A KNIGHT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, Edward Payson Roe [top young adult novels TXT] 📗

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Herself. Poland Was A Square, Successful Business Man, But I Fear He Did

Not Lay Up Much. He Was Too Open-Hearted and Free-Handed--A Typical

Southerner I Suppose You Would Say At The North, That Is, Those Of You

Who Don'T Think Of Us As All Slave-Drivers And Slave-Traders. I Expect

The North And South Will Have To Have A Good, Square, Stand-Up Fight

Before They Understand Each Other."

 

 

 

"God Forbid!" Ejaculated haldane.

 

 

 

"Well, I Don'T Think You And I Will Ever Quarrel. You May Call Us What

You Please If You Will Take Care Of Poland'S Family."

 

 

 

"I Have Already Learned to Have A Very Thorough Respect Both For Your

Head And Heart, Doctor Orton."

 

 

 

"I'M Considerably Worse Than They Average Down Here. But As I Was

Telling You, Mrs. Poland Was A New England Woman, And To Humor Her Her

Husband Employed such White Servants As Could Be Got In the City, And

Poor Trash They Were Most Of The Time. When The Fever Appeared they Left

Instantly. Poland Bought The Old Colored people Who Are There With The

Place, And Gave Them Their Freedom, And Only They Have Stood By Them.

What They Would Have Done Last Night If You Had Not Come, God Only

Knows. Poor Amy, Poor Amy!" Sighed the Old Doctor Tempestuously; "She'S

The Prettiest And Pluckiest Little Girl In the City. She'S Half

Frightened out Of Her Wits, I Can See That, And Yet Nothing But Force

Could Get Her Away. For My Nephew'S Sake And Her Own I Tried hard To

Induce Her To Go, But She Stands Her Ground Like A Soldier. What Is Best

Now I Hardly Know. Mrs. Poland Is So Utterly Prostrated that It Might

Cost Her Life To Move Her. Besides, They Have All Been So Terribly

Exposed to The Disease That They Might Be Taken With It On The Journey,

And To Have Them Go Wandering Off The Lord Knows Where At This Chaotic

Time Looks To Me About As Bad As Staying Where They Are, And I Can Look

After Them. But We'Ll See, We'Ll See." And In like Manner The Sorely

Troubled old Gentleman Talked rapidly On, Till They Reached the

Undertaker'S, Seemingly Finding a Relief In thus Unburdening His Heart

To One Of Whose Sympathy He Felt Sure, And Who Might Thus Be Led to Feel

A Deeper Interest In the Objects Of His Charge.

 

 

 

Even At That Time Of General Disaster Haldane'S Abundant Funds Enabled

Him To Secure Prompt Attention. It Was Decided that Mr. Poland'S Remains

Should Be Placed in a Receiving Vault Until Such Time As They Could Be

Removed to The Family Burying-Ground In another City, And Before The Day

Closed everything Had Been Attended to In the Manner Which Refined

Christian Feeling Would Dictate.

 

 

 

Before Parting With Haldane, Doctor Orton Had Given Him Careful

Directions What To Do In case He Recognized symptoms Of The Fever In any

Of The Family Or Himself. "Keep Amy And Bertha With Their Mother All You

Can," He Said; "Anything To Rouse The Poor Woman From That Stony Despair

Into Which She Seems To Have Fallen."

 

 

 

The Long Day At Length Came To An End. Haldane Of Necessity Had Been

Much Away, And He Welcomed the Cool And Quiet Evening; And Yet He Knew

That With The Shadow Of Night, Though So Grateful After The Glare And

Heat To Which He Had Been Subjected, The Fatal Pestilence Approached the

Nearer, As If To Strike A Deadlier Blow. As The Pioneer Forefathers Of

The City Had Shut Their Doors And Windows At Nightfall, Lest Their

Savage And Lurking Foes Should Send A Fatal Arrow From Some Dusky

Covert, So Now Again, With The Close Of The Day, All Doors And Windows

Must Be Shut Against A More Subtle And Remorseless Enemy, Whose Viewless

Shafts Sped with A Surer Aim In darkness.

