy strange fancies make me wonder, Ichabod.” - -“Wonder; why my strength dies from over wonder. I was ill for hours -yesterday. Light to my sweat-blinded, feverish eyes, all calm and -healing, comes when I yield to thy will; but still all my joy is -haunted by ghosts which rise in day-mare troops, pointing rebukingly to -labyrinths into which I seem to be pushed. I sometimes wonder if I’m -seeing real spirits or going mad.” - -“Dost pray, Jew?” - -“I dare not live without praying!” - -“Then tell the All Pitiful what thou hast this day told to me. He loves -the sincere, down to the deepest hell of doubt, and from it all, at last, -will lead tumulted souls safely. An honest doubt is a real prayer, well -winged; quickly it reaches heaven, at whose portal it dies to rise again -all peace.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -FROM JERICHO TO JORDAN. - - “Through sins of sense, perversities of will, - Through doubt and pain, through guilt and shame and ill - Thy pitying Eye is on Thy creature still.” - - “Wilt Thou not make, eternal Source and Goal, - In thy long years life’s broken circle whole, - And change to praise the cry of a lost soul?”—WHITTIER. - - -Jew and Crusader came to love each other after the manner of David and -Jonathan, and they were both made stronger and happier men on account of -this loving. - -“Sir Charleroy, a year gone to day, thou and I climbed to glory.” - -“Thou hast a prolific imagination or I a poor memory. I have no -remembrance of either climbing or glory of a year ago.” - -“I may well remember the greatest day of my life; the day thou tookst me -up yon hill over against Jericho; I saw, as Elisha, in the presence of -his great master Elijah, the mountains, that day, full of the chariots -and angels of God.” - -“But, Jew, the chariot separated Elijah and Elisha; we were, in thy -‘great day,’ made one.” - -“True, but I got the prophet’s insight and power. Oh now I see Shiloh -coming in the redemption of Jew and Gentile.” - -“Radiant proselyte, give God, not me the glory.” - -“I’ll call thee, knight, Jordan—my Jordan.” - -“The Jew rambles amid strange conceptions. Why am I like that mighty -stream?” - -“Its bed and banks, God’s cup; they nobly serve, catching the pure waters -of mountain springs and heaven’s clouds, to bear them, mingled with sweet -Galilee, to the black burning lips of Sodom’s plains below. I was a dead -sea, alive alone to misery; nothing to me but my historic past, and that -sin-stained. I’m now refreshed and purified; sometime there’ll be life -growing about me!” - -“The highlands of Galilee gather from heaven, oceans of sweet, pure -water, which Jordan, year after year, night and day, hurries down to the -Asphalt sea; but still that sea remains lifeless and bitter. Even so, -the clean, white truth comes to some, life-long, yet vainly. I think I’m -little like Jordan, but much like that sea.” - -“And yet, knight, all is not vain that seems so. I learned this once, -long ago, in the vale of Siddim, by the sea of Lot. As I entered that -place of desolation I thought of Gehenna! The lime cliffs about, all -barren and pitiless as the walls of a furnace, shut out the breezes, -and intensified the sun’s scorching rays. A solemn stillness, unbroken -by wind, wave or voice of life, was there; suffocating, plutonic odors -ladened the air, and a fog hung over that watery winding sheet of the -cities of the plain. I watched that overhanging cloud until my heated -brain shaped it into a vast company of shades; the ghostly forms of the -overwhelmed denizens of those accursed habitations, now in mute terror -and confusion, holding to one another desperately; fearing to go to final -judgment. Once I thought they were together trying to look down into -the depths, perchance to seek for vestiges of their ancient, earthly -habitations. These fancies grew and grew upon me, mad dreamer that I was, -until I was nigh to desperate fright; but I found some little angels on -the shore who comforted.” - -“Angels at Sodom?” - -“Even so. The first was light and liquid silver; it sang a bar of -nature’s tireless, varied melody by my footsteps. Ah, the little, fresh -spring that burst forth through the rim of the crystalline basin, was an -angel to me. Then I found others here and there. At first I was glad, -then I began to pity them, and to wish I could change their courses. They -all wended their ways to the desolate sea, and their sweet currents were -swallowed up in the yawning gulf of death. ‘Vainly,’ I said at first. -Then I saw other angels in the forms of bending willows, and gorgeous -oleanders. Just then it all came to me; the springs, though small and -few, were not in vain. The oleanders and the willow, whose roots kissed -their fresh life, were evidences that the springs had been for good. -Aye, more, the flowers rejoiced me in those desolations more than could -the rose gardens of the Temple in days of happiness. Yea, knight, thou -hast been a rivulet to Ichabod in a day when he wandered as among arid -mountains and dead seas.” - -“Blest child of Abraham, thy faith is great, though I be but a pitiable -guide; yet I’ll adopt thy similes. Be thou and I, to each other, Jordan, -rivulet and flower by turn; the fresh current gives life to plant and -blossom, while plant and blossom both shade and beautify the streams. -With both it shall be well, if we well learn to seek deep for the hidden -springs of the life that can never die. Already thou hast blessed me -very greatly, gathering truths I failed to find. Thou return’st to me -multiplied all I bestow.” - -“Would I could gather for all; for my race, so blinded! Oh, it is a -tristful thought that the nearer I get to God, the further I get from -them I love next after Him. Even my mother was wont to say to me, when, -as a questioning boy, I inquired beyond the traditions of the Rabbis, -that she’d disown me to all eternity as a heretic. My belief has made me -an outcast to her, and yet the thought of her hating me tears my heart.” - -“I’ll love thy orphaned heart.” - -“Me? Love me; so far beneath thee and with such pauper power of payment?” - -“Thy desolation makes thee rich; having none other to love, thou -canst love me the more. Thou know’st this open secret of loving; its -selfishness demands all; getting that it gives all. Fear not Ichabod, but -that thou’lt find the hunger of thy heart well fed. It is as natural for -us to love those we have helped as to hate those we have harmed. Thou -know’st how men wonder that the Infinite can love the finite, but they -forget, or never realized, that one may love because he has loved. So -is it with God. He loves, and that He loves becomes therefore rich and -worthful to Him.” - -The morning after the betrothal, shall we call it, of these two men to -each other, long before dawn the knight was wakened by a cautious step -on the stone floor of his sleeping place. Sir Charleroy was at once all -alert and leaped from the couch, sword in hand, expecting to confront -some gipsy thief, for there had been a band of these wanderers hovering -near the day before. - -“Who’s there?” sternly he demanded, advancing, on guard meanwhile. - -“Ichabod, Ichabod!” with trembling voice and in a half whisper. It was -the Jew. - -“I did not mean to fright thee,” he hurriedly explained, when he had -recovered from his fear of being thrust through, “but I’ve news; bad news -that would not wait!” - -“What is the bad? Is it near?” - -“Oh, knight, speak low—the news is bad enough and the ill, though not on -us, close after us!” - -“Thou art excited, my friend; sit down and then unfold the matter. -Meanwhile I’ll light a faggot.” - -“In truth, I can’t sit, and I’ve reason to be nervous.” Then the man -spread out his arms and his fingers as if he would stand all ready to -fly; his eyes wide open, staring as he talked. - -“Our Sheik leaves Jericho to-morrow; summoned by the sheriff of Mecca. -The sheriff is supreme to Moslem. The command is for war toward the east. -Blood, blood; when will the world be done shedding blood!” - -“Well, my loving alarmist,” replied Sir Charleroy, coolly, “that’s not -very bad news. If the Sheik leaves us, we’ll be free; if he takes us, -there will be a change and for that I could almost cry ‘Blessed be -Allah!’ I am sickened, crushed, dry-rotted by this hum-drum life; this -slavery; dancing abject attendance on a gluttonous master, whose sole -object seems to be eating or dallying about the marquees of his harem.” - -“Oh, Sir Charleroy, the change has dreadful things for us!” - -“Why?” - -“I heard that the runner bringing the mandate from Mecca brings also -command that all prisoners, such as we, must be made to embrace Islamism, -enlist to die, if need be, in this so-called holy war, or be sent to the -slave mart.” - -“This is a carnival for the furies! Why, Ichabod, the latter is burial -alive; the former death with a dishonored conscience!” - -“Sir Charleroy, I prefer the slavery.” - -“Well, I prefer neither. Is the mandate final?” - -“Yes; I’ve an order to commence packing at sunrise; by noon we will be -enlisted or in chains.” - -“Who gave thee these state secrets, so in detail? Perhaps ’tis only -camp-fire gossip recounted for lack of novel ghost stories.” - -“Ah, ’tis too true. I’d swear my life on it!” - -“Rash, credulous; but which now, comrade, I can not tell.” - -“Master, I had this from one that loves me as I love thee; the young -Nourahmal, light of the harem, favorite of the Sheik.” - -“Well, now it seems to me that this light of the harem is thy favorite -rather than the Sheik’s.” - -“She adores me.” - -“Doubtless! Where a woman unfolds her mind there she brings all else -an offering easily possessed. She seals her change of allegiance -by scattering the secrets of the dethroned to the enthroned lover. -‘Nourahmal’? Is she as charming in form as in name?” - -“Hold, now! If thou lov’st me thou will’st not continue thus to wound. I -love that girl, but not the way thou meanest!” - -“So? Is there an elopement pending?” - -“Unworthy gibe! Say no more like it, but answer this: Is it not possible -for a man and woman to be knitted together in soul, as I and thou have -been, without the shadow of a remembrance that they are animals of -different sexes?” - -“Possible? Really I do not know. It may be possible, but so very rare -that I have failed to hear of any such relationship.” - -“Then thou shalt hear of it now in Nourahmal and me.” - -“I’ll take both to Paris! Another wonder of the world! But explain -further.” - -“My Nourahmal is a captive; hates the man to whom she must submit as we -hate him, and loves me with the new love that you have revealed to me, -because I’ve shown her that I love her that way; so different from any -thing she ever knew before.” - -“Well, there are many women yoked to men for whom they feel no great -affection, yet they glorify womanhood by their unfaltering loyalty. -Loyalty is woman’s glory; the hope of society. If the women be traitors, -then, alas!” - -“Nourahmal is not a wife! The man that parcels out his heart to a dozen -favorites buys but scraps in return. A woman in misery’s chains, without -the bands of the confiding, utter love of her lord, will talk; she -must talk, or go mad. I tell, thee, knight, such gossip is the panacea -of suicidal bent. There’s many a woman kills herself for lack of a -confidant!” - -“Thou hast learned much philosophy going around the world, Jew, but -perhaps not this bitter truth; the woman who is traitor to one man will -be to another. Thou mayst be the next. What if she set us fleeing for the -sake of laughing at our forced return?” - -“Impossible, knight; she reveres me truly; even as she does God; just as -I did Sir Charleroy when he brought me light and rest. I was to her what -thou art to me. One day I told her women had souls, as dear to heaven as -the souls of men! She laughed at me like a monkey, at first, and reminded -me that were I a true disciple of Islam I’d know that only young and -beautiful women go to heaven, and they even there have a lowly place. -Thou knowest these infidels believe that the large majority of hellions -are women.” - -“Not strange Jew; they treat women as pretty or useful animals, and so -degrade, not only themselves, but these very women. A woman so demeaned -does not become heavenly, to say the least. But I think, if I were a -Turk, I’d keep only argus-eyed eunuchs to guard my harem; in faith, I’d -even have the tongues out of those guards.” - -“There, now, thou dost jest again.” - -“Well, go on, in seriousness. Tell us the pipings of this seraglio -beauty.” - -“I’ve won her over completely.” - -“This is not strange. Poets are always valiant, victorious orators with -women. The female heart is emotionally moved up to belief with little -logic, if the speaker be fair, or musical, or brave!” - -“I was none of these; I told her of the ‘Friend of Publicans and -Sinners;’ that fed her soul. I do not believe there is a woman on earth -that can resist that story.” - -“Oh, well, I’m not going to forget that the first woman outran her mate -in evil, nor that she exchanged the All Beautiful for the snaky demon.” - -“It would be nobler for a knight, truer for all, to judge, if judge they -will, by wider circles. Do not remember the sin of one, or a few, to the -disparagement of all!” - -“Eve, the best made of all, fell; then her weaker sisters are more likely -to follow in her way,” said the knight. - -“She found a sin and fell: thousands of her daughters have fallen by sins -that men invented and thrust on them. Thou knowest that most women who go -wrong, go in ways they would not without the temptings of the stronger -will. The sin that ruins most is that to woman’s nature abhorrent, until -honeyed over by the tongue of man.” - -“Dexterous lance, art thou, Jew; but, anyway, some women are born bad.” - -“No; I’m not able for one so wise as the knight, unless I’ve the strength -of truth. I’ve heard that our wise men say that if we could trace the -ancestry of any one evil, from birth, we would find somewhere, up the -line, a father, prëeminent in wickedness. Say, women are weak to resist -evil; then, say men are strong to propagate it. Now, which way turns the -scale?” - -“Oh, I say always, dogmatically, if need be, in man’s favor.” - -“Let me see: Eve’s humanity that sinned was out of the finest part of -Adam’s body, and the serpent which betrayed her was a male.” - -“I’ll parry the thrust by asking why the Holy Writings reveal no female -angels? I think there are none.” - -“I’ve a wiser reason, knight. It is this: Man has so foully dealt with -the angels in the flesh that God’s mercy reserves their finer spiritual -counterparts for the sole companionships of heaven, which justly -appreciates these holy, pure and tender creations. Heaven would not be -perfectly beautiful without them and, methinks, can not spare one for a -moment!” - -“Not even to minister to a needy world?” - -“Woman’s life is here, generally, all service, all ministry; her return -to earth after death would be a work of supererogation. God sends back -the male spirits to help restore the world their sex did most to ruin.” - -Then both the debaters laughed out as heartily as they dared, but there -was in the tones of the knight’s laughter a part-confession of defeat. -After a time Sir Charleroy spoke again: “Thou art calm now, after this -diversion, Ichabod; proceed with thy story of danger.” - -“Well, Nourahmal——” - -“Oh, yes, begin again with Nourahmal. Samson was a pretty good man for a -giant, but he had a betraying Delilah!” - -“True enough; but he had also a noble mother. Remember the better, rather -than the worse.” - -“I remember her peers, Mary and my mother.” - -“So, then, when sweepingly condemning all the sex, please except the -mothers, at least of those who may be thy hearers.” - -“Good Jew, I’ll not wound thee!” - -“No pity for me; pity thyself. Such thoughts as thou hast spoken wound -thine own soul. We Jews have an order called ‘Tumbler Pharisees;’ they -affect humility, shuffle as they walk and stumble on purpose that they -may not seem to walk with confidence. Akin to them we have the ‘Bleeding -Pharisees;’ they walk with shut eyes, lest they should see a woman, and, -stumbling against many a post, are soon covered with their own blood, -receiving real harm in flying from imaginary dangers.” - -“‘_Maya, Maya_,’ Ichabod,” laughing aloud, exclaimed Sir Charleroy. - -The latter, catching the knight’s arm, hoarsely whispered: “Hush! Thou -mayst be heard. What dost thou mean by ‘_Maya_’?” - -“Perhaps, Nourahmal! _Maya_ was the reputed wife of the supposed god -Brahm of the Hindus. It is reported that she was in form like unto fog -and her name means ‘illusion.’ A subtle truth, Jew; even a god, in love, -is near a fog bank!” - -“Thou dost not know Nourahmal and dost discredit her; that’s slander; -thou dost know me and ridiculest me; that’s—but—I’ll not say it.” - -“I’d not pain my Ichabod.” - -“Nor discredit Nourahmal?” - -“No; but did this angel, or Syren of thine, having shown the peril, -present a map to a city of refuge?” - -“Ah, poor, helpless girl! she has none for herself, much less for us. She -just told me all and wept and kissed me a farewell, praying me to flee. I -could think of no question in the delight of hearing her say, she hoped -I’d meet her in Heaven, in peace away from Moslem and wars. Only think of -her faith! All new; just a little while ago she did not know there was a -heaven for women. I felt I could die then in peace. I’ve taught one woman -that she is more than a pretty animal!” - -“Then, Jew, to thee, life is worth living?” - -“Oh truly! Oh, if this light could only spread over Egypt and all my own -Syria!” - -“Thy desire is akin to that of Mary’s son and noble. Certain it is that -we can not spread that light by fighting to sustain the fateful Crescent.” - -“By the glory of God, I never will.” - -“Nor I, son of Abraham; so let’s decline.” - -“And go to the slave mart?” - -“Oh, no, not while I’ve a sword, Ichabod.” - -“Then to flee is the word?” - -“The eastern campaigning with the sheik, would be a little longer route -to Paradise?” - -“Perhaps not; I am assured that we are needed of God by the use He -has recently made of us. He will keep us in our flight from bloody -persecuting war, and possible apostacy.” - -“I hate the last word! A knight enchanted of Mary can never become a -renegade; not I, at least. I was born October ninth. Tradition says that -the holy St. John Damascene, having had his hand cut off by the Saracens -that day, was by Our Lady miraculously made whole, and lived long after -to wield a powerful, facile pen in her behalf. I’ll trust my head and -saber hand, used for her, to her protection.” - -“And I’ll trust Him that led the wandering hosts of Moses; for ‘in all -their affliction, He was afflicted with them, and the angel of His -presence saved them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of -old.’ Oh, master, I’ve comfort I can not tell, when I feel orphaned, by -thinking of my Maker, not only as a Father, but as a Mother! God is our -Mother when we, bereft of mother-love, most feel our need of it. So thou -toldst me in the mountains.” - -“True; but shall we try our escape now?” - -“Nay, we had better wait till a little before dawn; the camp patrol is -then withdrawn; then we’ll embrace freedom.” - -“The Jew seems very confident.” - -“Oh, I spent the hour after I met Nourahmal (God keep her), amid the -palms for which Jericho is fitly named, and got a token.” - -“A token?” - -“My eyes were touched in the darkness.” - -“Sweet Nourahmal followed thee?” - -“No, but He that opened the eyes of blind Bartimeus near here.” - -“What didst thou see?” - -“Elisha healing the streams about this palm city, type of God healing -the floods of bitterest fates; after that I saw Jericho’s walls falling -at the blasts of Joshua’s trumpets, and remembered that his God then is -ours now.” - -“Didst thou see two poor men fleeing in the dark from peril to peril, -pursued by a hundred horsemen, who saber-lashed them; a little further -two corpses, one of a Christian the other of a Jew, on which fed fighting -jackals?” - -“I saw no such horror! I saw two led forth from their captors, as Peter -from his dungeon; the angels that blinded the eyes of the monstrous men, -who of old sought to defile Lot’s house, blinded the eyes of the pursuers -of the two; and the angel of Peter gave them guidance and light. But -come, the night-guard has retired; between now and the call to morning -prayers is our opportunity.” - -Out of the old stone stable silently knight and Jew glided, threading -their way amid splendors they believed to be, but could not see. The -ministering spirits were over and around them, their path was through the -Kelt, the sublimest waddy of Palestine; but night shrouded the latter; -their weak faith dimly discerned the other. - -“Can’t thou see any way-marks, Jew?” - -“I discern but few. Yet, what matter? It is enough that He who leads us -sees?” - -“The night is getting blacker and blacker; the omen makes my heart shiver -as it beats.” - -As the knight spoke there came a terrific crash of thunder and a -succession of blinding lightning flashes. Sir Charleroy clasped the Jew’s -arm and in startled voice questioned: - -“Dost thou not fear these?” - -“Why should I? The angel guides swing the torches of the unchangeable -Father to give us glimpses of our way. All is well; I saw by the -lightning flash that we are passing safely the camp lines of our captors.” - -A few miles were over-past. The storm had abated a little, and the first -streaks of dawn, like spears, were rising in the east. - -“Would God, good Jew,” said the now wearied Sir Charleroy, “that the -Prophet of the Moslem, who, near by here, is said once by a stamp of his -foot to have brought forth from the rock a camel, were present to dance -for us now.” - -“He is not here, so we must help ourselves, knight.” - -“Ah, my dear man, canst thou dance rocks into camels?” - -“No, but there are houses nigh, and each thou knowst has it’s stable-yard -in front.” - -“But there is the thorny nubk tree, surrounding the herds.” - -“I’ve faith to try my faith when all I have is faith.” - -“What for; to steal a camel?” - -“Oh, no; I’d not steal a camel but I’d borrow a couple of them. Two; for -I’m not one of the knights who exhibit poverty, by riding double, thou -dost know.” - -“Borrow? Well so be it; the black infidels owe us for two years’ service. -They borrowed us!” - -“It’s pious to take the beasts; for we pay so honest debts of these -heathens and shorten the list of their souls’ sins by removing from them, -in our escape, the opportunity for our murder.” - -“If this be sophistry, Ichabod, it is so sweet that it is taken as -delightful truth.” - -“Thou art persuaded?” - -“No man can out run me, be he rabbi or priest, in condemning vices, if -they be such as I do not care to practice, and I am a profound believer -in every creed that’s sweet to my desires. Here action treads the heels -of persuasion.” - - * * * * * - -On beasts, borrowed without formality, the fugitives hurried toward -Jordan, only there to find a barrier to their progress in the angry -torrent swelled by the recent storms. It was clearly futile to attempt -a passage, and to tarry, waiting the ebb of the waters, was to bring -certain detection. They turned the heads of their borrowed camels toward -their master’s homes and waited the sunrise, meanwhile moving about to -find some means of safety. - -“Well, my comrade, I think it will not be long until those Turks will -give our souls an Elijah-like ascension except that there will be no -chariot. The morning shimmering on his mountain makes me think of this, -Ichabod.” - -“The tracks of our returning camels in the wet earth will guide our -pursuers.” - -“Suppose we climb a tree as Zacchaeus, since we can not have a chariot. -By my plume! which I’ve not seen for a year, I think that would be -safety; the Turks never look up except in prayer, and the wolf Azrael -seldom prays. But God pity us! there they are coming.” - -“To the tombs, master! On the left.” - -“Refuge for jackals?” - -“Yes, but also for the miserable, living and dead! Now haste!” - -Sir Charleroy obeyed quickly, but recoiled with a groan of disgust as -he suddenly pushed against an entombed body. He touched his hilt, as -if determined to abandon attempt at flight, and then, overcoming the -rash impulse to confront the pursuers, turned about, seized the corpse, -and dragging it from its place, hurled it over the river bank into the -torrent. He was in the dispoiled nich in an instant. A cry from the -pursuers drew him forth. “See, Ichabod, the Turks are running along the -river banks watching the mummy bobbing along in the torrent. See, it -sinks. Ah, the brutes, how they shout! They think that body alive, and -that one poor slave is hounded to death.” - -“Jehovah Jeireh, now help us; they’ll soon be back,” cried Ichabod. - -“Ah, I forgot; they’ll remember there were two of us.” - -“Calm, Sir Knight, ‘By this sign I conquer,’ quoting thy words of -another. I’ll go forth; the only one left; at least so they’ll think.” - -Sir Charleroy turned and looked at the Jew, and was amazed to see him -binding in front of himself a board having the ominous words, “Unclean” -upon it. - -“What; thou, a Jew, and touch that foul thing, worn to festering death by -some leper!” - -“Better night and a clean soul, though in a body burned by the cursed -leprosy, than life in Moslem slavery.” - -“But what if the disease cleave to thee, and we escape?” - -“Sir Knight, thou wilt live to tell others that a once hated Jew was led -of thee to truth, and after died a living death, that his benefactors -might survive. I think such deeds cause noble lights to glow in human -souls.” - -“God bless and pity thee, Ichabod.” - -“Ah, he does; even now. I see the scarlet line of Rahab, and it binds the -pestilence that walketh by noonday.” - -The furious pursuers spurred their steeds up toward the tombs, but -as they beheld the solitary man, sitting in painful attitude with -beggar-like palm extended and wearing the dread sign, they rapidly -wheeled their steeds about and galloped away. The Moslem had heard that -a Jew would suffer any torture rather than ceremonial pollution; hence -judged that the object before them could not be the refugee they sought. - -“I wonder not that the demoniac cut himself madly when among the tombs, -good Jew. Sure it’s like going to glory to get out once more. Methinks -freedom is only sweet when taken with fresh air! Well, we are out and the -enemy thwarted.” - -“Methinks, master, that the leper that died here, leaving no legacy but -the sign of his death, did some good in unknowingly making me his heir.” - -“And the corpse I disposed of so unceremoniously left me a house of -safety, though small and musty. I’ve a bitter thought.” - -“So, Sir Charleroy, tell it me, perhaps I can sweeten it.” - -“I, the heir for a little time of that soulless clay, am like it.” - -“Not much being here and alive.” - -“I rather think like it. See me tossed about by strangers, robbed of my -rights, helpless to resist fate’s tides, begrudged the room I occupy, and -not one who once knew me to weep over my besetments.” - -“Sir Knight, the miracles of our frequent preservation should make our -murmurings dumb.” - -In the evening Jordan ebbed a little and the two wanderers passed over. -Nor did they regret the consequent immersing in its flood. No word was -spoken as they passed through the current, for, before they entered, -having remembered that at this Bethabara ford man’s Savior was baptized, -they were each busy with his own meditations. When they stood on the -other shore, Sir Charleroy reverently said: “Comrade, I prayed as we -passed that we might have the dove of peace henceforth above our souls at -least.” - -“I prayed on my part that God would accept the act as the Christian’s -typical burial to the world and separation from its sins.” - -“How like death and birth is that beautiful type. They level all life.” - -“Are our lives leveled? knight.” - -“Henceforth; and we are brethren.” - -“And our King and Savior was baptized here by the herald of His Kingdom, -John?” - -“Yea; here the new Judaism was formally inaugurated. Tradition says also -that Jesus baptized his mother afterward at this ford.” - -“How filial; how beautiful; how expressive! He was her God, yet her -son, she his mother and disciple; and each by all ties and forms bound -together in a fellowship of helpfulness.” - -“The Jew’s an interpreter.” - -“Sir Charleroy sweetens my trust as Jordan sweetens the bitter waters of -Bahr Lut.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE FEAST OF THE ROSE. - - “They arise now like the stars before me - Through the long, long night of years; - Some are bright with heavenly radiance, - And others shine out through our tears. - They arise, too, like mystical flowers, - All different and all the same— - As they lie on my heart like a garland - That is wreathed around MARY’S name,” - - -“Good morning and a blessing, comrade.” It was the greeting of the Jew -to the knight who lay asleep under a palm the day after the flight. The -sleeper slowly rising, murmured: - -“I’m half vexed at thee, Ichabod; thou hast dissolved a dream filled with -sights of home and mother.” - -“I’ve brought lentils, barley, and grape-clusters; they are better than -dreams when the sun is up.” - -“To those sad when awake, joyful dreams are welcome.” - -“There are real joys just before us.” - -“Real joys, just before us? Grim sarcasm; a sorry jest, Jew!” - -“No; oh, no. I’m telling thee the smiling, clean-faced truth. We’ll be -safe at Jabbock’s city by sun set!” - -“Safe? safe? I’m unused to that word; almost afraid of it. What does it -mean in this country?” - -“Oh, these cavalrymen! always on the charge; now here, now there. Thy -thoughts go by habit, sometimes racing forward, sometimes retreating. A -while ago thou wert as full of faith as Gideon, now thou art as timorous -as Canaan’s spies.” - -“My habits have grown fat by feeding on piebald experiences.” - -“Experience is a lying prophet, when it counts without reckoning God.” - -“I can not see a step ahead. That’s certainty to me, though thou callest -it doubt. I know not how to hang rainbows upon the ghostly brows of the -future when I’ve no power to lay hand on the ghostly form and have no -rainbows.” - -“He that lifted the burdens of the past from off us holds the changing -winds of the future in His fists. One second of life goes ever with -only one second of care. I learned this of Sir Charleroy long ago. Now -he forgets his own teachings. Shall I call him Reuben, never excelling -because unstable as water?” - -“Call me slave: Uncertainty’s slave! Thou didst waken me from a dream of -home, to the shock of remembering again that I was homeless, dead to all -that once made life worth living. The gorgeous hopes of thy fertile mind -are mocked by stern present facts.” - -“Odd talk from one just dreaming of his mother; a good woman didst say? -then very hopeful; all good women are. Then remember how thou didst lift -me to the very gates of heaven yesterday. Thou canst not see a step -ahead? Well, then look back; miles; years. Was not our God in thy battles -in the thickets; in the mountains; in Jordan? My poor reasoning tells -me that He has wrought too much for us to drop us now. He must get His -reward in keeping us to the end.” - -“Some of the past makes me shudder, Ichabod.” - -“Pick out the best, not the worst. We escaped the very Gehenna at -Jericho, following murderers, the storm, slavery; now free, fed, rested, -the eastern air washed and sunned to a tonic. I’m drinking lotus balm out -of it.” - -“There it is; the sun’s in thy brain, poet-preacher.” - -“No, I’m only giving thee back some of thine own sermons. I draw from my -own heart no monster memories. If I’ve fought hard battles it sufficeth -that I have fought them once. I’ll not recall their bloody sweat and -tears for the sake of refighting them. No, I’m going back to the sweet, -happy hours of babyhood; for I tell thee, knight, there is a world of joy -to a man, scorched by stern experience, to forget himself sometimes back -to the lullabys and warblings of the days of his innocence.” - -“I can’t do it.” - -“I can’t help doing it, especially in this place! My whole being feeds on -a present scent of home.” - -“Thou knowest the country hereabouts?” - -“My soul laughs in friendly converse with these crocuses, pinks, and -asphodels, turning the velvet, grassy plains to palace carpets. I’m -saying to myself these blossoms must know me, their bowing heads and -offered odors being my reward for nursing their mothers when I was a boy.” - -“Well, flowers are sincere friends; they never change and are all -charitable. That’s why they are deemed fit presents to those in prison, -or proper offering to be laid on the breast of the dead Magdalene.” - -“Ah, dead Magdalene; for even the symbol of a broken promise; born to -be a queen of love, by perverted love dethroned! Woman, man’s ward, by -man betrayed; the guide star setting in black night; the savior of human -purity befouling all purity! Given the power by which Eve was to crush -the serpent’s head and using it to breed all serpentine ills. This is -Eve turning a volcano upon Eden. Put flowers upon her once passionate, -now dead, heart, in awful contrast! Nature at her worst is intensified -anguish; at her best an ocean of joy, an universe of light and song. So I -learn of nature under man. Listen to nature’s perfumed throb now: these -thousands of feathered songsters, millions of lesser creatures, whose -melody is larger than themselves and more perceptible. Hear the humming, -thrumming, buzzing, trumpetings. Oh, this is life as the All-Saving tuned -it to utter joy! It widens, deepens, thickens; getting sweeter, louder, -happier all the way. A tempest, set to music, knight. I’m caught in its -whirl and join in its praisings. It comes over me as an insight of what -nature really is. God cares for it all and made it thus, to throb and -exult!” Ichabod paused in transport. “But I sometimes think there’s a -great waste of these things; there is so much in places where there is no -human ear or eye to hear or see.” - -“Reuben is narrow-viewed just now. Man is not all! God makes happiness -because He is so full of goodness He must. Our rabbis call Him ‘The -Fountain.’ There is no waste! He makes these things for His own joy, and, -methinks, looks down from the circle of the heavens to say to what is in -the desert or wilderness, ‘Very good.’ Then, beyond this, I’ve sometimes -thought He kept the processions of joy and beauty moving along; coming, -going, dying, living, ending and beginning again, as a sort of practice; -by action keeping all fresh and new. He causes things of beauty and power -to pass through His divine alchemy from one glory to another, as the -general causes his squadrons to move through the evolutions of the battle -before the conflict. The Father is awaiting man’s hour, man’s return -from sinning; the time for millennial advent; then all delights, as if -fresh born, all goods newly harvested, will appear to be multiplied, -intensified, transfigured. That will be the beginning of hereafter.” - -“Oh, Israel, the sun is in thy brain. I forget all logic of contention, -charmed out of words, by feasting on thy orisons, Go on, Jew.” - -“Then I’ll say ’twas God, not chance, nor fate, that brought us to wander -alone with nature. Read well nature’s book that lies open in the lap of -the Great Teacher! Only stand close to Him and He will hold the torch, -turn the pages and give the sure interpretations of the sweetness that -feeds quiet, the picturesqueness which evokes smiles and the stately -grandeurs which beget faith.” - -“Israel, thou climbest the sun-ladder to rhapsody!” - -“Whether soaring, climbing, or creeping, I know not; but this I know, -I’m tasting in these wanderings God’s kisses. They are in the flowers; my -spirit rests on His as my body on the balm of the fresh breezes. Then, -animate nature seems so contented and happy! Why, I’ve been ravished -by the songsters; as I’ve said to myself, they echo the angelic anthem -of heaven, peace. Had any such doubt as haunts thee, come to me, since -passing Jordan, it would have been sung out of countenance by the winged -warblers or dragged from my heart captive in floral fetters by Him that -hath two staves, beauty and bands.” - -“Oh, Ichabod, do not pause. Go on, I pray thee.” - -“Then thou art glad to hear that nature is not a beautiful widow mourning -her dead bridegroom through the ages?” - -“I love to listen to thee.” - -“Listen to a wiser. See those stately heliotropes. They stand above all -of their kind with shining faces; great in aspiration, great in devotion. -All day they turn toward the sun and when their blossoms fade they leave -a hardy seed. The winter may bury it, but it springs forth in vernal -days, strong in the life it won by loving the summer sun.” - -“Ichabod, I’m charmed! Let’s abide here always amid these joys of nature.” - -“What, be hermits?” - -“Yes; life’s troubles are made by its people; the fewer people the fewer -troubles.” - -“While sharing their troubles may we not lessen them. No man may live to -himself; we’re wedded to each other.” - -“Yes, wedded to life. A royal phrase; since I’ve been constantly either -hating or loving it; fearing to live and then fearing to die. Wedded! ah, -ha, ha; the wedded are those who most madly love and then most bitterly -hate.” - -“Say sometimes; then thou’lt be like the stopped horologue, telling the -true time once in twenty-four hours, at least.” - -“Thy poetry runs into caustic quality. What hast thou been lunching on -since morn?” - -“At least not on Dead Sea apples, fair without, ashes within. My poetry, -if I have any, always sings in accord with the company it keeps.” - -“How many more arrows in thy quiver, hast thou?” - -“Only one, and that a question; does my master intend to foreswear -marriage himself? He ridicules it.” - -“I have already done so.” - -“Well, ’tis well thou didst not live in Rome, for its citizens that dared -to live amid the temptations and soul-crampings of voluntary bachelorhood -were highly taxed for their disregard of the claims of society and the -state.” - -“Yet even the Romans ever deemed bachelorhood a blessing. In this opinion -royal Claudius decreed that the sailors who brought to Rome a ship loaded -from the wheat granaries of Egypt in the time of Agabus’s famine, should -be as a reward permitted to remain unmarried. If I were a Roman and a -sailor I’d pray for a famine and a Claudius.” - -“A world without wives? What a world!” - -So saying Ichabod caught up a stick and began marking on the earth. - -“How now, Israel; some sorcery?” - -“No—yet, may be, yes. I’ll picture a world without women.” - -The Jew outlined the Egyptian deity, “_Kneph._” - -“What have we, man or beast?” - -“Truly, I think partly both. The knight has described his Elysium and I -have here pictured a fit king for it. Behold thy god, sworn celibate. -Egypt’s adored Kneph. Is this hideous enough?” - -“A god! well he’s not handsome; a ram’s head; four horns; two up, two -down; armed as both ram and goat?” - -“Both were sacred to him in Egypt; also the horned snake with which -Cleopatra put out her life; poor, unfortunate man-wrecked beauty.” - -“But, Jew, thou dost dawdle! What of this play?” - -“Oh, nothing, only Kneph would do well for a sailor, at Rome, under -Claudius, in famine time!” - -“My poet wanders, but yet stings.” - -“So? Kneph was a god that boasted, or rather his spokesmen did, that he -was the _father of his mother_. What economy! No need to be grateful to -or love a mother; no need to wear a wife on the heart. The folly of a -dark age by folly darkened in the mad attempt to lift up man without his -purer better part.” - -“How strange, Jew, whenever we touch a new belief, or an old one, new -to us, we find peoples following an idea or ideal. There has been a -crying through the world ever for a some one for pilgrim man to follow. -How passing strange; our century wails the self-same cry; and somehow -it always happens that this matter has something to do with woman. See; -‘_Kneph_’ was the monstrous birth of those who thought man superlative, -and greatness to be by being all man. How sharply the devotion to the -Madonna cuts across this! She was mother of the noblest, and man in the -begetting left out. Oh, my head’s full of thoughts, but they tumble along -toward my lips without system or leader. I talk like a madman, though I -think like a Seraph.” - -“I think, Sir Charleroy, that a healthy son of Adam sneering at all -women, publicly, reproaches himself as being one who never knew a true -one.” - -“More javelins! I’d swear, anyhow, that if I’d been Adam, no winged -serpent of gaudy colors and honey tongue could have lured me from -Paradise, Eve or no Eve!” - -“If thou hadst been there thou wouldst have been lonesome with the -speechless herds; finding the new woman, would have loved her like the -boy who mates just to see how it seems.” - -“Oh, likely!” - -“Then if thy ward or angel attempted to elope with the devil thou wouldst -have gone along, too, from curiosity, as lad to a hippodrome, just to see -the finish; or as thousands of men since Adam, tied to wayward women, -have gone down with them to darkness, preferring hell with their idols to -heaven without.” - -“I suppose so. Oh, how strangely are the fates of men and women -interwoven.” - -“Then thou dost not now elect to live a hermit, without the companionship -of the frail, fair and faithful sex which are said to double our joys?” - -“Yes and multiply our sorrows!” - -“I suspect thou’lt change thy late creed very soon.” - -“Why so?” - -“I expect ere long that we’ll meet some living blossoms.” - -“By my token, that’s good news, Ichabod.” - -“So, then, thou art ready to recant?” - -Evening came, and the pilgrims supped on the meager meat they were able -to procure in the fields. - -“Now poet of the Palm Land mellow my dreams by possessing me of thy -meditations. What fixes thy gaze?” - -“The monarch of the sky; after a day such as this has been, he seems to -me to take his departure with a peculiar sort of triumphal sweep of his -trailing splendors.” - -“Horus exulting over prostrate Set.” - -“But night, not the green-colored son of Osiris, conquers now, master.” - -“Night never conquers. It merely lives by sufferance; often routed by -the invincible spears of the sun. Darkness creeps forth here because the -golden charger in masterful strategy has gone elsewhere to rout other -armies of the dark kingdom. Lay this to thy heart, good Jew.” - -“I do, as precious ointment to a blister. Enlarge me.” - -“There, Jew; see the fleecy clouds over Jordan. How grand!” - -“Yea, as I’ve often seen them; some like alabaster thrones, and others -like ships on fire, while others are like silver castles, banded with -cornelian and gold, with here and there hyacinthian shields hung on their -battlements, all fresh as the stones in heaven’s foundation walls! How -they career and float along the empurpled ocean of the west! I forget -myself even now into their midst. Oh, knight, such pictures, such visions -make my soul shout in peals of holy laughter.” - -“My Israel, the sun which woos the earth into making love to him with -flowers never sets in thy brain; thou livest in the poet’s constant noon.” - -“But we both are changing. Even the knight gets mellow. Hardship, the sun -and faith are working in us both for good.” - -“Getting to be? No; thou wert and art poet, painter and singer; all in -one. If the world does not hear thee the Seraphim will, by and by.” - -“I’ve noticed that souls unbent from some long, twisting pain, run, -aspire and play. It is mercy’s rest, reward.” - -“God fits some especially to catch passing joys, Ichabod.” - -“Yea, and it all comes from a serene faith that all is very good as He -made it. I’m just opening to the Sun Eternal, at whose right hand are -pleasures evermore. I love thy wakening touch, my guide.” - -“Ah, I’m a bungling player on the harp of thy soul, but I love thy -melody. Child of nature, speak more and more to me.” - -“I can but ill tell all. I’m dumb amid the waves of peace which enhalo, -the hopes that thrill, the views of truth that fill my being.” - -“I believe thee on my soul, Jew. I’d stop now to remember a little, -perhaps to sleep, since so I can follow dreams that would craze me to -contemplate awake; but if we now sleep, pray God our day-dreams go on and -on. I think we are pilgrims following spiritual truths. They’ll lead us -on high; let’s not miss their direction.” - -“One may sleep, master, when he can not think; for me, now, I’d rather -court, awake, my mind’s guests, for a time, meanwhile gainsaying the -lullabys of cricket and nightingale now floating out from every bush.” - -“So be it. How shall we proceed to pass the time?” - -“Can we set up an Ebenezer? God hitherto hath helped us.” - -“I have it; we’ll to the feast.” - -“Well, we have what some great kings have not, and so shall find joy in a -feast. We have appetite!” - -“Thou dost miss my meaning, though thy point is prime. We seldom think -to thank the Giver for the power to enjoy as well as for the enjoyable. -I knew a French prince, once, who said he’d give his birthright for one -good dinner, and he was no Esau, either. He had dinners and dinners, but -what were they along with premature decay gnawing at his vitals like a -rat, while he himself could eat less than a babe?” - -“I see; the knight would have us thankfully commemorate to-day’s -enjoyment of nature.” - -“Just so; I think, in loving nature, because we begin to understand -her, we will be on our way to all the natural joy of which she is God’s -interpreter.” - -“But our feast?” - -“The stars are out on the blue; their queen will soon come up from the -sea, then I’ll induct thee into the feast of the ‘Rose.’ The rose is the -queen of flowers, and flowers the thoughts of God!” - -“The feast of the Rose! I’ve heard it was a licencious, heathen orgy!” - -“It was then a shameful misnomer. My Mary found it; transformed it. Out -of it, through reverence of her, comes a beautiful observance. See here, -Jew.” - -So saying, the knight took from his bosom a string of precious stones -and arranged them, as they glowed under the moonlight, on the ground -heart-shaped. - -The knight then questioningly observed the Jew. - -The latter shook his head and remarked: - -“I’ve seen such often among the Arabs. They have a prayer for each bead -to be said the night after the death of one of their number, believing -the shade departs not to Hades ’till the prayers are said. Thou dost not -practice their enchantments?” - -“Bah! Never. My gemmed circle has a deeper, holier significance. Each -pendant is to recall to mind some virtue or event in the saintly Mary’s -life. Then there are guilds called, ‘Brothers of the Rosary.’ I belong -to one such; each member is sworn to pray for all the others wherever -scattered. The Turks may have had a praying string, but the Crusaders -have appropriated and applied it to nobler uses.” - -“Tell me more of it, if there be more.” - -“There are but fifteen in my brotherhood.” - -“Only fifteen, no room for me?” said the Jew. - -“Fifteen; to suggest the fifteen great events in Mary’s life; namely, the -_Annunciation_; Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the Mother -of Jesus; the _Visitation_; Mary in the Gospel spirit went quickly to -tell her kinswoman of her promised favor; the _Birth of Jesus_, this was -the crowning joy; then here is the gem that recalls the _Presentation of -Jesus_ in the Temple. Thou knowest, Jew, thy fathers often wondered how, -after all, a lamb, an animal, could stand between offended Deity and man. -Jesus in the Temple was the fulfillment or explanation of the mystery!” - -“Yea, truly, I’ve seen this. Oh, that all my people could also see it!” - -“Then, here is the jewel that reminds us of the ‘_Scourging at the -pillar_’ of Him ‘by whose stripes we are healed.’” - -“Israel reads Isaiah with darkened mind, my loving guide. I’ve seen this. -Oh, that my people could.” - -“Here is the jewel that recalls the ‘_Crowning with thorns_’ of Him that -hath to give, at His right hand, ‘pleasures forever more.’ He wore that -thorny coronet that His redeemed should return with singing, crowned with -everlasting joy.” - -“I’ve felt it; feel it now. Hallelujah!” - -“This one is to commemorate ‘_Jesus bearing the Cross_;’ this one ‘_His -crucifixion_,’ and this ‘_His resurrection_.’” - -“The hope of hopes by our Saducees denied!” - -“Then we have here another to remind us of our Saviour’s ‘_Ascension_,’ -with His pregnant promise of a royal return to take at last His children -home.” - -“Come, Lord Jesus, even so, quickly!” cried Ichabod. - -“‘Wait patiently for Him and He will give thee the desire of thy heart,’ -oh, heir of faithful Abraham!” - -“I weary sometimes, my loved teacher.” - -“So do we, of our brotherhood; but here is a thought of rest; this bead -recalls ‘_Pentecost_.’ We are led of the Spirit, which guides to all -truth and comforts by the way.” - -“But what has all this to do with Mary?” - -“Oh, here are two beads; one reminds us of her ‘_Assumption_’ into -heaven, the other of her ‘_Crowning_.’” - -“Was she crowned?” - -“Yea, in heaven, for the Son of Mary promised to His faithful ones this -exaltation; ‘_I appoint unto you a Kingdom as my Father hath appointed -unto me_, ye which have continued with me in my temptation.’ Surely, she -that followed him from the pains of parturition, as an outcast, to the -Cross and the sepulcher, CONTINUED!” - -“I would I could have been there to enter the race for such crowning.” - -“‘He hath made us kings and priests unto God; if we suffer we shall also -reign with Him,’ Jew.” - -“Hallelujah! would I could shout it to heaven; no, I do; but rather to -all Jewry!” exclaimed the Israelite. - -“John was only a ‘voice crying in the wilderness,’ as he thought, but he -was heard at the palace and down the ages. Even now I voice his words in -this lone place.” - -“Thou didst not tell me of the meaning of that black and red pendant,” -said Ichabod, interrupting. - -“Oh, _Gethsemane_, Jesus, the intercessor for the world, ‘who ever lives -to intercede.’ The black sign is of that.” - -“Then I’ve a Saviour in glory praying for me. Oh, this is balm and water -to me! Why do I dare to think of myself as a poor Jew! God pity; no, -forgive me! I, repining sometimes and yet defended in glory; honored by -royal adoption, elected of God, called to kingship!” - -“How we do go up and down; sometimes thou, sometimes I. Now I’m leading, -awhile ago ’twas thou. Yea, we are all dependants; but this is healthful -meditation, Ichabod, and thy confession rebukes me as well.” - -“Is this all of the feast?” - -“Oh, no. Here are some tokens to remind us of Mary’s life; so brief, so -useful. See, here, five gems that remind us of the wounds of her son; -her wounds as well, for the sword that pierced Him pierced through to -her soul also. At each of these emblems we ‘Rosary Brothers’ repeat -the Lord’s Prayer. Last of all, reverently clasping this crucifix, -we sacredly repeat the Apostle’s Creed, the same as I taught thee at -Jericho.” - -“I remember, as I do the water courses, when thirsty.” - -“What think’st thou of all this formality? Is it like the Arabic -mummeries?” - -“No, they are mocking devils, are they not?” - -“I am not to judge of their sincerity, nor their needs, nor art thou.” - -“Master, I wish I could be a Rosary Brother. Methinks it would help my -ambling faith sometimes, if I could touch a token.” - -“He above is all tender of baby faiths that can do no better than amble. -Remember the words of thy own Hosea: ‘I drew them with cords of a man, -with bonds of love, I taught Ephriam to go; taking them by the arms; just -as a mother teaches her babe to walk,’ is it not?” - -“Even so. Does the Rosary help some to walk?” - -“I believe it does.” - -“Tell me more about it.” - -“The Crusaders were the first to call Mary ‘The Rose.’ To almost all -mankind that flower has ever been the emblem of pure, unselfish love, -and when the soldiers of the Cross grew to understand the character of -her that gave the world its Saviour, they could think of no title more -fitting for that queenly woman.” - -“I’ve an Egyptian rosary, knight. See, I wear it on this golden chain, -next my heart, for its safety——” - -“To ward off witchcraft?” - -“Bah! ’Tis a toy in usefulness. I keep it, thinking it may work -incantation with the money-lender, and so save me sometime from -starvation.” Then the Jew laughed aloud at his own wit. It seemed very -ridiculous to him to liken his talisman to the real rosary or its saint. - -“Wouldst thou let me examine it, Jew?” - -The latter handed to the knight a chain and image. - -“Egyptian?” - -“An image of Neb-ta, sister of Isis, the wife of the Sun God Osiris. It -was given me by a Copt priest, whom I saved from drowning in the Nile.” - -“A Copt?” - -“A Copt. He was a professed Christian; but, like some of the ancestral -Egyptians, sought to be right by being a little of every thing. He was -very superstitious, though he thought himself very broad-minded. He was -quite certain that Coptic Christianity was true, though not equally -certain that his pagan ancestors were in faith all false. He thought he’d -be on the safe side by mixing a little of all creeds with his own, and so -he prayed in Christ’s name and also Neb-ta’s.” - -“A pretty fool, Jew.” - -“Yea. He had a story about the goddess, very pretty when not absurd, -running somehow thus: When Osiris was cut to pieces by Set, a type of day -slain by night, I think, Neb-ta went round the world with her widowed -sister, Isis, to gather up the fragments of her spouse. Isis is the -moon above; below, reproduction. She is pictured in Egypt, as all the -female deities, with two eggs and a half-circle at the side, to express -the latter idea. Isis has in her hand also this sign—a cross supporting -an egg, to typify immortality. The old Egyptian priest told me this -sympathetic Neb-ta, if I trusted her, would reward me for saving his -life, by defending my case in Hades. There is a good deal of mysticism in -all this, but I rather prize the gift, since it reminds me that I once -saved a man.” - -“But, Nourahmal? Since thou knew of Mary thou hast saved a woman, Jew.” - -The Jew was silent. The knight continued: - -“These philosophic, inseeing, sign-writing, symbol-making Egyptians were -pilgrims, too; a nation of graal-seekers; after an idea, example. I see -always the huge Sphinx coming before me when I think of them.” - -“The Sphinx! Well, that’s strange. I’d never think of that, unless I -happened upon something very big and very meaningless!” - -“No, no; the people that rocked the cradle of religions in their infancy, -wrought all their theology into that one mighty symbol, to endure and -challenge compare with all that man should find beside.” - -“I do not see how!” - -“The Sphinx faces the East—light!” - -“True!” - -“It can not reach that light toward which it looks, neither could the -Nubians.” - -“All true.” - -“It was part man, part beast; but the upper part was man, and this is -what we think we know, and all of man?” - -“Oh, knight, Phthah, the ‘beautiful-faced,’ ‘secret-opener’ of the Nile -gods has touched thee.” - -“The Sphinx was like man’s thought; too great for words; at least such -words as men can now fit to their lips.” - -“I see; it’s all coming into my mind, master.” - -“It sat still and was silent, but the world went on; the thought it -expressed reached hearts after the men that formed the image had passed -away. The truth lives ever, and can not die until it completes its -purpose.” - -“Thou art a magician, who pleases, astonishes, excites, instructs, and at -the same time plays with me as if I were a pigmy!” - -“It’s not I, but the truth. The Sphinx again! Its hugeness, truth -expressed, appears mighty when placed by our sides.” - -“Tell me where I am! Shall I fling Neb-ta away as a bauble, or beg its -pardon for hanging so much meaning to a fool’s neck?” - -“Vehement! The sun is in thy head!” - -“But shall I sit and look as a Sphinx, or run mad because I can’t?” - -“Be calm, and let me tell thee that the dwellers by the mighty Nile -plagued themselves with lasting darkness when they banished the people -whose leader’s face shone from communion with Jehovah. They clung to -some half truths, left them by the progeny of Joseph, but the half was -dimmed by courted lusts.” - -“But my people had no Neb-ta, no women divinities to leave in Egypt.” - -“No, yet Egypt, aiming to exalt the tender, the beautiful, the mother, -incarnated certain virtues, and lo, a woman deity! It was an effort to -find the ‘Rose.’ The nation was in a vast, serious pilgrimage through all -their dynasties after an idea, a pattern; an opportunity to reach and -to express the best things. I tell thee, Jew, the heathen nations sit -in darkness; this side and that, along the track of time, holding here -and there a torch, waiting through the night whose hours are tolled off -at century intervals, for something, Some One. There have passed before -them like phantoms, gods and gods; man invented, man evolved; but none of -these tarried, none satisfied. Oh, ‘the Isles wait for thee,’ Jesus, Thou -Ideal Man, and also for the true conception of Mary the ideal woman!” - -“For two Gods? Is Mary divine?” - -“Did I say that? Nay, as the child Jesus was subject to her, so she was -subject to the Christ, at last. Christ was the Word, Mary His blessed -echo; Christ the Sun, Mary the Moon that reflected that light, showing -its beauty in woman’s life!” - -“But now, what shall I do with my beautiful fright, Neb-ta, Sir -Charleroy?” - -“Put her away, in mind, amid the galaxies of woman deities; mythical -in all but the pitiful sincerity of the adoration of their devotees -and in the greatness of the truths they vaguely articulated. See, I’ll -interpret: Isis going round the world to gather up the fragments of -her dismembered husband. Woman’s ministry; the restoration of man; -wife consecration to an only love. Then there was not only beautiful -widowhood, second only to beautiful wifehood, but also the spinster -sister. Hail Egypt! Thy Sphinx saw further than our peoples of boasted -civilizations. At our best we never rose so near to a just altitude as to -attempt the deification of the maiden sister, the omnipresent angel, who -mothers other people’s children as if they were her own. Egypt worshipped -motherhood, perhaps grossly, in adoring the earth’s fructifications, but -she did not overlook those pious souls who in a glorious self-abnegation -play waiting-maids to the real queens of earth, the child-bearers. I’d -never tire praising the child-bearers, or all who love them, for they -that bring forth a life are greater than the greatest kingly man-slayer -on earth. The world is upside down; no religion is wholly false that aids -to right it in any degree. Hail, creeds of Egypt, or any other land, -that seek to efface from fame’s pages the names of life-destroyers that -thereon may chiefly shine the names of those who give or save life.” - -“Oh, oscillating Sir Charleroy, thou art just and courtly now.” - -“Praise me, then! Mankind would average better by far than it does if all -were right half the time.” - -“Would I could gather all the threads of to-day’s blessed communings into -a golden band to support over my heart faith’s breastplate.” - -“I can give thee its summary: God, a beauty Creator, out of all things -hideous in His good Providence will emerge the fine, tender and loving. -Neb-ta, Egypt’s ideal, carried the lotus, the flower of unrestrained -pleasure, as her scepter; Neb-ta-like the influences that sway most human -hearts to-day; but the Rose of the world has blossomed. Mary, the flower -of women. They that love and serve, as that warm, red-hearted woman, -shall at last reign in eternal bliss within the ruby walls of the New -Jerusalem.” - -“I’m with the knight, to proclaim thy Rose!” - -“A good profession! It will be well if we remember that woman is as -essential to religion as religion to women. As for man he needs the one -as the interpreter of the other. Therefore, it was that God sent to earth -a flower that could talk.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -AFTER EVE, ESTHER OR MARY? - - “Still slowly passed the melancholy day, - And still the stranger wist not where to stray: - The world was sad—the Garden was a wild; - And man, the hermit, sighed—till woman smiled.”—MILTON. - - -The Israelites, along Jabbock, were all aglow with preparation for -celebrating one of their feasts. Sir Charleroy and his comrade journeying -along, in the early morning, were apprised of the advent of the -festivities by the passing near them of a company of maidens, marching -and chanting. The pilgrims drew apart and sequestered themselves behind a -clump of nubt trees that they might observe, themselves unobserved, the -graceful procession of singers. - -“Well, my poet, didst thou conjure up these fairies, or have we come on -the musk-born houri?” Sir Charleroy spoke in an absent-minded manner, -perhaps, with an affectation of a lack of very much interest. In fact, -long privation of the presence of women had somehow rusted from his -bearing, in their vicinage, most of the confident courtier. In a word, -he was now bashful in their presence. He spoke with a small witticism to -subdue, his own embarrassment. His words were unheard, for the Jew was -all engaged in contemplating the passing women. - -In truth, the latter made a striking picture; garbed as they were, in -holiday attire; all young, oriental in beauty, and fresh in face, form -and action. They were rural maidens and that says all. It had been a -long time since either Ichabod or Sir Charleroy had met such types of -womanhood; all free from affectation; all natural and graceful in motion; -a band of women, as sisters, bent to one purpose and that a lofty one, -the proper observance of a joyous, pious, religious ceremonial. - -Presently Ichabod drew a long breath and rapturously exclaimed: “Praise -be to the Patriarchs, my people!” - -“I’d rather say, Ichabod, praise the Patriarch’s daughters, if these be -human!” - -“Ha, ha! flesh, indeed! Our Hebrew maidens celebrating the Feast of -Esther!” - -“Are they praying God for Adams, so that each Esther and Vashti may have -one all to herself? If so, we are part answers to their prayers.” - -“Hush such jest! These be holy maidens, now honoring our Esther. Thou -knowest about her?” - -“Certainly; she was my heroine before Our Lady dethroned in my heart -all others. I was wont to wish I’d been about in Haman’s time. I’d have -aroused that old dotard, Ahasuerus, right quickly. By the sackcloth of -Mordecai, if I’d been the king, the hanging would have put the Haman -family into mourning long before it did.” - -“Oh, how like angels! It’s years since I saw a woman other than as -deflowered by harem life. Heavens, what a spoiler man is at his worst!” - -“Dost forget Nourahmal? But no matter; I admire, and wonder that some -roving band of Arabs, with less piety, or more force than we, does not -swoop down upon these innocents for seraglio prizes. Perhaps these have -the liveried angels about, that are said ever to guard saintly purity.” - -“Doubtless; and besides them, with all the practical providence which -belongs to the Jew, thou mayst be sure that the groves, not far away, are -full of fathers, brothers, lovers.” - -“I wish I were a brother to some of them.” - -“Then thou’dst be a Jew.” - -“I’d forget that in being a lover to the others.” - -“Thou wouldst not change thy faith for a woman?” - -“Now, I’d swear I would not. If like most men, and in love, I’d swear -I would; and then, having gotten my new priestess, in a little while, -backslide and drag her with me, or make her heart weep. My comfort in the -last estate being my consistency, if not my constancy. What a mad rout it -is when religion and love, born twins, cross purposes?” - -“That’s a very true, yet bitter speech. I’ll tell the Hebrew maidens to -beware.” - -“Better tell me to beware, now. It’s the beginning that makes the -trouble. No beginning, then no after folly.” - -The procession glided past and the pilgrims followed at a distance. - -“We are within an arm of dear old Jabbock,” remarked Ichabod, as they -came to a river-bank, later. - -“Ah, ha! my chartless pilot, does the current whisper its name to thee, -in Hebrew? I’d not wonder if it did, since every thing is clannish in -this country.—I hope there is no more swimming for us to do.” - -“Its tumbling waters are full of voices to me, blending with echoes of -things of the past; but one who spoke a thousand times more tenderly than -ever spoke murmuring waters, told me its name, knight.” - -“Nourahmal? No! rather some one of those pious beauties we passed not -long ago. Oh, roguish Ichabod, I remember thou wert away a long time in -the morning after our breakfast of peas and grapes. But, dear Ichabod,” -continued Sir Charleroy, feigning rebuke, “didst thou so soon forget thy -little convert of Jericho? I wonder if thou lifted up thy voice and wept -when thou kissed the maid that told thee the river’s name? Come, confess, -and I’ll call thee Isaac.” - -“Raillery of prime quality, knight; but raillery and ridicule, though -keenly pointed, are generally bad arrows for long range.” - -“Well, no matter. I’m glad thou knowest the place, if thou dost know it. -Who told thee the name of this water?” - -“One with a voice to me sweeter, kinder than that of any betrothed -lover’s ever can be.” - -“Very, very eloquent thou art. Indeed, if we were in Italy, I’d guess -’twas a syren had communed with thee; in France, a Crusader troubadour; -in Rhineland, the water sprite, Lurline; but, being in this wondrous -country of revelations, apparitions, prophets, angels and the like, I -can only as a catechumen, ask thy dulcet informer’s name?” - -“How oddly thou dost talk when thou talkest as a double man; half -sneering infidel; half Christian preacher.” - -“A truce, Ichabod. That may be a home-thrust well aimed, but it’s enough -that one of us be bitter. It’s sometimes natural to me, but not to thee.” - -“A bee-sting will redden the high priest’s brow.” - -“Well, I’ll not sting thee. Who gave the name of the river?” - -“Master, one to me alone of all the world an angel, my mother. I was born -near here, and the memories of a youth made happy by one all patient, all -loving, rises above and survives all changes.” - -“My noble friend, forgive my repartee. I’m glad, truly, that we are so -lucky as to have this knowledge.” - -“Lucky? Then all is not fate; there is some chance, if no Providence?” - -“Pardon more; the bee-sting is still on thy brow. Ichabod, I can not help -my feelings, which sometimes make me think that only God can tread the -hidden, narrow line between stern fate and happy accident. They say the -Sybil wrote her prophetic decrees upon leaves and flung them recklessly -to the inconstant winds. Just so we’re in decreed courses, swirled by -chance gusts.” - -“Yet we two are getting on well together.” - -“So do chance and fate; the pity is to the waif that falls between them.” - -“I wonder how here, in Holy Land, thou canst think of any control but -Providence.” - -“Wonder? So do I. I’m a bundle of wonderings.” - -“Listen to Jabbock.” - -“I do, more attentively than Jabbock to me. What of it?” - -“Grander rivers are forgotten; why is it so remembered?” - -“We’re forgotten, meaner men remembered.” - -“This river sings through the centuries of history the song of a fugitive -of pale heart, who in sheer desperation, long, long ago, seized a -fleeting hope and became a prince, having power to prevail with God.” - -“Ah, Jacob, who worked fourteen years to win a woman. It was, I’m sure, -the woman that nerved him to attempt greatness. Such a woman! Had she -been like our moderns she would have jilted him, or eloped with him, -before the end of one of the fourteen years.” - -“I’ll not tilt with thy sarcasms. It were much better to remember that -he, a pigmy, the night in his soul, as that about him, black as Erebus, -grappled with the mighty, unknown, unseen apparition to find he was -holding Deity. The mysteries of crossing fates and chances are as open -nut-bur compared to that of all weakness prevailing with Omnipotence, my -good master, I think.” - -“But ever after that joust, Jacob was a cripple!” - -“Oh, but remember, as he halted on his thigh the sun rose over Penuel, -‘the place of seeing God,’ by interpretation. He was stronger for his -laming!” - -“A very ‘Timor-lame,’ this prince of great chances and mean ways.” - -“Time and trial repaired Jacob’s spotted soul.” - -“There was much room for the mending, I do vow.” - -“His weightings bespeak some charity. Think; a weak mother, one designing -wife, and plenty of wealth!” - -“Well, ’tis true, these were enough to have undone St. Anthony, if the -devil had only thought to have tried them all at once upon him!” - -“Sir Charleroy swings back to his old bitterness toward women; did he -never love one?” - -“No, not as a lover. I was never tried except by designing coquetries -that nauseated finally.” - -“Perhaps, like most solitary men, thou so revered thyself by habit that -there was no room for other person in thy heart.” - -“I never met one I deemed perfect and available.” - -“Better to have loved some one far from perfect than none. If thy -heart-fount had been once touched it would have set thy imaginations to -weaving halos about the one touching. Thou wouldst have enthroned her by -a love that would have transformed both. She would have become in time -what she was in love’s young dream; while thou wouldst have grown by the -experience to be twice the man thou hadst been—or art.” - -“The sun in thy head is settling down into thy heart, Jew.” - -“Is that so, Charleroy?” - -“Yes, but not to harm; heart sunsets ripen heart fruits; that’s the -reason the autumn suns run low; the low suns ripen. But after all, I’m -not so very miserable in heart. I’ve loved some women; mother and my -Mary——” - -“Filial love, religious love! somewhat akin and blessing him that feels -their mellow, exalting influences; but, oh, Sir Charleroy, they do -not fill completely the heart’s temple. There are places there for -the expression of ruddy, glorious lover’s love. The three make up an -all-comprehending trinity, and fill the man as Deity the universe. -I see religious love in adoration of God’s Fatherhood, mother love -in the tender leading of the Spirit, lover’s love in the priceless -self-surrender of our Saviour. That made the angels sing, and in the -being of each of our race there is room, aye need, of the melody which -only the experiencing of this passion in full can produce. In love-mating -is a wondrous thrill which can be but faintly voiced even by those who -have experienced it. - -“There are other passions which ebb with time, or, being well fed, wax -gross; not so with this one. Inspired by the potencies of life, which -lie at the very core of being, it wells up in rills, rivers and torrents -of pleasurable sensations. Out from the heart it goes to the remotest -members, only to double on its courses and dash again through the beating -heart, heating its flame by its doubling and hasting, making the beatings -wilder by its hastings, and then hasting more because of the wilder -beatings. Of all emotions love is the most tireless. It increases by -giving, grows stronger by action and proclaims the secret of its heavenly -birth, its immortality, by the way in which it deepens and ripens with -every movement of its life. Aye, more, it proclaims itself the power of -the resurrection by the way it transforms the lives it possesses. A man -may be a lout, ever so crude in fiber, but this musical flame passing -through his being, burns up his dross, making him all brave, courteous, -tender, poetic, religious! Yea, religious! If it do not utterly redeem -a sinner possessed by it, it will take him nearer to salvation than -any other power known on earth, except the Spirit of Grace. It is as -the opening of the eyes of the blind man, for it opens the doors of -a new sense to the realizing of a world as new as delightful. As the -thrummings on the harp-strings someway leave a lasting sonorousness -and tenderness in the supporting woods about the lyre, so leaves this -passion, through the beatings of every wave of it, wealth. Its devotee by -it is inducted into exhaustless new realms and possessions, unalterably -secured to him, and at the same time beyond all computation. He ever -gathers treasures, as a prince from incoming fleets, and is made affluent -beyond all counting. He surpasses all in wealth-getting, and yet is -infinitely apart from the littleness of avarice. It is to him the advent -of charity’s full-orbed day. It may be fancy in him, but it’s to him -very real; the world about, as if having learned his secret, seems to -be dressing for the wedding feast, while all things appear to be coming -very confidentially to him to whisper the divine mandate, ‘marry and -multiply.’ He is trusted, yet trusts; leads, yet follows. He is proud -to display, a little, his conquest, but does so with a sort of alert -charming selfishness, which gives notice to the world that he alone is -to wear the chosen one upon his heart. He realizes the paradox of giving -all and receiving all; the mystery of two lives merged into one by an -utter surrender, each to each, which leaves both infinitely richer than -the sum of all their ownings could make either if possessed by the one -apart from the other. Oh, how almost imperiously each demands that -the other shall surrender all and then how great the joy each feels in -leading the chosen mate to surprises at the munificence and completeness -of the giving up of all by the one who just now demanded all. I do not -know the woman’s heart, but can readily believe it far surpasses the -man’s in its consecration, enjoyment and aspiring. I know the man’s, but -my words are ragged in description. I know that this grand passion makes -him wondrously weak and wondrously strong. Sometimes these inner feelings -come nigh overwhelming him; sometimes they fall upon his life like the -musical ebb-waves on resonant shores. I can not word it all, nor is it -strange, since I am speaking of a life of heavenly flights, and best -expressed by voiceless signs, embraces. In love’s hour the man realizes, -as never before, his lordliness and his pride and ambition are fed by a -growing conviction that all the world is small beside himself and his; -proud as a conqueror of untold wealth, he yields to the tender ties -that unrelentingly bind him and crucifies his native roughness that he -may be more like, more worthy her he rules and obeys. He is made finer; -she stronger. Has she virtues, he appropriates them; at the same time, -by the homage implied by his appropriation, makes them to shine more -brightly on the brow and heart of his queen. He touches the fires on the -altar she has erected within herself to love alone, and the altar-fires -blaze until her whole being is illuminated as a temple on fête days. She -puts on his best parts, and then he revels in delight as he beholds his -virtues refined and so beautifully framed. There are times when, like a -mighty anthem, his passion passes over and through him. Then is he nigh -to madness, being in the mood to slay himself, or another doing aught -to check the rapture of the mighty swellings of the music that pours -over every nerve from head to heart, to limb. Then it is he embraces and -kisses and embraces again; as an inspired artist of music, exhausting -himself to prolong this joy, almost materialized. Indeed, I saw one who -said ‘this is tangible music. I feel it; taste it; see it!’ It seems to -thicken the air until I rise unwinged, and yet in a flight that seems to -me as free and brilliant as that of the golden oriole’s. If the enchanted -enchanter be pure and true, she leads her captive king, made tender and -yet more manly by his captivity, surely upward from tumultuous passion’s -sway to the ambrosial table-lands of higher affection where both may -reign tenderly, bravely, hopefully, forever. I tell thee, knight, the -finest spectacle on earth is a man in his prime, creation’s lord at his -best, sincerely, completely in love with a queenly woman. Next after -getting God into a man’s heart, the greatest blessing is the getting of a -woman of genuine parts therein.” - -“Oh, child of the sunny palm land, thou hast imbibed wondrous eloquence. -But thou sayest truly. Now, for the women that are so to queen us men. No -woman that I ever knew of could so intoxicate, transform and translate -me.” - -“One like Eve, the gift of God?” - -“The first woman, like the first man, was pure without virtue, until -tried; then she fell. I think of her chiefly as being a splendid animal, -yet, as Adam was not left for man’s example, neither was she. I still -think Eve passed by in history to be only what she was full proof that -love which rises no higher than to give all to and for that which was -like the fruit of the tempting tree, good for food and pleasant to the -eyes, is not like the love that at last hung on the tree of Calvary. Oh, -child of Abraham, I hear the ‘_voice of God walking in the garden in the -cool of the day_,’ saying to a world of flitting, false ideals, and those -yearning for pilots and patterns, ‘_Where art thou?_’ I don’t know, for -one, exactly where I am, but I’m going forward and upward someway.” - -“Sir Charleroy thou dost dazzle me by thy correspondences and insights, -if I do thee by my pictures. We are quits.” - -“But we’ll not quit. This pilgrim idleness has value. I never knew what -I believed until, thus flung out of life’s hurly burly, I had little -company but my thoughts. There was method of reason in God’s taking His -prophets to lone places, to fit them for understanding the rapturing -visions with which He filled them.” - -“’Tis so, true; but what thinks the knight of Esther, the beautiful -Queen? She’s the idol and ideal in Israel in all times and places.” - -“Wondrous woman! A girl, petted, ill-trained, from poverty suddenly -exalted, surrounded by the skilled intriguants of court, a jealous, -exacting, conceited, harem-demoralized old king for a spouse, she was -then burdened with the salvation of a nation. I’ve so pitied her that -I’ve forgotten to admire how well she did in her trying lot.” - -“Can the world ever have a finer figure or presentment of all that is -womanly? I do not challenge thy Mary, but may I not put the two side by -side?” - -“Israel has two great women in their way. The one, Esther, exemplifying -all sweetness and the mild strength of a suddenly developed woman, doing -grandly in one emergency when great peril and great love aroused her from -only being an entrancing, petted beauty, to be the heroine of an hour. -But she was not tried by the searching test of a lifetime. She never -meets the needs of mothers seeking an ideal. Rizpah, your other grand -woman, was the mother, even the mother of sorrows, of the Old Testament. -It takes these two to make an ideal, and yet the pattern is incomplete. -God walks yet in the garden where men live, with only these two before -them, and ever and anon they hear the unanswerable, ‘_Where art thou?_’” - -“Why, my mentor, master, thou hast touched our Scriptures with the rod -that budded; the whole opens to me as if for the first time. Methinks, if -I were permitted to lay hands now upon one of our sacred volumes, I’d be -fairly overcome by the light that would break out on me from within it.” - -“‘The entrance of the word giveth light,’ Ichabod.” - -“I’m moved, master, along lines I can not turn from, to the one woman of -all, Mary. She is thy ideal queen of hearts?” - -“I’m a pilgrim and follow her, seeing none better.” - -“Then thou wouldst be willing to wed such as Mary?” - -“Hold! This is sacrilegious! I’ll not think of Mary in any such -comparison. Leave my patron saint upon her high pedestal. I save her for -my soul’s health, as every man should save some noble woman, for an inner -enshrining, to be all that woman may be at her best, his beloved, his -inspirer, and yet touching no spring of his life save such as responds -to things of moral grandeur.” - -“Ah, master, I’ve not yet been enamored fully of this woman. I feel a -stranger to her, but I feel the meaning of the finer things thou hast -just spoken. I have the need of which thou dost speak, and my life, like -a babe, often now goes out crying, ‘Mother, mother.’ As we lay, yesterday -night, beneath the quiet firmament, I gazed up and asked a sign of God -in prayer. It was a baby cry I know, but I saw one star that staid and -staid above me. It seemed to be warmed with reddish tintings, and I -thought that its glitterings were proof that it was taking part in some -anthem of the morning stars. Then I dreamed that my mother was in the -star all luminous, holy, happy, looking down in constant guardianship of -her outcast boy! Oh, can a child ever be outcast utterly to mother? Can -it be that she, who so loved me and so loved God, can hate me now, loving -her and loving God as I do? God knows my heart! Will he not tell her -all? Her constant mandate to me was, ‘keep a loyal heart, an undefiled -conscience.’ I’ve tried to do both, but then her soul loathed apostacy. -Does she loathe me for leaving Israel’s fold? My heart all torn, cries -to-day, ‘Mother, mother!’ I’m sure she can not hate me. To-morrow I hope -I shall pray at her grave.” - -Then the vehement Israelite fell on the ground in an ecstasy, utterly -unconscious of his companion, and, kissing the earth as if already he was -by that parent’s resting place, wildly called, “Mother! my mamma! oh, -I’m so lonely, so unhappy! Let me come! God, God, let me go to mother! -Mother, I did it as thou saidst. I’m no leper. I’m not a heretic! I -love thee. I love God. I’ve kept pure. I’ve trusted God’s care in all -my trouble. Mamma, my mamma, let Ichabod embrace thee!” Exhausted and -quivering he there lay. The knight was silent. It was holy ground, and -the whole thicket about seemed to be glowing with the fire that burns -without consuming. - -The travelers were encamped again under the sky, and it was now night. -A shooting star sped through the constellation of Orion and fell down -toward the Dead Sea. - -“An omen, Jew.” - -“Explain, brother knight.” - -“Life; bright, short, ending in gloom.” - -“Look at the fixed stars.” - -“They preach fate.” - -“Perhaps, but they have the majority. Few fall; I think, too, Someone -holds them.” - -“Thy hopefulness colors thy faith.” - -“Thy murmurings run toward final madness, knight; the Rabbis, good men, -so taught me.” - -“If one star falls may not all? If Providence hold them, why does one -escape?” - -“Thou hast heard that the giant Orion having lost his eyes, afterward -regained his sight by turning his sockets toward the rising sun; that -meteor we saw shot through the constellation Orion. Look up.” - -“A happy simile and pungent thrust, Jew.” - -“He that sent the lightnings to show us our way out of dread Jericho, -most likely now commissioned some angel to swing a meteor across the sky -as a torch or beacon for our guidance. The trail of flame teaches me -that God is writing His royal signature on some great message.” - -“This world is too vast and too thronged with insignificants, such as we, -for such especial carings on God’s part. There are too many kings, too -many shepherds, too many follies for Him to constantly watch any one or -two.” - -“Backward, forward; now good, now bad. What a charging, changing knight! -Pray God to get thee right and then fix thee.” - -Their converse was interrupted by a prolonged trumpet blast, echoing from -hill to hill. Sir Charleroy sprang to his feet and clasping his sword -hilt, cried eagerly, “We’re ambuscaded!” - -“No, by the glory of God, ’twas the temple call! How grand it sounds away -in this wilderness!” - -“No, no, Jew, I’ve heard that call; this one had six responses.” - -“’Twas echo’s magic! Didst thou not notice how the sound spread as it -traveled in a sort of sheet of melody? Then it rose and fell from low -hill to high. One blast; seven responses. Nature proclaiming against fate -and chance; the covenant number.” - -“I’m not so confident that it’s a miracle; what if it were some Mamelukes -or Druses, planning one of their pious immolations of heretics with us -for the victims?” - -“Nay, brother, It’s ‘_Purim_’; that feast is now due, and always begins -at early starlight. I know it. Come, I’ll put it to the proof.” - -“Hold; poets are more rash than knights in a charge, but not so skillful -in retreat! Whither wouldst thou?” - -“I’ll spy out the trumpeters and report.” - -“Not alone. I’ll go, too. This camp will care for itself if they beyond -be friends; if enemies, why then, without consulting us, they will care -for all we have. But this,” said the knight, toying with his sword, “was -blessed by a priest to preach to infidels.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE FEAST OF PURIM. - - -Stealthily Ichabod, followed by Sir Charleroy, approached the place from -which the trumpet call had sounded. The foliage was dense, the necessary -way somewhat winding, and these circumstances, together with the fact -that it was expedient to move with great caution, made the progress -of the explorers very slow. The last ray of day had faded, sung away -by the evening bird and insect chorusers, whose concert strains, like -the vanishing notes of æolian harps swept by dying breezes, were now -blending, without a line to mark the place of transition, into the lull -of the night. Nature’s lullaby to tired, drowsy life. It was a witching -hour in the woods, and the scene that lay just beyond the pilgrims in an -opening by Jabbock was an enchantment. The river, reflecting the moon -rays and the lights of torches borne by many intermingling feasters, -flowed silently along like a stream of mingled silver and fire, while -tree and shrub along its sides, as green as green could be, bore as -fruits lights of many colors. In the opening, surrounded by beacons, -banners and the lamp-bearing trees, the beauty as well as the center of -all was a magnificent patriarchal tent, made of costly materials. About -the pavilion were mounds of earth, elevated upon high tripods, seven -in all, in symbols of the seven temple candle-sticks. On each mound -there blazed a fire fed by resinous faggots, and the lights of the fires -falling upon the folds of the tent, caught up here and there by bands of -blue and gold, made the whole glisten like jeweled silk. - -“Hallelujah,” with suppressed joy, exclaimed Ichabod, “the tabernacle of -God with men!” - -“Hush, rash man, and watch!” rebukingly replied Sir Charleroy. - -“Watch? Why, my soul is in my eyes. I’m as one famished for years -smelling a feast!” - -As they looked on the beautiful scene, they perceived that the front -of the pavilion was lifted up and stretched forward as a canopy over -an altar, richly decorated with twined olive branches and blood-red -blossoms. A little way off, and yet partly encircling the altar, were -little walnut trees, each tree having on its branches glistening lamps, -half hidden by wreaths of hollyhocks and asters. - -The moon sank behind the hills; the night darkened, but the fires and -lamps burned still more brightly. - -“It’s like fairy-land, Jew,” after little, spake Sir Charleroy. - -“More beautiful, knight. Wait and see.” - -There was a burst of music, instantly followed by the entrance of youths -and old men; some singing, others vigorously playing ugabs, reed-flutes, -and tambourines. Somewhere near, though unseen by the watchers, were -happy women; they recognized their voices in refrains, choruses, and -merry peals of laughter. - -“Well, this is not warlike, but what is it, Jew?” queried Sir Charleroy. - -“Wait a little.” - -There came a commanding trumpet blast. Its tones died away in the -melody-waves of a score of viols, managed by unperceived musicians. Then -silence; presently the huge blue curtain that hung across the tent, just -back of the outstretching front canopy, parted, and there emerged an aged -man of stately form, wearing an Aaronic mitre and priestly robes; rich as -well as ample. He paused before the altar a moment, as if in prayer, and -then suddenly the air far and wide quivered with a sound like a cyclone -hail. There were also cornet blasts mingling therewith. - -“Heavens, Jew, explain!” - -“Selah! These the drums and waking clappers; the signal to be given. Now -for ‘Purim’ in earnest.” - -The groves about seemed to be alive and moving, for from every direction -toward the center gathered men and boys, bearing palm branches and -torches; these, as they advanced, moved with speeded pace, presently -they were in a perfect maze, the music of every kind growing louder and -louder, then seeming to die away. - -“They’re carrying the edicts of Ahasuerus to the Jews to defend -themselves, master.” - -“A fine play, Jew!” - -Now the blue curtain parted again, and from the pavilion emerged another -stately form, in all except that he lacked priestly robing, the very -counterpart of the aged man first at the altar. - -“Glory to Shaddah! again I see the holy brothers, Harrimai,” cried -Ichabod. - -The second patriarch motioned silence; all in the assembly bent their -heads in breathless attention and the patriarch spoke: “Brethren of -Israel, hearken and give God all the glory who this hour permits us, His -chosen people, to celebrate in peace, with joy, our glad Purim feast. -This day, Jehovah granted me the most wholesome comfort of hearing from a -pashaw of our scourge that the last of the armies of the Moslem, beaten -by want and internal discord, were melting out of our land like fog -banks before the rising sun. He certified to me for a handful of barley -(for which he had come to stand in need) that those hated cross-bearing -invaders, the knights, were gone, never to return. So God has worked in -our behalf as in the days of Esther, setting our enemies to destroying -one another and then compassing the slinging out of His holy places, the -abominable remnants. So may His thunders, as of old, forever beat on the -heads of all who lift themselves against our Israel!” - -There was a murmur of applause; first like the buzz of the noonday -insects of the groves, then like a careering hurricane. The applause -swelled up, drowning all sounds, causing the fires to flicker and flame, -making the pavilion’s sides sway and wave as if all were feeling the joy -present. The musical instruments quickly now caught up the strain of the -cheery voices, and all was in a perfect whirl of excitement with one -thought, ‘praise.’ It was free and fluent, because it came from hearts -practiced in the ultimate swings from joy to sorrow and then from sorrow -to joy. For half an hour nearly, the rhapsody continued, nor did it -temperate until sheer exhaustion fell on the revelers. - -Presently, after an interval of comparative quiet, there came a flourish -of cornets and a roar of the rattling clappers. It was a signal followed -by the uplifting of the old priest’s hands as if in benediction. All -heads were bowed; some of the congregation knelt, and then he spoke in -sonorous, yet soothing voice, words of benediction: “Blessed art thou, Oh -Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hath wrought all miracles for our -fathers and also for us, at this time.” - -Then the people stood up, and the second patriarch, advancing to the -front of the altar, began reading from the holy _Kethubim_ of the Jews, -the story of the Purim. At each mention of Esther’s name the congregation -murmured “how beautiful is goodness;” at each mention of Haman’s name -all in the congregation stamped their feet, also making gurgling noises -with their throats, to imitate the false prince’s strangling; the whole -being made more hideous by the shriek of discordant cornet notes and the -springing of rattles. - -The foregoing scene suddenly changed; a procession of maidens, in -graceful evolutions, emerging from the surrounding groves, presenting a -living picture, really entrancing. They were all richly robed in garments -of graceful flow, caught round their waists by flowered girdles. Some -wore sashes of jassamine, while others were crowned with lilies or asters -or violets. Their arms and ankles were clad only with circlets from which -pendant bells gave forth music at every motion. Seven of the foremost -maidens bore lamps; behind each of these followed one with a harp; behind -each harper two with tambourines and cymbals. Seven times this maiden -train, with a step in time, half march, half dance, waltzed around the -canopied altar. Then were given seven cornet blasts, the procession -leaders waving their lamps with each blast, after which there was -perfect silence. Now the old priest moved forward a little toward the -procession; the congregation meanwhile gathering in a semi-circle, just -outside of all, and he addressed the assembly: “Brethren and children, I -would speak to you a little of the ‘Virtuous Woman.’ Daughters of Israel, -hearts of homes to be, hopes of the nation looking for a Deliverer and -deliverers yet to be born; hear me! Israel knows no queen of all womanly -perfections like unto Esther, the beautiful. Evermore take her for your -meditation by day and your dreams by night. Then shall you all realize to -yourselves, your fathers, brothers, husbands, all that the holy Proverbs -of our _Kethubim_ declares of the true woman. Then the priest taking the -parchment, solemnly and in mellow tones, read the last chapter of the -book, ‘the birth-day chapter,’ a verse prophetic for every day of the -longest month, as the Jews believe.” - -When the reader ceased, the encampment was dim, many of the lights having -been quenched. Then the congregation joined in chanting a soft-aired -Jewish hymn. - -“The devotions are ended; now for the sports;” so spoke Ichabod; the -first words spoken between him and the knight during their observation -of the last part of the proceedings before the pavilion. He had scarcely -made the announcement when the second patriarch appeared, dressed in -somber black, leading by the hand a maiden of wondrous beauty, wearing -also black, in heavy trails; on her head a golden crown. As they -appeared the applause as at first burst forth, but now blended with -distinguishable cries of “Hail Esther!” “Hail Mordecai!” - -“It’s the play, knight. Watch that pair.” - -“No fear, Jew, such a wondrous beauty! Had I been Haman and she Esther, -I never could have crossed her. Heavens, Jew, it is well said the people -of promise produce the most beautiful women of earth. That’s why Deity -elected one of them, through whom to be incarnate, I think.” - -“I think I heard the knight say, awhile ago, that the revolution of all -religions was to come when men’s admiration for women rose far above -rapture over outward form. Is it not so?” - -“Ah, it’s thy remembering and my forgetting that keeps us crossing each -other! But no matter; am I looking at an angel or not?” - -“That’s the priest’s only daughter; his idol, ay, the idol of every youth -in all these parts of Israel. No nation can be dead while it produces -such flowers.” - -Suddenly the camp blazed with re-illumination, and then began a carnival. -Games and dancers were everywhere. Some, evidently men, were dressed as -women, and others, evidently women, were garbed as men. For one season, -Purim, the command against the interchange of garments between the sexes, -was suspended. Each reveler carried a little box. If he asked a favor -or a question, the reply was a challenge to try lots. Partners were so -chosen, tasks given and predictions made. Laughter was everywhere, and -wine was flowing. - -“Ichabod, I haven’t tasted wine since Acre! Why dost thou not introduce -me yonder?” - -“Wait; they will all be mellow, soon. They may be, too, for it’s a law -that a Jew is not deemed drunk at ‘_Purim_’ so long as he can discern -between a blessing for Mordecai and a curse for Haman.” - -“Heavens! how they do imbibe.” - -“It’s natural for doves to twitter after a thunder storm. They remember -the past troubles.” - -“Ay; but I fear they will consume all the beverage before we are with -them. We have had plenty of trouble; now take me in to twitter with those -doves.” - -Ichabod started, as if to lead the way, and then drew back and moaned, -“no, no; it cannot be. I’m forever anathema here, to them! I could bear -their hate, not their contempt. They may call me renegade, but never -spaniel nor hypocrite! If I appeared among them they would soon know, if -they do not already, that Ichabod is changed. Then they’d sneer and tell -me that I tried to play double, or thinking my people’s faith not good -enough for me, I yet hungered for their feasts. No, no; it must not be! -To-morrow, I hope to pray at my mother’s grave. I’d choke then if I had -to remember I’d done aught that she, living, would have thought mean.” - -“Now, I’ll not persuade thee, Jew, but go alone.” - -“That’s reckless! thou mayst regret it. They may become riotous, being -half drunk, and beat thee as a Haman. No, stay away.” - -“No dissuasion, Jew, but just change garments. It’s the fashion -to-night.” The Jew complied, remarking as he did: - -“Will the knight wear this leather thong?” - -“Heavens! no, nor the brand on thy neck.” - -“Christian knights commanded me to wear one, and burned into my flesh the -other years ago; they deemed it necessary to mark all Jews for hatred.” - -“Dear Ichabod, I never counseled branding any man!” - -“I believe it. I have forgotten all bitterness about these marks and have -borne them as my cross. - -“But, Sir Charleroy, don’t wear thy cross in their sight!” - -“For once, I’ll cover it.” So saying he hid the emblem. - -The comrades parted, and Sir Charleroy quickly found himself by the -maiden who personated Esther. He approached unnoticed until he pleasantly -said: “Queen of Shushan, a man out there behind a clump of Sharon roses, -played me a game of lots. I lost the game, and he has put it on me to -come to the Queen to fix the forfeit I shall pay.” The maiden turned her -head haughtily and examined the speaker from head to foot with repelling -gaze. It was her way of freezing off the amorous swains who constantly -aimed to pay her court. But when her eyes met those of the self-possessed -stranger, she gave a little start. Perhaps she caught sight, by some -omen, of her fate; perhaps she felt the magnetism of the strong will -which for the first time presented itself. In any event, it was the first -time she had ever been alone, face to face, with such as he; a stalwart -man, all reverential, yet all self-possessed. They were well matched, and -they both felt it, intuitively, instantly. - -“Who art thou?” - -“A child of God.” - -“Of Israel?” - -“By faith, most holy of Abraham’s seed,” responded Sir Charleroy. - -“Thy speech bewrayeth thee as lacking our shibboleth.” - -“I’ve been a life long wanderer. Thou wouldst not reject one whom -involuntary exile had robbed of tokens?” - -“But I can not be free with an uncertified stranger. I’m afraid I err in -tarrying here ’till now.” - -“Hospitality is the boast of pious Hebrews who obey Him that ‘loveth the -stranger in giving him food and raiment.’ Thou hast the Great Father’s -law: ‘Love ye therefore the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land -of Egypt.’ Some have by hospitality unawares entertained angels, thou -knowst.” - -“I’d like to entertain an angel; are they ever so human-like as thou?” -she smiled. - -“Had I known the Esther of to-night long enough to convince her that my -freedom was sincere, I’d say that she was a fine example of the union of -the angelic in the human.” - -The maiden laughed. The incense was agreeable, and the freedom of this -feast-time justified her acceptance of this novel, bold flattery. Your -proud, daring woman is very vulnerable to such assaults. The world -often wonders why such women so often, after all, surrender; but that’s -because the world does not appreciate the dexterity in such jousts of -such skilled men of the world as Sir Charleroy; or how grateful to -self-admiring beauties the admiration of superior intellects is. - -“Well, will thou give me thy name?” - -“Certainly. For to-night, Ahasuerus?” - -“A presumptious jest, sir.” - -“No, for I admire and respect Esther, that’s here.” - -“And then?” - -“I plead for help; gain me admittance to the festivities, and escape from -inquiry further, as to my identity.” - -“And afterward, be called by my people brazen by thee, a little fool!” - -“Art thou driven from right, the claim of hospitality, by fear of a lie?” - -“What if thou wert a Bedouin spy, or a hated cross follower?” - -“Thou art a noble hearted maiden.” - -“Ah, who told thee so?” - -“Thy face.” - -“What is that to thee, if true?” she blushed a little. - -“Could’st thou drive from thy bosom a fleeing kid, there seeking refuge -from pursuing lions?” - -“I do not know ’till tried. Thou art at any rate no kid; there is no -lion. If thou desirest refuge, see the path of departure is the one by -which thou cam’st hither.” - -“Well, then, farewell.” - -The knight made as if he would go, but he knew he would not. The motion -gave him excuse for looking sad, and he knew that next to a handsome face -a sad one most easily conquers a woman. - -“Tarry a moment ’till I think. Can I trust thee?” she was hesitating. - -“I’ve trusted thee, and that’s ever the best proof of fidelity.” Women -like to think they are especially trusted. - -“Well——but, see, my father comes; there’s no time for argument; let me -speak!” - -As the aged priest drew near, Esther saluted him, and said, “Father, let -me take this Galileean stranger to the youths and their games? He claims -our hospitality.” - -The priest, wont to be on the alert, was disarmed by the magic word -hospitality; then, too, for a long time before, having been wifeless, he -had been wont to put his daughter forward, according large confidence to -her; hence his reply: - -“If thou knowest him, Rizpah.” - -“I do.” - -“Welcome, brother, what is thy name?” said Harrimai. - -Rizpah, his daughter, quickly made reply, “Ahasuerus, and I’ve laughed at -the _coincidence_ until he has been ashamed to repeat it.” - -“’Tis strange, surely, and not like a Jewish one. I must examine the -family rolls to-morrow. Peace be unto thee, son,” and the old man turned -toward his pavilion. Esther plucked a lily from her crown and handed it -to Sir Charleroy saying: “Here, king, a token.” - -“Of what?” - -“Shushan; in our tongue, the name of the flower signifies ‘surrender.’” - -“They say, Esther, that Judith wore a crown of lilies when she -assassinated Holophernes. Is there any danger to me impending?” - -“Thou hast a lily. It is said to ward off enchantments, too.” - -“I am enchanted. I do not want to awaken. In Egypt they call this the -lotus, flower of unrestrained pleasure.” - -“For now then, we’ll call it lotus.” - -“All gods, even Osiris, bless thee, Esther.” - -So the twain were charmed comrades, till watch fires were dim and the -palm shadows were creeping in, like funeral attendants, to carry away -the spirit of the dying revel. Here and there was heard anon the voices -commending this one and that to pleasant slumbers. The stars were -withdrawing behind dawn’s feathery curtains, and over all, at intervals, -was heard the voice of the chanticleer, triumphantly proclaiming the -coming day. - -Charleroy and Rizpah were left alone with each other at the end of the -last game. - -The maiden gave a coy, furtive glance and tardily drew away from the -knight. The language of the drawing-room of the day, is as old as the -centuries, and that maid of the wilderness used it as finely as a queen, -to say without words, “it’s time we part; please say so first, nor leave -to me, the hostess, the first suggestion of a wish to have thee go——” - -Still the knight spake not. - -He was delighted and averse to breaking the first pleasure spell of years. - -The Jewish maiden, with fine courtesy, renewed the subject: “King, -methinks, thou art anxious to exchange the grove for the palace.” - -“I can never think of weariness when restful Esther is nigh.” - -“But thy life is precious to thy subjects; care for it, and go with -freshness to to-morrow’s cares of state.” - -“Ah, queen, I too keenly realize that with thy departure my kingdom fades -to nothingness.” - -“A truce, my liege.” - -“Granted, and any thing else, to the half of my kingdom.” - -Rizpah startled the birds in the shrubbery to premature morning song, -with a merry laugh. It was a finishing charge, that laugh, by which she -carried her point, for the knight quickly questioned “Why this?” - -“I was only thinking how odd thou wouldst appear if thou didst wear away -my pepelum. Thy subjects would think their king mad, if he met them -veiled as a woman.” - -“Pardon, queen, I’ve been so absorbed, I forgot myself—” So saying, -he gracefully transferred from his shoulder to hers the shawl she had -permitted him for the night to wear. As the maiden adjusted it, something -fell out of its folds, glittering to her feet. - -“Findings keepings;” she laughed, and stooped to pick up the object. As -she arose she turned it slowly toward the setting moon the better to -inspect the find. - -The knight was alarmed, but it was too late to prevent her examination -now of his Teutonic cross and chain. - -At a glance, Rizpah saw it was an emblem, of all others, hated by her -people, and with a low, startled cry she made a motion as if to hurl -it from her, but she checked herself with a powerful effort; suddenly -turning her black, piercing eyes upon her companion she took a step back. -She stood there the embodiment of an imperative question. - -The knight quietly said: “Be calm, dear maid.” - -Over her countenance passed a cloud which to the man all too plainly -said: “How darst thou use such terms to me?” and then the face hardened -again to imperative interrogation. - -“Thou trustedst me four hours ago, under the lotus, try now my sincerity -by any sterner test.” - -Turning her eyes full on his, with a voice without a quaver, but in -deep, measured tones indicative of suppressed emotion, she questioned as -she held out toward him his emblem, “What’s this?” - -“Concealment from thee, having trusted me as thou hast, would be futile -not only, but hateful; thou knowst the meaning of the sign.” - -“Who art thou then?” - -“A Christian knight!” - -“An enemy of my people everywhere; a spy here!” she exclaimed. - -“No, never a spy! a true Christian knight never was such! Our warfare is -open and equal. I’m degraded by the defense from such an odious charge!” - -“Why debate thy methods; ’tis enough for me to know thou art a foe to me -and mine.” - -“No enemy of thine, but rather the friend of all humanity, woman.” - -“Bloody friends I’ve heard!” - -“No! Each one of my order is sworn, by awful vow, to protect the -traveler, the poor, the weak and woman with our last drop of blood! If we -two were all alone here and one of our lives must be forfeited to save -the other’s, mine would joy to go first.” - -“Words are cheap, and thou can’st use them finely, knight.” - -“Thou knowst, maiden, to what that cross alludes.” - -“The Nazarene Imposter!” - -“His followers revere Him?” - -“Like madmen, they follow their phantom!” - -“Didst ever hear of one wearing that sign, being untrue to it?” - -“No, it’s their dread black-art.” - -“Wouldst thou trust me if I swore by it?” - -“I might; but I’d fear that devils would flock out of the airy deep to -witness thy vowing. Spare me that horror!” - -“Maiden, thou’lt craze me by thy distrust and wild words. In God’s name -tell me what to do!” - -“Swear, but wave back the evil spirits, if thou art wont to have them.” - -“That sign is their lasting terror; but the silent palms and the stars -alone shall witness, ay, the God of all, as well. Here, make thou the -words as thou wilt. Now, I kiss the cross I love, and am ready. He suited -the action to the words. The maiden drew near to him, looking down into -his eyes searchingly and seemed assured by their serene frankness.” - -“Go on, Rizpah, I’ll bind my soul with any words coined, and, remember -that I believe that perjury would consign me to misery untold here; -eternal woe hereafter!” - -“I’ll trust thy solemn asseverations; they say that a superstition on the -right side will make even a Philistine bearable. Repeat, ‘I swear never -to harm any of Rizpah’s kin or clan, except in self-defense.’” - -He complied. - -“Again, ‘I swear to depart peacefully at once, and no more seek -companionship with the people this night met.’” - -He complied, but murmured “cruelty.” - -“And how?” she questioned. - -“Wilt add a little?” - -“Add what?” - -“Add this ‘except by permission of the one ordaining my vow.’” - -“It is so fixed.” - -“I then swear it all.” - -“Well, now go,” and she pointed to the hills. - -“I obey, but yet plead delay.” - -She hesitated and fell from being master to being mastered. - -“Why, what benefits delay?” - -“Oh, woman, I yearn as only a lonely heart can, to enjoy a little while -the fellowship and hospitality of thy people! For years homeless; for -months friendless, I’ve come to feel worthless. This is the first bright -hour in my life for many a day. Perhaps, maiden of Israel, thou mightst -make life worth living to me.” - -It was a charge on her sympathy, and he knew it would succeed. - -“A Crusader, ‘one of the armies of God,’ boasting a divine call to -conquer and convert the world, so talking?” - -“Our armed crusades are ended forever; my occupation’s gone.” - -She had hesitated, now she pitied the man, and woman-like, again -surrendered while she protested. - -“I do not think there could come great harm from thy staying until -sunrise repast.” - -“Bless thee, the nine sun gods bless thee, Esther.” - -“Heathen!” - -“Well; an Egyptian-Christian-Jew taught me to say this when too cheerful -to be solemn, and pious enough not to be frivolous.” - -“An Egyptian-Hebrew-Christian! He must have been an Arab. That -name means the ‘mixed.’ But go to the men’s tents; to-morrow -I’ll have more wisdom. Peace and grace to thee; good night, -Christian-Heathen-Hebrew-Arabic-Egyptian!” She laughingly spoke and the -unbending made the knight, bold. He addressed her: - -“I’d sleep in perfect peace, if Rizpah would give me a token.” - -“I? what?” and the maiden drew back, offended. Her innocency remembered -no token then, but such solicited by her maiden friends, or given at -times to her father, a kiss. - -“Place thy hand in mine, Rizpah.” She quickly complied, glad she was -mistaken, as to her suspicion and blushing within, as she thought how -strangely, easily, her mind had had the thought, “Well, now what, knight?” - -“Promise me that while I’m permitted to tarry among thy people, I shall -have thy heart’s friendship; as freely, as loyally bestowed as if I were -thy brother.” - -“Canst trust me, a woman, a girl, almost a stranger?” - -“I trust thy woman’s heart as Joshua’s men of old trusted Rahab, a wreck, -but still a woman. Thou art infinitely more noble than she.” - -“But men think us weak, fitful, garrulous.” - -“Responsibility makes the weakest of thy sex heroines and pity is the -gateway to their hearts. Thou hast my life and my happiness as thy -responsibility; dost pity me?” - -“Yes: go now. A Gentile hater of my people shall see of what metals -Jewish maidens are.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -ASTARTE OR MARY? - - “Who could resist; who in the universe? - She did breathe ambrosia; so immerse - My existence in a golden clime, - She took me like a child of sucking time, - And cradled me in roses. Thus condemned - The current of my former life was stemmed: - I bowed a tranced vassal.”—KEATS. - - -The Teutonic Knight of Saint Mary, through all his changing fortunes from -the time of his knighthood’s vow, preserved his moral integrity, his -loyalty to the lofty pattern of life set forth by the Queenly exemplar, -Mary, the mother of Jesus. Crusader days had so far improved his life as -to make him the outspoken denouncer of all impurity of life. He thought -his creed and his committal thereto complete. A change came over him. He -that, in the storm of battle, had often cried as his law and his delight -“_Deus Vult_,” “God wills,” now feared to seek to know, much less to do, -that will. The intoxications of a new love were upon him; unconsciously -he was suffering his queen to be veiled, eclipsed; and he yielded to the -tide that swept him toward the Jewish maiden. Sometimes his conscience -smote him, but he parleyed with it, called it a fool, or placated it by -the assurance that this whole matter could be stopped any time at will. -Like many another man, forgetting all else except that he was a refined -animal, he passed away from the beacons of Bethlehem to the chambers of -Imagery, the gods of Egypt. In chains of roses, though with many fine -Christian sentiments on his lips, he went heart first, head first, into -an utter committal of all his being to the possession of his enchanter. -He expected to regard the laws of the land and society, but nothing -more. He was led by his tempting spirit to Ramoth Gilead, now sometimes -called Gerara or Gerash. There it was that Rizpah’s family took up its -abode. With them, and of them, was Sir Charleroy, a welcome guest, his -welcome secured by his own personal efforts to please, in part; but more -through the _finesse_ of Rizpah, who having promised to be a sister, was -permitting her mind to wonder what he might become if only her friend -were a Hebrew. Such day dreams were sinless, but impolitic if she really -meant to keep herself free and painless, when the parting time came. But -it so happens that the questions and problems of the heart are thrust -ever on life when most responsive, least experienced. The wonder is not -that so many decide them ill, but that youth so pressed, so ardent, so -callow, as a whole decide so fairly well the master social problem. The -life of Harrimai and his following was very Jewish at Gerash. There was -an unusual amount of national pride evinced in that locality for the -times. Sir Charleroy was interested deeply in the place because of its -splendid ruins, he said, but as need not be explained, chiefly on account -of its natural beauties amid which Rizpah was peerless. The Israelitish -colony revered the place for its ancient part in Jewish history, and -because they believed no Moslem invader had ever defiled the place. The -knight and the Jewish father and daughter were in frequent companionship. -They were becoming very intimate, meanwhile gaining power each to make -the other eventually very miserable. - -Rizpah was pushing out in a new experience to her. If she were enamored -she did not fully know it. She only knew that the knight’s companionship -was very delightful. If she had any misgivings as to the propriety of her -course she silenced them by saying to herself: “Sir Charleroy has sworn -to leave us forever when I say he shall. I can end this matter any time.” -She thought she could, but the shield of her safety was already too heavy -for her. She could not have said go, had she tried. Time deepened the -perplexity by multiplying the enmeshings of the trio. The knight and -Rizpah were much in each other’s society. They spoke of this as being -a happy circumstance, as youths usually do. “We shall understand each -other so well—too well to misunderstand.” Some of the Jewish young men -were jealous and made some very natural remarks, under the circumstances, -though the remarks were rather bitter with jealousy. The older people, -some of them, anxious for an alliance by marriage with the rich and -powerful Harrimai family, took up the undertone complaints of the young -people of their race. Of course, the murmurings were cloaked with -declarations that they were all for the sake of righteousness! Harrimai, -in heart far from assured, was yet compelled to defend the two secretly -loving, in order to defend his daughter’s fair fame. The two young -people wore the armor of teacher and pupil; the young woman constantly -bepraising the knight’s wondrous knowledge of the antiquities, etc., of -all the out-of-the-way places they visited. So the meshes multiplied, -though the caviling was in part silenced. As teacher and pupil they went -on, and Harrimai knew, as did Sir Charleroy, that the relationship had -its peril, as it existed between a man and woman who could love yet ought -not to love. Rizpah did not at first know how easily a woman’s heart -surrenders to a man to whom she is accustomed to look upward. In fact she -drifted in a delight in all pertaining to the knight; her only outlook -and watchfulness being toward her father. The way the latter at times -keenly, silently observed her and the knight made her uneasy. She knew -intuitively that not far away there was impending on her father’s part -an investigation. She determined to delay, if not prevent it. One day -she bounded into her father’s presence, aglow with enthusiasm over the -wonders unfolded to her by Sir Charleroy during a visit to the ruins of -Gerash’s temple of the sun. The old man was charmed by her description, -and when she declared her intention to pursue her investigations beyond -their city he hesitated to forbid. - -“And now, father, I’m going to that old city of the Giants, Bozrah.” - -The father, with an effort at firmness, dissuadingly replied: - -“We may all go there, but not now. It is better to bide here quietly, -until we learn that the perils of receding war have left assured peace.” - -“Why, father, I’m not afraid!” - -“I know it; so much the more need for me to be: these over-daring -daughters need over-careful guardians. Some of us aged ones are suffered -to tarry long from paradise, in order that we may see our darlings in -the right path thither.” - -“Give me my swift white dromedary and two attendants and I’ll defy the -miserables who ambuscade along the way.” - -Just then, there dashed toward them, over the oleander-fringed road which -passed due north along the little river and across the city, a rider on -panting steed. - -“It’s the news runner!” said the patriarch. - -“Shall we signal him?” she questioned. - -“No, daughter, we will meet him yonder, where the two great streets -cross. He will await me.” - -When the father and daughter arrived, a crowd had already gathered about -the horseman. Some pressed him for news, but he looked straight ahead -at his horse, now slaking its thirst, and merely snapped out, “News? My -beast is thirsty!” - -When Harrimai drew near the rider saluted him and at once unfolded his -budget: “Father, I’m this day from Bozrah. Its ruins are not ruined. All -around there, and from there to here, the herds sleep in the shade, and -the carrion birds that have so long been hovering around us for human -food have fled back to Egypt and Europe and Hades!” - -“Praised be the Father of Israel! I shall live then, as I prayed I might, -to see the infidels slung out of our holy places!” So spoke the priest, -and as he affectionately embraced some aged Israelites who gathered about -him, the horseman responded: - -“God reigns and Israel has peace.” He put spurs to his horse then, and -dashed away across the river to spread to other hamlets the glorious -news. - -Next morning Rizpah, having carried her point, was ready to depart for -Bozrah. She had taken silence on her father’s part for consent, and -pursued her preparations as if it were so ordered. All things being ready -she silenced protest by a good-by kiss. - -“But daughter! What escort?” - -“Ah,” she thought, “victory! I can go if well attended.” She continued -aloud; “Perhaps Sir Charleroy’s Egyptian might attend me, since our -servants are busy in the groves.” The maiden called to her Ichabod, who -had found a home in Harrimai’s establishment, his identity hidden under -the assumed name Huykos, a name from the Nile land, meaning “Shepherd -King.” “I’ll take it,” said Ichabod, one day to Sir Charleroy, “that all -unknown I may follow my pilgrim comrade and perhaps honor my new found -‘Shepherd King.’” - -“One will be a meager escort daughter,” interposed Harrimai. - -“Oh, fear for me nothing, father. I’ll quickly be at Bozrah, where there -are Israelites not a few who will be proud to aid thy daughter.” - -“No, daughter it must not be. I’ll call the young men from the vineyard, -if thou must go.” - -“Another victory,” her heart whispered; then quickly turning to Sir -Charleroy she exclaimed, “My father must not call the workmen from their -tasks; what sayst thou? Wilt serve us both by joining my body-guard, -Ahasuerus? Come, to please my father?” - -The knight had hoped for and expected the summons, so needed no urgency -and was instantly preparing for the start. - -Harrimai was not pleased by the arrangement, and yet he was forced to -thank the knight for consenting. His native courtliness compelled this -much, and Rizpah’s genius had precluded all gainsaying on his part. And -so they rode away, Rizpah in a delight, which she could not clearly -define; Sir Charleroy blinded already by the cry that at last led to -giant Samson’s blinding, namely: “Get her for me.” Ichabod masked under -his name, Huykos, followed after, knowing that the knight was captive to -the maid and feeling very happy over the circumstance. As he rode, his -mind ran forward to the wedding, and he laughed again and again at the -witty things he imagined himself saying at that wedding. Suddenly the -scene changed from one of careless delight to one filled with the frights -of impending peril. At a turn in the road, from behind a wall, there rose -up a company of Mamelukes. Rizpah saw them the instant her companion did -and exclaimed, as she half turned her camel: - -“Let’s race back to Gerash!” - -But four dusky sentinels were behind them. They were surrounded. - -“’Tis fight or flight, the latter futile,” whispered the knight. They -paused, and Ichabod joined them. Sir Charleroy drawing his sword again -spoke: “Comrade it’s a desperate chance; a dozen to two; but we have -taken such before together!” - -“Let the knight say a dozen to three,” exclaimed Rizpah, as she drew from -the folds of her garments a saber before unseen and touched the edge -expert-like with her thumb. - -“Oh, brave, pure girl! I don’t fear death; I’d court it for thee, -but”—Sir Charleroy paused and looked unutterable misery; then instantly -recovering and emboldened by the danger that threatened to soon end all, -he exclaimed: - -“Rizpah, thou rememberest my knight-vow at Purim; thou shalt see how -I’ll keep it; if I perish, remember I have loved thee as I never loved -any other being.” The words were very vehement, but probably very true. -Rizpah blushed, brushed a tear from her eyes and then, in the frankness -that such an hour engenders, replied: “And I thee—” the rest was drowned -in the wild shout of the Turks as they close about the three. But they -had not counted upon such a reception as those two men and that one -woman gave them. Ichabod fought like a roused mastiff, without a thought -of fear for himself. He struck vehemently, but a calm settled smile -was on his countenance. Sir Charleroy saw it and years after said, -recalling the incident, “amidst the greatest perils there’s a wondrous -peace to one who feels he is striking for God, close to the portals of -death and judgment.” The knight himself fenced with the rapidity of -lightning. Again and again by ones and twos and threes, the enemies -charged down upon him, but he fought with the prowess of a crusader, the -fire of a lover. Those parts had never before witnessed such splendid -swordsmanship. As the attack had been sudden, so was its ending. Two -Turks fell beneath Sir Charleroy’s weapon in quick succession, and a -third fell under his own horse, which was desperately wounded by a -sweeping blow from the knight. At the same, instant, almost, Ichabod and -one of the foemen, whom he was engaging, fell in significant silence, -while another struggled to drag Rizpah to his steed that he might make -her captive. Sir Charleroy, wounded and faint, dealt the latter miscreant -a staggering blow and the maiden, plucking a small dagger from the folds -of her garment, finished with a single thrust her captor’s earthly career. - -Those of the marauders that were able, in fright took flight, wheeling -away more quickly than they had come. - -“Rizpah, wilt thou go to Ich—Huykos? I can’t,” softly called out Sir -Charleroy. - -The maiden flew to the Jew’s side, but quickly started back, crying: -“Oh, knight, come quickly! He’s dead!” Just then, looking back, a sudden -horror fell upon her, for she saw Sir Charleroy half reclining against a -rock, bleeding and pale. Like lightning she thought: “Both dead; I alone; -home miles away; the Turks hovering near.” - -But the thought of her own peril was only momentary, and after it there -came more rapidly than can be written the thought that one dear as her -life was dead, dead for her sake. Instantly, on feet that seemed winged, -she was at Sir Charleroy’s side. All her being merged into one great, -instant impulse to save her lover. Over him she bent, and with passionate -sorrow tried with her garments to staunch the flow of blood. In the -sincerity and frankness that the presence of death ever brings, she arose -above all prudishness and impulsively kissed the cold lips of the knight. -His eyes opened, and he faintly murmured: - -“I’m so happy, dear Rizpah. I know now it is well.” A little later he -murmured: “Flee now for home. Thou’lt reach it by sun down. Leave me. To -tarry is to court a harem prison.” - -“Hush,” impatiently responded she; “see this dagger?” and she held it -close to his half-closed eyes. “My pious father gave it me when I was -but a girl. He told me it might some time save me from dishonor. It did -so to-day, once. If those black demons return, sure as my name is Rizpah, -it will do so again, even though I turn it toward my own heart.” - -“Better flee, my love.” - -“Not ’till thou can’st go, too.” - -“I may die.” - -“Then, I’ll go into the shadow land with thee.” - -The knight was silent. The pain of his wounds was forgotten in the joy -of that lone companionship. But, after all, his mind, perturbed by the -shock, the pain, the dangers, was unable to rest. He tried to say to -himself the prayer of the dying crusader, but the words were confused. -He could not remember many of them; those he remembered, seemed to -be unwilling to go heavenward for mercy. Some way in the clearness -of judgment as to simple right and wrong that comes to a mind on the -confines of death, he found himself condemned. He was haunted by a vision -that came to his mind first the day he decided against conviction, at all -hazard, to follow the family of Rizpah and Harrimai to Gerash. The vision -was that of the false prophet Zedekiah, making himself horns of iron, and -with them appearing before the wicked King of Israel, Ahab, to proclaim, -not the things of God, but the things the prophet knew would meet the -desires of his royal master. The wounded often fall asleep; it’s nature’s -way of recovering from a shock and of chaining pain in forgetfulness. Sir -Charleroy knew not whether he was sleeping or not; but the vision passed -in painful vividness over his mind. He heard the prophet’s voice saying: -“Go up to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper.” Then he saw a true prophet of God -standing nigh, with sorrowful countenance, and the face was that of the -Madonna. The latter moaned in his ear, warningly; “_Who shall persuade, -that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? Then there came forth a -spirit and said, I will persuade._” - -The spirit was black-garbed, in a blood-spotted garment, and wore, as -Sir Charleroy seemed to see the apparition, a scarlet crescent, and -the knight thought of Astarte. He heard in his vision the beatings as -of mighty wings, rising to flight, and tried to turn and see who the -departing one was. It seemed as if the spirit of Astarte-like countenance -transfixed him with a gaze, so he could not turn; but a loneliness -and darkness, almost palpable, came over him, and he knew it was the -Madonna-faced prophet that had departed. The knight started up as if to -rise, but, awakening, found Rizpah’s restraining arms about him. - -“Stay,” she soothingly said. “Thou art feverish, and too weak to rise. -Thou’lt be better presently; the blood has ceased flowing.” - -“Oh,” he groaned; “I had such a dream!” - -Just then Rizpah beheld coming in the distance, from toward Gerash, -a horseman, at rapid pace. Her first thought, “The enemy returns.” -Her second brought her hand swiftly to her reeking dagger, as she -soliloquized: “He’s only one, and I’m one; if but a woman.” - -The rider drew nearer, and she was almost overcome with the revulsion -from fear and despair; for the comer was Laconic, the “news runner.” -He knew the maiden, and wheeling his steed to her side with his usual -brevity, cried out: - -“Why, didst thou kill both?” - -“Shame on thee; ’twas the Arabs!” - -“I thought so. I met two horsemen and two riderless steeds, galloping -away down the road. I knew they’d been at some devilment.” - -“Good runner, in the name of God, speed thee to Bozrah, or somewhere, for -help, and bring it quickly.” - -“Bring? not so; send. _I_ come not ’till my set day!” - -“Any thing; but hurry!” - -“Hurry! Yes, hurry! I love hurry.” - -He was away like an arrow, in his course. His steed leaped over one of -the dead miscreants and Laconic shouted back: “Carrion dinners! Thank -God!” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -FROM RAMOTH GILEAD TO DAMASCUS - - “Daughters of Eve! your mother did not well: - ... - The man was not deceived, nor yet could stand: - He chose to lose for love of her, his throne,— - With her could die, but could not live alone.” - - “Daughters of Eve! it was for your dear sake - The world’s first hero died an uncrowned king: - But God’s great pity touched the great mistake - And made his married love a sacred thing; - For yet his nobler sons, if aught be true, - Find the lost Eden in their love of you.”—JEAN INGELOW. - - -For many days Sir Charleroy lay wounded at the house of the Patriarch -Harrimai, and she for whom he had periled his life was his constant -attendant. He sorely needed her services, and all Gerash, the priest -included, conceded the fitness of Rizpah’s rendering the aid she was able -to render. The maiden was all willing to minister, and as she ministered -her interest in the man deepened. When she began to look up to him as her -teacher before the battle with Mamelukes, she began a sort of worship; -when she saw him fighting to the death in her behalf, her worship became -an engrossing adoration. If there had been any thing more required in -order to enlist all the affection of which her being was capable, these -opportunities of administering to her suffering lover furnished it. As -God loves because He has helped a needy one, so a woman’s heart easily -flows out toward the object for whom she has performed pious services. -On the other hand, Sir Charleroy was more and more enchanted, for there -is life and charm beyond all description to the touch of the queen of a -man’s heart when he is in trouble or pain. - -Rizpah, in woman’s most queenly garb, the one appointed her at her -creation, that of “help-mate,” was beautiful indeed, and queenly indeed, -to the man whose heart had enthroned her. When alone, they treated each -other with the frank, earnest tenderness, fitting as well as natural, to -the betrothed. Though they did not admit it even to themselves, they had -fully determined to be one, at all peril, in spite of any opposition, -reason approving or disapproving. They often said to one another, “Our -betrothal taking place at the very gates of death was therefore a very -solemn one that nothing on earth can annul.” The sentiment was perfect -and very agreeable; and with them a beautiful and agreeable sentiment -became as controlling as if it were a revelation from heaven. In this, -they were perfectly human. They even persuaded themselves of God’s -favor, thanking Him for what they were pleased to call His Providence, -namely the peril and long sickness leading to the betrothal and days of -love-life together. They were right in conceding that God’s hand was in -the battle; but they were impious in interpreting His Providence to be -fully in accord with their desires. In this, too, they were very human. -But there were shadows about them; for while at times they drifted -along on prismatic tides of Lethean delights, there were other times -when they remembered that there was to come a day of explanation, with -probable following storms. Both were glad and sorry at once, in view of -each day’s improvement of the knight’s physical condition. Convalescent, -they both realized, meant a great change in their relationship; perhaps -a long separation. Their anxiety was deepened by a change in the -demeanor of Rizpah’s father. His eyes no longer questioningly followed -the young people; but his words, uttered in tones of steelly coldness -and very deliberately, bespoke discovery, conviction, conclusion and -determination. One sentence often addressed to the lovers, was to them -like the rumblings of an approaching, gathering storm. “Our friend is -improving, and I’m very glad that he will be able soon to go to his own -dear people.” The lovers discerned a peculiar emphasis on the words “I’m -glad” and “his own dear people.” The politic priest, having read, as from -an open book, the heart-secret of the young people, was awaiting with -self-confidence an opportunity to confound them utterly. The crisis came -one Sabbath morning, just after the morning meal of the convalescent. -Harrimai had paid his usual visit and uttered his steelly sentences. This -time the words seemed especially cruel to Rizpah, for she was nervous, -indeed ill; the prolonged services and anxieties she had experienced of -late were telling on her strength. As Harrimai departed, she gave way -to a flood of tears. Rizpah was not wont to weep, nor was Sir Charleroy -skilled in comforting; but both he and she were lovers, hence it seemed -very natural to her frankly to pillow her head on the knight’s shoulder, -and very natural to him to seek to comfort with a tenderness all new -to him. Had one asked Rizpah if she were going back to babyishness, or -forward toward heaven, she could not have answered. Had one asked the -knight if he were becoming motherly, or turning priest, he could not have -answered. He felt very tender, and his work of comforting seemed like -an act of high piety. Both were glad of the tears which brought the joy -of comforting and being comforted, then, there and that way. They were -passing into a superb mood when quite unexpectedly to them, but quite -expectedly to himself, Harrimai suddenly re-entered the apartment. He -expected to surprise them and he did so, thoroughly. The scene following -was exciting, dramatic and decisive. - -Rizpah, with a slight scream, disengaged herself from Sir Charleroy’s -embrace, and hid her face in her hands. The eyes of the knight and priest -met; neither quailed; both remained for a few moments silent; but their -fixed gaze said plainly enough, each to each, “We must have a settlement -here and now!” Harrimai spoke first, addressing himself to his daughter: -“Young woman, this conduct is immodest and disgraceful! In a Hebrew -maiden, heaven defying! I’ll speak to thee further of this presently. -Now, begone, and leave me to deal with this man!” Harrimai made arrogant -by his profession and the implicit obedience he had been wont to receive -from his followers, expected to fill the young people with dismay by the -suddenness of his assault. But Rizpah, though young, was no tongue-tied -spring, and Sir Charleroy of Gerash was still Sir Charleroy of Acre. - -The words “dishonorable,” “immodest,” stung the maiden; sullenly, -defiantly almost, she settled back in her seat and leaned toward the -knight, as if to say, “I cast my lot with this man.” Her eyes plainly, -angrily said to the man whom all her life hitherto she had reverently -obeyed, “Now do thy worst.” It was impious, passionate, love going -headlong from filial duty and religious instruction to the shrine of -Astarte. The parent was chagrined at this unexpected repulse, but with -his usual adroitness pretending not to notice it, he turned to the -knight. “Stranger, this outrage excuses abruptness on my part; who art -thou?” - -Sir Charleroy arose from his hammock, the excitement and shock of the -rencounter finishing his recovery, by rousing all the machineries of his -system into normal activities. - -“Sir Priest, I’ve nothing to conceal. I love the truth and this maiden -too well to lie—I am a Christian knight.” - -“I knew it; but thy confession shortens our parley. Now, ‘Christian -knight,’ tell me why thou didst attempt to allure to thyself the -affections of a mere girl; a Jewish maiden whom thou canst never hope -to wed? Dost thou so pay our hospitality; setting at defiance parental -authority and our Jewish laws? Dost thou under the favors of this house -intrigue to quench all its light?” - -“Thou brandst that girl and me with the epithet ‘dishonorable;’ and thou -a priest! Men of thy holy calling should never slander, especially not -their own kin and strangers.” The knight was livid, but not with fear. - -“Can an Israelite slander Crusaders? these professors of high religion, -these followers of an impostor, these enemies of my people, these -practicers of intrigues, races, jousts, gluttonies and drunkenness; men -whose sole serious business is murderous war? Tell me?” - -The knight’s face flushed a little, but with complete self-control he -replied: - -“Some of my comrades have been unworthy men, ’tis true; but some Jews -have fallen to every crime and violence. Have all fallen? Thou hast not, -perhaps! Shall all be maligned for the few? What says Harrimai?” - -“Thou art of those, who come to thrust us out of our land and thrust in -here a hated creed!” - -“I am of those who live to serve the needy and erring.” - -“To the proof; I’ve heard from thy clans only of bloodshed.” - -“Our order sprung up four hundred years ago, under the stirring appeals -of religionists as pious and humane as thou; or any of thy kind since -Aaron. We were begotten in a time when grim famine made the well-fed -wondrous kind. Those hours that make men universally akin.” - -“Go on; ‘Christian knight,’ I’d like a lesson of that sort.” - -“Then remember Noah’s covenant of peace. On our banners often we have our -spirit expressed by a dove flying toward a tempest-tossed ark; in the -messenger’s beak an olive branch; around the whole the bow of promise.” - -“Well what of all this?” - -“The ark is the world; the rest is plain.” - -“Oh, a charming theory,” sarcastically responded Harrimai. - -“I wear it next my heart;” so saying the knight threw aside his cloak and -drew from around his body a banner he had hitherto concealed. “See here, -‘_chastity_,’ ‘_temperance_,’ ‘_courtesy_.’ Our mottoes in peace or war! -Women, children and pilgrims, in a word the needy the world around, are -the wards of all true Christian knights!” - -“Mottoes! words! Oh, yes, words! But then the Crusaders have used swords! -Their words I’ll meet with words to their confounding, nor while I live -will I forget their cruel weapons.” So saying the priest swept out of the -sick chamber in manifest rage. - -He returned in a moment, and with the self-command of wrath, conscious -of power, said: “Thou wouldst make all men _akin_! Thou and thine are -dreamers, the world thinks; to-day it laughs to scorn this bootless -pursuit of a chimera. Leave us forthwith and in the peace that thou -foundst here. When the kinship is reality, thou mayst come to us for -further talk; ’till then remember thou art a Christian, I a Jew!” - -“Thou art religious! Heavens! what a tender shepherd.” - -Harrimai was very much angered, but he retorted with self-control; “Oh, -yes, and the God of all hath seven garments. In creation, honor and -glory; in providence, majesty; as lawgiver, might and whiteness; of -spotless light when he appears as a Saviour. He is clad with zeal when -he punishes, and with blood red when He revenges. I would be like Him. -By the glory of God! thou follower of Nazereth’s Impostor, sooner than -suffer thy blood to contaminate my family lines, I’d hew thee to pieces -as Agag was hewn! Rizpah, thou knowest me; wed him and thou’lt be -widowed, though carrying the unborn; though widow-hood broke thy heart. -I’d rather a thousand times see thee lying dead by thy true Jewish mother -than——.” The priest, in a tumult of fanatical passion mingled with the -grief of offended pride, lacked for words to express the climax of his -feelings; so covering his tearless eyes, as one weeping, he rushed out -from those he had assailed. He persuaded himself that he had spoken all -for the glory of God; the lovers thought of their solemn betrothal and -their love which they were certain was as fine as any earth ever knew, -and they felt that they were martyrs. Both sides appealed to God and in a -spirit very ungodly, but very human, braced themselves for opposing war. - -When the maiden became somewhat calm, Sir Charleroy found words to -question: - -“Harrimai cannot find heart to blast his idol’s happiness! He does not -mean all he said?” - -“Alas, he does. It’s part of the Patriarch’s religion to hate such as -thou, as he does. He means more, if possible, than he spoke. Our people -unveil the bosom and cover the mouth; thine cover the bosom and unveil -the mouth. Ye talk, we burn.” - -“Has pure love like ours no sanctity in his sight?” - -“Alas, he can not believe any love pure that is between Gentile and -Israelite. He was sneering at ours a few evenings ago, when he remarked -as we were looking at the stars, ‘Hyperius or Venus of the evening is -mistakenly called the star of love. Lucifer of the morning is the true -emblem of most young love. It rises in maddening brightness, but fades -out of sight very soon.’” - -“Grim omen! We took Venus for our betrothal star; they say it is so -bright at times that it casts a shadow. I feel its shadow now,” said the -knight, meditating. - -“Yes, shadows and shadows!” exclaimed Rizpah, with a flood of tears, -and she swayed back and forth as she wept. She was driven by tempests -of fear that made her ready to flee, and held by anchors of passionate -loving that made her ready to brave all fears; therefore the swaying and -weeping. At intervals the two communed and debated concerning the one -all-engrossing theme, their future course. - -“Rizpah,” comfortingly spoke the knight, “when in the greatest peril of -our lives, we were drawn, by danger, closer to each other.” There was a -glance of entreaty in her eyes as if to say, “Go save thy life and let -the Jewish maiden die alone;” but the knight drew her to his bosom, and -she responded by an embrace of passionate clinging. - -“I go from Rizpah only at her command or death’s,” said the knight -solemnly. - -The maiden shuddered, and again passionately clung to her lover. He -interpreted her action, and again comfortingly spoke: - -“Fear not; earth has somewhere a refuge for us until death call us!” - -“Somewhere? What, go away?” - -“Yes. It is that or separation.” - -She knew that full well. But to flee from home with the knight, the -alternative presented to her mind, startled her. At first thought it -seemed a reckless, perilous, unfilial, God-defying act; then it seemed -attractive because so daring. A tumult of arguments questionings, fears -and yearnings mingled in her mind. She had never learned to arrange -arguments, _pro_ and _con_, judicially. What woman whose feelings were -aroused ever did that? - -He pressed on her flight, enforcing each reason presented with an -affectionate embrace; her tongue spoke not, but her embraces replied -to each of his. She had a conscience, and it asserted itself until she -placated it by a half formed resolution to be very prudent and do nothing -rashly. The resolution comforted her at first; then she began to follow -it, mentally, to its sequence. She thought of her father praising her -piety as her purpose was disclosed. Something within, coming like a voice -from her heart, mockingly whispered “Go on.” She pursued the meditations, -and heard, in imagination, her neighbors praising her as a martyr of love -for faith’s sake. Again the mocking inner voice said, “Go on.” Again -her thoughts moved forward until she saw that conscience was driving -her to separation from Sir Charleroy; in a word, making her walk in a -funeral procession, her own dead heart on the bier. The thought made her -shudder and recoil; then the knight’s arms encircled her more closely -than before. Again and again she took the foregoing mental journey, again -and again recoiled, shuddering from the alternative of separation from -her lover, and at each recoil felt his grateful embrace. Each time she -traversed the mental course the journey toward duty by the privation of -love seemed more onerous. Distaste was followed by repugnance; then utter -weariness. At last, utterly wretched, her purposes and perceptions fell -into hopeless confusion, and she exclaimed “Charleroy, Charleroy, save -me!” - -The knight was at a loss to divine fully her meaning, yet tenderly he -answered: - -“Save Rizpah? She knows I’d do that in death’s teeth!” - -“Oh, Charleroy, ’tis not death, but life, that I fear. How shall I live?” - -Quickly he ejaculated: - -“With me, forever, and safe!” - -The maiden remembering many an admonition she had heard concerning the -inconstancy of lovers, yet driven forward by the all-abandoning love of -her woman’s heart, gave voice to all she felt and feared in one vehement -interrogation: - -“Oh, Charleroy, if I forsake all for my love of thee shall I ever be -discarded by——?” - -The knight interpreted her meaning in advance, and answered by an embrace -that was all-assuring. He was rejoiced beyond words, for he knew full -well that hesitation and questionings like hers were on the rim of full -surrender. Suddenly he became very serious and felt that peculiar glow -that came over him the day of his departure from England when the bishop -blessed him. He appreciated in a measure the responsibility following -such a committal of another’s life to himself as Rizpah was making, -and he embraced her with an anxious reverence, such as a pietist feels -clasping an ideal of his God. It was well for both that the man was thus -impressed by the committal of that maiden of her soul and body to his -pilotage. Pity the woman who reaches the extremity Rizpah had reached if -her conqueror be not white-souled and sincere. - -Rizpah an incarnation of passion, a wreath of lotus flowers on a sea -of delight, tossed by the winds, borne by the tides, surrendered all -thoughts that might disturb, that she might enjoy what she had embraced -as her fate to the full. - -Sir Charleroy constantly prayed within himself, “My mother’s God help me -to deal as purely with my sacred charge as I would with the Virgin Patron -of my knightly order, were she here now to seek my knightly services.” -The prayer was effectual, for the Knight sincerely sought to make it so. - -Decisive action followed this interview between the lovers. That very -night they fled together from Gerash, and with only one trusty servant; -after many vicissitudes they reached Damascus. For a time Rizpah placated -her conscience by asserting that she would not consent to the wedding -ceremonial until it could have her father’s approval, or that of some -Jewish Rabbi. Finding it impossible to obtain these, she irresolutely -suggested the advisability of delaying until some change, quite vaguely -apprehended, might come. But there were two Rizpah’s—one that wanted to -be a faithful Jewess, and one that wanted only and constantly a darling -idol. Sir Charleroy sided with the latter; it was two to one, and the one -surrendered. Ere long a Christian missionary at Damascus sealed the vows. -They confided their story to him, as if to ask his advice as to what -they had best do, but with the impetuosity of lovers they had decided -their course before they asked advice, and did not even ask it until -they had pledged their vows before this priest. But it was a balm to -conscience to ask advice. And the Sacrist answered them briefly: “Venus -and Mercury, fabled deities of love and wisdom. They are much alike -in the firmament, and revolve in orbits in accord with the earth’s. -Methinks it is _wisdom_ to _love_ in the earth. But, children, Venus sets -sooner than Mercury; see to it that you make it your wisdom to love as -long as you go round with the world.” Then they both said “Amen.” For a -moment Sir Charleroy heard within him that impressive sound as of the -beating of mighty, departing wings. He dragged his attention quickly from -the introspection to gaze into the eyes of his bride. He was glad that a -Christian priest had prayed for a blessing upon himself and her, but all -sophistry aside, the truth remained. Astarte’s was the presiding spirit -at that wedding. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE THEATER OF GIANTS. - - “Once more we look and all is still as night, - All desolate! Groves, temples, palaces - Swept from the sight and nothing visible, - ... Save here and there - An empty tomb, a fragment like a limb - Of some dismembered giant.” - - “Og, the King of Bashan, came out against us to battle at - Edrei, and the Lord said unto me, Fear him not: for I will - deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand. - And we took ... three-score cities of the Kingdom of Og, in - Bashan.”—Deut. iii. - - “Bashan is the land of sacred romance.” “His mission [Paul’s, - Gal., 1: 15] to Bashan seems to have been eminently successful. - Heathen temples were converted into churches, and new churches - built in every town.” “In the fourth century nearly the whole - of the inhabitants were Christian.” “The Christians are now - nearly all gone.” “Nowhere else is patriarchal life so fully - exemplified.” “Bashan is literally crowded with towns, the - majority of them deserted, but not ruined.” “Many are as - perfect as if finished only yesterday.”—PORTER’S “_Giant - Cities_.” - - -For a brief period the delightful seasons, the famed rivers, the stately -surrounding mountains, the paradisiacal plains, the antiquities, the -pleasure gardens and palaces of the city of Damascus, whose name by -interpretation is “change,” offered sought-for gratification to the -knight and his bride. Harrimai died suddenly after the elopement of -his child, the only person on earth whom he truly loved, the only -one that had ever successfully defied his mandates. He had purposed -disinheriting her for her act, but before he could execute that purpose, -death disinherited him. Some said that he died of a broken heart; the -physicians said he was taken off by a fit; Sir Charleroy said he died -because his proud will was crossed. Rizpah inherited a fortune that -helped both her and her husband to forget the old priest’s maledictions -by enabling them to enjoy all there was to be enjoyed in Damascus, “the -eye of the East.” They gave up unreservedly to pleasure, and centered -the world more and more in themselves. Sir Charleroy did this easily, -reasoning that, having had so many pains, he was entitled to compensating -pleasures. He heard from England; and the news was to the effect that -there had been changes and changes in his native land. Many of those he -once knew, including his mother, were dead; and he himself was forgotten -as dead. Sententiously, bitterly he summed up his feelings: “They thought -me dead, and, my mother and her fortune being gone, did not care to -find out whether I was dead or not; therefore let them think as they -thought.” Rizpah feared the lashings of conscience, and, having given up -every thing once dear to enter the life she had, courted forgetfulness -of the past, pleasure for the present. The two had within themselves -exuberant youth, a wealth of possibilities of happiness; the elements -that, like the abundance of the volcano, paints the sky gorgeously when -rising heavenward; like it, in the downward course, followed by darkness -and disaster. The two, differing in almost every thing but fervor -of temperament, were in accord in pursuit of change; they persuaded -themselves that they were growing to be like each other, when they were -only exalting the one thing, love of excitement, in which they were alike. - -Damascus, naturally, in time, became uninteresting and vapid to them -both. They wore it out; they wanted new scenes. They heard that a caravan -of Mohammedan pilgrims was to pass through their city on the way to -Mecca to procure besim balm and holy chaplets, and promptly determined -to journey with it; but not to Mecca. The caravan was to pass through -Bashan, and the two excitement-seekers desired to visit the latter land -of wonders. They readily garbed themselves as Mohammedans, though once -they would have loathed such garbing as a defilement. They desired -company toward Bashan, and since the time they defied their consciences -in order to be wedded to each other, their consciences had been wont -to be very submissive in the face of their desires. They explained to -themselves the absence of qualms of conscience in the face of a pretense -of being Moslems, as the result of a growth toward liberality on their -part. The explanation made them comfortably complacent, although the fact -was that they had passed far beyond liberalism toward nothingism. - -Passing Musmeth and Khubat of the Argob, they tarried after a time at -Edrei, just inside the shore line of that mysterious black, lava sea, -the Lejah. They were in a country where nature, art and desolation had -done their greatest. Following a passing impulse seemed to them to have -brought them thither, but one believing in God’s constant providence will -readily believe that they were led thither as to a school. There were -omen and prophecy confronting them. These fervent souls had gone from -hymen’s altar filled with romancings, under a glow of prismatic auroras, -never pausing to perceive that from each wedding time there winds a troop -of serious years burdened with many a commonplace duty. Their love had -been volcanic, their impulses ecstatic, their aims toward things filled -with commotion. The wine in their cup was to leave dregs; after the -fire there was to be ashes, and it was fitting that they contemplated -a specimen of great desolation and dreariness, the result of great -fires and great storms. So they were within that wonder of the world, -three hundred and fifty square miles of awful plain, filled with ruined -towns and cities. Heaved up here and there by jutting basalt rocks, the -plain seemed filled with black ice-bergs; ridged at intervals the plain -suggested an ocean wave-tossed. Therein is many a cave and cranny place, -fit abode for the wild beast or robber; fit abode for ghosts, if one -seeks to believe there are such. But therein were only a few green spots, -oases, to bid the traveler welcome. Ere long the knight and his consort -wore out the Lejah, and, in so doing, in part, wore out themselves. They -had a fullness of the pleasure of the kind which lacks recreation. As it -was, they stayed there longer than it was well for them to stay. - -Rizpah, the passion flower of Gerash, experiencing the supreme exaction -of womanhood now, began to droop. Months spent in pursuit of excitement, -the great change in her manner of life, as well as the oppressive -desolations of her surroundings, had drawn heavily upon her resources -physically. Reaction after exaltation, and nervous discord after nervous -tension are natural results, always. - -The knight discerned the change of temper, and as an anxious novice went -about correcting the matter. He knew little concerning woman, except -that love of her intoxicates; delighting in the intoxication he sought -to stimulate Rizpah’s flagging energies by pushing her onward into -the feverish brilliancy that was so delightful to himself. It was an -attempt to cure physical impoverishment by the renewal of its causes. -She was at times complacent, because incompetent to resist; passive, -because enervated. He was most selfish, though not realizing the fact, -when trying to be most tender. In fact, the twain were on the rim of -a test period in their married life and being unskilled in its common -places, unfitted to stand the test. Sir Charleroy had recourse to the -only physician he deemed adequate; one whom on account of his dress he -called “Old Sheepskin.” This was a guide, with a motly group of Druses -assistants, and an unpronouncible name. - -“Come, Rizpah, ‘Old Sheepskin Jacket’ has put on his red tunic and -leathern girdle to carry us a camel voyage in-sea; if we do not give the -man a job he’ll fall to stealing again.” - -Rizpah languidly shook her head. - -“But we must patronize the man to keep up what little honesty he has, and -he has some. He told me but yesterday he’d rather work than rob—though -the pay be less, so is the danger less.” - -The knight was telling the truth as well as trying to be facetious. - -Again Rizpah replied with a weary shake of the head, her hands rising -deprecatingly, then falling into her lap as if almost nerveless. - -“But, Rizpah, while we are here we ought to fully explore the changeless -cities of this dead, black, lava sea. There are none other like this on -earth! ’Tis nature’s desperate effort to outrun phantasmagoria.” - -Rizpah shook her head and waved her hands; this time vehemently, as if to -repel a horror. - -“What? A fixed no?” - -“No more excursions into this counterpart of hades for me.” - -“Well, so be it to-day, at least,” with surrendering tones, the knight -replied. - -“To-day? All days! Oh, God, remove me from this nightmare!” - -So exclaiming, the woman covered her eyes, shuddered and wept -hysterically. - -Sir Charleroy was almost overcome with sudden amazement. The tears, the -terror, the complete change before him, were beyond his comprehension. -After a time he again spoke: “Why, this is a sudden freak or frenzy. I -thought Rizpah fascinated here!” - -“I’ve had my notice from the dread spirits that infest the place to -go! Didst thou note what dark and threatening clouds dipped down like -vultures upon me when we were last there?” vehemently Rizpah replied. - -“I only saw a threatening of rain that came not. It seldom rains in the -Lejah.” - -“There was rain enough in my poor, shivering, weeping heart!” - -“But, I wonder, Rizpah, thou didst not tell me of these feelings before!” - -“I could not confide then; I was too jealous!” - -“Jealous? What a word! But of whom, me?” - -“I can never forget that thy union with me has made thee alien to thy -people and in part neglectful of the faith for which thou didst once -fight bravely. I can not forget that the Teutonic knight was the devotee -of a bepraised Lady Mary. I thought of this that black day, and I felt -as if those dry, grim clouds were her frowns. It was thou, my Christian -husband, who named the Lejah, ‘Tartarus,’ and it has been such for some -time to me. Its sight has constantly burned me with remorse! That day -it seemed to me thy Mary pitied thee and blamed me! I writhed under the -thought! I, for a moment, hated her. I felt like climbing some height, -and, club in hand with defiant curses, challenging her right to have -a finer care of thee than I have. I’d have done it, if thou hadst not -been here to laugh at the folly of my frenzy. Ah, husband, if she is -or was all that thou dost depict her, she can not love me, and thou -must contrast us to my disparagement. I can not forget that thou wert a -Christian soldier; sworn to war for her and her son; now thou art wedded -to me, a daughter of her and His persecutors!” - -“Why, Rizpah, thy changing moods are appalling; thou dost beat the -magicians who conjure up the dead, since thou dost create out of nothing -the most hideous ghosts to haunt thyself—Maya! Maya!” - -“Oh, yes, I know ‘Maya,’ wife of Brahm, by interpretation ‘illusion.’ A -myth, as a gibe, has a sharp point, effective because so difficult to -parry. But, alas, ridicule, though it easily tear to pieces delusion, is -powerless to disperse the gloom that sits in a soul as mine.” - -“I’ll not ridicule my Rizpah, but I would bring her light.” - -“Ah? That is, resurrect the peace thou didst murder?” - -“Show me one wound my hand has made and I’ll abjectly beg all pardons, -attempt any atonement!” - -“Dost thou, knight, remember the ruins of the Christian church of Saint -George, at Edrei?” - -“Certainly.” - -“And thy conversation there?” - -“Yes, that Saint George was England’s patron saint famed for having slain -the dragon which imperiled a king’s daughter.” - -“More thou didst say; thou didst expatiate on the princess, saying her -name was Alexandra, meaning, ‘friend of mankind’; further, thou saidst -there was a queenly woman by name, Mary, daughter of the King of Kings, -friend beyond all women of humanity, for whom every true knight was -willing to be a Saint George.” - -“True enough; but to what purport now is this reminiscence?” - -“Thou saidst Saint George was loyal to the death to his faith, and died a -martyr!” - -“True again. What of it?” - -“Was the Teutonic knight thinking of himself as a martyr because wed to -a Jewess? I followed thy thoughts, though they were not all spoken. How -naturally that day thou didst tell me of thy visions which thou hadst -between Gerash and Bozrah when wounded nigh to death. The English saint, -knight, very loyal to creed, rebuked in his dreams, by the beating of -mighty wings, the departing of his heart’s rose! Oh, why didst thou not -tell me this before it was too late! I would have helped thee escape the -ingenuous Jewess Thou didst awaken then with dread bleeding, to find -thyself pillowed upon the bosom of a simple-hearted loving girl; I now -awaken, wounded indeed, but with none to staunch the wounding! Why, de -Griffin, didst thou keep this secret so long? Why unfold it now?” - -“I’d be the Saint George of Rizpah and slay her dragon, gloom.” - -“Poor comfort to offer since the gloom is beyond thy powers! Flout my -mood as thou mayst; what use? I vainly denounce it. Thou hast had thy -dream; now I’m having mine. I’ll not mock thy insights; thou canst not by -bantering jeer change mine. My Lejah omens assure me that I’m to have a -rain of tears and more; some way thy Mary will be their cause.” - -“Rizpah errs; the queen I revere was a living epistle of good will; her -character the joy and inspiration of all women, especially of those in -tribulation. But enough! Rizpah, being a Jew, should abhor the necromancy -of omens!” - -“Jew! Ah, yes; I was once! But the valiant English knight lured me into -his Christian love and my race’s hate. I had once the luxurious faith -of a pious girl; all feeling, all flowers; too young to reason, but -young enough to love the good and beautiful unto salvation. The knight -poisoned the blossoms before they ripened by the acids of ridicule! There -is a loss beyond repair and a bitter memory, that of a broken promise; -under our love-star thou didst swear thou wouldst never lightly treat my -believing. Venus has set, Mercury is rising; but wisdom brings a burning -glare. The promise that the knight failed to keep was made when I was, -he said his idol; now I’m only his wife!” - -“Rizpah exchanges the glory of the rose for the bitter gray of the -wormwood.” - -“I’m thy handiwork; now mock the result, if to do so comforts thee.” - -“My handiwork!” - -“Yes, fool!” - -“These words are awful.” - -“I think so and I hate them; though I can not check them. I hate my -temper and even myself when in such present moods. De Griffin, pray as -thou didst never pray before, that I do not learn to hate thee. I pity -thee, because I’ve some love left.” - -“Pity?” - -“Yes, when I imagine thee wriggling beneath the malignant detestation of -which I know I shall soon be capable.” - -“My wife, in God’s dear name, banish these moods! They are impious, -unnatural; the crisis of thy being falsely accuses thy heart. Be calm!” - -“Calm? ‘Be calm!’ Very good; calm me, please, if thou canst. Oh, why -didst thou make me thus?” - -“The God of all peace forgive me if I did, Rizpah.” - -“Thou wert the elder and shouldst have known?” - -“What?” - -“That to unsettle a woman’s faith, if she be such as I, is to let loose -a bundle of blind vagaries and to tumble her, like a drifting wreck, on -unknown shores.” - -“Oh, wife, as thou hopest for heaven and lovest our unborn child, -restrain these moods. Thou’lt mark the one to be, with germs of all -evil; for such outbursts of mothers re-act with awful effect upon their -offspring. Thou knowest how the old nurse, at Damascus, killed a babe in -an instant, merely by giving it her breast after she had yielded to an -outbreak of passion. Such tempers hurl poison through all the being!” - -“Alas, knight, that all this prudence ever comes just a little too late!” - -“What could I have done better?” - -“Left the little maid of Harrimai’s home free from thy enchantments and -to the quiet of her people’s state.” - -“But I loved thee so. That atones for all.” - -“Thou thoughtst thou lovedst, but ’twas my form which fascinated thee, -not my mind nor soul!” Rizpah’s face became ashen pale, her eyes had a -far-off gaze and were steelly, as she began plaintively to repeat the -words, “‘_There were giants in the earth.... They saw the daughters of -men, Adamish, that they were fair and they took them for wives of all -they chose, and they bore children and it repented the Lord that He had -made man, for He saw that the wickedness was great in the earth._’ Thou -wast my giant-lofty. Thou stolest my heart and body. Now for a flood to -punish the sin, and my tears are already its first droppings.” - -“We are wed; shall we not now make the best of it? Even when into this -mystic alliance unmated lives converge, they can still with wisdom -extract from it at least peace. Go fervently, firmly, back to the faiths -of thy girlhood; become again all thou wert, except that thou be ever -mine.” - -“Ah, ha! how little, after all, thou knowest of woman’s heart? Thou -wouldst command it do and be; and go and come, wouldst thou? Thinkst -thou, thou canst make such heart as mine wild with the strange -intoxications of unholy fire, filling the brain above it with all the -clouds, weird longings, doubtings and misgivings, that fume up from that -fire, and then send that heart back without a compass, chart, sail or -helm, to find the haven? Send it lashed by remorse part of the time, part -of the time half dead to all feeling, and all the time blind, to hunt up -lost creeds.” - -“But God provided an ark; let us ask Him to aid us build one in a home, -with happy parents and happy children. Thou readst to me, but yesterday, -the Prophets’ beautiful description of a lamp burning with oil supplied -from two palm trees; one on either side. I’ll interpret; the trees are -parents, the lamp the light of home, manifest in posterity, reproduction; -a prophecy of the resurrection.” - -“Beautiful mysticism. But the giantesque men rose to play at lust, just -beside Sinai of the law.” - -“Not so I, the Teutonic knight, now the husband. Rizpah; thy desperate -misery appeals to all my manhood. I swear to thee I’d turn my heart’s -blood into the oil to cause our home to glow with the serene light of -holy happiness.” - -“Words, words; how sad, because so beautiful, yet so vain!” - -“Oh Rizpah,” cried the knight, too anxious to be angry, though the -woman’s words were stinging, “thy looks startle me! Pray God to rest and -hold thy worried soul.” - -“Pray? I have tried, often of late, to pray, but I do not know how. -I fear thou hast stolen even that power from me! Ugh! the last time -I prayed, my words seemed like black cormorants rising with loads of -carrion; then falling struck dead by the sun, into great black caves, -such as abound in our Lejah hell! I heard my words flung back at me in -mockery. Pray? I dare not, lest God strike me dead for a hypocrite and a -heretic!” - -“But my poor, dear wife,” soothingly said Sir Charleroy, “He is merciful.” - -“Oh, yes, to the good and the faithful; I’m neither! I gave Him up for -a man, as the Adamish men gave him up for women. I madest thou my God, -and now have none other; for He of the heavens is very holy, but very -jealous!” - -“Rizpah, Rizpah, do not thus give way to these wild imaginations.” - -“Give way? Alas, all is already given away; soul and body were on an -idolatrous altar long ago. I’m buried in the ashes!” - -“But Rizpah, trust my love: I’ll help thee back to peace and usefulness.” - -“Bah! the masculine great I——” - -“Heavens! woman, is there any love in a heart that so hurls javelins?” - -“I don’t know! I suppose so, for I pity thee.” - -“Pity me?” - -“Yes; when I think as I do at times, that thy wife is turning into a -devil, a very devil! Sir Charleroy de Griffin, knight of St. Mary, dost -hear me? A devil, a raging devil, and one that will pity while she -assails.” The last sentence was almost screamed, then the woman fell on -the rug of their apartment and wept convulsively. After a little there -was the silence of exhaustion, of chagrin, of shame. Sir Charleroy stood -by the prostrate form and with words half commanding said: “Let us ride -out a little way.” He was trying a new strategy. - -“No, no, no! Thou’lt take me to the Lejah, and I shall see that dread -omen again.” - -“What?” As he questioned he raised the woman tenderly from the floor. - -“The lava desert, in long rolling waves, black and drear.” - -“Ah, Rizpah, thou knowest that it was only thy unreined fancy, heated by -morbid broodings, that changed the eternally-fixed furrows of the plain, -overshadowed by running clouds into threatening billows! God and the sun -are above all clouds and behind every anxious heart. Look up; look in, -until thy soul finds Him; then the horror of darkness will die away.” - -“Oh, how thy comfortings hurt me, because I do not believe in thee, -nor believe thee! Thou sayst that thou didst abandon thy Christian, -perfect queen of women, for me. I know thou must be chagrined at the bad -exchange! I can not honor nor trust the faithfulness of one so fickle. No -matter for that, but what comes after is worse. Those black sky-drapings -were over the Lejah that day because I was there. I know—I know there’s -a tide of sorrow rolling toward me. I see it as I saw those black, -serpent-like, lava waves. But, oh, the suspense! It’s awful; let the -worst come if only soon!” The knight, sworn to protect helpless women, -saw himself disarmed and powerless to aid the one woman of earth for whom -he would have died. - -Two giants at bay in Giant Land, where another mold of gianthood had died -leaving nothing but monuments to attest the greatness of the failure. The -two knew only this, that they were very miserable and powerless, by any -means accustomed, to extricate themselves. - -Sir Charleroy wished and wished, in his soul, that his patron saint and -queen of women would appear and tell both what to do. He unconsciously -was turning his mind’s eye in the right direction. Husband and wife both -believed there was a right way, a pattern of right, and an ideal of -heaven, but they could not lay hold of them. Giant, crusader and husband, -each in turn strove in his day at the same spot, and at the same point -failed. - -Sir Charleroy, in mind, went out along a strangely beset line of -thinking. Sometimes he pitied himself, and that brought the balm of -conceit. He remembered it was a fine thing to be a martyr, forgetting -that some, rewardless, suffer as sinners. Sometimes he heard those -beatings of mighty wings, as if some wondrous holy one were departing. -Then he became very penitent and full of the entreatings of prayer. -Either mood was brief enough to him not yet converted; a very Peter -in vacillations. Whether he would finally follow the beating wings or -sit down nigh to the gates of certain insanity, the gates that those -who over-much pity themselves are sure to reach, was the issue in his -life then. The bugles of war call few to the heroism of the field, but -millions are daily called by God’s bugle to the better achievements which -make for glory amid the duties of common life. That latter bugle was -calling him, but he was slow to obey, or understand even. - -The events recorded in the foregoing pages roused Sir Charleroy to an -anxious effort to do something to change the currents of his wife’s -thoughts. Necessity quickened his discernment, and though he had had but -little experience in dealing with those ill in the body or mind, he -quickly concluded that a change of place and a change of pursuit would be -beneficial. In truth, his own feelings attested this much. He himself was -weary of the pursuit of excitement as a sole and constant occupation. - -“Shall we leave the Lejah, Rizpah?” he questioned, a few days after the -outbreak before mentioned. - -“Yes, I say!—I’m leaving it! See here,” and she pointed to her cheeks, -once ruddy, now haggard. “Oh, Charleroy, take me away or death will!” - -“Enough! We’ll go. But where?” - -“Any place under heaven; say the word and I’ll run out of the place -instantly, leaving all here.” - -“What, our effects!” - -“Any thing to get away. I feel like a child approached by some monster -terror, hour by hour! For days I’ve been transfixed by my fear or I would -have run away, even alone, before this. Now thy words break the spell! -Come, let us go before I’m overcome again!” - -“There, now, be calm. No more of this undue nervousness. We’ll go, and -soon. What says Rizpah to Bozrah, southward of Bashan?” - -“Yes, to Bozrah; historic Bozrah!” and the face of the woman brightened -as she went on: “It was the fairy land of my youth. I’ve wanted to go -there since I was a wee little thing, scarce able to walk.” Then the -woman unbent and talked with the rapture of a child: - -“Oh; I’ve wanted to see Bozrah all my life, since the days when my old -nurse used to talk me to sleep with stories of Og and his bedstead nine -cubits long, and how our little Hebrew, Moses, overcame those Rephaim.” - -“Thy prophets and psalmists, as well as thy nurses, were wont to go -into rapturous descriptions of the lofty oaks, loftier mountains, -ragged plains, marvelous pastures and goodly herds of the Hauran and -Trachonitis.” - -Rizpah continued in gleeful strain: “Oh, those herds; if I can’t see old -Og, I’d like to see the famous bulls of Bashan! Show me something huge, -no matter how huge, if alive and not black! I’m becoming infatuated -with the strong and the large. If ever I lose my soul it will be by -worshiping, pagan-like, something mightier than I can imagine; of body -or muscle. Yes, yes, I’ll be a thorough pagan since I can not be a Jew -nor a Christian! Now, I forewarn thee.” So saying she laughed merrily. -The knight was rejoiced to hear the musical, natural laughter again, and -encouraged the play of her wit, which attested a mind unbending to rest. - -“Woman-like, adoring the huge when the grand can not be found. Thank God, -the giants are all dead; there are none at Bozrah, at least. I’ll not -fear the little dirty Arabs, or pigmy Druses as supplanters.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE REVELS OF MEN AND RITES OF THEIR GODDESSES. - - “Rude fragments now - Lie scattered where the shapely column stood. - Her palaces are dust. In all the streets the sprightly chords - Are silent. Revelry and dance and show - Suffer a syncope and solemn pause; - While God performs upon the trembling stage - Of His own works His dreadful part, alone.”—COWPER. - - “Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain shall - be among their idols, round about their altars ... upon every - high place ... under every thick oak.”—Ezekiel vi. - - -Passing from Edrei toward Bozrah the pilgrim knight and his wife with -their convoy reached Kunawat, the Kenath of Scripture, once the dwelling -place of Job. Here for a time they abode. The number and variety of -castles, temples, theaters and palaces in ruins, were sufficient to -engage the attention of the travelers for many days. Rizpah was more -cheerful than she was at Edrei, but yet restless to reach Bozrah, on -which place her heart was set. - -One day standing before an old Roman temple in Kunawat, Rizpah, somewhat -interested by its well preserved Corinthian columns, and Sir Charleroy -deeply engrossed in contemplation of an huge stone image, the former -asks: “Has the knight recognized an old English or a new Bashan love?” -The woman was finding the oft-repeated and prolonged visits to this -particular place monotonous. She was annoyed, but modified her rebuke -into raillery. - -“There is something very fascinating in the Cyclopean face.” - -“A broken stone fascinate a man? But I see ’tis that of a woman; the -brain part gone. Would that the English knight had wed such; then he -might have been loyal to creed, and not a martyr!” - -[Illustration: ASTARTE.] - -“Rizpah knows that I could never have loved a brainless face, nor any one -akin to this Kunawat goddess.” - -“Not if she echoed thy ‘aye’ and ‘nay’ consistently? Be careful; as many -strong men have fallen by having their conceit gratified as there have -fallen women through flattery.” - -“How absurd to hint that I could be so lured.” - -“But the knight says Astarte fascinates!” - -“I said so, meaning that I’m fascinated by the train of thoughts that the -image awakens. Think a moment; we, the living of to-day confronting the -acme of the thought of the ages long gone. Looking at this, I seem to be -seeing over rolling centuries, right into the hearts of humanity that -lived thousands of years ago.” - -“All this might have been taken in at a glance! Having seen it, what use -is it?” - -“Use? To aid in finding a key to life’s problems. I’m filled with -questionings; do not yearnings, such as beat through the being of the -ancients pulse in those of to-day? Are not humanity’s temptations and -needs ever the same?” - -“Since the ancients did not tarry to compare with us, I, being only a -woman, of Gerash, of to-day, can give only the shallow answer, I suppose -so.” - -“Oh, I’m not questioning Rizpah; but the ruins, the air, time, my soul, -God!” - -“And their reply?” - -“Bewildering echoes of each question? - -“And it’s all a mystery to Sir Charleroy?” - -“I know a little; something, next to nothing.” - -“Possess curious me of that little, and I’ll help thee wonder why so much -greatness came to naught.” - -“That wondering is easily met; they had, as god, one whose head could be -broken as this one’s was; they that would survive must be sheltered by -the Invincible.” - -Rizpah, meanwhile had drawn close to the huge stone face and placing one -hand beneath the mouth, the other on the portion of the head just above -the moon crown, her arms stretched well nigh to their limits quizically -remarked: - -“Those that dined with her must have had pyramids for chairs. What dost -thou think they were like?” - -“Crusaders?” - -“Now, I’m tantalized. Crusaders two or three thousand years ago? How -absurd!” - -“Oh, certainly they were not known by the name, Crusaders: but -they that followed Astarte and such-like deities, whether called -Kenaihites, Rephaim, Moslem, Christians, or by other appellation are -all soldier-pilgrims, dominated by an ideal. There have been many -female deities among the pagans and there is a deal of paganism left in -humanity.” - -“That’s because half the race are men. Astarte would be very popular -to-day with thy sex, if she were here in living form, a whole woman, -instead of a fragment and beautiful also—” - -“Thou dost not care to hear more of the female deities?” - -“Oh, yes; I’ll be fearfully jealous if thou dost keep any thing back. -Tell me what madmen the ancients were?” She paused, slapped the face of -the image, ejaculating “_Virago!_” then continued, “Why did they make -their effigy both hideous and huge? Ugly things should be dwarfed!” - -“The ancients, who knew not the grandeur of moral power, gave their -deities terribleness in their physical proportions, and a mountain -of flesh became their ideal of greatness—men ever try to make their -objects of worship greater than themselves, thou knowest. Hast forgotten -what Ichabod once told us of the Egyptians? How they expressed their -reverence by piling up pyramids and made that very diminutive which they -would caricature? Oh, how our true religion, having at its heart an only, -all-beautiful, Almighty God, rises above these human devices!” - -“I wonder that it did not, at its first appearing on earth, instantly -overthrow all others.” - -“And it is a still more wonderful thing that those who embraced it, -having known, should have sometimes gone back to paganism? Thou dost -remember that God’s chosen people, after enjoying marvels of His -Providence, plunged headlong into idolatry in the very presence of His -splendor at Sinai?” - -“With shame I remember it. I marvel as well that this record, which -evokes the ridicule of the grosser heathen, was made part of our Holy -writings.” - -“God’s compensation! The people stripped themselves of their jewels to -make the calf; then of their garments to worship it according to the lewd -rites of Apis. God since has lashed them naked around the world, as it -were, by giving their history to all times. ‘_Be sure your sin will find -you out_,’ is a stern truth haunting the conscience of the evil doer; -but though exposure is a bitter medicine it is a saving one. God as such -applies it.” - -“I think the devil crazed the people at Sinai.” - -“Yes, Rizpah, but Human Desire was his name. The revelers made their -devil as well as their calf, that day.” - -“But it is said ‘they rose to play.’ If so disobedient and heaven-defying -how could they have found heart to play?” - -“Odious, significant word that one is, here. It was a ‘_play_’ that -engulphed all purity. No wonder they ceased to observe the ‘burning -mountain!’ Only the pure in heart can see God.” - -“Thank God! that thy people and mine have finally escaped, my husband.” - -“So far as we have escaped, I thank Him; but, alas, the evangels of -Egypt’s scarlet heresies still go about, and there are many, everywhere, -led away in chains that seem of flowers at first, but are found to be of -galling iron at last.” - -“I did not know this?” - -“Oh, these modern perverters disguise their horrible tenets with many -refined phrases; yet He that overwhelmed gross Sodom and the jewelless, -naked dancers about the golden bull, sees through all their thin drapings -and will judge the free lover, corrupt socialist and libertine as He -did those ancients. The Assyrian and Egyptian representations of Venus -generally appeared holding a serpent; a sort of bitter admission of the -curse in the hand of perverted love and the fierce lashings that follow -it.” - -“I fail to connect the ancient with the present heresies, my good -teacher.” - -“I pause to-day here, reminded of their common origin and consequences. -God put it into the hearts of His creatures to love women, honor -motherhood, and worship Him. Read Sinai’s law, and this is all manifest. -There came a perversion; the love of woman was degraded, motherhood was -denied its honor, and men became God-defying. There was a confusion -worse than that of Babel, and the worshiping was transferred, first, to -symbolized lust; then degraded. They that adored Venus, knowing how her -adoration had depraved themselves, came to believe that she scandalized -the heaven they imagined. Then came a time when her earthly rites even -scandalized the wiser pagans.” - -“My husband leads me along strange ways. Is it wise to do so?” - -“I see a grand end; follow me. There is a deep significance in the fact -that among the pagans there constantly appeared this adoration of woman -on account of her power of motherhood. I take this adoration as proof of -a conscious need feeling after a vaguely discerned truth. The yearning -is suggested by the paired gods. Assyria had its Beltis, consort of -Bel-nimrud; and there were Allelta of the Arabians, the many-breasted -Diana of the Ephesians, the Aphrodite of the Greeks, Ceres and Venus -of Rome, this Astarte of the Giants; beyond all, in utter odiousness -Khem, the Phallic god of Egypt. Amid all these false ideals, the divine -home with its pure love and our immortality by grace’s mystery, were -overslaughed in human thought. The glaring passions, that were unwilling -to believe in other immortality than that that comes through posterity, -other heaven than that of sensuous pleasure, fascinated and dominated -hearts and souls.” - -“And worshiping women-gods did this.” - -“Worshiping beings with the form of women did it! Reverence for true -womanhood ever exalts and never degrades. But these ancients adored very -gorgons with snakes for hair, and having tearing, brazen claws. They set -these gorgons with the Harpies, in their mythologies, at the gates of -dark Pluto’s palace. Alas, where men are led by ill-flavored women, is -ever more Pluto’s gateway.” - -“The up-digging of these ancient soils, knight, give forth foul odors. -Did they not dread a just and jealous God?” - -“No. It is the constant voice of history that false belief concerning -these things of which I have spoken, brings both blindness and -degradation. Unbelief comes swiftly in the wake of impurity. The gorgons -had but one eye and that had the malign power of turning to stone all -upon whom its glance fell. When men deify a fallen woman then look for a -cataclysm of evils. Rizpah has seen little of the world, but this in time -she’ll find true; the man whose cult or faith bends toward the libidinous -is on the way to utter atheism. So these old-time free-lovers, like -those of to-day, push out of the universe in their belief, the Great, -Beautiful, First Cause. The pure in heart see God; the impure can not -even pray to Him. The latter must be aided by an Immaculate One. They -make a gulf betwixt their souls and heaven, which Great Mercy alone can -bridge.” - -“Ah, knight, I’d dread a return of those gross idolatries, knowing -mankind’s trend, but that I knew that Shiloh was to come as a Reformer.” -The knight caught at the words of his wife to lead her toward his own -dear belief. - -“If He came to Rizpah in the form of a man, unique because of his virgin -purity, unlike any other in being all unselfish, and accompanied by a -peerless woman, exemplifying all that is best in the gentle sex; between -Himself and that woman a love deep to love’s last depth, pure as a -sunbeam, enduring as eternity itself, would Rizpah welcome Him!” - -“That would be a wondrous coming; but I’d welcome Him.” - -“Does Rizpah believe such an appearing desirable?” - -“Oh, on my soul, yes! If he should so come, methinks the rites which have -gone on in the secrecy of the groves, under the uncertain light of the -moon, would be driven from the earth, and men come to worship God, taking -that man for the ideal of manhood, that woman as woman’s pattern.” - -“Dost thou see that stone with eight lines crossing, lying just there by -the image of Astarte?” - -“I see it and the lines; but what of them?” - -“In the far East, the land of the Fire Worshipers, on almost all -the handiwork of man that symbol is placed. It is to represent an -eight-pointed star, the Assyrian sign of immortality.” - -“Eight lines crossing to represent immortal life? This is inane!” - -“Not quite. I had its explanation from my wandering Jew, Ichabod, learned -by much travel in the lore of many peoples. He thus interpreted the -symbol as the Assyrians understood it; man, a four-pointed star; his four -radiate limbs suggesting that likeness. Thou knowest that the Israelites -have been wont to call men stars? The Assyrians, not having the sure -word, were led to seek by human philosophy a theory of immortality, -and they got no further than twice four, two human beings in union; so -eight or a double star, their symbol of marriage, represented the only -immortality they were able to find; that that comes from reproduction. At -least that was the only reality, the rest being very vaguely believed, -and believed only because they thought that the mystery of a new life -coming forth, was a hint of a spiritual method analogous to the -material. They then fell to worshiping the sun, the great fructifier -and light of nature; fire, the essence of passion, became their highest -god. It is said that those Magi of the East, that arrived long ago at -Bethlehem, were fire worshipers, and that in answer to a cry for light, -constantly uttered by their race, they took their journey to Judah, -seeking it.” - -“The world must turn to Israel ever for the truth, Sir Charleroy.” - -“For some truth; not all; but there is a tradition that the star the -wise men followed was a double one, two planets in conjunction. There is -a fitness in the legend, for the seekers of light were brought to the -cave where lay a mother and babe; the latter God’s finest presentment of -immortality, the Incarnation; the fruit of the Divine in union with the -human. I stand overcome with wonder and reverence when I remember that -they of the East had some light from the Jews they held captive ages -before. They lost most of what they had, then, longing for its return, -God answered their prayer by taking them to the finest of schools, a -blessed home circle. Behold all the East looking for light at Bethlehem!” - -Rizpah evaded her husband’s graceful attempt to impress on her Christian -tenets, by replying: “I prefer the Jewish choice number Seven, though I -can not give it fine interpretations, as thou to the Eight of the East.” - -“Rizpah prefers it because it is Jewish, and I prefer Seven because I -read therein a covenant; for Seven is the sacred covenant number of God’s -Word. Let me interpret: There is a Triune God, symbolized by Three; then -man, the child of chance, the being tossed hither and thither by the four -winds, a complex union himself of body, mind, animal life and immortal -spirit. Four is his representative number, or symbol. The Assyrians -paired fours; the Jews vaguely discerned a grander path to eternal -felicity through the conjunction of God and man, the Three and the Four. -From this they derived their covenant number, Seven.” - -“These are charming explanations, Sir Charleroy; especially so, if sure -ones!” - -“But the truths are fairer than my poor words. I read that at creation -the morning stars—meaning the beings that know no night, the very sons -of God—shouted for joy! They saw an immortality having its springs -in the being of the Eternal, and were glad. Since then the race has -diverged into two lines. The gross and unbelieving, seeking to effect -the apotheosis of human lust, have gone their ways reveling under the -moonlight, and building their fanes in the groves which fade, while the -believing and God-taught have walked in a covenant toward Him, ‘Who -only hath immortality dwelling in light.’ Rizpah, some day that home -group at Bethlehem, a father, mother, and child, surrounded by angels, -overshadowed by God, will come to be thought the finest ideal of this -life. Yea, a picture of Heaven itself!” - -The knight’s wife fixed her piercing, dark eyes on his, there were -expressed in her countenance admiration and fearfulness. She was charmed -by his lofty sentiments, yet apprehensive of being led into some -dangerous, Christian heresy. Fanaticism always has a terror of heresy, -so-called, even though it seemed to be full of white truth. Presently she -questioned: - -“So Og, great as a mountain of flesh, and Astarte, goddess of the -pleasure that kills, only, of all Kunawat’s ancients, have left enduring -names?” - -“One other name endures, the ages brightening its luster—Job, loyal to -the last, in spite of the devil and a virago wife.” - -“Poor woman! say I of Job’s wife. None have told her side of her family -troubles. May be Job haunted the grove of the moon-crowned?” - -“May be? Never! His splendid orations bespoke a man walking nigh Jehovah. -Listen: ‘If I beheld the moon walking in brightness, if my heart hath -been secretly enticed, or my mouth kissed my hand, let thistles grow -instead of wheat.’ He said this amid the votaries of the Lust-Queen.” - -“And Job may be praised, not only as proof that there has been one -patient man on earth, but as proof that a good man will stand pure to the -last, though the world about acclaim the praise of delightful sins?” - -“He stood because entranced by his beautiful ideal. He loved Him whose -name is Holiness.” - -“Heaven comes at last to such.” - -“Job was God’s best friend on earth in his day, and his Heavenly Father -gave him as his reward His best earthly gift—a new, pure, happy, fruitful -home.” - -“Are we through now with the fascinating image, knight?” - -“Yes, Rizpah, if we take to heart its warnings. May we preserve our -integrity, and have a home as our reward finer than that of the Man of -Uz; yea, verily, as fine in its tempers and virtues as that of Bethlehem.” - -So saying, the knight led Rizpah toward their abode. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -A BATTLE OF GIANTS AT BOZRAH. - - “Sleep—the ghostly winds are blowing! - No moon abroad—no star is glowing. - The river is deep and the tide is flowing - To the land where you and I are going! - We are going afar, - Beyond moon or star, - To the land where the sinless angels are! - - I lost my heart to your heartless sire - (’Twas melted away by his looks of fire), - Forgot my God, and my father’s ire, - All for the sake of a man’s desire; - But now we’ll go - Where the waters flow, - And make our bed where none shall know.”—“_The Mother’s Last - Song._”—BARRY CORNWALL. - - “How shall we order the child, and how shall we do.”—Judges - xiii. 12. - - -Sir Charleroy and his consort took up their abode in one of the many -deserted ancient stone houses of the city of Bozrah. The latter, situated -in one of the most fertile plains of earth, once having upward of one -hundred thousand inhabitants, several times having risen to metropolitan -splendor, ages ago sank into neglect, decay and desolation. But with -wonderful persistence that city preserves the records, or relics, of -what it was in better, greater days. The antiquarian to-day finds in and -around Bozrah the dwellings, palaces and temples of many and various -peoples, some piled in strata-like courses, one above the other, each -layer the tombstone of its predecessor; some as fine as they were -forty centuries ago. The annalist there has at hand as an open book -the achievements of some of the mightiest men of earth, physically. -The latter were contemporary with that line of God’s moral giants, -of which Abraham, Moses and David were representative leaders first, -and Christ finally. The strata of Bozrah tell of differing policies, -politics, religions; all alike in one thing—the attempt to build upon -the buttresses of giant force; but they present in the end the one -result—failure; all being equally dead at the last, if not equally -herculean at the first. Sheer robustness in the armies of Rome, the -Turk, Alexander, and Og wrought out their best about the Bashan cities, -and in that theater played the eternally losing game of all such. It -seems as if God had chosen that part of all the world to illustrate -this great lesson of His providence. The Roman, Mohammedan, Greek, and -others like them, there had their brutal and sensuous existence. There -the Crusader carried also his banners; but the end of the Rephaim was -the forerunner and prophecy of all the other giantesque gatherings that -followed after them. Each passing race and dynasty left its monuments and -tokens of possession; but of all, those of the first, the giants, are the -most enduring, most wonderful. These dateless, huge, rugged, fort-like -dwellings, standing just as they did four thousand years ago, except -that they are mostly unoccupied, are impressive monuments and reminders -of the mighty denizens who once abode within them. There are ruins of -temples, palaces, houses of commerce and places of amusement, but chiefly -of homes; the latter, significantly, instructively, being the best -preserved of all. Sir Charleroy observed this circumstance, and casually -remarked to Rizpah, as they bestowed their effects in one of the ancient -domiciles: - -“If ever I take to building, I’ll build abiding places for people, only. -Such are the most lasting.” - -But while he came thus near to a royal truth, he did not make it his -own. It passed through his mind and he felt its light, as one might -that from the wing of a ministering spirit, while his eyes were holden -and his back turned. He immediately left the angelic thought, to go -wandering through years of misery, before coming back face to face with -it again. Sir Charleroy and Rizpah, a western soldier and a woman of -Israel, two giants in their way, began a new career at Bozrah. It was -providential. Measuring power by the only available test at hand, namely, -what it accomplishes, it was manifest long ago to all that the brawn of -the Cyclops was not the master force of the word. Hercules cleansed the -earth of mythical, not real evils. Sir Charleroy and Rizpah are fittingly -brought to the theater of the giants for the purpose of testing the -potency of giantesque sentimentality and stubborn, mighty ardor. To this -end, two will do as well as a nation, and a decade will be as conclusive -as a score of generations. The husband and wife entered Bozrah gladly, -and quickly adapted themselves to their new surroundings. They were both -very impressible, and there were many things in their new environments -that impressed and stimulated them. Nature’s face and locations may -be changed by man, but he can not change her heart. She, on the other -hand, is invincible in her conquests of both his face and inner being. -Climate and environments determine the characters and careers of the -majorities. The sleets of the North, in time, will goad the sensuous -Turk or Hottentot to high activity, while the Cossack or Esquimaux, -under tropical suns soon fall into luxuriousness and laziness. Bozrah -began its molding of the knight and his wife. Rizpah and Sir Charleroy -were at first attracted to Giant Land by the hugeness of its monuments -and ghostly greatness of its record. They received at Bozrah their first -impulse to settle and make a home. Probably they were largely influenced -by the conviction that, in its way, there was nothing more entrancing -or majestic beyond. For the best results to them, the second selection -was altogether unfortunate. They had made their home in the midst of -battle-fields, and the atmosphere that hung over all things was like -that over a defeated army, sullenly submitting. The new comers from the -beginning, in their new home, were immersed in ghostly memories, and that -atmosphere so like the breath of a bound yet struggling giant. They were -affected more than they realized by all these things. - -“No more tours, no more worlds, for us to conquer!” exclaimed the knight. - -Rizpah, her cheerfulness of mind largely recovered, replied to this -remark of Sir Charleroy with a bantering laugh, at the same time pointing -upward. Quickly, and with retort cruel as a giant’s javelin, he cried: - -“Alas, so soon Rizpah seeks my final departure from her!” - -The cavalier was no more; it was the brusque and gross within him that -spoke. Had he been courtly, even without being Christian, he would have -been considerate enough not to have cruelly jested concerning that which -lay in his wife’s heart as a possible and sad fact. Often the thought of -eternal separation from her husband, even from eternal hope, haunted her -now. Her husband knew this. - -For a moment his answer seemed to stun her; then the affectations of -pouting on her mobile face, coming when she pointed upward, changed into -lines of anger. A hot flush mounting up to the roots of her hair, hung -out the warning signal. - -The knight, pretending not to observe the change, twined his arms about -his wife and mockingly sighed: - -“Poor girl! I can find no wings on thee. I once thought thou hadst such. -They must have dropped off.” - -There was no reply. He then began to retreat, to placate, and to that -intent drew her closer and closer to his heart, until, embracing her, his -hands clasped; but, for the first time since the event near Gerash, when -the Arabs were vanquished, his caress was without response. He tried a -thrust thus: - -“Well, beloved, since thou dost banish me, bestow a kiss of long -farewell.” - -Quickly, Rizpah flung aside his embracing arms and cried: “Shechemite! -I’m no Dinah, won by false professions!” - -“_Shechem was more honorable than all the house of his father_,” quoted -the knight in reply. - -“He loved himself, his passions; to these gods he gave up with all -devotion, and they immolated him. That was good!” - -“Why, Rizpah, thou art pettish.” - -“‘Rizpah!’ Thou art adroit in using bitter similes; a brutalizing power, -when brutally used! Now, call me ‘Jarnsaxa.’ Thou toldst me, yesterday, -how that mighty male god of the Norse, Thor, while hating her people, -to the death, stole Jarnsaxa. Yea, and how many giants fell for women. -Perhaps thou didst want me to pity thee. We are in Giant Land now, and -thou canst begin to play Colossus!” - -The knight was startled, and quickly entreated: “My queen, lets drop -the masks; no more of this; forget my sarcasm, and I’ll forgive the -recriminations. A truce and pardon, in the name of love. What says -Esther?” - -“‘Esther?’ Thou calledst me that when cavalier, turning lover. Thou art -neither now!” The sentence ended in a petulant sob. - -“Oh, stay now. It was playfulness. I—there, now! Canst thou not brook a -little playfulness from me?” - -“Playfulness? Bah! Ye men play so like lions, forgetting to keep the -claws cushioned! But, now thou hadst better be going, saint—the only -one here. Go, now, right along to heaven. They want thee there. They -want thee, not me.” Then she choked back another sob, but instantly -thereafter, dashing the rising tear from her eyes, she bitterly -exclaimed: “At any rate, thou’lt have company!” - -“Whom, pray?” - -“The begetter and chief of all restless vagabonds!” - -“So; I never heard of him. Has he a name, my dear?” - -The knight was sarcastic, because he was nettled. - -Rizpah’s eyes glittered with the fire of offended pride, and she quickly -began in measured tone, as if in soliloquy, and alone, to quote Job’s -record of satan’s joining the assembly of the sons of God: - -“_There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before -the Lord, and satan came also. And the Lord said whence camest thou? Then -satan said from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and -down in it._” - -“My wife responds to my penitence with bitterness; but even the pagans -were wiser. They ever took the gall from the animals offered to Juno, -goddess of wedlock.” - -“Thy wife promised to be thy helpmate and give thee all she had. Now, -just forget thy fine paganism, being a Christian long enough to remember -that I’m thy helpmate in all things, even in bitterness. I give thee all, -even returning thy giving.” - -“Thou shouldst not make so much of my little misstep.” - -“Nothing is little with which one must constantly live. Great breaks -grow from little fractures. One may stand a blow, but its the constant -fretting that roughs the heart-strings to woe unendurable. Thou hast a -habit of playfully hurting.” - -“Well, this has been a day at school; there ought to be a school for -husbands! We do not half understand the fine, sensitive creatures that -companion us.” - -“Oh, thou thoughtst thou wert a woman-reader!” - -“Were I to see an angel with a body like a harp, eyes like the -unsearchable ocean, heart of flame, arms like flowering vines, covered -with prismatic wings, I’d be no more puzzled and abashed than I am now -by my high-strung, fine-tempered Rizpah.” - -“Puzzled! abashed! I’d help thee pity thy wounded conceit, but that I -know that thou art soon to ascend. Art thou going now!” - -“I’m afraid not, since I’ve so many more sins than graces. When elephants -soar with butterfly wings, thou mayst look for my departure. Till then -I’ll stay here and practice the patience of Job, beset with his rambling -devil.” - -“How elegantly the cavalier uses simile in coining epithets.” - -“Heavens! Rizpah, thou dost twist my meanings! Why distort, instead of -pardoning my blunders, making both of us miserable!” - -“Oh, then, thou hast grace enough not to liken me to thy besetting, evil -spirit, at least in words?” - -“No, no, ’tis refined cruelty to put me on the defense as to that. -Believe it or not, Rizpah of Gerash and Rizpah of Bozrah are the same. My -heart to its core says so!” - -This second quarrel, that should not have been begun, had the merit of -ending, as it should, in reconciliation, tears, embraces and a great -many excellent pledges. Yet Sir Charleroy did not greatly profit by -the experience. He failed to perceive that these first breaks in the -rhythmic flow of conjugal love are great shocks to a deeply affectionate -woman. He knew that men easily recover from rebuffs, and so did not -stop to consider that young wife-hood was the highest expression on -earth of utter clinging to one sole support. He knew his own feelings -and took them for the standard. He set himself up as the pattern, -quite unconsciously, perhaps; and after the conflict in which he came -off conceded victor, he was condescending in his manner. This was -unfortunate. Rizpah did not need to be told that her husband was wiser -and stronger willed and more self-possessed and more able to endure -life’s trial than herself. All this she believed, absolutely, when she -surrendered her heart to the man at the first. Woman-like, these were -the very circumstances that caused her to love him as she did. A woman -never loves completely until her love is supplemented by adoration. She -must believe the man, who would make full conquest, is one to whom she -can look up; one some way her superior. But while a loving woman will -give a devotion almost religious, she will be pained amid her delights -of committal by a haunting fear that he whom she adores may rise away -from her. In the very plenitude of her fullest love-worship she will deny -the reverence, sometimes, in a seeming inconsistency, rebuff and even -ridicule her idol. It is with her a sort of hysteria, a confession of -secret terror, lest she and he grow apart in mind, and so come to part in -body. Hence it is a giant cruelty on the part of a husband, sometimes, to -enforce, or thrust forward, his size or his lordship. They may be facts, -but God has set over against them as their equal that love which clings, -stimulates and supplements, without which the finest man is far less than -the half of the united twain. Sir Charleroy blundered along in his error; -Rizpah tried to be happy and failed. She did not know how to make the -best of her surroundings, and Sir Charleroy did not know, because he did -not seek religiously to find out how to help her make the best of them. -They had some periods of pleasure, but they continually grew briefer -and were more frequently interrupted as time went on. She was ill, he -suffered himself to think her at times ill-tempered. As a lover, he -admired her outbreaks as very brilliant, and flattered her by remarking -that she had the metal of an Arabian steed; as a husband, he thought her -very disagreeable when pettish or angry. Indeed, though he never said so -to her, he did say to himself that at times she was very like a virago. -The only steed that came to his mind then was the ass, to which he -likened himself when he considered himself the perfection of submissive -patience. - -A new event radically changed the picture and situation in this troubled -home. - -The prayer of prayers was heard in Bozrah; the cry of a baby; a bundle of -needs and helplessness, with no language but a cry. Processions of silent -centuries had passed through those halls since they echoed the hoarse -voices of the brawny beings who built them. One could not hear the infant -cry without remembering the contrasts. A baby; a puny one at that, and of -the gentler sex, besides being of a race pigmy compared to the stalwarts -who builded those abodes. Sir Charleroy and his consort had set up their -household gods, and for a goodly period had occupied as theirs a Rephaim -home. - -The little stranger came, though they did not discern it, with power -to bless them both. A poetic visitor, happening on this baby’s hammock -there and then, might have gone in raptures, to some truths, after this -fashion: “It will be the golden tie, angel of peace and hope, to the -home!” The philosopher, seeing the little bundle of helplessness, might -have said: “Here is a giant, the home is immortal through its offspring; -the babe requiring so much, richly repays its loving care-takers by -inducting them into the soul expansions of unselfish service.” But then -poets and philosophers often miss the mark, attempting prophesy. - -The parents followed the usual course of those for the first time in -that relation. Their love for each other, very intense, and by its -sensitiveness witnessing after all that it was very selfish, got a new -direction. They soon drifted into the charming fooleries of their like. -Sometimes they petted the child unceasingly, and one was anon jealous of -the other if surpassed in this. They each struggled for a recognition -from the innocent, and debated as to whether the first babble of the -little one was “mamma” or “papa.” Then there were times when they handled -baby very reverently, as if it were something from God, or likely to -break. - -At such times they each, in heart, thanked God and gave the child, at -least in part, to Him. Sometimes they called it “Davidah” or “darling,” -and laughed as they assured each other, to assure themselves, that the -baby looked wise as if understanding. Sometimes they played with it as -if they were children and it a toy; sometimes they ministered to it with -anxious care, while all the time they felt quite sure it was somehow of -finer mold and fiber than any babe before on earth. They were just like -all for the first time parents, and their raptures were now for good, -being centered around the thought expressed by the sweet word home. Of -course, the question of naming the child was discussed, and, of course, -no name they could think of seemed quite good enough. Some days the -child was given a dozen, and some days it had none; for all the time -they kept trying to fit it. - -In one thing, both parents were Jewish, namely, the desire to give their -darling an appellation expressive of what it was or what they hoped -it would be. They first agreed on “Angela,” but that was discarded as -being a sort of advertisement of the quality of their treasure. In the -constant selfishness of love they would keep it all secretly, sacredly to -themselves, they said. They sought for many days some significant token -or name that should be fully expressive of their thought, and yet by the -three only be ever fully understood. One day Rizpah, always abrupt, still -nursing an old superstition, said: “Call her Marah, a mournful, sweet, -expressive title.” - -“Why, wife, that means ‘bitterness.’” - -“Bitterness, since I believe that somewhere, somehow, there is bitterness -enough in store for her—and me with her.” - -“I’d prefer ‘Mary,’ my wife; surely this little angel is to be all like -that blessed one.” - -Then there was more strife, but of a rather patient kind, which ended -in a compromise, they calling the child Miriamne, each in mind meaning -different from the other; the one Marah, the other Mary. But on the -heels of this came soon the graver problem, How should the babe be -reared, in Jewish faith or Christian? It was the old, old story of a -difficulty seemingly easily adjusted to all, except to those who have -actually met it, and in this case, as usual, the two parties fanatically -opposed each other. In the name of sweet religion they loyally served -the devil for a time. The highest achievement of a creed or faith is the -soothing and elevation of a home here, or the exalting of it heavenward -for hereafter. That is a travesty of piety which wrecks the substance -of joy for the shell of a dogma. This stricture is easily written and -may pass without dissent, the reader immediately falling into the error -denounced. Of course, as usual, these two parents began the discussion of -the subject. At intervals they cautiously pressed their arguments, but -each unwaveringly moved toward his or her point. They were like advancing -armies, firing occasional shots, but surely approaching a mighty issue. -They pretended to argue the matter by times, but it was a farce, for each -in mind irrevocably had predetermined the conclusion. Time sped on a year -or more, then the conflict fully came. - -“Rizpah, we were wed by a Christian, let us take the fruit of that -compact to Christian baptism.” - -“The first act was an error; we shall not atone for it by repetitions in -kind! The child is mine; I decline.” - -“And mine, so I request.” - -“A mother imperils her whole life for her child, and unreservedly gives -to it part of herself; justice, humanity, should give the child to the -mother, so far as may be.” - -“But even under thy faith, I, the father, am the head of the house.” - -“Under my faith the nurture and training of children belong chiefly to -the mother, and my faith has been the finest society-builder of the -world in the past. Thou hast often recounted to me the deeds of that -golden, heroic time of my people, when the great Maccabean family led us -and inspired us. Well, then, the mothers had exclusive control of the -daughters until they were wed, and so they had grand daughters among the -Maccabees.” - -“Well, we differ in belief; we had better compromise.” - -“We dare not barter a little soul to do it.” - -“Well, briefly then, being lord of this home, I command that the -grace-giving sacrament be sought for our Mary.” - -“My faith, to which thou didst first appeal, forbids fathers to command -their children to walk through idolatrous fires. Marah shall not.” - -“Hush; I only want the loved one inducted into the true faith.” - -“Mine is the older and truer.” - -“With thee argument is futile; I insist——” - -“If the father is a foreigner, Jewry’s rule is that the children are to -be called by the mother’s name and regarded as of her family. Make such -law as thou choosest for thy family but not for mine.” - -“I’ll end this,” cried Sir Charleroy, seizing the child, as if to hasten -then to seek some priest’s ministry. - -Rizpah’s eyes glittered with sullen purpose. She sprang before him, and -hissed: - -“Our fathers escaped at all cost from Egypt. I’ll not go back, nor Marah.” - -The knight was surprised, and his looks expressed it as he said: - -“Dost thou rave?” - -“Oh, no, I was just remembering that a bearded serpent was the Egyptian -symbol of deity; something like a man. You Christians would have all -husbands gods to their families! No bearded serpent for mine!” - -“Heavens, woman! thinkest thou thy scorn and vituperation can stay me?” -So saying he pushed, or rather half flung the woman from him. He had no -conception of the rage that any thing like a blow evokes in the heart of -a woman that could love as once did Rizpah. On his part it was intended -as a masterpiece of strategy, in the hope that the woman would swoon, -then surrender in the weakness of following hysteria. The act was hateful -to him, but he justified it by the end sought, yet missed that end. - -Rizpah was a tigress roused, and like many another mother, beast or -human, when the fight is once for offspring was endowed with sudden, -supernatural strength. She sprang toward the hammock, plucking her dagger -meanwhile from its hiding-place. - -“Heaven defend us, woman!” cried Sir Charleroy, glancing about for a -means of prevention, “thou wouldst not do murder?” - -“Oh, no, thou art not fit to die; but hear me; this blade, consecrated -to defense from dishonor, saved me once. Dost thou remember? It will do -it again, if need be. The giver sleeps, but his stern charge haunts me -still. ‘Protect at any cost from dishonor!’” - -“Wouldst thou shed blood of any here!” - -“Sir Charleroy saw me slay the Turk. Had I failed, thou falling, this -blade would have found my own heart. Push me onward by thy imperiousness -and I will slay the babe and then myself! Methinks, it would be an -atonement for which my parent would forgive my breaking of his heart. Ah, -then sweet rest; life’s tumults over! God would pity the tempest-tossed -soul that, through such bitterness, flung itself on Him.” - -“Dost mean all this, Rizpah?” - -“Can I trifle? Ask thyself. Have I ever? My desperate sincerity made me -thy wife, but now it impels me to defy all thy attempts to make me thy -minion, unthinking echo or slave; or worse, the ruiner of that girl.” - -“Well, then, woman, since thou or I must yield and I can not, thou wilt -not, I execute my before announced purpose to have my lawful authority -acknowledged with thee or——” - -“Say the rest, find peace away from me——” - -“Which?” sternly demanded the knight. - -“As thou dost wish, only I’ll not give up my child to Christian -sacrifice.” - -“Then we can not live in peace together.” - -“To which I reply, that God never ordained marriage to bind people to the -home when they can only for each other in that home make a very Tartarus!” - -The knight was humiliated. He had believed that the woman’s heart could -not bear the thought of separation, and now to find her willing to give -him up, rather than her will, her faith, hurt his pride. But they had -made an utter crossing of purposes. He ran out of their stone house, his -heart as stony. A little way off he paused, looked back, and said, “For -the last time, Rizpah, what dost thou say?” - -“Go; once for love I gave up all. Again I do it; I give thee up for the -highest of all love, the love of a mother for her child!” - -Caressingly Rizpah embraced the infant; and then fell on her knees with -her face averted from her husband. He took one glance, and realizing the -defeat of his strong will by that kneeling woman, angrily hurried away. -The die was cast. He turned his back on Rizpah, swearing that he would -never more return. - -For a few days Rizpah lived in a crazy dream; now laughing as she thought -of her victory; again letting her maiden love re-assert itself; then -assuring her heart that all was over and well as it was. But a woman who -imagines that reproach or even open violence can utterly extirpate love -that once completely possessed her, knows not her own heart. Especially -is this true if to that heart, she at times, press, lovingly, a child -begotten in that love, and the form bearing the impress of that man for -whom sometime she would have willingly died. - - * * * * * - -One night the baby cried piteously, being ill, and Rizpah was feeling -very lonely because so anxious for it. She had sometimes, since Sir -Charleroy’s departure, prattled with the baby calling “papa” and -“Charleroy,” mother-like, woman-like. Self-condemning, for this was a -half confession that she would have the little one think, if it thought -at all, that she, the mother, was not to blame for the absence. The baby -had caught some names and in its moaning, feverishly cried: “Abbaroy, -Abbaroy; I want my Abbaroy.” The cry was piercing to the mother’s heart -and conscience. She even then wished for the husband’s return. Indeed, -some hot tears fell as she prayed God to send “papa Charleroy back.” The -tie of marriage, potent beyond all of earth, now drew her away toward the -absent one, and she then began to marvel how easily they had separated; -how lightly they had regarded the bonds which after all tightly held -them. When lives have blended and been tied together by other lives, it -is indeed a prophesy of union “until death do us apart.” - -“Abbaroy, Abbaroy! I want my Abbaroy,” still piteously cried the sick -child. The night without was raging; the little lamp sent dancing shadows -over the black walls of her room and an unutterable loneliness took -possession of the woman. One by one thoughts like these arose; “Father -dead, mother dead; husband as good as dead; perhaps really so, and my -child like to die! What if she should die thus crying for her father! -Oh, God spare me this! I’d go mad by her corpse.” “Abbaroy, I want my -Abbaroy,” sobbed the child in her sleep. The mother heard the waving -palms without. Her vivid imagination turned them into persons, spirits. -They seemed to be her dead ancestors and they caught up the cry of her -child rebukingly “Abbaroy, I want my Abbaroy.” She swooned now and slept. -In the sleep there came a dream. She thought she saw her daughter, grown -to womanhood, but pale and sad. She had the hand of her mother and was -drawing her toward the sea. Whenever the mother drew back the daughter -wailed “Abbaroy, I want my Abbaroy.” Presently their feet touched the -water edge, she saw a ship, floating at anchor, but with sails spread -partly; on its stern was the name, “_England_.” The captain stood by the -vessel’s side, observing her. At last he cried: “Well, how long must we -wait for thee?” A wave seemed to dash against her face and she awakened. -The heavy window blind of stone had swung open, the rain was beating in -on her. She started up and felt for her child, half fearfully lest a -corpse should meet her touch. But she found her hands clasping a little -form with fast beating heart and burning skin. The light had gone out, -but there alone in that desolate home amid the ruins of past ages, the -woman bowed in agonizing prayer. The balm of broken hearts was sought and -she for a time was clothed and in her right mind. She arose, serenely, in -the morning the cry of the sea captain of her dream in her ears, and the -firm resolve in her heart to seek her husband even in far-off England; -with him to try for the things that make for peace. Then she opened the -iron-bound chest that had come to her from her father and took therefrom -a roll of the ‘_Kethrubim_’ and read. And it so happened that seeking to -refresh her mind as to the story of how the giant Sampson got honey out -of the slain lion’s carcass, that she might more fully apply the meaning -to her own experience, she came to the story of his birth. That story -fixed her attention for days. It was like a new revelation to her. And -she read and read these words over and over: - -“And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the Danites, whose name _was_ -Manoah. - -“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, -Behold now, thou shalt conceive and bear a son. - -“Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto -me, and his countenance _was_ like an angel of God, and he said unto me, -Behold thou shalt bear a son. - -“Then Manoah entreated the Lord and said, O my Lord, let the man of God -which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do -unto the child. - -“And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came -again unto the woman. - -“And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband. - -“And Manoah arose, and went after his wife and came to the man. - -“And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the -child, and _how_ shall we do unto him? - -“And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the -woman let her beware. - -“So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered _it_ upon a rock -unto the Lord: and _the angel_ did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife -looked on. - -“For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the -altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar: and -Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.” - -And as Rizpah read, little by little, the truth and beauty of the scene -and its words dawned upon her. Thus she meditated: “This is the way -God brought forth His giant deliverer, Samson; God appeared to the -woman first, but she hasted to tell of the promised blessing to her -husband.” When she thought of how that angel-led wife led her husband, -she remembered her own fanatical bitterness and was condemned. Then she -remembered how Manoah and his wife, together, asked how they should -order their child and how, as together they bowed before the Spirit, he -ascended in glory over them. “Oh,” she moaned within herself, “if we had -only put aside our differences and, forgetting all else, just so sought -together the Divine directings!” It was evening as she meditated, and -she said within herself: “If ever I can get nigh Sir Charleroy’s heart -I’ll tell him all this, and before the altar of a new consecration we’ll -give ourselves and ours to God, just this way.” There came a wondrous joy -to her heart and the palms that seemed to moan rebukingly without that -other night, “Abbaroy, Abbaroy, I want my Abbaroy,” this night reminded -her some way vaguely of the beating of mighty wings, approaching nearer -and nearer. She felt no longer rage, as she thought about the often -bepraised Mary of her husband, but on the other hand, wished she knew -more about her, were more like her. It was the woman in her, yearning for -a mother. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -RIZPAH, THE ANCIENT “MOTHER OF SORROWS.” - - “Oh say to mothers, what a holy charge - Is theirs! With what a queenly power, their love - Can rule the fountain of a new-born mind. - Warn them to wake at early dawn and sow - Good seed before the world has sown its tares; - Nor in their toil decline, that angel bands - May put their sickles in and reap for God - And gather in his garner.” - - -Nearly a score of years passed away, each having wrought its changes, -and Rizpah de Griffin is dwelling quietly with her three children at -Bozrah. She is companionless though not a widow. Care has left its stern -impress on her every feature; the roses have gone from her cheeks and the -snows that tarry, baffling all springs, are on her head. But time that -has worn has also ripened. Rizpah has become a self-possessed, stately -matron; her form is erect, her eye as bright as ever. Bozrah has not -changed; the city sits in its sullen, fixed gloom, seemingly unconscious -of the ravages that time works elsewhere. But there have been changes -and changes among the people since first the woman of Gerash arrived -there. Many former inhabitants have wandered away; some to be swallowed -up by the tides of peoples of other climes; some have gone to judgment. -But new comers have taken the places of those that had departed and -speeded the swift enough forgetting of the absent ones, Rizpah was in -high honor, for although she lived in seclusion, mixing very little with -any of the people about her, all respected her. Hers was a well-ordered -house; Druses, Turks and Hebrews joined in affirming this. She ruled -her children firmly and they obeyed her implicitly, for they loved her -loyally. We meet her now amid active preparation for the observance of -the approaching Jewish Sabbath. With her are two boys, twins, born in -London, as like each other as could be, and Miriamne. The latter is in -the full possession of her roses, and in the enjoyment of that splendor -of personal charm seemingly belonging to all the maidens of Abrahamic -descent under “the covenant of the stars and the sand.” For are not -Israel’s women not only plenteous and bright and lofty like the stars, -and her men numberless, rugged and restless as the surf-washed sands on -every shore? Does not this race, in all history, continually attest the -persistence and pre-eminence of all good to those who walk under the -Divine covenants? - -Miriamne not only is seen to possess a gracefulness like unto that of the -palm, nature’s pattern of beauty in the East, but she has such robustness -of form as might be expected in one born of such a Hebrew mother and -such a Saxon father. In her temper, poetic, emotional, oriental, like -her mother; in feature and mind more like her father; she was a better, -more evenly balanced result than either. It often so happens; the child -by some natural selection or some mercifulness, inheriting a character, -the resultant of the union of two sets of parental forces, yet finer -than either apart. The scientific man in such cases will say, herein we -behold, in a new being, physical and spiritual forces in action, the -latter gaining the advantage; a prophesy without mystery that at last the -fittest only shall survive. The theologian, on the other hand, will see -Providence electing the best and preparing choice characteristics for -superior works to be done. - -At a call of the mother, the children gathered about her, and the group -was charming; a picture full of expression and contrasts. The matron -cast a look of yearning affection upon her offsprings, and the emotion -possessed her until the hard face-lines faded into a sweet smile. Just -then she would have been a satisfactory model for an artist painting -Madonna. “Thank God, children, the emblem of rest and of hope in ages to -come is at hand. I have joyed to-day, in full preparation that this next -Sabbath may be piously and earnestly celebrated with all the religious -exactness of our people.” Then, patting the boys on their heads with -playful tenderness, she continued: “Run away now up to the synagogue-ruin -on the hill. Don’t forget your duty in play, lads; be true little -Israelites! When ye see the sun go down back of Gilead’s mountains, give -us warning of the Sabbath’s beginning. Now mind, keep your eyes toward -Jerusalem.” - -The lads sped away, and Rizpah following them with her eyes prayed in -heart: “God bless them, and though in this place of desolation, make them -little Samuels in faith and service.” A little after her face glowed -with triumphant joy, for there came back to her ears the boys’ voices, -mingling in sacred song. It was the psalm of the “Captives’ Return” -that they sang. The declining sun began to throw its last rays through -the open windows of the huge stone home, flooding the black basalt -walls and pavement with golden tints. Slowly the mother’s eyes wandered -from the scene without to objects within, until they rested on a huge -painting that covered nearly half the opposite wall. One glance and her -whole being seemed transformed. In an instant her reverential and weary -attitude was changed to one of excited attention. She grew pale, her -body swayed with a waving motion, suggestive of the panther creeping -toward a victim. Then her form became rigid like one preparing for some -great muscular effort, or endeavoring to suppress some inner tempest. -Her face, made habitually calm by the schoolings of adversity, became a -theater for expression of the changing emotion within; the mouth-lines -putting on a firmness almost hideous; her eyes glittered like a serpent’s -in the act of charming; contrasting with the forehead that shone like a -silver shield. She was as one under a spell or in a trance; but for a few -moments only. There came a light footfall; then a quick, half frightened, -piteous cry and Miriamne stood beside her. - -“Oh, mother, don’t! mother, mother; thou dost terrify me!” The young -woman stopped half way between the open door and her parent. Now she -was passing through a great transition. She had seen all that was -happening, often before; had often run away from the spectacle to hide -it from herself. Now she was trying to nerve herself to penetrate the -mystery in the hope of preventing its painfulness. She was at the turning -point, where a girl changes to the woman within the circle of parental -influences. - -But so complete was the absorption of the one gazing upon the spectacle -upon the wall, at first the cry was unheeded. In a sort of sudden, -trembling desperation the young woman quickly bounded between her mother -and the picture. Then, as if realizing the unfilial imprudence of the -act, but still unwilling to recede from efforts to break the spell that -bound her parent, she fell upon her knees before the seeming devotee and -burst into tears. The mother started up a little as one awakening from a -dream; then said, with perfect control of voice and manner; “Marah, what -ails thee? Art ill? Are the Bedouin coming?” - -“No, no,” replied the other; “the picture; the picture!” - -“What is it child?” - -“I do not know. I only know that your strange, wild gaze upon its hideous -group terrifies me! For years I’ve learned to feel a mingled disgust and -fright in the presence of the woman in that presentment. When I came in, -your face looked like hers. You did not seem to be my own tender mother, -but an angry virago. Oh, why do you shadow all our Sabbath eves, by this -mysterious, cruel staring and moaning before this imagery of death? -You’ve made me to dread the approaching Holy Day, promise of all delight -to our people, as the advent of all pain to us.” - -“Marah, this is wickedness in thee. Thou shouldst learn to wrap thy soul -about with the joys thou knowest, and leave all this that thou dost not -understand, most likely terrible to thee chiefly because thou dost not -understand it, to go its way.” - -“I’ve tried and tried for months to reason thus; but how little comfort -to be saying over and over, ‘it’s all right,’ ‘it’s nothing,’ to a fear -that stops the very beatings of the heart. Oh, that I could fly from this -land of desolations. Its loneliness and shadows keep coming and coming -around me until I dread, lest they enter my very being and become part of -me. I’ve leaned hitherto alone on my mother’s greater strength for rest. -If I come to fear her, I’ll lose my reason!” - -“Marah,” said the mother, with enforced calmness, “thou art feverish -to-day; thou hast wrought too much. Now retire and say this pillow Psalm; -‘_He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, abideth under -the shadow of the Almighty._’ Thou’lt be peaceful in the morning; as are -those ever who abide under the shadow of the King.” - -But only the more passionately the daughter clung to her mother, and -again she renewed her plaint: “Ah, mother, I haven’t strength to take -these promises! Oh, forgive me, I can not help it; I feel as if something -awful were impending; something coming between us! A curse is on this -land. Is it any way over the De Griffins? Tell me, I beseech you, what -is that painted thing? Sometimes I run out of the room when alone, as -if those men hanging there were still alive, in death’s agony. I’ve -dreamed sometimes that they came down in bodily form charging you and me -with murdering them; and when I go out at evening, I imagine that the -Ismaelitish woman in the foreground is flitting about my path, while in -every thicket I hear the flapping wings of her carrion birds. Oh, mother! -let us tear down that sole defilement of our own little, only home, and -give it to the pilgrim Rabbi, now in Bozrah, that he may burn it with -exorcising rites.” - -“Then thou thinkest there’s witchery hereabouts, Marah,” said the mother, -severely. - -[Illustration: By George Becker. - -RIZPAH DEFENDING THE DEAD BODIES OF HER RELATIONS.] - -“I? I do not know what I think, beyond this, that I’m overcome, -terrified, made miserable, and you, under some spell for a time, cease to -be my mother.” - -“My daughter profanes her faith by permitting unreined imaginations to -rule her so.” - -“Oh, tell me all about this hateful thing! Why it so moves you. You said -long ago you would when I was able to bear it. I am no longer a child. -Mother, you say you read me like an open book, now look into my heart -and see that it is bursting with fright and worry! You say you know -woman’s nature; if so, you know that I can suffer when I understand, but -shall go mad in the suspense of constant fear of some threatening ill -unseen.” Thus speaking and clinging to her mother, with a twining, almost -desperate embrace, such as among women implies unerringly that a supreme -moment and demand has fallen upon the questioner, she burst forth in -tearless sobs. The mother’s face was a study and told of a succession of -weighty thoughts; parental authority brooked; infringed; new surprised -realization that the daughter was no longer a child, but a wise, earnest -woman. Then there was a degree of fearfulness springing from deep love. -The elder woman perceived the crisis, and knew full well that in such -times denials to a woman meant a dead heart, or worse. Then her manner -softened, and drawing her child to her bosom with an embrace passionate -in fervor, she tenderly, soothingly spoke to her: - -“My most dearly beloved Marah! dismiss all thy fears at once and forever. -They are needless. Rest, now and always, as thou never canst elsewhere, -in all the world, upon this heart of mine. Rest thou in thy present young -womanhood, as calmly, as trustingly, as thou didst in baby-hood. That -heart guarded thee more tenderly than its own life then, through storms -within and without that nearly broke it. In part thou dost know this; -remembering what it has been in loyalty to God and thyself, canst thou -pain it by one distrusting thought now?” - -“Oh, mother, I know, I know; I do not mean to doubt you, and I remember, -with a gratitude beyond all my poor power of speech, your toiling, -patient, constant, loving care for me and my brothers. I never can forget -that you are a Hebrew indeed, proud to emulate the noble mothers of our -nation in its olden, golden days; but after all I must think. I think, -sometimes, with anguish, that that awful picture may some way come -between us!” - -“Why, Marah, impossible! thou art my other self; a fairer copy; as I -was at thy age.” Then Rizpah spoke in unusual, confiding tenderness: -“We mothers have our vanities and take a secret pride in wearing our -daughters on our hearts as precious jewels. When nature gratifies that -pride by giving us daughters in form, features and mind, mirrors or -glad reminders of ourselves, as we were in the days of young beauty, -romancings and hopes, we hug these in our souls in a way thou canst never -realise until thou hast been such a mother. Change? I change toward -thee? Ah, girl, not being a mother, thou canst not begin to fathom the -ocean-depth, the heaven-height, the eternity-like unchanging endurance -of a woman’s love, once it has been quickened into the channels of -maternal affection. Thou art a woman to all the world, but not so to -me. I love thee now as I loved thee when thou wert a babe. To me thou -wilt always be a little, lovely, needy creature—an angel touching the -fountains of my inmost nature. All earthly friendships change; lover’s -love, at first fierce, generally dies as the tides of years roll over -it; but, mother-love, in all loving, is the exception. Believe this as -thou dost believe the tenets of our faith and thou’ll find thy troubling -thoughts fleeing away like mists of Hermon, before the conquering -banners of the morning.” There followed a prolonged embrace and a mutual -kiss; impassioned, affectionate; an action expressing volumes to one -skilled in interpreting the signs, all unvoiced and unwritten, yet, by -some constant intuition, known to all womankind as the language of the -finest, sincerest loving. That moment these two women passed onward, -upward together to a higher, lighter, stronger relationship than they had -enjoyed before. They entered the temple where daughter and mother begin -the feast of the new revelation; when to the love of parent and child is -added that of real companionship. That is a sunny, fruity hour, when a -girl is received as a woman by a woman; that woman her mother. - -The two sat embracing and happy for a long time; but the old pain -suddenly revived—Miriamne’s eyes chancing to stray to the picture. She -shuddered, then looked pleadingly into her parent’s eyes. The mother, -quickly interpreting the look, tenderly replied: “Sometime.” - -“No, oh, no; tell me, mother, all, now! Who, and what are those hanging -forms: the horror-frighted, bludgeon-armed woman; the birds of black, -hovering over the crosses? Oh! my mother, you trust me; now tell me all -or tear that down! You know it’s not lawful for us Jews to have any image -of things in Hades.” - -The last words moved the mother more than all else that Miriamne had -hitherto spoken. Heresy, she abominated; and the chief aim of her life -had been to make her children true Israelites by precept and example. To -her thinking, Israel alone was right; all others were heathen, to whom -was reserved perdition. To an apostate, in her belief, there came a final -judgment of misery, beggaring all attempt at description. A little while -she hesitated, and then came to quick resolve to tell her daughter all. -She arose, walked rapidly back and forth over the stone floor of the -abode, and, then stopping before the daughter, said: “Thy wish shall be -granted. In love of thee, for lo, these many years I’ve hidden from thee -one miserable and dark chapter of our family history. I have drank the -bitter waters alone. But too much I love thee to bear the piteous appeal -of thy lips, or the look of doubt that sometimes flits in thy questioning -eyes. Canst thou bear knowledge that is full of bitterness?” - -“Yea, mother,” said Miriamne, “there is no bitterness in reality like -that our imaginations conjure up, when fed by mysteries that hang on -pictures of such hideous mien——” - -“Thou dost force me to the explanation, but, daughter blame me not, if, -like Saul of old, who fainted at the sight he compelled Endor’s witch to -reveal, thou art given now some knowledge that kills thy sunshine.” - -“I’m the daughter of Rizpah and Sir Charleroy. Did they either of them -ever fear?” - -“Ah! but I have been the very mother of sorrows, ever since thy birth, -child. God knows it; and it were best to leave it all to Him alone.” - -“But, mother, I’d gladly share your sorrows. Sorrow shared is ever -lightened by the sharing. Let us bear the corpse between us, and in this -lonely life we shall be made more than ever companions, through a common -grief.” - -“So be it then. Thou shalt know all.” - -And Rizpah, going to a seldom-used iron-bound chest, drew therefrom a -parchment roll; handing the same to her daughter, she said: “Read. It’s -part of Father Harrimai’s ‘_Kethubim_.’” The place opened to the story -of the famine in David’s time, which endured three years, because of -wrongs done to the Gibeonites by the children of Israel. As Miriamne read -onward, Rizpah from time to time gave explanations: - -“Dost perceive, daughter, that Jehovah, though not revengeful, is a God -of recompenses?” - -“He was the friend of the Gibeonites though they were not of his chosen -people; because they had no other friend, I think,” said Miriamne. - -“Yes, and He held all Israel responsible for what they were willing to -let their blood-thirsty Saul perform. As he had been, so had been the -people; they were guilty, and God needed to punish them. How just! Oh! -God is sure to press men to a conclusion. Read what David said to the -stranger Gibeonites;” Miriamne continued: - -“And he said, what ye shall say, _that_ will I do for you. - -“And they answered the king, the man that consumed us, and that devised -against us; - -“Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up -unto the Lord in Gibeah. - -“And the king said, I will give them. - -“But the king spared Mephiboseth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul. - -“But the king took the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she -bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephiboseth; and the five sons of Michal the -daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel. - -“And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged -them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and -were put to death in the beginning of barley harvest.” - -Miriamne paused; then addressed her parent: - -“Mother, I’d not be an heretic, and yet I can not see the justice of -hanging the sons for the father’s sins?” - -“Perhaps they were parties to the murder; perhaps publicly, or in heart, -defended it. At any rate, from the beginning it has been so. Thou and thy -brothers are living here fatherless on account of him that begat you——” - -“Shall I stop reading this bloody story?” quoth Miriamne. - -“It pains thee. Thou must go on now, though thou shouldst fall fainting, -as Saul at Endor. Read.” - -The daughter complied, and with quickly revived interest, for she came to -the name “Rizpah” the second time, but before she had not noticed it in -reading. - -“And Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth and spread it for her -upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon -them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on -them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. - -“And it was told David what Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, the concubine -of Saul, had done. - -“And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan, -his son, from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the -street of Beth-shan. - -“And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of -Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged. - -“And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country -of Benjamin, in Zelah, in the sepulcher of Kish, his father: and they -performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated -for the land.” - -When the last clause was finished, Miriamne cast a glance at the huge -painting on the wall. - -“I understand in part; that is Rizpah and her crucified children?” - -“It is well, daughter. Behold her; this is motherhood of strongest type! -Humanity is no where perfect, but of all the erring ones of life, I most -believe in those, who, among many perversions of judgment and blemishes -of character, have some one or more of lofty virtues. Methinks a soul -may be drenched by many sins, and yet, if within its very core it carry -sincerely and sacred as its life some noble, dominating passion, like the -holy love of parent for a child, that soul will ever have thereby a gate -open to the Holy Spirit, a handle for the grasp of saving angels, and, -while life lasts, an ever-flying signal lifted toward heaven. Such prayer -unspoken is a beseeching, not vainly for the interceding love of Him that -weighs the spirits.” - -“But, mother, you’re not such a tigress? Not like that woman?” - -“How proud I’d be to be indeed all she was. The exact interpretation of -‘Rizpah’ is a ‘living coal,’ but her name interpreted by her life is -better called the ‘flaming beacon.’ We mutually lament the dispersion -of our people! Dost thou remember how last Sabbath thou wepst while -thou didst read to me the words of the blessed Isaiah foretelling the -long-delayed but Divinely-promised regathering of all our tribes?” - -“Oh! that the hills of Judea would glow with the beacons of that day!” - -“Daughter, God’s beacons are chiefly noble spirits, such as Moses of the -Exode, Samson, the giant, David, Nehemiah and Cyrus. The world has not -yet interpreted Rizpah, the ‘burning coal,’ the beacon fire. Once I was -frail, timorous, wavering, but devotion to that character has transformed -me. When the world’s mothers look to her pattern, there will be a new -order of motherhood; then look for heroic men and an heroic age!” - -“But was not Rizpah a Hivite, a descendant of Ham, and so of those -forever under God’s curse?” - -“My child, ancestry is not always the test of worth. The consequences -of sin may pass down from sire to son, but never so as to bar the way -to hope, nor dam up the stream of ever-pitying mercy of heaven. Rizpah -had some true Jewish blood within her heart, and in the long run God’s -providence doth work to make the better part, of admixed good and ill, -dominate. Besides all this, the lovely Ruth, thou dost emulate so well, -was foreign to our people. So, too, was Rahab; and our Rabbis tell us -she was in the royal line of David, from which at last the Messiah shall -arise. Those women, with Rizpah, were beacons to the world! While mankind -revere true love, constancy, loyalty and faith, those names will be -remembered.” - -“But, mother, Rizpah was the concubine of Saul, and as I think of how -you oft denounce the harems of our neighboring Bedawin, my very soul -blushes at hearing you admire this woman so.” - -“Ah, daughter, methinks she was more sinned against than sinning. Recall -the unequal struggle: Rizpah, a foreigner, of a nation subdued by kingly -Saul; he a man, strong of mind, a king, hedged with a sort of divinity -that in the minds of the simple ever hedges kings about; making their -words and deeds seem always right and just. If women made the laws and -customs there never would have been known on earth unclean polygamy, -but ever instead thereof the union only, in holy wedlock, of two lives, -mutually consecrated, serviceful and constant. Under wrong teaching and -tyranny, a woman may do that which purer societies condemn, and yet -retain a conscience white and clean before God. - -“Within that book of Samuel, which I hold, it is recorded that -Ishbosheth, a son of Saul, who for a time reigned in a rebellious -confederacy, a horseman’s day’s journey from here, at Mahanaim, charged -Rizpah once with an act of impurity. - -“The record makes no mention of Rizpah’s reply. Like thousands of women -before and since her time, she was defenseless against slander. Men, the -stronger, may malign without evidence, and often it doth outweigh, to -ears ripe to feast upon the carrion of a scandal, the indignant denial of -outraged purity, accompanied even with evidences which make the thought -of crime upon the part of the one belied, seemingly an impossibility. But -leave all that; I appeal in behalf of my revered Rizpah to her wondrous -loyalty as a mother. Tell me not that this sublimely heroic woman, who -patiently watched the corpses of her sons and other kin from April, -through all the lonely nights and through all those burning days, until -October rains wept them to their burial, ever did an act that could let -loose upon them living or dead the hounds of scandal! They may have -suffered death as malefactors, in God’s sight, but still her mother-love -clung to them. She who kept those long vigils, lest beast or bird of prey -should harm or mar or pollute the bodies precious to her if to no one -else, I am assured, beyond all cavil, never did aught that could have -stung their brows or embittered their hearts! Such motherly devotion as -hers doth fully purify a woman. He who planned society, with its sacred -foundations resting so largely on the integrity of its child-bearers, has -planted in the bosom of woman this all-possessing love of her offspring, -as her safeguard. It’s her wall of fire by day and by night, and verily -more restraining to her than any law of man, command of God, or fear of -hell!” - -“And are loving mothers never unchaste?” - -“The Jews hated swine and the monster deities of Chaldeans, because both -destroyed their young, and our holy Talmudists declare that Mary of the -Christians, not being as pure as the Nazarene’s followers affirm, is -doomed to bide even in lowest Hades with the bar of hell’s gate through -her ear. No, I, as a Jewish woman, believe that one of my sex being a -mother and impure is neither loving, nor a woman!” - -“How I revere the noble sentiments of Rizpah of Bozrah!” - -“For all I am, after God, praise that ancient, fervent beacon, Rizpah of -Gibeah!” - -“I am in part reconciled to her, but yet I wish, in frightened agony -often, that you would renounce this historic Rizpah; lioness-like in her -devotion to her offspring, but full of murderous fury toward any that -crossed her love. Our holy book must have sweeter, nobler ideals for our -inspiration.” - -“I judge this Hebrew heroine mother by her influence upon me, and that -has been for good. The hypocrite or romancer may call the passer-by to -prayer and have no more soul in it than the Moslem trumpet. Only those -who have some God-like saintliness of character, can win effectually, -unceasingly. There is mighty power in the unspoken sermons of such a -life. _I cherish_ Rizpah, whose touch of moral power, coming where and -when I was weak to callowness, girded me with purpose for wavering and -thews of steel for rosy softness. I was once like thee, a fragile flower, -but the example of that patient woman’s heroism, ever before me, has -fitted me to meet my awful trials and worthily inhabit this giant-built -house. Thou dost remember, Miriamne, at last Passover time they wish, as -thou didst read to me of Jacob, that even now a ladder with communicating -angels might be set up from earth to heaven?” - -“Ah, that would be a feast; angels in burning bushes, or by fountains as -in Hagar’s time! I often worship in the thicket and pray for heaven’s -messengers from Paradise to fan the flames of our devotion, as Gabriel -did the orisons of Daniel. But I’d be afraid to meet an angel like your -Rizpah.” - -“Not so with me, Marah. Indeed, I often think of Rizpah and Jacob -together. Thou rememberest how, not far away, at Mahanaim, Jacob of -old met a host of angels? They came to cheer him in an hour of sad -depression, the saddest kind indeed; for in that hour he remembered -amid his repentings that he was soon to face the brother whom long -years before he had wronged. Well, when Rizpah, by the death of Saul, -was released from that domineering madman-king, she made her home at -Mahanaim, the place near which Jacob counseled with the angels. Methinks -she there also communed with the spirits that do excel in strength. -She may have been weak before, but in that angel school she outgrew -her master. Ay, my child, it is marvelous how a woman rises under the -impulses of a noble love, holy companionship and plenty of sorrow. Many a -male brute has flattered himself he was crushing into fawning servitude -by his imperious, selfish will, his weaker child-burdened mate, only -some day to find the victim asserting her individuality with power -unearthly. The partridge skulks, terrified amid lowly grasses from the -hunter, little by little gathering courage for her pinions, then she -suddenly departs to return no more, meanwhile luring the hunter from her -treasures.” - -“That is, an abused wife should run away?” - -“Oh, perhaps not; but she may rise above her tyrant.” - -“I can’t but remember the woman’s rough strength.” - -“To me the all-controlling love of Rizpah for her children condones her -former errings, her Philistine ancestry, her craggedness. I believe she -soars with the angels now, and to Israel she must be a pattern until some -more saintly and finer woman arises to take the leadership of woman.” - -“Will such an one appear, mother?” - -“God’s dial is a circle, with a sweep like eternity. He knows no hurry; -yet, though never weary, is never belated. We are not waiting for him, -but He is for us. When man is ready to take up his pilgrim march to the -highlands of a living, all light, all beautiful, there’ll be beacons and -beacons from the valleys to the hills.” - -Just then the lamp by which they had been sitting, for some time having -only flickered, was suddenly quenched, and there was a sound of the -fluttering of wings in the room. Miriamne screamed and clung to her -mother, her thoughts on the vultures of the picture. - -“’Twas only a bat, daughter!” - -“Oh, this ghostly place!” the young woman cried. - -“Ghosts and bats are very harmless; would men were like them!” bitterly -spoke Rizpah. - -“A bat putting out our light; it’s like an omen!” - -“Yes, wrongs do put out the light of human joy, but only for a little -while; look out to the firmament, my clinging other self, as I do, -for comfort by times. See, the stars are immovable; all bright and in -seemingly everlasting calm. Never forget in any long trial, or sudden -terror, that when our human-made lights expire we are to turn our eyes -toward heaven. In truth, God Himself often quenches our lights to make us -look up to His.” The mother, approaching the stone casement, and looking -out on the sky, continued: “The heavens are full of beacons and lamps. -They shall light us to bed as His truth lights those who will to serene, -long rest. Good night, my child.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE QUEEN PROCLAIMED IN THE GIANT CITY. - - “Half-hearted, false-hearted! Heed we the warning! - Only the whole can be perfectly true; - Bring the whole offering, all timid thought scorning, - True-hearted only if whole-hearted too.”—HAVERGAL. - - -Another Passover season was at hand, and the few Israelites in and -about Bozrah, not being permitted to celebrate the feast, at Jerusalem -were gathering for a “Little Passover” at the Giant City. There was -sadness, murmurings and fears in the hearts of the people. Sadness in -remembering the decadence of Israel; fears, for there were Mamelukes -hovering threateningly in large numbers near the city; murmurings, -because fault-findings, the last stage to indifference, flourish when -religion is decaying. Faith and doubt waged their eternal battle; and at -Bozrah, doubt appealing to present facts, had the easier part against -faith, appealing to past providences or unseen hopes. There was clamor -for a change, but the leaders of the people were purblind to any new -light. They crushed their own secret doubts and continued to enforce -what they believed, because they had believed it. They felt a sense of -responsibility, and that made them very conservative. Before the sun had -reached high-noon Bozrah was all astir. There were but two principal -streets in the city; these ran by the four great points of the compass -and crossed at its center. Two companies of Jews of very different -make-up, each moving along one of those streets, met, and, in passing, -quite accidentally, the two processions formed a cross. One of the -companies was made up of priests and serious old men, the true elders of -the people. They tried to appear very wise and very pious, and succeeded. -They tried as well to cheer and comfort all, and did not succeed very -well. The other company was made up of young Israelitish men. They were -going eastward; the old men walked northward, away from the sun, now a -little more than southeast. By the side of the elders glided a row of -shadows of their own making. But they were as unconscious of these as of -the shadows their musty traditions flung over the people. - -The youths felt like singing, so they sang. The sadness that was so -general was not very deep with them. They would have liked to have sung -a sort of convivial song; but, that being forbidden, they compromised -with their consciences and the situation by singing the one hundred and -twenty-second Psalm, with the vigor of a madrigal. They had a surplusage -of vitality, and they let it flow out in the pious canticle. Certainly -they conserved outward propriety; as to their inward feelings, they -themselves hardly knew what they were; hence, it would be unjust, for one -without, to pass judgment. The Psalm was appointed to be sung at this -feast. They say the returning captives, coming from Babylon, centuries -before, sang this song as they ascended to a sight of Jerusalem. - -Now, some of the elders had come to think it piety to morbidly nurse -their sorrows. They were never happy except when they were miserable. One -of these paused and addressed the young singers: - -“Children, cease. Your time is too much like a dancer’s.” - -Then all eyes turned toward the leader of the youths, a man with a -Saul-like neck, large mouth, wet, thick lips, and burning eyes; all -bespeaking a person who is never religious beyond the drawings of -religious excitement, for excitement’s sake, and never self-restraining, -except as checked by fear of a very material hell. Such an one, if he -have any regularity in his piety, will have it because somebody opposes, -or because, having swallowed, with one lazy gulp, a heavy creed, he -thereafter goes about condoning by habit his petty vices, in trying to -force others to be better than he himself ever expects to be. Such are -never spiritual, and seldom martyrs; but they make good persecutors, and -so do a work that compels others, by suffering, to be spiritual, and, may -be, good martyrs. This leader made sharp retort, thrusting out his chin -to enforce it: - -“The Psalm is all right, and, if the old men sang more, they would have -less time for moaning. Singing and moaning are much alike, only the -former cheers men, the latter, devils!” - -“Son,” replied the patriarch, “revile not the fathers. We do not condemn -thy joy as sin; but yet it now seems inopportune. We are entering -captivity, not liberation. Our holy and our beautiful temple is in ruins; -our people like hunted quail.” - -“But, this is feast time,” said the youth. - -“What a feast! I remember it as it was when the nation gathered at -Jerusalem, to the number of nigh 3,000,000, and offered 250,000 lambs. -Ah, now, a handful, in this grim old city surrounded by aliens!” - -The elder, so speaking, bowed his head, threw his mantle over his -eyes and wept; meanwhile his fellow-elders gathered about him, very -reverently, and waved their hands rebuking toward the youths. Just then -there drew near a beautiful Jewess, led by an aged man, the latter garbed -partly as an Israelite, and partly as one of the Druses. He had a saintly -mien, and fixed the attention of the elders; but, the young men, with -one accord, youth-like, at once erected, in silent worship, an unseen -altar of devotion to the new goddess. The grouping was striking and -suggestive. The stranger was silent, and seemed to be intent on passing -by so; but the elders felt their responsibility. It is the fate of the -religious leader to be expected to explain every thing. He must talk to -every body, and about every matter. He cannot, when he will, keep quiet -and so get the credit for fullness of wisdom, as do some. He must express -an opinion, for silence is deemed a greater sin in such than insincerity -or words out of ignorance. The foremost of the elders felt called to act, -and so confronting the two new comers, sternly addressed the maiden: - -“I perceive that thou art of my people; wherefore comest thou here, and -in this companionship? Knowest thou not that women are forbidden to be at -the first of the feast?” - -The young men were not in accord with the elder; they stood apart, and -some whispered to others: - -“It is Miriamne de Griffin.” - -The maiden shrank back a little; but the saintly man with her, advancing -a step, replied: - -“I am the maiden’s guardian to-day, fathers, and responsible for her act. -Say on!” - -The elder, though knowing full well who the speaker was, and also fully -understanding the import of his challenge, pretended to have neither -heard nor seen him. He looked past the speaker, who was championing the -maiden, and continued: - -“Do thy people at home know of these indiscreet acts?” - -“Hold, Rabbi! no insinuations.” The saintly man’s voice was commanding, -and compelled silence. He continued: “We go our way, ye yours. Ye can not -help yourselves out of your miseries; then presume not to direct us.” He -checked his rising anger, remembering that he was a religious teacher, -and launched out in a wayside sermon. “Ye children of Abraham, hear me, -though I came not to counsel. Ye have stopped my progress, now hear God’s -truth! There are dangers without, but greater ones within; though your -eyes, being veiled, ye perceive not these things. I noticed as I was -coming this way that the tombs and grave-stones every where have been -whitened recently. They tell me this was done so as to enable your people -plainly to see them and so avoid them. Yet fleeing defilement of the -dead, ye live in a grave, all of you. All your prefiguring feasts have -ripened into a glowing present that treads out into a full day!” - -The old men seemed puzzled and angry; the young men puzzled but glad. -They welcomed any sermon if it came with novelty. They reasoned within -themselves that the old teachings were dead, and that a new creed -could be no worse. If it were novel, it would have at least a temporary -freshness. - -The speaker proceeded, for the congregation before him, being divided in -sentiment, invited him, so far, to proceed. - -“Oh, nation, called to be the light of the world, ye bear but phantom -torches. Ye move sorrowfully, surrounded by walls of cloud, but just -beyond there lies a glorious firmament, aglow with suns of hope and a -thousand golden-arched doors made of realized prophecies and promises -ripened. Can ye make these ruined habitations of mighty men, now sleeping -in the cliffs and valleys about us, again teem with their former life? -No, no! yet less readily can ye make your dead, finished, vanishing types -take new life. Ye are puzzled and partially angry, but hold in check the -hot blood. I’ll soon depart; yet before I go, I’ll tell ye, all, this -for your deepest thinking: Ye can never celebrate again the Passover! -God shut ye from your Temple long ago to teach you this; these traveling -ceremonials of yours are but mockeries. The last real passover was -celebrated when your fathers slew the Nazarene——” - -“Let us stone him!” vehemently cried the brawny leader of the youths, and -the elders turned their backs, as if to give approval to the violence, -but not incur liability by witnessing. - -The brawny youth seized a boulder as if to begin; the saintly man did not -move, and another youth seized the arm of the youth of brawn. - -“Young men, I’ll show you an entrancing picture,” was the saintly man’s -calm words. They were instantly intent. “Look, you and your old men -make the sign of the cross by your ranks. Look again, by the cross -stands this damsel, simple, pure and loving; an ideal woman. Her name, -Miriamne, or Mary. Do not delude yourselves into the belief that it will -be safe or possible for you to silence truth by murdering me. I’d despise -your attempt if I did not pity your thoughtless rage. Do not forget the -picture of this hour. The Passover will be fully celebrated when the -power of the cross and the presence of purity is universally felt in -earth. Only your men attend this your sacrifice. It is well; and when men -truly bear the burden of sacrifice, women will be at their feast. Now, -then, take heed. Farewell, ancients!” - -So saying the saintly man of strange garb suddenly turned away, drawing -the Jewess with him. The elders were confounded; they could not find -words at the moment for reply; they were stung by the pleased and -approving glances that the young men gave the departing couple. The -elders would have been pleased to have taken the Jewish maiden from -her escort with violence, but the latter was a brawny man. The elders -knew the youths would not aid; to attempt it themselves would be likely -to be a failure, certainly undignified. They deemed it wise, in any -event, to conserve their dignity, and being unable to do any thing more -terrific, they hissed an orthodox malediction after the departing man -and woman. That made the elders feel a little better. The two companies -at the crossing of the streets fell to musing and conversing, but in -different groups. The old men talked as old men, deploring the present -and be-praising the past; the youths deplored the present and be-praised -the future; some of them trying to interpret the words of the saintly -man. They all wanted to be very orthodox Jews, and yet they all felt -that the stranger’s words were full of sweetness and good cheer. Some of -the youths, like others of their age, had unconsciously sided with the -strangers on account of the woman’s influence. They admired her, and the -side she was on was charmingly invincible. - -“_The Arabs are coming!_” - -It was a cry starting up from all directions, and passed from lip to -lip like the tidings of fire at night. The city was soon in confusion -and panic; then mixed crowds surged toward the crossing of the streets -like terrified sheep. They needed leaders or shepherds. But the elders -so lavish in advice usually, were dumb with fright now. Yet every body -looked toward them for direction. Suddenly, the saintly man and the -Jewess reappeared; as suddenly transformed to a self-reliant leader, she -cried out: “Youths of Israel, to the defense; the enemy come in by the -wall toward the Sun Temple’s ruins!” - -“Perhaps it’s the ‘Angel of Death,’” cried the thick-necked leader of the -youths. - -“The All-Father of the covenant forefend!” groaned some of the elders. - -“Fathers,” cried the Jewess, “pray as you can, but we younger ones must -fight as well as pray. Pray the men to go to a charge!” - -“A Deborah!” shouted the thick-necked youth. “Now lead and we’ll follow!” - -“Shame!” cried the saintly man. “Lead yourselves!” - -There was no need of argument; the thick-necked youth waved his hand -to the other young men and they all dashed away toward the advance of -the enemy; all of the city having a mind to fight, becoming instant -volunteers. But the elders, with a piety enforced by prudence concluded -to stay at the crossing and pray. Perhaps in their hearts they reasoned -that if the enemy were repulsed they might claim the glory of having -sustained the fighters, as Aarons and Hurs; if the youths and their -followers were overcome, then they, the elders, might claim prescience -and say at the end: “We knew it were vain to resist.” - -Soon there were heard the shouts and clangor of conflict. The fight was -on. Miriamne breathlessly carried the news to her mother. - -The matron laid her hand on her bosom, not to still a fluttering heart, -but affectionately to toy with the handle of her faithful dagger. - -“Oh, mother, when will these troublous times end? what shall we do?” - -“Daughter, fight! if need be.” - -“But we are only women!” - -“But this is woman’s time; remember Sisera!” Rizpah began dressing for -departure. - -“Oh, mother, wait! Let us send the boys for news into the city. Perhaps -the worst has not come, when the mothers must take arms.” - -Rizpah silently assented. The boys were sent, and in half an hour -returned with hot and beaming faces. “The Mamelukes are all slung out of -the city! Lots of them killed,” both exclaimed, between their pantings. - -“How brothers: is it all over?” - -“Yes, all over! They’re gone! Oh, you ought to have seen how our young -men and the Druses raced them,” interposed one. - -“If it hadn’t been for the Druses we’d all been murdered!” cried the -other. Then the brothers caught up the narrative in turn. - -“And, Miriamne, some of the young soldier-like men, after the fight, -went about shouting ‘_cheers for the flag of Maccabees and the maid of -Bozrah!_’ They say the ‘maid of Bozrah’ means you. What do they intend?” - -Miriamne seemed not to hear the question. She was engrossed with her own -thoughts and thus was meditating: “It’s just as the Old Clock Man said! -The Druses by their needed aid prove it; the Jews need a Saviour!” - -“Boys,” presently questioned Rizpah, “Were many of the heretics killed?” - -“Oh, ever so many! Yes, and we want cloths for the wounded,” said the -questioned lads. - -“Now, may the alien dead rot!” - -“But we must bring cloths.” - -“Who says it?” - -“The ‘Old Clock Man’ told every body to help the hurt.” - -“And who, pray, is this ‘Old Clock Man?’” - -Rizpah was quickly answered by Miriamne. - -“I know him, mother. He’s the leader of the Christians here, and a -wondrously good old man who heals the sick, feeds the poor, teaches the -ignorant and gives the true time of day to every body by the bell of his -religious house!” - -The mother fixed her eyes penetratingly upon Miriamne for a moment, then -frigidly questioned: - -“And since thou hast disobeyed me in making the acquaintance of a -stranger, thou wilt now explain why thou hast never mentioned to me this -‘Old Clock Man’ of whom thou dost seem to know so much! Who is he?” - -“Why, he’s the ‘Old Clock Man’ who mends poor people’s clocks, plays with -the children and is doing every body kindness!” - -“Some Christian witchery!” - -“Oh, mother, he’s an angel if ever there was one on earth!” - -“Is he a Jew?” almost hissed Rizpah. - -“I’ve forgotten to ask about that; but I’m certain he is, if only Jews -are good, for he is a saint of God.” - -Rizpah’s face wore a sneer as she again spoke: “How canst thou tell, -Inexperience?” - -“By acts. He goes about seeking poor people to clothe and feed, and he is -their physician as well, and will take no pay.” - -“Some Christian perverter, trying to seduce the unthinking by pretended -service. Beware of such, Miriamne!” - -“But healing the sick and setting people’s clocks right can’t do harm! -I’m certain of that?” - -“How sly; he would set all Jewry to Christian time and faith at the same -instant!” - -“I love his way, mother; it is so good; more I do not know.” - -“The old knave!” - -“Oh! mother, he is old, but no knave. Ought we not to be reverent to the -hoary head in the way of righteousness?” - -“Yet an old man may poison women and children. I told thee the story of -Agag once, daughter.” - -“Yes.” - -“I mean now to tell thee if this man be not a Jew, let him be like Agag, -hewn to pieces. Flee him as a leper.” - -“He don’t talk so. He says all mankind are brothers. Only to-day, he -cried, to the men in the beginning of the fight, ‘save your families as -best you may,’ kill the wounded Moslem with kindness!” The rapid converse -of the two women was interrupted by the impatient cry of the boys for -wraps and lint. As they started away, Miriamne darted after them, saying: -“I’ll go and help those caring for the wounded.” - -“Wayward,” called after her the mother, “remember my commands. Keep away -from the old Perverter, and minister to suffering Israelites, only. God -can spare the rest! Let them die.” - -In the midst of the suffering ones, Miriamne soon found herself, and as -might be expected; there, too, was the “Old Clock Man.” As they met he -said, laconically, “It is fitting that woman’s tender hands minister -thus.” - -“Thanks,” was her reply. - -Presently Miriamne questions, with an unaffected diffidence, her -companion. - -“Will you tell me your name?” - -“Call me father, that’s enough.” - -“Ah! but I can not, you are not my father.” - -“I may be.” - -“What jest is this! I’ve a father living?” - -“I am father to multitudes, but after the flesh, childless.” - -“Oh, thy children are dead, then?” - -“Nay, some dead and some living; but, living or dead, they are my -children.” - -“This is a wilderment to me. Where is your wife?” - -“Everywhere. In early youth, with vows unutterable, I wed my church. She -is Humanity’s mother, and I the father of all of her children, who will -let me serve them.” - -“And is this the Christian faith?” - -“It is mine, anyway.” - -“I like it. I’m sure it must be safe; being so good, and so you may be my -father that way. Are there many fathers like you?” - -“Many, and many needed, else sin will make all orphans.” - -“And you have no wife, no home?” - -“A home most beautiful, which, at sunset, I’ll enter through a door, once -shut, not possible to be opened by my hands, though its fastenings be but -grass and daisies.” - -“You mean death?” As she said it, tears welled in Miriamne’s eyes. - -“Weep not, my child, death is beautiful, at least to me.” - -“Oh, good man—father. I do not yet know how to think about you or these -things that you say. What made you so different from the people I know?” - -“A woman, a lovely woman.” - -“Your mother?” - -“Not as you think.” - -“Oh, then pardon my curiosity. You had some love?” - -“Thou hast said it.” - -“Why did you not wed her? Did she die?” - -“A woman’s question? I’ll tell thee all some other time. I hear -approaching voices.” - -“Tell me just a little more now; do?” - -“Are the wounded all attended properly? Mercy first, stories and sermons -after.” - -“Ah, here come my brothers. I’ll inquire;” and away ran Miriamne to a -group of youths, singing a roundelay, of which she caught but a few lines; - - “Jew and Gentile, Christian, Turk, - Equally shall share our work. - For Adolphus’ good - We’d shed our blood, - For we have joined the balsam band, - To cure all troubles in our land. - We love the man, - We love the band. - We love the brothers of our balsam band.” - -Miriamne comprehended the situation in a moment, and all radiant with -smiles, bounded to the side of her aged friend, crying: “Father, oh, -you’ve a bonny family coming; over fifty youths and maidens; some -Jews, some Gentiles. They’ve been comforting the wounded and now have -spontaneously formed some sort of friendly guild.” - -“That’s praiseworthy so far,” the saintly man replied. - -“And don’t blush; when I asked the leader what were their purposes and -name, a dozen cried out at once; ‘We’re Father Adolphus’s angels of -mercy!’” - -“They could easily have found a better title, but youth in its frank -celerity interprets human need. We all must have a pattern or hero. -That’s the reason there are pagans; not finding the true God, some invent -one. Anyway, God blesses the merciful.” - -“Oh, these angels are splendid; so earnest; so happy; so every thing -good! They all wear balsam-twig crowns, and are singing improvised -ditties about charity and humanity, and such like.” - -“Praised be God if they mean them, daughter.” - -“Mean them? Why they’ll make the ancients groan if they go to the -crossways with their enthusiastic singing. ‘Black-frowns!’ if they -disturb the Passover solemnities, won’t there be trouble? - -“And Bozrah will never understand the meaning of the ceremonial, the -phantom of which meaning some to-day are pursuing, until it beholds sweet -charity sincerely applied, rising with healing and life in its wings to -pass over savingly where humanity has pains and death.” - -The old priest looked away toward Jerusalem, as he spoke—his voice -meanwhile becoming very tender, almost tremulous. Had one been able to -enter his heart, there would have been seen a memory picture of Calvary. -Miriamne was awed for a few moments; the old man was lost in thought; -presently she recalled his attention: “Father, the band is just at hand. -Shall I introduce you?” - -“It is needless; I formed that Band of Charity, though I gave them not -the name; most all except the recruits of to-day know me.” - -The singers went by, saluting the priest as they passed; obeying his -signal to them not to tarry. - -Miriamne turned to her comrade with quickened confidence, and with her -usual impetuosity exclaimed: - -“I want to be what you like. Make me a Balsamite!” - -“Thou hast a mother who might object.” - -“Oh, no, no; not if she knew all, as do I.” - -“Some have called my work witchcraft.” - -“I don’t care, since I know better. Make me a Balsamite, now, please?” - -“So be it, child. Put thy hand on thy heart and repeat: ‘_I promise my -Merciful Father always to show heartfelt kindness to all His creatures, -especially those in misery, because of His everlasting goodness toward -myself._’” - -“I promise that gladly. Is that all?” - -“Yes; thy badge, a sprig of the evergreen balm-shrub, shall teach thee -the rest.” - -“Teach me the rest?” - -“Puzzled again, child? Well, I’ll teach thee, and the shrub shall recall -my lessons. As thou dost learn to love nature, as thou wilt when getting -back to a more child-like faith, nature will talk to thee all the time. -See, this is unfading; so is mercy. When torrid suns make the shrub -suffer, it sweats or weeps these healing gums. Trials make all good souls -fruitful. Then see, this little shrub gives to the world all it receives, -transforming its earthy nourishments, sunshines and showers, into a -medicament for sufferers. It is a type of the All-Giver. It has but three -flowers, and I read in these the signature of a Triune God. This thou -wilt, perhaps, read some time for thyself, when thou hast learned the -mystery of the Unspeakable Gift.” - -“My father, your wisdom is very beautiful.” - -“Would, my child, that my words ever be to thee as the nuts of this -little evergreen emblem, though rough-coated, still filled with liquid of -honey sweetness.” - -The maiden yearned to embrace the priest. Had she done so, her feelings -would have been like those of a daughter toward a father, or a devotee -toward God. She yearned to express love for father. The fountain of that -affection, hitherto unevoked, was full. But she restrained herself, and -said, as she clasped the old man’s arm: “May I be crowned?” - -“Yes, daughter; having served the bleeding as thou didst to-day, thou -mayst.” The priest twined together some of the balsam bows and placed -them upon her brow. “I saw once, at Damascus, a painted presentment of -the mother of our Lord, on wood, from which, continuously, there exuded -a precious nard, of all healing virtue. So they said, at least; and -more than this, I was assured it had power to heal even the wounds of -infidels.” - -“Is this really so?” - -“I believe a Christian kindness to an unbeliever a medicine to the soul -of the blesser and blest. That’s why I’m merciful to Moslem.” - -“But you court dangers, do you not? I remember your telling me once, that -fanatics, or men with a false religion, falsely practiced, were like mad -dogs—one could never tell when they might bite the kindest master.” - -“True, some forgetting the essence of all religion worth the name, -Charity, to propagate their theories, easily befool their consciences and -murder gratitude. But ingratitude is a Christian and Jewish, as well as a -heathen fault. In this all are alike. Still, though a man spoil all the -good I try to do him, there’s one thing he can not spoil.” - -“And that is what?” - -“The bird of sunny plumage that sings in my heart because of the good I -attempt. I met a French pilgrim, a while ago, who spent his time mostly -in helping, as he could, to make the Mohammedan children he met, happy. -He sang to them, gave them presents, acted as umpire in their sports, and -if one got hurt he mothered it—(that’s what he called his tender, odd -ways). Some called him wrong in his head, but when I knew him I believed -that one sane, amid thousands crazed.” - -“Who and what was he?” - -“I asked him, and for reply got only this: ‘I’m Melchisedec, a priest of -the wayside, seeking to win silver hands, silver feet, and crown jewels.’” - -“Well, he would have frightened me, if I’d met him speaking that way and -in such moods?” - -“Oh, no; he was not frightful; he seemed to attract even the birds, and -the ownerless curs ran to him when others spurned them. He once, when -sick, told me that he came from Toul, in Lorraine, where was enshrined an -image of Madonna with a silver foot. He believed that tradition, which -declared that that presentment of Mary gave a sign by taking a step, on a -certain time, which warned some of great impending danger, and thereupon -the member was changed to the precious metal.” - -“It’s a pretty story.” - -“At least the lesson is honey-like. No being can strive to help another -without finding the All-Shining often in his own soul. So our crowns are -made.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE QUEEN’S CHILDHOOD. - - “Now raise thy view, - Unto the vision most resembling Christ’s.”—DANTE. - - “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God.”—GABRIEL. - - -Miriamne, all aglow with pleasurable excitement and filled with a -curiosity which at times rose to very serious questioning as to her own -faith, anxiously sought to compass an early meeting with the “Old Clock -Man.” She could not content herself to wait a chance opportunity, and so, -remembering that it was his custom at evening time to visit, alone, for -meditation various old ruins like those of the Reservoir, she determined -to seek him there; it being not very far from her home. With beating -heart she repaired thither at sunset, the day after the Mameluke attack. -Having traversed the Reservoir’s side some two or three hundred feet, -she was on the point of returning, for the place was very lonely, when a -voice startled her. - -“Oh, Father Adolphus, how you frighten me! I’m so glad you came!” - -“Looking for me, yet frightened at finding me. Glad I came, though I -scared you?” - -“Well, men and women when frightened are glad of the fellowship of any -thing seemingly strong. It’s easy for the terrified to believe or trust.” - -[Illustration: By Carl Muller. - -THE EDUCATION OF MARY.] - -“There’s rare philosophy in thy head, little woman.” - -“So? What were you saying when I startled so?” - -“That the silvering of the moon brought out thy person beautifully. So -she that sits above the moon, a queen in heaven, would beautify thy soul -if thou shouldst elect to put on the character she ever wore.” - -“I can’t do that, knowing so little of her.” - -“A woman’s way of saying, tell me more.” - -“You would not torment your Mary with such repartee.” - -“Woman again. Art thou jealous already?” - -“Fie.” - -“Say that again! Once the foil of one of thy sex is penetrated, not -having arguments, she can at least say ‘fie’! Well, even ducklings hiss -when helplessly entangled.” - -“Adolphus Von Gombard, I’ll not call you ‘father’ again, if you approach -me any more in this courtier fashion.” - -“Again, I say, an old head; but I’d plead privilege.” - -“At least old enough to discern the sacred line that bounds all proper -commerce between the sexes. You plead privilege; I grant you the noblest -any woman can give, the privilege of guiding my immortal soul; but I -remember to have heard that he who would shepherd such as I, must be to -her as a woman. The relationship between us must be as that between the -angels of heaven who neither marry nor are given in marriage.” - -“Some young women receive teachings most willingly from fine-favored and -patronizing instructors.” - -“I know it; but let none patronize me so. I’ve begun to adore the Sacrist -of Bozrah, but if a breath or word passes that makes me think of him -chiefly as being a man, then I shall sit in his presence in fright, -or flee as I would were I to find the place changed into a lonely -night-draped waddy, my only company an image of some leering, giant -Bacchus. But this unequal defence is painful.” - -“Then desist and tell me what I’m to do.” - -“You have been my ideal man, for heaven’s sake rob me not by changing!” - -“Right nobly spoken, daughter. Now pardon me, for I was putting thee to a -test.” - -“A test?” - -“Yes. It’s forbidden, by customs hereabout, for man and woman, as we, -alone to converse face to face; perhaps wisely, if one be bad and the -other weak. Yet the custom is heathenish—low moral tone engendering -mighty suspicions!” - -“Did my priest think me a heathen?” - -“No, not that; but they say the moon makes lovers and others mad. I was -wondering whether I was dealing with a bundle of romancings or an earnest -girl?” - -Delicately the maiden avoided the query with another: - -“You loved Mary: why did you not wed her?” - -“Woman again; doomed to make all vistas end in wedlock. With your sex -love, beginning to give, gives all readily, and seems to find no rest -until there’s conjugal union.” - -“I have not desired to give all that way to those I’ve loved!” - -“It is all or nothing. Ye women love only relatives, and never cease to -desire to make all relatives whom ye want to love. Why, girl, my Mary -is a saint; she died ages ago, after the flesh; but as a model for all -womankind lives forever,” - -“How was she your Mary, then?” - -“She belongs to every noble minded man as his inspirer.” - -“Mary—you call her Mary. I thought all the holy and the great had -uncommon names?” - -“In fiction they do; in reality the name is nothing.” - -“Was she wise and beautiful?” - -“One of our most holy teachers, Epiphanius, who lived less than four -hundred years after Mary, spent many years at Bethlehem and gathered -facts that caused him thus to write. ‘She was of middle stature, her face -oval, her eyes brilliant and of an olive tint; her eyebrows arched and -black, her hair a pale brown, her complexion fair as wheat. She spoke -little, but she spoke freely and affably. She was grave, courteous, -tranquil. In her deportment was nothing lax or feeble.’ Saint Denis, the -Areopagite, who is said to have seen this queen of David’s house in her -lifetime, declared that she was ‘a dazzling beauty,’ that he ‘would have -adored her as a goddess had he not known that there was but one God!’ Of -this much I’m certain, my Bozrah Miriamne, one so serene of character, -and so pure, must have reflected her inner, imperishable beauties in her -features.” - -“Father Adolphus, you mention strange names. There are none that sound -like those revered by my people. Do you ever hate my race? If you do you -must not teach me any doctrine.” - -“Hate? Why, I love all peoples, and by faith I am made a child of -Abraham.” - -“Then you are a proselyte?” - -“Not by any forms. I believe in the God of Abraham and His Messiah. That -makes me a perfect Jew.” - -“This is strange. My mother never unfolded it to me.” - -“Ah, she has not yet looked into these royal mysteries?” - -“But, good father, is your name among our chronologies?” - -“Thanks to the God of the Patriarchs, yes; it is with that of Moses, -David, Elijah, and all the rest, in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” - -“Where?” - -“In Heaven.” - -“How wonderful; yet I’m afraid to hear more.” - -“Shall I take thee home?” - -“No; tell me more of Mary. You say she made you lonely and a father?” - -“I must then begin her history, and show thee how and why she lived?” - -“Do you think it will tire me?” - -“Fear not! Her story is a poem, a picture, a tragedy; it’s one long -delight.” - -“Then tell it to me, I pray you.” - -So the priest proceeded: - -“When the world was very wicked, and therefore very sad, God in His -goodness was drawn to send from heaven a light-bearer—some one to tell -man his duty and able to win back to the Great Father mankind’s straying -affections. Thou dost know this much, and hast read in thy sacred -Scriptures how God called to the universe, all chaotic and dark, to come -forth into beautiful form; how he said to the darkness, ‘_Let there be -light_.’ That history bears within it a fine sermon. It’s a picture of -God’s. Out of sin, darkness, confusion, there emerged a perfect man in -a Paradisiacal home, with a perfect, beautiful woman as a help-mate by -his side. That was God’s ideal of perfection and happiness. It delighted -the Father of Joys to make it. This is ever true; behind all clouds in -God’s Providence is sunshine, and beyond all disorders somewhere at last -will walk forth unalloyed pleasure, a Sabbath-like rest, and fullness of -harmony.” - -“Oh, can you make me believe and feel this?” - -“Wait patiently.” - -“I try to do so; but I’m discouraged by the present miseries in my family -and in all our nation.” - -“God mourns over all our sorrows before they or we are born, but His -wisdom and power of cure are faultless. Wait. Times are mending, and -the moral sphere is dipping into the rim of light’s oceans. I think the -angels perceive the world now, as thou perceivest the new moon.” - -“The poetry of the words I can not interpret.” - -“The moon’s a dark globe, with a ribbon of silver across it.” - -“And things have been worse; now are bettering?” - -“Assuredly so. Believe there is a God, and thou’lt rest in hope. Go -back a little in history to when Cæsar Augustus, of awful pagan Rome, -ruled the world, having won dominion through desolating wars. The most -educated Romans then believed in no hereafter, and sought openly, without -restraint, the grossest pleasures. The ignorant believed in fabled -monstrosities. Rome set the fashions of all the world. The Jews, thy -people, God’s people, were lower, morally, then, than ever they had been -before. They were divided into warring families and sects, holding a -few forms and traditions, but having little heart in religion. The rest -of mankind was barbarous. Thou hast heard how the Roman Titus overthrew -Jerusalem, slaughtering thy people by thousands, defiling their holy -Temple and seeming to blot out nearly the whole of thy race. That time -of Titus was midnight; since that the day has been slowly advancing. -Before that awful culmination of sorrows, the Divine Trinity held august -council, and, as say the traditions of my church, determined to bring a -holy sunrise to the earth’s midnight. The trouble of all creation was -that man had fallen. The Divine Council decreed to confound the devil, -who broke up the first home and ruined the first pure pair by causing -to emerge from another home, another pair. They came, this time mother -and Son, to be the moral patterns for the race, the beginning of a new, -sin-conquering dispensation. The fathers hand down these sayings: ‘The -august, regal Triune Council thus decreed: “Let us make a pure creature, -dearer to us than all others.”’ They say she was begotten upon the -Sabbath, the birth-day of the angels, whose queen she was to be. Then -one thousand of the ministering spirits were commissioned to defend her; -while Gabriel was sent to announce the glad tidings of the birth of a -Saviour’s mother, in Hades. Her angels appeared as young men, of majestic -mien, of marvelous beauty and pure as crystals. Their garments were like -gold, richly colored, and could not be touched any more than could be the -light of the sun.” - -“How charming! But is this all true?” exclaimed the maiden. - -Without reply, the priest continued: “They were crowned with diadems, -exhaling celestial perfumes; in their hands they bore interwoven palms; -on their arms and breasts were crosses and military devices. They were -swift of flight, some of them six-winged, like the angels of Isaiah’s -vision.” - -“How dazzling! But is this all true?” Miriamne persisted. - -“Well, it’s not in thy sacred books nor in mine so written.” - -“Then you are giving me your imaginings?” - -“Oh, no; but after the manner I have spoken, it is recorded in revered -traditions of my church, and none can very well disprove the sayings.” - -“I wonder if such honors made Mary proud?” - -“A strange query.” - -“I’d like to love one such as she, but could not if she were haughty or -lofty, like the great of earth.” - -“It would have made such as thou proud, perhaps; but there was none of -the serpent in her whose Offspring was to crush the serpent’s head.” - -“Is there any of the serpent in me?” - -“I’m not thy judge.” - -“Then she was immaculate?” - -“Ah, that’s a question for the doctors. I’m too simple to know beyond -what is written. I’m glad to know that she rejoiced in her son, as a -God and a _Saviour_!”—“She was of noble family, though her parents were -poor,” the priest continued. “Her mother was by name Anna, and worthy -of the name, which is by interpretation ‘_gracious_.’ Traditions of -her goodness are many, and the good and great have honored her memory. -I paid Anna homage, that of a youth respectful of worthy motherhood, -at Constantinople, in a church erected in the year 710 to commemorate -that saint. Among others, also Justinian, the Emperor, in the year 550, -dedicated a sacred place to Mary’s mother.” - -“Then she had her meed of praise, at last?” - -“Tradition, though tardy, has been just; but I trust not tradition alone. -I easily reason that there must have been much of goodness and womanly -beauty in the mother that bore such a woman as Mary. I know that God can -bring forth angels from the offscourings, but that is not His way. He -works by steps upward. I tell thee, girl, the mother gives her life to -her offspring, and in spite of training, almost in spite of regeneration, -the characteristics of this parent will reappear in the child. But to my -story about Mary’s parents, Jehoikim and Anna. - -“Blessed be God, Anna and Jehoikim were untainted by the pride of life, -and, though living in a time of loose morals, walked lovingly, constantly -with each other, through all their days. I talk to thee as to a prudent, -but not prudish, young woman. Society is well rotted when divorce is -about as common as marriage; it was that way in Anna and Jehoikim’s time. -Why, even the exacting Pharisees then taught that a man might divorce -a wife who had lost her personal beauty, or badly cooked her husband’s -meat. Jehoikim might have left Anna, for she was childless; that was -reason enough for divorcement to the average Jew, then. But their love -was beautiful. The man, as was his duty, clung tenderly to his wife; her -misfortune making her all the more in need of his tenderness. Dost thou -not think so?” - -“I suppose so. I don’t know.” - -“Pardon my earnestness; it made me forget thy inexperience! - -“Well, God rewarded their constancy, and they became the parents of -my Mary. The father had a noble ancestry; but, what is better, within -himself a royal heart. He bore by right the priestly office; but that -was not much to such a man, in respect to worldly gain. Honest priests -in his time were generally poor; the priestly preferments went, most -richly laden, to those who dealt corruptly, and truckled to the ruling -powers. Mary’s father was above sordidness and simony. He had little to -give or to leave to his beloved, but he left his child a good name and -the remembrance of the blessed. So while God chose the humble to confound -the mighty, and serenely exalted those of low estate, He was mindful to -choose His elect from the ranks of the morally great. Such are found in -all places and times, and when surrounded, as were these pious parents, -by the gross, low and selfish, they shine with transcendent splendor. -In Tisri, the first month of the Jewish civic year, while the smoke of -the holocausts were ascending, to invite heaven’s pardon, Mary, who -was to bring forth the world’s greatest offering for sin, was born at -Nazareth. Her career was fore-ordained, and she was soon walking her -course of piety and sorrow. Though inexperienced and tender-hearted, -sorrows in heaviest, grimmest forms fell upon her. Her father died when -she was, it is said, only nine years of age; not long after, the girl -knelt, a mourner, by the bier of her mother; the golden hairs of youth -mingling, in the disheveling of utter grief, with the gray, which crowned -the queen and guide of her heart, her mother. On the threshold of her -life Mary’s parents were called away from her, leaving her no heritage -but their precepts and example. They say that Jehoikim’s hands were -stretched out, as in benediction, when he died, and so remained until his -burial, reminding all that his last act was a commendation of his little -daughter to Him who carries the lambs in his bosom! The picture of these -outstretched hands, and of the girl embracing the aged dead mother, are -often in my mind; they never fail to deeply move me. Poor orphaned lamb!” - -Miriamne brushed away a tear, a sort of self-pitying tear. She ran -forward in mind, to the day when she, herself, would be orphaned, without -a benediction, or, perhaps, a cheering memory. Then she questioned: - -“Did your Mary have other friends?” - -“Yea, her Heavenly Father. It is said, also, that she was cared for by -the elders of the people, and religiously trained under the very shadows -of the Temple. We may readily believe this; for, in her after life, she -evinced a self-possession in adversity that witnessed of a thorough -religious culture. If there was no other evidence, her splendid poem, -the ‘_Magnificat_,’ would convince any seeking proof, that Mary had had -surpassing benefits and privileges in the study of God’s words, as well -as in the best learning of her people, the Jews. But, Miriamne, I’ll -weary thee; let us turn toward thy home.” Presently they stood not far -from the old stone house of Rizpah; then Von Gombard drew from under his -mantle a roll of writings. “Here, take and read. After its perusal I’ll -see thee again.” So saying, the old priest lifted a hand in blessing, and -then moved away toward his abode. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE WEDDING, THE BIRTH AND THE FLIGHT. - - “Seraph of heaven; too gentle to be human, - Veiled beneath the radiant form of woman. - Sweet benediction of the eternal curse; - Veiled glory of the lampless universe! - Thou moon beyond the clouds, thou living form; - Thou wonder and thou Beauty—— - Thou harmony of nature’s art.”—SHELLEY. - - “Take that one hour at Bethlehem out of human history, and - eighteen centuries of hours are left but partially explained.”—PROF. - NEWMAN SMYTH. - - -“What so engages thee, daughter?” questioned Rizpah, as they sat together -at evening in the old stone house. - -“I’m reading the story of a lovely orphan girl. I wish I were, in heart, -as lovely as she.” - -“Was she a white citadel, pure and strong?” - -“Peerless, indeed; the very queen of women, I think.” - -“Oh, then thou must be reading of glorious Rizpah? Now fill me with this -matter! I thirst to hear.” - -Miriamne, though fearful of further exposing her thoughts and study, -obeyed, knowing full well that nothing would so stimulate her mother’s -curiosity as attempted evasion. - -“I’ve been reading of the orphan girl’s marriage. Shall I go back, or -continue from that period? Her name was Mary, and she was a Jewess; -that’s the sum of the beginning.” - -“Go forward,” sententiously replied the elder. - -Miriamne complied: - - “The guardians and relatives of Mary determined that she should - early wed some proper person to be her protector, and so, - according to Jewish custom, they went about the selection of a - husband for her as soon as she had reached her fourteenth year. - This selection was deemed a pious and serious duty by all the - participants therein; therefore it was made by an appeal to the - Lord with lots. Zacharias, the presiding priest, managed the - proceeding, as follows: He first inquired God’s will in prayer. - An angel brought reply, saying: ‘Go forth; call together all - the widowers among the people, and let each bring his rod.’ - -“In truth here is refreshment! If all weddings were contrived under the -wisdom of older heads, there would be fewer mad marriages.” Rizpah swayed -back and forth as she spoke. She was remembering, now, the curse of -Harrimai that day in Gerash, long years before. She thought him a monster -then, but now she was enshrining him in mind by the Angel of the Lots. - -“Shall I go on, mother?” - -“Go on.” - -“He to whom the Lord shall show a sign, let him be husband of Mary,” read -Miriamne. - -“Ah, the Lord would not trust the youths to draw! He knows that a man is -like to harass the life out of one woman before he learns to care for -another rightly. God was good to Mary in hedging her in to a widower if -needs be that she must marry.” - -Rizpah did not sway back and forth now; she sat erect and laughed -bitterly. - -[Illustration: By Raphael. - -THE MARRIAGE OF MARY AND JOSEPH.] - -Miriamne continued: - - “There were many splendid youths who rejoiced to be permitted - to bring their wands.” - -“Oh, ho! then they were suffered to draw for the girl? But what -matter—the Angel of Lots presided! He’d not let the youths succeed!” -Again Rizpah laughed, and as mockingly as before. - -Miriamne again read: - - “After prayer each deposited his almond tree with the aged - Temple priest. In the early morning they anxiously sought the - verdict. It was found that all the rods were dead, except - that of Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Mathan; but his - blossomed as that which, ages before, confirmed miraculously - the priesthood of Aaron’s sons. Then there appeared another - miracle, for as Joseph reached forth his hand to take his - blooming branch, there issued from among its luxurious - blossoms, miraculously, a white dove, dazzling as snow. For - a moment the dove gracefully suspended itself in the air, - turning its eyes from one to another of the competitors; then - it alighted on Joseph’s head. ‘Thou art the person chosen to - take the Virgin and keep her for the Lord,’ said the priest, - solemnly, to Joseph. All the rivals responded ‘Amen,’ and then - the dove flew away toward heaven. Joseph was thirty-three years - old, of pleasing countenance, very modest, graceful, and of - comely figure, and a widower. - - “When all was told to Mary she modestly replied: ‘I knew it, - for the Lord has been with me.’ Zacharias told Mary that Joseph - was a true, honest Jew, a carpenter by trade, and trained by a - father who fully believed the adage of Rabbins, which said that - ‘He who would not make his son a robber makes him a mechanic.’ - ‘Besides this,’ said the Temple priest, ‘thy espoused one is - like thyself, of the royal _house of David_. The blood of - twenty kings mingle in the veins of you both. God grant that to - that house of David there soon be born another, greater than - all before, to deliver our holy nation from foreign masters.’ - Mary made no reply, but as a blush of hopefulness passed over - her face, she looked very earnestly toward heaven and seemed - to be repeating the prayer of the priest to the All Father. The - formal betrothal then took place. Joseph presented his chosen - bride a small token of silver, saying: ‘If thou consentest to - be my bride, accept this.’ She took it, smiling affectionately, - and then the witnesses signed the usual Jewish compact, which - read as follows: - - “‘I Joseph, said to Mary, daughter of Jehoikim, become my wife - under the law of Moses and Israel. I promise to honor thee; to - provide for thy support; thy food and thy clothing; according - to the custom of Hebrew husbands, who honor their wives, as - is befitting. I give thee at once thy dowry and promise thee - besides nourishment, and clothing, and whatsoever shall be - necessary for thee, also conjugal friendship, a thing common to - all nations of the world. Mary consents to become the wife of - Joseph,’ The two signed the document.” - -“See Miriamne, the Jews were wise; they made the husbands do most of the -promising. They knew that the wives would be all wifely without such -pledging.” And Rizpah again bitterly laughed. - -“Shall I proceed?” - -“Yes, oh, proceed; it’s a Jewish poem.” - - “Thereupon Joseph placed a jeweled ring upon Mary’s fourth - finger, with a smile and a blush, saying, the ‘physicians - say, my beloved, that a nerve and a vein, reaching the heart - together, lay close to the surface of that finger.’ And she - understood and was happy. A benediction was pronounced, and - then the espoused pair were ready to depart to Joseph’s - house. He was to be the guardian of the maiden from that - hour forth. The hereditary servants of the families took - up the line of march, bearing flaming torches; immediately - after these followed a procession of women, richly garbed - and wearing golden tiaras and pearl bedecked girdles. Behind - these attendants of the virgin, followed a goodly company of - dexterous musicians and singers, discoursing rapturously the - significant canticles of Solomon. As the latter went on from - time to time they broke out of the line of march and disported - themselves in the eastern star-dance, saying as they did so, to - one another, ‘the morning stars sang at creation; the dawn of a - new home coming by love, is next to creation the most joyous - of all events.’ So the dancers went on, and as they rejoiced - in poetic motions, they thought of the stars which yet tremble - as if with the thrilling of that first delight they shouted. - Of all, the sweet orphan girl now companioned was the center. - She was bedecked with costly jewels, the glad tributes of those - that loved her; over her was the significant veil, and, so - beneath the wedding canopy, she entered Nazareth to be a wife. - Her sky had become very bright, for hers was a heart that took - exquisite joy from the honeyed petals of affection’s flower. - No bride ever more fully entered into that supreme state, the - all exalting, entrancing, expanding, thrilling period of new - married life. She went forward in the proud consciousness that - her weakness had overcome a giant, and that while she lead a - royal captive, she was supremely happy in her utter bestowal of - her all upon the one only man now became almost next to God in - the temple of her soul.” - -Miriamne paused, and Rizpah wept a little. - -“Shall I go on or pause, mother?” - -“Go on, dear.” - -“But you weep, are you ill?” - -“Oh, no, except in memory. This is sweet sorrow, that beats us back and -forth; contrasting dark endings with bright beginnings; heaven high -hopings with black disappointments, and happy lives with our own, all -interwoven with miseries. I walked once in the sweet illusions of bridal -days, but an utter widowhood came before death called. That’s the worst -bereavement.” - -“But some marriages are all happiness, are they not?” queried the -daughter. - -“Some, but not many. That’s the rule. Most of them begin well enough, but -wedded mates are not as wisely tender as lovers; they too soon entomb all -their joys in graves of selfishness and lust. So then the dove flies from -the blossom of espousal never to return.” - -“Perhaps, such as they did not love enough to begin with and so -separated?” - -“Some who would die for each other before marriage, would die to be quit -of each other, after. Hence the brood of suicides, and that blackest -crime of all, murder, which often raises its treacherous, cruel head -within the marriage chamber.” - -“How comes this error, trouble, horror?” - -“In wedding bodies, without consents or courtings of the souls, if those, -who, though mismated, happen to join lives, were only wise, they might -yet be happy, growing together. But read more daughter.” - - “In the fullness of time, the angel Gabriel, known amid the - Seraphim as God’s champion, the chosen of Jehovah and His - messenger of comfort and sympathy from heaven to man, was - commissioned to carry the glorious news to earth. He spread - his rainbow pinions, and with his own radiance to lighten his - course, passed from the confines of the august court of the - Divine Presence, the companionship of his fellow archangels, - Michael, Raphael, Uriel, to go out across the planet-lightened - realms of everlasting space. His course was watched with - throbbing interest by the spirits of mercy appointed for - ministering to man. Gabriel sped on, with sweeps of power which - almost devoured distances, nor paused to bask for a moment in - the many-colored lights of the golden and silvery shielded - planets or constellations that he passed in his rapid flight. - The wheeling suns and rushing worlds, marching and charging - along the shoreless oceans of eternal space, had no splendors - nor powers with which to challenge his high mission; though - theirs was grand, his was grander. He traveled at love’s - behest, on mercy’s work, to carry to this little earth, rolling - along, mostly in shadows, the mandate of glory, the news of - heaven’s great saving device. He bore proclamation in its - substance and its realizations forever the manifold wisdom of - God; the wonder of all who know to think or reason. And so that - voyage passed into the pages of history and the records of - eternity as well. - - “Mary, whom Gabriel sought, was engaged in evening prayer as - was her wont, with her face toward Jerusalem’s Temple.” - -Miriamne paused; she perceived that she had arrived at a part of the -manuscript which Father Adolphus had marked with a red line to remind her -it was from his Christian Bible. She feared to read this portion to her -mother. - -“Read on, daughter, the words are precious; they are as songs in the -night to my soul.” - -Miriamne continued: - -“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city -of Galilee, named Nazareth, - -“To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of -David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. - -“And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail! thou art highly favored, -the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. - -“And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her -mind what manner of salutation this should be. - -“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor -with God. - -“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and -shalt call his name JESUS.” - -Miriamne read the last word “Joshua.” - -She proceeded: - -“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the -Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. - -“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom -there shall be no end. - -“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a -man? - -“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon -thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also -that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of -God.” - -“Hold! hold!” cried Rizpah. “What is this? the faith of the Nazarene?” - -Miriamne was awed. She feared she had proceeded too far; but quickly -remembering an explanation of Father Adolphus, replied: “Be content, -mother, I read but that that appears in our holy prophets, Isaiah, the -poetic and vehement; his words you so much prize have here an echo.” - -Rizpah gazed at her daughter, with a puzzled, questioning expression for -a moment, and then sententiously said, “Read on.” She was alert, though -severe. Her curiosity was ruling, but her prudence was conserved, at -least in her own mind. The daughter was anxious, but could not retreat; -she knew she must read further or make a futile effort to explain her -reluctance. The two were a study; each afraid of the other: each anxious -to aid the other to truth; both on guard, and, while professing to be all -love for each other, attempting to move forward to a fuller fellowship by -indirection. The outlines of the cross were appearing in that household, -and never was there to be complete accord until there it ruled all hearts. - -Miriamne continued to read, but confined herself chiefly to notes made by -the old priest on the margin of her manuscript. - - “Presently Joseph, the affianced husband of Mary, discovered - that his beloved was to become a mother. At first the discovery - was like a dagger in his heart, for as yet the marriage had - not been consummated. It was a crisis of great import and - trial to husband and wife. Joseph, though now a plain man and - a mechanic, carried in his veins the noblest blood of his - race, being descendant of the ancient kings and in the line of - Solomon and David. Besides that, he had all the abhorrence of - the better Jews for adultery, that their awful law of death as - its penalty, implied.” - -“Did he help the mob to stone her?” cried Rizpah. - -Miriamne was startled by her mother’s angry earnestness. - -“Oh! we’ll see.” - -She continued reading: - - “He met his affianced in the evening on her return from - Hebron’s rosy hills, whither she had gone to visit her - kinswoman, the mother of John, by name Elizabeth. The interview - of those two noble women had prepared Mary to tell her - betrothed all that troubled and rejoiced her. When her espoused - met her privately and for the last time, as he intended, he - found her sweetly, serenely singing, as was her wont, a Davidic - psalm. He was at first astonished, not knowing how she could - be so happy under such stigma as seemed to rest upon her. His - patrician blood was roused, and for a moment he was ready - to denounce her to the Sanhedrim as an adulteress. Then he - looked at her, pitifully, questioningly. It could not be, he - meditated, that one so young could be so depraved as to sing - God praises, being a criminal. She must be insane! He tore - himself from her presence, but instantly returned when she - called out: ‘Joseph, God knows all; touch not His anointed.’ - - “‘Woman!’ he cried ‘explain! explain! Thy seeming sin hangs - scorpions over my eyes, and turns my heart to ashes. Thy - calmness is a wonderment!’ - - “Then Mary quietly recited to him the wondrous story of - Gabriel’s visit. - - “Joseph was pale, and reverently attentive; but still the - sadness of his countenance betokened his incredulity. - - “Mary, self-possessed, confident in her own integrity, - continued: ‘For three months I have been secluded with my - kinswoman, Elizabeth. She knows I saw no man, and thou canst - testify of the manner of my living since our espousal; but - I got words from God, at Hebron. When I first went into my - kinswoman’s house.” - -“Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: - -“And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among -women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. - -“And whence _is_ this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? - -“For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, -the babe leaped in my womb for joy. - -“And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of -those things which were told her from the Lord.” - - “No sooner had Elizabeth finished that salutation, than the - Spirit of the Most Holy Ghost possessed me and I, thus, without - premeditation prophetically said: - -“My soul doth magnify the Lord. - -“And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. - -“For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from -henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. - -“For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name. - -“And His mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. - -“He hath shewed strength with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in the -imagination of their hearts. - -“He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low -degree. - -“He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent -empty away. - -“He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy. - -“As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever.”[2] - - “I tarried until Elizabeth’s son was born. He is to be the - herald of mine! Joseph was amazed. The wisdom and stately - character of her _magnificent_ description and ascription were - unaccountable. But he doubted still her integrity. Yet his - wrath was softened into pity a little. He hesitated, and then, - _being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, - was minded to put her away privately_.” - -“Ha, ha;” laughed Rizpah, bitterly; “I see now, ’tis a beautiful fable -thou art reading! Put her away privately! a man do that under such -circumstances! Bah! rather would a real man parade the woman’s guilt -from the house tops. In truth, to show that he was sinless because he -was such a Nemesis of sin; or to get the pity of light-headed fools, who -would gladly take the place of the discarded! A pretty, baby face can -catch unerringly the man who pities himself well, if she will only gush -with real or affected pity for him. Pity and flatter a man and he’ll be—a -Lucifer! But read it all. This is refreshing; its so absurdly uncommon!” - -The girl continued: - -“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord -appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not -to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of -the Holy Ghost. - -“And she shall bring forth a son, thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he -shall save his people from their sins. - -“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of -the Lord by the prophet, saying, - -“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and -they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with -us. - -“Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had -bidden him, and took unto him his wife.” - -Miriamne again read “Joshua” for Jesus, but yet felt assured that her -mother was in heart, recognizing the source of the story. Rizpah, -by silence, pretended not to know she was listening to parts of the -Christian Bible, for she was very curious now. Miriamne was willing the -harmless pretense should continue. But they furtively observed each other. - -“I see; this is a story based upon some of the Christian’s heresies,” -interrupted Rizpah. “If the stories be so unnatural, I’d never fear their -sacred books!” - -Miriamne was rejoiced, for her mother was becoming interested, and that -was nigh being fully persuaded that their home was not contaminated by -the hated Christian’s Bible. Miriamne read again: - - “Mary now was contented. She had the approval of God and - her conscience, and that for which her young heart greatly - yearned the approval of the one man of earth whom she loved. - It mattered little to her that few others knew her wondrous - secret. She knew her position was one of peril, and yet she - felt certain God would be with her to the end. The joy of - Joseph was full, and the revulsion of feeling from crushing - shame, to lofty hope was unutterable. A while before he was - ready to die, as he began tearing from his heart its idol, - and attempting to consign her to the tomb like that of death, - forgetfullness. Now he perceived himself elect of God to - defend, vouch for and shelter the woman of women, the highly - favored of Deity. - -“And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from -Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. - -“And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. - -“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into -Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was -of the house and lineage of David,) - -“To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife. - -“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished. - -“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling -clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in -the inn.” - -“How barbarous! They surely could not have been Jews who kept that inn, -or a woman in bearing would have had tender welcome. They must have been -Christians; they are the people whose women blush when carrying little -life, and, as if ashamed, forgetting that God had royally privileged -them, hide themselves. Bah, I’m sick of the thought! I’ve seen Christian -husbands ashamed of their pregnant wives;” so soliloquised Rizpah. - -“There were no Christians at the time of these events, mother. But shall -I read of the company Mary had, to comfort her?” - -“Yes, do; I’d like to have been there, just to rail at the inn’s folks.” - -Miriamne continued, - -“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, -keeping watch over their flock by night. - -“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord -shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. - -“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good -tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” - -“It is said that even the cave, where Mary was, was filled with supernal -light,” remarked Miriamne digressingly. - -“I believe it on my word. If angels ever come to earth, it must be surely -to hold glad torches about the couches where beings, to be at last -perchance like themselves, are coming forth to life,” said Rizpah. - -“It is thus reported,” continued Miriamne: - -“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the -king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, - -“Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his -star in the east, and are come to worship him.” - -Miriamne substituted Joshua for Jesus in the reading. - -“Joshua, ‘Joshua,’ what ‘Joshua’ is that?” - -“Joshua means “deliverer;” this one was to be such; for the rest, I’ve -not before read it, mother.” - -“Read on, again,” tritely, Rizpah spoke. - -“When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all -Jerusalem with him. - -“And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people -together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. - -“And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by -the prophet, - -“And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the -princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule -my people Israel. - -“Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them -diligently what time the star appeared. - -“And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for -the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I -may come and worship him also. - -“When they had heard the king, they departed and, lo, the star, which -they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where -the young child was. - -“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. - -“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child -with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they -had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and -frankincense, and myrrh. - -“And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, -they departed into their own country another way.” - -Miriamne read ‘The Anointed’ where the text said Christ. - -“Miriamne, who could these men have been, Rabbins?” - -“I think not, mother; I see upon the margin of my ‘_megellah_’ a note -which says, These were light or fire-worshipers of Persia. They, or -rather their ancestors had heard, centuries before, from the Jews, -then their captives, that there was an expectation, based on wondrous -prophecies, that some time, there was to be on earth a man, born of -woman, in character like God and in mission the bringer in of the golden -age. These Magi were seeking that person, like pious pilgrims.” - -“Oh, the Messiah. Alas! we all long for His coming!” Then Rizpah fell -into a revery from which Miriamne roused her with the question: “Art too -weary to hear more?” - -“No, no; read, on. These things strangely move and rest me.” - -Miriamne continued: - - “When eight days were fulfilled, they circumcised the Child, - calling him Joshua, offering, according to the law, a pair of - turtle doves.” - -“Circumcised? Ah, I’m glad! They were good Jews, though poor ones, since -they offered the gifts of the poor, two pigeons,” exclaimed Rizpah. - -Miriamne read onward: - -“There was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man -was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. - -“And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see -death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. - -“And he came by the Spirit into the Temple; and when the parents brought -in the child. - -“Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God and said: - -“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy -word: - -“For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, - -“Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; - -“A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. - -“And Joseph and his mother marveled at these things which were spoken of -him. - -“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold this -child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a -sign which shall be spoken against; - -“(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also;) that the thoughts -of many hearts may be revealed.” - -“How mysterious and contradictory, and yet how true the old man’s word, -Miriamne? He blessed the parents amid their pious services toward their -offspring, yet predicted a sword thrust for the mother. Ah, the sword for -the mother is ever impending! But read further.” - -Miriamne continued: - -“And Anna, a prophetess, who was a widow of about fourscore and four -years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings -and prayers night and day. - -“And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and -spoke of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” - -“What a finished picture, Miriamne,” interrupted Rizpah. “See, a young -mother committing her child to God; a blessing and a sword of pain -revealed; then the finest human sympathy in the form of motherhood -chastened by years coming to encourage her. Oh, the years have sadly -wrecked a true woman if they have put her beyond saying, from her heart: -‘Poor girl, I love thee,’ to her younger sister in her hour of maternal -trial. But what followed?” - -Miriamne replied by again reading: - -“The angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and -take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou -there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to -destroy him.” - -“Ha! the jealous old hypocrite! But I remember, Herod murdered his wife. -A man brute enough to do that could easily seek the life of an innocent -babe. If Apollyon ever be dethroned because of the appearing of one more -devilish than himself, the dethroner will be a wife-murderer!” exclaimed -Rizpah, almost in a passion. - -Miriamne continued: - -“Joseph took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into -Egypt. - -“And was there until the death of Herod.” - -“So Jewry, our Jewry, gave one of its young mothers a stable for a bed -chamber, a manger for her babe; then refused her these by making her an -exile. Cruel Israel said go or be childless! Oh, Israel! how Pagan Rome -defiled thee!” passionately exclaimed the Jewish matron. - -Miriamne paused until the mother questioned: - -“Was there a pursuit?” - -“A hot one, though a vain one; my manuscript reads as follows: - - “Herod had charged the Magi to tell him, on their return from - their quest, the abode of the Child born under the star. He - pretended to desire to pay it homage, but in heart he was - intending to murder it. The Magi, impressed by the goodness - and sanctity of mother and Infant, never returned to Herod to - betray them.” - -“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was -exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in -Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, -according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. - -“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy, the prophet, saying: - -“In Ramah there was a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and a great -mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, -because they are not.” - - “So a dark wave of misery rolled over Bethlehem. Hundreds of - women, weeping over their own dead, were led to understand - the cruel injustice of the spirit that drove the Virgin and - her child into exile, and that, until the end of time, there - will be sorrow in the homes of the land that does despite to - the virtues and characteristics exemplified, so well, by that - mother and that Child.” - -With these words Miriamne rolled up her parchment, saying: “This is all -there is written here.” - -“All? It is well, for thou art weary, child. We’ll now retire; to-morrow -I must speak with thee about the book. Good-night, now.” - -“Good-night, mother.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE QUEEN WITH HER FAMILY IN EGYPT. - - “It is curious to observe, as the worship of the Virgin mother - expanded and gathered to itself the relics of many an ancient - faith, now the new and the old elements became amalgamated.... - The Madonna assumed the characteristics ... of the types of - fertility.”—ANNA JAMISON. - - “Babe Jesus lay on Mary’s lap, - The sun shone in His hair, - And so it was she saw, mayhap, - The crown already there.”—GEORGE MCDONALD. - - -The day following Miriamne’s readings to her mother, she eagerly sought -Father Adolphus that she might receive more of the narrative, delightsome -to herself and evidently interesting to her parent. - -Finding the priest at dawn in one of his accustomed walks amid the ruins, -she scarcely waited for his “Peace, daughter,” until she exclaimed, -“More! I want more of the story!” - -“Hast finished that I gave thee so soon?” - -“Yes, and read it all to my mother! Is that not wonderful?” - -“Temerity!” - -“No; it charms her. She has fallen in love with the child-wife. Oh, what -if my mother should come to think and believe as you—then I would!” - -“Thou mayst alone; but what part of the story desirest thou?” - -“All! Nothing less than all! What became of the Holy Family in Egypt?” - -“Now sit down on this shattered column and I’ll recount to thee the -traditions in order, leaving thee to judge which is true.” - -“Tell me what you believe and I’ll believe it. That’s enough!” - -“I scarcely am able to do that, not knowing whether to believe or -disbelieve some of the things reported. But I remember them, and -perceiving that though they are only traditions, they are very beautiful -and very natural, I remember them with delight, that is very near to -giving them full credence.” - -“Then, so will I do.” - -“It may be the wise way, for I’ve believed that the good angels who, -under God, watched over the little outcast family drifting about in -strange places, have also watched over the drifting stories of their -wanderings, letting the facts profitable for us to know, come safely to -us, though they have come without the seal of authenticated history.” - -“Now, I believe all this, too.” - -“Well, then, ardent catechumen, listen. For three years the queenly Mary, -with her consort and child, tarried in Egypt—” - -“How did they subsist?” - -“Oh, the God of the outcasts Ishmael and Elijah, who provided water for -one and bread for the other of those two, was the One who sent the Holy -Family to Egypt with the charge that they ‘be there until He brought them -word.’ Now, thou hast learned that when God sends any on His work He -charges Himself with their support.” - -“Did they find friends in Egypt?” - -“Thou wilt learn in time, daughter, that two of that family had, as -none on earth before, the secret of making friends. They had the -love-enchantment from on high, which has been winning its way ever since -over the world. But I’ll proceed. There were in Egypt at that time -multitudes of Israelites who had sought its refuge from the persecutions -practiced toward them nearer home. Doubtless these exiles received -Joseph’s family kindly. Also, in all the East at that time there were -many artizan leagues, banded together to aid their fellow-craftsmen. -Joseph being a carpenter, I doubt not, found among these sympathy and -help.” - -“At what place did the family abide?” - -“Tradition says they tarried for a considerable period at Heliopolis, the -city celebrated the world over for its splendid temple, where centered -the Egyptian Sun worship. To me this tradition seems most reasonable, -when I remember that the child of that family was pointed out before, -by a miraculous star, which led the Fire worshipers of Persia to his -cradle. The Fire worshipers of the far East and the Light worshipers of -Egypt were much alike in their beliefs. They were all seeking light, and, -impelled by the necessity of man’s nature for some religion, revealed or -man-made, able to do no better, looked up to the sun, the greatest light -of which they knew. God’s hand was in that meeting of the old and the -new. There is a tradition that when the Holy Family arrived at Heliopolis -all the idols in the Sun Temple fell on their faces. Be that as it may, -the pathos of the poor prayers of the Light worshipers moved the Divine -Mercy to send them the Sun of Righteousness, and all the handiwork of -Rhameses, at On, lies in great, grim silent ruins, while the faith that -had its germ in that little outcast family is overspreading the earth. -Alas, poor Egypt!” - -“Why poor Egypt?” questioned Miriamne, wonderingly. - -“Those living now are so like their ancients who, in fright and helpless -doubt, sought to save themselves by placating both good and evil; the -light struggles in Egypt to-day, entering slowly and often retiring. -Yea, poor Egypt, I pity thee! But I digress. It is said that the Holy -Family also tarried for a season at Memphis, on the Nile, the city where -chiefly was practiced the worship of _Apis_, the sacred bull. Thou -rememberest how Israel was nearly ruined by doing homage to a golden calf -at Sinai? That calf-worship was the same as the Apis-worship of Egypt. -The Egyptians, in common with all mankind of old, earnestly looked for -a manifestation of God in visible form—an incarnation. Their priests -practiced on their pitiful yearnings and credulity, and taught them to -believe that their greatest god appeared from time to time under the form -of a bull, which _Avatars_ they, the priests, claimed that they only -could discover. The Egyptians, highly esteeming endurance and passionate -vigor, readily accepted the animal pre-eminent in these things as the -abiding place and expression of their god. The Child Jesus, the token -of a better faith, was fittingly brought, therefore, to Egypt’s Temple -of _Apis_. Thus the _Light and Immortality_ confronted that typified -grossly at Memphis, and the incarnations that were as false as they were -offensive, were brought face to face with the _Incarnation_ sung by the -angels. The devotees at the fanes of Memphis degraded man by preferring -the beast. He that made man a little lower than the angels first, -afterward exalted him to sonship by appearing garbed in the likeness of a -man. Christ, at Memphis, was to do what Moses did at Sinai.” - -“I do not comprehend these words!” - -“As Moses ground the golden image worshiped by Israel to powder, so -Christ came to overthrow and blot out of the world every vestige of the -religions or believings that exalts the animal and degrades the spiritual -in man. He heralded the age of gold and fire.” - -“And was _Apis_ overthrown by the child?” - -“Not immediately; that is not the way of Him who knows no haste; but -in His own good time its fall came. Egypt, hoar with deep thinkings on -the master problems of life, death, eternity, did much in distant times -to color and express the beliefs of all peoples. It became a school of -religious as well as the theater of some of their greatest, bloodiest -conflicts. Let me recall some of the steps. First, I’ll begin with the -revival of the true faith under Moses, which was the revival of escape, -the only way to preserve God’s people from utter defilement. Thou hast -read in thy Holy writings how the conflict began between the king and -Israel’s leader: - - _And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, - sacrifice to your God in the land._ - - _And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall - sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: - lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before - their eyes, and will they not stone us?_ - - _We will go three days journey into the wilderness, and - sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us._” - -“Why was Moses so anxious to get away so far!” - -“I’ll show thee; that was then a mystery, now explained. Egypt worshiped -a bull devoutly; the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice to God a red -heifer. The color, red, was an antetype of the saving blood to be shed on -red Calvary. Moses, methinks, desired to get away that he might reveal -this sacred mystery, so far as he discerned it, to those to whom it was -sent. Follow me now with pious, frank heart. The Israelites antagonized -the customs of Egypt sharply by offering before God the finer, weaker -animal, and now, girl, as I read of Mary and her child waiting about -Memphis, I discern the past and that present meeting. It seems to me -that He who thundered to Pharaoh ‘_let my people go_’ rëappears in the -form of the child, the pitying shepherd, seeking the lost sheep amid -earth’s offscourings. More, as I think of Mary, the beautiful outcast, -following the fortunes of her Divine Child down into that dark land, and -also remember how His blood finally crimsoned her life, I recall the red -heifer offered on Israel’s ancient altars. Mary, for the world’s sake, -through her maternity, was laid on the altar.” - -“Father Adolphus, you dazzle and yet convince me. How wonderful all this -seems!” - -“I see the Holy Child in Egypt, the building nation of earth, as -the founder of a new order of building. Now follow me, child. After -the garden and the wilds, where primitive man abode, there came the -Tabernacle and Temple. When man enters into the benign influences of -social life, he begins building a house to shelter and seclude his own. -When he takes God or a god into his society he builds a temple. If -there be growth and culture he decorates his buildings, hideously at -first, æsthetically after practice. Presently he becomes a scientific -builder and a philosopher. Then to him life is all building. He grasps -the thought that he is the architect of himself, of his character, of -his future. If his religious life is deepened he expresses all his -philosophy, all his aspirations in monuments and temples. Moses and -Solomon, in tabernacle and temple, but repeated the deeds of Egypt. But -Egypt built under the sun, the patriarchs under the Spirit. Egypt had -done its best, reached the end of its resources, having filled the land -from the Delta to the cataracts of the Nile with pyramidial monument and -august fanes. But building under the sun, in the light of nature only, -was building in the dark, at least half the time. Christ, the architect -of all that is enduring, confronted the achievements of those ancients as -a merciful destroyer. He came to them to turn and overturn that, after -the ruins, their mind be turned to a building upon and with the precious -living Corner-Stone! Try to remember all this. Christianity is on the eve -of a new building age. The crusades are ended. Now for religious palaces! -But these in turn will be thrust aside, that all may give themselves to -build souls up for eternity!” - -“I am dazzled good father, indeed; but oh, I can not remember all these -things! I’m like a child in my love for stories, and I can re-tell such -to my mother, as I can not these deeper things you utter.” - -“I forgot, child. But we priests preach by habit everywhere!” - -“Tell me more of Mary and Joseph and Jesus. Were the Egyptians kind to -them?” - -“As kind as the followers of the Pharaohs to the descendants of Joseph! -No more. There was no more room in Egypt for Jesus at His coming than -there was among His own people. But the God of Moses, ever the living -God, though opposed, may never be thwarted nor killed!” - -“Oh, now do not tell me these things, too deep for me; just tell me the -simple story of the sojourn in that strange land.” - -“So be it, girl. If I digress, recall me. They say that the Holy Family -found in that land a few to accept them kindly. One such was a robber, -who, happening upon them, was at first about to do them violence; but he -was restrained by the demeanor of the saintly mother, and his heart was -all changed toward compassion of the little company. Instead of robbing, -he gave them a temporary home in his mountain retreat. It is said that -he was the one to whom the child of Mary, long after, while dying on the -cross, companion in death with that same robber, gave repentance, with -the promise of Paradise.” - -“How good and natural!” - -“Then there’s another legend. It is that Mary and her loved ones were -met in that strange country by one of the world’s pilgrims of pilgrims—a -gipsy, who was a sorceress. There’s a charming little dialogue, part in -prose and part in verse, all about that meeting, which I have here. I’ll -read it. The sorceress begins chanting: - - GIPSY—I come, I come from the land of the sun, - From the dim, dim past of the far-off dawn; - The waif of the world, the froth of the sea, - Of a clan that has been and ever shall be. - - MARY—God give thee grace and forgive thee thy sins. - - GIPSY—Ye are pilgrims, too; no lodge for to-night, - Ye are outcasts here in a flight of fright! - But the mother charms and my heart say come. - Ye may come; shall come to my gipsy’s home. - -“‘The gipsy, Zingarella, took the babe in her arms, but then suddenly -broke forth into a mournful chant, as she held the hand of the infant: - - ‘Here’s a cradle song, and a tear and a moan; - Here’s a crown of thorns and a cross, when grown. - Here’s a vale of blood and a black, black night. - Here’s a flocking world and a rising light.’ - -“‘And then suddenly falling upon her knees, the gipsy asked alms; but -this time, as never before, with both palms extended and craving neither -silver nor gold, but eternal life. It was granted.’” - -“Oh, father Adolphus, I’ll never forget this story.” - -“Forget not, either, its simple lesson; the gospel comes to the very -waifs of life, and so there is help for the sinning, wherever found, in -the Holy Child; encouragement to all holy longings in the meanest breast -of the meanest woman, once within that circle, all radiant with the -beautiful virtues of that Saviour’s mother.” - -“Surely, I’ll treasure this lesson, which is both balm and heart’s ease.” - -“I must go now, so must thou. I’ll send at noon to the Reservoir, -another parchment. Let one of the lads meet the messenger. It will be -suitable for reading to thy mother, Rizpah. Be not so soon over-hopeful. -We must proceed with her slowly. Those most needing the light will curse -it if, coming too suddenly, it chance to dazzle. Israel still goes down -all unconsciously to Egypt for gods, and the spectacle of man changing -the invisible down, down, continues everywhere. Slowly, we who would be -faithful, must raise up His only true presentment. We must allure after -us, with all wisdom and tenderness, those we would win, while striving -ourselves to rise toward Divine ideals ever beyond and above us. God -bless my little missionary.” - -They parted; and there were tears on Miriamne’s face; but not of anguish. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS. - - “Day followed day, like any childhood passing; - And silently Mary sat at her wheel - And watched the boy Messiah as she span; - And as a human child unto his mother, - Subject the while, He did her low-voiced bidding— - Or gently came to lean upon her knee - And ask her of the thoughts that in him stirred. - - “And then, all tearful-hearted, she paused, - Or with tremulous hand spun on— - The blessing that her lips instructive gave, - Asked Him with an instant thought again:” - - -“Mother, I’ve another volume of that charming story, full of wonderful -things. Shall we peruse them to please our woman’s curiosity, to-night?” - -“Woman’s curiosity?” angrily ejaculated Rizpah. - -“They say all women are inquisitive; do they not?” - -“They! The fling of the ‘lords of earth!’ Eaten up with anxiety solely -concerning themselves, they plunge into introspections and questionings -pertaining to their own worth; the ultimate of their own preciousness, -that they call philosophy. Our sex, in self-forgetfulness, ask questions -out of sympathy, and with desire to help others; that’s ‘curiosity!’ -Faugh, the fling is sickening!” - -“My book is both curious and philosophical; it’s interesting to both -sexes therefore. Shall I read?” - -“On thy promise to tell me later whence it came, who its author, thou -mayst read it to me.” - -Miriamne, perceiving that her mother was curious to hear the whole story, -though the former placated her conscience by a show of indifference, -responded: “I’ll begin with the return of the wanderers.” So saying, she -read: - -“‘But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a -dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, arise, and take the young child and his -mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought -the young child’s life. - -“‘And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into -the land of Israel. - -“‘Being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of -Galilee: - -“‘And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be -fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a -Nazarene.’” - -“Nazarene!” Rizpah ejaculated, interrupting the reader. “Does the word -not taste like wormwood, girl?” - -The maiden replied, adroitly: “We read the pagan inscriptions on the -monuments about us without being harmed! Surely we may safely read these -nobler peoples’ words and deeds.” So saying, the maiden continued: - -“‘Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the -passover. - -“‘And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the -custom of the feast. - -“‘And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus -tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and His mother knew not of it. - -“‘But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day’s -journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. - -“‘And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, -seeking Him. - -“‘And it came to pass that after three days they found Him in the temple, -sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them -questions. - -“‘And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. - -“‘And when they saw Him, they were amazed: and His mother said unto Him, -Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I have -sought Thee sorrowing. - -“‘And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I -must be about my Father’s business?’” - -“That was rude, was it not, daughter? Was not his father’s business -his mother’s? He was young for such philosophy, so like that of tyrant -husband.” - -“He meant God’s business!” - -“Then his earnestness was just. God first, kin after—mother or -husband—say I. Did the mother gain-say him?” - -“It is thus recorded,” replied the maiden. - -“‘And they understood not the saying which He spake unto them. - -“‘And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto -them; but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. - -“‘And He increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.’” - -“Daughter, there was a fine spirit in that house; it was enhaloed by the -girl-wife’s character! No wonder that the son increased in favor with God -and man! He was able to cope with the doctors mentally, yet subjected -himself to his mother. I’ll certify that he was wonderfully like his -mother. The traits of the woman that bore him are prominent in every man -of fine measure.” - -“And are fine daughters, like their fathers,” laughingly questioned -Miriamne, as she glanced at a reflection of herself in a metallic mirror -suspended on the wall before her. - -“Ah, that depends on whether they have wholesome fathers.” Then, turning -her eyes affectionately toward her daughter, Rizpah continued: “Thou hast -enough of Hebrew in thee to leaven thee. Yet, let me plant this in thy -memory, my lamb, destined most likely some time to lie in anguish on the -altar of maternity: Mothers determine beyond all else the fate of the -world by determining beyond all else the characters of their offspring. -Yea, girl, in the homes of industry, the bugle-calls of the soldier, the -moving orations of the holy teacher, there are ever heard echoes of their -cradle days.” Rizpah paused, drew a long sigh, and again broke forth: -“But, alas! men and women walk in pairs. How can the gentler of the -two, alone, or opposed by the stronger, succeed? I’ve seen paired birds -battle the sly serpent, creeping toward their birdlings, victoriously; -paired weakness triumphant over huge danger; and I’ve seen the lords of -creation dropping serpents upon their own mates and their own nestlings! -If one would find a monstrous cruelty, he must needs seek in human -homes!” Then the speaker, pausing, bowed herself, and sat swaying from -side to side, with her hands over her eyes. Miriamne, accustomed to such -action on her mother’s part, and knowing it was best when she was in -such moods to leave her to herself, withdrew quietly. Yet, Rizpah seemed -not alone to herself, for her mind was peopled with ghostly forms from -her gloomy past; all painful companions, but still courted by the woman -in her periods of morbidness. Presently she slept; the sleep of sorrow, -that mercy balm of nature which comes to pained or wounded humanity -as the power to grieve or ache is exhausted. The sleeper passed from -consciousness of things about her, followed by the forms that had haunted -her memory, and was soon among the wonders of dream land. Then came to -her the sound of mighty contentions, and it seemed as if opposing forces -were in conflict concerning herself. Rizpah, of the ancient, seemed to -be trying to drag the dreamer toward seven crosses supporting seven -stark forms. The babel of contending voices was silenced by others, -exulting, as if in victory. There was a change; the sleeper seemed to be -lifted up from caverns unutterably deep, and suffocating, upon a ruby -cloud, soft as down to the touch, but irresistible in uplifting. She -was borne swiftly, over vast realms of space, toward a golden gate-way -with tomb-like arch, whose cross-shaped portal swung invitingly open. A -river of light spreading to a sea, and vibrating with sense-entrancing -melody, flowed outward through the mighty gate-way. On either side of -the portals, and moving along the river, were many glorious beings. The -latter soared on wings of mighty sweep, whose motions seemed to beat -in accord with the melody of the flowing light, while, from within and -without the gate-way, there came the sound of countless voices, all, -as it were, mingling in the triumphant swellings of a grand anthem. -The dreamer discerned in the anthem two words, repeated over and over, -tirelessly: “_Glad Tidings!_” “_Glad Tidings!_” “_Glad Tidings!_” The -golden gate became rose-tinted; the color deepening to purple and gold -as down the stream of light there floated an island of gardens, and on -the island appeared two human forms; a youth and a maiden. The anthem -“Glad Tidings” continued; but sweeter, louder, deeper than before. And -the sleeper perceived that on the wings of the glorious beings there were -emblems; red crosses, about each cross a ring of fire; above the crosses, -bejeweled silver cups; then she knew that the twain on the island were -bride and groom. The scene changed; there was a consciousness of a flight -of time. She looked again, and on the island she beheld a mother lovingly -bending over a babe; over mother and babe tenderly bended a man, by the -pride and the affection he expressed, attesting himself the husband and -father. Rizpah was enraptured, and in her dream she prayed the scene -might tarry. She was nigh being envious of that happy mother. But her -prayer was denied her, for soon she was startled by a voice at her side, -saying, in tones of mournful rebuke: “Farewell, forever!” - -The dreamer, looking about, beheld in her vision, her ideal, Rizpah; but -the latter was wonderfully changed. Her eyes were dim and sunken; her -form dwarfed, bowed and age-shriveled. Suddenly the whole vision faded -into thin air, and Rizpah, of Bozrah, awakened filled with condemnation. -Before she fully realized that she had been dreaming, she cried out: - -“Rizpah, oh, Rizpah, tarry a moment!” - -Silence was her sole reply. Little by little, as she collected her -thoughts, she comprehended that her vision, while sleeping, expressed -the facts of her life while waking. The heroine girl-wife of Nazareth, -the newer, finer, surer, truer ideal of womanhood, was demolishing in -the mind of the woman of Bozrah her former idol, the lioness of Gibeah’s -hill. She knew this, for she found herself contrasting the two ideals, -and in mind lingering by preference and with the greater delight about -conceptions of the younger. Then began the struggles of the giants in -her conscience; clean truth against hoar prejudices; sweet mercy against -bitter revenge; Mary of Bethlehem against Rizpah of Gibeah. The matron -of Bozrah, usually hitherto so self-sufficient, was changing. She felt -that yearning inevitable in the career of most women for a confidant. She -could not sleep; she could not now go down to get inspiration by standing -before the grim Rizpah-painting, in the lower room; she was miserable, -lonely and restless. - -Mechanically, she moved toward her daughter’s chamber, some way feeling -that even a sleeper would be company to one so lonely as herself. Rizpah, -alone, at night, in the grim, giant house, groping her way toward -Miriamne’s sleeping place, was unconsciously illustrating her soul’s -quest. She was in heart seeking alone, and in the dark, some one to take -the place of her demolished ideal. Had the queen of women been there, in -person, Rizpah, then, would have welcomed her. She groped her way to the -maiden’s couch, feeling that, as she believed, her daughter was pure -and good and loving. Could the matron have analyzed her own feelings, -she would have found that she was in part led toward Miriamne because -the latter some way seemed like, or near to, the girl-wife who was -supplanting in the heart of Rizpah of Bozrah, the wild Rizpah of Gibeah. -A cloud passing let a flood of silvering moonlight full on the sleeper’s -couch, and Rizpah, feasting her eyes, murmured: “I wonder if that woman -of Bethlehem were not very like this maiden?” As the mother gazed on her -offspring she presently began noting features in the sleeper’s face that -reminded her of the absent father and husband. She recalled him as he -appeared under the palms that night at Purim, and as he was that day he -lay pale and bleeding in her all-giving arms. The whole past, that was -delightful, came trooping up, and with it there came the full light of an -old love revived; a renaissance of that she had supposed buried forever. -Soon the aged woman, all youthful again within, was mentally in hot chase -after the pleasure she had parted from so hastily long years before. She -was glad of her thoughts, for they were rejoicing; glad she was alone, -for the thoughts seemed sacred. It was no use, had she willed, to resist; -so she just gave up to the impulse, and with a half-suppressed cry, -passionately twined her arms about the sleeping girl, and covered the -face of the latter with burning kisses. - -The maiden started up in affright, breaking the spell that swayed her -mother, but only in part at first. Rizpah was almost angered by the -awakening, which caused the vision her soul was embracing to take swift -flight. Her first glance seemed to say to the now awakened girl: -“Begone, intruder! Leave me for a time alone with—” but she recovered -herself, and was silent. Yet her mind ran on after the vision. She had -not been embracing the girl, but the girl’s father, in heart. Had he -happened there then, he would have been all-forgiven, all-welcome. So -wonderful the heart of one capable of deep loving as well as deep hating; -so wonderful the nature of such a woman as Rizpah, when her emotions, -aroused, spread their throbbing pinions to soar at the behest of revived -affection. “Human passion,” sneeringly some may say, and truly. But -human passion is a gift of grace. When it travels along right lines, -it quickens the one enriched by it to the noblest deeds. He whose name -is Love came to earth through the Incarnation to show the splendor -of human affection, working at its best in the kingdom of its finest -displays—the home circle. The fate of Eden made men believe a lie, but -Bethlehem refuted that lie for all time. Rizpah turned bitterly from -the fiery, disappointing love she had experienced to stamp all loving, -except parent love, a mockery. She had nursed her false creed, and -suppressed her rebel heart by adoration of the wintry ideal of Gibeah. -Now she was touched by a new influence, and it was to her as the touch -of spring to winter-prisoned nature. For a few moments daughter and -mother contemplated each other; the one as if dreaming, the other full -of wilderment. Then the former quietly said: “I’ve been very nervous -to-night. I’m quieter now, and will go to rest. Sweet dreams follow thee, -daughter.” - -The maiden composed herself to sleep, and the elder woman passed out of -the room. The latter, in going, perceived on the floor-slab a parchment, -and bore it away with her. She said within herself as she did so: “It is -best for Miriamne that I know of her reading.” But, after all, she was -very curious to know all about the new matter, of which she had recently -heard a part, on her own account. The writing, that of a masculine hand, -ran as follows: - - “MIRIAMNE:—As I promised, I have herein recorded, for the - help of thy memory, further facts about the Bethlehem Mother, - MARY. Keeping constantly in heart the wonderful words of the - angel Gabriel, she followed with constancy the wanderings of - her Son as He went forth to heal and preach. She heard with - pride and joy that a Dove of Peace from heaven overshadowed - Him at His baptism in Jordan; but immediately she was plunged - into anxiety, for he disappeared from the haunts of men - in a prolonged absence. This was during the time of His - temptation in the wilderness. He returned to gladden her, - but immediately set forth to new trials, labors and dangers. - The young Miracle-Worker was denounced and driven from among - the people of His youth. Tradition points to the very place - where his mother fell fainting, when she saw the people of - Nazareth dragging her Son to a precipice by the city, with - intent to cast Him down to death. At that place of the mother’s - overcoming the Empress Helena builded the sanctuary called the - ‘_Church of the Terror_.’ But that loyal mother never wavered - in her allegiance to her Son, but, shortly after these things - formally, publicly, bravely, received baptism at His hands in - Jordan, at Bethabara. Indeed, this act on her part evinced - not only the faith of a disciple, but the zeal of motherhood; - her Son’s cause seemed to be failing, and she espoused it to - strengthen it in its most trying hour. She was willing to dare - all things to win for her Beloved a possible gain, however - small. - - “The gathering storm grew darker about the Carpenter’s Son, - and the leaders of the people were planning His destruction; - but He pursued his work of healing and teaching serenely; His - mother constantly hovering near him to encourage Him. She - heard that John the Baptist, son of Elizabeth, the herald of - her own Child, had been slain because he had been true to - God. The harlots of the Court of Herod had procured John’s - death, because that holy man had rebuked their vices. But even - this shocking event did not overawe the mother of the Founder - of the New Kingdom. She stood in splendid contrast with the - murderers of the prophet. It was purity, almost single-handed, - against lust corseleted by the nation; two phalanxes; one of - few, the other of many; but, as common in this world, each - led by a woman. Mary, like a parent bird fluttering over her - nestling, sought by the fowler, hovered around her offspring. - She exemplified the finest, fullest utterance of faith, ‘Jesus - only,’ by determining to break up the home in Nazareth, in - order that all the family might keep near the beloved One in - His journeys. So it happened that when He was near Capernaum, - working Himself nigh unto death, they visited Him to persuade - Him to rest. Of this it is written: - - ‘_While He yet talked to the people, behold, His mother and His - brethren stood without, desiring to speak with Him._ - - ‘_Then one said unto Him, Behold, thy mother and Thy brethren - stand without, desiring to speak with Thee._ - - ‘_But He answered and said unto him, Who is my mother? and who - are my brethren?_ - - ‘_And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and - said, Behold my mother and my brethren!_ - - ‘_For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in - heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother._’ - - “To all He herein proclaimed the doctrines of His kingdom, - self-denial, and though the words seem harsh, they were most - kind, for by them He said, as it were, to His disciples: - ‘Behold these all-sacrificing relatives of mine are twice - related to me; by blood and by sufferings.’ It was, on Jesus’ - part, a public adoption of His own family. As He had been - publicly adopted from on high when He typically submitted to - death in His baptism, so when He beheld His mother, having - forsaken all to be with Him, he proclaimed those that had - elected to share His sufferings His kin indeed. The sword of - His suffering bitterly wounded her when the rabble howled - after the Healer, “_Thou wast born in fornication._” But He, - amid all His engrossments, never forgot to minister to His - mother as a courtly, reverent, loving Son. These words of a - holy book not only speak of the workings of the providence of - God, but assure us that He that uttered them was prompted to - comfort His own widowed mother: ‘But I tell you of a truth, - many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the - heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great - famine was throughout all the land; - - “‘But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a - city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.’ - - “And now for the present I close with all holy salutations. - - “A. VON G.” - -[Illustration: By P. R. Morris. - -THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS.] - -Rizpah was so engrossed with the matter of the letter that she scarcely -observed the initials at its end. As she turned the letter over there -fell into her lap a pictured parchment. It represented a woman, half -kneeling and with arms outstretched toward a beautiful child, the -latter balancing, and, as it were, taking a first lesson in walking. -“That woman’s face is some way very like that of my Miriamne’s in -beauty and thoughtfulness,” soliloquized Rizpah. Then observing a tent -in the picture, at one side and under the tent, the form of a strong, -dignified man, she again scrutinizingly exclaimed, “In truth, that face -is Harrimai’s! How like my father!” For some time she sat considering the -group, and then again spoke to herself: “Ah, I see, these are none other -than the girl wife, husband and child of whom Miriamne has been reading! -But what an improper legend at the bottom? ‘_A sword shall pierce through -thine own soul also!_’ A sword has no place in that happy group!” And -Rizpah still gazed at the charming presentment. Suddenly she started from -her seat. “What’s this?” she cried as she traced a dark cross made by -the shadow of the child’s outstretched arms and reaching from his feet -to the mother’s bending knees. “I have it now; the cross is the sword! -Some of the Nazarene heresy, the witchery of the ‘Old Clock Man!’” Rizpah -flung the picture from her as if it were a serpent. She thought she saw -a paramount duty, and without an instant of delay she hastened back to -Miriamne, this time in angry mood—Rizpah of Bozrah, the fanatical Nemesis -of heresy. - -“Here, girl! Whence this book of devils!” - -Miriamne, in fright, leaped from her couch, and Rizpah, laying hold of -her arm, half dragged the bewildered, trembling girl to the adjacent -apartment. “These?” imperiously questioned Rizpah, as she pointed -vehemently toward picture and manuscript lying together on the floor. - -The maiden, overcome by the suddenness of the stormy outbreak, spoke -tremblingly, pleadingly: - -“Oh, mother, forgive me if I’ve done wrong! Father Adolphus, the old—” - -“Oh, yes, the old wizzard! he gave them to thee,” interrupted the mother. -“Enough! ’tis as I expected; the Christian’s doctrine of devils!” - -Miriamne reached forth, mechanically, to take the denounced objects, but -Rizpah at once intercepted her, spurning them with her foot. - -“Don’t touch the leprosy! To-morrow we’ll hire some Druses beggars to -burn them!” - -“But, mother, they are not ours; we must return at least the painting; it -cost great labor!” - -“Leave that to me! Now, further and finally for thee, rash girl, -I’ve commands. Listen! Thou art never again to meet or speak to that -hoary-headed old wizzard, Von Gombard.” - -“But, mother—” - -“No evasion nor compromise!” - -“I can not treat the kind old man that way. He is so good, and all the -people, Jews and Gentiles, love him,” pleaded Miriamne. - -“Enough! and, in brief, meet him or speak to him again, and I’ll disown -thee! I’d drive thee, daughter of mine though thou art, out of my home to -starvation and pray God to send all the plagues written in His book to -haunt thee, while thy life remained, rather than tolerate heresy!” - -So saying, Rizpah fell upon her knees, as if even then to utter an -imprecation. - -In terror the daughter ran to her, and shielding her eyes from the -parent’s anger-distorted countenance, she pitifully cried: - -“Mother! Oh, mother! Don’t curse me! Save me! save me!” - -The elder woman’s body swayed and dilated as if she were possessed of -some furious demon, checked and muzzled, but struggling to break forth. -Evidently the pathos of the daughter’s appeal touched some responding -chord of mercy, for the mother restrained herself and then suddenly arose -and swept out of the bed-chamber. And yet Miriamne was not reassured; she -felt the fascination of dread. With trembling her eyes were riveted on -the open door; her ears heard the heavy, stately, threatening, departing -footsteps, and great misery overwhelmed her. She felt, if she could not -express it, that the breakers of a mighty wrath were heaving and tossing -in that bosom on which she had hitherto rested when in pain or peril. -She knew the meanings of those wavy motions, so like those of the boa -retiring for renewed attack. She saw them passing up and down the form of -Rizpah as the latter went out, her eyes burning, her body dilating. She -had observed these things in her parent before, but never as now directed -toward herself. - -In terror and anguish Miriamne fled out of the old Giant-house. There -was relief and a sense of getting more truly under the sheltering wings -of God in getting out under the serene canopy of heaven. So, often, the -grief-stricken seek solitude, absence from all that has crossed and -hurt, separation from all earthly, in a lonely appeal to the Holy and -Loving. And so these two women, bound to each other by the strongest -human ties, needing, because of their isolation, each other supremely; -after all, loving each other with a choice, tried love, willing each to -endure any cross, even unto death, for the other’s weal, and both anxious -to serve God loyally, went apart. They exemplified the cross-purposes -and misunderstandings that beset and mar life’s pilgrims. They needed -sorely, both of them, pilot and beacon; some one to inspire as well as -to exemplify all that is best in womanhood. The need was patent, but the -remedy but dimly discerned. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE MISERERE AND THE EASTER ANTHEM. - - “Under the shade of His mighty wings, - One by one - Are His secrets told, - One by one. - Lit by the rays of each morning sun, - Shall a new flower its petals unfold, - With its mystery hid in its heart of gold.” - - “But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon - their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord the - veil shall be taken away.”—II Cor., 3:15. - - -Midnight and moonlight were in Bozrah, and midnight and moonlight were -in Miriamne’s heart as she wandered out into the city. She did not -see her way further than to know it must be some direction other than -toward her home. That place all her life hitherto the dearest spot on -earth, was become her dread. As she moved away from it she did not -look back. It seemed to her that there was an angry cloud enveloping -it; a cloud holding a furious thunderbolt. As she went on, she rapidly -passed through a series of painful feelings; those that naturally beset -the runaway girl. First she felt very reckless, then, surprised at -her recklessness, then very lonely as if every tie that bound her was -broken, and then affrighted as she thought of confronting the great, -strange, selfish world alone. A woman so young and so inexperienced; a -bird with half-fledged wings, thrust out of the parent nest into a storm; -altogether a pitiable creature. In the moonlight of her conscience, -after a time, she dimly discerned a line of duty. It seemed to her -that it were best for her to turn toward the church of Adolphus, and -she resolutely turned thither. Before the resolution she had walked -aimlessly; now with an aim and with some soul comfort. She did not have -power to analyze her feelings; had she had such power she might have -discerned the fact that she was turning toward something her reason told -her was very good, therefore the soul comfort came as the harbinger of -conversion. As yet the moonlight within, like that without, was not -strong enough to resolve the shadows in and about her. She knew, and -that alone, certainly, that she was miserable, wounded, bruised. So -storm-beaten, in a flight from the ancient Rizpah and her counterpart, -Rizpah of Bozrah, the maiden naturally turned toward the place where -there seemed rest, escape; the haven known to all the troubled and sick -of the Giant city. With a great throb of joy she at length drew nigh -the Church of Adolphus. All was silent about it; but its up-pointing -spire, emblem of eternal, aspiring hope, rest on a rock, stability—in -grand contrast with the grim ruins God’s revenges had scattered in dire -confusion all around, assured her. She remembered then that she had -heard some say that they had been blessed beyond all telling, in hours -of trouble, by the services of that sanctuary. She perceived that the -church, from spire to portal, was flooded with silvering moonlight, -while all beyond and around it was in shadows; then she wearily sank -down by a small porch near the great entrance. As she sank she moaned a -broken prayer: “Oh, God, take me!” Utterly overcome, she wished for a -moment for death’s release; and death’s similitude, fainting, sometimes -sent in mercy, came over her. How long she lay unconscious, she knew -not. She was suddenly aroused by the stroke of a muffled bell; she -opened her eyes and beheld forms gliding out of the darkness into the -chapel. For a moment she felt a superstitious fear that chilled her. She -vaguely remembered that that bell had been wont to toll thus solemnly -when there was a funeral. Simultaneous with the thought she questioned, -Was she herself dead? But she quickly collected her thoughts and then -comprehended that there was to be a midnight service in the chapel. She -remembered that Father Adolphus was wont to have such, at intervals. She -longed to taste the joys within of which she had heard, and was at the -same time restrained, lest by entering she should in some way part from -her mother and the faith of her childhood forever. Conscience and desire -waged war with each other, and the girl was too much excited to stand -still or to reason clearly. She, therefore, mechanically moved through -the open doors with the throng, out of the darkness into the light. -Once within the place the grateful sense of peace and the splendors of -the various appointments, beyond all she had ever before experienced, -engrossed all her thoughts. The lofty arches, the well wrought pillars, -the niches, in which were here and there saintly paintings, the lights, -disposed so as to produce an impression of seriousness and rest, the -hum of subdued voices, all came to her as balm. At the east she beheld -a silver altar, velvet draped; on either side of it lofty columns with -golden plinths and capitals; just back of the altar, in a light that made -the face of the presentment more beautiful, she discerned the image of a -woman, splendidly robed and jewel-crowned. For a moment she thought she -was looking upon one living, for the crowned woman was so beautiful, so -much a part of the place, and seemed so inviting. She contrasted her, -in mind, with the terrible picture of Rizpah. Just then, with little -persuasion, she could have run toward the woman, back of the altar, and -plead for sympathy. The feeling was momentary. Little by little the truth -dawned upon her, and she thought, “this represents the beautiful Mary of -Father Von Gombard.” Then the moonlight within the maiden’s soul began -to change into dawn. She gazed and gazed, and as she was so engaged, her -thoughts took wing for heaven and her soul cried within itself as a babe -for its mother. She knew not her way, but she knew she needed and yearned -for a guide as pure as heaven and as serious as God. Her meditations -were interrupted when she perceived the place growing darker about her, -the forms of the congregation now becoming like so many moving shadows. -All around her bowed their heads as in prayer, and, impressed by the -solemnity of the place, she did likewise. There was a long silence. The -hush of death was over the place, the only sign of life the stealthy -movements of a tall, dark-robed personage, who glided about the chancel. -The tower bell tolled again, once, twice, thrice; its muffled tones, as -they died away, being prolonged, then caught up and borne onward with -organ notes which filled the trembling air with entrancing melody. Then -the organ tones softened and died away into subdued minors. “How like the -sighings of autumn evening breezes, before a rain,” thought Miriamne. -The place again was full of melody, the organ being reinforced by lutes -and dulcimers, played by unseen hands. But the worshippers were silent; -all bowed, apparently, in prayerful expectation. It was all new and -exceedingly impressive to the maiden, and she was carried along by the -spirit of the hour. - -The draped figure passed down from behind the altar-lattice and moved, -on tip-toe, from one to another of the worshipers. Miriamne was curious, -yet frightened. “What if he came to me?” The question she asked herself -made her tremble. If it were the priest, she was sure he would be very -kind and yet how would she explain her absence at that hour from home? -She was alert to hear the words he spoke to others near her, and when she -did, she took courage. They seemed just such as she needed. She knew the -voice; it was that of Father Adolphus, in the tenderness and triumph of -one filled with unearthly hopes and heavenly sympathy. The cadence of his -voice accorded with the plaintive tones of the organ. Miriamne’s heart -fluttered like a caged bird, back and forth, from yearnings to fears, -as the priest drew nearer and nearer to her. She yearned to hear spoken -to herself his balm-like benedictions; she feared, lest recognizing -her, he should reprove. He seemed about to pass, as if not perceiving -her. Now more intensely she yearned and dreaded than before. She could -not restrain herself, and so she sobbed aloud like a child in pain. The -priest tenderly placed his hand on her head and softly said: “_If we -confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us -from all iniquity._” - -“Oh, Father Adolphus,” she sobbed, “is this for me?” - -The priest started, but quickly recovered himself, and again spoke in -the same tone as before, his voice rising in accord with a triumphant -strain of the music: “_He died that we might live!_” Miriamne clasped and -passionately kissed his hand. - -The place had become darker, little by little; the organ tones meanwhile -growing deeper and more solemn, while voices from an unseen choir -blended with them. Miriamne, recognizing, from the words of the singers, -the penitential Psalms, followed the worship with deepened interest -from the fifty-first to the fifty-seventh of the sacred songs. They -expressed the pains and tempests of her own soul as they voiced sublimely -sin-beseeching pardon. The Christian and Jew were for the moment made -akin. The man at the organ was a master of his art, and while handling -the keys of his instrument, he also played on the hearts of his hearers. -He was aiming to reproduce Calvary, its scenes, emotions and meanings, -and he succeeded. The devout assembly, following the motive and movement -of the composition, was led mentally to realize the journey from the -Judgment Hall to the Crucifixion. There were measured, mournful, dragging -tones; Jesus bearing his heavy cross; then followed discord and confused -uproar, the voices of a mob. Later on there were dirges and silences, -followed, as it were, by blows and ugly cries. The nailed hands, the -uplifted cross and the sneers of those who passing wagged their heads, -were all revived to the imagination. With these sounds, from the first, -there ran along a sustained minor strain, sometimes nearly obliterated, -at other times ruling. It was as mournful as the sigh of the autumn winds -amid the dying leaves and night rains. In the color and movement of that -minor there was feelingly expressed the deep, poignant, undemonstrative -sorrow of the mother that followed the thorn-crowned and scourged Son -to his martyrdom. Then came a long silence, broken only by the fleeting -whispers here and there. The worshipers were in earnest prayer. They -were at the cross, as the friends of Jesus, in earnest communings. -Again the organ broke in on the silence; there was a rush of air as if -some one passed in rapid, terrified flight, followed by a sound like -swiftly departing footsteps; the fleeing disciples came to the minds -of the worshipers. Then the organ tones deepened to the rumblings of -approaching thunders—heralds of a climax of catastrophies, while above -the rumblings a solitary, piercing voice, which ended in a thrilling, -agonizing cry: “_My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!_” Following -this came peal upon peal from the organ; louder and louder; discord and -confusion; ending in mighty crashings. The rocking earth; the earthquake; -the rent veil—all the tragedy of Cavalry—was presented in awful realism -to the minds of the kneeling worshipers. Every light had been quenched, -the temple within was as dark as a tomb, and not a sound could be heard -but moans and penitential weepings. To one any way superstitious and not -knowing the intent of the presentment, the whole would have seemed very -like the realm of the lost, filled with damned souls, making pitiful -last appeals to mercy; but to the worshipers there came a vision of a -stark, dead form on a cross, standing out vividly against the darkness -of Calvary around that cross the amazed, condemned crucifiers and a -few disciples, the latter whispering about the burial. The realism was -oppressive and some present cried out, as if by the bier of a loved one, -while some fainted away. But the Healer was there. Father Adolphus, with -a voice full of tears, with the pathos of Him that went down to preach -hope to “the spirits in prison,” spoke to the penitents of peace, light -and glory through faith. As the old Missioner went from one to another -the lights of the chapel, one after another, reappeared. Presently the -aged consoler stood by Miriamne: “Hast thou felt the power of the Cross, -my child?” - -“Oh, Father Adolphus, I do not know; I only know I’m very wretched!” - -“‘Godly sorrow worketh repentance’; but thou wert as happy as a bird thou -thoughtst and saidst a few days ago?” - -“I was a bird—a girl then! I’m a woman now. I’ve lived years in hours.” - -“Any sudden trouble?” - -“Oh, yes, a tempest and tempests.” - -“Possess me of all, daughter.” - -“I can not. It’s every thing. I seem so useless and nobody loves me!” - -“Thou art too young to be morbid and art greatly beloved by ONE.” - -“Oh, I can not come to Him. I’m under His ban; I do not honor my parents. -How can I? One, my father, I never knew. I’ve seen him through my -mother’s eyes, and to despise. Now I am afraid of her, and my terror is -poisoning the love I once felt for her. Oh, I’m miserable, lost! Father, -Father, save me!” And the wretched girl flung her arms passionately about -the old priest. - -“Ah, girl, I can not; but there is One that can save.” - -“Save, save me—one so lost?” - -“He is a ‘Prince and a Saviour.’” - -“I do not know Him. He can not love me, and one must love me to save me; -I’m so needy and wicked.” - -“Well said, and He is love. Only believe.” - -“I don’t know how to believe.” - -“Like a poor, sick babe, all need, thou, amid thy weaknesses, hast power -at least to cry.” - -“Cry? What shall I cry?” - -“‘Help thou mine unbelief.’” - -Slowly, by wisely simple gospel-counsels, the aged teacher lead the -penitent girl Christward. As they communed the congregation departed, -and an attendant lighted the lamps. Presently the music of the organ -again broke forth; but now in cheerful and triumphant strains. Miriamne -listened, and as she did, a change came over her countenance. Her dawn -was coming. - -“Art looking up, daughter?” - -“This music is like spring morning melodies, and I’m singing to it, in -soul, I think.” - -“It is the morning song of souls; the angel’s greeting to Mary. Observe -the words; first the ‘Hail Mary’ before the wondrous birth; then the -serene assurance of the mourning mother at the grave, ‘He is not here, He -has risen.’” - -“Ah, Adolphus, how blessed are you Christians in a religion all mercy, -all songs, all love, and all nearness to God!” - -“‘Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.’” - -“I would I could hear Him say as much to me; but I can not go, come, nor -do any thing else; not even stay away; I’m a bit of wind-drifted down!” - -“Come all ye heavy laden,” measuredly replied the priest. - -“Oh, if there were some one to bear me onward; blind and weak as I am!” - -“He carries the lambs in His bosom!” - -“Alas, I feel myself cowering away from His Holiness, when I attempt to -approach Him alone!” - -“All to Him must go alone, in prayer as in death. He meets with a -plenteous mercy the confiding ones who come by sorrows’ thorny path, -as He will meet the needy in judgment who have only faith’s plea. Fear -not to go alone; solitude has its benefits, and He is sole accuser or -excuser. The terms of His rebuke are eternal secrets, as are the terms of -His forgiveness. They lie alone, between the Blesser and the blessed.” - -“Is the lovely woman there, your Mary?” - -“Yes, child.” - -“And she was the mother of this Saviour?” - -“Yes.” - -“And was He like her?” - -“He is, eternal; the ‘I Am’—not was nor shall be—always.” - -“Oh, yes; but is He like the woman?” - -“In my soul I so believe, to my joy; for she was godly, therefore, -God-like.” - -“Then I can love Him, trust Him, and I’m sure He’ll pity me, at least.” - -“Amen,” piously ejaculated Father Adolphus. Then he said: “Now child, -rest; it’s too late to go home. My sister, yonder, will care for thee -till morning, and then thou must hie to thy home. Thou yet mayst be its -peace-maker and blesser.” - -Easter-tide came. All nature was serene and seemed to recognize the -memorial of holy, happy association. Father Adolphus was astir early to -ply his industry of mercy for the suffering. “Poor, unhappy land, and -unhappy because so blind! Oh, man, man, how thine eyes are holden, while -fatlings, birds and flowers rejoice!” - -“Ah, unbenumbed by sinning, they, like the cattle in Bethlehem’s stable, -are first to see the Saviour born of woman. ‘Praise ye the Lord, beasts -and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl. They shall not hurt -nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the -knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’” Thus soliloquized -the old priest as he passed toward well-known haunts of misery in the -Giant City. - -Miriamne was called to a late breakfast by the kindly sister of Adolphus. -The aged woman said little, but every act seemed freighted with motherly -interest, and was like balm to the heart conscious chiefly of loneliness -and wretchedness. The maiden longed to have the elder woman solicit her -confidence, but the latter did not respond to the mute, though manifest -desire. “It is better so. God’s work is best done in an hour like this, -when He alone is left to searching and counsel.” So thought this aged -minister. Experience under Father Adolphus had given her this wisdom. - -The coming of evening brought to the little religious house its master -all cheerful, yet well wearied by a day of ministering for God. - -“Art here yet, daughter?” was his first greeting. - -“Yes; where else should I be? I’m friendless, lost, unhappy; even to a -vague longing for death; but I’m frightened at that longing, since it -seems as if I was as friendless in Heaven as on earth. Oh, it’s awful to -be a two-fold orphan!” - -Just then the church-bell rang forth a merry peal. - -Miriamne looked a question, and the old priest continued: “Hark, it’s the -pæan of peace, declaring that the Day Spring from on high has visited all -those in the shadow of death.” - -“Another service?” - -“Yes, the best of all. We cling to the hours of this day and battle night -away in joy, thus declaring our hope in the resurrection, the end of all -nights. Listen, that’s my organ, the one I myself made.” - -Miriamne listened, and there was wafted to her an Easter anthem; at -intervals containing the sentence: “Thou that takest away the sins of the -world have mercy.” - -As they passed into the chapel, the maiden remarked: “There are more -women here than there were at the other service?” - -“The other celebrated death; the chief pain-maker of woman’s life; for -they live in love whose ties are constantly sundered by man’s last enemy. -They are allured by the beautiful things, the joys, the hopes of our -Easter service. It proclaims eternal victory over the destroyer.” - -“How beautiful the woman’s form back of the altar, good Father, to-night.” - -“Our moods within appear to us on objects without. So strangely the -Kingdom of Heaven, beginning in the soul, spreads everywhere. It is -natural, though to think that the resurrection time brought all joy to -the childless mother: to this one as it did and does bring a thousand -times to other mothers, like her bereaved.” - -The Easter service went onward, a succession of joys; the march of a -pilgrim army with the goals in view; the triumph of truth, the crowning -of life, the final discomfiture of death. Miriamne brightened as the -service advanced; then came a fullness of joy; then a reaction and she -finally fell into a sleep akin to a trance. It was the resting of the -wounded on the way of healing. There was a Divine overpouring and a -babe-like sleep of perfect trust; from this the voice of the priest -aroused her! - -“Miriamne seems to rest.” - -“Oh, such a dream! I followed the songs to the sky and wished my body had -wings. God lifted me up and I slept, dreaming myself into His presence. I -thought I was in heaven.” - -“Thou art near it, child.” - -“Oh, this wonderful calm! What makes me so happy?” - -“Hast thou any token?” - -“I do not know: I murmured as the people sang these words: ‘_I know that -my Redeemer liveth_;’ as I murmured that, every thing, got brighter, and -I felt no more under the yoke and load!” - -“He is thy Vindicator. ’Tis well.” - -Then tears coursed down the old man’s face. - -And so the girl that fled out of her home, away from the phantom of -Rizpah of the ancients, away from her mother; a pilgrim; all wants, -all yearnings, in a few brief hours, had found a city of refuge, an -everlasting hope and was in soul serenely resting. - -[Illustration: By Mengelburg. - -JESUS AT THE AGE OF TWELVE WITH MARY AND JOSEPH ON THEIR WAY TO -JERUSALEM.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -A HEROINE’S PILGRIMAGE. - - “There is a vision, in the heart of each, - Of justice, mercy, wisdom, tenderness - To wrong and pain and knowledge of the cure; - And these embodied in a woman’s form, - That best transmits them pure as first received.”—Robert Browning. - - “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to - thy word.”—MARY. - - -Miriamne, the day after her conversion, at evening, was sitting in -the portal of the church at Bozrah, musing. “Oh, how I thank Father -Adolphus for showing me the way to this peace!” The western sky, to the -maiden’s rapt imagination, seemed very like the gate of Heaven, and in -her meditations she exclaimed as if talking to those in glory, yet near -to her: “Mother of my Saviour, I need a mother! Thou and I, two women, -loved of the same Lord, shall we not evermore be friends?” Then the stars -glittered through the fading sun light like night-lamps, set along the -parapets of that far off city, and the maiden felt as if heaven’s doors -were being shut. She was oppressed with a sense of being left alone, -and thereupon cried out, “Oh, Jesus, Jesus, do not leave me here in the -dark; Oh! thou mother, sainted and happy, may I not be where thou art -until morning?” The cry or prayer of the girl, having in it much of the -poet, little of the skilled theologian, was one likely to be censured -by those adept in stately forms, and yet it was very natural. Miriamne -was but an infant in experience and had yet to learn that after the -resurrection came Pentecost; then the Ascension. Steps like these are in -the believer’s experience; conversion is a rising from the dead to be -followed by the assuring work of the Holy Spirit, then Heaven. But the -soul quickened from the charnel-house of sin and inducted, not only into -a new inner life but into a new fellowship, hungers for more and more. -Hence, it is a common thing for the young convert to wish to die, and be -away from life’s turmoils and defilements at once and with the glorified, -immediately, forever. It is as if the disciple would pass at once from -the sepulcher directly up the Mount of Ascension. In this spirit Mary -Magdalene pressed forward to embrace to her human heart the newly risen -Saviour that morning when he tenderly restrained her. There was something -for her to be and do before the final rest on the Divine bosom, in -unending rapture. “_Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended_,” as if He -would say, “I myself, have other work yet, before the eternal gates are -lifted up for my triumphal entrance as the King of Glory.” “_Go to my -brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father._” -The master words were, “Go;” “say.” The load Jesus put on His followers -was the same in kind, though infinitely less, that He took on Himself. -Some way it was love burdening with blessing, for He that in dying agony -sent the Rose of His heart, Mary, to the home of John instead of at once -to Paradise, knew surely that then for her that was best. “To go” and -“tell” was best for Magdalene, as to stay and work for a time is best for -all: - -So Miriamne’s prayer, though so worded that it would have been censured -by the learned churchmen, was heard in heaven, and He that said: “My -peace I leave with you,” ministered, all unseen by human eye, to that -lamb, bleating alone amid the dark giant castles of Bashan and the darker -castles of fears that hover not far from each new-born of His Kingdom. -She passed from repining, from morbidly wishing to die and from thoughts -solely of her own weal, to the second stage of experience; that stage, -where the young convert is influenced with a burning zeal to tell of the -blessings found and thereby win others for the Saviour. Miriamne soon -felt desire inexpressible to run and tell others of her joy. Then her -mind recurred to her father, living somewhere far to the westward, just -beneath where she had fancied the gates of heaven were a little while -ago. “No, no; I cannot go yet! I must stay here and do something. Oh, I’d -be ashamed to go to heaven and leave my father, my mother, my brothers, -my people in their misery!” As she thus spoke she pulled her hand quickly -down by her side. The motion like to one pulling away from some leading -influence. A voice at hand spoke: “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall -neither slumber nor sleep.” - -Miriamne, with a slight startled exclamation, turned to see whence the -voice and with joy beheld Father Adolphus. - -“Oh, dear Father, I’m glad you came this way! I want to tell you above -all others how happy you made me.” - -Solemnly and tenderly the old man replied: “‘Not unto us, oh Lord; not -unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth’s -sake.’” - -“Yes, He has done it; but you helped, good teacher; and I am so happy! -Oh, I do not know myself! I feel so changed. I’m growing wiser, happier -and stronger every minute.” - -“If so, then, He that called thee, daughter, had a purpose.” - -“I know it; see it; feel it. I’m called to help my people; to bring -together Sir Charleroy and Rizpah.” - -“Say ‘my parents’; it’s more filial.” - -“Yes, but it’s so strange. I call them in my mind now all the time by -their names. It seems as if I belonged to another family; that of Jesus, -Mary and the Angels.” - -“A child of the Kingdom, indeed! When thy parents are converted, the -family tie will be revived. Thou dost feel the love of heaven; the great -eternal family bond, as Christ when he said: ‘My mother and my brethren -are these which hear the word of God and do it.’” - -“But if I hope to bring my parents together I must go first to my father -and persuade him. I know my mother will object to the journey. Can I -disobey her and still please God?” - -“Ask God. I have for thee, and already see thy way. I have already acted -in this matter.” - -“I can not forget the law in that I learn that ‘He that setteth lightly -by his father or his mother is cursed.’ Among our noble ancients, the -Maccabees, the disobedient child was even stoned to death.” - -“But thy salvation puts thee under the Gospel, although, under the Law -even parents had duties; they were forbidden to make their children walk -through the idolatrous fires. What says Jesus to thee?” - -“I do not know whether it be His spirit or not; yet all the time I hear a -voice within me saying: ‘These twain shall be one.’” - -“I see thy soul abhors this actual divorcement of thy parents. Oh, how -some play hide and seek with their consciences around forms as these do; -not comforting but hating each other; not bearing together their common -burdens; wide seas between them, yet fancying they have violated no law -of God, because they have not asked the law of man to do what it never -can, truly, proclaim two, neither having committed the deadly sin, apart.” - -“This separate living is their constant sin?” - -“He that starts wrongly repeats the wrong anew each time that, by act or -thought, he approves the wrong first done. Sin’s name is truly legion.” - -“What an awful thing is sin!” - -“True, daughter. It blinds its victims here, and its wages hereafter is -death.” - -“That’s why I fear to disobey my mother; what if it be sin to do so?” - -“The command, my child, is ‘children obey your parents—_in the Lord_.” - -“What does ‘in the Lord’ mean?” - -“I’ll tell thee, my little catechumen; there comes a time to some youths, -in pious life, when duty to God compels disobedience of parents; as it -came to Jonathan, son of Saul. God is Father and mother to the righteous, -and His law must be first. Mary left home and every thing, first and -last, to follow Jesus. Her way was the Christian’s.” - -“I thought once I was right in obeying my mother without question. Now I -think I may be right in disobeying without question. The old and the new -law are at war within me.” - -“Amid these Bashan hills Paul, the Holy Saint, traveled, led of God from -thinking that directly opposite to his former beliefs, the truth. Jesus -met him then on the way to Damascus, in power and in glory; Paul had been -for a long time a profound scholar, a Pharisee of thy people. On this -journey, enlightened by the spirit, he asked and learned sincerely to -ask, the question of questions in this life; ‘_Lord what wilt thou have -me to do?_’ I beseech thee to ask it daughter, as thy hourly prayer.” - -“Did God answer Paul?” - -“Yea.” - -“How?” - -“The blessed apostle tells all! ‘When it pleased God who separated me -from my mother’s womb to reveal His son in me, that I might preach among -the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, ... but -I went into Arabia.’ Neither wife, friend, child, nor Ephesian Elders, -clinging with tears, could hold him back from duty. Then he preached -through this wild country.” - -“But I’m not Paul, and only a woman.” - -“‘Only a woman!’ She out of whom went seven devils, a woman, was the -herald of the resurrection, and the church; God’s glory in the earth, is -likened unto a woman. Oh, when a woman is clothed with the Sun, there is -nothing more resplendent, and as for power, naught prevails against her. -It seems to me if thou dost emulate her who said to God’s messenger: -‘_Be it unto me according to thy word_’ thou wilt go ere long to thy -father; but thou must now return!” - -“Return whither? This spot of all earth alone tolerates me!” - -“No, that’s changed! Thou art the Child of a King. Go home; ay, rise to -tell of the One that hath risen in thy heart.” - -“Dare I? Must I?” Miriamne soon answered, by action, her own questions. - -The young woman started homeward; at first with fearfulness. Then there -came to her great calmness and courage, as she thought: “If I was wrong -in going, I’m right in returning. My mother scared me from home into -God’s arms. I can tell her that.” The new life had quickened within her -the springs of affection. In all her life before she had not been so long -apart from her mother. She said to herself, “I’ll just spring into her -arms, when I meet her!” And she would have, if permitted. - -The mother with a face like a stone, emotionless, saw her approach. When -the latter stood by the threshold, the parent freezingly said: “Well; -what dost thou want here?” - -A dozen answers pressed for utterance. Some like those shaped by an -angry or reckless girl; some such as might come to a politic woman, -having recourse ever to cunning against the odds of power. The first -thoughts were not of love, the last not of truth. In an instant Miriamne -remembered her new personality. She was the missionary! She dared, being -right, face any thing, even her mother’s wrath; but in her soul she dared -not let bitterness rule. She knew as well that she dared not tell the -truth so as to convey a false impression. She might have done so once; -but not now. “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” the golden prayer was -on her lips and she had instant grace to say quietly: “I was doing no -wrong.” - -“Was where?” - -How brave the girl had become. Her reply was calm and courageous. “I was, -for a time praying to God; but safe, for God was with me in the Spirit -and good Father Adolphus in the flesh.” - -“The Old Clock Man!” - -“Yea.” - -“The wizard! I so suspected. Here is more of this bad work;” and Rizpah -angrily thrust before Miriamne a scroll. “That fawning, heretic-priest -came here and left this with mock piety saying: ‘I, being the mother, -might read it!’ I had no humor to converse with him; but of thee I demand -the full meaning. Now, no avoidance, girl; dost thou hear!” Miriamne was -not only not abashed, but in her new-found courage took the letter, and -without a quaver of the voice, read: - - “TO THE GRAND MASTER OF THE TEMPLE, LONDON. - - “_Faithful Knight and Son of the Church_: - - “GREETING—I herewith commend to thee and thy most pious and - chivalrous offices, my beloved catechumen, Miriamne de Griffin, - of Bozrah. She is the truly noble daughter of an English - nobleman, now living somewhere in London. He is, I fear, - prodigal toward God, and an exile from his family; perhaps in - the distress of bodily ailment, most grievous. Prompted by holy - desires, this young woman, whom I commend, may come to thy - city in the hope of finding her father, for the compassing of - his restoration to health, his family and righteousness. Had I - the power, I would command the thousand liveried angels, said - ever to attend the Holy Virgin, to encompass ever this sweet - and pious daughter of Knight de Griffin; but being impotent to - direct the angel guard, I serenely commit my daughter in the - spirit, to the watch, care and chivalrous regard of thyself and - thy companion knights. - - “All saints salute thee. My benediction be on thee. _In pace._ - - “ADOLPHUS VON GOMBARD.” - -“And _thou_ dost think thou couldst go alone, half round the world, find -that renegade wanderer, bring him here, make him good, tolerable, and -re-unite our family? THOU?” Rizpah stopped, her voice almost at the pitch -of a scream; her utterance ending in a groan that died with a hiss. - -Miriamne responded calmly: “I can not tell what I may achieve, that is -with God; but I know what I must attempt. The path of duty is clear, and -I enter it unwaveringly.” - -“And I, as unwaveringly, forbid.” - -“I expected this command, and in all love for thee, my mother, shall -disobey it.” - -Rizpah turned pale, her eyes became leaden. She was for an instant like -one stunned by a sudden, heavy blow, and disarmed. The little submissive -child that she deemed her daughter to be, was suddenly transformed before -her; changed in fact to a firm, strong, brave woman. But the elder -quickly recovered, and while clearly perceiving that violence would be -futile, had recourse to the last arm of the half-defeated, to ridicule. - -“Disobedience, oh, I see, this is a part of this superior religion of -thine and that old ‘Old Clock Man;’ this Gombard, ha! ha! It was always -so. New religions please by freeing from law! What an old idiot that -Solomon of the ancients! He taught ‘forsake not the law of thy mother.’” - -“Mother, I have two parents and obligations to both. I find our home -shattered, and I for most of my life half orphan. I have thereby great -and lasting loss. My brothers and you suffer as well. I am led of God, -in a desire to seek a remedy for our troubles. I would gladly obey your -edicts, but first I must obey my Maker and King.” - -“Girl, false teachings lure thee to a curse.” - -“You know mother, you yourself cursed the memory of Herod not long ago, -when we wandered amid the ruins at Kauawat and saw the remnants of his -image, as angry Christians left it, shattered years ago. That day you -said a curse on him that broke up families or made innocents mourn, -whether he lived anciently or now.” - -“Well?” - -“I say a curse, bitter, on every act that breaks up or beclouds a home! -But not I, it is God that curses!” - -Rizpah was speechless and withdrew from the room, motioning silence -with a stately, angry wave of her hand. She was defeated in the debate, -but not subdued. The next day Rizpah renewed the subject, but this time -adopting the tactics of kindness. - -“My darling, since yesterday I’ve been thinking thy good intentions -worthy of approval for their spirit of love. I’d approve thy purpose did -I not forsee that the great sacrifice on thy part would be fruitless. Thy -father and I could never live together! If thou foundst him thou couldst -not love him as he is, and, as for reforming him, that were impossible!” - -“I must try.” - -“’Tis useless; a woman as wise, as patient, and as earnestly seeking -that result as thou, gave years of devotion, deep as her life, to that -purpose. They failed utterly.” - -“Was that woman my mother?” - -“Yes, listen. In the glorious romances of youth I met Sir Charleroy. -I pitied him coming to our house a defeated Crusader, a refugee. Pity -gave way to admiration. There were few about me whom I could love; I had -no mother. In some way I gave him her part of my heart first, then the -rest of it. I admired him for his soldier-like bravery. He was older and -vastly wiser than I. All my ambitions seemed to be satisfied in climbing -up with his thoughts. He was able to teach me a thousand things I never -before heard of. Heart and mind were intoxicated. I unconditionally -surrendered all to him, with an almost worshipful devotion. I could not -have made a more complete committal if my God had come in human form -and sought me for His everlasting companionship. I fled with him from -my father’s home. In the wild Lejah and this Bozrah we lived for a time -together, until he changed from lover to hater! Here my unnatural love -was murdered by inches. I can now reason better than then, and yet the -past seems like a nightmare. Thy father knew a great deal, intended to -be kind but did not comprehend the dangerous responsibility of taking to -his care such a passionate, imaginative, impressible creature as I was. -He did not realize that there is a period in a woman’s life when she -may be literally made into another being. In every generation women are -walking by thousands through a sort of passion week. I walked in mine, -ready to be molded almost into any form; but he tried to have me profess -to be a Christian, live like a devotee of Astarte and be as Anata of the -Assyrians to her husband, but the echo of himself. I might have done all -this, but he tried to hasten me by force, and then all fell to ruins like -those amid which we lived. That glorious structure of love which romance -built, became the saddest ruin here in those days. - -“I was then a young woman, just entering the perilous, exhaustive periods -of maternity. I was weak and nervous, and sometimes may have tried his -patience, but I thought then that he ought to have borne with me. I am -now certain he ought. After he left, I was for a time glad. I had renewed -freedom from arguments, rasping and crossing of purposes. Then I felt -the martyr’s joy. I felt I was left, a girl-wife, with babe in arms, to -battle alone, for God’s sake, for thy sake. It seemed often that the -arching heavens above were smiling upon baby and me; that sustained me. -But, daughter, my moral training had been as thorough as has been thine. -My idea of the solemnity and life-bindingness of the marriage tie could -be no higher than it was. I believed it divine to be forgiving, and -finally was impelled to turn from our broken home, to find, if possible, -my recreant spouse. Dominated by convictions of duty, and often by a -revived, wild, soul-possessing love for Sir Charleroy, I went to far -off, strange London, I hunted out Sir Charleroy and was ready to be all -things, any thing for his sake. He received me tenderly, only to soon -change to cruelty. Your brothers were born there, adding to my load new -burdens; but I was without help. He never seemed to study my comfort, -pleasure nor needs. In a nation of strangers, with strange ways, I was -alone. He knew scores; I knew only that one man. Repulsed by him I -drank again and again the depths of misery, having no heart in all the -great city to counsel nor love me. Then thy father took delight in vice. -I was crucified for months; my only comfort communing in memory with -the Sir Charleroy that had been, the tender, loving, brave Palestine -knight. In those dark days, I found there was a place where persecuted -Israelites secretly met; a sort of cleft-rock synagogue. Thither I went -for consolation. I was wedded anew to my religion, because it was mother, -father, husband and all to me; when there was none but God left to me. I -came to long, daily, for the time to go to that meeting place of a few -Hebrews just to pray God for two things. One, the most pitiful of prayers -for a mother, that He would care for my children and keep them from being -like their father; the other that I might be permitted soon to die! Thy -father grew constantly more brutal, taciturn and fitful! At last I had -an explanation. I found by unmistakable signs that he was going mad. I -saw further that that madness took the shape of a murderous antipathy -for me and the children. Under the advice of the rabbi, leader of our -people at London, I determined, as the only alternative, to return to -our Bozrah home and leave him to the care of his companion knights. In -blank, leaden grief I left London. I came to these scenes of desolation -with a heart as broken as any that ever survived its pains. I could have -died. I returned, my fate fixed, the cup of my retribution for having -disobeyed my parent full. Once a queenly, blithesome girl, petted and -loved by hundreds, changed to a lone, sad widow and prematurely old. A -wife without a husband, a Jew without the recognition of my people. How -utterly isolated! Thou know’st the rest, daughter.” - -The two women were silent. Miriamne was moved by the revelation to a -wondrous pity; but her royal sentence: “_Lord, what wilt thou have me to -do?_” seemed to be written on the air just before her uplifted eyes. - -Then questioned the elder, “And thou my daughter, a woman, wilt not also -leave me? It’s a woman’s heart that pitifully questions.” - -“I’ll never forsake my mother!” - -“And never leave?” - -“Except, only as God commissions!” - -“Oh, say that thou wilt never leave me in life! I said this in cruel -pains for thee, Miriamne. Miriamne, daughter, here by the couch in which -thou wert born, I plead.” So saying the mother dropped on one knee, flung -one arm over the bed by her side, and stretched out the other toward her -daughter. - -The maiden was profoundly moved, her loving heart seemed to be swelling -within her, all her emotional nature ready to exclaim, “I’ll tarry,” -but again her royal sentence: “_Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?_” -controlled. - -“Loved mother, I am not my own. God has bought me, and in His dear love -I go. The story of sorrow I’ve just heard confirms me in my purpose. I’m -called, I know, to work out a new and brighter day for mother and father!” - -Rizpah was both pained and chagrined, and burying her face in her -_pepulum_ moaned, “God, pity me!” - -“He does, I know, and sends a daughter to bear thee proof, my mother.” - -The mother, as if not hearing the latter words, continued, growing -vehement: “The necromancy of that Nazarine priest has hastened the -workings of heredity’s curse! Girl, thy father’s distemper is taking root -in thy brain; thou too, art going mad! This scheme of peril, foredoomed -to failure, is worthy of a bedlamite only. Oh, Jehovah, my shepherd, thou -lead’st me now by bitter waters!” - -“Mother, you called me at my birth, ‘Marah,’ ‘bitterness.’ You know how -the people murmured by the bitter springs of Marah, in the wilderness, -but God showed Moses a tree that sweetened the water. I’ve seen that -tree and felt its power. It grows on the mount called Calvary, and is -immortal.” - -“Be considerate now, daughter, since I meet thee kindly. To one not -believing thy Nazarene doctrine, it is useless to appeal with Christian -figures.” - -“Well, mother, you remember Jeptha? He had a daughter, and she was -all-influential with him.” - -“He was the cause of her death, as thy father will be of thine.” - -“But Jeptha’s daughter became a heroine.” - -“When dost thou depart?” questioned Rizpah. - -“Next Lord’s day I say my last prayers in Bozrah.” - -“Farewell. As well now as later. I can not bear a long parting, and after -to-day we shall speak no more of this.” Miriamne was amazed by the sudden -change. - -“Do I go in peace?” - -“Ah, daughter, what a question? A mother’s undiminished love will follow -thee even unto death, winging a thousand daily prayers to Israel’s -Shepherd in thy behalf. Yet, I shall condemn thy going, rebuke thy -disobedience, perhaps frown upon thee, and even say, ‘I disown thee!’ -But, though I do all this, there will be tears in my voice and kisses -in my heart, for my first-born. All my authority as a mother cries -against thy going, and all my mother-heart embraces. I’ll not kiss thee -as thou departest, but waft hundreds after thee when thou art gone. I’m -not Rizpah, devotee of Rizpah now. I’m only a woman, a parent, a voice -uttering two decrees; one of the head and one of the heart!” - -Miriamne was inexpressibly rejoiced by the words she had heard, as they -betokened the breaking down of the strong opposition to her purpose; but -she could not trust herself further than to say, as she affectionately -embraced her mother, “And I can only cry as did that noble Bethlehem -mother to God’s messenger: ‘_Be it unto me according to thy word._’ He -leads, I follow.” - -[Illustration: By W. Holman Hunt. - -THE YOUTH JESUS YIELDING TO THE WISHES OF HIS MOTHER.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -CONSOLATRIX AFFLICTORUM. - - “Furl we the sail and pass with tardy oar - Through these bright regions, casting many a glance - Upon the dream like issues and romance - Of many-colored life that Fortune pours - Round the Crusaders till, on distant shores, - Their labors end.”—WORDSWORTH. - - -Miriamne’s welcome at the “Retreat of the Palestineans,” at London, was -most cordial. The Grand Master of the returned knights and his wife -received her as a daughter; the companion knights vied with each other in -efforts to serve the child of their once honored comrade, Sir Charleroy -de Griffin. But the maiden never for a moment lost sight of her mission. -No sooner had she been bidden to rest than she questioned as to her -father’s welfare. The Grand Master attempted to assure her that she might -recuperate after her journey, but she only the more urged her desire to -be taken to her parent at once. - -“Worthy Master, dalliance would not be rest, but torture, to me. Being -now so near my father, I’m filled with a ruling, all-exciting longing to -see him, at once!” - -“Be patient, daughter, for a little season; all is done for him that can -be. The princely revenues of the knights of Europe are at the behest of -each of our veterans, as he hath need.” - -“Ah! but your wealth can not provide him what I bring—a daughter’s love!” - -“And yet, daughter, since you press me, I must explain that he is under a -cloud which would make thy offering vain at present.” - -“There is no need, kind commander, to make evasive explanations. I have -been forewarned of my father’s troubles of mind.” - -“But he is violent at times, and we are compelled to keep him secluded in -the asylum of our brotherhood.” - -“Good Master, that but the more increases my ardor to hasten a meeting -with him. I want to try the cure of love upon him; I’ve all faith in its -efficacy. When may I go?” - -The foregoing was a sample of Miriamne’s words each day. Her appeals -touched all hearts and finally over-persuaded the medical attendants, -who, in fact, began to fear lest refusal would unsettle the maiden’s -mind. She was all vehemence and urgency on this subject. - -The meeting was a sorrowful and brief one. - -She was not prepared for such a spectacle as her father presented, and -her cry, “Take me to him,” was changed to one more vehement now: - -“Take me away!” - -Terror supplemented her utter disappointment. To both feelings there -was added a sense of humiliation. She imagined her return to Bozrah, -empty-handed; the possible gibes of her mother and others. Her great -faith seemed fruitless and her enthusiasm ebbed. Then she began to -question within herself whether or not, after all, the new faith she -had embraced was not a splendid illusion! She was in “Doubting Castle,” -with “Giant Despair,” and the mighty, impelling question, “What wilt -Thou have me to do?” little by little lost its grip on her will. It had -seemed to her the voice of God; now it seemed little more than the echo -of words heard in a dream. She was moved now by a desire to get away from -something, but she could not define the thing. Certainly she desired to -escape her disappointment, but not knowing how, she sought to get away -from its scene. If she could have run away from herself she would have -been glad to have done so. She fled from the asylum, as soon as night -came to hide her flight. She had not strength to go far, and the Asylum -park of many acres of lawns and groves, afforded her solitude; that that -she now chiefly desired. The night the desolate girl thus went forth was -a lovely one; a reflection of that other night of sorrow when she fled -from the old stone-house home to the chapel of Adolphus at Bozrah. And -the memory of that night returned to the girl with some consoling. Again -she looked up to the firmament and was calmed by the eternal rest that -seemed on all above, and again she yearned to go up further to the only -seeming haven of righteousness and peace. - -Then came the reaction; the prolonged tension had done its work, and the -young woman dropped down on the earth. How long she lay in her blank -dream she knew not. If during its continuance she in part recovered -consciousness, she had no desire nor strength to rise or throw off her -weakness. - -Ere long her absence was known at the Grand Master’s and an eager search -was instituted. Foremost in the quest was the young chaplain of the -knights and his quest brought him first to the object of search. - -“Can I aid my lady?” said the chaplain, in kindly tones, standing a -little distance away from her, in part through a feeling of delicacy akin -to bashfulness, and in part fearing lest by any means he should affright -her. - -The young woman lay motionless; her eyes closed; her face as the face of -the lifeless. Receiving no answer, the man questioned within himself: -“Is she dead?” Fear emboldened him, and he essayed active assistance. -Delicately, gently, firmly he raised up the prostrate woman. She seemed -to realize that some one was assisting her, but she was very passive. -Her head, drooping, rested on the young man’s shoulder, and she sighed a -weary, broken sentence: - -“I’m so glad you came, Father Adolphus!” - -“Not Father Adolphus, but one rejoiced to serve a friend of his.” - -The maiden was silent a few moments, as if listening to words coming -to her from a distance, through confusions. Memory was struggling to -re-enforce semi-consciousness. Then came comprehension; she realized -the presence of a stranger, and, with an effort, stood erect. Her eyes -turned on the chaplain’s face with questionings, having in them mingled -surprise, timidity and rebuke. The man interpreted her glance and made -quick reply: - -“At my lady’s services, the Chaplain of the Palestineans. We are all -anxious at the Grand Master’s concerning yourself.” - -“Anxious for me!” She found words to say that much, and hearing her own -words she recalled her recent thoughts of herself, as one being very -miserable and very worthless. She turned her eyes from the young man -toward the woodland, in the darkness appearing like a gateway to black -oblivion. She yearned to bury herself in the oblivion utterly, and her -looks betrayed the thought. The youth gently touched her arm, saying: - -“Despair has no place here; the Palestineans vanquish it.” - -She then looked down toward where she had been lying, both nerves and -will weakening. It seemed to her a bed, even on the earth, were inviting, -especially so if she could take there a sleep that knew no waking. - -The young man had ministered to his fellow-beings long enough to have -become a good interpreter of hearts. He discerned the thoughts of the one -before him, and offered prompt remedies, words wisely spoken: - -“Our faith makes us all hope to see our guest happy ere long.” - -Then she gave way to a flood of tears. The tears moved the man to -exercise His professional function, and forgetting all else he spoke -as a comforter to a sorrowing woman. She listened, but, except for her -sobs, was silent until he questioned: “Shall I stay to guide back to the -‘Refuge,’ or return to send help?” - -She answered by turning toward him a face pale and blank, lighted alone -by eyes all appealing. He interpreted the look and continued: “I’ll tarry -to aid. Shall we now seek the ‘Refuge?’” - -Then she exclaimed, “Alas, there seems no refuge for me!” - -“The troubles of Miriamne de Griffin enlist all hearts at this place, I -assure you.” - -“And this, your kindness, with your happiness ever before me, but makes -to myself my own desolation more manifest! Ah, I’m but a hulk in a dark -tide!” - -“Lady, say not so, I beseech you. Look, there!” Languidly, mechanically, -she turned her eyes in the direction the speaker pointed; then suddenly -drew back from sight of a white apparition, standing out boldly from a -background of dark shrubbery. Her nerves all unstrung were for the moment -victimized by superstitious dreads. - -“Only, calm, pure marble; a fear-slayer; not fear-invoker! Look -at its pedestal!” assuringly spoke the chaplain. The maiden -did as bidden and slowly read, repeating each word aloud: -“_Sancta-Maria-Consolatrix-Afflictorum._” - -“By easy interpretation: ‘Mother of Jesus, consoler of the sorrowing!’” -responded the young man. - -“Ah, like all consolations nigh to me, this is only stone and set in deep -shadows! It can not come to me!” - -“True, yon form is passionless stone; but the truth eternal, which it -emblemizes, is living and fervent.” - -“Life and fervor? Death and sorrow submerge both!” - -“There is mother-love in the heart of God; to one so nearly orphan as my -friend, it must be comforting to look up believing that in heaven there -are fatherhood, motherhood and home! This is the sermon in yon stone.” - -Then the chaplain gently, reverently drew the sorrow stricken maiden -toward the “Refuge” and she followed, unresisting. As they moved along, -she essayed to seek further acquaintance with her guide. - -“May I know the chaplain’s name?” - -“Certainly; to those that are intimates, ‘Brother’ or ‘Friend;’ for such -I’ve renounced my former self and name.” - -“But if I should need and wish to send for you? I might. I could not call -for ‘Brother.’” - -“Ah, I’m by right, ‘Cornelius Woelfkin;’ yet the names are misnomers, -since I’m not kin to the wolf, nor am I ‘a heart-giving light’ as my name -implies; at least if I give light it is but dim.” - -The meeting of the young people, apparently accidental, was in fact an -incident in a far-reaching train of Providences. The young woman was in -trouble and needing such sympathy as one who was both young and wise -could give; the young man was courteous, pure-minded, wise beyond his -years, free from the conceits common to young men of capacity, and being -a natural philanthropist, naturally sympathetic. The young woman was at -the age that yearns for a girl friend, and needs a mother’s counsel; the -young man had much of his mother in his make-up; enough to fit him to win -his way into the confidence and fine esteem of a refined and trusting -young woman; but not enough to make him effeminate. Somehow he exactly -met the needs of Miriamne’s life. He could advise her as sincerely and -wisely as a mother and companion her as affectionately as a girl friend. -Having neither girl friend nor mother, the young chaplain became both to -her. - -They were both impressible and inexperienced in the matters that belong -to the realms of the heart, in its grander emotions; therefore with a -charming simplicity they outlined their intentions and the limitations -of their relations. They assured each other, again and again, probably -in part to assure themselves, that they were to be very true and very -sensible young friends. Their converse often ran along after this manner. - -“We understand each other so well!” - -“Yes, and are so well adapted to each other!” - -“We have had too much experience to spoil this helpful relation between -us, by giving away to any sway of the romantic emotions.” - -“There has seldom been in the world a friendship between a young man and -young woman so exalted and wise as ours is.” - -They agreed that she should call him “brother,” and he should call her -“sister.” At first they said they wished they were indeed akin by ties -of blood; though in time they were glad they were not. In this they were -like many another pair who have had such a wish, and in their case as in -many another like it, the wish, was a prediction of its own early demise. - -Among the works of art in the park of the Palestineans was a commanding -bronze of Pallas-Athene, the goddess believed by her pagan devotees to -be the patroness of wisdom, art and science. She was the Virgin of the -Romans and the Greeks, their queenly woman, deemed by her wisdom ever -superior to Mars, god of war. She was represented bearing both spear -and shield; but these as emblems of her moral potencies. In a word, she -was the result of the efforts of those ancients to express a perfection -that was virgin and matchless, because too fine and exalted to have an -equal. Between the “White Madonna” and this Minerva, Chaplain Woelfkin -and the Maid of Bozrah often walked, back and forth, in very complacent -conversations. They desired themes, the ideals afforded them; they were -in a frame of mind that delighted in Utopianism, and the effigies of the -women guided their day-dreams. Youth, quickened by dawning, though as yet -unperceived, love, naturally begins building a Pantheon filled with fine -creations. That is the time of hero-worship in general; afterward comes -the iconoclastic period when every idol is cast down to make place for -the only one that the heart crowns. Cornelius praised sincerely Miriamne, -when she said she would be as the Græco-Roman goddess—very wise, very -pure, very strong. Day by day, he believed she was becoming like Minerva. -Then he thought it very fine for the maiden to emulate the goddess in -every thing, even her perpetual virginity. Again, walking near the -Madonna and discoursing of her as the ideal of womanhood, as the mother, -the minister, the saint, the maiden said she would emulate the latter; -the chaplain in his heart prayed that she might. - -Once he finely said: “A pure, patient woman is God’s appointed and best -consoler of the afflicted. Miriamne, be like Mary, and Sir Charleroy will -find restoration.” - -The young woman was encouraged by the words to increase her efforts in -her father’s behalf. Now she did so not only because prompted by a sense -of duty, but because filial love seemed a fine ornament for a maiden. -Birds in mating-times put on their finest plumage; men and women do -likewise. The chaplain was a humanitarian by profession, and naturally -joined the maiden in her efforts for her father’s recovery. So their -thoughts and their works ran in parallel lines. They had unbounded -delight in their companionship and common efforts. This delight they -innocently explained to themselves as the natural result and reward of -their fine, exalted, frank, wise, brother-like, sister-like friendship. -In hours of their supremest satisfaction they generously expressed -sorrow for the world at large, because so few in it knew how to attain -such bliss as they enjoyed. In a word, they were a very fine and a -very innocent pair, a complete contrast with Rizpah and Sir Charleroy -at Gerash. The latter took their course under the torrid influences of -Astarte of the brawny Giants, the former moved forward charmed and led by -those things that were held to be the belongings of the fine women whose -statues graced the park of the Palestineans. Miriamne asked wisdom later -of her elect counselor, and he advised her to send letters to Bozrah -urging her mother to join her in London, in efforts in behalf of their -insane kinsman. - -The young man very wisely argued: “He is a fragment, flung out of a -wrecked home; his perturbed mind is clouded by the wild passions of a -misled heart. We must balance his brain by calming his heart. He is -filled with hatings, and love alone is hate’s cure. If the past losses be -recovered, he must be brought back to the place of loss.” - -Miriamne wrote to her mother, glad to please her counselor by so doing, -and yet almost hopeless of gaining any answer that was favorable. The -maiden renewed her visit to her father’s lodge in the asylum. She was not -permitted, nor did she then desire, to see her parent. She shuddered when -she remembered the one dreadful meeting of the beginning, and was content -to sit outside the door of his cell or keep, day by day, to perform such -little services as she could. Sometimes she would call the insane man by -his name, or title; sometimes she would call out: “Father, would you like -to see Miriamne?” or “Father, your daughter is here.” At other times she -would sit near his door singing Eastern songs, especially such as she had -heard were favorites of her parents in their younger days. - -Days passed onward, and there appeared no result beyond the fact that -when she was thus engaged the knight became very quiet. At the suggestion -of Chaplain Woelfkin, she changed her method, and began in hearing of -the knight a recital of the history of Crusader days. In this she was -encouraged, for an attendant told her that her father each day, when she -began, drew close to his barred door to listen. As she came near the -time of the Acre campaign, the knight’s face was flushed with interest. -Having followed the narrative up to the fall of the city and the flight -of Sir Charleroy and his comrades, she paused. Then she was surprised -and delighted at once, for the incarcerated man in a voice both calm and -natural, ejaculated the words: “Go on!” - -Miriamne would have rushed to the prison door had not Cornelius, who -stood not far away, motioned her to remain seated and to continue. For a -moment she was at a loss how to proceed, but then she bethought herself -of an experiment. She described by a kind of a parable the career of her -father, as follows: - -“And the noble knight, after years of illness, was found by his loving -daughter. Under her kindly care he recovered, and at her earnest request -he returned to his home in Palestine. There he spent many happy years -with his reunited family, consisting of a wife, daughter and twin sons. -He is living there now, and all that family agree that theirs is the most -happy and loving home on earth.” - -“It’s a lie! a lie!” almost shouted the lunatic. “Sir Charleroy is -not there. He went mad; the devil stole his skull and left his brain -uncovered to be scratched by a million of bats. That’s why he went mad; I -know him; he went mad, and is mad yet, and you get away with your lying!” - -The daughter fled in terror at the succeeding outburst of wild profanity; -but she was still rejoiced, that a chord of memory had been struck. It -gave a harsh response, yet it gave a response, and that was much. She -continued her efforts as before. The interviews were not fruitless, -but they were costing her fearfully. She complained to no one, yet her -youthful locks, in a few months streaked with silver, told the story of -suffering. - -One day there was delivered at the Grand Master’s a huge package directed -to herself. Miriamne, filled with wonder, called help to open the case. -Just under the cover she beheld a letter. She knew the handwriting. It -was her mother’s. Her heart took a great leap, and as a flash of joy -there ran through her mind the thought: - -“Mother has sent something to help. Perhaps it’s her clothing, and she is -coming!” - -Tremblingly Miriamne read the epistle. How formal: - - “MIRIAMNE DE GRIFFIN:—Thou went’st without my leave. Do not - return till sent for. Thou left’st a loving mother for a - worthless father, and this is a daughter’s reward. Thou dost - say Sir Charleroy is mad. I knew it, and think that the curse - is descending on thee. But I doubt not the man has cunning in - his madness, and has prompted thee to inveigle me into his - toils again. Once he had me in England, and there he put me on - the rack of his merciless temper and lust! Shame on him for - that time! Shame on me if he have opportunity to repeat it! I - send thee a comforter. Put it before his eyes, and tell him - that the woman of Bozrah is before him. Tell him that she, like - Rizpah of old, is true to the death to her sons, and, while - waking, never forgets to curse the vultures!” - -No love was added. There was no name appended. Miriamne felt like one -disowned. She dreaded to examine the contents of the case; but a servant, -who began the opening just then, spread it out. As she suspected, after -she had read the letter, it was the (to her) hateful picture of ancient -Rizpah. - -It was evening, and the maiden sought a refuge from her troubles in the -park. It was, on her part, another flight from the face of Rizpah of -Gibeah; another seeking of solitude from man that she might gain that -sense of nearness to the Eternal Father under the calm, silent stars of -His canopy. It was like that flight from the old stone house of Bozrah to -the chapel of Father Adolphus that she had made long before. - -The maiden’s course brought her to the “White Madonna,” and there she -found her counselor and brother, the chaplain. He had heard that Miriamne -was desponding that day, and had bent his course hither, confident that -the “_Consolatrix Afflictorum_” would prove a tryst. The scenery around -Pallas Athene was the finer by far, but to a troubled heart there was the -more allurement in the place where the love of heaven was expressed. -The Minerva expressed self-sufficiency; the “White Madonna,” God’s -sufficiency. One expressed justice, culture, the perfection of human -gifts, regnant and victorious; the other spoke of welcome, healing, -mercy, and help for those who were in pitiable needs. The virgin evolved -by the philosophers of the Greeks was a concept touching but few of -humanity, and fitted to be crowned only in a world of perfections, such -as has not yet existed. The “White Madonna” depicted a real character who -had a human heart and heavenly traits, and that easily found acceptance -in human affections. - -The maiden and her counselor sat together for a long time; she speaking -of her social miseries, he of God’s remedies; she describing the -thickness of the night about her; he telling her in beautiful parables -that there was a refuge and an asylum, though the night obscured all for -a time. As they conversed the rising moon flooded the “White Madonna” -with silvering light, and the chaplain rapturously exclaimed: - -“See, the moon gets its light from the sun, and gives it to the image. We -do not see the sun, but we see its work and glory reflected! So God hands -down from heaven to His children, by His angels and ministers, the powers -and blessings that they need. Miriamne, we have a Father who forgets none -and is munificent to all!” - -[Illustration: Paul Veronese. - -THE WEDDING AT CANA.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE WEDDING AT CANA. - - “I would I were an excellent divine - That had the Bible at my fingers’ ends; - That men might hear out of this mouth of mine - How God doth make His enemies His friends; - Rather than with a thundering and long prayer - Be led into presumption, or despair.”—BRETON. - - “Hear ye Him. Whatever He saith unto you, do it.”—MARY. - - -Chaplain Woelfkin heard of Miriamne’s reply from her mother. He was both -glad and sorry thereat; sorry the heart he tenderly esteemed should have -been so wounded, and glad that the wounding afforded him opportunity to -show how gently and wisely he could comfort. - -“Your trial came at a fortunate time, sister.” - -“I can not see how such a rebuke can ever be timely, being unjust and -cruel.” - -“True enough; but if fate must assail, it is well to have its hardships -fall on us when we are supported by dawning hopes. There are hopes near -for Miriamne.” - -“Let not my brother’s warm heart give me false comfort. I’ve no sight of -hope.” - -“Say not so; there is a surprise in store for you.” - -“Now, pray, explain.” - -“You will be permitted to meet your father at the chapel service -to-night.” - -“Oh, but—!” and Miriamne bowed her head and waved her hand as if to repel -some unpleasant spectacle. - -“Be not perturbed, sister. Let me explain: You came hither to seek -your demented parent, hoping that love would find a way to compass his -healing. The purpose and effort were alike noble and wise. You lost heart -because the results were slow to appear; but the good seed was sown, and -now for the fruit.” - -“Has my father recovered?” - -“He has improved, and to-night we’ll sit quietly while we apply the balm -of Gilead.” - -“Now am I in a mystery.” - -“Miriamne’s ministries have touched a responsive chord in Sir Charleroy’s -heart and fitted him to attend our mind-cure services. Love is the surest -remedy for a mind gone down under the ruins of the crushed heart. Sir -Charleroy calls his daughter ‘Naaman’s little maid,’ and but yesterday -said: ‘Ah, she’ll take me to healing Jordan yet!’” - -“Blessed be God,” devoutly exclaimed the maiden, glancing heavenward. - -“To which I say ‘amen,’ assured that great things will come through our -‘_Birth of Peace_.’” - -“And what is that, pray?” - -“We are trying to soothe the tumultuous minds of our asylum patients by -displaying sweet peace in picture garbs. To-night by the aid of a musical -and illustrative service we shall depict, in the chapel, the Birth of -Jesus. But I’ll not explain further now. Wait until the hour of service, -sister.” - -When the people were gathered, Miriamne, glowing with hope, yet silenced -by anxiety, was in the midst of the assembly. The preliminary services -moved slowly along with a studied absence of hurry. Miriamne could not -give them her attention; she was disappointed because she did not see her -father present, and the chaplain himself was not there. Presently the -music of the occasion arrested her attention. She followed its movement -and found it gaining control of her feelings. There was an organ in soft, -quiet tones leading voices that murmured words of trust and rest. She -followed the flowing tide of melody again and again, each time further, -higher, more contentedly, until one strain, expressive of serene triumph, -lifted her to a very third heaven of satisfaction. There it left her -almost at a loss to say where the melody ceased and the remembering began. - -At that instant, the chaplain passed by her side, robed in white, -hurriedly whispering so she alone could hear: “Your father is behind the -screen of Templar banners, quietly listening. Be hopeful and pray. God is -good!” The words to her soul were as rain whisperings to spring flowers -in a torrid noon. - -Advancing to the raised platform, the young man told the story of -Bethlehem, ending with a beautiful description of the angel song of -“_Peace on earth, good will to men_.” The words of the speaker were -quietly spoken, and his address mostly like that of one conversing with -a few friends; but the words were very impressive. When all had bowed to -receive the benediction, Miriamne, lifting her eyes, beheld her father -sitting, with the flag screen thrown aside, full in view, but clad as -a knight and without manacle or guard. For a moment he sat thus, then -arose and calmly moved out of the chapel toward his lodge. She obeyed a -sudden impulse and rose to speed after him, but the restraining hand of -the Grand Master was laid on her arm: - -“Wait; not yet, daughter.” - -Renewed hope made it easy for her to comply, and she sat down again -filled with gratitude toward God. A series of similar services followed, -each bringing new causes for hopefulness to the maiden. - -“We are going to Cana to-day, sister,” remarked the young chaplain some -weeks subsequent to the “Birth of Peace” service. - -“To Cana?” - -“To Cana, and for a purpose.” - -“I can not fathom it, brother.” - -Then the young man explained to his fair hearer the scripture event, and -the method devised for presenting it at the chapel, as intended that day. - -The patients and their friends were assembled in the chapel again. Sir -Charleroy among them, but silent and absorbed with his own thoughts. - -“We are going to try a device to gain his attention,” whispered the -chaplain to Miriamne. Just then the Grand Master, dressed in the full -regalia of a knight, ascended the platform and uncovered to view a huge -earthen vessel, remarking: “Friends, we want to exhibit this evening a -vessel, on its way now to France, but left for a time in our custody by -some of our comrade Crusaders, who brought it from Cana in Galilee.” - -“Knights,” “Crusaders,” “Cana!” murmured Sir Charleroy, as if in -soliloquy. Miriamne observed her father’s eyes. They were no longer -leaden; they glowed with interest. “You all remember,” continued the -Grand Master, “how Jesus turned the water into wine at Cana? Tradition -informs us that this before us is one of the identical water-pots used -that time by our Savior; but I’ll leave our chaplain to tell the rest.” -The youth took his position at the pulpit and began informally to talk, -as if in conversation, but he had anxiously, carefully prepared for the -occasion. - -He first pictured Cana, with its limestone houses, sitting on the side -of the highlands, a few miles north-east of Nazareth. “This place,” he -continued, “is the reminder of two instructive events. I have their -history here.” Thereupon, Cornelius turned to an illuminated volume and -began reading, with passing comments. As he read, Sir Charleroy closely -watched the reader; the puzzled look of the listener faded into satisfied -attention. - - “Jesus was proclaimed the Lamb of God, near Cana, by that - vehement, self-starving Baptist John. But in habits and manner - of living John and Jesus were utterly dissimilar. There was - harmony in the great things, faith and charity in all things.” - -The mad knight nodded inquiringly. - -The student continued: - - “Jesus, the organizer of the new kingdom, at Cana, unfolded one - part of His policy, for nigh here twain questioned: ‘_Where - dwellest thou?_’ Jesus instantly invited them to His own - abode. They dwelt with Him a day, and were won to be His loyal - disciples, thus attesting the power of Christ in the home. And - they got a home religion, for one of these, Andrew, at once - sought to win his brother Peter to discipleship. On the eve of - Cana’s wedding feast Jesus won Philip, saying, ‘_Follow me_,’ - and Philip hasted to win Nathaniel, crying, ‘Come and see.’ To - these He spoke of a hereafter home with open doors and a holy - family. Each of Jesus’s true disciples was impelled to haste - and tell salvation’s story to his nearest kin. Christianity is - a feast beginning in the home circle and spreading to all the - earth.” - -The mad knight, as he listened, cast a glance of inquiry over his -shoulder at those near him. - -“Sir Charleroy applies the lesson to himself,” whispered the Grand Master -to Miriamne. - -Cornelius went on: - - “Cana was the home of Nathaniel. We see this poor man sitting - in seclusion under a fig tree. Except his doubts, he was alone. - To him Jesus went, and at the door of his own home the Master - met him. Because Nathaniel believed, on little evidence, God - gave him more, and promised him that he should see heaven open - and the angels ascending and descending, as in Jacob’s vision. - So are those winged messengers passing back and forth forever, - to minister to and comfort needy man. One may be lost to the - world, to friends, to himself, but never lost to the Good - Shepherd, who is like the one in the parable leaving the ninety - and nine to follow the lamb that was straying.” - -Sir Charleroy’s head bowed, and Miriamne was glad, for she saw the tears -falling thick and fast down his pallid cheeks. - -A sign from the attending physicians brought the services quietly to a -close. They had seen the emotion of the knight, and desired that the -feelings aroused be permitted to quietly ebb. - -A few days later, by their advice, the Grand Master summoned the chaplain -of the Palestineans to hold another service like the last. “Sir Charleroy -was blessed that last day. He evinces interest and natural reasonings. -Since the former service he has repeated the story of Cana over and over, -together with the substance of thy discourse thereon. Besides that, he -never tires of inquiring about the ‘ruddy priest of the sweet words,’” -said the physician. - -“I obey, my Master, it’s God’s will. What shall be my theme?” - -“Oh, Cana continued; De Griffin is constantly inquiring as to when the -ruddy priest of the sweet words is to continue the tale of the Cana,” -said the Grand Master. - -“Praise the Day Spring that hath visited us!” - -“You echo the thought of all our souls, Cornelius.” - -And it was so that on the day following the chapel of the “House of Rest” -was filled with much the same company that met there the last time. - -Miriamne arrived early and eagerly questioned Cornelius as he passed her -on his way to his robing-room: - -“Oh, brother, hast thou a message of grace and hope for me, to-day?” - -“_The entrance of thy word giveth light_,” was his quiet reply; and he -passed on, not daring to tarry near the woman that so strangely moved -him. He felt very serious, and hence avoided that which might distract -his attention. - -But Miriamne felt assured, while Cornelius was all faith in the efficacy -of the Divine word in working the cure of minds perturbed. - -Presently he stood behind his reading-desk and, waiting until the organ -tone had died away, commenced by reading these words: - -“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the -mother of Jesus was there: - -“And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.” - -Sir Charleroy had entered the chapel, and was moving toward a lonely -seat; his motions were languid; his action listless, except when at -intervals he gazed into the empty air and hissed some incoherent words -at imaginary people. But the word “Cana” arrested his attention. He -looked up, smiled, and then exclaimed: “Oh, the red-faced! That’s it; -tell us more, more of Cana!” - -Cornelius complied. “We have here a story of two lives in the most -precious tie on earth, marriage.” - -Then the chaplain read: - - “We see Christ at a Jewish wedding, and the Hebrew marriage was - ever an occasion of great joy. Not only so, but the weddings - of that people were characterized by very instructive and - impressive ceremonies. Let me explain. The day before the - wedding both bride and groom fasted, confessed their sins and - made ceremonial atonement for the errors of their past lives. - They were to be part of each other, and felt that each owed - it to the other to be free from burden or taint of the past. - Both bride and groom at the wedding wore wreaths of myrtle, the - emblem of justice, constantly to typify that virtue as supreme - in wedlock.” - -“Oh, young priest, thou art an angel!” - -The voice startled all but Sir Charleroy. He had spoken, yet his face -indicated only placidity and interest. Cornelius proceeded: - - “The bride, veiled from head to foot to show that her beauty - was to be seen only by him to whom she gave herself, decked - with a girdle, emblem of strength and subjection, was led in - triumph from the home of her father to the home of him who was - to possess her. Before she took her departure, kindly hands - anointed her with sweet perfumes and gave her priceless jewels; - while on her way she was met by all her friends, singing songs - and bearing torches to gladden her journey toward her new - abode. Thus they that loved the bride did bestir themselves - to bestow bounties and make the maiden most choice. There was - no detraction, no defiling, no effort to belittle. Were wives - aided like brides there would be fewer broken hearts among - wedded women.” - -“Wondrous true, ruddy priest!” It was the mad knight’s voice. Cornelius -continued: - - “The feast of the wedding lasted seven days. To such a - gathering Jesus once went. Probably this was the marriage of - a kinsman. Thus, immediately after His temptation and His - baptism, with His mighty redemptional work all before Him, - our Lord deemed it a leading duty to give proper attention to - this wedding ceremonial, one of the lesser things that make - up so much of life. With man supreme selfishness, or natural - littleness, engenders apathy to all except some pre-occupying - purpose, but He, in whom all fullness dwells, entered into - and embraced around about all life. He was as glorious when - meddling with human joys and making the waters of Cana blush - to wine, as when grappling with the sorrows of sin and setting - Himself up on Calvary the beacon and light of the ages.” - -Miriamne felt the illumination again that first came to her that -Easter-day at Bozrah, while Sir Charleroy’s face glowed with intelligence -and peace. This was a full, round gospel which Cornelius was proclaiming, -and every soul present was fed. - -After pausing for an interlude of soothing music he again proceeded with -his discoursing as one conversing: - -“At Cana, Christ bound as a captive, natural law. How He did so we do not -know, but we do know that while destroying no part of nature’s system -he mysteriously made it serve for human happiness in a way unusual and -marvelous. It seems to me that the story of Cana is a fireside story. No -matter how miserable a home may be, it may have faith that in welcoming -the Divine guest it welcomes assured miraculous joy. Life’s waters may -blush everywhere to heaven’s wine!” - -The mad knight murmured: “Oh, ruddy priest! if thou couldst only preach -this in Bozrah.” - -The Grand Master, who was sitting by Miriamne, pressed her hand and -whispered: “Memory is reviving—praise to the Day-Spring!” - -Cornelius again read his parchment. - -“And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have -no wine. - -“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is -not yet come.” - -“So,” said the reader, “these folks were likely poor, the supply meager, -though no man ever yet had enough of the wine of joy at his wedding until -it was blessed by the God of marriage.” - -Just then Sir Charleroy, standing up, solemnly said: “Young man, I’d have -thee tell these people why He said ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee?’ -He, the man, was master, that was it, eh?” - -“Oh, motion to Cornelius not to debate,” whispered Miriamne to the Grand -Master; but Cornelius was already adroitly replying: - -“True, knight of Saint Mary, but this Master of ceremonies was Divine. -Then He was not talking to his wife. He had not wed this woman, hence -was not bound by the law of being her other self. Besides that we must -not forget that they had often conversed intimately before the wedding; -she with all the tenderness of a woman’s heart, which in its love ever -naturally outruns all plans, all reasonings, to bestow all it has at once -upon the all-beloved. She hurried Christ in the way of giving. This to -her credit, if her wisdom is reproved.” - -The knight settled back in his seat, his face very pale but not -anger-marked. - -Cornelius continued: “The term ‘woman’ is often used, as here, in all -tenderness. Our rugged language ill translates the original. When a -people has not fine moods in its living, its language becomes like -sackcloth, unfit to clothe the angel-like thoughts of those who live on -more exalted planes. The gross degrade all their companions, whether such -be beings or merely words.” - -The leader again read: - -“His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” - - “This shows the good, motherly Mary supplementing the Master’s - work. Doubtless, she had her partisans, some who would have - sided with her had she chosen to rebuke her Son. But she - desired harmony at the feast and in the home. This was the - chief end, and for it she was willing to serve and wait.” - -“Very true! Our Lady was always right and good.” It was the voice of the -mad knight. - -Cornelius continued: - - “These were the finest words Mary ever spoke; they were the - key to her whole life; indeed, the spirit of the ideal woman - ever more standing nearer to Christ than any other being; at a - wedding, the very climax of fullest human love, the gateway to - home, the counterpart of heaven, Mary points all to the Christ, - exclaiming, ‘_Hear ye Him!_’” - -“Our Lady was always a wise, brave, loving, submissive woman,” exclaimed -Sir Charleroy. - -“It is an old tradition,” replied Cornelius, “that this was the wedding -of John, the beloved and confidant of Jesus. It is interesting to -remember that that blessed disciple, in his Gospel, presents the one whom -he loved as a mother but twice—once at this wedding, the other time at -the crucifixion; the places of highest joy, and deepest sorrow; a way of -saying from the altar to the cross, is woman’s course; a parable-like -presentment of the doctrine that the wife and mother are to appear at -these two points, so opposite, so common to all; the lowest dip, the -highest heaven.” - -The mad knight suddenly interrupted them. - -“What did Joseph think of all this?” - -Perhaps this odd query was fortunate, for it brought smiles to all. The -knight laughed out until his eyes were flowing with tears. - -Cornelius, self-possessed, quietly replied: “It is said that Joseph was -dead long ere this wedding, and that Mary was exhaling the perfumes of -her consecrated widowed life to gladdening in pious ministries the people -about her. Widowhood has such purposes.” - -“Ah, she was the Rose,” cried the knight. “If Joseph were not dead, he -might well stand back, behind such a wife!” - -The chaplain of the Palestineans closed with a well-worded climax, -recalling the fact that this event made a lasting impression on the -Son of God, as evinced by the wondrous tropes of the Apocalypse, where -eternal goodness and eternal joy are pictured under the similitude of a -wedding-feast. - -The mad knight cried out: “Grand, grand! Oh, ruddy priest, I worship -thee!” - -The Grand Master signaled the conclusion. The worshipers and patients -were slowly retiring, Sir Charleroy moving toward his lodge seemingly -wrapped in contemplation of some engrossing problem. - -He passed near the picture of “Rizpah Defending Her Relatives,” which by -some mischance had been left near the chapel door. Instantly the knight’s -attention was fixed; he became excited, then suddenly turning to an -attendant, exclaimed: - -“Here, tell me, where am I? Is this London or Bozrah?” - -“London, good Teuton.” - -Again he gazed at the picture, and his transformation was startling. -His face was distorted, his body became rigid and swayed as that of the -hooded snake making ready to strike a victim. Then bounding to the Grand -Master’s side he snatched the latter’s sword from its hilt, quickly -returned to the picture, and before any could prevent him began to hack -it to pieces. - -One tried to restrain him, but was overpowered, two, then three were -flung aside. Presently he was pinioned but not silenced. - -“Away! Unhand me!” he shouted. “In the name of the King of Jerusalem, the -defenders of the Sepulcher, unhand me! Do you not see? There! they’ve -come to make riot at the feast of Cana! Ruddy priest, come quickly. Help! -This fearful gang will all be loose in a moment; they be the ghosts of -the giants, and war everlastingly against the peace of homes; against our -Mary and her Son’s kingdom.” - -He was breathless for a moment, and all were anxious lest he be -permanently unsettled. Some were praying for him, others holding him. -Then he broke forth again as before. - -“Unhand me, infidels! God wills it! Let me cut to pieces yon horrible -thing fresh from hot hell; painted by the gory and beslimed hands of -devils! See! it’s bewitched, and the woman and the hanging men and the -vultures are all alive! They’ll be at us! One of those black birds has -feasted on my heart for years, and yon woman has nightly beaten my bare -brain with her club.” - -They tried to calm him; his daughter pressed to his side, and flinging -her arms about the knight, beseechingly cried: “Father! father! it is I! -Miriamne!” - -“Miriamne? Ha! ha!” cried the excited man. “More mockery! More witchery! -Miriamne is lost, eternally lost! Yon group of demons tore her from me! -Oh, God, if thou lovest a soldier of the cross, hear me, and blast with -burning, swift and quenchless lightnings, yon monsters, and with them all -who separate hearts and wreck homes!” - -“Father, so say we all; let us pray together,” pleaded the girl. - -“Father! Who says ‘father’ to me?” - -“It is I, your daughter, Miriamne!” - -Suddenly, Sir Charleroy became calm and curiously observed the maiden. -“Art thou Sir Charleroy’s daughter? I knew him once in Palestine. He died -afterward in London and left me his body. But it’s not much use. It’s -sick most of the time. I carry it about, though, hoping he’ll come for -it. If thou dost want it thou canst have it.” - -The daughter humored the fancy, and quickly replied: “I do want it. I -love it. I’ll help you take care of it. Let me now hug it to my heart.” - -Then he permitted her to twine about him her arms, and when she kissed -him the second time he returned the salutation, and tears ran down his -hot cheeks. - -“Blessed be the God of peace,” fervently ejaculated Cornelius. “The day -dawns; after tears, light.” - -The knight continued after a time, addressing Miriamne: - -“Sir Charleroy was my friend; and thou art his daughter? Thou wouldst -not deceive me, I know. Tell me in a few words,” he said, meanwhile -furtively glancing about, “Who am I?” - -Miriamne again humored him, and pressing her lips nigh his ear, in a -whisper replied: “Sir Charleroy, Teutonic knight, my father.” - -The old man held her off a little way, gazed at her a moment, doubtfully, -then said: “Thou art large for a baby! Miriamne is a little thing.” -Then he continued: “But thy eyes, they are Miriamne’s; and so honest! I -believe them! Then thou art Miriamne and I Sir Charleroy?” - -“Truly.” And again she kissed her father. - -“But thou dost not want me—a wreck, a pauper!” - -“I do, and the boys do; all Bozrah wants you, needs you.” - -“Not thy mother! Oh, no; I murdered her long ago!” - -“Not so, dear father.” - -“I did, indeed. See,” and he pointed to the painting, “I’ve killed her -again, to-day.” - -“That’s but a miserable painting, and I hate it as much as you do; but -it’s harmless, henceforth.” - -“Are all the devils in it dead; the vultures that ate up my heart?” - -“Yes, yes; who cares for them?” - -“Then I shall get better.” - -The mad knight suffered himself to be led away quietly. There was great -joy among the Palestineans that night. And so Miriamne carried the spirit -of Mary, that presided at Cana’s feast, into the misery of that English -asylum. She had given her life to ministering for others, had begun in -her own home circle, her life motto: “_Hear ye Him_”—“_Whatsoever He -saith unto you, do it._” Now she was rewarded, and began to hope that -there would be the renewal of wedding chimes at Bozrah, that the wine of -its joy would be renewed and sweetened. She questioned the chaplain for -advice. “Tell the Master there is no wine in the old stone house, and -‘_whatsoever He saith, do it_,’” was the young man’s answer. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -“THE STAR OF THE SEA.” - - “Rocked in the cradle of the deep, - I lay me down in peace to sleep, - Secure, I rest upon the wave, - For Thou, oh Lord, hast power to save. - I know Thou wilt not slight my call, - For Thou dost mark the sparrow’s fall, - And calm and peaceful be my sleep, - Rocked in the cradle of the deep. - And such the faith that still were mine - Tho’ stormy winds swept o’er the brine, - Or tho’ the tempest’s fiery breath - Roused me from sleep to wreck and death; - In ocean’s caves still safe with Thee, - Those gems of immortality, - And calm and peaceful be my sleep - Rocked in the cradle of the deep.” - - -Like the morning dawn on a calm sea, after a night of fierce storm, so -came now great peace to Miriamne. The heaviest sorrow of her life was -lifting. Her father was recovering; his mind becoming rational; and chief -of Miriamne’s joys, was the fact that his convalescence was accompanied -by the appearance of a deep trusting love for herself. He seemed to -lean on his daughter for help; cling to her for hope and aim, by every -way, not only to express his sense of dependence on but his deep and -abiding gratitude toward the patient, chief minister, in the mission -of his recovery. He seemed for a long time to be haunted by a fear of -relapse into some great misery that he but dimly remembered and could not -define, beyond a shudder. He dreaded to be alone, and often clung to his -daughter with furtive glances of fear, even as a terrified child clings -to its mother. One day, months after he had begun to be rational, he -addressed Miriamne: “We must soon seek another abiding place, daughter. -Our Grand Master has discharged with overflowing payment, every debt of -hospitality.” - -“True, father, and I’m glad; the thought for weeks in my mind, is now in -yours. But where shall we go?” - -“I think, to France, and immediately.” - -“France?” - -“Yes, there I’ll seek out some of the De Griffins. They may be able to -mend my shattered fortunes, and if I find none of my kin, I shall not be -lacking in any thing, for there are many of our Teutonic knights. While -they prosper, no want shall harass me or mine.” - -“Father, I do not want to go to France.” - -“Why, this is strange?” - -“It seems far away, very far, to me.” - -“Art thou dreaming, my Syrian Oriole?” - -“No, awake! And very earnest.” - -“Why, we could walk thither, were it not for the water.” - -“But I can not go that way!” - -“Well, we can not stay here, so where?” - -“Eastward; Bozrah!” - -“Wouldst thou ask a spirit, by mercy permitted escape from Tophet to -return?” - -“Yes, even that, if the spirit had a mission and a safe conduct.” - -“Thou art nobler, braver than I. I can’t trust the land of giants and -vultures.” - -“The giants and vultures we must meet are in human forms, and such are -everywhere.” - -“There are over many for the population, in Syria and beyond it.” - -“But there have been many changes since you left that country, -especially, in our city,” persisted the maiden. - -“Nothing changes in Palestine or Bozrah, daughter, except wives, and they -only one way; from bad to worse.” - -The young chaplain seconded Miriamne’s efforts. - -Sir Charleroy was spasmodically the stronger, but Miriamne by patience -and persistence prevailed. In time, she won her cause, and the three -took sail for the Holy Land, the knight protesting that he would go as -far as Acre and no further. The journey was slow but not monotonous, -for the English trader on which they journeyed stopped at various -ports. Cornelius on his part was enjoying a serene delight that had no -shadow except when he remembered that voyaging with Miriamne was to -have an end; Miriamne on her part had three-fold pleasure; delight in -her companionship with the young missionary, delight in the continued -improvement of her father’s health, and greater delight still in the -glowing hope of the success of her mission of peace to her home-circle. -As for Sir Charleroy it suited him well to be sailing. He was ever -exhilarated by change; each day brought it. He was in theory a fatalist, -and the staunch ship pushing onward day and night to its destination, -carrying all along, was an expression of the inexorable. Then the -conditions about him rested him, for he was freed from any need of -bracing of his will to choose or execute any thing. He went forward -because the ship went. That was all and enough. Only once during the -voyage did he assert himself or express a desire to change his course. -THAT WAS WHEN PASSING CYPRUS. - -“Here,” he cried, “let me disembark!” - -Persuasively, Miriamne protested. - -“But I must! I’ve a mission. I want to curse the memory of the recreant -Lusignan, the coward ‘King of Jerusalem;’ he that clandestinely stole -away from Acre on the eve of those last days!” - -“But, father, Cyprus is called the ‘horned island.’ I do not like the -name!” - -“I’ve heard it better named, ‘the blessed isle.’ There the hospitable -knights had a refuge for pilgrims, and it still abides.” - -Just then some of the sailors cried, “Olympus!” They had caught sight of -that ancient mountain, the fabled home of the gods. - -Miriamne adroitly used the cry to divert her father’s mind, saying: - -“Let those admire Olympus who will; as for me, I prefer holy, fragrant -Lebanon.” - -She pointed eastward, and they saw the dim outlines of Palestine’s famous -range. The knight’s attention was fixed on Lebanon, and they sailed past -Cyprus quietly without further objection on his part. - -Miriamne and Cornelius, as the night began to settle down, stood together -by the ship’s side, feasting on glimpses of the distant shore. There were -signs of a coming storm, perceived intuitively by those accustomed to -the sea, by the young watchers best discerned in the anxious looks of the -seamen. - -“The captain says the sky and sea are preparing for a duel. You noticed -how the blue changed to dark brown in the water this afternoon? He says -that, and the muddy appearance of the sky, betoken a tempest.” - -“How like polished silver the wings of those gulls glisten as they -career!” was the maiden’s ecstatic reply. - -“The wings are as they always are. They glisten now because they flash -against a murky background.” - -“An omen, Cornelius, for good! I’ll call the sea-birds hope’s -carrier-pigeons with messages for us.” - -“I would we had their wondrous power of outriding all storms. It is said -they can sleep on the waves, even during a tempest.” - -“I’ve the heart of a sea-gull, to-night.” - -“And not a dread or pang within?” - -“No, no! Oh, come, any power, to hurry us to Acre! I’d give way to the -merriment of the becalmed sailors, who whistle for the wind, if I only -knew the notes of their call.” - -“But the old sea-captain is very grave. See how the men at his command -are lashing up almost every stitch of our ship’s dress.” - -“Oh, well, I’ll be grave, too, to please you; and yet I pray that Old -Boreas, and all the Boreadal, come in racing hurricanes, if need be, that -we may be sent gallantly into longed-for Acre!” - -“A storm at sea is grand in a picture or in imagination; sometimes, -though rarely, in experience. To be enjoyed it must be terrible; there’s -the rub; it may come with overmastering fury.” - -“Bird of ill omen! Why cry as in requiems? As for me, while you are -fearing going down, I’ll be thinking of going forward!” - -“And be disappointed, certainly, on your part, as I hope I may be -mistaken on mine. We may not go down; we shall certainly not go forward!” - -“Now, how like a wayward man! Since you can not have your way, cross me -by predicting my frustration!” - -“Oh, do not lay the blame on me! there are broader shoulders to bear it. -Lay the blame on the Taurus and Lebanon ranges!” - -“Well, this is an odd saying, surely!” - -“Wait awhile, and you will find it very true, as well. We are to meet -to-night, most likely, the Levanter or off-shore gale, Paul’s Euroclydon, -charging down from its mountain castles. Taurus and Lebanon together form -a cave of the winds!” - -“And you seem glad that they are coming to battle us back?” spake the -maiden, rebukingly. - -“Yes, if they prolong our companionship. I can not rejoice in a speed -that hastens our parting.” - -The last sentence died on the chaplain’s paling lips with a sigh. - -The maiden turned her eyes full on the speaker, then slowly, meditatively -answered: - -“I shall be sorry, too, at our parting!” - -“‘Sorry!’ Ah! that’s no word for me, this time; agonized is better!” was -the young missioner’s quick rejoinder. - -The maiden was pained, but she mastered her feelings and pleaded: - -“The parting must come some time; do not let such repinings make it -harder for both. It is wiser, when confronting what one does not desire, -but can not help, to court the balm of forgetfulness. So do I ever, -especially now.” - -“And like all attempted silencings of the heart, by cold philosophy, -mocked at last by failure!” - -“My philosophy can not mock me, since it accords with the stern facts -which confront us. I’ll be as frank now as a sister, Cornelius. Our -diverging missions part us. You go to Jerusalem to preach the cross; I, -to a narrower field, at Bozrah, to attempt the rekindling of love on one -lone altar of wedlock. God orders it thus, and I submit unquestioningly; -for it is not for one who can scarcely touch the hem of His garment to -challenge His wisdom by a murmur.” - -“But time, Miriamne, may leave you free, your work being completed in the -Giant City?” - -“Even so. There is a gulf between us; we may love across it but not pass -it, in body, in this life.” - -“And I can not see the gulf?” - -“I am in faith, after all, an Israelite; enlightened to be sure, but not -likely to renounce the ancient beliefs. You are a Christian; nor would I -wish you otherwise. Now, amid the miseries I’ve witnessed in my own home, -I can not but be admonished against any attempt at fusing, by the fire of -adolescent, transitory loving, two lives guided by faiths so constantly -in antagonisms.” - -“The faith of Jesus and Mary, truly lived, never failed to fuse hearts -sincerely loving. You may call yourself what you like; in substance of -faith we are in accord.” - -“The chaplain reasons well; better than I can, and yet he does not -convince me! I can only plead that he do not persist, and so make the -parting harder. It must be; though my heart break, I must suffer the -immolation. I’ve asked this question in the awful sincerity of a soul as -it were at the bar of judgment: ‘_What wilt Thou have me to do?_’ I know -the answer. I must seek to bring father and mother together.” - -“And then?” - -“Seek to know if the Messiah has indeed come.” - -“And then?” - -“If I find He has, some way tell His people Israel, as only a Jewess can, -of the Light Everlasting.” - -“And then?” - -“Why, that’s sufficient to measure the lives of generations; but if I -survive beyond that work, I have vaguely passing through my mind the -coming of a millennial day when all mankind will be akin; all righteous, -all just, and the tears of womankind assuaged.” - -“I pray for that, but how can we hasten joy by breaking our own hearts?” - -“I do not know what lies beyond; how that day of glory is to come, but -this I know, the spirit of Chivalry was from God. It had, and has a deep, -impressive meaning. In contact with it at the west, I felt all the time -as if it were blind, but a Samson still, feeling for the pillars of some -mighty wrong. I wonder if I may not be the giant’s true guide. Or, better -still, may I not be, under God, the giantess to do the very work. Perhaps -the world awaits a woman Samson!” - -“What Miriamne says is to me all mysticism! Explain.” - -“I do not know how, beyond this: I’m God’s bride by consecration, and He -will keep me for His work.” - -“Can’t I share it?” almost piteously, the chaplain asked. - -“Truly, yes, wherever you may be, with me or not.” - -“Oh, Miriamne, your passionate enthusiasm entrances me. You are an -inspiration to me. I fear I shall languish aside from you.” - -“I shall love you more, Cornelius, as you are more grandly, heroically -self-sacrificing.” - -“Any thing to win Miriamne’s constant love!” - -“I shall love you, Cornelius, in a deep, holy way, only and forever. I’d -be ashamed to be thus frank, but that I have a love that is as pure as -the heaven of its birth. Be true to your God, to your mission; a little -while and then at the City of Light, life’s brief dream over, the first, -after God, I’ll ask for will be the faithful man whom my heart knows.” - -“Ah, what can I do? I’m all zeal; willing to go, but the glow of your -cheeks, the flash of your eyes, even in the midst of such noble converse, -drag me away from my resolves. That that stimulates me, unmans me, or -reminds me I am a man and a lover.” - -“You ought to teach me, not I you; but you remember you told me of the -belief of some in ‘penetrative virginity.’ That is the purity of Mary -passing somehow into others. Oh, all I am that’s good, be in you, and -more, even all that she was whom you so revere; I mean the mother of the -Christ.” - -“In my soul I reverently exclaim ‘amen,’ but then again, how strange the -question will not down, ‘must we part?’” And so saying he flung his arm -about the woman, passionately embracing her. He thought for a moment he -had overcome her, but the kiss on her lips not resisted, was the end; for -slowly untwining his arms and holding his hands at arm’s length, she -questioned: “Will you promise me one thing?” - -“Surely, yes, name it.” - -“That you will think of me as a friend, sister, henceforth, and let me go -my way without further misery?” - -The man struggled with himself for a time; then gazed into her eyes with -a most piteously appealing gaze. - -She was firm. - -“Yes—I promise, but say affianced, to be wed in heaven?” - -“God bless you,” was her instant response. Their lips met and the debate -was ended. - -And so for the time they separated, persuading themselves that the whole -matter between them had been finally sealed. They had all faith in their -pledges mutually given, each to live apart from the other. As yet they -had no just conception of the power of a rebel heart constantly uprising. -Of course, they both foresaw a measure of wretchedness in the future as -a consequence of their decision, but distant pain foreseen by the young, -is ever dimmed by hope, and very different from present pain. These twain -comforted themselves, at first, by the thought that they were martyrs, -and it is always agreeable to feel ourself a martyr, especially when -expecting a martyr’s reward; at least it is so until the reality of the -martyrdom comes. - -The sky grew darker, night shut down about the ship, the winds increased, -and that sense of awful loneliness, felt on the eve of an impending -night-storm at sea, came to all hearts but those of the sailors. The -latter were too busy to think of aught but their duties. Then their -captain had his reckonings, and assured them by his bearing that he felt -confident that he could outride this storm as he had often before similar -ones. Miriamne, yielding not more to the captain’s command, than to the -entreaties of Woelfkin, went below to her cabin. She soon courted sleep -to help her forget the war of the tempest, praying a prayer most fitting, -meanwhile. The prayer was a meditation, like unto this: “He that cares -for all will care for helpless me, and come what may, keep me until that -last great day.” The storm strengthened, and she began to be anxious for -her father, and her friend. She had said to herself the latter title -should define Cornelius. But her heart forgot its fear a moment in a -mysterious, merry peal of laughter; such laughter is very real, but it is -never heard by human ears. We know it only in those exalted moments when -we try fine introspections; when there seems to be two of us; the one -observing and entering into the other. Miriamne heard that laughter when -she meditated, “Cornelius is just a friend.” Presently she became more -anxious for those aloft. Then a troop of imperious inner questions came -to her: “Might I not stand by him, if the danger increases? Would it be -wrong to show him that I am brave and loving?” - -“Will he think me cowardly and stony-hearted?” Resolution was being -assailed, and weakened. The questionings increased in number and -imperiousness: “What if to-night we are all to perish?” Then she let -imagination take the rein. She thought of a scene that might be if she -and her beloved were as betrothed, soon to be wed, lovers. In the scene -she fancied herself, her lover and her father all together in a last -embrace, going down into the yawning waves. “Would my lover try to save -me?” For the moment there were two of her again, and it was the one that -awhile ago laughed so merrily, that now seemed to be saying: “Would my -lover try to save me?” The one self heard the question, and by silence, -without sign of rebuke, seemed to give the other self plenary indulgence. -Then came a free play of her imagination. She saw herself lying in coral -palaces, beneath the moaning waves of the Mediterranean, still clasping -her lover and her parent. Then she thought of how her friends would -receive the news of her demise. Perhaps some poet would embalm the event -in deathless poems, and thousands read of the three that perished side by -side. Her mind ran back to London. She imagined a memorial service at the -chapel of the Palestineans and the Grand Master there saying: “Miriamne -de Griffin was lost at sea; in the path of glorious duty, loyally pursued -to the end.” - -Then she thought of Bozrah and the old stone house, with her mother -and her brothers, its sole occupants; the mother in mourning garbs, -her spirit subdued, and she often tenderly saying to the fatherless, -sisterless boys, “Miriamne was a good girl, a faithful daughter, a noble -woman.” - -But after all, these excursions were unsatisfactory to the young woman. -And naturally so. When she thought of lying a corpse, with weed-winding -sheets, for years, in the caves of the sea, she was repelled. Thoughts -of her memorials, possibly to transpire at London and Bozrah, were not -very comforting. She was too young, too free from morbidness, too deeply -enamored, to court, assiduously, posthumous honors. - -Then came thought of a wreck and rescue, and it was very welcome. It -grew out of the possibility of the youth she loved and she alone, of -all on board, being saved. She thought of drifting about for days on -a raft! Would she recall her resolutions and his, or would he say to -her: “Miriamne, I saved you from the deep; now you are mine entirely -and forever!” Would she believe his claim paramount? Would duty’s -requirements be satisfied? Then she was as two again. One voice said -‘yes,’ and the other did not concur, neither did it gainsay. She could -not pronounce a verdict and there were tears flowing. - -The storm grew stronger, but the laboring ship rose and fell on the -billows at intervals, and she was lulled to sleep. Her last thoughts, as -she passed into dreamland, were that it would have been a useless pain, -both endured, if now they were to be lost; the pain of determining, -as they had, to live apart. As she so thought she wished almost that -they had not resolved as they had. Conscience and desire were in their -ceaseless warfare. Then sleeping brought a dream of joy, the blessing -that comes often to the heart that is clean. The dream was colored by -events preceding. - -Cornelius had reminded her the day before, as they were sailing along -the coast of Cyprus, that, at Paphos, on that island, there was once a -temple to Venus, the fabled goddess of love. That divinity, surrounded by -multitudes paying her homage, came before the dreamer’s mind in all those -ravishing splendors of person that are so attractive to human desires. -Around the goddess, and very close to her, were hosts of young men and -maidens, their actions as boisterous and ecstatic as those intoxicated. -Outside of the throngs of youths were others older: and outside of these -were others still; those far away from the goddess, seemingly bowed with -years. The company of youths was constantly increased by new arrivals who -crowded back those there before them. - -But there was a depletion as well as augmenting of the vast, surging -congregation; for anon, as if mad, some nearest the deity rushed away, -both of the men and the maidens, nor did those fleeing stop until they -found violent deaths by leaping from cliffs or into the sea. - -Then the ancients, crowded continually back by the new arrivals, one -after another, with expressions of disappointment and disgust on their -features, seemed to melt away into a surrounding forest of trees that -were very black and very like shadows. The dreamer in her dream betook -herself to prayer that the God of mercy might change what she saw. - -Then she beheld the Paphian goddess in all the splendor of her form, a -perfect triumph of nature, just as depicted by bard and painter, looking -out contemptuously, pitilessly, toward her former votaries, now aged and -pushed aside. There came then a voice as if from above: “_God is love._” - -Immediately on the face of the divinity there was an expression as of -terror, and she began sinking. Before the mind of the dreamer, the -beautiful creature, and her retinue of nude, bold-faced attendants, with -all that appertained to them and their queen went down, ingulfed in a -foaming, roaring whirlpool. As they went down lightnings from above -shot after them. And the dreamer looked aloft to see from whence the -voice and the lightning came. As she gazed upward she saw a man of noble -form, reverently bowing, as a son might bow in the presence of a mother -revered and loved, before a woman of noble mien and beautiful beyond all -compare. - -But this one’s beauty had no similitude to that of the departed deity. -As the maiden gazed she discerned that the man was the one her heart -called lover, the woman the one she had enshrined as the ideal of her -soul, Mary. The twain stood above her, on a plain, apparently of clouds -very bright, rising in graceful curve from the earth and stretching away -in measureless vistas, filled with flowered parks, silvery rivers and -stately mountains. Along the rivers, amid the flowery plains and on the -verdant mountains, there were numerous buildings; but these latter were -inviting; not palatial, nor stately. They were homes surrounded by family -groups. And the dreamer discerned true love triumphant and fruitful. She -lingered in this presence, anon longing for a presentment of her self -amid the scenes of pleasure, until all was suddenly dissolved by a mighty -lurch of the ship that awakened her. She started from her couch and all -immediately before the dream came back to her mind. - -“We’re in a storm on the Mediterranean, and the captain is anxious!” Her -nerves were now unstrung; a woman’s timorousness was upon her. She could -hear confused noises aloft, but no voices. For a moment she questioned: -“What if all but myself have been swept away?” Then she thought of -herself as drifting about in a ship, sailless, helmless, alone! The -thought was suffocating. The noises aloft continued, and she gave -strained attention to catch the sound of a voice. There was nothing to be -heard but the creaking of timbers, the dashing of waves, the shrieking -of winds and vague thumpings, as if parts of the vessel were beating -each other to pieces. - -“I’ll not lie still in this coffin!” she exclaimed, and with a bound -she made her way to the deck. As she arrived there she thought she saw -dark forms, some crouching as if for shelter, and others as if engaged -in a great struggle. Were these demons, or the crew in a struggle for -life? She could not say. Then there came a cry from the direction of the -forward part of the ship; she thought it was her father’s voice, but it -was very hoarse and scarcely recognizable. - -She listened again to the cry: “Ho, ho; ye Olympian demons! tear up the -sea, charge now! Ha, ha; have at us!” The cry thrilled her. Again the -wild voice rose above the storm: - -“Bury her, my darling, if ye dare! What matter! her white soul has -eternal wings!” - -She was certain it was her father. She longed to rush to his side, but -she doubted whether she could find him in the darkness; then, too, even -in the terrors of the moment, her maiden modesty asserted itself. She -remembered that she was but partly clad. - -Again came that voice, wilder than before: “Ye billows, dare ye smite a -knight in the face? I’ll meet your challenge, and single-handed, in your -midst, fight!” - -Miriamne’s heart was almost paralyzed by the thought, “The boisterousness -has overcome my father. He’s contemplating leaping into the sea!” - -Just then a vivid flash of lightning made every thing visible. It seemed -to cut under the clouds, which, rain-charged, were running near the -billow crests, and at the same time enswathed the ship from the mast tips -to the partially exposed keel, in flame. - -The maiden saw by that flash her father standing on the head-rail, -one hand clinging to a stay rope, the other with clinched fist, as if -menacing the boiling waters that leaped away from the plunging prow. His -face was livid, his hair wind-tossed, his eyes glaring. With a scream she -bounded toward him; her scream and appearance terrifying the sailors. -It was so unexpected and they had forgotten the presence of a woman -on board. They only saw a white form, with disheveled hair and with a -motion light and swift as a creature on wings, passing from companion-way -forward. - -But the fright was but momentary. Cornelius, who had been vainly -endeavoring to calm the knight, knew the form, and loud enough to be -heard by all cried: - -“Miriamne de Griffin!” - -He was by her side in an instant. - -The young woman uttered pleadingly one sentence, but it thrilled all who -heard it: - -“My father!” - -Cornelius exultingly answered: - -“Saved! See, the captain holds him and has summoned the watch!” Then he -could do no less, forgetting as he did in the present surprise, all old -resolves, so he drew the trembling form to his heart as closely as he -could. She drew back a little, but he whispered, “Miriamne.” What else he -might have said was lost, for she fluttered a little, then rested, but on -the bosom of her companion. - -She was a woman in peril, in fright, storm-drenched, and in love. What -otherwise or less could she have done than nestle in the shelter that -gave love for love and promised her all else? - -“Are you not alarmed, Cornelius?” - -“No.” - -“How strange! You have changed places with me. In the evening you -trembled when I left you, and I thought I was very brave. Now I tremble; -do you not?” - -“I cowered a while ago from the cross you presented me; it seemed to -bring a lingering death.” - -Just then the ship’s prow plunged under a mountainous billow. Miriamne -clung to her support and fearfully questioned: - -“Shall we be overwhelmed?” - -“No; I’ve a token.” - -“From the captain?” - -“Not from the one who guides this ship alone.” - -A flash of lightning revealed the lover’s face to Miriamne. She saw his -eyes turned devoutly upward, and she understood his meaning. They had -withdrawn to a shelter by the vessel’s side meanwhile. Presently the -young missioner spoke again; - -“Our Heavenly Father keeps vigil, I think, sometimes with especial care -over this highway between the outer world and the desolate habitations of -His chosen people.” - -“Hark, the sailors are singing! How strange it is to sing in such -perils,” spoke the maiden. - -“They’re as happy now as the wave-walking petrels. The Levant has done -its worst; they know this by the coming of the rain, hence they sing -their ‘Lightning Song.’” - -“Lightning song?” queried the maiden. - -“Listen! How they explode their vocalized breaths in hissings, whizzings, -followed by the prolonged crash made by stamping feet and clapping hands -at the end of every stanza. That chorus is meant to imitate those -heralds of the thunder, the flashing lightnings.” - -“But it seems presumptuous to me. The lightning is so dreadful!” - -“Not that which comes as ‘a funeral torch to Euroclydon,’ as the sailors -say. Some of them call it ‘the winking and blinking of St. Elmo going to -sleep.’” - -“Oh, Cornelius, the storm is breaking! I see a star; yes two!” -rapturously cried the maiden. - -“Truly, yes; ‘Castor and Pollux,’ the ‘Twins,’ the ‘Sailor’s Delight!’ -They say these stars are storm rulers and friends of the mariner. Now -hear how they shout their song! They see the stars!” - -Above the subsiding wind and waves, rose the words of the singers: - - “Now to our harbor safe going; - Riding the billows, pushed by the gale: - The torch of the Twins bright glowing— - Tipping our mast and gilding each sail.” - -“And do these stars assure, Cornelius?” - -“I saw a star no cloud can ever hide, through the darkest part of the -storm.” - -“A star?” - -“Yes, ‘Mary, Star of Sea.’” - -“I do not comprehend you.” - -“God’s love! He that guided the maiden orphan of Bethlehem through the -besetments of her life, amid the tempests of Jewry and Rome, purely, -safely, gloriously, to the end; while many of noble birth and having -every earthly good went down to ruin, walks ever on the wave where faith -voyages.” - -“And you thought of the Holy Mother in the storm?” - -“Yes, this Adriatic is full of angels, that come in thoughts, or before -the eyes! You remember Paul, tempest tossed a day and a night on this -sea, was found by the Divine Messenger that night when the darkness was -thickest?” - -“And this ‘Star of the Sea?’” - -“It tells me mother-love was carried by a dying Savior into the heart of -the Triune, Eternal God, and we are His children, and He became Father -and Mother to us. You have seen the hen gather her chickens, as human -mother shelters with her arm or apron her child in pain or peril?” - -“How touching! Think you He felt for us like tenderness in the height of -the storm?” - -“He sought in His plenteous wisdom mother love to sustain Himself, during -the pain and perils of His incarnation, and will ever surely grant a love -and care to His own beloved ones in suffering or danger as tender as that -He sought and needed for Himself.” - -“Surely this is a grateful, natural reasoning; but do you believe Mary -presides over the sailor especially?” - -“It is enough for me to know that the Father through Mary exemplified His -motherliness.” - -“I’ll never more call yon bright luminaries Castor and Pollux, but rather -Jesus and Mary, the guides and the defenders!” And for a long time they -gazed at the double stars, the storm slowly abating. Once the youth, -drawing the maiden closely to himself, questioned: - -“Can not we call the stars in conjunction, ‘Cornelius and Miriamne’?” - -They had been watching, in sweet converse, there, a long time; there were -faint traces of dawn in the east, and Miriamne had just been thinking, -“Palestine receives us with illumination;” then she bethought herself -that she and the man with her were going hither to proclaim the Gospel -of eternal light. The question of her lover recalled the converse of the -day before. That seemed fact, unchanged; all occurring since, dream. She -arose, pointed eastward, and firmly said: “There lies our work, our all. -May a glorious day enhalo all God’s chosen country ere long. Cornelius, -yesterday we promised solemnly that we dare not turn from now; especially -after our wonderful deliverance!” She glided away to her cabin, leaving -the man alone to contemplate the poor comfort of being praised as a -martyr, on a cross of self-sacrifice; the pains of which, if not as awful -as those of Calvary, were destined to be more prolonged. His face was -as if sprinkled with white ashes; it was so pale, so blank. After the -tempest they spoke very little with each other. Miriamne waved away any -attempt at re-opening the subject, with a motion of the finger to the -lips, signaling silence, and a glance all tenderness, but full of pitiful -pleadings to be spared. The young man but once or twice essayed the -discussion, fearing on the one hand to trust himself to speak, and on the -other hand feeling that any effort to change his fate would be hopeless. -But he and she were full of inner conflicts. Then their pathways seemed -stony, brier-tangled. They had both elected, for Guide and Ideal, Jesus -and Mary; they were both going toward the cross in a noble consecration -of their lives. But they denied themselves that that sustained Jesus, -home love, such as he found at Bethany; conjugal love, such as sustained -Mary, the wife and the mother, as well as the disciple. They had as their -loftiest ambition the purpose of making the world happier and better, -and began by making misery for themselves. They had read that a star led -the wise men of the East to Christ in a cradle, the light of the Gospel -rising first in a little home circle. They looked at the double stars -above them after the storm that night almost until dawn, and then turned -away to go, each into the dark like a lone wandering star. Each was in -part the victim of a fabricated conscience, and of a misconception of -duty. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE QUEEN IN THE VALLEY OF SORROWS. - - “They led him away to crucify him.”—MARK. - - “There followed him a great company of ... women, who also - bewailed him.”—LUKE. - - GABRIEL: “Hail, highly favored among women blessed!” - - MARY: This is my favored lot! - My exaltation to affliction high!—MILTON. - - -For many days Sir Charleroy and Miriamne tarried at Acre, the latter -seeking to banish repining on account of him whom she had sent away at -the behest of conscience, by ministries for her parent. With alacrity she -joined the tours of her knightly father, visiting the scenes where he -once battled, listening, from time to time, with unaffected delight, to -his recitals. The tides of fanatical conquests had wrought few changes -on the face of the city, and the realism of those days of siege, of -the stern compacts made in the last hours of the Crusaders, the solemn -religious services before the last battle, the death struggle and the -disordered retreat, was complete. The excitement of revived memories -seemed to lift up the knight from the syncope of ill health. This -encouraged the maiden to solicit the reviews and recitals of her father. -The night before their departure from Acre, as determined, the knight and -his daughter stood together contemplating the sacred pile which stood -in the moonlight and shadows, mostly in shadows. The soldier of fortune, -having told its story over and over, was now silent, dreaming of the past. - -“_Selamet!_” - -They both started, for the voice was like one from the tomb, none but -themselves being apparent. - -“I’m afraid here; let’s be going, father,” whispered Miriamne, essaying -to withdraw. - -Thereupon there glided out of the shadows a stately form who, drawing -near to the father and daughter, spoke: - -“Fear not, lady! Knight, they can not be foes who court kindred memories -and hope of like colors at the same shrine!” - -“Thou speakest with Christian allusions the ‘peace’ word of the Turk.” - -“I wear the Turkish ‘_selamet_,’ as I do this Turkish harness, a loathed -necessity, but without; the peace I pray and feel is the mystic inner -peace.” - -“As a Christian?” - -“Yea; nor do I fear confession, since I am speaking to those who abhor -the Crescent.” - -“A pious Jew would as soon adhere to Astarte with her orgies as to bow to -the mooned-crown she wore.” - -“Jews? No, not Jews! Such would not sooner run from the moon-mark than -they would from the shadows which fall down about you from yon grand and -awful sign.” - -The speaker pointed to the crossed spire above, as he spoke. - -“No more avoidance; we are brethren. I’m Sir Charleroy de Griffin, -Teutonic knight.” - -“And not unknown. The story of thy valor, even here, lives in the bosoms -of true companions. I’m a Knight Hospitaler of Rhodes, yet fameless.” - -The two men came closely together; there were a few secret tests. The -Hospitaler said: - -“_In hoc signo vinces!_” - -Sir Charleroy crossed his feet, stretched out his arms and murmured -something heard only by his comrade. It made the other’s eyes lighten -with pleasure. - -To Miriamne it was a dumb show; but the tokens given and received were -useful to pilgrims in those perilous times. - -“Whither, Sir Charleroy?” - -“To-morrow, toward Joppa.” - -“So, ho! By interpretation, _The Watch-tower of Joy_. From thence one may -see Jerusalem! And then?” - -“And then? God knows where! A useless life, like mine, is ever aimless.” - -“No, no, father!” interrupted the daughter; “not useless. No life that -God prolongs is useless.” - -“True; the girl is right, Teuton. Aspiration will cure thee, since it’s -the mother of immortality. I go to Joppa also.” - -“They say, Hospitaler, its sea-side is full wild; its reefs like barking -Scylla and Charybdis? I hope it may be so; I’d like a terrible uproar.” - -“The sea is the emblem of change; from calm to weary moan, to howling -terrors and back again.” - -“But the people? They say Joppa’s outside is fine, naturally, though, -within, the life of its people is mean, colorless; a charnel-house whose -activity is that of grave worms!” And Sir Charleroy shuddered with -disgust at his own figure. - -“I think the legend of Andromeda, said to have been chained to Joppa’s -sea-crags for a season, to be persecuted by a serpent, then freed, -prophetic. Joppa may have a future.” - -“How?” - -“Oh, the chained maiden was boasted by her fond mother as more beautiful -than Neptune’s Nereids, hence the persecution. Crescent faiths have been -the persecutors of Joppa and all the other beautiful Andromedas of this -land.” - -“And the chains are riveted?” - -“No, not certainly. There was, in the myth, a Perseus of winged feet, -having a helmet that made invisible and a sickle from Minerva, goddess of -wisdom; he slew the serpent, then wed the victim.” - -“Now the key, further.” - -“When wrongs overwhelm all, women suffer most; but time brings their -deliverance.” - -“The myths are as full of women as the women full of myths!” exclaimed -Sir Charleroy. - -“But Andromeda, the woman, was blameless!” - -“Yet it’s strange that in all men’s fightings, as in their religions, -constantly the woman appears,” replies Sir Charleroy. - -“I’d have thee think, knight, of the legend; it tells how men, in those -dark times, tied their faith to the sure conviction that right would -triumph, wrong be slain, and the martyrs at last go up among the stars. -See how they placed their Andromeda in the constellation now above us. -Perseus was a Christian, or rather a Christian was a Perseus.” - -“Now, thou art merry!” - -“No; I mean St. Peter; he was a Perseus. Hearken to the word: - -“‘Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha: this woman was -full of good works and alms-deeds. - -“‘And it came to pass that she died. - -“‘The disciples sent unto Peter two men, desiring him that he would not -delay to come to them. - -“‘When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the -widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which she -made, while she was with them. - -“‘But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning -him to the body, said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when -she saw Peter, she sat up. - -“‘And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up; and when he had called the -saints and widows, he presented her alive. - -“‘And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.’” - -“Why, Hospitaler, thou hast a memory like an elephant or an emperor and a -tongue like a sacrist!” - -“Well, the time for swords being past I have taken to books; their leaves -are wings. The world will be conquered yet by the words of the Swordless -King.” - -“And thou wouldst liken Tabitha to Andromeda?” - -“Wasn’t she a real beauty, as her name is interpreted? Beautiful old -soul! She robed the poor! Peter bringing her to the truth of the new life -smote the dragon at Joppa, as a very Perseus.” - -“A woman! a woman, again leading the army of salvation!” - -“After that Peter slept on the house top of Simon the Tanner, and God -gave him the vision of Jew and Gentile, bond and free, rich and poor; -all, as one family coming into the benign rays of the Sun whose wings are -full of healing.” - -“And will that day come, Sir Hospitaler? I’m feeling almost a frenzy of -desire for it!” - -“Surely as the morning to Acre; but we must hie homeward; good-night; -I’ll see you at the quay to-morrow.” - -From Acre, Miriamne and her father, next day, set sail. The companions on -the journey from Acre by Joppa arrived at Jerusalem, there to separate -soon, for Miriamne, with every ingenious device, urged her father -forward. Bozrah was constantly uppermost in her mind. - -“We part, Sir Charleroy, to-morrow?” said the Hospitaler. - -“If thou dost elect to stay in sad Jerusalem, surely. - -“Yes; I’d go mad here from doing nothing but wrestling with my thoughts. -In fact, I guess I’d go mad anywhere, if long there. I think, sometimes, -that my mind’s in a whirlpool, moving not like others; yet, round and -round in some consistency, carrying its befooling creeds, hopes, dreams, -visions, phantasmagoria in a pretty fair march. I’m sure, more than sure, -that if I once stopped moving, my brain would rest like a house after -a land-slide, tilted over, while all the things in the whirlpool would -drift about in hopeless confusion.” - -“Thou dost talk like a physician, gone mad with philosophy!” - -“No doubt of it; that’s all because I’ve been idling here a month; a week -longer and God knows who could set me going again, rightly.” - -Then the knight laughed merrily; very merrily, in fact, for a man who had -trained himself to morbidness. The Hospitaler replied: - -“I see nothing for me beyond the Holy City and its historic surrounds. -I’m training myself to proclaim God’s kingdom and must begin at that -pre-eminent, world over-looking point, Jerusalem.” - -“But there are no schools to fit one there?” - -“The most informing and man-expanding on earth; the deathless examples of -the worthies; best studied where they lived their mightful living. I go -now to Golgotha.” - -“Golgotha? ‘The Place of the Skull?’” - -“Even so, sometimes called the Valley of Jehosaphat.” - -Sir Charleroy rubbed his head as one well puzzled, and was silent. - -“Oh, knight, thou hast forgotten the goings forward of Ezekiel’s mind, -prophetically. It was in Kidron, the Golgotha Valley, that he had the -vision of the dry bones. Let me read: - -“‘Behold, there were very many bones in the open valley; and, lo, they -were very dry. - -“‘And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, -O Lord God, thou knowest. - -“‘Again He said unto me, Prophesy; - -“‘Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath -to enter into you, and ye shall live: - -“‘As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones -came together, bone to his bone. - -“‘The sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them. - -“‘Then said he unto me, say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; come -from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they -may live. - -“‘So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and -they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.’” - -“And now, soldier, turned exegete, tell me what thou dost make of the -strange phantasm?” - -“That God will work in this world a marvelous transformation; those -living-dead, all around us and beyond, to the ends of the earth, shall -stand in new life. The scene is laid to be in this Kidron valley, to -bring all minds to the ‘Light of the World,’ who passed in painful -triumph along it, even unto Calvary.” - -“But this may not be so, yet it so seems?” - -“Hearken again to the prophet’s happy ending: - -“‘Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an -everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, -and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. - -“‘My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and -they shall be my people.’ - -“All this,” continued the Hospitaler, “is what is to come, is coming. The -dawn of this day began when Jesus passed over Kidron!” - -“And yet, Rhodes, I’m doubtful. Do not the correspondences remote, -mislead thee?” - -“If a crusade leader sent a summons like this wouldst thou respond, -trusting? ‘Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy -mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the -LORD cometh, for _it is_ nigh at hand?’” - -“The Hospitaler knows I would.” - -“Well; God by His Prophet-Herald, Joel, so alarms the nations. And more, -we have a broader summons,” and the preacher soldier read again: - -“‘Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the -Lord is near in the valley of decision. - -“‘Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehosaphat: -for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. - -“‘Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. - -“‘The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw -their shining. - -“‘The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from -Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord _will_ -be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. - -“‘So shall ye know that I _am_ the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my -holy mountain. - -“‘Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: -let the weak say, I am strong.’” - -Then the Hospitaler closed his eyes, turned his face upward as in prayer, -and began speaking like unto one in a rapture or trance: - -“When souls would measure themselves for judgment, they must stand by -the scenes wrought out by Him that died for men; just hereabouts, when -the last judgment comes, the multitudes of earth, tried by the measure -of the God-man, will be brought face to face with God’s standard of -moral grandeur, sublimely once displayed here. Before its splendor the -stars, the finest of men, shall wax dim; human philosophy, the sun of the -world, go out, and human religion, ever the child of human desire, shall -fade as the setting, waning moon, that emblem of the concupiscent. Then -Charity, that never fails, shall come to her throne, the last implement -of war be beaten into services of love, while the weak, no more dominated -by giant brutality, shall rise to the pre-eminence of moral strength. -Adam and Eve, the fallen pair, passed through the valley of sorrow and -sin, downward; Christ and Madonna, the new ideals, passed through the -valley of sorrow and salvation, upward.” - -“Oh, Rhodes, the whirl of my brain is as if touched by the swellings of -an anthem. I’ll come right yet, if thou dost enravish me so!” cried Sir -Charleroy. - -And Miriamne’s face shone as if the sun were on it, but it was not. She -was looking away, in soul, to the future. The Hospitaler continued: - -“Truly, all heads, as well as hearts, are righted here, where the touch -of the Cross makes the dry bones live. Here get I my schooling; this -place of the Cross, where the depths of sin, the heights of love, are -manifest; from which radiates all holiest tenets, to which and from -which flow the streams of Scriptural truth. If only we could get all -men to stand sincerely on this lofty hill of vision, overlooking all -times to come, all histories past, all mysteries would be explained, all -prophecies become clear, and there never would be need on earth again -for wars of faith or the burning of heretics. Pilate spake welcome words -to the ages when he cried: ‘_Miles, expedi Crucem_’—‘Soldiers, speed the -Cross.’ Its speed is light’s speed.” - -As they conversed, the three had slowly journeyed along the _Via -Dolorosa_—the road to the Cross. - -“Here,” said the Hospitaler, “it is reported that Jesus yearningly -looking back to the weeping women that followed him Cross-ward, cried: -‘_Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and -children._’” - -“The woman again in religion!” exclaimed Sir Charleroy. - -“Immanuel spoke to the world, then. When truth goes to crucifixion, women -and children—the weaker—may well weep. It’s the Giant’s hour. So children -and women ever have been the chief followers of Jesus. No wonder that -children brought palms of peace to Him and shouted His praises, while -women anointed Him with tears. They knew, by an holy intuition, that -somehow He was the King of Love, the defender of weakness.” - -“I begin to think, Sir Knight Hospitaler, that the sun of this country -has wrapped its gold about thy brain.” - -“Oh, father, don’t prevent; these words of his are balm to my soul,” -quoth Miriamne. - -“Speak on, for the girl’s sake, knight. Speak on; I’ll be silent.” - -The Hospitaler continued: - -“Daughter, thou dost follow the story as those holy women followed Jesus, -afar off; but with tenderness. As they found later unutterable nearness, -so shalt thou; God willing.” - -“The woman in religion! It’s so. I, a man; this Miriamne, a woman, -a girl, my daughter. I’m like a pupil to her, yet I professed this -cross-faith more than a score of years before she was born. I’d need a -millennium to overtake her, in glory, if we both died now. I’m like poor -old David, who fled from his rebellious son, Absalom, over the hills -that skirt Kidron. I’m dethroned.” - -“Remember, rather, that He who glorified Kidron was ‘obedient unto -death.’ Mother and son, together all loving, all loyal in that dread -hour, here attested that in David’s kingdom, at the last, at its best, -there will be no trampling on the family ties, Sir Charleroy.” - -“Wonderful! I never thought of this before, after this manner. But still, -the woman leads the world in religion!” - -“_The_ woman! Yes, but only when she takes her place, as did Mary, as a -follower of Jesus to Calvary.” - -“But how, now, about Astarte, Diana, Baaltis?” - -“They had their day; rude, gross phantoms; conceived in the hot souls of -low and lecherous men; but I told thee, here we might overlook the world. -In this valley Athaliah, daughter of cruel Jezebel, Queen of Ahab, and, -like her mother, an Astarte-socialist, worshiped the lewd ideal, Baaltis. -Death, in shocking form, took off that heathen queen of Israel. God’s -revenge, this was. - -“And now, I remember that the queen mother of Asa, here, in Kidron, set -up the worship of Ashera with its Phallic mysteries; but Asa, the youth, -pure of mind and led of God, not only tore down, root and branch the -groves and woven booths of licentiousness, but dethroned the woman who -had set them up. Just here, in finest contrasts, I remember the Virgin -Mary, the pure mother, the ideal woman, who, in this valley of decision, -rose for all time the exemplification of truest womanhood—a wife, a -mother. Mary has broken forever the idols of Baaltis. While Mary’s -memory lasts, part of the enduring, sacred history, toward which all -Christian eyes turn, Astarte can never rise under any name or form for -long toleration. She is forever broken, and her creed of lust fated to -reprobation. - -“Wherever this gospel story, eternal and eternally new, is told, there -will come to the minds of the hearers a vision of those associated in -the last dread hours of the Divine Martyr, in a fellowship of sympathy -and sorrow. Among these will stand pre-eminent the women. Simon, the -Cyrenian, compelled by the soldiers, aided the trembling sorrow-burdened -Christ to bear the cross. And it is easy to believe that the wife of that -Simon, who appears later, for a moment, in the praiseful salutations of -Paul, as the parent of Christian sons, she reverently called by the great -apostle mother, was among the women that were most sorrowful and nearest -the dying Saviour. Then there were Mary, the mother of James, Salome, -Mary Magdalene, and possibly Claudia the wife of Pilate—that brave woman -who advocated Christ’s cause before the proud, implacable Sanhedrim, the -howling mob and Imperial Rome’s representatives. What fitting mourners in -that touching, yet august funeral march! - -“Women are fully capable by nature, through their finest, tenderest -chords, ever responsive in woe, to express the whole of grief, however -deep! The sex which loves most, loves longest, mourns most easily as well -as most sincerely, and has made sorrow sacred by the lavish bestowals of -it, whene’er its founts were touched. - -“There is an holy, perfumed anointing in their tears. This -crucifixion-time was woman’s hour supremely. Mary with _magnificent_ -self-possession, heart-broken, yet strong in faith; weeping in eye and -soul, but intruding no wild howlings amid those who wept for custom’s -sake; tearful, yet retiring in her grief, here passes before our minds -at once the most fascinating, winsome, yet pity-begetting woman known to -man.” - -“Father,” cried Miriamne, restraining but little her own tears: “Are you -listening?” - -“Yes, yes; oh, yes. The glory of Eden’s noon has fallen on the tongue and -brain of Rhodes, and yet I cannot gainsay him; nor would I try to dispel -his wise and honored sayings. I can only wonder and wonder how it is that -woman rises at the very front when any grand advance is made.” - -“Good Rhodes, go on,” spoke Miriamne. - -[Illustration: B. Plockhorst. - -MARY AND ST. JOHN.] - -“I’m easily persuaded, for there is something of a savory sweetness to -this grief—welcome mother of true penitence, that comes over souls, who, -in imagination, follow the steps to the cross. I’ve heard that Mary -followed her son from the Judgment Hall to Calvary. He moved at slow -pace, and well He might; worn by months of toil for needy humanity; by -watchings, teachings and the like; until now ready to drop down under the -thorn-crown, the scourging and the cross. But the blessed Virgin, still -a woman, still a mother, faltered by the way. Sometimes she hid her eyes -from the scourging, sometimes she was pushed aside by those who knew her -not, or those who knowing hated her because of her goodness. Tradition -tells us she fainted several times overcome by the terrors of that sad -journey through the valley. She had small strength to witness the climax -of brutality when cruel hands drove the awful nails into that One she -loved! The history of that dread hour has often wrung tears from stout -hearts; and he who understands in any degree a mother’s heart, easily -believes that she was absent when the mob raised the victim on His cross. -But, mother-like, nothing could keep her from the final parting, which -death brought to her and her son. - -“Sorrow sharpens the language of love to a deep expressiveness; when the -end was approaching, Mary and John stood side by side and near to the -One, who, to them, was dearer than all. I have heard, and I believe that -a sign from the Christ had hurried John away, just before His death, -to bring mother to the heart that was yearning not more to give than -to receive, the comforts that both needed, the assurance of undying -affection. The man on the cross, stripped of all earthly except His -flesh, even robbed of the tunic that Mary had made, and for which the men -of war gambled, as war has often gambled for the patrimony of the King of -Men, had little or nothing of earth to give, other than His rights in the -hearts of mother and John. - -“These were His farewell keepsakes to each. It needs no strained -imagination to fathom His heart, for He opened it all in His dying cry, -‘My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’ This was not as the cry of -a victor, but that of a broken heart; not as a strong man, but typical -humanity, alone, facing death as a child. The language He used then was -not that usually His, it was the language of His childhood. In every -syllable of that cry, one may read, I fear that God, even God, has -forsaken me; but mother, my own loved mother! mother, mother, oh, my -dying, human heart, leans as a babe on thy bosom!’” - -“Here, here!” cried Sir Charleroy. “Quick! Take this cross of a Teutonic -Knight of St. Mary; bury it when I’m gone by her grave in Gethsemane! -I have praised myself as her champion, and son, and devotee. Heavens! -I’m abashed by thy splendid revelation! I never have even dreamed of her -glorious worth!” - -“Father, my father, be calm, be calm—calm for my sake; you fright me when -you so give way. Remember, we’re at the place where a wrong past ends at -the right beginning.” - -“Thou art my good angel, Miriamne; but, oh, it’s twice sad! I’ve been a -madman half my life and a player in a farce the other half!” - -“Be calm, Sir Knight, and look into the wonders of this place. Christ’s -coming to earth to pardon its errings, right its wrongs, and hang -unfading victory crowns on all futures. Listen: There was night when that -King died, and the dead arose and went about the city, attesting the -eternal fact that He was Ruler of all worlds. And it was the Feast of the -New Moon at Jerusalem; the Feast of Venus at Rome; of Khem in Egypt; but -the crescent was hidden.” - -“I see, I see, Rhodes; Mary and Mary’s son were to come forth; all others -eclipsed!” - -“It is attested by history that there was black darkness about the Sun -Temple at Heliopolis as Christ was bidding His mother and earth Death’s -good-night. The Egyptian city of Osiris, by miracle, witnessed of the -great event at Calvary. Some there were prompted to say: ‘Either the -world is coming to an end, or the god of nature suffers.’” - -“And Mary, wise and erudite, Rhodes? Tell us more of her.” - -“‘It is finished!’ cried her son, and she passed from the grief of those -who agonize amid somber, monster pangs impending, into that quiet, -subdued, ripening sadness that comes over those who have learned to say: -‘_Thy will be done._’ At Cana’s feast her Beloved told her: ‘_Mine hour -has not yet come._’ Now, she knew the meaning of the mystic words, and -saw His hour, with all its mighty imports, at last marked in full; all -the prophecies gathered as into a full-orbed sun; the cross rose like a -dial, mountains high, the shadows on it telling eternity’s time! Mary, -the singer of the ‘_Magnificat_,’ her imagination fired, her vision -inspired, as she stood by that interpreting, ghastly symbol, could see -the course of the sacred past emerging into meaning. Eve leading; the -wealth of her bloom no longer sacrificed to primeval, Astarte-like -intoxications; the wings of the real tree of life above her; the serpent -crushed beneath her heel. Then, following, Noah, the man of the ark, -symbol of sheltering covenants between God and man, covenants ever -circled by bows of hope, ever surmounted by dove-like peace. After these -Abraham, with his typical lamb, followed by a countless multitude of -priests, laying down at the cross, as they passed, their temple-pattern, -the symbols of its service realized and ellipsed! After these, Moses, -the law-giver, with face serene at law’s fulfillment, in company with -flaming prophets innumerable, all rejoicing in visions realized. Behind -all followed Captivity and Hades, Christ’s grandest trophies, forever in -chains! Teutonic Knight of St. Mary, thy queen saw all these, and as they -passed there rose to her view the White Kingdom of David. Now, stand here -where she stood; surrender mind and heart to the Spirit and Word, then -thou shalt behold the radiant procession, the coming glory!” - -The Hospitaler ceased. Then softly, meanwhile waving his hand as if -entreating, Sir Charleroy spoke: - -“Rhodes, wait a little; don’t say any more now. I want to watch that -procession. It seems to me I see it. Oh, wonderful, all wonderful!” - -“He shall be called Wonderful.” - -There was a long, long pause, broken gently by Miriamne, who, after a -while, said: - -“We’d better return to the city; the day is very hot, and I’m—” She could -say no more. - -Silently Sir Charleroy complied; silently all three journeyed to their -abodes. The Hospitaler was content with his effort to proclaim the -truths of Calvary, and Miriamne was glad to leave her father to the full -benefit of his sacred, all-engrossing thoughts. Miriamne, in heart, was -enraptured by her thoughts of the mother of Jesus. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -TWO DEAD HEARTS UNITING TWO LIVING ONES - - “Let us alone regret, ... - ... Sorrow humanizes our race. - Tears are the showers that fertilize the world; - And memory of things precious keepeth warm - The heart that once did hold them. - They are poor that have lost nothing; they are far more poor - Who, losing, have forgotten; they most poor - Of all who lose and wish they might forget.”—JEAN INGELOW. - - -Under Miriamne’s adroit and patient guidance Sir Charleroy and his -attendants made goodly progress until they reached ancient Jabbock, -bordering Giant Bashan; but at that point the knight made a stubborn -stand, persisting that he would proceed no further Bozrah-ward. - -“I smell Mohammedanism coming to me from the East, and, having had enough -of the Saracens in my day, I’ll tarry away from their haunts—— - -“I must go, beloved, to the tomb of my dear defender, Ichabod. I must go -to Gerash to do the pious offices of a mourner.” - -The maiden brought forward every reason her ingenuity could invent -opposed to the proposed deflection in course. She enlisted the Druses -guides, whom she had employed to accompany them hitherto, to aid her in -raising objections, and they magnified the obstacles in the way to Gerash -with commendable loyalty to their employer, the maiden, if not with -strict regard to truth. They all encamped, and the debate was the sole -occupation for hours. - -“Now, Miriamne, hitherto my good spirit, thou wouldst lure me to -perdition! I’ve been in the Lejah. I’m certain that black lava-sea is -hell’s mouth, and Bozrah’s its porch!” - -“So be it; but if we go carrying the heavenly consciousness of doing our -Father’s will, we may carry heaven to those gates.” - -“It’s not my duty to go thither. I passed through that purgatory once. -Its horrors blasted my life! To return thither would be presumption.” - -“But you have forgotten the sunrise coming to you. Each day, for months, -as you have journeyed eastward, you have gained in health of body and -mind.” - -“Dost thou mean that God blesses those who plunge headlong to -destruction, as the possessed swine that ran violently into the sea?” - -“Can not my father let faith silence the disquietings of his wild -fancies? The memory of a past pain, though a persistent, is often a false -teacher.” - -“Oh, I do remember. Some memories seem to scorch the very substance of my -brain! I pray when such come that God give me eternal forgetfulness. I’d -rather be an idiot than have the power of coherent thinking filled with -such reminiscences!” - -“Ah, if we all, always, had the wisdom, while gazing into our dark, deep -pools, to gaze until we saw at their bottoms the image of the sky above!” - -“Well said, daughter! Bozrah is a dark pool! I saw there only an image of -the sky, and that very far away!” - -The day of the foregoing they were wandering along the flowery banks -and over the forest-covered hills that undulated away from Jabbock’s -ravine. As they moved along the maiden plucked a hyacinth blossom and -affectionately fastened it on her father’s bosom; just where he was wont -to wear, when in England, his knight’s cross. - -“Rizpah once placed a lotus there; it made me drunk; a votary of -pleasure, mad; but Miriamne, her daughter, places there the flower of -serene, deathless affection! Sweet, thou art my good angel, the flower -says to Gerash!” - -“Why, father! I do not understand!” - -“Apollo unwittingly caused the death of a beautiful youth, the friend -of his heart, whose name was Hyacinthus. So says tradition, and it’s so -charming, I more than half believe it! Apollo, in loyal love, made a -flower grow from the grave of his friend. This is it! See; here’s the -color of the dead youth’s blood. This blossom is the flower of deathless -friendship and I love it.” - -“A touching story, I’ll remember it; but it seems to me the flower says, -‘Bozrah,’ my father.” - -“Take this leaf, girl; here.” - -“And what of this?” - -“There, on that leaf, behold those signs, ‘Ai’ ‘Ai’.” - -“I think some markings are there like what you say, though never ’till -now did I so trace them.” - -“That’s the Greek cry of woe. The perfumes of these flowers, in every -field of Gerash, remind me of my duty. I must go to the tomb of the man -that died in my defense.” - -“A pious sentiment; but duty to the living can not be pushed aside by -such a call. You have other and living friends?” - -“Yes, thou art my friend, lover, angel; but I’ll keep thee with me, my -lamb.” - -“Rizpah and your sons!” - -“Rizpah my friend? that would be amusing, if it were not such a grim -sarcasm. Oh, what a miserable race she led me!” - -“Misery, like joy, in wedded life, is won or lost by the deed of two; not -one. I shall not acquit my mother; but were not there two to blame?” - -“Two? no; only one. I could not be peaceful with a panther.” - -“Be not too severe, and think a little; did not you, after all, do much -to make your wedded wife what she was at her worst?” - -“What, I? Thou dost not think that?” - -“Yes; I know the story of your espousal; your flight from Gerash, and -then your after conflicts. You knew before you determined against all -opposing, in the face of reasons most grave, and without any thought of -your adaptation to each other, to wed, that your tempers, tastes, and -trainings were in almost every thing apart.” - -“Well, we loved each other sincerely; our marriage vows were honestly -taken.” - -“Marriage; that settled it forever! Did you as honestly keep as you took -the vows, for better or worse?” - -“Now that were impossible. Did you ever see your mother in rage, her -muscles rising in a sort of serpentine wavings from her feet upward? -Ugh! I hear her sibilant, hissing words of scorn, now. They’ll haunt me -forever. She was a lotus in love, and a boa in wrath.” - -“I may have seen her so, but out on the love that lets such visions -displace memories of the best things; a daughter, nurtured by her, can -not; a husband sworn on hymen’s altar, dare not forget.” - -“I tried to set her right, Miriamne.” - -“Not always with kindness unfailing. I’ve seen the scourge-marks on her -heart. I’ve heard her moan as a wounded dove; no, more piteously, as -a deserted wife and mother. You tried to set her right by forcing her -to your faith, that, too, when the girl-wife was weak and exhausted by -early maternity. You have been wont ever to pity profoundly the holy -mother who recoiled fainting from the spectacle of her son scourged to -crucifixion. That pity is a fine feeling; but since Mary’s day is passed, -it is finer to evince a manly tenderness for living women moving toward -their Calvary. How you waste your emotions on the dead! Mary Hyacinthus, -Ichabod, have all, Rizpah nothing.” - -“See here, daughter; let me look down into thy eyes. I’m of a mind to -think the sun has gotten into thy brain. It gets into every body’s in -this country.” So saying, he turned her face toward his own. It was a -bungling effort on his part to parry her thrusts with ridicule, the last -weapon of the defeated. - -She was a little indignant, but yet too earnest to be diverted, and so -followed up her advantage. - -“You were the stronger, every way, and fenced well against your other -self. The woman erred, sometimes grievously, perhaps, and you had your -sweet retaliations. How sweet you can tell. Each blow at her, fell on me, -my brothers and yourself. Oh, it’s the climax-revenge to lay open with -giant thrusts, monstrous and keen, vein and nerve. One may mar a good -purpose by pursuing it cruelly. Were not your efforts to set my mother -right severe, sometimes?” - -“Did the eloquent Hospitaler put these fine words together for thee, -girl?” testily questioned Sir Charleroy. - -“No matter who sent them, if they be true words. If you get angry, I’ll -be wounded. You need not try hard to hurt me. I will strive to be all -filial, while all loyal; but not more so to father than to mother.” - -“Well, but she was a rheumatism to me.” - -“So be it; still she was part of you. Does one dismember a limb that -aches, or give it tenderer care than all others?” - -“‘It is better,’ said Solomon, ‘to dwell in the wilderness, than with a -contentious and angry woman.’ I got heartily weary of an ache that ached -because it ached.” - -“I’ll place Joseph by Solomon.” - -“Pray, how?” - -“He espoused Mary and was with her, yet apart; thus showing God’s idea -of the needs of weary mothers in their trying hours, when giving their -strength to another being. Joseph was kept as a lover only, until after -Jesus was born, that his services might have a lover’s tenderness. I have -heard that the manhood of Jesus reflected the sweetness of Mary; Joseph -kept his wife in those days sweet, so the kindness of that noble spouse -lived after all, an immortal influence. Joseph, through Mary in part, -determined the bodily traits of the child Jesus; the latter influences -all time.” - -“Why, truly, thou hast found a beautiful flower, Miriamne, and I’m -wondering that I never saw it before in Mary’s life. But, finally, I tell -thee I loved Rizpah as my soul at first.” - -“Oh, yes; you both loved with almost volcanic ardor. My mother told me -so; but this very power and inclination of passionate loving gave you -each for the other power of dreadfully hurting.” - -“Well, we’ll speak further of this, perhaps, another time. The hyacinth -lures me to Ichabod’s tomb.” - -“The rose, emblem of Mary, flower of wedded love, is sweeter than the -hyacinth. Go home to Bozrah, father, I beseech you, so you may prove -yourself still a Knight of Saint Mary.” - -“Home? I’ve none! Bozrah is grim ruins within, without. There, as only -fit and in fit dwellings, abide the cormorant and hyena. All hopes that -ever centred in that place for me were but dancing satyrs at the last; -all loves but eagles with hot-iron beaks, which devoured the hearts that -fed them, then fled away! I hate Bozrah!” - -“You have a wife and children there. I a mother. Where the brood is, -there is home. Bozrah has no gloom for us, save such as we make for it. -It may be a glad place yet. Remember that Kidron and Golgotha were made -all beautiful by the fidelity of Mary and the cross-bearing of Jesus.” - -“Miriamne, this parley is useless. Once for all, hear me. Before I wed -thy mother I took upon my soul an impious, almost desperate, vow, that -I’d possess her though the possessing ruined me. The strong, hopeful -Knight of the Cross was domineered over by his love. Before this I had -some commendable principles and a little piety. What am I now, after long -driftings about through wasted years of prime? I’m the wreck of a man; -less! a part of a wreck, trying to get made over in a meaner pattern out -of the fragments left. Thy mother unmade me!” - -“Adam said something like that of Eve.” - -“Don’t interrupt me, Miriamne. The Jewish maiden Zainab gave Mohammed, -of Bozrah, the poisoned lamp which ruined his health; the Jewish -Rizpah has such a lamp. See me, wrinkled, hair whitened, all too soon; -chivalry, morality and piety dragged out of me bit by bit. I stand here -the caricature of what I was or what I should be. I’m fit for neither -war nor courtship. I’d make a pretty show attempting to court Rizpah! -I’ve forgotten how such things are done, and, besides, I’m not the -original Sir Charleroy she wed. Let her find him, or his counterfeit, -and be happy. The original Sir Charleroy and Rizpah loved each other -desperately, but these that I know hate each other as desperately. I -tell thee it would be legalized adultery for these latter two to live -under the same roof, pleading as justification the vows of the other -two! Miriamne, I tell thee that thou mayst tell it on the house tops, or -hill tops, as I’ll cry it through eternity, if permitted, Sir Charleroy -and Rizpah, of Gerash and Bozrah, died long ago! The devil stole their -bodies, put an imp’s spirit in each, and then parted them forever. If -they ever meet it will be by the fiend’s device, that he may revel over -their warrings with each other! Ah, ha! What the Roman arena was to the -blood-thirsty populace, such to the fiends the homes of the world when -full of tumults!” - -And Miriamne, alarmed by the outbreak, tried to calm her father: - -“Oh, father, you will need mercy some day; merit it by bestowing it. You -suffer an unforgiving spirit to inflame your passion!” - -“Forgiving? What’s the use? I’ve vainly tried mercy!” - -“Try once more. The injured have resource so long as they have power to -forgive. Remember Him who in the great extremity cried: ‘_They know not -what they do!_’ Trust Rizpah once more!” - -“I do not see the shadow of a peg on which to hang a trust.” - -“You, a Teutonic Knight of St. Mary!” - -“Thank God Mary was not a Rizpah!” - -“Mary had the trust of Joseph in those dire days, when nothing but a -miracle could prove her integrity. She presents not only woman’s goodness -but that which even the loftiest wife needs, the constancy beyond measure -of her husband.” - -“Joseph was advised by an angel. I not.” - -“As you love your mother, honor the woman who mothers your children. They -bear your image, yet she alone, with a sublime self-forgetting, struggles -to have them grow up honorably, purely, and in the fear of God.” - -“She wants to make them Israelites.” - -“Perhaps so, and perhaps the Christian examples she has seen give her no -reason to wish otherwise. But after all, her way is better than to have -left them as their father left them, to become infidels or nothing. Oh, -father, do not think me bold. I speak because I love you; as perhaps no -other might care or presume to give utterance.” - -“Well, girl, I guess I’m a double man; for, determined to oppose, I feel -a desire within to have thee win in this argument. I’m one compound of -contradictions. I was a sworn bachelor, then a sworn husband, now I’m -neither. I’m a widower, with a living wife; a parent of three children -with only one. I bewail my homelessness, yet run from an offered home. -I confess to being useless, yet see a mission most important at my own -door. Swearing loyalty to Mary, I disregard all she exemplified—of late -revealed to me; professing to be a Christian, I live a life that would -shame a decent Jew. I have a daughter, said by all to be much like me in -temper, feature, and mind, yet we are here utterly opposed in thought and -purpose. I’ve heard the profoundest teachers in grandest temples unmoved -to this duty, to-day presented; and, now, without the pale of any church, -in the wilds of Jericho, a mere girl, my daughter, instructs me well! -This all proves that I’m the caricature of Miriamne’s father. If I be Sir -Charleroy, then I’m beside myself!” - -“A good half confession! Now for the atonement!” - -“What, a bundle of contradictions making atonement? undoing the past! -more contradictions?” - -“Righteousness displaces all the contradictions of life!” - -“I could make no atonement except by contradicting a score of years, and -going to Bozrah! Now hear me finally; by the glory of God, alive, I’ll -never go to Rizpah’s house!” - -Miriamne felt that further persuasion would be futile. She made a last -request, then. - -“Will my father take me to the outskirts of that city? I’ll enter alone -to comfort the woman who, notwithstanding her faults, I believe to be the -noblest of mothers. She may not have a husband; she has a daughter.” - -As the father and daughter rested at noon, not far from the Giant City, -some days after the foregoing events, they beheld a single horseman from -toward Bozrah speeding along the great southern highway. - -“I think he’s a Jew and in peaceful pursuit. I’ll hail him,” said the -knight, “in the language of Galilee.” - -The rider, hearing the call, halted. Glancing about him he discovered -the source of the call, and promptly reined his steed toward where the -pilgrims were sitting. Instantly he began in short, quick sentences: - -“Wonder; the face of a Frank, the garb of a Turk, the voice of a Jew! -An old man, a young woman! A Moslem in company with his slave? No, she -sits by his side! A harem favorite? No! She is not veiled! Ye do not -look cunning enough for magicians, too cunning to be pilgrims; not pious -enough, old man, to be a priest, and too pious-looking to be a robber.” - -“True, Laconic,” said the knight, “I’m at no loss as to thee.” - -“So it seems! But pray, Christian, Jewish, Druses, Turks, who are ye?” - -“We’re pilgrims, good runner.” - -“Ha, ha; these pilgrims are a mad-lot, with piebald customs!” - -“What news, runner?” - -“What news! A plague in Bozrah! De Griffin’s twins are nigh to death—De -Griffin? May be thou knowest him? Thou dost look like him: but he’s -dead. Now his twins have no nurses nor mourners, but Rizpah, and I’m -racing to Gerash to see if I can find a soul to swell her wailings.” - -The rider turned his horse and with a word, “_Selamet_,”—“peace,” was -gone. - -Miriamne had heard enough, and now, with redoubled vehemence, reöpened -her arguments and appeals to her father to go to her home. - -“I’ll not go into Rizpah’s house. I tell thee thou art inviting me into -hell!” - -Miriamne, in turn, replied: “There is good anywhere for those that -earnestly seek it. Mohammed, they say, got his first inspiration in -Bozrah, and he a Moslem, a crescent devotee!” - -“Yes; he wed a rich wife there, too, and she was a saint. I may envy him -in these things.” - -The young woman hastily entered the city and stopped for a little time at -the mission house of Father Adolphus, briefly, hurriedly, to announce her -return, inquire the latest report concerning the illness of her brothers, -and to beseech the old priest to go out after her father; if possible, to -bring him into the city and to the desolate fireside. - -“Well, well; there, now, I’d call thee bee or humming-bird, truly, -darting from point to point, subject to subject, if I didn’t know I was -talking to an angel.” - -The sincere compliment was unheard by Miriamne, for she was gone ere it -was sounded. The old man shaded his eyes, looked after her a few moments, -then girding himself, hobbled down the street to seek at the city’s -outskirt the waiting knight. - -And Miriamne, with heart beating high, sped on homeward. But as she -approached it she slackened her pace, with questionings as to how she -had best enter, so as to secure loving welcome and in no wise perturb -by sudden surprise. She saw her mother through the doorway, bowed and -swinging back and forth. The girl’s heart divined all; “My brothers -are dead!” The mother seemed oblivious to all about her, and Miriamne -hesitated on the threshold. Just then the runner galloped up to the open -door, reined his steed, and exclaimed: “Out of sight, out of mind! Death, -like poverty, sifts our friends! Ye can hire mourners cheaper at Bozrah -than at Gerash, and there are none to be had without coins! Gerash is -distant. I had no coins, and was a fool to start, wise to return!” It was -Laconic, and he was gone before any reply was given. Rizpah didn’t even -lift up her head to notice his coming or going. - -Miriamne was glad of the circumstance, for the runner gave her words with -which to enter: “A daughter never forsakes.” She spoke thus, very softly. - -Rizpah, perhaps not recognizing the voice, moaned on, swaying as she -moaned: - -“Mother, mother?” - -Rizpah slowly lifted her eyes to the speaker; then, either by a masterful -self-control or because sorrow dazed, she slowly and without emotion, -addressed the maiden: - -“Thou here? So, then, my three are safe together, before my eyes, in -death. Thou wert buried years ago.” - -Without another word the daughter and sister quietly moved to the forms -lying beside the mother, and knelt down, bowing, her one arm flung over -the corses. Presently she reached out her hand and it met a warm clasp -from her mother. The maiden knew full well that it meant welcome. It -was death’s victory; expressive, unspoken eloquence. There were four -hearts; two still in death; two alive and breaking, but the dead hearts -somehow drew the living ones together and then they beat as one, each -all comforting to the other. Two dead hearts bridged the gulf between -two living ones. There followed the embrace and kiss of peace, and then -Rizpah questioned: - -“Wilt stay with me a little while, my only—?” thereupon she sobbed and -was relieved. - -“Stay? Yes, always! But when, the burial?” - -“At once! It’s the plague and the law requires promptness. O Death, thou -didst do thy bitterest for Rizpah!” - -Rizpah soon rose up and began to busy herself about the bodies. - -“Mother, tell me how to aid you.” - -“Yea, as I need. Thou and I wilt carry them to the cave of entombment.” - -“But will there be no funeral rites?” - -“I’ll perform such; keeping vigil as Rizpah of old. My children were -crucified, as were hers. All mankind turned from us in our stress, and so -they died in want.” - -“But, mother, the watching would kill you!” - -“Thou dost comfort me, now. Oh, I’d be overjoyed, if I only knew for -certainty that death would court me at my vigil.” - -Softly Miriamne spoke: - -“Sir Charleroy is at Bozrah.” - -“Now thou makest Bozrah seem afar. Oh, the garments of people may brush -together passing, but still to all things else the passers be eternities -apart,” replied quickly, and yet with cool self-possession, Rizpah. - -“Death, that cools the pulses, also subdues the asperities. I could not -hate an enemy if I met him amid his dead,” persuasively responded the -maiden. - -“Imperious, fanatical, stubborn Charleroy! changeable in all but his -determination to make conquest of the faith of others. Then, I can not -ask his pardon for my serving God. Liberty came to Egypt because the -mothers of captive Israel were faithful. So says our Talmud.” - -“Sir Charleroy respects at least, fidelity.” - -“Then ’tis well to have me die. He never did me justice to my face; let -him embalm me in honey after I’m dead, as Herod did the wife he murdered. -It’s a way of some husbands. But we must be moving, daughter; I’ve -prepared two biers. The plague is a stern messenger, nor leaves room for -any dallying.” - -And Bozrah witnessed a strange, sad spectacle. Two roughly constructed -burial couches; on each a body, and two women, the one aged, the other -youthful, both bowed with grief, slowly bearing the biers away, down to -the tomb-hill. The elder directed; and so they went; first a little way -forward with one body, then returning to advance the other. There were no -mourners following; the passers-by offered no help; the women of the city -drew their doors shut, and the children playing in the streets, when they -beheld this funeral procession, fled away with subdued exclamations. - -The ancient Rizpah, watching her dead on their crosses, was standing that -time in her valley of “dry bones;” her imitator, Rizpah de Griffin, was -now walking through that same valley. Both made pitiable by desolation. -Neither was able to hide her dead from her sight by looking for the hope -of the blessed resurrection. Their loving had been fierce enough, but -the soul-reviving Spirit of the prophet’s vision was not yet seen to be -in the valley for them. The two Rizpahs were “mothers of sorrow,” but -followed no cross that had on it besides “death,” “victory.” They went -with tears, but not held by a love that triumphs in “leading captivity -captive.” These ancient Jewish mothers may be put in striking contrast -with the Davidic Queen Mary, who wept from the Judgment Hall, past the -cross, past the tomb, up to the chamber of Pentecost, from which she -viewed the transports of the Ascension of her Son, her Saviour, her King. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE “KNIGHT OF ST. MARY” AND RIZPAH AT THE GRAVE OF THEIR SONS. - - “Courage, for life is hasting - To endless life away; - The inner fires unwaiting, - Transfigure our dull clay.” - - ... - - “Lost, lost are all our losses; - Love set forever free; - The full life heaves and tosses - Like an eternal sea; - One endless, living story; - One poem spread abroad, - And the sun of all our glory - Is the countenance of God.”—GEORGE MCDONALD. - - “I am ascending unto my Father and your Father, and to my God - and your God.”—JNO. xx. 17. - - -The Teutonic knight was standing in silent contemplation of a pile of -ruins, from the center of which rose a number of stately columns like so -many mourners about a grave. These were all left of a stately old temple. -Art had done nobly here once; now desolation was master, even the name of -the structure being forgotten. The priest approached, questioning within -himself as to how he would address Sir Charleroy, when they met. As he -drew nearer, he thought here are two temples in decay. There came to his -mind out of the distant past a vision of Sir Charleroy as he was when he -stood erect, ruddy-cheeked and every wit a man by his bride’s side, the -time of the wedding at Damascus. The priest, contrasting the man before -him, now aged and solemn faced, with what he was then, thought “of the -two ruined temples, the man is the sadder one. A quarter of a century -slipping over a life, though with noiseless feet, generally leaves its -tracks; if pain and passion have been the companion of the years, havoc -is wrought.” Solemnly, and in measured tones, the priest’s meditations -having given him free utterance, he spoke, quoting the words long before -sadly pronounced by the Savior concerning Jerusalem’s holy place: -“_Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up._” - -Sir Charleroy slowly, very slowly, turning his eyes upon the speaker, -observed him from head to foot, but uttered not a word. - -Again the priest spoke: “Time has so changed both knight and priest, that -they forget themselves; nor is it therefore wonderful, they should not -remember each other.” - -“Father Adolphus! Miriamne’s work?” - -“What matter whose act if we see God back of the actor. I’ve a message -from on high!” - -“Why, thou dost astound me!” - -“Methinks no man more needs astounding. May righteousness enter the gates -opened by wonder, and so move thee into Rizpah’s home and thine; death is -there!” - -“Is there? has been! When love was slain, I shut out its bleeding form -with the mourning robes of a long forgetfulness. - -“There are hopes that die to live no more; so there are homes which -bereft of their household Penates are doomed to grim ruin forever. See -these giant dwellings. They tell it all. - -“Thou art a Christian, I believe; but like the disciples, Cleopas and -Luke, with eyes holden; not discerning the Lord. - -“Just as some, having embalmed the body, looked into the tomb at a napkin -only, seeing merely the place where He lay. Though puzzled that the -grave’s seal was broken, they were still blind to the miracle of a new -dawn, simultaneous with the unclasping of night’s grim arms. They had -heard of the resurrection to be, yet they reasoned that the Promiser was -surely dead. Love alone, in the person of Mary Magdalene, most loving -because most forgiven, overleaped all doubts, disappointments and fears, -to hie away in the thinning darkness, in an utter abandonment to her -trust in the words of Him, to whom her heart was given. That was love -indeed.” - -“Oh, priest, ’tis so. A woman; a woman; leading in religion! I do not -much bepraise her, for she, being a woman, easily could believe, where -men doubted.” - -“It would have been cruel to have crossed her faith, would it not, Sir -Charleroy?” - -“Yes, on my soul, yes!” - -“Then go to the bier of thy boys. Let love overleap all obstacles.” - -“But let me rest, priest. I’ve had the full draught of trouble’s cup. I’m -quit of further conflict.” - -“Thou believest? Listen: - -“To whom also he shewed himself alive after His passion by many -infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the -things pertaining to the kingdom of God—— - -“Christian Cross-bearing knight, hear me! The suffering Savior could -never have revealed Himself, as the Almighty, Risen Christ, if there had -been no cross. By what He suffered He had gain of power. Thy wrinkles, -disciplines and all such like, fit thee now to minister in the chamber of -death; even where now of all places on earth, thou art needed.” - -“But my case is so peculiar, my home so unnatural!” - -“Is there no balm in Gilead, Sir Charleroy? If thou and she have been -great sinners, He’s a great Savior, and more, a patient one. Hast thou -thought how He lingered near His followers in an overplus of love, lured -from the triumphs of heaven, to personally deal, all comfortingly, all -encouragingly, peculiarly with individuals? For thirty-three years in -the flesh he wandered about, doing good, healing all those oppressed -of the devil; but the finest hours of all His life lay in those forty -days between the resurrection and the ascension. Well might He say to -Mary: ‘Touch me not,’ when in love, she fain would have retarded Him by -sentimental fondling. Listen now: - -“‘I have not yet ascended: Go to my disciples, say to them: I ascend -unto my Father and your Father, to my God and your God!’ He was making a -sublime accent along golden steps, and the number of those steps were ten -and two, even as the number of Israel’s tribes.” - -“I do not comprehend this mysticism, though the word-frame is beautiful.” - -“Then know it. On the cross, Immanuel cried: ‘It is finished!’ Glorious -salvation’s work was finished; but then He lingered still to bless, -especially His friends. Count the steps. He appeared first to Mary -Magdalene, out of whom he had cast the seven devils and who doubtless -clung to the Savior, her only hope, her only deliverance from the awful -realities of the tragedy in her soul. Thy Rizpah was never so ill as -Magdalene, yet surely she is worthy as much tenderness.” - -“Secondly. Jesus appeared to His mother; love’s appearing. I see her -now, in mind, by the record here unnamed—left in the sacred privacy of -her grief; too stricken to minister, but close to the triumph, because -all needful of its blessing. I see a third step—Jesus, by special -appointment, meeting the backsliding fisherman of Tiberias, now gone away -to his nets, persuading himself he had done and suffered enough, even as -does Sir Charleroy to-day.” - -“I’ve been called Pilate. Go on. Call me Peter; I can bear it.” - -“Fourthly. The Christ joined Luke and Cleopas, the Greek proselytes, now -doubters; but the chill of their misgivings was burned away in hearts -inflamed, while they journeyed to Emmaus.” - -“Now call me Luke-Cleopas, priest. I’ve the chill of the doubts, I’m -sure.” - -“Fifthly. He came to His own little church-of-the-upper-room, to breathe -on it peace and to display His all-convincing body; then He waited a week -for a special unfoldment to Thomas, the all-doubter, leaving him filled -with all faith.” - -“Oh, that He’d come to Sir Charleroy!” said the knight. - -“He does, but the knight’s eyes are holden, and he starves while toiling -for fish in a dead sea. Listen to these words by the shore of Tiberias: - -“‘Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered -him, No. - -“‘And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and -ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it -for the multitude of fishes. - -“‘Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst -ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. - -“‘Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish -likewise.’ - -“Oh, Sir Charleroy, cast in the net on the right side, then come and -dine.” - -“But I’m an odd man; not like others.” - -“He that is All Fullness later appeared to multitudes of every clime, the -representatives of the Church universal, ever full of odd people; again -to the apostle of good works, James, called the pillar of faith. The -tenth appearing was at Bethany, as the blesser and promiser to all. After -that he showed himself to Paul, proof that he was a returning Christ, -and, last of all, to John on Patmos. This the John that was care-taker of -Mary, the mother; John, the all-loving. I read each page of the glowing -Apocalypse as a love-letter from heaven to a mother, from a Son who -carries eternally within His glorious heart the image of the woman great -chiefly for her great love of Him. She loyally followed Him to the grave; -He lovingly followed her beyond it. When he set John to picturing heaven -as a virgin-bride and His Church as a woman clothed with the sun, Christ -had surely the choicest of women, Mary, in His heart.” - -“And the Heart of Heaven might well lovingly remember the mystical Rose,” -quoth the knight. - -“As heaven loved Mary, so should noble men love ‘bone of their bone, -flesh of their flesh,’ _as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for -it_.” - -“Thou wert never wed, good priest?” - -“No; perhaps ’tis well so. I’ve had a work in helping those who were wed -unhappily, to peace; forgetting, in serving their need, my own joy.” - -“Then thou hast no idea of what it is to deal with a Rizpah as a wife.” - -“I know she’s a woman; a marvel in her fidelity to her children. She -may have infirmities, but there was a woman, bowed grievously for -eighteen years, fully restored by one kind touch of the man, Jesus, ever -all-pitiful and tender toward women.” - -“But that one was willing to be healed.” - -“No; she was trying to hide, but the Savior called her out, just to heal -her.” - -“Now, then, let me cross swords at close quarters, since thou dost press -me. I ask thee, as a Christian priest, wouldst thou have me tolerate the -sins of heresy in my own home? Remember, Jezebel, she beguiled Ahab, -her daughter, Athaliah, and her husband, Jehoram, also, into gravest -transgressions. So God’s people were led, little by little, to the groves -of Astarte. I think I’ve a good parallel: Jezebel was the daughter of a -priest, so this Rizpah of Bozrah. With her hot temper, pride of exalted -birth, and a mouthful of arguments; a man meets such a woman as a pigmy, -to crouch, or as a knight, to resist.” - -“The name Jezebel means ‘chaste.’ Her pious namers must have respected -chastity once. Her practices were all loyalty to Ahab and her children, -though her theories may have been odious. All that is recorded of them, -which engenders hate for her memory, is the hatefulness of the way she -pressed her creeds upon others, the Jews. Which the more like Jezebel—Sir -Charleroy or Rizpah?” - -“But Rizpah was ardent to lay our love, and our children on her altar. -Like the women who brought their jewels to Aaron to be transmuted into -the golden calf! I could only protest, and I did.” - -“Did not the men of Egypt and Israel first proclaim the worship of Apis? -Were not the women merely following their lords? There are many women who -defile their jewels because, with contempts that turn their hearts to -ashes, their lords do not, as they should, wear both the wives and the -jewels on strong and loyal hearts.” - -“Oh, I perceive! Rizpah has been parading to thee her family troubles. A -true woman would have rather given herself to nest-hiding.” - -“Thou hast not hidden thy nest, but, like a wandering bird, fled it.” - -“She never asked my aid; she left me in London.” - -The knight was charging blindly, and defeated. - -“It was not for her to crave, but for thee to lavishly bestow. She -left thee? What better could Abigail have done than turn her beautiful -countenance and good understanding away from churlish Nabal, who lived -chiefly to gloat about the cross on which he had placed her?” - -“Does the sacrist advocate divorce?” - -“No! No rupture of the tie sealed in heaven; but when by recriminations -a home becomes a living burial, a hell, then two houses are better than -one. I feel here keenly, knight. My mother had a monstrous man, my -father, in wedlock. He left her to battle single-handed for her little -ones. Her patient, sad face comes ever before me. Oh, how she eschewed -all other men, though courted by worthier than he; how she strove to hide -my father’s faults and taught us, his children, to try to respect him! I -was but a youth when he died, but I tell thee I dared not look upon his -coffined face lest I should curse him, then and there!” - -The knight cowered as if from a malediction. - -“There, there! for heaven’s sake pause, Sacrist! Abashed at home, lashed -by the teacher of the faith I’ve suffered to defend, I’ll be driven to -flee to the wandering Bedouin, or to death!” - -“They say Lucifer, unable to commit suicide, plunges headlong into the -abyss when thwarted in any design.” - -“Call me Lucifer; another epithet!” - -“There are no black gulfs into which thou canst flee from the memories -which conscience points to when duty is contemned.” - -“Is it the priest’s purpose to harass my soul?” - -“No; but rather to lead it back to its peace that thou didst leave long -ago. There is only one way of return, that a very _Via Dolorosa_. Mary -along it walked with her son, her God and Savior, to the cross and the -resurrection! By the cross God gives, we go to our glory.” - -“I’ve tried my best to be a loyal, Christian knight. Give me, at least, -that award.” - -“I can not praise justly; I dare not flatter; I must in all faithfulness -say thou hast yet to learn the alphabet of loyalty, as interpreted -by that glorious pair, Mary and the Christ—the triumphant Eve, the -triumphant Adam. Thou hast been following afar off, nearer the flickering -of Judas’ illusive lantern than to Him who pleaded amid His griefs, -all self-forgetting, with His Roman guards to let His little band of -followers depart unharmed. The woman whom thou exaltest as the queen of -hearts is, after all, not thy pattern. Judas and Mary are in lasting -contrast; he all treason, she fidelity’s choicest fruit. It is well to -see to it to which one is the nearer. Oh, Gethsemane, garden of touching -contrasts! There love was most grossly interpreted by the shrines of -_Baaltis_; there most grandly interpreted by love’s sublimest offering -that night the Saviour agonized. There twice the enemy of man did his -almost worst; once by the rites of the groves, once in the wracking -temptations of the Man of Sorrows. The arch-fiend was baffled, and then -the ingenuity of hell was taxed to one last, most terrific and dastardly -assault. What thinkest thou was the climax? The last effort to blot out -the hope of man was made through betrayal by a kiss; the finest sign of -affection befouled by treason! When the wedded betray each other, alas, -for the world!” - -Sir Charleroy surrendered now, exclaiming: - -“Oh, Father Adolphus; again I see there is a mist on my knightly cross! -I’m unworthy to wear the sign. It has been an emblem of death; I see it -now an emblem of life and love.” - -“Will the knight look on the dead faces of his sons?” - -“Yes, yes! In the name of God, yes! Lead me as a child, for I’m nothing -more.” - -The knight was in the throes of transformation. He and the priest walked -side by side, mostly in silence, broken anon, only by questions of Sir -Charleroy’s, like these: - -“Am I worth saving? Shall I ever become able to fully sound and truly -express, in life, the depths of all thou hast told me? And Rizpah! what -will Rizpah say or do?” - -The old priest answered ever: - -“‘Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ Himself -shall give thee light!’” - -The lone burial cave was reached. Nigh the two biers stood Rizpah and -Miriamne and but a little way off Sir Charleroy and the priest. The -maiden, with surprised joy, saw the two men, but Rizpah, busy with her -thoughts, never lifted her eyes. The latter drew a slab away from the -entrance of the tomb and then moaned: “Better I’d never been a mother.” - -Father Adolphus seized the opportunity to say in deep, entreating tones: - -“‘I will ransom them from the power of the grave: I will redeem them from -death.’” - -The mother supposing it was some kindly neighbor, still unnoticing any -thing but the speaker’s voice, moaned on, sitting nigh the tomb-door, -between the dead, a hand on each. - -Then the old shepherd drew nearer, saying: - -“Sisters of Israel, only believe. Beyond this stony gate there is an -eternal home fairer than any dream. There all broken homes shall rise in -joy, their treasures reunited and happy.” - -Now Rizpah rose, and observing the speaker silently for a moment, she did -not seem offended at the priest’s presence. Misery had overcome, at least -for the time, her prejudice. Presently she exclaimed: - -“My family reunited in heaven? Ah! that can not be, and if it were so, -what joy to ever repeat the bickering, blamings and wrongs of this poor -miserable life?” - -“Thou wilt know as thou art known there and see eye to eye,” said the -missioner. - -“Oh, if it could be only so!” - -“Wouldst like it so?” - -“Yes, by the grave of my darlings, I swear it! I loved them with my life -madly. All the love I had was concentrated in them. I knew when I began -idolizing them that I had loved before full well my husband and daughter. -I knew this, because the love I withdrew from them rushed forth to the -boys. But my idols are dead, and now if my love do not dry up, it will -hunger, feed on me myself, then turn to ferocity wolf-like.” - -“Perhaps a husband restored may fill and enlarge thy heart. There never -was a great sorrow but there stood near it a great joy,” spoke the priest. - -“Ah, he is stubborn, I, perhaps, proud. Immensity is between me and Sir -Charleroy.” - -“Hast thou not yet had enough of pride’s dead sea apples?” - -“Alas! why ask me?” - -“If thou art ready for a better day, he may be.” - -“Ready? I’ve always been. What I did for conscience sake and these -children is done. What he did to me he only can undo, as far as the past -can be undone.” - -Then Miriamne waved her hand to her father, unseen by Rizpah, -entreatingly, as if to say: “Come, but not too quickly, a little nearer.” - -Sir Charleroy complied and not as a laggard, for Rizpah seemed changed -from what she was in London. He now saw her as in those golden early days -at Gerash. But the truth was, the change was chiefly in himself. - -“Rizpah!” - -“Sir Charleroy de Griffin!” replied the woman addressed deliberately, and -apparently emotionlessly, as she fixed her eyes upon the knight. Then her -eyes turned toward the tomb, seemingly inviting his to follow there their -course. She stepped back and glanced from man to tomb, by the glance -saying more plainly than words: - -“That is thy work. Thou didst open that grave in my pathway.” - -The knight stood by her side and put forth his hand to clasp hers, but -with a respectfulness that betokened the cavalier and one not quite -certain of his welcome. - -Then spake Father Adolphus: - -“Remember Damascus, both of you. Come, Miriamne,” he continued, drawing -the maiden aside, “I’ve a giant’s grave to show thee.” - -The priest and the maiden moved to a turn in the road and passed behind -the crumbled wall of a Roman palace. - -“But, Father Adolphus, where now? What of the giant’s grave?” - -“Be content, girl. I mean the grave of mad love grown to mad hate. It -will be made and deep enough by thy parents, but they can best make it -alone.” - -And Miriamne fell upon her knees in silent, grateful prayer; a great -burden that had borne her down for years seemed lifted from off her. -The Miserere that had wailed through her life so long now changed to an -Easter anthem. - -Father Adolphus after a time recalled her by a single question: - -“Dost see the fierce woman and the vultures fleeing away before the -coming of our Christian Mother of Sorrows?” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -THE ROSE, QUEEN OF HEARTS IN THE GIANT CITY - - “Around thy starry crown are wreathed - So many names divine! - Which is the dearest to my heart - And the most worthy thine?” - - ... - - “‘_Mother of sorrows_,’ many a heart, - Half broken by despair, - Hath laid its burden by the cross, - And found a mother there. - ‘_Mary_,’ the dearest name of all, - The holiest and the best, - The first low word that Jesus lisped - Laid on His mother’s breast.”—A. A. PROCTOR. - - -There had come a great change to the home of the De Griffins at Bozrah, -without and within. Shrubs and vines grew about the old stone house -in profusion, birds sang contentedly at its casements, and kittens, -undisturbed, played around its doors. These were tokens of the new inner -life. - -The queen of that domestic palace was happy; its king restored to his -rights and duties; therefore there was abounding delight and peace within -and without. Sir Charleroy and Rizpah, the two mature wed-lovers that -abode there, had, out of all their estrangements and tribulations, come -to understand at last that love grows out of law and is more than a -sentiment, free to go when lured or flee from that which burdens. It was -to them like a revelation from heaven to find that love is the vassal of -the will and can be made to go where it ought, as well as be reined back -from lawless rovings. They found there was great satisfaction in their -efforts to be very agreeable to each other. Sir Charleroy constantly -assured Rizpah of his belief that they were now more really lovers -than they had been in those fervent days at Gerash. She believed this -new creed with the avidity of a heart sore with long waitings for its -proclaiming. - -The knight bethought himself of a graceful advance, and introduced the -matter with a sort of parable. “I’ve been thinking to-day that the only -man whom I ever felt like kissing, the man who loved me to the full of -his great heart, is present with us in spirit these days to joy over our -reconciliation. I’ve felt a strange thrill at times which made me think I -was touched by the glowing heart of Ichabod.” - -“Ichabod?” - -“Yes; he that fell in our defense the day of that perilous battle with -those Mamelukes, near Gerash. Ah, he had the heart of a mastiff, the soul -of a martyr!” - -“Thy love is constant. But what’s in thy hand?” - -The knight had hoped for the question. - -“A token I took from his corpse. It was given him by a Copt priest, whose -life he saved in Egypt. See.” - -“I see a stone in a gold setting; on the stone an image, I think of a -woman? I’ve noticed it with thee before.” - -“I knew it! Once I thought thou didst observe it askance, as if a trifle -jealous. Well, no more secrets, no more jealousies. What says Rizpah?” - -“I say amen; and yet I say tell all, or none; either way I shall be -content. Love’s trust, when full, has few questions and no doubts.” - -“Nobly spoken, but yet I must tell all. The image is of _Neb-ta_, from -the country of Hamites.” - -“What an odd figure! Her head-dress, a basket!” - -“The basket on her head and the little house by her side betoken that -she was the presiding spirit of domestic life. I love Neb-ta! She ever -reminds me of woman at her best, as a mother brooding her chicks.” - -“Praise be the Patriarchs; they left us testimonies which makes it -needless to go to Egypt for precepts concerning home-love!” responded the -wife. - -“But, Rizpah, thou dost divert me! Wait; I’m coming around with the -patriarchs, by way of Jerusalem, to Bozrah.” - -“Now, that’s a fine parade; I await it,” the woman, with quick reply, -answered. - -“Tradition says this Neb-ta will stand before Osiris and Isis in the -judgment ‘hall of truth,’ where another deity styled ‘divine wisdom’ -opens the books of men’s earthly deeds. As the great Anubis weighs them, -Neb-ta stands by ready to cut away the failings of those weighed. When -the scale of their merit is lacking, she herself leaps into it, to weigh -it down in their behalf.” - -“A pretty myth for grim old Nile Land!” - -“It proves man’s belief that at last he’ll need help.” - -“It is strange those women degraders should have allotted one of that sex -so fine a part in the hereafter.” - -“It illustrates the constant conviction in men’s hearts that woman’s -sympathy abides to the last.” - -“In some men’s hearts, say. All are not equally just.” - -“I’ll be direct, Rizpah, and sincere. I’ve felt an indescribable -unworthiness of all I enjoy here in the house saved and brightened by my -wife. I’ve been saying, ‘Oh, that some one like Neb-ta would cut off my -failings and enrich my merit.’” - -Sir Charleroy, after this long journey around about, felt relieved. He -had made his confession and waited his absolution. - -Rizpah’s eyes brightened up, and, though bedewed, shone with the luster -of gleaming affection. - -He knew full well how to interpret that look, and evinced the quality -of the interpretation by quickly embracing her. There passed between -them salutations having the purity of manna, the lusciousness of Escol’s -grapes. - -“Will Sir Charleroy need to go to Egypt for a Neb-ta?” - -“No, never, while I’ve an all-forgiving, all-blessing Rizpah!” - -Encouraged by the success attending one simile, he attempted another -later: - -“I was thinking,” tenderly replied the knight, “that I’ve sinned against -God in the name of religion, and unconsciously offered ‘the female lamb.’” - -“Pardon my stupidity, but yet I do not gather what is thy meaning.” - -“My Rizpah has been sacrificed for years.” - -The wife tried to reply, “I’m no lamb without blemish;” but her tears -and his passionate embrace, checked her utterance. To those without, -there is much incomprehensible in the estrangements and reconciliations -of human pairs, made utterly one in wedlock. If, since the Incarnate -died for love, and the Temple’s veil was rent, there has been on earth -an unrevealed Holiest of Holy places, it has been where wed lives, -alienated, have been reunited. It is like a sacrilege to attempt its -depicting to stranger eyes or ears. Many, for themselves, have been -within that holy place; each twain meeting its own peculiar and varied -experiences. But, having come forth with a natural and most meritorious -reverence for the events of such supreme hours, they are wont to withdraw -from human curiosity all that transpired, as completely as they hide from -the world their souls’ dealings with God. They who have never been within -that Holy Place, can not understand about what there transpires; those -that have been there, defend their sacred right to keep from all the -world that which they saw and felt, by refusing to give audience to the -experiences of others. - -Sir Charleroy and Rizpah, at the time of the foregoing conversation, -entered serenely, lovingly that Holy Place. Then they took, as it were, -wings of memory and shields of faith. The grim giant house was forgotten. -Its walls seemed to thin away, until they had to themselves a broad, but -secluded world. There was light, but not exposure; repentance, mutual, -and forgiveness, not only free, but in every syllable seeming to have -balm for healing. There followed an unutterable sense of getting nearer -and nearer to each other. They felt as if they had but one will, and that -guided by God; one mind, and that clear and heaven soaring. The only -sense of being two, was in their beating hearts, and then two hearts -seemed more blessed than one; for being two, there was the joy of their -beatings for and against each other. Words fail; it would be sacrilege -to go further. Let the curtain drop. Leave them with a thousand angels, -winged and liveried in white, with wands of silence to keep watch and -ward until morning! - -On the morrow they knew that both had surrendered and both conquered. -And by a paradox, to those uninitiated, each rejoiced as much in the -surrender each had made, as in the victory which had been won by the -one defeated. Defeat and victory was their common wealth. There was a -full community between them, and that made both rich, whatever their -possessings. Thenceforward, between them, there was perfect frankness -and consideration; no sarcasms, no recriminations, and hence no need of -foils nor masks. Christ had captured the Crusader’s heart, and he was -now, as never before, able to reveal the King of his soul to Rizpah. She -moved unconsciously into a beauty of character like unto that of Mary, -and her heart began singing a ‘Magnificat.’ The woman was transformed, -if possible, more completely than the man. For years amid hurtings she -had schooled herself to reticence, and had been an enigma to all who knew -her; but now, under the rising of this new sun, she opened as the blossom -of early spring. Sir Charleroy, indeed all who knew her, attested delight -and surprise; but Rizpah was as much surprised at herself as any other -could be at her. - -“I didn’t know I could,” she exclaimed often with laughter and tears. -She seemed to break away and run from her former self as one from -some phantom, as a child from a reputed witch, or a freed bird from a -prisoning cage. She saw herself growing in all these things every moment -and exclaimed, in the rush of feeling; “I could fly, I’m sure!” Then -tenderly, “I would not, my mate, for a thousand worlds, unless thou -couldst fly with me. No, no, Charleroy, watch my wings; they are thine; -cut them if they grow or flutter for rising. If they do, they’ll do it -themselves, without my willing.” Again the sacredness of the holiest came -over them. - -“Oh, Rizpah, I know, I knew this wealth of love was in thee; I’ve -wondered often why I could not find it.” - -“I did not know it, my lover king; I’m glad thou hast found it, for thy -finding feeds me with light and glory! I’m carried back to Gerash and -Damascus.” - -“I think not. There were flaming swords at Eden’s Gate, after the fall. -No going back; but the swords gave light for departure into broader -places. I think that’s the symbol of the sword and the flame, Rizpah.” -Again he spoke: “Hadrian built a temple of Venus over the tomb of -Christ, but Hadrian and Venus are no more in power and there has been a -resurrection from that tomb.” - -“Ah, Sir Charleroy, I’m a child in thy creed, but I’m comforted by thy -resurrection hopes, especially since conversing yesterday more freely -than ever with our lovely child of God, Miriamne.” - -“Hers is an angel’s visit, wife.” - -“And angel-like, with filial spirit, she comes, this time, with request -for our consent to an act of great import to her.” - -“So; and what may it be? Though I know it can only be good.” - -“She came to tell us, that she desires publicly to profess the religion -of the Naz——of Jesus.” - -Sir Charleroy felt a twinge of an old pain, and for a moment queried -within: “Will the old struggle over faiths again confront us?” But he -dismissed it with an unexpressed “Impossible, we’re all changed!” Then -replied he quietly with a question. “Does the dear girl fully understand -the seriousness of the act? If she do and then acts, I’ll be glad to -commit her to Christ as her Bridegroom and King.” - -“We cannot be with her always, and she seems determined to go through -life unwed.” - -“A Neb-ta, an angel spinster, mothering other people’s chicks! But what -says my Rizpah of our daughter’s purpose to profess her faith?” - -“I? This: God being my Helper, I’ll never again stand between Him and any -soul, except it be to pray for that soul’s health.” - -Just then the maiden entered bearing a lamp which suddenly lighted the -room, now well nigh in darkness. She presented a most striking and -suggestive figure. Her eyes were full of her heart’s chief question, and, -standing in the light of her own bearing, she seemed to fitly represent -the part she had borne in that household. - -Sir Charleroy, anticipating his daughter’s question, greeted her with -promptness thus: “Sunshine, thy purpose I know. It’s all between God -and thyself. Go gladden Father Adolphus and Cornelius with an early -profession.” - -She was filled with surprise, and voiced its chief cause: - -“Cornelius? He’s at Jerusalem!” - -“Well, if so, ’tis wonderful, since I met him here to-day.” - -“I wonder,” she meditated, meanwhile speaking her thoughts as if -unconscious of those about her, “What brought him here?” - -“Oh,” replied the father, “he says ‘to see Father Adolphus about the -church of Jerusalem;’ but Father Adolphus says ‘the young man came -because he could not help it, to see his good angel.’” - -“‘His good angel!’ Whom?” - -“Now, Sunrise, guess! When thou dost so, to make short work, begin with -the good angel of us all, Miriamne.” - -Miriamne lifted her hand reprovingly, but the tell-tale crimson hung -confession on her cheeks, while her lips, wreathed in smiles, told her -pleasure. - -“Well, now, will my father go with me to good Adolphus about my -profession?” - -“As thou mayst like, but it will be easier to reduce three to two than -four to two!” - -Again the uplifted, reproving hand and the blush and Miriamne ran out. - - * * * * * - -“Do not reöpen that question settled once; it can only pain us both to -recur to it.” - -“‘Reöpened!’ ‘Settled!’” exclaimed Cornelius. “Not with me. Nothing in -silence can settle it; and it is always open to me, sleeping or waking.” - -“The consciousness of duty done comes like the breezes of Galilee, -turning all moanings to a song within me.” - -“Oh, Miriamne, who is it decrees that we, belonging, all, each, to the -other, should be torn asunder ruthlessly? Duty, conscience! Hard metallic -words when they describe the links of a chain! Ah, our misconceptions -often bind us to pain; this one I cannot bear!” - -“And yet, Cornelius, you told me in that Adriatic storm you could as -easily drown a passion rising against righteousness as you could drown -the body then, by a plunge into the billows!” - -“You held me back when I moved forward to show how easily I could make -the plunge.” - -“But then you had no intention of leaping to death!” - -“Not while held back by Miriamne!” - -“I? Poor, weak I, hold you?” - -“To me your touch has ever had persuasion and might! Oh, woman, you lead -me captive to your will in chains riveted, unyielding, and yet of golden -delights.” - -“Say not so. We have each a great mission, but apart.” - -“Apart! The decree that settles our courses that way is monstrous. It is -not of God. He ordained that our race go in pairs. And when He set up -the new kingdom of Jesus, its heralding disciples were sent forth two -by two. As Moses needed his Hobab, Christ his confidants, so need I a -yoke-fellow. I’ve no ambition to live, much less to work, unless I have -my heart’s idol with me.” - -“Illusion.” - -“Call it ‘_Maya_’ if you like; but ‘_Maya_,’ Brahm’s wife, illusion, made -the universe visible to him. So say those ancient mythologians. I can see -nothing without my Miriamne!” - -“Oh, man, hold; nor pain me further! I cannot help you. How can I, -since my own chosen work seems too great for me! I’m like a mere shell, -drifting with the tides, without sail or helm; the harbor unknown. I only -know I carry a precious pearl, truth, and that there are those who need -it. I must bear it to them.” - -“I’m a shell, without helm or sail, and have the same pearl. Let me -voyage with you.” - -“And—what?” - -“In all brevity—marry me!” - -“That cannot be, I fear. I’d rather be the——. Can’t I be your ideal -as Mary?” She blundered amid her efforts to express herself, and the -tell-tale blush betokened defeat. - -“Yes; be my Mary, and let me take the place as your Joseph. Mary was a -wife and mother. The greatest of God’s works in the old dispensation was -to translate men; in the new dispensation, seeking to surpass the old, He -presented a perfect woman, in her highest estate, as the queen of a home!” - -The woman was silent for time. There then seemed to her to be two -Miriamnes, and the debate was transferred from being between the young -man and herself to these two which she seemed to be. One Miriamne said -“Yield,” one “Be firm.” One said, “He has the better reasons,” one said -“Nay;” one said, “It is pleasant to be overcome,” the other said “_Maya, -Maya, Maya!_” Then recovering herself she exclaimed, “I wish the priest -were here; he’d guide us by the Divine word.” - -“I have a holy text,” and drawing a line at a venture, the youth repeated -these words: - -“‘_God said it is not good that man should be alone!_’” - -She smiled and stammered: - -“Oh, Cornelius! I want to admire you and lean on you as my guide, -teacher, pastor; but you meet all my approaches that way, transformed to -a lover.” - -“_Maya! Maya!_ Miriamne; let the illusion work; sleep the Leathen sleep; -yield to love’s dream; then comes the full noon to awaken to marriage -joy. Thou wilt find, not above thee but at thy side, then, the teacher, -guide; shepherd as well; but also the husband.” - -Miriamne had reached a point of hesitancy, which is, in all lives, just -a step from surrender, and the lover, made alert by his ardor, perceived -the advantage. Though a prey to hopes and fears, an incarnation of -paradoxes, in which bashfulness contested with audacity for control -of the will, he gathered all his powers into a grand charge. With a -tender vehemence he stormed the citadel of the heart before him. First -he imprisoned her hand in his; he had done so before. Now it fluttered -strangely; presently it rested as a bird; at first as if frightened, then -helpless, then content. All that followed may be easily imagined. Suffice -to say that Cornelius Woelfkin just then believed life worth living and -the universe made visible, though not by an illusion. - -Just as many another of Eve’s daughters placed as she in a tempest of -delights, she confessed her capitulation by a series of retorts, which -gave her relief from tears by affording apologies for laughter. - -“No woman ever so loved as I now? You men all talk that way at betrothal!” - -“‘To death!’ Miriamne, ’twill be true with me.” - -“Yes, at betrothal and when their wives are dead, they say men are very -affectionate. But, Cornelius, remember I’ll expect sweets between times. -Do not love me to death at first, vex me to death later, then go mad for -love’s sake after I’m gone!” - -He vowed, protested and assured; she believed him without the shadow of -a doubt. They were irrevocably committed to each other now. There was -a rush of thoughts, plannings, questionings and hopes. Two lives apart -converging, becoming mysteriously one. Over them arose that wondrous sun -which illumines some betrothal days. They were both very happy, very -proud, and also each to the other very beautiful. The harmless conceits -of love possessed them and they persuaded themselves easily that they -were at the center of all things, even of the infinite love of God. The -glow of their own hearts brightened to them all things immediately about -them, and they entered that arcana of delights where secret blessings -may be experienced but can not be depicted. They ate of that hidden -manna which is reserved alone for those who sincerely love and are -loved. No being ever loved as they, who afterward despised or regretted -the enchantment, although it brought some pain or at the last ended in -disappointment. None ever having been for a season in that Beulah-Land -but wishes himself there again. None who comprehends the thrillings of -lover days can fail to envy more or less, if they are loveless, those who -are in love as these twain were. - -Much of the ridiculing of this grand passion, affected by some, is after -all the result of envy, secretly longing for that beyond its reach. -Sometimes the enraptured themselves attempt this deriding, but theirs is -an hysterical laughter, a feeble effort to rest from the intensity of -their rapture or to hide their secret from others. The laughter of all -such as the foregoing is hollow and eventually turns the shame back upon -the ridiculers who would cover others with it; for love, while it is an -angel of sunshine, has also the power of carrying to every heart which -shamefully entreats it remorse, humiliation and pains as numberless as -nameless. - -Cornelius and Miriamne, the young reformers, having embarked fully -upon the full, glowing, exalting, triumphant tide of their love were -themselves reformed and transformed. A while ago each was willing to -die for the world, now each was willing to die, if need be, for the -other and not for humanity’s sake, unless some way the heart’s idol was -to be part of the reward of that sacrifice. This new tide carried them -quickly to that place of paradoxical oscillations, the place where the -lover is one moment utterly self-denying, the next utterly grasping; -willing to be annihilated one instant in behalf of another, and then in -an avariciousness without a parallel on earth, the next moment willing to -annihilate the universe rather than be bereft of the one object deemed -above all others. - -The young lovers passed through the usual, often experienced, often -depicted, old, old, ever new phases of this relation. The fire kindled -in their hearts sped from center to center of their beings, the laughter -of secret joy quivered along every nerve of each. Each was happier than -it was possible to tell, even that other one that awakened the joy. -Their gait, their blushing cheeks, their flashing eyes, and their words -proclaimed unmistakable the complete coronation of love. They believed, -and perhaps properly, that they were enjoying the seraphic, exuberant, -mellow, yet exciting delights of an hundred ordinary lives merged into -one. Each in turn, over and over, in repetitions that tired neither to -utter nor to hear, said to the other: “I love you.” A rain of impassioned -kisses made reply. Time was not observed; they forgot their former hurry, -that pushed them earnestly, ever toward duty, when they were committed -to being reformers. They were only and completely lovers now, and lovers -are beings whose existence is in a heaven where there are no clocks. -The sun set over Bozrah while the twain communed, but there was so much -light in their hearts they did not observe the lull of night around them. -Existence seemed to them a living fullness, a soaring upward without -friction or effort, and they incarnated that which at last makes heaven, -perfect desire perfectly satisfied. They were presently recalled to the -things outside of themselves by the sound of some one approaching. - -“It’s Father Adolphus. I know his step,” remarked Miriamne. - -Cornelius, remembering his recent, successful assault, was encouraged -to attempt another. His heart whispered to him: “Why not make this -matter final now?” His heart seemed to grow pale and trembled at its own -whispering, until he himself grew pale and trembled throughout his whole -being, at the audacity of the thought. But love’s suggestions are ever -very domineering; this one dominated the man instantly, and he acted on -it. - -“Miriamne, why not permit Father Adolphus now to seal our betrothal with -his blessing?” - -“He will bless us, I know,” quoth the maiden, evasively; but she knew -what her lover meant full well. Not only so, her heart, against her -judgment, was siding for the blessing. - -The youth felt certain he had carried one line of defense, and now went -charging onward, determined to carry all before him. - -“Yes; he will bless us, I know, if we ask him. I’ll ask him, and then, -Miriamne, mine, I’ll call thee no more sister, but wife.” - -“Oh, you are in such a hurry! This is all too sudden. I—only wanted to be -engaged—not married, perhaps, for years. We could work for the Master—” - -She was interrupted, as victorious lovers usually interrupt. - -Just then the priest entered. Miriamne tried to greet him with a smile -and a sentence, but she was under a spell. She seemed to herself to be -a different woman than she was when he last met her guide. She spoke a -few meaningless words, which were lost in the vigorous utterance of her -companion, as he explained the betrothal and requested its ratification. - -The aged man of God looked tenderly down on both, and then questioned: - -“Miriamne, I know his heart toward thee; is thine resting on his?” - -The maiden drooped her eye-lids, but the tell-tale blush on her cheek -gave answer. - -“Shall I commit you to each other before God, forever!” - -Her hand rose in an effort to restrain, but it fell back into her lap, as -if unwilling to do so. - -“Bless us quickly, good father, I pray you,” spoke Cornelius. - -“Clasp four hands crossed,” said the priest. - -The maiden’s hands joined those of the young man, and yet one drew back a -little, as if to say, Wait. The motion was slight; then she found voice. - -“But, Father Adolphus, do you think God will condemn, if we do?” - -“God made such as ye are to love each other. What says thy conscience? -Speak frankly now, girl; thou art with those that care for thee with an -eternal regard.” - -“My conscience does not condemn, and I commit all I am to the guidance of -you two men. I feel quiet and safe in the committal.” - -And the solemn sealing words were soon spoken. - -“Shall I pronounce you husband and wife?” questioned the priest. - -Cornelius, like a knight in full charge desirous of taking all before him -as trophy, exclaimed quickly, confidently: “Yes, yes, all!” - -Then Miriamne recovered herself in the emergency, and with maidenly -dignity and tenderness, yet with unalterable firmness, said: “Nay.” - -“But, Miriamne—” - -The youth could proceed no further. He was defeated by the glance that -met his, filled with pious, kindly, yet firm dissent. She spoke then -freely. - -“Before God we are affianced; the first step, as an Israelite, I’ve -taken. We are now bound to each other forever. I am proud to wear the -yoke of betrothal. We must wait before the final words are spoken, until -we’ve seen my parents, and until God has given us further wisdom.” - -She prevailed. Shortly after the foregoing, Cornelius, taking a tender -farewell, returned to his work at Jerusalem. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -THE QUEEN AND THE GRAIL SEEKERS. - - “My good blade carves the casques of men; - My tough lance thrusteth sure, - My strength is as the strength of ten, - Because my heart is pure. - - Sometimes on lonely mountain meres; - I find a magic bark, - I leap on board, no helmsman steers, - I float ’till all is dark. - - A gentle sound, an awful light! - Three angels bear the Holy Grail, - With folded feet, in stoles of white, - On sleeping wings they sail. - - So pass I hostel, hall and grange; - By hedge, and fort, by park and pale, - All armed I ride, what e’er betide, - Until I find the Holy Grail.”—TENNYSON. - - “Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been - early at the tomb.” - - -Another Easter, to some the brightest yet, smiled in Bozrah, and Miriamne -was at the Christian Chapel. - -Father Adolphus, after serious, tender greeting, questioned: - -“I wonder thy father came not to-day?” - -“Oh, he’s celebrating the resurrection of love, joy, and peace, at home. -You often told me these were the realities of Christ’s rising.” - -“Thy joy in this must reach all fullness?” - -“I don’t know, I’m in a strange way—very happy, yet very restless.” - -“I have seen souls before at their noon; hast thou not observed how the -air seems to tremble sometimes at midday? This is not fear but fullness.” - -“Oh, my shepherd, I’m not at noon yet, only dawn. I’ve only begun my -work.” - -“Has our missionary Cupid other couples at odds to reunite?” - -“Perhaps so; but whether God calls me to such work or not, this much I -know, He has put a burden on me.” - -“Will Miriamne confide it to me—or has the lover dethroned the priest?” - -“There now, never say that again! None on earth can dethrone in my heart -my constant friend and guide; yea under God, my savior! Had there been -no Father Adolphus there would have been no lover; at least no Christian -Cornelius, as my heart’s lord.” - -“I fear Miriamne in her generous desire to cheer a tired old man -flatters.” - -“No; not flattery, but just award. As the ancient captives on their -return to their own Israel gave their wealth to provide crowns for their -priests, so do I to-day offer the finest gold of my heart to the man who -piloted me with purity, patience, and wisdom, along and over perilous -ways, to happiness beyond all words to express.” - -The old missionary’s face expressed the wondrous comfort he felt in the -words of his convert. - -“And what is it that burdens thee, daughter?” - -“I hope my pastor will not be offended, but I’m burdened by the slow -dawning of religious day. Why does it take so long to convert the earth?” - -“The zeal of the young convert fills thee!” - -“Ah, but that trite answer, defense of the slow progress of true or false -creed, after all does not answer. I feel those Easter services at times -lifting me up, out of and beyond myself, out of all thought of my own -final glory, and to anxiety for a lost Israel, a lost world! I think, -at times, I comprehend what was meant by the descent to the grave, the -captivity of death, the triumphal ascent, and then I wonder and doubt.” - -“Wonder and doubt?” - -“Yes; I wonder at the grandeur of all that the resurrection implies, -and seeing it unrealized I doubt whether my interpretation of it be the -right one. Worse than that, I’m pained by darker doubts. Forgive me, but -my poor soul sometimes questions whether or not God has grown weary or -failed to keep His promises. Oh, these doubts pain me to my heart’s core, -but they will come! I see day by day on every hand such widespread gloom; -not only that very few walk in the light, but how many shadows fall on -those who profess to have entered the light of the Rising?” - -“Alas, day drags wearily!” slowly responded the priest. - -“Yes; the centuries since Calvary, filled with misery, ignorance, and -sin, seem to me to have rebuke in them to all who saw, from time to time, -the Gospel light, and imperious urgency for those who see it now.” - -“But the church is doing its best to get onward, Miriamne.” - -“That I doubt, though I’d fear to be heretical.” - -“Again, I do not comprehend thee, girl.” - -“That’s it; I do not comprehend myself, or what it is that I’m stirred to -be or do. I think that there’s a reason for sadness at Easter time. It -is the reminder of a great hope unfulfilled. Over twelve hundred years -have passed away since Christ arose, typical of the rising of mankind by -faith to all that was noble and blissful, and yet we are all in the dim -twilight of the morning. Oh, my teacher, it seems to me as if a funeral -chord went weeping through every Easter anthem.” - -The old priest sat silently for a time, then bowed his head and wearily -sighed; “I have done my best any way!” - -“Oh, do not think I doubt that! No, no; I’d not hint a rebuke of my noble -guide; but I can’t make you understand me! Nobody seems to grasp my -meaning! Yet of this I’m certain, I want to do something differing from -what has been; something great, revolutionary, for the world, for Christ.” - -“All reforms are revolutionary; all consecration to noble work, noble.” - -“I suppose I express myself as vaguely as other Christians, whose efforts -are chiefly words. But why is it that there can not be a presentment of -Divine truth in such a simple and attractive form as to make all hearing -and seeing love it? Why is it that the followers of truth separate into -armies, not only not sympathizing with, but opposing each other? Why do -not all having a common Father and one Saviour, join as one loving family -to bear aloft the banner of the Invincible?” - -“That day will come in God’s good time.” - -“Oh, again forgive me; but that trite apology for the delayed dawn seems -to me to fling the blame on God in order to palliate man’s indifference.” - -“Miriamne, thou art thoughtful beyond thy years, but what wouldst thou -have?” - -“Some one to show me how, and when, and where to proclaim a revolution! -There is need that Israel believe; that one half the race, its women, -be crowned with its full privileges and powers; that Christian humanity -check war, banish poverty and bring in universal justice.” - -“Revolutionist, indeed; though a blessed one art thou!” - -“So I’m often told; but who will show me how to work for such ends!” - -“Hast thou among thy knightly companionships heard of the Grail knights?” - -“I’ve heard of them; but not a great deal. Why ask?” - -“Thou art like them.” - -“I’m glad to know whom I’m like; tell me of them that I may know myself.” - -“They, as their life work, and with charming enthusiasm, sought an object -pure and noble, but which none but they themselves could see.” - -“Did they obtain their object and do much good?” - -“They were a blessing to the world; but sometimes, like others seeking -lofty ends, they failed. Eternity alone can estimate their work and -worth.” - -“Where are they now?” - -“Their successors are like thee. That grail guild of old is now no more.” - -“Tell me all about them and the Grail!” - -“Listen. Joseph of Arimathæa, he that secretly followed the Lord in his -lifetime, and openly, after he saw the glory of His crucifixion, is -said to have caught the blood that flowed from the speared side in the -paschal vessel or cup used at the last supper. There is a cathedral in -Glastonbury, England, which once I saw, erected on the place where Joseph -builded a little wicker oratory, when there as a missionary. At least -they say he once was there. The aged Joseph died and the Grail or Passion -cup passed into the custody of other holy men. Finally a custodian of it -sinned, and thereupon it was caught away quickly to heaven. But there is -a legend that it is brought, from time to time, to earth, only to be seen -by those that are pure—virgin men and women. Then out of the yearnings -for the cup’s presence (for it is said it gave unutterable joy as well -as miraculous healings to any that came nigh to it), an order of knights -sprung up, to seek it, everywhere in earth. They were sworn not to -disclose their mission, and bound, as their only hope of success, to keep -their hearts noble and pure.” - -“But how am I like a ‘grail knight?’” - -“Miriamne pursues a heavenly cure for human ills, a something she cannot -see nor quite explain.” - -“’Tis true and wonderful.” - -“The ‘grail’ story is almost as old as man, being shaped out of other -most ancient pilgrim quests. All noble hearts yearn for a healer and -ideal.” - -“Perhaps the time has come for a woman crusade, a new order of grail -seekers?” - -“Indeed, I think as much; and Miriamne, taking Mary as her model, may be -the very one to proclaim it.” - -“But being a woman, and so young, I might be ridiculed as an enthusiast, -as brazen, perhaps, or worse, if I attempted such things.” - -“If thou didst undertake any thing truly good, thou wouldst best know -its goodness by the bitterness of its opposing. The cross is very bright -on one side, on the other it casts shadows. Walking toward it we walk in -those chastening shadows. But when we’ve passed the grave, which it ever -guards, there is light, all light—not before.” - -“Sometimes I think I’m a very womanish woman and not the stuff of which -the heroine can be made.” - -“To be a woman is to have within thee a wealth of power. To be queenly -is to do in queenly spirit the work falling to thy lot. Behold the -queenly women of the patriarchs! Rebecca watered the flocks, Rachel was -a shepherdess. The daughter of Jethro, King of Midian, also kept the -flocks; and Tamar baked bread. The Word of God records these things, -methinks, to show in what a queenly way a queenly woman may perform a -seemingly unimportant work. Doing humble works well, they had their honor -in due time. Think of our Mary, Mother of Jesus, after her call, serving -humbly as a good housewife to a carpenter.” - -“Oh, if I could only catch the flavor of her life more fully!” - -“A worthy wish! Her life was a sermon on faith. Called of God to bring -forth Immanuel, she accepted the trust with joyful humility, leaving -the miraculous performance to the Promiser. For thirty years, from -Bethlehem’s cradle to Bethabara, where Her Son was owned of God, she -bore her pains and toils, facing persecutions, the leers and slanderous -innuendoes of the rabble, all without faltering. Only wondrous faith -kept her gentle young heart from breaking! I think she carried the cross -all along the course of Christ’s life—until He Himself took it. She -wrought out her work as a satellite of her son, and yet as a poem most -eloquent, voicing thoughts without which some of His wondrous, greater -life would lack explanation.” - -“I fain would be like her, but then to be so seems beyond my capacities.” - -“If thou canst not be a satellite of the Sun as Mary, be a satellite of -a satellite. Reflect her, and it will be well, since she reflected Him. -’Tis a simple lesson, but profitable; learn it; there is greatness in -little things; regarding them we may at the same time lay hold of that -that is great. I’d have all women heroines by teaching them what heroism -is.” - -“Was Mary learned? She had to meet some grand company?” - -“Wise, as thou mayst be in the solid culture of God’s word.” - -“But I can never be a Mary,” presently the maiden murmured. - -“Thou canst be thyself, and what thou canst. A seraph could be no more. -God needed for his lofty purpose but one like the Maiden of Nazareth, and -for thy comfort remember Mary could not have been the mother of Jesus and -Miriamne de Griffin of Bozrah also. She had her mission, thou thine; it -is a judgment of God to attempt to say that each in her station was not -and is not placed in the way most excellent.” - -Their converse ended but to be renewed. At frequent intervals Miriamne -advised with her guide upon the subject uppermost in her mind, and -more and more became endued with the spirit of the missionary. To all -questionings within herself, as to how she might compass her lofty and -philanthropic designs, there came but one answer, “To Jerusalem!” It -seemed to her that there, at the heart of Syrian life, she might obtain -inspiration and wisdom, as well as the widest possible opportunity of -applying these for others. To her to believe was to act, and so she soon -had completed all her arrangements to join a band of pilgrims passing -by way of Bozrah toward the great city. The parting was painful to -mother and daughter, and unlike any they had experienced before. The -daughter felt a misgiving. Her mother was aged. The tensions of trial -and responsibility being removed so largely from the life of the latter -by recent events, left her spiritless. Perhaps it would be more accurate -to say that in the days of excitement and conflict she exerted herself -beyond her ability; now, when the motive was gone, nature proclaimed its -premature exhaustion. Miriamne was convinced that she would be motherless -ere long, and was haunted by misgivings as to ever again seeing her if -she left Bozrah. Rizpah herself, though she feared that the present -separation and farewell were to be final, urged her child tenderly, -earnestly, to go forward as conscience dictated. The parting between -these two women was secret, they two being alone. It was affectionate -and most tender, and yet cheered by the mutual hope both expressed of an -eternal reunion after death. The eventful day and the supreme moment came -to find Miriamne and her mother nerved for the parting. That was soon -over, and the maiden moved out of the old stone home toward the white -camel already caparisoned for her use. Father Adolphus and Sir Charleroy -awaited her by its side, having repeated, over and over, to the maiden’s -chosen attendant a score of directions, and having in the fussiness -of nervousness again and again examined bridle and girt and hamper. -The maiden, glancing after the caravan of pilgrims which was to be her -convoy, now slowly passing out of the city, turned toward her father to -say the last words of parting. She began: “And now, dear father.” Her -voice, tremulous to begin with, broke down. - -“There, Miriamne,” interrupted the knight, “wait, we’ll accompany thee a -little distance.” The three moved out of the city together, the attendant -riding on before them. They were all too sorrowful to speak cheerfully, -so each said nothing. On the crest of a hillock the old priest paused; -simultaneously the father and daughter did likewise. “I’m too weary to -go further,” spoke the priest. Miriamne’s eyes filled with tears, and -Sir Charleroy, drawing close to the maiden, turned his eyes away. He -stood in silence gazing afar, but at nothing. Each at the last seemed -to dread to be the first to speak that one word so inexpressibly sad -when believed to be about to be spoken as a last “farewell.” The silence -became oppressive, and then Father Adolphus murmured, “I suppose we must -bid thee adieu, now.” Sir Charleroy shuddered and drew his turban down -over his eyes. - -Just then all the child and all the woman in Miriamne’s nature was -awakened. Her feelings well nigh over-mastered her, and she exclaimed: -“Oh, Bozrah, how can I leave thee and thy dear ones!” Bozrah to her meant -home; for a moment her world seemed centred there. The old priest, ever -adroit in ministering comfort, sought to divert the thoughts of those -about him from needless pain, and so shading his eyes looked steadily -eastward for a few moments. Then he questioned: “Daughter, canst thou see -Salchad, at the Crater’s Mouth. I can not see it for my sight faileth; -but I know ’tis yonder.” Miriamne followed the direction of the priest’s -pointing hand, though she knew full well without directing, where the -grim fortress city lay. Habit had made it natural to follow the guidance -of that old, trembling hand. Some way, it helped her; she seemed better -to understand what she already partly knew, when it directed. - -“Yes, I see it. It is there; changeless and dreary as ever. But why this -question?” - -“Dost thou observe how the prospect fades away south of it, until it -reaches the spreading desert?” - -“Yes, I perceive!” - -“Turn to the north, what object is most striking?” - -“Oh, Hermon! ‘The old-man mountain;’ the sun makes its snowy-top appear -to-day very like the white on an old man’s head and chin.” - -Sir Charleroy’s attention was recalled from his contemplation of the pain -of parting for an instant, and he questioned: - -“Canst thou see aught of the ruins of the ‘Temple of the Sun,’ said to be -at Hermon’s crest?” - -But before an answer could be given to the knight’s question, Father -Adolphus exclaimed: “Daughter, look back again to ruined Salchad! Beyond -its ‘war tower of giants,’ there lies only the desert. Now turn thy back -on it all forever, without repinings. Leave the desert and the war tower -of the giants to the wandering Bedouin.” - -“And then what?” - -“Turn thy face toward Jerusalem, thy back to the drear desert—” - -The maiden almost involuntarily complied, and the priest continued: - -“Go forward with Hermon on thy right. Remember that the temple of the -Fire Worshipers is overturned, its altars cold; but more remember that on -Hermon humanity was transfigured in answer to prayer.” - -“And so my shepherd and guide would promise me blessing and bid me God -speed?” quoth the maiden. - -“Thou read’st my heart, daughter.” - -“The same true heart; it never gets old or weary of cheering.” - -“I’m made grateful and happy, daughter, by thy words. He that saith, -‘_Let not your hearts be troubled!_’ and ‘_comfort ye, comfort ye my -people_,’ is my leader. For cheering, I was called.” - -“How noble such a call seems to me, now.” - -“Yea; daughter, if one can not be as the stars that fought in their -course for Sisera, he may be as a summer evening’s breeze, in cooling -pain’s fevers, and in drying the tears from cheeks that blush through the -rains of weeping times.” - -Gently, firmly she guided her camel from the hillock, on which it was -feeding, toward the highway, along which the caravan was departing. “We -must be going now.” - -At her words, Sir Charleroy and the old Sacrist each caught one of her -hands. - -“Oh, my fathers!” was her pitying but not pitiable exclamation. Sir -Charleroy, standing on the hillock, by the camel, on which his daughter -was mounted, drew the hand he held close to his heart, then his arm -tenderly encircled its owner. The maiden’s head rested upon the breast -that had often borne her since babyhood, her lips met in unfeigned -tenderness those of the man who not only loved her as a daughter, but as -his good angel, almost savior. It was a scene for a painter; the past -and the present, sunset and morning; the one looking back in a confessed -ineffectiveness of a life nearly spent, in contrast with a fresh, young, -hopeful life, before which lay a world to be conquered. Miriamne, the -called leader in a new crusade for women, for humanity, was bidding -farewell to the ruins of giant land, and to a representative of the last -of the sworded-crusaders. - -Her staff fell on the side of the beast that bore her and it moved away -quickly after the departing troop. - -The parting was over, and yet the two old men silently lingered at the -place of the farewell. Once or twice the maiden looked back to them, -as she was borne forward, to wave an adieu. The lone watchers followed -her with their eyes, until her white camel appeared but a speck moving -along at the skirt of a column of dust. The eyes of the watchers dimmed -by years, now supplemented by tears, presently could discern only dust. -She was buried from their view forever. Then they silently returned to -the city, each busy with his own thoughts. Thereafter there was a heavy -loneliness on all hearts in that Bozrah circle. The priest moved about -his chapel, and the parents about their home as though an angel of light -had gone from their midst, or as if the angel of death had come among -them. - -“It seems strange like,” said the Sacrist’s sister, “to let a girl go -away to that far-off city, among strangers, and about such meaningless -purposes.” - -“Never mind; never mind, sister, God’s lambs are ever safe. Her mission -is clear to her, at least, and she’ll not be among strangers. The knights -who secretly abide in the city of God have a charge concerning her in -letters I’ve sent them. As well, Cornelius, her betrothed, is there. Pure -love will be her wall of fire.” Thus ended all arguments and misgivings. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - -THE HOSPITALER’S ORATION. - - “I do not say that a social cyclone is impending; but the - signs of the times certainly admonish us that if Christianity - is to avert a revolution of the most gigantic proportions, - and the most ruinous results, we have not an hour to lose - in assuring the restless masses that they have no better - friends than are the professed disciples of Him whose glory - it was to preach the gospel to the poor, and to lift up their - crushing burdens.”—REV. DR. A. J. F. BEHREND’S “_Socialism and - Christianity_.” - - “My soul doth magnify the Lord.... He hath put down princes - from their thrones, and exalted them of low degree.”—MARY. - - -The daughter of Sir Charleroy found a home and a mother with Dorothea -Woelfkin, the widowed parent of her affianced. What manner of woman the -latter was may be readily inferred from the character of her beloved and -only son, Cornelius. It sufficeth to say, mother and son were in all -things wonderfully alike. - -“Miriamne, I’ve called to ask, if we get the consent of my mother, that -you attend a conclave of knights, to be secretly held, after Moslem -prayers this evening.” - -“Where?” - -“At the house of the Christian sister, aged Phebe; just by the second -wall of the city.” - -“And why do they meet?” - -“An eloquent Hospitaler, lately returned from a long mission, is to -address the companions and their friends.” - -“A Hospitaler; what’s his name?” - -“Ah, there it is; the question all ask, and none can answer! He has given -full tokens of his right to confidence, but declines, for reasons which -he says are most pious, to reveal himself further than that he is a -Knight Hospitaler of Rhodes.” - -“Rhodes? Is he very tall, of piercing eyes, his hair long and jet, with -streaks of gray?” - -“Even so.” - -“My father knew such a man, whom he called ‘silver-tongued.’” - -“This man is as eloquent as Apollos.” - -“We met such an one, and were with him for a time. We left him here, on -our journey from Acre to Bozrah.” - -“Did you penetrate his secret?” - -“I did not, though my father once said to him ‘Grail.’ After that he kept -aloof from us.” - -“A proof it must be as I’ve suspected; the Hospitaler is one of the new -Grail-Knights!” exclaimed Cornelius. - -“And he is here? I must hear him again. The words he spoke to me in -Gethsemane have followed me night and day since. He made the journey of -Mary and Christ, by way of Kedron, to the cross, seem like a present -reality; a path typical of the one before every child of God. I saw it -all then, but have been unable since to find it. Oh, I burn with desire -to have the ‘silver-tongued’ guide me to that pathway again.” - -At the appointed time the twain sought the house of Christian Phebe, -and found it wrapped in gloom; the only sign of life without being a -man garbed as a camel driver, standing guard at the door. Cornelius -whispered to Miriamne, “He’s a knight—the warden.” The young man gave -the watchman a secret signal; the latter communicated through a little -gated window, with those within, and quickly the door swung open, -admitting Woelfkin and his companion. Within were light and cheerfulness -contrasting with the gloom without. A goodly company was already -assembled, chiefly made up of Crusaders, but now unharnessed. The faces -of the pilgrim soldiers betokened a change within. They betokened -spirits subdued, but not crushed; hearts having surrendered ambition for -devastating conquest, to welcome a finer hope. There were few things -about the place suggestive of war, and many suggestive of peace. At one -end of the room stood a desk, in shape much like an altar. It was draped -with a Templar banner, and to its side were fastened a sword, bent in the -shape of a sickle, and two spears forming a cross, supporting a cup; the -latter was in form the same as the cup of the Passion. - -“There is something about this place that recalls the chapel of the -Palestineans, in London, Cornelius.” - -“Well, you and I were there; now we are here. In that the two places have -likeness,” pleasantly responded the maiden’s escort. - -Miriamne’s eyes wandered from object to object, as if seeking proof of, -her assertion, and her companion followed her gaze with a glance about -the place, which finally rested, as his glances were wont, on the eyes of -Miriamne. - -“Oh, the devoutness, the peace, the fellowship!” she exclaimed. - -Just then there was a movement: a number of the men present arose; a -hailing sign, significant to the initiated, was given by some, while -simultaneously a slight applause passed around the room: - -“’Tis he,” whispered Miriamne. - -“Your Hospitaler?” - -“Yes.” - -The knights all stood and sang in subdued voices, a psalm of hope. “The -movement of the melody suggests pilgrims climbing a hill.” At least, so -the maiden said its movement seemed to her. - -When the psalm was finished, the knights resumed their seats and the -Hospitaler, without preliminary, at once addressed them: - -“Knights of Christ, few and often in hiding, I would remind ye that no -plan of God is futile, and that His cause has no backward movement. - -“A dream of conquest, restoration and glory came over all followers of -the cross. The dream had within it a hope of a holy land in Christian -possession, and all the children of earth getting from it the story of -the true faith. Then there was to come, we believed, the golden age, -in which all mankind in sweet charity’s glorious fellowship should go -forward. - -“Nature, man’s mother, prays in a million mournful voices for that -golden day; and God, man’s eternal and loving Father, works by countless -invincible agencies to cause its full dawning. We Crusaders gave our -lives by thousands for our faith, but we seemed to have done little -beside change the name of this land from Philistine to Palestine. One, to -be sure, is softer to the ear than the other, but to the heart both names -bring the same miserable thoughts. Yet there was more than this attained. -Ye remember how our cavalier soldiers expressed their chivalric impulses -in honoring that queen of women, Our Lady? Like the rising of sun at -midnight, came the conviction to Christian Europe when at its worst, -socially, that reform must begin by purifying the homes of the people, -by exalting all home life. To do this, the mothers who bare and nurture -the fruits of the home, as well as making them for weal or for woe what -they are, must needs be exalted by right as well as by fitness to their -queenship. Every knight’s praise of Mary was an avowal of faith; his -faith that woman could be, should be, what his imagination pictured Mary -to have been. - -“The knightly Christians were among the first to be moved by the belief -that that was a monstrous blight, a heresy toward God and nature which -regarded the finer sex as necessities or luxuries. Impressed by reverence -for Mary, the banded soldiers of the cross began to feel their mission -to be not only the recovery of the dead, but also of the living from -infidel dominion; hence, each Crusade banner came as a sunburst to those, -who, under the spell of gross passion, were enslaving their natural -co-partners. - -“Men, while the harem ideal stands, while woman is impotent because -uncrowned, our lofty hopes can not bear fruit nor will our labors be -ended!” - -The speaker was interrupted by a murmur of applause that ran around the -circle of auditors. - -Miriamne glowed with delight, and raised her hand impressively and nodded -toward Cornelius. He only saw the motion and easily interpreted it as -meaning, “There, that’s what I felt, but could not express.” - -The speaker continued: “God said it is not good that the man should be -alone; time that resolves all mysteries, and experience which transmutes -to gold all the rubbish of guess and experiment, has irrevocably declared -that man cannot be to his fullness, in a state of solitary grandeur. He -and the woman go up or down together; and, whether a seraph or a serpent -leads her, the man by inclination or by force is sure to follow her -footsteps. - -“We Crusaders had a glimpse of the truth, but lost it to follow an _ignis -fatuus_. Yet, in this land, we confronted the harem with the home ruled -by one queenly wife and mother. The world, beholding the contrast begins -to believe, as never before, in the supremacy, over all institutions, of -that one where, under Eden’s covenant charters, purity and mother-love -mold the race in the name of sole and patient love. The Saracens paraded -their houris, their concubines, and their slaves as the proofs of their -prowess; but the Christians challenged the array by the quality of their -possessions, commencing with their women of God’s blood royal, and -ascending to each revered personage, from love’s companions, to Mary, to -Jesus. He that nobly deals with the one by his side will find her putting -on a glory that will brighten the luster of his kingliness, and bringing -forth to him those having the power to grasp and mold the destinies of -coming years. Listeners, mark me; there is a lesson profound in the -record of the strugglings with each other of Rebecca’s twins before their -birth. Indeed, each being begins his career within the life that gives -him life. - -“Who will say, with assurance, that all of life lies within the reach of -any man of himself? Nay, be it said, rather, that she who first carries, -then leads, then inspires, as she only can, her sons and daughters, is -the one who lays her gentle hands, with resistless power, upon the keys -of all futures. It is the mother who impresses the prophecy of what is -to be on the heart of the infant, before the event finds place upon the -deathless page which records deeds done.” - -Again applause interrupted. - -The Hospitaler continued, as attention was given anew: - -“That profoundest of ancient teachers, Plato, enunciated at least a -half-truth or truth’s shadow, in his doctrine of the preëxistence of -souls, though, as our church understands it, it pronounces the teaching -heretical. Be that as it may, this much assuredly is true: if each -man has not been on earth before, his present existence being the -repetition of a prior one, his intuitions, vague recollections out of -a past forgotten in a former death, surely there is none who is not -the fruit of his parents. He is largely what they made him, and of the -twain that beget, I affirm that the mother wields the ruling influence -in the life and character of the begotten. I believe men perpetuate -their worst traits through their posterity, easily and more persistently -than do women theirs. In the giant of the human pair brawn and muscle -predominate, and these, if depraved, feed every evil passion, giving -each power to run with virulence from sire to son. The woman, formed by -finer conceptions to be an angel, may fall to sinning and let weakness -take the place of gentleness. So be it; yet even then her weaknesses -and her sinnings, constantly repugnant to her nature as God framed it, -antagonistic to the refinement that is native, ebb and die along the -shores of her being’s course. She more naturally and more forcefully -transmits her good than she does her evil, as a general rule. They have -in fable-lore a tradition that the mythical goddess of love, Venus, -wore a resplendent girdle, the sight of which made every beholder love -the wearer. Let me give present force to the legend by affirming that -every true woman, girded with the virtues that it is her duty and her -privilege to wear, is an object, among all earthly beings, superlatively, -entrancingly beautiful—next after Christ, God’s best gift to man.” - -Cornelius now plucked the corner of Miriamne’s _pepulum_. It was a -lover’s restless, questioning act. Being a man, trained as men, he was -naturally inclined to doubt the speaker and to join in secret ridicule, -that substitute for gainsaying when arguments are utterly lacking; but -being a lover, he was so far doubtful as to his old creeds concerning -women, as to be ready to be led. Miriamne turned toward her lover with a -smile lightened by eyes which glowed. Hers was not the smile of a girl -flatly complacent in an effort to be very agreeable. She believed; the -love she had for the man at her side was consecrated first to truth. -Her will was that of a blade of steel—yielding, serviceable; but still -elastic or firm, as need be and as its highest purposes required. She -smiled, but the smile mounting to her brightening eyes, left her fine -forehead, a very temple of thought, all placid. The smile and the glance -routed all doubts from the young man’s mind. She to him was a Venus, and -more, a saint. She wore the invisible girdle of which the knight had -spoken, and the youth felt its winning power. Another proof that the best -advocate of a woman is a woman; and of her worth, the best argument an -example. - -The orator knight proceeded without pause: - -“I know full well that some sneer and carp on woman’s weakness, having -recourse to Eden for argument. To these I reply: The enemy assailed not -the weaker, but the stronger first, and exhibited masterly generalship -in seeking to overcome the citadel that would insure the greatest loss, -the most complete victory. And note how long and arduous his siege of -Eve; then remember how quickly Adam fell. Crush the woman’s heart, ruin -her faith, degrade her body, and then, with this work completed, we are -ready to ring down the curtain over the end of the tragedy of a wrecked -world. When men hold women to their hearts, their manhood is enlarged and -their queens become their angels, bearing a ‘grail’ that catches for both -the choice things of heaven. But when a man turns his strength against a -woman, she ceases to be his charming, alluring helpmate. He has brawn, -and she, not having that, puts on that cunning which is the natural arm -of the weaker. When the honey-suckle turns to poison-ivy, or the dove to -a fox, then weep; but when woman lays aside the entrancings of her moral -beauty to enter a desperate strife with armed cunning, let men go mad -over their queens become witches. I tell you, hearers, when men become -demons women will give themselves to sorcery. I speak not of spiritual -possession, but of human deflowering. Shall our queens be uncrowned, -disrobed, degraded? No, no, Satan alone could say ‘yea.’” - -When the burst of applause that had interrupted him subsided, the -Hospitaler continued: - -“We knights revere the sign of the cross because the world’s Savior died -thereon; it will be well for us to revere womankind because it was given -to woman, not to man, to coöperate with God in bringing that Savior to -the world. A woman bore him with crucial pains, as each of us was borne, -before He bore the cross. And reverently I say it, companions, woman’s -cross is ever set, and all the earth is her Calvary. I can not but see, -as must you who think, that all this pain to her has in God’s great plan -some vicarious element, some blessing for mankind. We Christians pray -for the second coming of Jesus, the Jews wait and weep for the dawn of -a day of salvation, the Mohammedans, like hosts of the Pagans, in every -clime, are longing for some golden day; better than the present. This -universal longing is a prophecy of good to come. I can not believe that -the All-Father would suffer this universal and intuitive longing to end -in disappointment and mockery. He is too good for that. By this longing I -see standing out, less dimly, and yet dimly enough to be by many unseen, -some sublime, prophetic hints. Read sacred Writ. Wherever therein you -discern a prophetic character, emblem of Christ, forerunner of the golden -age, you will find not far from him, as his partner and help, fittingly a -woman! - -“From the first it was so. Adam the first appeared, and a woman was his -partner, helpmate and more. He fell. A way of recovery was provided for -him, but it was the woman who was given to bring forth the One whose heel -was to crush the head of the author of humanity’s great catastrophe. Then -came the second Adam—Immanuel. At his advent the chief figure, next after -God the chief instrument in His bringing in, by His side along the years -in all helpful ministries, a woman, Mary, the beautiful, the perfect, the -ideal of women. - -“Again and again we have puzzled over the records, wondering why Matthew -traced the genealogy of Jesus along the male line only, through David and -Jacob to Abraham the father of the faithful, and that Luke traced that -genealogy through Mary and her father, Heli. But there’s method most wise -in the records. Matthew wrote for the Jews, Luke for the Gentiles. The -hint is herein given that when the Gentiles are fully gathered in, woman -will be recognized in the ultimate religion, that knows neither race -nor sex. As in the royal line which gave man a Savior, as in a queenly -line having for man, society and home—the emblem of heaven expressed on -earth—blessing and saving powers.” - -The knight closed with an appeal for the continuance of the revival of -the chivalrous spirit toward woman, saying: - -“It matters little what becomes of the dust of the pious dead; the past -is secure, and Deity guards till the resurrection all tombs in His own -unfrustrated way, but it matters much how we treat the living! That is a -puerile piety which is ready to die to defend from foes that can not harm -inanimate ashes that appeal for no favor, while suffering, willingly, -living bodies encompassing bleeding hearts, to continue amid untold -agonies, their whole existence one long appeal for succor! Christian -knights, on with your new crusade, and may the golden age come grandly -in, its fruits—love, joy, and peace in every clime, to every race, to -every man, woman, and child!” - -The speaker sat down; there was a moment of deep silence, followed by an -outburst of approving acclamations. - -Then ensued a hum of voices, the assembly breaking up into little -groups, one and another attempting each to prove his loyalty, his piety -or his good sense to the man next to him, by certifying his belief in the -knight’s words. - -Miriamne, half unconscious of her surroundings, exclaimed: - -“Oh, will not some one tell me how to begin?” - -“Can I aid my Miriamne?” asked her lover. - -“I don’t know; perhaps. But that Grail Knight with the silver tongue -sees, in his soul, what I would reach. When he speaks my feet take wings. -I can not tell you what or how it all is. He speaks and I see, as Moses -in the mount, the outline of the tabernacle of God that is to be with -men.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - -MEMORIALS AT BOZRAH. - - “I’m footsore and very weary, - But I travel to meet a Friend; - The way is long and dreary, - But I know it soon must end. - He is traveling swiftly as whirlwinds, - And though I creep slowly on, - We are drawing nearer and nearer, - And the journey is almost done. - I know He will not fail me, - So I count every hour a chime, - Every throb of my heart’s beating - That tells of the flight of TIME. - I will not fear at His coming, - Although I must meet Him alone, - He will look in my eyes so gently - And take my hand in His own.” - - -An uneventful year passed over the missioners, but it was followed -quickly by eventful times. - -Two messages came, one after the other, and not far apart, to Jerusalem, -which moved all the Christian colony at the latter place, but especially -Cornelius and his consort. The first was from Father Adolphus and as -follows: - - “Your parents, Sir Charleroy and Rizpah, have departed - Bozrah. They went out together, and their end was peace. They - compensated themselves for the needless miseries they had - wrought in their younger days by keeping out of all shadows - during their journey after their reconciliation by the tomb of - their children, even until sunset. I could not summon you, for - they passed away quickly, only a few days coming between their - goings.” - -Shortly after the foregoing, came the other message, and that -accidentally, for the link between Jerusalem and Bozrah being broken -by death, there was none left in the Giant City to send after or for -comforting to the missioners. “Father Adolphus is dead.” That was the -report brought by chance to the Christians at Zion. Hundreds in Jerusalem -had heard of him, and hearing of his death sighed mildly. The missioners -were his mourners—really, solely. - -Ere long Dorothea left Jerusalem of Syria for the New Jerusalem, and this -event not only brought sorrow but also perplexity. Miriamne realized -that she could not now continue in the house of her betrothed, simply as -his betrothed, even if it were possible for the household to continue, -the head being absent. Whither should she go, orphan and kinless as she -was? Love protested mightily against any thought of going far from her -affianced, and then she felt profound pity for the man who mourned and -felt a mother’s loss deeply, as did Cornelius. He entreated for a speedy -wedding, and she, seeing then no alternative, consented thereto; but -as she assumed love’s yoke, she believed that the ambition of her life -was frustrated. She was not disconsolate, neither was she tearless. She -thought she discerned the leadings of God and submitted promptly, making -it thenceforth her duty cheerfully to engage in the, to her, seemingly -commonplace works of a missionary pastor’s wife. Her husband was a “man -of the people,” and found acceptance with the lowly. He was wont to call -himself “a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” Said he anon -to his flock: “Like that mysterious man who flits across your sacred -histories am I! You of the Jews, self-elect, as God’s elect, though -disgrafted, would put me, intending to do so or not, by the unknown and -unheralded Melchisedec. You think me, without father, without mother, -beginning of days, or end of life, because you do not find my name in the -chronologies of your high families nor myself in the covenants of the -Hebrews. You Christians doubt my authority because no ghostly ordaining -hands have been laid upon my head. But I’m the child of a King, and a -towel, such as my Master wore as He ministered, is robing enough for me!” -Old people, women and children, gave the young man unquestioning love, -and thus was well indorsed the choiceness of his ministerings. Miriamne -beheld these manifestations with secret joy, for she knew that through -the one she loved she was, in part, expressing her own thoughts and -sympathies. Once wed, she was too honest, too tender-hearted, too noble -to be less than all that wifehood implied, and yet she felt at times -as if the ambitions and hopes of her life, nursed through many years, -had not been compassed. She tried to settle down and humbly do the work -of a missionary’s helpmate, and to overcome, through Divine grace, the -ambition to do seemingly grander things than she was doing. Sometimes, -smiling through tears, she would say to her husband as he sought to -satisfy her heart’s yearnings with mention of the good work they were -doing: - -“Well, a man has come between me and the ‘grail.’ I’m following him, may -he follow it, and God guide both.” - -After a time Cornelius and Miriamne made a pilgrimage to Bozrah, drawn -thither by a desire common to both to honor their loved ones departed. -They found the Giant City all pervaded by the spirit of the moribund -past. Even the Christian church, once a light, a joy and a promise of a -better day, had fallen into decline at Bozrah. The edifice had become -dilapidated, the congregation was depleted. - -In name, Father Adolphus had a successor, younger, more learned, more -eloquent in his way, than the saintly man now sleeping. But the infidels, -the very ones who were wont to confess that they could not, if they -would, make headway against the old priest’s godly life, now laughed to -scorn the stately and scholarly arguments of the new leader. The converts -under the new regime were few, the common people did not from him hear -the word gladly; and the regular congregation was rent by schisms. - -One chapel service sufficed both Miriamne and Cornelius. They found in it -nothing but cold formality and the memory of what had been, but was now -no more. - -“Oh, Cornelius,” Miriamne cried, “reverently I say it, but is it not -strange that our faith edges its way over the world so slowly, with such -heralds?” - -“Leastwise, you may say, you do not see your ‘Grail’ here, Miriamne?” - -“Oh, now, I realize the worth of Von Gombard as I never did before.” - -“Are you not sorrowed at his absence, Miriamne?” - -“Sorrowed! Truly not; but unspeakably glad that he walks with the sons -of God; a very king, I know, amid the greatest. Oh, how sad I’d be to -see the poor, dear, tired old man with his overfull heart and trembling -limbs now going about in painful ministries here! God was twice good; -in leaving him so long, then in taking him. Ah, if there were more like -that old saint, those that there are would not need to tarry till their -twilight.” - -“Shall we prolong our stay?” - -“No! I’ve listened long enough to the lull of eternity here. Bozrah’s -past has taught me its all. I’m ready to go home.” - -“Home! When, to-morrow?” ardently questioned Cornelius, anxious himself -to depart the Giant City. - -“After to-morrow; the coming day, at my instance, the memorial of my -parents is to be set up.” - -The following morning, just before sunrise, the husband and wife repaired -to the tomb of their loved ones, to witness, by pre-arrangement, the -unveiling of a memorial. It consisted of two figures carved from whitest -marble; a woman’s form with a face expressive of tenderness and beauty, -marked with deepest grief, but not with hopelessness. Across her lap -there lay the form of a young man, the rigors of death plainly marked -on his face and limbs. There was no mistaking the representation, and -Cornelius quickly exclaimed: - -“I know the one that sits thus holding that crucified body! ’Tis real! -Impressive! Awful!” - -“It is fitting, think you?” - -“I’m too much moved to judge, perhaps; though I do wonder that you -have not had carved upon the pedestal the names of your dead, or some -explanation.” - -“Names? What matter, to the stranger passing, who lie beneath the stone? -As for the meaning, let those who come and go question till it appear.” - -“I’m the first questioner, Miriamne. The application?” - -“Remember that my mother, in her almost solitary grief, held her dead -children for a time against her broken heart, but it was a heart filled -with a mother-love which never faltered. There is nothing in love -surpassing such on earth. Then at last, when her life work was done, her -cup full, my mother, as her final consolation, held to her heart the Son -whose death gives life, as yon Madonna holds the Christ.” - -“I bow to Miriamne’s judgment; the creation is appropriate; Glorious -Madonna!” - -“I have a hope that it may stand here in the Hauran an enduring sermon to -the varied races who pass. They who come and go here, reminded that the -Nephalim with all their arrogant might left little but their crumbling -tombs; that Astarte, once the potent, dangerous goddess of the groves, -here faded from the love of her fevered hosts, who themselves in turn -faded from the face of the earth, may pause to question what the meaning -and power of this last, new, fresh presentment! Perhaps they will hear -from those made wise, and in time learn to tell one another, that -these two figures speak of the Deathless Kingdom, its white loves, its -wondrous rewards and its Spirit of might expressed by all who are in it -through the power of an endless life, and through the agency of immortal -influence.” - -“Miriamne, I see thee a palpitating angel in the flesh! I can say no -more!” - -As the young missioner thus spoke he stretched out his arms toward the -woman he loved as if he would restrain her. The motion came from his -heart, which was anxiously saying within: “She is growing upward and away -from her consort.” But he had neither courage nor words to voice the -vague thought which brought admiration mixed with fears. - -They turned toward their temporary home in the Giant City. As they went, -the rising sun flooded the marble forms by the graves with a golden -light, and the twain, beholding the glory of that morning benediction, -felt an illumining in their hearts that some way made heaven seem very -near. - -“And now, darling, we’ll return to Jerusalem, and quietly pursue our work -until we join those loved ones gone on before,” spoke the husband the day -after the monument’s unveiling. - -“I trust we shall work in future with better plans and grander results -than we have had before.” - -“Are you discontented with what we accomplish?” - -“No, and yes,” was her measured reply. - -Cornelius turned his eyes full upon her, lifting inquiringly his eyebrows. - -She continued: “I’m satisfied, if God so will, to blend my work into my -husband’s; I know this is my duty as a wife, but I long to echo nobler -music. Can you make it?” - -“Annata, the Assyrian goddess, was content to be the echo of her spouse, -the mighty Ammon. I’d be an Ammon if I could to be worthy being echoed by -Miriamne. But, little wife, your words sound almost Delphic; and yet you -are no such ambiguous oracle. Is there any wish unmet?” - -“I’ve a misgiving.” - -“Why, wife of mine, see how strong you’ve been, each year adding health! -See the shadows over our people. We are sent to chase these away with -Gospel truth. We’ve hitherto only learned how to work efficiently, and -in the future will do braver, greater things than ever. We’ll tarry, as -Adolphus, ay, and by grace renew strength, turning back the dial pointer, -as with prayer, did Hezekiah of old.” - -“I’ll not go, I know, until my work is done. None go before such time.” - -“Oh, but we must go together everywhere, even to death.” - -“Ah, beloved, I know your meaning. It’s the lover, not the consecrated -missionary, who speaks now.” - -“I can’t help it! I’ll be useless without you. I’m useless now, except as -you sustain me; as Abishag, the Shunnamite, the fairest young maiden of -all Israel, brought heart to the bosom of David, old and shaken by years, -so you put into me all the ambition I have. To my trembling heart you are -what Deborah was to Barak’s.” - -“God help you, Cornelius; I believe you, because I know your trusting -nature and have joyed in the fullness of your lavish love, but let us -bravely face this matter as it comes. For God, I know, I must quickly do -my work and be gone.” - -“Oh, say not so, if I’m to be left alone! That must not be! By your love -for me I entreat you to stay; a thousand ties bind my life to thine; it -will kill me by inches to have them severed!—— - -“Miriamne, my own, nearer to God by far than am I; plead with Him to -spare us this agony!” - -“In spirit, my loyal spouse, we shall ever be near each other, but I -feel that in the body we shall not be together long. I shall finish my -course and then——” - -“No, not that,” vehemently exclaimed the husband. “Say not that! I’ll -work for you, with you, for God. Help me to the end and let me so help -you, beloved!” - -“You may help me while I tarry.” - -“I’ll joy to realize the prophet’s vision, who saw the hands of a man -under the wings of an angel. Here are the hands and Miriamne is the -angel.” - -“But your imagination glows, kindled by the torch of a human heart almost -idolatrous.” - -“Nay, not idolatrous; for the fire rises to things holy. I only plead -that God let me walk with Miriamne; I know she will walk nigh Him. Go -where you will my feet will bear me thither, undertake what you may, -my heart and hand will help; point out any goal of darling desire and -thither I’ll carry you, if need be. For you I’ll gladly die, if, at the -dying, I have the comforting assurance that soon my other self will join -me in the overshadowed land of life.” - -“How it would brighten the world, if all who take the holy vows of -marriage on their souls were as truly wed in heart as we.” As the twain -stood by the white marble figures at sunrise the next morning, equipped -for departure, they made a striking picture. The living and the dead; the -exemplars of the purest, deepest wedded love committed to serving their -fellow man; they rose grandly above the ruins of the place builded by -those mighty self-seeking devotees of Astarte. - -Bozrah sat in desolation, knowing no hope and having a bitter past only -and forever to contemplate; the youthful gospel heralds had all life, -rising to new life—hope beyond hope, joy beyond joy, and then life, -hope and joy in endless unfoldments, stretching way through measureless -eternities, all before them. Miriamne was pensive; Cornelius was -chastened by the remembrance of the words she had spoken the day before, -and both subdued by the presence of the majestic monument before them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - -THE SISTERS OF BETHANY. - - “Her eyes are homes of silent prayer, - No thought her mind admits; - But ‘He was dead and there he sits! - And He that brought him back is there!’ - - “All subtle thought, all curious fears, - Borne down by gladness so complete; - She bows, she bathes the Savior’s feet - With costly spikenard and with tears.”—ALFRED TENNYSON. - - “In the day time He was teaching in the temple, and at night - He went out and abode in the mount that is called the Mount of - Olives.”—LUKE xxi., 37. - - “Gethsemane on one side, Bethany on the other ... where He - was wont to pray for His people and weep for a sinful world; - where His feet stood on the eve of His ascension and where - His wondering disciples received from white-robed angels the - promise of His second advent. It will be admitted that above - and beyond all places in Palestine Olivet witnessed ‘God - manifest in the flesh.’”—_Porter’s “Giants of Bashan.”_ - - -After Jesus had been driven from His native Nazareth, He found a home -in the house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, in the village of Bethany, -on the eastern slope of Olivet. That was sweet, memorable Bethany of -the Gospels; “the perfection of repose,” amid the palm and oak-covered -slopes of Olivet; hidden by its quiet life, as well as its sequestering -mountain, from Jerusalem, that great, throbbing heart of Palestine. - -Thither, down the east steps of the Temple, through the “Golden Gate,” -along camel paths that wound past Gethsemane and across fitful Kedron, -the Son of Man often went when worn out by His love ministries, or -harassed by the gainsayings of the great city. So, preaching His new -kingdom, He exalted its cornerstone, the godly home, by electing one -such, that of Lazarus and his sisters, as a rest and a refuge for -Himself. Beyond this He proved His own humanity by seeking earthly -friendships, at the same time exhibiting Himself, though the favored of -heaven, the object of constant angelic regard, as needing, because He was -human, that which humanity ever needs—congenial human fellowships. - -The history of that ancient Bethany family, gathered from various -sources, but chiefly from the simple and touching narrative of the -Evangelist John, is full of interest. The mother of that home, to us -nameless, was dead. Yet she was not fameless; that circle of children -in their several relationships witnessed full well of a finest -mother-culture, that had been theirs. The father of that family was -worse than dead; he was a leper, buried alive in the Lazar keeps of the -plague-stricken, and the husband of Martha, the elder sister, early had -left his bride widowed. - -That was a circle cut through its center; but affliction had knit -together in deepened affection the few left. The fatherly brother, -Lazarus, well fulfilled his double obligation, and wins admiration, as -do ever those sons and brothers who faithfully take the place of dead -fathers. That he was such a brother, the grief of his sisters when he -died fully proclaimed. - -With a few fine sentences John depicts those sisters. Martha, widowed -in life’s morning, but surmounting all morbidness by giving herself to -motherly ministries in her home; and then was Mary, a clinging, trusting, -pious maiden; a poem of faith, a tear-bedewed rose-wreath. When Christ -joined that circle there was presented the finest conceivable ideal of -a home. They served and He blessed, and though their bereavements could -never be forgotten, while His banner of love was over them, they were -able to alleviate the poignancy of their griefs through the hope of a -blessed resurrection and a final, eternal reunion. - -The sacred associations gathering about the village of Olivet made it a -place peculiarly attractive to Cornelius and Miriamne; for they, too, -were bereaved; neither in all the world having a single living kinsman of -whom they knew. - -They determined, shortly after their final farewell to Bozrah, to take -up their abode at the “House of Dates,” and were unmeasurably delighted -in being able to secure for themselves a house reputed to have been the -identical one occupied by Christ and His choice friends. If it were not -the same, there seemed good reason to believe it was at least on the site -of that ancient sacred domicile. - -One day they conversed of their work, their hopes, and the needs of their -field of labor. - -“I’m led to think that we should establish a refuge for Magdalenes, -Miriamne.” - -“If we did attempt the founding of an asylum for outcasts we would not -belie the memory of a noble woman, who was never a harlot, by applying -to it her name. But my ‘grail’ does not lead me that way. I’d go mad -working for the utterly lost only! No; no, our work must be more radical, -by beginning back of the falling so as to prevent it.” - -“Something must be done to educate the women of this country to better -living and higher conceptions of womanhood. We need a school of some -kind.” - -“A school? Good, if it be of the right kind; but there have been schools -and schools for men, such as they were, and they have effectually proven -that education alone is not a savior. Learning does not transform the -soul, else God would have given Moses the pattern of a college instead of -that of a tabernacle. My mother used often to tell me that the devil is -superbly educated. The more he knows the prouder and more dangerous he -becomes. I do not despise learning, but since it is impotent to transform -men, why try it as the savior of woman? She who takes counsel less of the -intellect than of the conscience and affections! We must seek for those -we aim to help something surpassing in direct efficacy any thing yet -attempted;” so saying, Miriamne paused. - -“Shall we organize a church, ‘fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and -terrible as an army with banners?’” - -“There have been churches and churches. It would be vain for me to -attempt to prove to you, a theologian and a churchman, that this you call -the ‘Bride of Christ’ is imperfect or lacking in any energy of reform; -but, though I heartily confess ’tis the choicest institution this side of -the stars, yet I see it professing to have heavenly charity, abounding -light, and measureless joys, leaving the needy without hospitals, the -heathen in ignorance, and most of the world, including many churchmen, -famishing for happiness. The trouble is, it infolds too many wolves and -repels too many lambs. Your flocks are too much given to atoning for lean -living by fat believing; memorizing huge creeds instead of incarnating -them; putting their faith-confessions into themselves rather than -themselves into their faith professions. You churchmen shut your ears to -friendly criticism, sneer at those that censure, and in branding such -heretics proclaim yourselves infallible. I’d not be a vaporing railler, -but I hear within your ecclesiastical bodies of warring factions, of -ambitious and multitudinous leaders, a proof that they are of the -church militant; though theirs is an internecine militating. I doubt if -there has existed Christ’s ideal of a church since Pentecost. He gave a -glimpse of its true outlines there, and it will yet come in its power and -splendor; then, for the pæans!” - -“You’d organize, perhaps, a _Vestal Band_?” - -“Vestals?” - -“Yes; an union of women of pure hearts, committed solely to such works as -those performed in part by the holy sisters of our church fraternities.” - -“I revere such as are thus engaged with all my heart; but, churchman, -you are narrow in your plan; even Pagan Rome, which honored Vesta, the -fire goddess, by having an altar to her in every community, held that -the State was a great family, and placed Vesta, the goddess of virginal -purity, near the Penates, or gods of the household and family.” - -“I see nothing now in this juxtaposition.” - -“They saw that there was ruin to all society if their girls were impure; -hence buried alive a Vestal, if she fell from her vow of chastity. You -have heard, Cornelius, how good Romans were wont to invoke, often, as -their family guardians, the manes of their departed kin; and this very -naturally; they held to the belief that the family tie, the finest, -strongest known among men, outlived, by virtue of its heavenliness, the -shock of death. Imperial Rome trusted much its all-conquering swords, for -this life, but for the life to come it appealed to Jupiter omnipotent or -Minerva, the all-wise. No, no, a ‘Vestal Society,’ such as you imply, -would not suffice. I’ve a broader clientage and vaster scheme in mind, -good churchman husband—” - -“Shall I venture another guess?” - -“It would be needless. Let me explain myself fully. Good Father Adolphus, -founder of Bozrah’s ‘_Balsam Band_,’ which he sometimes called ‘nursing -preachers,’ told me that in olden times there was in this country a -fraternity of women, banded together to perform works of charity. -They were remembered chiefly for their helpfulness to those that were -in direst need and utterly friendless. They befriended criminals and -social outcasts. He said that the women of Jerusalem who followed -Christ weeping, were, probably, of that fraternity, since it was the -custom of that pious company to offer their tears for those on the way -to execution. More, these women were wont to furnish the pain-dulling -herbs to victims dying condemned. You remember the Christ was offered -such herbs? When I remember the spirit that actuated Martha and Mary, I -readily believe they were members of that pious fraternity. More, when I -remember how, for His own dear sake, they ministered to His human wants, -there comes to my mind the possibility of a perpetual organization, for -God’s sake, ministering to human want, taking the home as its palace, and -to be known to the world by the expressive, winning title, ‘_Sisters of -Bethany_.’” - -“Miriamne, if you were not Miriamne, I’d call you Gabriel. I’m dazzled by -these words. In truth, thy ‘_grail_’ is near, I believe.” - -“That I seek to build up I’ve explained, and here in Bethany I’ll attempt -it. We’ll have a fraternity of women, Christ-guided, with burning hearts, -and in methods simple, direct and catholic, reaching after women.” - -“Now for our pillow prayer, Miriamne. Then side by side, unto wondrous -sleep land, side by side in heart and being at awakening. - -“‘The sun of the millennium will rise from behind the family altar,’ -Father Adolphus was wont to say. ’Twas well said; redeemed homes are the -fruits of the restoration. Shall I read to-night?” - -“Surely we need the Word to understand the throbbings of our own hearts -when our prayers return, dove-like, with olive branches from heaven.” - -“What shall I read?” - -“What came after Pentecost!” - -Then the husband opened to the Gospel Story, and remarking the -‘Ascension,’ read: - -“He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given -commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: - -“To whom also He shewed himself alive after His passion by many -infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the -things pertaining to the kingdom of God: - -“When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, -wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? - -“And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the -seasons, which the Father hath put into His own power. - -“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: -and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, -and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. - -“And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; -and a cloud received Him out of their sight. - -“And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, -two men stood by them in white apparel; - -“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? -This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in -like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” - -“And His farewell happened at Bethany? It makes our home seem still more -like the gate of heaven, when I remember this; ‘He’ll come so as He -went;’ what if that meant His next advent is to be at this very place?” - -“Or, what if it meant that He would appear the second time, in glory, -at the homes of men; since He elected His home for the gateway of His -earthly exit,” replied the husband. Then they sat for a little while in a -blessed silence; that kind that falls upon souls bowing to a benediction, -or moved by thoughts that are holy beyond expression. - -The wife broke in on their reverie: “I wonder how His departure affected -the disciples?” - -“I have it all here, darling;” then he took one of his parchments and -read: - -“And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, -and blessed them. - -“And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and -carried up into heaven. - -“And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: - -“And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. - -“And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with -them, and confirming the word with signs following.” - -“I knew it was as I thought! If believers are as they say, enlisted -soldiers, under the blood-stained banners, our Christ has not been true -to His word, or there is universal treason in the camp! The world is not -gospeled and the soldiers have not the miracle power. I tell you husband, -there is need of a revolution, a revival of zeal, an improvement of -methods! The Hospitaler was right. The Christian world needs to be led -along the _Via Dolorosa_ after Jesus and Mary, up to their measure of -utter consecration, to their undying love, to their lofty, soul consuming -zeal!” - -And the young gospel herald was silent, for he could not gainsay her. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - -THE QUEEN OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID. - - “The harp the monarch minstrel swept, - The king of men, the loved of heaven. - ... - It softened men of iron mold; - No ear so dull, no soul so cold - That felt not, fired not to the tone, - Till David’s lyre grew mightier than the throne; - Since then, though heard on earth no more, - Devotion, and her daughter, love, - Still bid the bursting spirit soar, - To sounds that seem as from above, - In dreams that day’s broad light can not remove.”—BYRON. - - “The king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, ... - and caused a seat to be set for the king-mother, and she sat at - his right hand.”—1 KINGS, 2, 19. - - -“Miriamne, the heavenly host we imagined to be in bivouac about our -Bethany home, methinks were really present, and gave color and form to my -dreams. I was in a grail-quest all night.” - -“What a golden day is such a night! But tell me of the color and form of -your visions, Cornelius.” - -“We fell asleep last night conversing of the Ascension; my dreams carried -me on to Pentecost.” - -“And what have you brought from the dream-land to help in the stern and -pressing waking hours?” - -“A panting heart, as one having climbed mountain above mountain. I burn -to know and feel the whole significance of Pentecost! - -“I’ve determined to seek holy companionship and wise guiding by -attendance at the next ‘Harvest Feast’ at Jerusalem. I think I’ll get -peculiar help at the great city.” - -“The Israelites will not welcome a Christian to their feast.” - -“The one I aim to attend is that that will be observed by the Christian -knights in an upper room, in the great city. They think they have -possession of the identical apartment in which the disciples of our Lord -met and witnessed the glories of Pentecost, after the Ascension.” - -“In Joseph of Arimathæa’s house?” - -“That is the accepted report. The Hospitaler, whom we believe to be a -‘Grail Knight’ of to-day, is quite earnest in so affirming.” - -“Wondrous white-souled Arimathæa! Jewish and a priest, yet secretly -a disciple of Jesus! I dare to liken myself unto that holy man, in a -measure. He left an old faith for a new one, and followed the cup of the -Passion, as I, my ideal.” - -“_A good man and a just_,” says the Testament. - - * * * * * - -“We meet to-night in Arimathæa’s house,” said the Hospitaler to -Cornelius, shortly after the arrival and welcome of the latter at -Jerusalem. - -“Can the uninitiated attend?” questioned Cornelius. - -“Now, that’s the joy of it, they can; and more, we are to have a number -of Jews present, among them some once priests; but now like that Joseph -of blessed memory, seeing the true light.” - -“And the meeting?” - -“The exalting of the Word, that’s the need of the hour, world-wide. I -tell thee, young man, set to teach; the needs are not more religions but -more religion, not more revelators or prophets but surer interpreters. -The world blooms with truth on every hand; who will pluck the blossoms?” - -And the disciples were again, all with one accord, in the holy upper -chamber. - -The Hospitaler, with an abruptness of John the Baptist, merely throwing -back his tunic and exposing the golden sign of knighthood for a moment to -his companions, as he entered, at once began to address the assembly; - -“Jews and Gentiles, all children by creation of a common Father—greeting! -The fires of Pentecost are kindled everywhere in Jerusalem, but they are -the old fires and cold enough; sacrifices smoke on the altars, but the -day of such offerings is past. - -“Methinks, the offered bulls, goats and lambs, if they could speak, would -cry out against the priestly hands that shed their blood; ‘How long, -how long the blood of our flocks has pointed to the lamb of God, the -All-Savior, who died to save men from sin and beasts from the altar; and -yet we die as if our work were not finished!’ - -“The beasts join in the wailings of humanity. - -“For centuries God’s chosen people celebrated this feast of the harvest, -the joy of Jewry; and now the world’s harvest advenes. Yet, for the most -part, the multitudes see not the ripening. For years the first fruits -were offered, and as yet, the people do not understand that first fruits -mean chosen, choice fruits, the elect of God. - -“For centuries, Israel offered the shoulder and heart of the lamb, and -yet Israel waits under the overshadowing smokes of its burnt offering, -not discerning the Lamb Priest, whose heart of eternal love and shoulder -of power, are given for the salvation of the people. - -“Israelites, hear me; out of the altar’s smoke emerges to view the -kingdom of the house of David, refined, purified—the hope of the future. -Ye have thought, hitherto, that David’s kingdom, whatsoever it might have -been, is, in these ages, to be reckoned with the dynasties and forces of -an antiquity, whose influences long ago ebbed away along the shores of -the all-entombing past. - -“Yet such conclusion is as fallacious as it is evidently superficial. The -God who works in unbroken time cycles, though men remit their tasks at -the beck of sleep or death, pushes forth His forceful, faultless projects -with a tireless consistency that knows no cross purposes. A real and -present kingdom is that with which this Pentecost we have to do. We are -not, _at that time_ when _they shall bring out the bones of the kings of -Judah and spread them before the sun_. David’s throne is a verity, though -long incrusted with neglects; it is a symbol of power in a dynasty that -is ordained to overspread the earth. I’d summon my witnesses; first the -weeping Jeremiah. ‘Thus said the Lord: David shall never lack a man to -sit on the throne of the house of Israel.’ How bold! but amid the ruins -about us, I cry never! never! Now call the God-nourished captive Daniel, -who, sincere to the last, made all Babylon glow with his prayers and his -visions. Saith Daniel: - -“‘The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom that shall never be -destroyed.’ The dream is certain; the interpretation sure. He was proof -against the alluring blandishments of his royal captors, and as pure to -the last as a knight of San Grail.” - -Cornelius saw a light on the Hospitaler’s face, and knew it was that that -comes from a conscience clear before God. The latter went on with a voice -suddenly become tenderer than it was before. - -“Let us hear the reply of the converted pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar: -‘_Whose kingdom is from generation to generation!_’ - -“Hearken to Isaiah, to whom the scroll of human history through a -thousand generations then yet to come was present and lucid: ‘Unto us -a child is born ... his name shall be called Wonderful ... The Prince -of Peace.’ ‘Of the _increase_ of His government and peace there shall -be no end upon the throne of David to _establish_ it with judgment and -with justice from henceforth and _forever_.’ Surely he must be of dull -comprehension who saith this is only the spiritual, heavenly kingdom of -the glorified. - -“Let us stand for a little under the light of the blazing tongues of -Pentecost, enswathed in imagination by the mighty, rushing tide of Spirit -manifestation, fresh from the Being of the Almighty. Now listen to Peter, -transfigured and illuminated within and without. Error here, with him, -was impossible! Untruth at such a time would be a madness like that of -the attempted steadying of the ark. Saith Peter: ‘_David being a prophet -knowing that God had sworn to him that He would raise up Christ to sit -on his throne._’ Peter at last, a rock of God, I bless thee! Call that -archangel, who doth excel in strength, his name given him in heaven being -Gabriel, the ‘Champion of God.’ He certified his mission to Mary in terms -that can be made no finer: ‘_I am Gabriel, that STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF -GOD and sent to show thee glad tidings. Thou shalt bring forth a son. And -the Lord shall give unto Him the throne of His father David._’ Of His -Kingdom there shall be no end. These are ‘glad tidings,’ indeed, sung -as such to the joy and wonder of heaven, as well as proclaimed as the -sovereign comfort of earth’s inhabiters. - -“The splendid, earthly Kingdom outlined so gloriously by the prophets -has suffered no syncope, and David’s royal line has not found its end in -sepulchral palaces. That Kingdom and that line survives; their zenith not -yet attained. - -“In that zenith day, _Truth shall spring out of the earth, and -righteousness shall look down from heaven_. - -“So it was settled forever in heaven, for earth and to all eternity, that -in the vocabulary of divine wisdom, ‘first-born’ means ‘choice-born.’ -And he is choice-born no matter how ill his beginning, who is reborn by -the all-uplifting, renewing Spirit of Grace! Jesus, in marked manner, -even in this respect, parallels David in reäffirming in Himself this law -of His refined, exalted kingdom. The line of the Christ from remotest -generations is found to have deflected from the line of the first born. -His descent must be traced through Seth, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, -Judah, David, Solomon and Nathan, and still others, none of whom were -first in their advent into the families to which they belonged. Again, -the Christ and his progenitor, David, antagonized the barbarian tenet of -all ages that a man was to be honored merely because of his gigantesque -figure or prowess. In olden times men revered greatly the giantly. -Among the primitives to be a weakling was to be pitiable, and to be -huge to monstrosity was to be respected, if not actually worshiped. -Indeed, paganism in its essence is but homage paid to the great, that -is terrible. The princely David began his career in slaying wild beasts -and monstrous giants, but we may cease admiring the prowess he had -physically in greater admiration of the symbol that lies in his early -exploits. He was to be the giant-slayer; evil giants and giant evils -were to fall before him alike; and a shepherd’s little sling, in pious -hands, was shown to be invincible. In Solomon’s time, there was more -outward splendor, but less spirituality than in David’s time. The latter -witnessed the gilded decline in its beginnings. Decay followed swiftly. -The world sighed for a restoration; the heathen manufactured gods; the -Fire Worshipers followed stars; in the groves, virgins were, after a -sort, worshiped, as in the forest night-services of the old England of -some of you, the Druids prayed to a mystical ‘virgin that was to bring -forth.’ There was a common yearning for the coming of a Champion to lead -and defend the races of man. The yearning felt its way blindly toward the -wonder to be, that of a woman of the children of men, mothering One all -human, all divine, a Prince fit to link together the parts of David’s -kingdom, whether militant here or triumphant above. That full day has -begun, but is only dimly seen by many. You Jews have been wont to keep a -Pentecost of males only while Egypt deifies a woman as goddess of the -harvest. One turns to brawn, the other to the bringer forth, and neither -gets the truth, the royal truth, found in the faith that brings forth -through all humanity! - -“Would you see a real Pentecost? Now, look how the first was to the -fathers. The holy ones, among Christ’s followers, believing His promises, -assembled at Joseph of Arimathæa’s house, to await it. Hear the word: - -“And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, the -number of names together were about a hundred and twenty. - -“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the -women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” - -“Our holy Luke, said to have been an artist, artistically presents the -scene. As we read his record, we behold the ‘Queen of the House of -David,’ the representative woman; as she should be, in the company and -honor of God’s people. Not there as a beautiful creature to be admired; -but there to pray with those who prayed for the dawn and the glory. With -the genius of an artist, and the insight of a prophet, Luke displays his -ideal thus. The Scripture record closes, leaving the typical woman amid -God’s people, on her knees, waiting in hopefulness for the full dawn; -while for a little time over all falls the earnest of the promise in -miraculous displays from above. There was a rushing of mighty sounds, the -providences of God in motion, the movements of His spirits who minister, -for a time made visible! The scene was one never to be forgotten, and -the holy John, years after in the glowing visions of the Apocalypse, had -brought to his mind its central figure the woman clothed with the sun; -the transfigured woman, and she as woman in her highest estate; that is -mothering a child! He saw her rising above all perils, all evils; but as -she rose, she bore aloft her child, a Man Child! Look at the picture, men -and brethren, ’till it possesses your souls! BEHOLD THE WOMAN! Behold -the interlaced symbols! As a mother holds above peril her child, so the -peerless woman held aloft her Divine Babe; as the church holds aloft -its offspring, so also in the apotheosis of the ideal mother, comes the -uplifting of man’s hopes, and the triumph of all that is best, all that -is promised. We see to-day, but the smoke side of Pentecost, by and by -we’ll see, as do those in heaven, its fire side.” - -The speaker ceased his address, and all were filled with great and moving -thoughts. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - -THE CORONATION OF THE QUEEN. - - “My knowledge is so weak, oh, blissful queen, - To tell abroad thy mighty worthiness, - That I the weight of it may not sustain; - But as a child of twelve months’ old or less - That laboreth his language to express, - Even so fare I and therefore pray, - Guide thou my song which I of thee may say.”—WORDSWORTH. - - -“If I could only carry to Bethany what I feel now!” ejaculated the young -chaplain, as he hurried along from the knights’ celebration of Pentecost, -homeward, at the time that the Moslems were summoned to evening prayers -by the minaret calls. - -After his greeting, on arriving at his abode, his first words were: “I’ve -seen the crowns of fire, and now comprehend the meaning of Pentecost, -where men gathered from varied climes, heard each the spirit’s message in -his own tongue! The Spirit is the interpreter!” - -“By what aid came this revelation?” - -“God and the Hospitaler.” - -“We have the first here; let us call the other, that the temple on the -hill be made to feel the glow. The time is opportune, for each day -witnesses new triumphs of our cause.” - -When the knight arrived a feast was in progress. His air awed those to -whom he was a stranger, and there were not a few who thought within -themselves, - -“Is he a prophet?” - -Abruptly, as usual, he began: - -“Friends: I would that all hearts here were moved by justice to enthrone -the Queen whose praise your frank youths have been sincerely singing. I -am here to-day to proclaim her rights, and in so doing I shall appeal to -that sure word which survives when all else fails. She was of David’s -royal line; the noblest one of all the earth. To the proof? The Christian -Scriptures, from the hands of Matthew and Luke, present her ancestral -descent. These apostles wrote as God directed, and, after all, only -reaffirmed that already set forth in the most carefully, religiously -guarded records of all antiquity, the Jewish genealogical tables. - -“You know that the ancient Jews held those tables in sacred regard, for -on their integrity depended the proof of the things to them most dear, -as they believed. By them every Jew could trace his Abrahamic descent, -and to Abraham’s seed were all the great promises of the covenant. By -those tables they proved their title to the land of promise, Canaan. -Every Jew, believing himself one of God’s chosen people, and that his -advancement and the advancement of his posterity in the Divine favor, -depended on the purity of the blood of both, felt that he needed the -guidance of those tables to preserve him from any admixture with alien or -Gentile blood. The Aaronic priesthood was hereditary and the priesthood -was initial in the religious system of the Hebrews. Its legitimacy was -preserved chiefly by these hereditary charters. Then all true Israelites -looked for the coming of a Savior, Priest and King to bring to the chosen -transcendent glory, and to win an universal dominion, marked by love, joy -and peace. Every Jew knew that Great One was to spring from the house of -David, and all within that Judaic line hoping that he or his children -might be near akin to the One to come, carefully, constantly, proudly -guarded and studied these records of descent. Birth was the foundation -upon which all Jewish institutions were founded. ‘_So all Israel was -reckoned by genealogies._’ They lived in a reign of blood, and in blood -to be Jewishly thoroughbred was, they thought, to be most highly favored. -They had not yet discerned the law of the new dispensation, which -declares all men akin; a dispensation seeking to build up a superior -humanity by first of all transforming and exalting the inner life. By the -revered records of these Jewish patriarchs, both holy and love-ladened, -place the writings of Matthew and Luke, and with concurrent testimony, -unimpeachable as well as conclusive, the legitimacy of Jesus the son of -Mary is proven! He was beyond a cavil of David’s kingly line. There were -Christ-haters who contested at every point His claim of Messiahship. They -forged lies freely; they hurled after Him slanders innumerable; they -insinuated that He was born in fornication; they affected to flee from -Him as one having a devil; they denounced Him to Jewish as well as Roman -authorities as a liar, a seducer of men and a traitor. In a word, they -howled Him down in every way they could, unabashed by the splendor of His -baptismal indorsement, unsilenced by the awful warnings of His cross. But -in their desperation they never dared to challenge the records which -proved Him ‘_the son of David_.’ Now had His claims rested upon His -relations to His earthly father, Joseph, they would have been disproven. -All Jewry would have quickly, fiercely proclaimed Him a pretender and -not in the family of promise. The Christ was heir of David’s name and -fame because His mother was, and so in exalting Him you crown the saintly -woman who bore Him! He was the adopted son of Joseph, type of all His -followers, adopted sons of a Royal Father. He was legitimate through his -mother, type of all his followers, brought into the royal family of God -by the power of a mystic new birth. - -“But there is another line running backward, preserved through the -centuries to connect the first Adam with this last one. This line runs -from Christ through his mother to Eden. Behold the august truth suspended -by that chain of names! Names; only names of the dead! names of the -forgotten! Jesus by Mary is linked to the chain! It’s an old, old chain, -but yet it has gems in its links. Each named is the child of another -living before, and the history of each is recorded in two words, ‘begat,’ -‘died.’ A chain of dust! One man precedes another. Each in turn vanishes -until immortality is confronted in the last sentence: ‘_Adam, who was -the son of God!_’ The first mortal son of God uncrowned and led away -from his kingdom, by a woman, to death! The twain go down together, each -ruinous to the other, with nothing left them but a hope; and that hope -rested upon a to them mysterious promise: ‘_The seed of the woman shall -crush the head of the serpent!_’ It would have staggered their faith had -one told them that in God’s revenges, all compensating, all healing, -she that led down was of the sex that should lead upward. Out of their -darkness there came a seeming dawn, and Eve cried ecstatically at the -birth of Cain: - -‘I have gotten a man from the Lord!’ - -“They thought he was a token of renewed favor and probably the redeemer -from the curse. He turned out a murderer, and introduced them to the -supreme horror of humanity—death. The conflict of light and darkness went -on, and the first pair tasted death themselves, looking along the horizon -of unrealized hopes to the last and waiting, as all their posterity -through painful centuries waited, for the Man that was to save. The long -years with leaden tread marched on, struggles amid suffering weighty and -countless, accompanied the race; of them all woman bore the heavier part, -but she kept somehow the larger hope. Each Jewish mother, with a pride of -sex secretly cherished, watched and longed for the coming from herself of -the ONE who was to lift her up and crown her queen, indeed. - -“God at last gathered all woman’s trustful hopings into one great -answered prayer, and deigning, in sovereign love, His marvelous -co-operation, brought forth another and a perfect Adam. - -“We are informed that Joseph and Mary went, about the time of Jesus’ -birth, in compliance with Roman law, to Bethlehem to pay their personal -taxes. The Roman tax lists were based upon the records of family descent -so far as concerned the Jews. - -“To make the collection certain beyond the possibility of any one’s -escape, the law required each taxable subject to pay his allotted tribute -in the city of his nativity. The father and mother of Jesus were cited -to the city of David. Thither they went. And so in the providence of God -it happened that pagan Rome was summoned to the cradle of the infant -Savior and made unwittingly an attester to all time that He was of a -family by right recorded among those descended from great David. - -“The son and the mother here stand or fall together. If Mary was not of -David’s line, then the Son she bore was not, and He is left without proof -of being of the seed of David. - -“Joseph was not the father of the Christ _after the flesh_. The lives of -mother and son are eternally intertwined. If we honor one we must needs -honor the other; abating the fame of one we degrade the other. - -“Jesus’ claims to being the Messiah depended upon the fact that His -mother was of the tribe and family royal. The absolute requirements -of prophecy can only be met in the Messiah by His being of the House -of David. Jesus himself admitted and fairly met this necessity. So -he questioned the Pharisees: ‘What think ye of Christ? Whose son is -he?’ ‘They say unto him, the Son of David.’ Admitting this, the Savior -propounded the question involving sonship and spiritual unity with God -which His questioners could not answer: - -“‘If David then call him Lord, how is he son?’ - -“‘_Neither durst any man from that day forth ask Him any more questions._’ - -“Had He denied the necessity of Davidic origin they could have -overwhelmed Him with Scriptures. Had he not been of that family the most -ignorant Jew would have promptly rejected His claims to being the Hope of -Israel. - -“Peter the apostle, amid the soul-trying solemnities of Pentecost, -speaking to the representatives of people from all parts of the earth -and for all time, cried: ‘Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you -concerning the Patriarch David: Being a prophet, and knowing God had -sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, _according to -the flesh_, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.’ - -“This orator spoke then with the accuracy of one in the presence of the -Holy Ghost, and not only made sincere, but illuminated, by the torch of -God. This is conclusive, but the reiteratives of the inspired writers -justify us in presenting their cumulative evidence. - -“After Peter comes the learned Hebrew of the Hebrews, Paul; before his -conversion to Christianity declaring himself to have been ‘after the most -straightest sect a Pharisee;’ after that conversion, rejoicing to the end -of life, as of the true, new Israel by faith in Him that makest all new. - -“Twice Paul met Mary’s son mysteriously, face to face, within the very -confines of Glory. Let Paul speak: ‘Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, -separated unto the gospel of God, concerning His Son, our Lord, which was -made of the seed of David according to the flesh!’ - -“Let us not longer make a mock of eternal, holy verities! Christ was of -David’s flesh through His mother, and born to be a real king of a real -kingdom, not a phantom kingdom! That kingdom must come; yea, blessed be -Jehovah! it is coming. - -“Joseph, the putative father of Jesus, adopted Jesus as his son, but he -could not, by that legal act, make his foster son, whose father was the -Holy Spirit of the seed of David, _after the flesh_! Jesus received, -then, His royal blood from Mary, and bore His Kingly title after the -flesh as ‘_the crown wherewith his mother crowned Him_.’ Revelations -harmonize; Luke and Matthew must therefore agree with Paul and Peter. - -“The tables of Luke and Matthew agree down to David’s time, but then -they diverge, until they are converged in Jesus, through the undoubted -legitimacy of Mary as a descendant of David and the adoption of Jesus -by Joseph, a scion of another branch of the same great family. Luke -gives a sentence, all luminous, but first puzzling: ‘_Jesus himself -began to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son -of Joseph, which was the son of Heli._’ ‘Ah, as was _supposed!_’ sneers -the infidel. ‘As was _supposed!_ SUPPOSED!!’ hatefully shouts some -insinuating, ignorant Jews! But now let us fill out, naturally, Luke’s -statement, ‘as was supposed, the son of Joseph, but in reality the son -of Heli.’ But here it may be asked, was Jesus the son of Heli? It is, -I answer, not infrequently in the Scriptures that a grandson is called -a son. Jesus was probably the grandson of Heli. It was a common custom -of the Jews, except in cases of especial necessity, not to record the -names of women in tracing lines of descent. Men kept the books, and it -had become a habit with the lords of creation to thrust woman into the -background. Mary was too insignificant a person, socially considered, in -her time, to be registered in her own name in the hereditary charters. -Joseph was put in her stead, as her representative. There was not any -supposition about the descent of Mary, but these scribes, who had charge -of the books, thought it were more creditable to the male sex to record -Joseph as the father of Jesus, and, by a little fiction, suppose him to -have descended through the former from Heli, than to say Mary descended -from Heli and Jesus descended from Mary. The Romans encouraged this, -and also the politicians. Men were the only ones to fight or pay taxes, -and, as political factors, were strictly watched by those in authority. -Luke, in reality, gives Mary’s line. He was scholarly and accurate, -besides that a physician, and we judge by all experience that there is -that in the profession of medicine which makes its followers tender -toward all suffering, consequently especially tender to women, the -largest inheritors of the pains that beset our race. Doctor Luke, like -those of his fraternity, by an act of graceful justice, in the spirit of -Christianity which is essentially humane, just, and courtly, accorded -gladly the woman her place. But the ‘_doomsday books_’ of the Jews, -containing their family trees or genealogies, perished with the perishing -of the Jewish nation. Those records had done their work; it was time for -them to go. They had become by misuse agencies of evil. They stood long -enough to demonstrate that God works through cycles vastly wide, and that -His definite promise made to Adam, Abraham and many of their successors, -had finally been fulfilled, at the end of thousands of years, with a -miraculous explicitness. The records disappeared after Christ came, and -herein was a providence saying to the watchers: ‘He is come. No need -further of the patents of His ancestry to aid your watching.’ More than -that, they being gone, no other could arise claiming to be Shiloh, with -hope of convincing any by appeal to proof from the records of ancestry. - -“Shiloh and his white kingdom have come. It is ruling the earth; not -in memories of its mighty dead, but by its regal, potent virtues and -charities. The battering rams of Titus destroyed wall and Holy Temple, -but thus was let in new dawn. Above the storm of that awful conflict the -spiritual may discern in living letters the mightly words of God which -dispelled disordering darkness from the universe at the beginning: ‘_Let -there be light_,’ and, indeed, ‘light was.’ The obliterated records of -Jewish ancestral lines, on which alone many a worthless child of Abraham -based his claims to superiority, his right to despise and neglect his -fellow men, his justification to tyrannize, and finally his hope of favor -with God, ceased to present their sturdy barriers to the entering in of a -better hope. Then came in the beginning of this new era; now the patent -of nobility is noble character; this is the time to be marked by an -universal recognition of universal brotherhood in a kingdom where there -is neither Jew nor Gentile, bond nor free, male nor female. A kingdom -where righteousness, impartial justice, liberty, equality, purity and -humanity are to be the regnant potencies. In this kingdom, how fittingly, -Christ stands as the king and ideal of man, and how fittingly his mother -supplements his sway by being presented herself to all womankind as a -queenly ideal. Let him or her dispute her title, who can surely say -the earth, in this redemption period, needs no such sublime epitome of -womanly virtue and worthfulness. - -“My words are ended for to-day, assembled men and women. Some of these -things spoken may seem like deep sayings, but I leave them to find their -lodgment in your hearts and minds. I trust them, knowing that Truth has a -sword which cuts her way, each sweep of that sword making light.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - -THE “LIGHT OF THE HAREM” IN “THE TEMPLE OF ALLEGORY.” - - “Would I had fallen upon those happier days, - And those Arcadian scenes.... - Vain wish! Those days were never! airy dreams - Sat for the picture, and the poet’s hand - Imposed a gay delirium for a truth. - Grant it; I still must envy them an age - That favored such a dream; in days like these - Impossible when virtue is so scarce, - That to suppose a scene where she presides - Is tramontane, and stumbles all belief.”—YOUNG. - - “The glory of the Lord came from the way of the east, ... and - the earth shined with His glory. Thou son of man show the house - to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their - iniquities, and let them measure the pattern.”—EZEKIEL, xliii. - - -“My Cornelius once said I might expend the fortune coming from my -grandfather, Harrimai, as I chose.” - -“Why, that’s so without my saying. I did not court your grandfather, nor -his ownings, and have gotten affluence beyond the wildest dreams of a -lover in Miriamne’s self.” - -“I think the old church on the hill is smiling day by day, more and more.” - -“I’ve noted the improvement, and it assures me our hearers are growing. -A meanly kept sanctuary, witnesses of starved worshipers. Some churches -might be called stables for all-devouring, nothing-giving, lean kine.” - -“I’d like to be brought to confession; question me!” - -“Question? I can not doubt either Miriamne or her doings; to question, -one must doubt.” - -“Sir Courtly! But I’ll flank your courtesy; I’ve purchased and furbished -up the old ecclesiastical pile.” - -“I might have guessed it was Miriamne’s work! Now, good Bishop of -Bethany, appoint me Rector.” - -“Churchman forever! We’ll have no Rector.” - -“No Rector? No sermons? No congregation?” - -“We’ll have a multitude, if we can get into the place the God-shine; that -brightens and draws ever.” - -“Allurement by light! A new device. Are we to have a tryst where -lotus-dreamers may take sun-baths?” - -“Curiosity, too proud to question directly, travels around with -banterings.” - -“Incisive Miriamne, my ægis, thin as paper, is shredded: I confess!” - -“Confession compels pardon and counsel. I’ll give both. The restored -sanctuary is to be the capitol of our fraternity, the ‘_Sisters of -Bethany_.’” - -“Capitol? Are you inviting the Sultan to take your homes and your heads? -A capitol sounds like politics, revolution and things governmental.” - -“There is to be war and a revolution; our munitions are to be solely -moral agencies; our aim, to revolve the world around toward Paradisiacal -days. I’d have parting streams flow out from Bethany to water the -earth, and sing anew the jubilant strains of Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel and -Euphrates.” - -“Arcadia! Alas, how sad such dreams, because so impossible to realize. -The Arcadians, so charming in the poet’s pictures, were, in fact, very -warlike, very loutish, very human.” - -“Say not that what has been must always be. Moses, at a time when Israel -was at its lowest dip, received of God a pattern of the Tabernacle. The -God of Moses is unchangeable. I’ve gotten from Him a pattern, also.” - -“And now I question, as you wish!” - -“The old sanctuary is to be a ‘_Temple of Allegory_.’ We shall attempt -therein to picture the finest truths by symbols that shall make them -tangible and irresistible.” - -“A splendid ambition! Possess me of your intricacies of canon and -catechism. I’d accept them.” - -“You overlook our simplicity by expecting complexity. We shall not walk -like ghosts, hampered by the grave-clothes of the dead, though august -forms. Seven words, enough for each day of the round week, are our whole -profession: ‘_Humanity toward humanity, with godliness toward God._’” - -As they conversed, they walked toward the old sanctuary at the suburbs of -Bethany, and now were drawing near it. - -“Behold, Miriamne, the Hospitaler; yonder.” - -“Yes, I’ve called the knights hither; the Hospitaler will dedicate our -temple to-day.” - -“But has he ecclesiastical authority so to do?” - -“The same authority that these growing shrubs and vines have to make the -place beautiful. See, I’ve pierced the walls of the grim pile, wherever I -could, to make a window. The Hospitaler is to take them for a theme.” - -“Windows for themes?” - -“He is able; and understands by them that we’d have let into musty -beliefs floods of sweet light.” - -“The knights are singing!” - -“Yes, the Grail song, ‘_Faint though pursuing_;’ the dedication has -commenced.” - -The words sung recited the grail quest; but its chorus, a simple one, -was much the same as that sung at the May-day festivities on a former -occasion. The people gathered, heartily joined in the chorus. When the -singing ceased, the Knight, in his usual abrupt manner, began addressing -the assembly: - - “The beloved young missioners have undertaken, by means of - their handiwork here, to strikingly present the noblest truths, - and they have taken a step in the right direction. Love for the - pictorial, manifest especially in children, grows with growth; - those adult needing and seeking, as they grow, finer, grander - symbols. Our Divine Lord, who ‘_knew men_’ and ‘_knew_ what - was in man,’ did not rebuke, but rather utilized this taste - of man, by teaching the profoundest things of His Kingdom by - means of it. He came as close as close could be to the very - core of human life, as it was or to all time will be. While - He might have navigated Galilee in a palatial barge, borne - over be-flowered waves by perfumed breezes and golden wings, - with the aureoled spirits, ‘_who do excel in strength_,’ by - thousands, to escort Him, He chose rather to journey in an - all-winning humility, borrowing, as He had need, the old - boat of some poor Tiberian fisherman. He might have entered - Jerusalem, that last time, in an Elijah-like chariot, dazzling - the city with splendors surpassing those that the rapt John - beheld on Patmos; but the King of Glory, seeking to be the - King of all men, elected in that supreme moment to get near to - men by approaching the august courts of Herod and Caiphas, and - the commons as well, on an ass—an humble beast, and borrowed - at that. All this allegorized the condescension and sympathy - of Jehovah. The universe is full of patterns! The books of - Nature, Revelation, and Providence, having a common authority, - are constant in the use of pictured truth. Nature gives us the - dawning of light and the marshaling of order out of darkness - and chaos. There is the low earth, the high firmament, ripe - summer going down into the winding sheets of winter and up - to the resurrections of spring. Twig, flower, seed, forest; - insect that creeps, and bird that flies; the speck-life moved, - and the behemoth; the atom and the planet-system—waning and - growing, dying and living, from formlessness to beauty, from - time to eternity! Then take the inspired picture-history: - Eden’s fall, Egyptian captivity, the Red Sea passage, the - wilderness, the manna by the way, the rest by the Mount of the - Law, the entrance to the Promised Land. Lastly, the Incarnate - One, an eternal symbol, the realization and fulfillment of all - preceding. ‘Which things are an allegory,’ exclaimed Paul, with - a sweeping back-look. The three books present to the thoughtful - pictured banners innumerable, to wave him onward. This temple - is dedicated to the purpose of pointing to these pictures. - Fitly the ‘angels of the mount’ have determined to make - prominent the beautiful, patient, modest Mary, Mother of Jesus. - And to study her intelligently or profitably, it is necessary - to know her not only as an historical personage, but as one - in the cavalcade of symbolism unfolded by Sacred Writ and by - Nature. She passes by, herself every way unique, the exemplar - of God to those aspiring after gentle, devout girlhood, - pure and wise maiden-life, constant wifehood, and patient, - consecrated, and influential motherhood. Turn again to the - Divine Word, the beacon of the ages, the history of Providence, - the solver of life’s problems. It is made up of an entrancing - array of symbols, types, prophetic dramas, and gorgeously - constructed visions, constantly representing or dextrously - pointing, by countless trophies and allegories, to its Ideal - and Darling, Mary’s Son, _who ‘spoke as man never spake, yet - who without a parable spake nothing.’_ Though the literary ages - are strewn with long winrows of dead books, no work of man long - surviving the mutations of time, God’s picturesque handiwork, - the inspired volume, as potently molds the thoughts, charms - the affections and quickens the hopes of our race with its - tokens, types, idyls and illustration as it did when the earth - was younger by far than it is now. It is a living fountain, - not only giving, but retaining its immortality! It abides - because it masterfully deals with the things that pertain to - the wonderland of the soul. How necessary its methods is at - once apparent to any one who considers, discerningly, man as - a complex union of spirit and matter; wonderful forever, but - ‘_very good_,’ since the All Holy, Great High Priest performed - the nuptial ceremony of that union. If there could be found a - being able to reason, as a man, who had not within himself this - unity, and who had never experienced its phenomena, such would - at once combat the possibility of its existence. Even those - so organized, and momentarily realizing the jointure of the - God-like spirit with the earthly body, the higher condescending - to and communing with the inferior, the inferior at times - over-persuading, dominating and utterly shipwrecking its great - spiritual co-partner, are compelled to admit the whole as being - a fact without parallel, alike inscrutable and bewildering. A - life-time of profoundest introspection can carry the greatest - mind, herein, only to the confines of new wonders. But the - interest in the study of the unwritten, unvoiced language of - symbolisms by which the wonderfully united twain, soul and - body, confer and commune with each other deepens with the - study. What a fine, expressive, rapid, exact, exalted language - that must be! To each well understood; without their arcana - unknown, unheard, incomprehensible. And it is of necessity - all symbol, natural, intuitive, without a single arbitrary - sign! This sign-language acts by _symbol_ in the royal temple - of memory and imagination. And so again we perceive the - representative, picturesque or typical is the medium of the - fine, the deep and the lofty in expressing truth. This is the - soul’s language, by which it communes with whatever else there - is in man, through which it receives the songs of Heaven, - and the august or tender messages of the Spirit, out of the - deathless land. - - “When this sphere of ours was rolling swiftly onward through - the shadows of night, as well as swiftly downward through - darker shadows of sin, Divine love said ‘Let there be light.’ - Then the hosts of heaven saw at Bethlehem a mother and babe - marking the place of world-dawn, unfolding the design of - Deity to effect redemption by touching the race of man at - infancy; the most effective because the most plastic point; - through motherhood the most influential because the tenderest - instrumentality. The never-to-be-forgotten spectacle thrilled, - with a new ecstasy, the beings of glory whose every throb - of life is joy. They tracked the heavens about with light as - they sped out to keep abreast the fleeing earth and shout over - Bethlehem, ‘Glad tidings! Glad tidings!’ They saw Eden restored - through the advent of a new, pure home; they saw a mystic - covenant between God and man typified in the child begotten of - a human mother in conjunction with the Eternal Father. By this - there seemed to be an attesting that humanity was to be raised - to Divine favor; there also was a symbol showing the value of - law; for through the incarnation, Deity, in the form of a babe, - became submissive to law administered by a mortal mother. - - “He is blind who can not see in all these things God’s purpose - to elect some of His creatures to be His co-laborers in the - choicest co-operations, and also to be exemplars of what He - does and would do. These things being so, we do well to learn - the alphabet of His goodness from His elect heroes, heroines - and saints; and I proclaim to-day my innermost belief in Christ - as the argument, logic and fruit of God’s love; but, at the - same time, I praise, as one enravished, the character of her - who was God’s poem, God’s peroration! We now proclaim this - temple dedicated to the purposes of showing forth the things I - have spoken.” - -The Hospitaler abruptly ceased his address, as he began it. There were -other services consisting of psalm-singing and prayers, and the service -was ended. - -As the congregation dispersed, the young missioner, Cornelius, exclaimed: -“Miriamne, the Hospitaler has awakened me as from sleep by God’s truth. -Oh, the heavens are not as full of shining stars as God’s truth is full -of beauty! It seems strange that men like myself, and wiser, are so long -in bringing these things to their minds. You, my dear little mystic, are -my interpreter. - -“It’s just as I told you, wife. We must go in pairs. In the Egyptian -mythologies, Osiris had his Isis, Amen-Ra his Maut, and Kneph his Sate. -Thank God I have my adolescent other self!” - -“I, a woman, help you? My sex is honored by the praise. Are they worthy -of all they need? Is it madness to seek to gather all women having gifts -and needs into a helped and helping fraternity whose creed is a fine -example? If I help Cornelius, cannot a peerless one like Mary help all?” - -“Pardon the thought, but one word haunts me—idolatry!” - -“Impossible! We all need soul company, and have room within for such. We -must have an inner population of real heroines and heroes or be filled -with ghosts and myths. The empty soul, eaten up with self-worship, goes -mad; the myth-possessed becomes an idolater. If we harbor the God-like, -keeping the highest place for Deity, our inner selves will be no hideous -chambers of imagery, but a counterpart of heaven.” - -“But some have fallen into putting Mary before Jesus, and so we’ve seen -the advent of Mariolatry.” - -“But this only, and surely, here I know, no friend of the Divine Son -can dethrone Him by honoring her, aright; indeed, as He, Himself, did. -It was of Him she spoke when exclaiming: ‘_My soul doth rejoice in God -my Savior!_’ Can one truly honor Him and despise and ignore the woman -who gave Him human birth? Can one have His mind and forget her for whom -love was uppermost to Him in His supreme last hours? Can one honor her -aright, and yet dethrone the Son whom she enthroned? She bore Him, then -lived for Him. She honored herself in bearing Him, and was His mother, -His teacher and His disciple. He revered her, she worshiped Him. Awed by -His augustness, she was yet conscious of an ownership of His greatness; -believing in His divinity, she yet enjoyed the nearness to Him of a -mother.” - -“I can not but believe that she is a queen, indeed, high among the -glorified who reign with God! I question again: Who ever did, or could, -become heretic or carnal by sincerely revering the peerless woman whom -Christ enthroned on His heart?” - -“I know at least that the fathers at imperial and pagan Rome placed a -representation of Mary in their Pantheon when public policy made it an -imperative necessity to overthrow the influence of the lewd, fanciful and -ungodly ideals that had been set up therein,” responded Cornelius. - -“The world is a Pantheon full of corrupt ideas. Let us raise high the -choice ones God has sent us—But see, yonder is the wife of a poor old -Druse camel-driver. She was once a sinner in the streets of Jerusalem. -Now she is a Sister of Bethany, allured to goodness by our Temple’s -allegories!” - -“A woman that was a sinner, a scarlet woman?” - -“Only such. No; all of that! One woman; a lost one? How little to man; -how much to God! Had nothing else been done, heaven would have been set -singing, as ever, over a sinner’s return. That’s reward enough for all -we’ve attempted.” - -“Now I’m interested, indeed!” - -“Well you may be, when you hear all. We’ve here one once a harem beauty, -who, having lost her power to fascinate, was committing her life to that -hag-cunning belonging to old women who supplement their decaying power by -wickedness, fox-like and serpentine.” - -“The old, old story; yet I thank God if her life be sweetened.” - -“Hers is a strange story.” - -“May I know it?” - -“Yes; it is, as I’ve gathered it in scraps, a sad romance. She was born -of Georgian parents, among the mountains of Armenia, and gifted, in her -youth, as are most of those of her sex in that country, with unusual -personal beauty. She early attracted the attention of the monsters -who dealt in human flesh, and a Georgian noble unrighteously claiming -her family as his serfs, bartered away Nourahmal to merchants seeking -recruits for Mameluke harems. She became, in time, part of the retinue of -a sheik by the name of Azrael, a desperate adventurer, who, on account -of his blood-deeds, was called by his followers the ‘Angel of Death,’ -His luxurious and desperate way of living justified his claim to Turkish -extraction; his adroitness and avidity for intrigue stamped him as a -Mameluke.” - -“Nourahmal? Azrael? Why, these must be the same of whom I’ve heard Sir -Charleroy speak?” queried Cornelius. - -“The same!” - -“She comes out of the past as one from the dead!” - -“And her story is a series of strange events. It is as follows: Azrael -suspected her of having abetted the escape of my father and Ichabod, -therefore determined to kill her. She gained a temporary respite through -having saved her master’s life from an assassin plotting to supplant him; -though she periled her own in so doing. - -“As Azrael awaited her recovery from the wounds she had suffered in -his behalf, he devised another scheme which he hoped would compass his -favorite’s destruction and his own elevation. He was ambitious to be -Sherif of Mecca. To attain that honor he saw he must needs do something -to enhance his popularity greatly with his Mohammedan followers, and so -conceived the plan of getting into his power, Harrimai of the Jews and -Adolphus of the Christians. His purpose was to rack those two leaders -into apostasy and the betrayal of their followers. Had he succeeded, the -event would have been crushing to Jews and Christians east of Jordan. -He promised Nourahmal her freedom and restoration to her Georgian home -if she aided him in his design; though he did not disclose his purpose -to her beyond that of securing the presence of Von Gombard and Harrimai -in his camp. She felt that there was some malign, hidden purpose in her -master’s breast, but deemed it expedient, at the outset, to seem to -co-operate in his plan.” - -“But how was the sheik using his strategy against Nourahmal?” - -“As a fiend! He, having no conception of a friendship between a man and -a woman that was pure and free from intrigue, suspected the relations -between his favorite and Ichabod. He thought the two only needed the -opportunity to precipitate into perfidy. He laid his plan darkly, and, -leaving a trusty follower to carry it out, hastened forward to Mecca.” - -“But surely, Nourahmal was not what he thought her!” - -“No; though training her as a plastic child, he judged she was what he -had tried to make her; at her worst she was. But let me continue. The -assault on my parents and Ichabod, on the road between Gerash and Bozrah, -was the opening of the drama. The plan then was to seize Rizpah, and -under pretense of negotiating for her ransom, inveigle Harrimai into the -hands of Azrael’s followers. Nourahmal was to aid in this by affecting -tears, pleading for pity and suggesting the sending for the girl’s -father.” - -“What besetments perilous we pass through, all unknown to us! Harrimai -and your parents, to their death, never suspected the devices worked -against them!” - -“Nor dreamed that a harem favorite, a mere girl, and an utter stranger to -them, was their good angel!” - -“Good angel! How?” - -“She witnessed the assault from behind a sequestering wall, in company -with a follower of the sheik, commissioned to kill her instantly if she -faltered in the part appointed her. This infernal guard was also charged -to insinuate into her mind the feasibility of elopement with Ichabod. If -she could be compromised, Azrael knew he could justify her death to those -who remembered her heroic defense of himself. That was to follow as soon -as she had done her part in inveigling Harrimai to Azrael’s camp.” - -“A demonstration of a personal devil, Miriamne.” - -“I’d say rather of an overruling God.” - -“How fared Nourahmal after Azrael’s chagrin?” - -“Cornelius anticipates me. When she saw Ichabod fall, a sudden desire -for liberty for herself and to help the imperiled Rizpah, prompted her -to drive a dagger into the heart of her guard and cry, ‘Rescuers come!’ -That cry drove the remnants of the assailers of Sir Charleroy to sudden -flight. She asserted to the fugitives that Laconic, the new runner, just -passing, had slain her guard, and so allayed suspicion until opportunity -of escape came. She soon made her way to Bozrah, where she found among -the Christians a temporary home. From thence she drifted into Jerusalem.” - -“’Twas strange she did not turn toward Gerash.” - -“I said as much to her, but desire to get as far as possible from -Azrael, and as near as possible to the Holy City, of which Ichabod had -so glowingly spoken to her, determined her course; besides that, Ichabod -being dead, Gerash was a strange place to her—Jerusalem seemed to her, -she said, near heaven.” - -“Had she only known it, she was near heaven in Bozrah, being near Von -Gombard.” - -“Her story weaves a chaplet for his tomb to-day; for now it appears that -from Nourahmal the old priest foreknew the intention of those Saracens, -who assailed the city that day I was with him. Though they designed -capturing him to put him on the rack, he rushed into the conflict, -crying, ‘Kill the foe with kindness!’ The assault would have been fatal -to Bozrah, too, had not the leader of one of the invading bands ordered -a retreat, just at the point of victory. This was indirectly Nourahmal’s -work; for that leader had been won by her to esteem Christians far enough -to be unwilling to murder them, though not adverse to plundering them. -That was a great improvement in a Mohammedan.” - -“And Nourahmal knows from you that you are Sir Charleroy’s daughter?” - -“Yes, by that I won her confidence. Indeed, she began this confidence at -first, by saying, ‘I love you, because you so remind me, angel of the -mount, of a Christian knight, who was the dear friend of the only pure -and unselfish man I knew in all my youth! Such words led to questions -and explanations. The rest you know.” - -“And you have allured, comforted and enlightened her?” - -“By God’s help, I have. I have told her of the universal sisterhood, of -all women, who take as their exemplar the worthy mother of the One who -proclaimed the universal brotherhood of man. This knowledge is her joy -and inspiration. When I am with her, she never tires of hearing of the -‘Queen of David’s House,’ the mother of mothers.” - -“But how have you allured her hither, Miriamne?” - -“You have questioned curiously with your eyes, at least, concerning those -gated alcoves and curtained balconies in our Temple of Allegory. They -helped her!” - -“Since you say they are not ‘Confessionals,’ as I call them, tell me what -they are?” - -“‘Rock clefts’ our sisterhood calls them; some are doors to little -adjacent chapels; some are quiet resting places, where, in impressive -solitude, souls in prayer may find the mountain manna, for which the -Savior sought in many a lone night-watching; and some are places where -are presented, under entrancing symbols, exalting truths.” - -“Words have failed to turn the world to faith: may signs do better.” - -“I’ve put truth into visible form, that they who get it here may learn -that truth thus is only up to its full might. I’d have my followers -believe in visible, not phantom, truth; so believing, truth will not be a -ghostly proclamation, the toy of the mind, but a force moving hands and -hearts!” - -“And you have met Nourahmal’s case?” - -“Yes; fully in what we call the ‘Lover’s Bower,’ yonder. Remember she has -been the victim of mock love, from first to last.” - -“The ‘Lover’s Bower’?” - -“Behold the trophy and the bower! There is Nourahmal, now rapturously -contemplating the picture of Joseph putting the ring of espousal on the -hand of the Virgin Mary.” - -“Nourahmal? That gray-haired, hard-faced woman, holding the hand of a -charming girl?” - -“That is Nourahmal; the younger woman is Beulah, her grand-daughter; they -two are almost inseparable now.” - -“An oleander by a limestone cliff! And so she takes her station by a -scene of betrothal, forgetting that hymen’s altars can be fired by youth -alone!” - -“The world says so; but yet a disappointed life may sometimes learn why -it has been a failure, by studying the ashes of time gone in the light of -quickened memories.” - -“What finds Nourahmal there?” - -“Golden lessons. First for her grand-daughter, her idol. She never tires -of saying before yon picture to that maiden now her charge: ‘My flower, -my lamb, be always as pure as the espoused of Joseph, and you will be a -jewel which your husband, if he be a true man, will ever proudly wear on -as his heart. My flower, my lamb, no woman should leave all for any man, -unless she is certain of finding in him father, mother, brother, sister, -companion, as Mary found in Joseph!’” - -“But how did these things bless Nourahmal herself?” - -“Love counterfeited, blasted her life. She believed that it was only -gross passion masquerading in attractive, delusive colors. So believing, -it was difficult to tell her of the Love of God so she could realize -its wealth. Love was only great selfishness, excited and persistent, to -her mind. It was something to teach her that the genuine affection was -utterly otherwise; in fact the foundation and crown of all the noblest -sentiments implanted by God in His choicest creations. - -“I have sought to allegorize here, true affection in all its perfection. -It seems to be fitting to do so, for my ideal queen was ruled by it. She -never could have loved to the depths she did, as a mother, if she had -not had within her being all the possibilities of woman’s love. And in -a rightly balanced woman love is all-impressive, all-controlling; with -her worship is loving and loving is worship. Here I shall seek to refine -that sentiment in the hearts of my sisters until each becomes an evangel -in its behalf. Then mankind will understand the wealth a woman bestows -on the man that wins her. There is nothing in her career that surpasses -it, except that sovereign act wherein she lays herself a convert on God’s -altar. I am seeking to exalt this sacred act, the loving of the gentler -sex, until all men, brought to revere it as they ought, shall become true -knights; until society shall be of one mind in crying traitor to every -man that contemns it in wedlock, and ready to lash naked around the world -every betrayer who awakens it in innocency to lead it astray.” - -“I can only again exclaim, oh! how full of flowers and honey is my -Miriamne’s creed and gospel!” - -“And the churchman so exclaims because I’ve put love where God put it, at -the front of religion’s cohorts! Can there be a religion worth the name -that does not masterfully meet the requirements of the relations most -sacred between human beings?” - -As she spoke she led her husband under the splendid painting of Joseph -espousing Mary, toward the entrance of the bower, remarking: “This -vestibule, from the Roman word Vesta, Goddess of Purity, is suggestive. -Rome placed Vesta among the household gods, and was wont to have an altar -at every outer door. If Purity guard the door, Light and Love will dwell -within. See the laurel, emblem of victory, as the ancients put it by -Purity’s altar; so do I. Love, when pure, is all-victorious!” - -“Miriamne, these old truths seem to me very charming as you now present -them; but can Nourahmal and others like her enter into their meaning?” - -“A pious saint of our church says that the star which guided to Bethlehem -finally sank into a spring, where it may be yet seen by women if they be -pure.” - -As they thus communed he passed through an arched doorway, and was -admitted to a grand court, three sides of which were inclosed by -the temple and two of its wings, the fourth side hedged by palms, -vine-interlaced. The sky was the roof, the carpet the floor of that -country. Just in front of the palm-hedge, on a grassy hillock, -conspicuous beyond all else, was a colossal stone face. It seemed as if -it had emerged from the earth, bald of all life—desolation expressed in -mute stone. - -“Astarte here!” exclaimed Cornelius. - -“Yes; that’s part of my Bashan inheritance, from Kunawat, the land of -Job.” - -“A woman and a devil beset him; (the two are in this face, methinks). -Its hideousness, as its import, seems inappropriate in Love’s Bower.” - -“Yes, ’tis hideous now, though once the face had beauty. It is not futile -for young-love to remember that time gouges deformity into beautifulness, -nor for all to remember how the Kings of the East in Moses’ time -overthrew the Rephaim, the fallen giant followers of the goddess. The -East is the home of light, and light is fateful to evil lives. Where are -the Astarte-devotees now?” - -As the man listened his eyes wandered to the place where the palm grove -came up against the temple wing, and there he observed a purling ribband -of water. - -“Cornelius sees my poem of silver. It comes from a grove of cedars and -sharon roses, out of a spring in the bosom of a hill. Look the other way. -It passes under the alcove, under the temple wall; a short, dark passage -brings it to liberty, ending in the Virgin’s Pool of Kidron. The sun -allures it up to the clouds at last. But listen; it sings as it runs!” - -“I hear many blending melodies.” - -“Do you see that canopied dais? There the instructor, or preacher if you -will, stands. The stream passes near it, getting impulse by a fall; true -love is speeded when it runs by truth. That’s my lesson. Then there are -Æolian harps this side and that of the dark alcove, the latter the type -of the tomb.” - -“But why?” - -“True love has music both sides of the grave.” - -“Mystic!” - -“Interpreter, say.” - -“But I hear the songs of birds?” - -“There they are, this side the dark exit: but in a cage, supported above -the current by an hour-glass and sickle.” - -“Grim emblems.” - -“Yes; but it’s a grim truth that love’s joy notes here are caged, -hampered and transitory. The hour-glass and sickle are, when those notes -are sung, ever. - -“Look to the West.” - -“I look, and see nothing but the picture of a sunset.” - -“Yes, and that curtains the ‘Rest of the Aged’ in our temple.” - -“But whither am I led by these words?” - -“Led to look toward sunset, for morning, by faith. You remember the -Christ was never old; neither are they who draw their life from Him. The -‘Ancient of Days’ not only has, but gives, eternal youth. Oh, there were -young men at His sepulcher; yet those angels could count their years -by centuries! Let the hour-glass make record and the sickle reap; the -passion flower recalls a vernal life, where the oldest saints are the -youngest, where all existence is growth, refreshment, glory, exultation! -There, love is law and law is love, and to love is to live and to live is -to love. We get a breath of this life here as we enter the vicinage of -the immortal pair, Jesus and Mary; and we get a distant view of the whole -from the mountains of the gospel.” - -“I believe, and yet sometimes start back at the question, ‘What if, after -all, at the end almost of eternities there come monotony, decadence, -satiety—death?’ Next after hell, and nigh as horrible, is annihilation; -and worst of all, eternal existence with nothing for which to strive—a -living death!” - -“They say, that in Egypt, a palm bowed to give shade to the mother, Mary; -while the aspen refused to her any comfort. Then Christ blessed the palm -and it became the fruitful evergreen, while the aspen leaf is fated to -the end of time by constant tremblings to betoken the agues of a cursed -life. But, under the sun in submission, our aspen lives are turned to -palms! We, having His life, need never tremble at death, for we shall -ever throb with a loving like His.” - -“But there are many conditions and needs to womankind. Let us speak of -these, since the present is hers, the future God’s.” - -“The knights vainly tried swords; my King promised to draw all men to -Himself. You told me how Sir Galahad, the pure knight, had made, about -the Holy Grail, when he found it, a chest of precious stones and gold. -Now, I’ve found the virgin pattern of perfection, representative of the -human-like beating heart of God. Here I’ve set her, exalted her. This -shall be her golden precious palace. Though dead, here shall be presented -in the grandeur of her character, the sweetness of her power. By and by, -it may come about that all mankind akin, shall make it the chief duty of -Church and State, to care, with a loyal tenderness, for all women, all -children, from first and last; that not one such shall be left miserable. -That will be the world obeying the Crucified’s, ‘Behold thy mother.’” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - -CROWN JEWELS. - - “The VIRGIN MARY unquestionably holds forever a peculiar - position among all women in the history of redemption. - Perfectly natural, yea, essential to a sound religious feeling, - it is to associate with Mary, the fairest traits of maidenly - and maternal character, and to revere her as the highest model - of female love and power.”—PROF. PHILIP SCHAFF’S _Church - History_. - - -“There’s a footman at the door; the good man that talks, I think; he -would speak with Cornelius.” - -With such words, at sunrise one morning a few weeks after the May-day -service, the missioners of Bethany were aroused by an attendant. Quickly -robing himself, the young chaplain went forth, and, sure enough, the -Hospitaler stood before him. - -“Selamet; but what haste brings our ever-welcome friend so early?” - -“To relieve your minds! I’ve purchased immunity! The Mameluke sheik, at -Jerusalem, has secured the Sultan’s revocation of the order of razing and -banishment,” answered the knight. Cornelius gazed at the Hospitaler with -anxiety, questioning within himself as to whether the knight had taken -leave of his reason or not. - -The abrupt soldier-priest perceiving the perplexity of his hearer broke -forth: “Why the edict that the Temple on the hill be despoiled, and -the ‘Angels of the Mount’ be summarily driven out of Syria, has been -rescinded; the ‘Faithful,’ as those infidels style themselves, have been -converted; seen a great light which came by mighty gold.” - -“All Saints defend us! I did not hear of this. Tell me all!” exclaimed -Cornelius. - -“Not now; the peril is past. I knew it was impending sometime, and -supposed ye did. I promised a reward, if time were given. I got money -help from foreign knights. The vandals took it with a mighty thirst, and -then with a great show of piety promised toleration.” - -“I see, as usual with them, great gain with godliness is contentment; but -what are we on the mount to do?” - -“Go on; the Sultan isn’t God, nor his sheik the Devil.” - -“The Hospitaler comforts. Now let us enter and breakfast together, that -we may get wisdom by conferring.” - -“I may not tarry longer; I staid all night without the city’s wall so -as not to be delayed by awaiting the gate-opening. I must be with my -companions by the time the Moslems have ended their first prayers, or my -comrades will be alarmed. I’ll return to-morrow.” - -Another dawn, another noon, and another sunset, came and went; but the -knight did not reappear at Bethany. The chaplain vainly tried to suppress -his anxiety. He feared some treachery on the sheik’s part. Again and -again the former went to the house-top to look along the Jerusalem road. -It was a hot June day; the watchings flushed the young man’s face but -fears’ rigors in the heart paled it. He was a picture of misery. Darkness -followed sunset; then came tidings: - -“There’s a company with garlands and torches coming around the bend!” - -The news was brought by a company of Sisters of Bethany. The missioner -was excited, yet reasoned: - -“Garlands and torches! Their bearers can not have baleful report nor evil -designs.” - -The visitants quickly arrived, and singing a roundelay, encircled the -house of Cornelius and Miriamne. With delight the latter recognized the -Hospitaler and his companion knights. With them were a number of the -friends of the new movement at Bethany. They also observed, standing by -his camel, a little aloof, a tall, gaunt man, garbed as a Druse; by him, -an elderly woman, and also a maiden. - -“’Tis Nourahmal and her grand-child!” whispered Miriamne, following her -husband’s questioning eyes. - -“The maiden wears the flower crown of a bride, and see, there is a young -man by her side!” - -The Hospitaler interrupted their converse: - -“I’ve kept my promise to the ‘Angels of the Mount’ and to God. I’m here, -and to celebrate a proper thanksgiving!” - -“Welcome! Now command us,” exclaimed Miriamne. “Yea, welcome, though -coming in mystery!” - -“Another surprise, good chaplain? Well, ’tis fitting, since this one -is cheering. There was need of offset to thy painful astonishment of -yesterday. I’ve trapped a wolf for our festivities.” - -“A wolf!” exclaimed Miriamne. - -“Yes, even the sheik. He swore that he’d make all Bethany bald by fire -and sword if it were attempted here to establish a Christian church. To -him I explained that the work on the hill was festal. Praise God, it -is to be such, to all eternity! And Miriamne’s disavowal of the title -church, the use of the appellations ‘Pool of Bethesda,’ ‘House of Mercy,’ -‘Temple of Allegory,’ and the like, by your followers in the city, -concerning your place of gathering, helped the righteous diversion. I -finished the argument by parading with my cortege, as you see us now. -Indeed I even asked the sheik to come to the wedding!” - -“A wedding?” - -“The cruel sheik invited?” - -“Two questions and two questioners to be answered with more surprises. -Nourahmal’s grand-daughter, Beulah, is to be joined to a Jewish convert! -I asked the sheik to attend with us as one of her next akin; for I -believe him to be a son of Azrael, though he denies that parentage, as -well he may, since the ‘Angel of Death’ was strangled at Bagdad for -treason. Be assured, Miriamne, the young Mohammedan will not be present -at our ceremonies to-night!” - -“Will wonders never cease?” spoke Cornelius, at a loss to know what to -say. - -“No. Let us be going now,” abruptly spoke the Hospitaler. - -“Do you return to the city so soon?” queried Miriamne. - -The question was answered indirectly: - -“Let’s to the temple, or ‘House of Bethesda.’ I’ve taken the liberty to -order its illumination. Come, we’ll see how its jasmines climb on its -sturdy walls by the light of the torches kindled for hymen!” - -So saying, the Hospitaler turned in the direction mentioned, and all, -including the missioners, followed him. The scene was fairy-like. There -were lights and flowers and songs. The feasters from Jerusalem were in -holiday attire, and those of the villagers that joined in the concourse -were hearty participants in the festivities. - -Arriving at the temple, the Hospitaler led Beulah toward the speaker’s -dais. - -“Will not the camel-driver enter?” questioned the knight of a companion. - -“No; he’s half way back to the city by this time.” - -“Stand by thy other self,” said the knight to the Jewish groom. - -The latter obeyed with alacrity; his zeal and his bashfulness precluding -grace of action. - -“Four hands clasped; crossed,” said the Hospitaler. - -The twain did as commanded, the youth with avidity, the maid with a -timorous, modest reserve. The touch of each, electric to the other, was -recorded in their faces, over which passed rapidly a poem of emotion. The -audience became silent, hushed by admiration akin to adoration. The old, -old, yet ever new, ever-entrancing spectacle of love’s full crowning, -brought to all minds the splendor and holiness of that royal gift -which finds in earth its completest unfoldment in wedlock. Each of the -auditors, conscious of admiration of the presentment, was also conscious -of self-approving. There is a cleansing of conscience like that which -follows prayer in the act of heartily approbating the thing which is good -and beautiful. With the espoused for his inspiration and his background -of light, the Hospitaler, with his usual abruptness, began addressing the -assembly: - - “You of the East hear best when your eyes are treated together - with your ears, hence I speak at this time, most propitious, of - themes pertinent. You have heard how the ancient Romans named - this month, deemed by them favorable to marriage, Junonius, in - honor of their chaste and prudent goddess of conjugal life. - She was the _Hera_ of the Greeks, the only lawfully wedded - goddess of all their mythologies. The myths prove that those - pagans discerned the potency and beauty of holy wedlock. They - polished jewels and wove girdles for its personifications, and - to-night, in this temple dedicated to womanhood at her best, - I’d take the girdle and crown and place them upon the Queen of - Women, the peerless Virgin. For such a real woman the ancients - were seeking when they had their dream of the myths. She was - what they yearned for, and her exaltation as the representative - of all that she truly did represent, will be found of lasting - profit to all. Behold her, an orphan girl, yet by faith having - an Eternal Father. As a girl, abhorring waywardness; as a - woman, therefore, free from wantonness. Mark me, ye maidens, - the wayward becomes the wanton. Coquetry brushes the down - from the cheek of the peach, and she that frivolously plays - with passion in the morning will be likely to seek the groves - of Astarte at noon. Our ideal woman reached maidenhood’s - roses all portionless, as world-help is counted, but with the - inestimable affluence of prudence, constancy and purity. Thus - she set the finest youths of all Jewry to striving for her - heart and hand. What Juno was to Rome, Mary was to Israel. The - Romans proclaimed their faith in the good wife as the producer - and conserver of wealth by putting their mint in their temple - of ‘_Juno-Moneta_.’ The carpenter of Nazareth, building up a - clean, honest, though humble home, by the aid of his consort, - built more enduringly, and presents a finer historical figure, - than that once mighty, once wise Solomon; though the latter - erected the wondrous Temple. The home and love of Joseph and - Mary will be praised by the ages that abhor the ivory houses - of pleasure of the great and fallen king. The story of that - home life at Nazareth has not been written, and we must gather - it from fragments and eloquent silence. Mary’s jewels as a - wife were unostentatiously treasured within the four walls of - her domicile. The devastating tornado leaves enduring, though - hateful history; but the constant, man-blessing tides of the - ocean come and go without having their recurring blessings - recorded. So the constant, loyal, patient woman of Nazareth - passed noiselessly by in her day. Her exclamation to the Angel - of the Annunciation, ‘_Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be - it unto me according to thy word_,’ was the keynote of that - life ever enhanced by the beauty of duty. There was submission - to right because it was righteous. And this was not mere - passiveness. You remember how she challenged her Son in His - early youth, that time He was absent for a season from His - parents, at first without explanation? The words Mary spoke - that day burn like polished gems when considered aright: ‘_Why - hast thou dealt thus with us? Behold, thy father and I have - sought thee, sorrowing._’ She did not forget her Son’s divine - origin, but exalted the rights of motherhood and fatherhood, - confident that even Deity could not ignore them. She challenged - the right of a son to cause parental sorrow without instant - strong reason for so doing. She put her husband’s cause before - her own, and made his honor her sacred wifely trust. There are - in this history some very fine things expressed by implication. - We know the woman was beautiful and much younger than her - husband; the disparity of years did not hinder full affinity. - She did not fall into the weakness of feeling self-sufficient - and all-complacent because feeling pretty. All she was and all - she had was centred in her consort as a commonwealth between - him and her. That the sycophant and flatterer crossed her - path there can be no doubt; but she who was not intoxicated - by Bethlehem’s _gloria in excelsis_ could not be dazzled by - the honeyed words of mortals. Wearing such a wife on his - heart, Joseph was rich indeed. Silence is once more eloquent. - We know that the mother of Jesus, having been widowed, never - wed again. Her first love suffered no eclipse. That she was - courted, after her spouse’s death, we must believe. The mother - of a Son so famous as was hers, and the possessor of personal - charms enshrining a soul that knew how to utilize sorrows until - they became refinements, doubtless had many suitors in her - widowhood days. And there was no law forbidding her a second - marriage, except the unwritten law of fine sentiment; but to - the Queen of the House of David the law of fine sentiment was - all-controlling. All her heart was filled with love for her - husband, her Son and her Savior. When her consort died, the - niche in her heart that he occupied, the only part with room - for conjugal love, became a shrine. Its door was sealed then - until the final resurrection. Where such constancy exists there - is certainty of pure homes. Sanctity, chastity and faithfulness - were the lights of the temple, dedicated to the mythical Juno, - within whose precincts no impure woman was suffered to enter. - To-day I claim for the True Ideal all that was accorded the - mythical one.” - -When the speaker paused, some of the men present broke forth, as was -the custom in the synagogue service, with an “Amen,” and some exclaimed -“Rabbi, thine are good words for our women to hear!” - -The Hospitaler’s black eyes flashed; a hint of retort of lightning-like -directness to come. And it came, instantly: - - “I shall fail of my duty if I give all to one-half. I shall - fail of my intent if my words seem like railings at the sex - most tender, most burdened. Since we are treating of the weeds - of the mourners, let us question why it is that widowers more - frequently seek remarriage than do widows. The bereaved man - easily says: ‘Get me another wife.’ The bereaved woman more - frequently says: ‘Let me hurry on heavenward after my only and - ever beloved.’ - - “With the true woman marriage is a committal so utter that it - is difficult for her, generally, to make it more than once. - Again me thinks that marriage brings the graver, heavier loads - to women. Once experienced, there is need of a mighty love to - allure her to a second trial. The man rises by self-assertion, - and wedlock does not hinder him. With the woman wedlock means - self-denial; her name changes, her career is merged into that - of her consort; her body is given, literally, to the new beings - she bears. To woman marriage has no parallel, except death. Her - only possible compensation is love, and that she should receive - with measures knowing no stint. Oh, men, all fair to other men, - all merciful to the beasts that toil, all prudent in keeping in - motion, by day and by night, the water-wheels in your orange - and mulberry groves, be fair and merciful to your consorts. - Yea, and evermore water with love’s most grateful refreshments - the bearing vines whose tendrils intwine your hearts, whose - fruits enrich your homes. This is religion; what is less is - heresy, and he who deals unkindly, cruelly or niggardly with - his other self, can not face God. The prayers of such are - hindered and like unto a tree whose leaves are storm-stripped. - You know the race, by birth, comes forth in two sexes, of - equal numbers, a hint of God’s plan to have mankind live as - pairs; but the men are a constant majority. Why? I answer that, - notwithstanding the perils falling upon the sterner sex, by - exposure, by war, and all such things, the trials falling to - woman’s lot work the greater havoc, keeping her sex in huge - majority in the places of the dead. Now you praise me, because - I’ve told your women to be like the glorious Mary? Praise me - again for telling them, as I do this instant, to be like her in - choice of consorts. If they can not find Josephs to begin with, - God grant to make the men they have like the choice spouse who - fell to Mary’s lot!” - -The Hospitaler paused for a moment; there was a wave of excitement, very -near to applause, running over the audience. The bride and the groom, -together with all the women present, by their faces expressed their -delight. The men who had exclaimed at the first, looked blank and kept -silent now. - -Abruptly, as before, again the knight spoke: - - “I’ll touch now another pertinent theme—_Mary under the shadows - of scandal!_ I’d exalt her as one having sounded the depths - of woman’s misery, and yet preserving her integrity. I know - that some here will think themselves offended, since it’s the - fashion so to think when listening to discourse such as I - now intend. Society, more prudish than sincere or wise, has - demanded that the burning, scarlet, social wrong be spoken of - only by scrupulous hint, half words and reserves, at least - among decent and happy folks. For once, as God’s accredited - ambassador, I’ll change all this, and by Purity’s earthly - throne, the marriage altar, denounce the crime of crimes, the - blasting curse of all mankind. Let him that’s conscious of his - own impurity mince words. I’ll not! Jehovah might have brought - forth the Christ without subjecting Nazareth’s Virgin to the - painful necessity of being doubted. It was as He decreed - and wisely ordered. The happening was not because Deity was - frustrated, but because He knew that she whose example was - to be woman’s inspiration, could be so more surely, if her - career took her along all lines of woman’s needs. There was - a time when almost all who knew Mary doubted her integrity; - a time when her name was banded about by the roués of her - native place; a time when even her betrothed was resolving - to renounce, if not to denounce her. First I’d speak of how - impurity is abhorred of God, and then of His wondrous effort to - allure those lost by it, as evinced in sending out after them - the two lambs—the Eternal Lamb and the lamb-like woman. - - “To say that they whose trend is toward things unclean are - abhorred of God is to re-echo the edicts of nature and history. - They say whenever a sin is committed a devil is created to - avenge it. What legions avenge this sin which, most of all, - brutalizes man and turns all social relations into anarchy! - Ask your men of science. They will tell you that all the evils - flesh is heir to seem to get their seeds herein. Immortal - revenge haunts it! You know, how in the Christian’s holy book, - it is affirmed that many sicken and die because partaking - of the cup of the holy communion unworthily. Presumptuous - hypocrisy thus meets the wrath which paralyzed Uzzah and - Jeroboam. But the cup of the passion was love’s highest gift, - and the offense is not against the cup but against love in - its sublimest display. Therefore forever death is the penalty - that overhangs those who outrage this finest gem of angels and - mortals. Treason to love is suicidal as well as murderous! They - say that there is a demon whose touch causes hideous, coiling, - stinging serpents to grow from the bodies of those he touches. - I’ll tell you his name—Lasciviousness, and he works fatefully - wherever man abides. But the pure home is an invincible bulwark - against him, and hymen’s torch his blinding horror.” - -There were some of the knight’s auditors, both men and women, who felt -it their duty, because of custom, to affect disapproval of the free -speaking they heard. Of these dissenters the women uttered no word, but -their eyes glared, and the color went and came in their cheeks. The -disapproving men exhibited faces as hard as marble, while their lips -mumbled incoherently. - -The knight was not slow to perceive the rising storm, but he was -undaunted. He waxed more earnest and more eloquent; his words and theme -inflamed him. - -One favorable to his faithfulness remarked to a comrade: - -“The Hospitaler seems to grow taller, as if filled and enlarged by an -inspiration.” - -His face shone as that of Moses when bearing the law, and some cowered -as if they heard coming toward them, from afar, the rumblings of Sinai. -Some white souls present wept, moved more by the truth in its beauty and -power than they could have been by any play on their emotions. It was an -hour of true oratory’s triumph; logic set on fire; a consecrated herald -grappling awful sin with the power of omnipotence. - -Presently, after the thunder and lightning, came “the still, small -voice.” The man of God spoke with loving persuasiveness; he healed with -words, the woundings truth had made. Then he carried his audience with -him. Many bowed their heads to weep, as trees beaten by winds that -carried rain! - - “We can all entreat fallen men as to most sins, why not as to - the chief sins? We speak to the fathers, brothers and sons - faithfully, pleadingly; why not to the women who are elect to - companion creation’s lords? Alas, the women have the greater - need of helpful admonition, when they fall, for revilings and - black despair fill up the cup of their remorse! You have heard - of the Feast of Lanterns among the Chinese? Those pagans, once - a year, go out with many-colored lights to symbolize Mercy - seeking lost daughters. Shall God’s choicest people fall behind - the pagan? Never, if true to the noble, tender, pure spirit - that emanates from God’s own ideal of womanhood. No, no! let - us vow with unwonted zeal, amid the lights, lessons and joys - of this hour, to be knights of new order; knights of the white - cross; sworn to denounce all impure practices on our own part, - and on the other hand to strive to allure the fallen to that - that is clean and white as the souls of the angels which do - excel! Let us go to those whom sin has made drunk, in their - despairing. Let us tell them that doubt castles are stormed! - Let us proclaim the seed of the woman the serpent’s destroyer! - Go, women to women, in woman’s name, remembering that pity in - the soul makes him or her that hath it successful suppliant - for all mercies at the throne on which forever the Interceding - Son of the Virgin reigns! Go, fathers, making your fatherhood - godlike in its just tenderness! Go, brothers, sons of women, - as pure, strong brothers indeed! There is many a scarlet woman - to-day with scalded eyes and ashen heart who is so because she - believed men brothers and fathers and found some wolves and - vultures. Go to those who have all days as nights, all joys - as apples of Sodom. They were not always so, and need not so - continue. Do not belittle their sin, yet seek to allure them - by a noble presentment of purity and by all encouragement to - attempt to win back their lost crowns. Tell them of the woman - that stood serenely amid bitterest scorns, and say as did her - Son to one like them: ‘_Go, and sin no more._’ Then teach those - who have no such blot upon them to be kind and helpful. We can - never judge any soul’s guilt until we at last know the measure - of the temptation! God alone knows that. - - “I could speak on this theme for hours; but this is enough! The - story of Mary has somehow ever had peculiar efficacy with the - blighted of her sex. They easily are led, when all men fail - them, to dare to trust the One who had a mother so tender. - Many a motherless outcast has found Christ in trying to find - mother-love in Mary. After the phantasmagoria of illusive - pleasure it is healing, through faith in God’s exemplified - love, to dream of how it seems to have a real mother’s arms - enfolding one. I hold that it is profitable to the impure - man, sometimes looking within the Pantheon of memory, to find - therein conceptions he treasured in his purer days; but with - more determined assertion I find that it lifts up the soiled - woman to come in contact with the girdle of power and crown - jewels of that maiden and mother of Nazareth and Bethlehem. - It was she that stood against imperial Rome, in the person of - Herod; a chaste young Jewess against corsleted animality; a - country maiden, heaven-endowed, against an old fox; the loyal - mother-eagle against the python! But she that was simply good - evaded, outran, soared above, and finally confounded the evil - at its lowest dip, its highest power!” - -Then the orator-knight, waving his hand to Cornelius to signify to him -that the missioner was to conclude the ceremonial, abruptly closed his -address and retired to one of the little alcove-chapels. - -A simple espousal service followed, and then the company gathered -dispersed, going to join in hastily-arranged festivities in the park by -the temple. The Hospitaler and the missioners were auditors. - -“Nourahmal, I can well believe, was a rare beauty; her grand-child has -her features, and she’s a vision.” - -“What time my friend here, the Hospitaler, did not engage me I was -admiring the groom,” Miriamne responded to her husband. - -“He hails from the Jabbock country,” remarked the knight. - -“Jabbock? Faithful Ichabod’s native place?” exclaimed Miriamne. - -“He was the groom’s uncle,” quoth the knight. - -Then the trio were silent, the thoughts of each following back over -the past years and along God’s providences. The way life’s lines were -crossed, interwoven and entangled seemed to each very wonderful. - - - - -CHAPTER XL. - -THE QUEEN’S VISION OF THE “AGE OF GOLD AND FIRE.” - - “Oh, moist eyes, - And hurrying lips and heaving heart! - The world we’ve come to late is swollen hard - With perishing generations and their sins; - The civilizer’s spade grinds horribly - On dead men’s bones, and can not turn up soil, - That’s otherwise than fetid. All successes - Prove partial failure.... - ... All governments, some wrong; - The rich men make the poor who curse the rich, - Who agonize together, rich and poor, - Under and over in the social spasm. - ... - Who being man and human, can stand calmly by - And view these things, and never tease his soul - For some great cure.”—MRS. E. B. BROWNING: “_Aurora Leigh_.” - - “They went up into an upper room, - With the woman and Mary the mother of Jesus.” - - “Many signs and wonders were done. - All that believed had all things common.”—ACTS. - - -“I’m anxious for the coming of the people to-day; Beulah said, a week -ago, at her wedding, that she’d have the old Druse camel-driver at this -service; though he ran away from her marriage feast.” - -“I’ve heard that she and her grandmother had a convert to our faith, -nearly ripe,” replied Cornelius to his wife. - -At this instant one of the “Bethany Sisters” timidly approached the -speakers, evidently anxious to deliver some communication. - -“’Tis ‘Brightness’ by name and by nature,” remarked Miriamne. - -“Well, sister Ziha, what is it?” questioned the chaplain. - -“Pardon me; but there is waiting without, a grave and taciturn man who -says he would speak with the ‘Prophetess.’ He means our Miriamne.” - -“Of what flavor is he, Ziha?” - -“Surely, I can not imagine, sister Miriamne! His countenance is that of a -Persian Jew; his turban is Turkish; his tunic Christian. But his bearing -is that of a prince, though all his belongings, except his gorgeously -dressed camel, are those of a beggar!” - -“I’ll see him, Ziha; bid him enter,” exclaimed Miriamne. - -“That I did; but he says his haste is too great and his limbs too stiff -for dismounting. In truth, his brow, bleached to the bone, tells of -weighty years.” - -“Let’s go to him,” said the chaplain. - -The missioners going forth, at the easterly side of their temple, were -confronted by a majestic figure, mounted on a splendidly caparisoned -white camel, evidently a borrowed one. - -“_Ullah makum_,” “God be with you,” said the man on the camel with great -courtliness and dignity, at the same time extending to the chaplain a -parchment roll. - -“This for me?” questioned the latter. - -“For thee,” replied the rider, bowing as before, but looking past the -question with fixed, though reverent, gaze at Miriamne. - -“But who are you?” again questions the chaplain. - -“God knows,” was the sententious reply of the rider, his eyes still -turning, not with curiosity, but with a deferential and affectionate -interest, toward the chaplain’s wife. - -“What message here, my father?” questioned again Cornelius, in the -language of Galilee. - -The aged man’s dark face lightened at the words, and turning his reverent -gaze from Miriamne toward the questioner, he slowly responded: - -“The ‘Angels of the Mount’ are not too proud to call a poor camel driver -‘my father?’ Age has respect here! I might have known this: Nourahmal is -full of the odors of this new Bethany!” - -“And do you come from Nourahmal?” quickly interrogated Miriamne. - -“Nourahmal and I are one, by the voice of God spoken through the holy -Hospitaler, who is alluring me daily from the secret faiths of my fathers -to learn the prayers that Nourahmal learns here.” - -“I see,” continued Miriamne; “I speak with Nourahmal’s consort. Pray -dismount for refreshment. We bid you every welcome, Mahmood.” - -“Mahmood! called by such fine people by my proper name; not ‘dog’ or -‘here you,’ or ‘old camel goad!’ Wonderful!” - -“Will Nourahmal’s spouse dismount?” - -“Blessed woman, I’ve had great refreshment in being thus permitted to see -thee face to face, and thank thee and thine for what thou hast done for -me and mine; but I can not tarry; old age and poverty have bargained to -make constant toil my master. I must keep moving or the swifter youths -will take away my master and leave me to hire out to starvation;” so -saying, the speaker smote his camel and the beast moved away, slowly, -along the road toward Jerusalem. - -Cornelius, recovering himself from his meditations, called after the -departing Druse. - -“What of this parchment?” - -“The Hospitaler sent it! He said it would talk with ‘the Angels of the -Mount.’” - -The camel driver had stopped his beast to say this much. For a moment -he looked at the missioners, then at their temple and its surroundings. -There was a world of questioning, and wonder, and yearning in the old -man’s countenance. Again his goad fell on the beast he rode and the -latter bore him along. - -“Shall we meet again, father?” Cornelius called after him. - -“Stay master work! Go master want! ’Till good shade Death takes to -the cool rest-land the holy Hospitaler, the Angels of the Mount, my -Nourahmal, and may be me; even me the poor, old, camel-driver, Mahmood!” -was the slow reply as the Druse departed. A turn in the road soon shut -him from view. - -“Well, my spouse, Miriamne, our new Bethany sees strange visitants these -days,” remarked her husband. - -“The mystic Druse is finding something that is finer than the creeds of -his mountain clans,” rejoined Miriamne. - -“Be not too certain; those Highlanders of Palestine are ever politic; -they’ll quote the Koran to one of Islam, kiss the Bible in the company -of Christians; but once alone are Druse to the last.” - -“That is their character; but we’ve a transforming gospel; no man as -old as he and companion of such advocates of the White Kingdom as the -Hospitaler and Nourahmal, could talk as did that old man to kill time or -conventionally.—But you do not study your parchment.” Cornelius, recalled -by Miriamne’s words, unfolded the document given him by the camel-driver, -and read aloud: - - “My son and my daughter: Greeting; the streams of gospel - blessing rising in the springs of your mountain temple reach - refreshingly even unto Jerusalem, as I daily perceive. - Therefore, for your consolation and for the enkindling of your - pious zeal, I herewith send these lines. Work onward, beloved, - believing, hoping you have arrived at the dawn of a new - revelation and well commenced a true work for God. To-day, as I - sought to interpret His prophecies, it came to me that that you - are attempting to do is nigh to being a fulfillment of His word - as recorded in the manner following by Ezekiel: - -“Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, -and stood over the cherubim. - -“And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in -my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every -one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house; and the glory -of the God of Israel was over them above. - -“The word of the Lord came unto me, saying: - -“Thus saith the Lord God: I will assemble you out of the countries where -ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. - -“And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the -detestable things thereof and all the abominations. - -“And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within, and -I will take the stony heart. - -“That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and they -shall be my people, and I will be their God. - -“Then did the cherubim lift up their wings, and the glory of the God of -Israel was over them above. - -“And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood -upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. - - “These solemn words tell how the glory and favor of God was - driven from the people of old by their sinning; how slowly, - yearningly, God departed; how in every land He provide _little - sanctuaries_ for the faithful few. And more than all this, - the Holy Word describes God in Spirit as pausing on the mount - to the east of Jerusalem. That pausing place was your Olivet. - The Jewish Rabbins in their sacred histories affirm that for - three years God, in manifest form, tarried, near where your - Temple of Allegory stands, repeating over and over the solemn - call, ‘_Return unto me, and I will return unto you!_’ Beloved, - since then the eternal voice, through Jesus Christ, has spoken - through three ministering years from these mountains to the - world. You are now re-echoing the cry. God be with you, as He - is, and give you faith to call and call until the ascended - Christ come into all hearts.” - -“No name to his letter, as usual?” remarked the chaplain. - -“He seems to loathe names almost; but recently, when I made bold to ask -him his, he sententiously observed, ‘God knows; ’tis in a white stone, -I’m to get; for this life I’m only remembered by what I’ve done.’ But -what engages my husband’s attention now?” - -“I’m trying to interpret the picture yonder, over the door, to the -retreat you call the ‘_Mother’s Pillow_.’” - -“What think you of it? You perceive it’s the legend of the mother pelican -feeding her famishing young with blood drawn from her own bosom, which -she has wounded for their food.” - -“I think the picture likely to depress nervous mothers!” - -“That’s a picture of one side of mother life; look beyond it.” - -At that the light from a distant window was let fall, by some unseen -attendant, all about the entrance to the “_Mother’s Pillow_!” - -“I see a splendid ‘Gabriel’ above the pelican; the angel’s hand points -upward.” - -“Glorious Gabriel! Angel of mothers and victories, by interpretation, -‘God’s champion!’ You’ve heard his titles, Cornelius?” - -“I know that he bore victory to Gideon and lightened the way for Daniel’s -conquest of all Babylon; nor do I forget that he was the angel which -comforted giant Samson’s mother before her child was born.” - -“Yea, he that made the sign of the cross, doing wondrously, above the -smoke of Monoah’s altar, was after commissioned to greet and guide Mary, -the mother of the Giant King of the new dispensation.” - -“You’ve fine insights, Miriamne, but there’s incompleteness in your -symbolism here.” - -“True, I feel that; all interpretation of motherhood is inadequate; but -look further.” - -“I see the ‘Queen of Mothers!’ Why have you left her and the babe in such -deep shadows?” - -“That’s this life’s reality; but look higher.” - -The chaplain complied; a vine trellis was swung aside, and he beheld, -above the shadowed picture, in an arch reaching nearly to the roof of the -temple, another, the latter a marvel of light and color. - -“Glorified Mary, uplifted by the babe, now grown and Kingly!” exclaimed -the chaplain. - -“And so is taught for mothers’ comfort, that the Son of God honored her -who bore Him, because she was to Him a true mother. May we not believe -that this love for Mary, in the God heart, is widened into peculiar -tenderness toward all who give the earth its lords and paradise its elect -through the crucifixions of maternity?” - -“Oh, Miriamne, I’ve learned in the past to stand, as it were, with bared -head, all reverential in the presence of true motherhood; when I see -it strengthened by faith, enriched by suffering; the most entrancing -example of self-abnegation on earth! To-day I feel, if possible, in these -surroundings, a deeper reverence than ever, for that estate of woman. Say -on.” - -“Paganism worshiped the sun, the earth, woman; whatever brought forth; -it was its best attempt at expressing a vaguely realized yet noble -sentiment. The religions that repudiated paganism, in their efforts to -extirpate all idolatry, went to the extreme of denying merited honor to -some most worthy. Then came the Christian revolution, and God turned all -eyes toward a pure woman. He proclaimed forever the honors of motherhood -by presenting through it to the world His Unspeakable Gift.” - -“So heaven’s last appeal to our race, after Sinai’s thunders and the rapt -visions of the prophets became ineffective, was made by the eloquence of -the life of the silent Mary.” - -“Well said! Now filled with that belief, herald the White Kingdom!” - -“I’ll help Miriamne, encouraging, upholding her; for the rest I’ve -learned to lean and follow.” - -“I’m a column of dust, not a pillar of fire; and dust, alas, to dust -returns. There is much to do here, more than I shall be able to compass. -I’ve hitherto but vaguely taught the meaning, power and blessings of -motherhood.” - -“I think more than vaguely.” - -“The sun rises in the east. I think we’ve sunrise, but the depth, height -and breadth have not been sounded nor measured yet. Shall we go toward -the west wing?” - -“Yea, lead, though I’m charmed in this presence.” - -“I’d lead to the ‘_Rest of the Aged_.’” - -“To the retreat with door like a castle? What are those amazon forms in -armor?” - -“The Peri?” - -“I bid them welcome in Miriamne’s name, having learned that she is -serious as well as cunning in weaving the manna-bearing garlands of every -myth about her ideals. Say on.” - -“They say there is beneath the Caucasian mountains a wondrous city -builded of pearls and precious stones, in which dwells a race of -surpassing beauty of person. I’ve utilized the tradition.” - -“Oh, the fabled Peri; but I’m mystified.” - -“They also say,” continued Miriamne, “that Dives, a wicked genus, wages -constant war against the Peri, hoping to possess the treasures of the -Peri capital, but that they successfully repel him and make their -happiness secure. I have a similitude of the Peri city.” - -“In truth, I wonder now. What fitness for such an allegory here?” - -“I think I have come near to a profound truth. Listen; here at the west, -I have planned to show what makes approaching age a terror.” - -“There are many evils which fall upon man’s declining years.” - -“Judge me if my philosophy is faulty. I see ever that the fear of being -left poor and also old here haunts most lives. This fear is the parent -of avarice, and avarice is a serpent of glowing head and deadly sting. -It robs society and individuals of the two choicest jewels, plenteous -benevolence and serene hopefulness. You will find that most of the -wrongs from man to man arise from hearts made cruel by the rigors of -avariciousness. If we could stay that master passion, all streams of -benevolence would rise to their flood, and hoarding, now a seeming -necessity, most frequently a curse, become the occupation solely of a few -monomaniacs.” - -“Miriamne’s philosophy is as invulnerable as a knight’s hauberk, but how -can you make it a general practice?” - -“Oh, very easily. I’ve planned to endow our Temple of Allegory so that it -may not only teach but also do beautiful things. I’d have it a Pool of -Bethesda, stirred continuously to meet every human need.” - -“Miriamne will have a vast following; the masses believe in loaves and -fishes!” - -“True, avarice prompts some to a mean faith, but I seek to slay avarice -and blast the love of money, that root of all evil.” - -“‘Enthusiast!’ a gainsaying world will cry.” - -“And the cry of the world will be then, as often before, a burning lie! -So be it. I’m holding up the truth, the royal truth of Christianity. I’ll -hold it up while I have breath, and leave that truth, if God gives me -grace, as the beacon light on our hill to glow until all Christendom puts -on a charity as multiform and broad as the needs of humanity.” - -“But there is a large and needy world.” - -“I have a rich Father; the earth is His and the fullness thereof. The -only difficulty is in securing from His stewards an accounting and a -beginning of payment.” - -“This, Miriamne, sounds like the dream of a poet. I’ll not waken you from -your beautiful trance, but still the rough fates of life as it is, and -the very common commonplace confront us.” - -“What a world this would be if all mankind was as one family, realizing -universal brotherhood!” - -“This, too, is the dream of the poet, Socialism; Astarte’s devotees -practiced it in the past.” - -“Now, I’ll say silence! You speak of heathen socialism. Whatever its -form, lust was its corner stone, and a barbarous selfishness, which -limited it to those of each tribe or clan, its best expression! I speak -of a vastly finer, grander creed! I look out and forward to a day when -all shall know the Lord; a day when law shall be love and love shall be -law. Then earth shall be an Eden, with plenty for all, such plenty as -Divine bounty bestows. Christianity means the bringing in of that day; -the ‘Precious Gift’ was an earnest of all needed gifts from on high. -When that day comes we shall understand why the Pentecostal fire came to -all hearts in the time when all worshipers were thanking the All-Giver -for the bounties of the harvest. Then avarice shall cease from the earth, -and men, no more harassed by it, learn to practice all bountifulness in -youth and mid-life, and also serene restfulness when their powers of -bread-winning are paralyzed by the burdens of years. All will be noble, -therefore none indolent. There will be no beggars, for charity will run -before want, ever glad to serve those that can not serve themselves. Then -those who wear the glory-crowns of gray will be nourished reverently and -gladly, not as if they were useless paupers; not with a niggardly service -which seems to be constantly saying, ‘How long are you going to live!’ -There will be no more worriment, no more crowdings of each other, no more -dishonesty among men! It is, I say, the constant fear of coming, in the -day when the heart is beating the last strokes of its own funeral march, -to doled charity or to nothing, that makes men pile up gain in dishonor -and hoard it with miserly grasping. Do you remember that Mary returned -from ministering to Elizabeth to sing her ‘Magnificat’ with these -prophetic strains: - -“‘His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He -hath filled the hungry with good things. He hath holpen His servant -Israel.’ - -“From the song she went to humble, painful ministries in behalf of all -the world. Mary supplemented the wondrous work of her Son and King, all -the way bearing as best she could her part of His cross; all the way her -quivering heart pierced by the sword that finally slew Him. She saw His -bloody tears turning to crown jewels as He ascended from Olivet, and -with unfaltering faith knelt among His earthly followers that she with -them might receive her crown of flame. That room was the highest point -of outlook on earth. It was the place of supreme beneficence; the place -where God gave Himself up freely for His followers and established the -memorial-superlative of the ages. Thither they hasted that they might -learn how all-receiving comes from all-giving, that they might realize -the measure and splendor of perfect charity, which is perfect love.” - -“Miriamne, whence do you get such wondrous insights?” - -Then the young wife turned aside to her “own little mountain,” as she -called a secret praying place in the chapel. She quickly returned, and -handing a manuscript to Cornelius, said: - -“Read, please, of Pentecost.” - -He complied: - -“Then they that gladly received His word were baptized; and the same day -there were added unto them about three thousand souls. - -“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, -and in breaking of bread and in prayers. - -“And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by -the apostles. - -“And all that believed were together, and had all things common; - -“And sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men, as -every man had need. - -“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking -bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and -singleness of heart, - -“Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added -to the church daily such as should be saved.” - - - - -CHAPTER XLI. - -A CHIME AND A DIRGE AT CHRISTMAS TIME. - - “Oh, not alone, because his name is Christ; - Oh, not alone, because Judea waits - This man-child for her King—the star stands still! - Its glory reinstates, - Beyond humiliation’s utmost ill, - On peerless throne which she alone can fill, - Each earthly woman! Motherhood is priced - Of God, at price no man may dare - To lessen or misunderstand. - ... - The crown of purest purity revealed - Virginity eternal, signed and sealed - Upon all motherhood.”—HELEN HUNT. - - “In sorrow thou shalt bring forth.”—Gen. iii. 16. - - “Thou shalt be saved in child-bearing.”—Tim. ii. 15. - - -Hundreds of willing hands, directed by Miriamne, were engaged in -preparations for fitly celebrating the feast of the Nativity at Bethany. -There was cheerful expectation everywhere in the village, and the Temple -of Allegory was smiling and glowing by day and by night with flowers and -lights. - -“Miriamne, look forth! There approaches our domicile a company of -singing maidens, wearing holly wreaths and bearing a kline! What can it -mean?” - -An instant of wonderment ready to echo the chaplain’s question possessed -Miriamne, then with a glow of satisfaction on her pale face, she cried: - -“I know it all! The maidens of our fraternity have been declaring for a -month past they’d have me this Christmas at our Temple on the Hill, if -they must needs carry me thither!” - -“And they knew you were drooping? Who told them? Not I.” - -“Love has quick eyes, and my sisters love indeed! - -“But, Miriamne, you surely will not risk your life, so precious to all, -by going forth to-day?” - -“The holly, over-canopying the couch they bear, says to me: ‘Yea, go.’ I -told them the secret of the holly, and how those ancient Romans, thinking -their deities largely sylvan, cherished this shrub, so persistently -evergreen, in the belief that it afforded a safe and certain abiding -place for their gods in bitter, biting days of winter. The maidens -remember their lesson.” - -And shortly after, all went forth toward the temple, the physically weak -but spiritually strong woman borne by her followers in a sort of triumph, -and Cornelius leading; the latter, that day was one of the happiest, -proudest men in all Syria. He rejoiced and exulted in being companion of -a woman such as Miriamne was. - -Miriamne entered the temple to find a vast congregation awaiting her. -There was a ripple of excitement, a deep murmuring of satisfied voices -almost reaching the proportion of a masculine outbreak of applause, -as she appeared. Contentment was depicted on all faces, on many real -happiness. Neither was it transitory; there was a throbbing of gladness -running back and forth, rising higher and higher, until it finally broke -out into an impromptu “_Gloria in excelsis!_” Then followed a scripture -lesson: - -“And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men -and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day -of the seventh month. - -“And he read therein before the street that was before the water-gate -from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those -that could understand; and the ears of the people were attentive unto the -book of the law.” - -And now the attention of all was drawn to the sound of footsteps in the -throbbings of a march, keeping time to the tones of the organ and the -flourishings of cymbals. Nigh an hundred Syrian maidens, wearing girdles -and crowns of evergreen, moved with graceful evolutions from the temple’s -east entrance and quickly formed in a crescent nigh to Cornelius and -Miriamne. They paused in their progress but still kept time with their -feet and swinging cymbals. Then the crescent was broken; those in the -center standing in lines that made a cross; those at either end grouping -as stars. - -“Sisters, we’d hear the fitting song of this day,” said Miriamne. -Forthwith the gathered company of garlanded maidens began to retire, -but in perfect order, the two star groups passing along as the company -making the cross went, so preserving the form of the tableau, until the -exits were reached. As the procession went forth the temple bell tolled -solemnly, and the maidens sang, accompanied by organ-notes which died -away finally like the sigh of tired waves on a beaten strand. Cornelius -was silent, though his eyes were like the eyes of a child awakened from a -dream of wonderland. - -Miriamne penetrating his thoughts remarked: - -“Is Cornelius weary of questioning?” - -“I listen as to autumn winds in a scared flight through weeping forests, -instead of to Christmas exultations!” - -“The singers are of my ‘Miriamne Band,’ as they call themselves, in honor -of the sister of Moses, Israel’s greatest law giver.” - -“Methinks all here are mystics in thought and poets in expression!” - -“Then so was God. We are but reproducing His lessons! Remember now how -the Egyptian Pharaoh once commanded that all the male children of his -Israelitish captives be put to death, to the intent that eventually all -the females should become the prey of his people.” - -“Miriamne journeys far from Bethlehem.” - -“The mother and the sister watched the ark in which the infant Moses was -given to the cruel mercies of the Nile.” - -“I remember, but there come no carols from the bullrushes.” - -“Yea, finer than from the reeds of Pan. Listen; the ark, emblem of God’s -covenant, carried the law. The mother and sisters, by the ministries of a -love which never faltered, frustrated wily Egypt, saved themselves, their -male companions, and finally their whole race. When God embalms a history -it is well to look into it for germs of mighty portent.” - -“But thinking of this distant and bitter history, we are kept from -Bethlehem, Miriamne.” - -“So the Red Sea and the wilderness preceded the Promised Land. You -remember there were fears and tears before Miriam and her mother saw -their babe safely adopted at the palace; so there were pains and toils -to Mary along the way from Bethlehem’s manger to Bethany’s mount of -Ascension.” - -The words of Miriamne were broken off by a strain of the organ that was -very like a moan of the distressed. - -“Look yonder!” - -The chaplain did as bidden, following a motion of his wife’s hand, and -saw the folds of a huge black curtain slowly rising from in front of one -of the temple alcoves. - -“Woman’s sorrow is tardily lifted!” exclaimed his wife; then there came -to his ears words of human voices, which were joining in the almost -human-like moanings of the organ; - - “In Rama was there a voice heard; - Lamentation and weeping and great mourning; - Rachel weeping for her children, - And would not be comforted, - Because they are not.” - -“Rachel and funeral dirges seem still distant from the songs of the -angels in Judea!” - -“Rachel is here likened to Mary by the Apostle Matthew.” - -“I liken Rachel to Miriamne: for the former Jacob served fourteen years -which, for the love he bore her, seemed but a few days. Cornelius could -have done as much for Miriamne.” - -“My knightly spouse goes from Bethlehem himself toward Bethany. Go back -now.” - -“I listen; lead me.” - -“At Rama, the site of the tomb of Mary’s son, the converted publican, -St. Matthew, told how death began its cruel hunt of the Virgin’s loved -Child at His very cradle. Sorrow envies joy; death battles life, and ever -more woman’s love, the choicest rose of life, has been crossed by the -destroyer of human happiness; that is human hatings.” - -“But how is Rachel so like Mary?” - -“A common agony and common needs make all women akin.” - -“I accord great homage to the woman who taught one so selfish, gnarled -and rugged of soul as Jacob was to love so deeply, as he was taught to -love by her, and yet almost infinitely I separate her from our Rose and -Queen.” - -“Rachel died a martyr in maternity and therefore is worthy of place -among the regal women of earth. She was one of that line of women who -gave their lives for others. The line survives, and suffers through -the years; all-worthy, but not fully honored. Saint Matthew touched an -all-responsive chord when he voiced the Divine pity for all motherhood, -by placing the sorrows of Rachel and of Mary side by side. The plain man -unconsciously soars to the plane of the prophets and poets when he is -moved by human need or Divine justice.” - -“The lesson is irresistible, but still I’m waiting for the celestial -melodies that awakened the shepherd the night of the Nativity!” - -“My partner shall get by giving. Here is a parchment given me years ago -to read for my mother’s consolation after the death of my brothers. Read -it, thou, to the matrons and maidens when the chantings cease.” - -After a time there was silence! the hush of expectation, for that -gathering was wont at times to wait for words of blessing from the -missioners, as the hart for the rivulet at the beginnings of the rain. - -“Read!” whispered Miriamne, “but not as the tragedian! Read as a father -and lover, both in one.” The young man complied, and these were the words -of the parchment: - - “There was a man named Jehoikim who, impressed of God thereto, - offered a lamb in sacrifice. As he slew it his heart was - touched with tenderness, and he would have staid his hand, - but God gave him strength to perform the command. After this - a daughter, called Mary, was born to him. Whenever he looked - upon her gentle face he remembered the bleating lamb, and was - certain that some way his child was to be a sacrifice to God. - And it was so; for she bore a Son to whom she gave all the - wealth of a mother’s love, but at last He was offered for man’s - sin upon a felon’s cross, the agony He felt reaching the heart - of his mother. As the Son gave Himself up for the world, so - she gave herself up for her Son. She was sustained through it - all by a conscience void of offense, and by the ministry of - angels. Alone to the world, she had no solitude, for though her - espousal to God had no human witness, even as Eve’s to Adam had - none, and both were inexperienced, God was at her nuptials, as - He is ever with those who purely give themselves to Him.” - -Then the wife wept and was silent. - -“My darling, what so moves you? I’ve never experienced such a Christmas. -You make the feast as solemn as the holy supper.” - -There came no answer; but ere the husband could turn to seek a reason it -came in a cry from the audience, and a thronging from all directions -toward where the missioners were. - -“Miriamne has fallen!” - -“’Tis a swoon?” - -“No, ’tis death!” There were surgings back and forth, voices suggesting -helps, voices filled with stifled sobs, and voices of fright in the -trebles of hysteria. - -The sick woman was borne by strong men to her domicile, and then began -the tension of waiting. The young chaplain was entering the valley -of poignant pains by sympathy’s pathway, bound by that mystic chain -whose links are in the words: “These twain shall be one flesh.” Herein -is a mystery often repeated; the man’s grief was supplemented by a -consciousness of vague pains passing along unseen lines from the woman to -himself. Slowly Miriamne recovered consciousness; but still she hovered -on the confines of woman’s supreme hour, the hour when great fear haunts -great hopes, great weakness yields to miraculous influxes of power, and -great joy, in company with unutterable yearnings, moves along under the -shadows and by the gulfs of greatest perils. About her gathered a group -of matrons of her sisterhood, pressing to serve their beloved. - -One whispered to another: “Her face is unearthly, like Mary’s as we saw -it in the ‘Assumption’ to-day.” - -The one that heard the words answered with a sob. The voice of pain -called the drooping woman quickly from her semi-stupor to ministry, -and opening her eyes she tenderly murmured to the woman that sobbed, -“Remember what he said: ‘Women of Jerusalem, weep not for me; but weep -for yourselves and children.’ If I go ’twill be all well; yes, by His -grace, all well with me. Let all your pity follow the pilgrims of our -sex who tarry to painfully journey through years of trial, unrequited.” - -A little later Cornelius was hastily summoned by one that sought him, -from the shadows of an arch of the roof, whither he had gone for a few -moments’ solitude, in which to plead, as only can a man who writhes in -the fear of having his life torn in two. - -“Miriamne asks for her husband.” He heard the words and was by his -consort’s side instantly. Her eyes were closed, but taking her pale hand -tenderly in his he impressed a kiss on her brow. She opened her eyes full -upon him, with a gaze of undying love. - -“You kissed my brow, the first kiss as a lover. Then you said it was -given in the spirit of reverential admiration. Has marriage ever changed -the thought?” - -“Never!” - -“If I should leave you, do you think you could tell others how to love -so?” - -“Oh, I can, surely; if I can do any thing, alone!” And then came to -him the silence of a dumb grief. She saw his agony and pitied him, yet -serenely she spoke: - -“Go onward, beloved, in the way of the prophet’s vision; the power of -Christ be with you; the life of Mary is an open book; speak to, work for -those most needing, then will you have your constant Pentecost with the -ever present ‘Grail.’” - -Cornelius pressed the hand he held tenderly; he could not speak. - -“Repeat to me the beautiful words concerning the Harvest Feast which you -heard out of Moses at the service that so blessed you at Jerusalem,” she -continued again. Then, mastering his voice, he complied: - -“And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a -tribute of a freewill-offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give _unto -the Lord thy God_, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: - -“And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and -thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite -that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the -widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath -chosen to place His name there.” - -When he finished the words he hid his face in his hands. - -“Thou art weary, my good master,” spoke a Jewish mother present. “Go now -and rest. I’ll watch.” - -Quickly, gently, firmly he waved her away, as one unwittingly trying to -draw him from the gates of heaven. - -“It is not usual,” she persisted, “for a man to serve this way; then thou -hast other and more important duties, our holy missioner!” - -He found voice to speak, and needed to restrain himself from indignant -tone. It seemed as if it were impiety now, so great his love, to speak -of any duty as higher than that he had toward this one woman, more to -him than all the world beside. “No; if I were on the cross she would be -there, another Mary; if I am now in torture I’d be no Christian if I did -not emulate Him who, amid crucial agonies, between two worlds, cried as -inmost thought of His heart, ‘_Behold thy Mother!_’” - -He felt Miriamne’s hand pressing his, and drawing him closer to herself. - -“Cornelius, I’m leaning now as never before upon my husband’s loyal -heart!” - -It seemed to the man as if she were nigh to crying: “My God, my God, why -hast thou forsaken me!” and as if to answer his own thought he exclaimed: - -“He will be Father, I as a mother, Miriamne, my Miriamne!” - -Grief had made him an interpreter. It was as he thought, the heart of the -young woman, woman-like, had been groping about for mother-love. Memory -had been busy, but had sent the heart of the woman back from groping amid -the graves of Bozrah all weary, to nestle and rest on the breast of him -that gave mother-love, and promised all else that loyal heart ere gave. - -But all was not gloomful; the clouds were shot through and tinted by some -light-rays. - -“What if our forebodings prove untrue?” - -Hope’s question was as a north wind to a desert noon. - -Once the man bashfully questioned his spouse, with broken sentence that -was half signs. - -“Does Miriamne feel aught of reproach toward the great love, seemingly -not far from utter selfishness, which enchanted to this peril?” - -“Could Madonna reproach God when she felt the heart-piercing sword? To -Him she submitted, no less do I in doing and suffering as He wills!” - -It has been said a woman’s heart is complex, but this one’s was not now. -It lay open, as a book, before her lover-husband. He saw no idol there -but himself. Had there ever been hidden remembrance of some girlish love, -some secret scar left by a romance, both burning and brief, it would have -been opened or effaced now. - -As she beheld her consort, this time more loved, if possible, than ever -before, knightly, courtly and tender, alert and strong to help, lavish -in caressing, she not only felt conquered, but filled with desire to -surrender to the uttermost; for she joyed to place this man on the -throne of her being next after God, supremely lord over all. So together -they moved amid the flowers of Beulah-land, under the glorious lights -of married love. She all compensated for the pangs the trying hour -brought; he thrilled, as he ascended higher and higher from lover love to -husband love, to that holy delight that comes to a man beginning to feel -fatherhood, the gift of the woman his heart has enthroned. For a little -time both were too happy to speak, so they let their thoughts wing their -way upward to the eternities where hopes eternally blossom. She presently -signaled him to draw close to her, then his clasped hands lay on her -heart, and their lips met. She said nothing, yet by a sign-language well -understood by each, plainly entreated him to tell her over and over, more -and more, his inmost thought, that her heart knew full well already. - -She heard his heart’s beatings, then she whispered: “Don’t be anxious; -all is well, for all is as He that loves us wills.” - -“Oh, Miriamne, I loved you never as now; God bless you! bless you! bless -you!” - -She interrupted him again. “The crisis is coming, and I thought perhaps I -might not survive, Cornelius, but if I do not—” - -Her words were silenced by an impassioned kiss. - -She continued, “I dreamed, last night, that I saw the shadow of a cross, -but on it a woman’s form.” - -“Oh, beloved, do not think of it!” - -“I do. I must! I understand it all.” - -Pity now silenced her. - -“Oh, Miriamne!” he cried anon, as he saw her descending into the vale of -agony, from which he could not hold her back. He dare say no more. He -feared to voice his thoughts, lest his fears become ponderous and huge, -once they found escape in the garb of words. - -Just past midnight the dispatched courier arrived, bringing twain of the -most-skilled physicians of Jerusalem. - -Cornelius watched them with an interest beyond words. His heart sank -down and down again, as he saw them in serious consultation. Unable to -restrain himself, he seized the elder, and drawing him hastily aside, -demanded an opinion. The grave old man only shook his head, saying: “We -may save one.” - -“One? One! - -“Which? What?” - -“Young man, be quiet; do not let thy emotions disturb the patient or the -nurses. Prepare for the worst.” - -The husband seized the wrinkled hand of the aged practitioner, and then -flung it from him, crying: “It must not be! It shall not be!” Instantly -he rushed toward the couch, but the two men of healing intercepted him. -Then the elder one said: “We must be obeyed, or else we will give no -commands! Shall we go or stay?” - -What a revulsion came! It seemed to Cornelius as if these two men -of skill were angels, and flinging his arms about them, he hoarsely -whispered: “Save, save! Stay and save! All I have I give you, only save -her!” - -Quietly they led him to the adjoining apartment; then charged him, as -he hoped for any good to his wife, not to re-enter her chamber until -sent for. Reluctantly he consented, not daring to do otherwise and yet -believing in his very soul that in this hour of peril the bestowment of -love’s caresses on the invalid would be better than any skill of the -stranger. He withdrew to the arch on the roof, where unmolested he could -pray. But his meditations were full of miserable sights. He thought of -the Egyptians in their feats of Osiris, leading to sacrifice the heifer -draped in black; then of Rizpah defending her relatives; then of the -monument in Bozrah, with the mother holding her dead Son. He thought, -amid the latter meditations, of himself creeping about that monument, in -the night, until he came to another, on which he deciphered the name, -“_Miriamne_.” The imagination gave him a shock, and he gave way to it -exhausted. An hour or so after he was awakened from a sort of stupor by -the younger of the physicians, who, standing by his side, addressed him: - -“Sir Priest, thou mayst come now; but as thy profession teaches, nerve -thyself to confront any fate, good or ill.” - -“How’s my wife?” exclaimed the stricken man, leaping from his couch and -approaching the speaker, that he might devour with his eyes the thought -of the one he questioned. - -The emotionless features of the man accustomed to confront human -suffering softened a little to pity. The quick eye of the missioner -discerned the change, then he cried: - -“What, dead!” - -“No; if thou wilt but control thyself, thou mayst see her for a little -while; there’ll be a change soon.” - -The man of healing had done and said his best, but that was bad enough. -He had tried to comfort, but the exigencies were beyond human powers. “A -change soon!” - -Hard, mocking words. Apology for bad news! Stepping-stone to saying -the worst is at hand; words so often used by the man of healing when -his art is defeated! How like a funeral knell breaking the heart -has come, again and again, to tingling ears those terrible sounds: -“In—a—little—while—there’ll—be—a—change!” Cornelius felt all their -stunning force, and was instantly by the side of Miriamne. What a change -met his hungry eyes! The fever had died away; fever, that blast from the -shores of Death’s ocean, had passed, because there was nothing longer -for it to attack. The tide was ebbing. She lay silent, pale and haggard; -motionless, except as to a feeble breathing. The husband would have -encircled her with his arms. It was love’s impulse, but science, the -men of healing, restrained him. There was a little wail just then, and -he glanced around with a look of joy. The nurse had brought the babe -close to him, turning away her own face to hide her tears, but holding -the little one out as if trying to say: “This shall compensate.” Then -again the grief-stricken man turned to the physicians and whispered, in a -half-fierce, half-terrified way: “She’ll live—she’ll be better now.” - -The aged man, slowly adjusting the paraphernalia of his profession -preparatory to departure, replied: “Few survive the Cæsarean section. It -was a dire necessity.” - -“Lord, behold whom Thou lovest is sick,” moaned the young chaplain, as he -knelt by the couch and buried his face in its disordered covering. So the -tide of life ebbed at midnight, leaving a stranded wreck at Bethany, and -the Christmas chimes turned to dirges. - - - - -CHAPTER XLII. - -THE MOTHER OF SORROWS TRIUMPHANT AT LAST - - Are we not kings? Both night and day. - From early unto late, - About our bed, about our way, - A guard of angels wait! - And so we watch and work and pray - In more than royal state. - Are we not more? Out life shall be - Immortal and divine; - The nature MARY gave to THEE, - Dear JESUS, still is THINE; - Adoring, in THY heart I see - Such blood as beats in mine.—A. A. PROCTOR. - - -Hundreds were assembled within the “_Temple of Allegory_,” and other -hundreds, unable to effect an entrance, tarried around about it. -The knell of Miriamne, the Angel of the Mount, had called the vast -congregation together from Bethany, from the country round about and from -the City of Jerusalem. - -There were many signs of subdued sorrow, but the intensive expression -of grief common in the East was absent; neither was there any of the -paganish blackness, which sometimes characterizes Christians’ funerals, -manifest. Though Miriamne was dead, her sweet, trustful, cheerful spirit -still survived and still ruled. - -The knights of Jerusalem, led by the Hospitaler, were present, the latter -to direct the services, by request generally extended. - -After a “grail” song by his companions, and at its last words, “_I -shall be satisfied when I awake in His likeness_,” the Hospitaler began -discoursing. - -“Men and women, death, the leveler, makes us all akin; therefore all of -us feel impoverished by the departure of the angel who shone upon us here -from the form that lies yonder. Miriamne Woelfkin, daughter of a knight, -consort of a Gospel herald, devoted friend of womankind, disciple of -Jesus, was gifted with almost prophetic insight and power of alluring -unsurpassed in our day. Hers was the power of a burning heart entranced -of a superb ideal, and therefore was it the power of immortal influence. -She will live not more truly in the life she died to give than in the -lives she lived to save. She was an unique woman, but only so because of -her superior womanliness. Being dead, she reaches the reward generally -denied the living, full appreciation. Her career was in part a parallel -of her choice exemplar’s. You have heard how the Mother of our Lord sung -her ‘_Magnificat_’ out of a heart as free as a girl’s, yet as proud as -that of a woman’s glowing in the prospect of honoring maternity. But -the last note of her rapture died on her lips full soon, and she never -after in this life rose to such measure of joy. God permitted her life -to pass through a series of suppressions and griefs, doubtless that she -might exemplify the sad side of woman’s career. The histories of women, -mostly written by men, are marred by the conceits of their writers, and -are at best but obscure pictures. The man with the pen lacks insight -as to the being, whose life is so largely an expression of heart and -soul. The lordly writer clothes his heroes in the light of his fevered -imagination, depicting with bold stroke the mighty deeds of stalwartness; -but he sees few heroines in his horizon. Those he does see are beyond his -power of analysis. He falls to actual worship of his masculine demi-gods, -perhaps as a partial atonement for his failings toward the fine and -noble characters whose traits are too spiritual for his thought-limits -or vocabularies. The generality of those who discourse concerning women, -do it in a patronizing way, and feel to praise themselves as paragons -in doing justice in this, even by halves. The queenship of Mary is -constantly disputed, and so her lot is more closely linked with that of -her sex. As she received the royal gifts of the Magi, holding them as a -sacred trust for Him to whom her life was utterly devoted, so woman, the -bearer and nurse of the race, gives all that she has without stint to -others. Her life is a suppression; all bestowing; her reward the joy she -has in the lavishness of her bestowals. Hers is the joy of the fountain -that sings because it flows. - -“But recently ye saw the Jewish priests deposit on his mount, after a -custom constant since Moses, the ashes of the red heifer. They burned -their sacrifice with red wood. Red pointed to the blood that can only -atone for sin. But underneath all lies a deep lesson. ’Twas the female -instead of the male thus offered, and her ashes gave potency to the -waters of purification. I read this hidden truth: the sacrifices of -the gentler sex work out the purification of the race. As the moss in -the heart of the stone, I see this truth lying in the heart of the -ceremonial! As Christ’s cross precedes the cleansing of regeneration, so -woman’s cross is the means by which the decays of life are offset by new -created beings. By the bier of the wondrous comforter of others, I may -surely appeal to those who hear me and loved her to seek with quickened -ardor to offer the pain-assuaging myrrhs to those grand souls who go -along the way to life’s crucial glories. I’d have such justice done as -would cause all women to cease pitying themselves because they are such, -and go about rejoicing that God gave them the superlative privileges of -womanhood.” - -There came forth a loud cry, with moanings, from the part of the temple, -called the “Mother’s Pillow,” where the honored dead lay. - -“Miriamne, oh, Miriamne, you brought me through Gethsemane to your -Calvary!” - -A silence almost oppressive fell on the assembly. It was the silence of a -pity too deep for words. - -Then spake the Hospitaler, in words as invigorating as a herald of God’s -should be, and yet as soothing as a mother’s to her child in pain: - -“Christ, who loved the young man who was very good and yet not perfect, -loves thee, for He is unchanging in His mercy. Hear me, an old man, -stricken with the years that have schooled, and one who has experienced -the bitterness of widowerhood after loyal, full loving. God’s hand is on -thee. He is schooling thee to carry on the work begun by thy wondrous -consort now asleep.” - -“Oh, Miriamne, Miriamne! alone in the dark, I move through Gethsemane -toward thy Calvary!” - -Again the silence of pity was broken by the voice of the knight. - -“Remember how David of the White Kingdom was called and furnished for his -kingship. ‘He chose David, also, His servant, and took him from the sheep -folds, from following the ewes great with young. He brought him to feed -Jacob, His people, and Israel, His inheritance.’ - -“Missioner-shepherd, God calls thee to a ministry of love, for those -whose trials thou hast now been taught, in part, to measure. You have -heard how Hadadrimmon, the fabled god of the harvest, ever comes, bearing -sheaves, with tears. - -“Thus speaks the prophet: - -“‘In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the -mourning of Hadadrimmon. - -“‘And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house -of David apart, and their wives apart.’ - -“Young man, God is giving thee a crown in David’s royal line. - -“Once more I turn to her who was thy Miriamne’s exemplar and queen. Let -me tell you all of the last hours of Mary, that you may find instructive -parallels. I’ll read from my treasured book of traditions: - - “After the ascension of Jesus, our Mary dwelt in the house - of John upon Mount of Olives, and she spent her last days in - visiting places which had been hallowed by her Divine Son; not - as seeking the living among the dead, but for consolation and - for remembrance and that she might perform works of charity. - - “In the twenty-second year after the ascension of the Lord, she - was filled with an inexpressible longing to be with her Son; - and, lo, an angel appearing with the salutation, ‘Hail, Mary, - I bring thee a palm-branch, gathered in paradise; command that - it be carried before thy bier, for thou shalt enter where thy - son awaits thee.’ And Mary prayed that it be permitted that - the apostles, now widely scattered under their great commission - to gospel the world, be gathered about her dying couch; also - that her soul be not affrighted in the passage through the pale - realm of death. The angel departed; the palm-branch beside - her shed light like stars from every leaf; the house was - filled with splendor, and angel voices chanted the celestial - canticles. The Holy Spirit caught up John as he was preaching - at Ephesus, and Peter, offering sacrifice at Rome, and Paul, - from his place of labor, Thomas, from India, while Matthew - and James were summoned from afar. After these were called, - Philip, Andrew, Luke, Simon, Mark and Bartholemew were awakened - from their sleep of death. These holy ones were carried to the - Virgin’s home on clouds bright as the morning, and angels and - powers gathered round about in multitudes. There were Gabriel - and Michael close beside her, fanning her with their wings, - which never cease their loving motions. That night a supernal - perfume of ravishing delightsomeness filled the house, and - immediately Jesus, with an innumerable company of patriarchs - and holy ones, the elect of God, approached the dying mother. - And Jesus stretched out His hand in benediction as He did when - ascending from the world, long before at Bethany. Then Mary - tenderly took the hand and kissed it, saying: ‘I bow before the - hand that made heaven and earth. Oh, Lord, take me to Thyself!’ - Thereupon Christ said, ‘Arise, my beloved; come unto me.’ ‘My - heart is ready,’ she replied; a few moments after: ‘Lord, unto - thy hands I commend my spirit.’ Then having gently closed her - eyes, the holy Virgin expired without a malady; simply of - consuming love, permitted now by the loving Creator to melt - the golden cord binding spirit to body. And triumphantly amid - mourners who rejoiced exceedingly in spirit, the body of this - Queen of the House of David was entombed amid the solemn cedars - and olive trees of Gethsemane. Now, this happened upon the day - that the true Ark of the Covenant was placed in the eternal - temple of the new heavenly Jerusalem, as they say; and the - saying is good, for surely, in her heart, this saintly woman - kept the law; the divine manna as well. Even more, she was the - fulfillment of God’s covenant that a woman should bear the - masterers of sin.” - -The speaker then knelt; all heads were bowed; he spread out his hands -as in benediction, but spoke not. Yet all in the silence were blessed, -for the manifestation of Christ was there. After the benediction the -companion knights chanted an old grail psalm, repeating again and again -the stately words: - -“_I am the resurrection and the life._” - -As they sang their eyes were turned upward in a rapture as of men who saw -a glorious appearing; and indeed they had a vision of splendor; but they -saw it within, not without. - -“There are angels hovering round,” reverently whispered Mahmood to his -camel. He was too full to keep silent; too distrustful of his wisdom to -confide his thoughts to a human being. But the thought of the old Druse -was as exalted as that of the Hospitaler, for the latter exclaimed, as -the congregation slowly moved out to the strains of the organ: - -“Methinks I hear the beatings of mighty wings! Not far away is Gabriel, -the ‘angel of mothers’ and of victories! Yea, verily, I believe that the -spirits of Adolphus, Rizpah, Sir Charleroy and Ichabod are ministering -nigh us!” - -Many looked up through their tears fixedly, as if they felt what the -knight had said in their souls. - -Then they laid the body of Miriamne in a new-made tomb nigh the Garden of -Olives, not far from the burial-place of Mary the mother of Jesus. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIII. - -A COFFIN FULL OF FLOWERS AND A GIRDLE WITH WINGS. - - “Behold thy mother!”—JESUS TO JOHN. - - -Two travelers journeyed slowly along Mount Olivet, pausing anon to -observe the flower-dells between them and Mount Zion, or to contemplate -the wilder prospects where the wilderness of Judea edged close up to the -hills they traversed. As the travelers passed, the natives looked after -them with curiosity; for the garments of the former, though dust-covered, -were those of personages above the ranks of the common people; also of a -fashion that betokened them strangers in that vicinity. - -One of these men was a youth, stalwart and comely; the other was -gray-haired and bent as if by the weight of years, though a closer view -suggested premature blasting, rather than senile decline. - -“Winfred, before entering Bethany, we’ll to the ‘Hill of Solomon,’ the -site of Chemosh, the black image of the Roman Saturn.” - -Thereupon the twain turned away from the village and soon came upon a -company of revelers, each wearing a crown of autumn fruits, and all -gathered about a platform crowded with hilarious dancers. - -“Saturnalia!” exclaimed the elder. - -“The worship of Saturn ceased ages ago, did it not?” - -“Of the image, yes; but the folly, little changed, continues.” - -“This is strange enough; and yet it’s a relief to meet a few happy people -in this land of solemn faces; even if those happy ones do joy like fools.” - -“They celebrate the passing of summer-heat and the coming of the rains -of autumn. Say not fools; they are trying to be glad about something -good, somehow coming from some one somewhere above them. Perhaps God can -resolve scraps of thanksgiving out of it all.” - -“Theirs is the laughter of wine! the laughter of the goat-god, Pan, whose -face scared his mother and whose voice scared the gods!” - -“We’ve a persistent custom here, son; and men do not play the fool for -generations after one manner, at least, without cause. - -“These attempt to press into the court of Pleasure to cajole her; all -men do that; these have chosen merely an old way. They cling to the myth -of Saturn, the subduer of the Titan of fiction. They say that deity, -dethroned in the god-world, fled to Italy, where he gave happiness and -plenty through life, and the freedom of air and earth after death, which -latter he made to be only a little sleep.” - -“That was not more than a mock golden-age; it never came, I think.” - -“But very alluring to those that long for it; they dance half-naked, -typifying the primitive times when men had fewer cares, because fewer -wants.” - -“Can one laugh hard fates out of countenance, and make his troubles run -with a guffaw?” - -“The devotees of Saturn were wont to offer their children in his -altar-fires, and so ever more it happens; he that bends to the -materialistic solely, kindles altar-fires for his posterity.” - -“After to-day what comes to these, peace?” - -“Nay, a year all dark and colorless; then another spasm called a feast—a -brief lightning-flash revealing the darkness.” - -“And so the years come and go; one generation of madmen, then another; -death the only variety?” - -“Nay! I’d have you look upon pleasure of sense deified, taking its -pleasures under the shadows of Chemosh, for a purpose. You remember we -read together, under the palms at Babylon, how the holy Daniel saw in -vision the four winds of heaven striving on the sea?” - -“I remember the prophet’s reverie or revel.” - -“The four winds and the sea! the meaning, opened, is conflict on every -hand on earth! Out of the follies and turmoils David’s White Kingdom will -emerge at last. Listen to the words of the inspired seer: - -“‘Behold one like the Son of Man! There was given Him a dominion and a -glory that all people should serve Him; an everlasting dominion!’ - -“It is coming; my poor faith, amid the conflicts and revels of man, -hears the voice of God crying through the night, as in Eden’s dark hour: -‘_Where art thou?_’ My last lesson to my son awaits us at Bethany; let’s -be going.” - -Ere long Cornelius Woelfkin and his son Winfred stood silently, and with -uncovered heads, before, but a little apart from, a stately marble shaft -that rose up amid the olive trees of Gethsemane. It was night, and they -were alone. The father motioned the son back, and alone glided under the -shadowing trees, toward the pillar. There the elder one threw himself -down on the earth, close beside the monument; the youth, deeply moved, -but unwilling to intrude upon the scene of sacred, silent grief, stood -aloof. In a small way, there was a repetition of the grief of the Man -of Sorrows, who there, ages before, yearned in His humanity over a lost -world, over those from whom His heart was soon to part for life. To be -sure, the cross of Cornelius Woelfkin was infinitely less galling, less -heavy than that borne by his Master; and yet it was as heavy as he could -bear, and hence the pitifulness of his grief. - -Who can lift the curtain from his thoughts? The years roll back and -memory’s pictures pass through his brain, at first in joyful train. The -lovers in London; the betrothal at sea; the wedding at Jerusalem; the -ecstatic consummation in years of marriage. Then the painful, almost -awful separation by death, that never to be forgotten Christmas time. -And then, twenty years with leaden feet carrying the lone-hearted man -so painfully slow toward death’s portals, for which he longed with -unutterable yearning. “Oh, Miriamne, Miriamne, let me come,” he cried. -The youth, hearing the agonized utterings, was instantly by his father’s -side. But the old man, still oblivious to all but his sorrow and his -memories, moaned on with deepening fervor. - -“Father,” called out the son. The father rose to his feet and calmly -said: “My boy, pity me. I’m weak. But oh, you never knew what it is to -have your life sawn in twain and be compelled then to drag your half and -lacerated being along the over-clouded vales of an undesired existence!” - -“My mother’s tomb?” - -“Yes. I promised, as my last service to you, to bring you to it. Its -study shall be the finish of your schooling.” - -Just then the clouds broke away and the moonlight fell full upon the -monument. It was a shaft, terminating in a crucifix; by its side were -two forms, one that of St. John, with face turned toward the figure of -the dying Savior; the other that of a woman kneeling, her face buried -in her hands. On the base of the cross was the brief sentence: “Behold -thy mother.” As the youth gazed on the farewell charge of Jesus to John, -when He commended to the care of that beloved disciple His sorrowing -mother, he started. It seemed as if the words had grown out of the marble -suddenly while he was gazing, and for himself only. He felt as if he -could almost embrace the stone. - -The two men were silent and heart full. After a long time, they -simultaneously turned away toward Bethany. They came to a turn in the -road that would shut out all view of the garden of sorrow, and the elder -paused, loath to leave the place where his heart was buried. - -Presently he spoke again, as if unconscious of any other being with him: -“Oh, Miriamne, I failed to carry out the work thou left’st me! How could -I, alone? I was but half a man without thee, my other self! Miriamne, -Miriamne, I can be only nothing when I can not be with thee.” Then the -old man lifted his hands as in benediction or embrace, and continued: -“Farewell, a last farewell, sweet, white soul, until upon the tearless, -healing shores of light I say good morning!” - -There was a mighty pathos in the display of this old, ripe, strong grief, -which lived on a love that could not die. The man was a study. He was of -fine fibre, almost effeminate, never firm, except in his affection for -that one woman. That was the one strong trend, the one anchorage of his -life. He need not study the man far, who strove to know him, to discover -that this tenacity was not natural to him always. It had been a growth -under the influence of the peerless wife. - -“Shall we go on?” after a little asked the son. With a shudder and a -suppressed sob the elder moved on, but with laggard step, which soon -paused. Just now, the moon being beclouded, it was very dark about them, -and the father reached out his hand and drew the youth to his embrace. He -whispered: “Winfred, son of Miriamne, you bear her image in your face, -bear it ever in heart, as well. I’m glad you’re not so like me.” The son -tried to speak, but the elder interrupted: - -“You’ll ere long be fatherless as well as motherless, but take your -mother for your guiding-star. You know what your birth cost her. By her -death you obtained life, as by the Christ’s, immortality. She saved -others, she could not save herself; but if you’re true to her memory -she’ll have a mother’s immortality, that life that lives in the life of -her child.” - - * * * * * - -Let us gather up the _last_ threads of our story. After the death of -Miriamne, the “Sisters of Bethany” soon ceased to congregate at the -“House of Bethesda,” in the city on Olivet. Cornelius Woelfkin attempted -for a time to carry forward the work of the mission, but, utterly -miserable himself, he did not know how to bestow comfort on others; a -man, without the intimate companionship of the woman who had been his -inspirer, he had no discernment of the needs of woman, nor power to -interpret the truths that were in the Book or in nature, those garners of -manna. - -The Hospitaler was sent for as an aid. He came but once, and then spoke -as kindly as he could to the women of Bethany and Jerusalem, and took his -farewell of them all, in closing words like these: - -“The blessed Miriamne, child of Jesus, and emulator of Mary, has passed -away, but Christ her Comforter and Savior may be such to each of you, -that wills Mary’s example, as the inspiration of all women, can never -die. The world has been a battle-ground, and each of you can here see -over the whole field of conflict. Shall all pleasures be found under the -leadership of Bacchus and Venus, or in Him that is the God of Joy? Shall -woman echo the passions of man or the ‘_Magnificat_’ of Mary? Shall the -strength that man seeks be that of the giants, brute force; the strength -of woman be, in her youth the bewitchings of personal beauty, in old age -the cunning of the witch-hag? Shall it not rather be in the girdle of her -moral worth? - -“The world needs to seek and find love, beauty and light. Some go after -it, vainly, as did the Egyptian devotees of Phallic Khem; to whom, with -pitiful incongruity, were offered rampant goats and bulls, decorated -with most delicate flowers. They called Khem the ‘God of births,’ the -‘beautiful God,’ but we know to put mothers on the throne as the -beautiful; their flowers, their jewels, their glories being their -offspring! - -“Women of Jerusalem, never forget the Savior’s own words to the women -that envied His mother, crying that the one that bore Him and nursed Him -was therefore peculiarly blessed! His reply was: ‘YEA, RATHER BLESSED ARE -THEY THAT HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND KEEP IT.’” - -Then the Hospitaler, bending his eyes upon the pale-faced, widowed -missioner, continued: “I’ll tell thee a tradition of our Lord’s mother. -Doubting Thomas, laggard because doubting, came late to the burial-place -of Mary. He begged to have her coffin opened, that once more he might -gaze on the face of his Savior’s mother. It was done. But there seemed to -be nothing in that coffin except lilies and roses, luxuriously blooming. -Then, looking up, he saw the spirit of the woman ‘soaring heavenward in -a glory of light.’ But as she soared, she threw down to him her girdle. -Here is a beautiful parable. The graves of the holy are to memory full -of the ever-blooming roses of love and the lilies of purity. If we may -not have them we loved with us always, we may have the virtues with which -they engirdled themselves, for our conflicts.” - -The Hospitaler paused, cast a glance of yearning tenderness upon the -assembled women and the heart-stricken Cornelius; then exclaimed: - -“Long partings are painful. Farewell!” He glided away ere any could -clasp his hand. Not long after this event the Sheik of Jerusalem, -Azrael’s putative son, raided Bethany, razing the “Temple of Allegory” -to the earth. He was maddened because, after the disappearance of the -Hospitaler, there came to him no stipend to buy immunity for the -“Bethesda House” of the “Sisters of Bethany.” He despoiled it, hoping to -find a treasure therein, but though there was in and about the place a -great wealth, it was all beyond his grasp or ken, for he knew naught of -the worth or power of precious truths and precious memories. Cornelius, -after this, taking his infant son, soon departed from Syria. His dream of -evangelizing the world and the great designs of Miriamne faded from his -hopes, as the vision of universal empire has faded often from the hopes -of dying conquerors. For years he devoted himself to being father and -mother to his child. At last we behold him, as in the foregoing pages, -looking toward sunset. He stands finally in Bethany, his dismantled -home and Miriamne’s ruined temple not far away, her tomb close at hand, -himself like the fragment of a wreck; altogether presenting a sad, -dramatic tableau. He stands there as the last of the new “Grail Knights,” -the last of those who in his time were devoted to the new grail quest. It -was Saturnalia-time, and it was night. - - “VIRGIN AND MOTHER OF OUR DEAR REDEEMER - ... - IF OUR FAITH HAD GIVEN US NOTHING MORE - THAN THIS EXAMPLE OF ALL WOMANHOOD, - SO MILD, SO STRONG, SO GOOD, - SO PATIENT, PEACEFUL, LOYAL, LOVING, PURE, - THIS WERE ENOUGH TO PROVE IT HIGHER AND TRUER - THAN ALL THE CREEDS THE WORLD HAD KNOWN BEFORE.” - - HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] Jamison. - -[2] The Magnificat. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mary: The Queen of the House of David -and Mother of Jesus, by A. 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