 

 

 

Amy Had Spent Much Of The Day In unburdening Her Heart In a Long Letter

To Her Cousin Laura, In which In her Own Vivid Way She Portrayed the

Part Haldane Had Acted toward Them. She Had Also Written To Her Distant

And Unconscious Lover, And Feeling That It Might Be The Last Time, She

Had Poured out To Him A Passion That Was As Intense And Yet As Pure As

The Transparent Flame That We Sometimes See Issuing From The Heart Of

The Hard-Wood Maple, As We Sit Brooding Over Our Winter Fire.

 

 

 

"Come And Sit With Us, And As One Of Us," She Had Said To Haldane, And

So They Had All Gathered at The Bedside Of The Widow, Who Had Scarcely

Strength To Do More Than Fix Her Dark, Wistful Eyes On One And Another

Of The Group. She Was So Bewildered and Overwhelmed with Her Loss That

Her Mind Had Partially Suspended its Action. She Saw And Heard

Everything; She Remembered it All Afterward; But Now The Very Weight Of

The Blow Had So Stunned her That She Was Mercifully Saved from The Agony

Of Full Consciousness.

 

 

 

Little Bertha Climbed upon Haldane'S Lap And Pleaded for A Story.

 

 

 

"Yes, Bertie," He Said, "And I Think I Know A Story That You Would Like.

You Remember I Told You That Your Papa Had Gone Away With Jesus; Would

You Not Like To Hear A Story About This Good Friend Of Your Papa'S?"

 

 

 

"Yes, Yes, I Would. Do You Know Much About Him?"

 

 

 

"Quite A Good Deal, For He'S My Friend Too. I Know One True Story About

Him That I Often Like To Think Of. Listen, And I Will Tell It To You.

Jesus Is The God Who Made Us, And He Lives 'Way Up Above The Sky.' But

He Not Only Made Us, Bertie, But He Also Loves Us, And In order To Show

Us How He Loves Us He Is Always Coming To This World To Do Us Good; And

Once He Came And Lived here Just Like A Man, So That We Might All Be

Sure That He Cared for Us And Wanted to Make Us Good And Happy. Well, At

That Time When He Lived here In this World As A Man He Had Some True

Friends Who Loved him And Believed in him. At A Certain Time They Were

All Staying On The Shore Of A Sea, And One Evening Jesus Told His

Friends To Take A Little Boat And Go Over To The Other Side Of The Sea,

And He Would Meet Them There. Then Jesus, Who Wanted to Be Alone, Went

Up The Side Of The Mountain That Rose From The Water'S Edge. Then Night

Came And It Began To Grow Darker And Darker, And At Last It Was So Dark

That The Friends Of Jesus That Were In the Boat Could Only See A Very

Little Way. Then A Moaning, Sighing Wind Began To Rise, And The Poor Men

In The Boat Saw That A Storm Was Coming, And They Pulled hard With Their

Oars In hopes Of Getting Over On The Other Side Before The Storm Became

Very Bad; But By The Time They Reached the Very Middle Of The Sea, The

Wind Began To Blow Furiously, Just As You Have Seen It Blow When The

Trees Bent 'Way Over Toward The Ground, And Some Perhaps Were Broken

Down. A Strong Wind At Sea Makes The Water Rise Up In waves, And These

Waves Began To Beat Against The Boat, And Before Very Long Some Of The

Highest Ones Would Dash Into It. The Men Pulled with Their Oars With All

Their Might, But It Was Of No Use; The Wind Was Right Against Them, And

Though They Did Their Best Hour After Hour, They Still Could Get No

Nearer The Shore. How Sad And Full Of Danger Was Their Condition! The

Dark, Dark Night Was Above And Around Them, The Dark, Angry Waves

Dashing By And Over Them, The Cold, Black Depths Of Water Beneath Them,

And No Sound In their Ears But The Wild, Rushing Storm. What Do You

Think Became Of Them?"

 

 

 

"I'M Afraid They Were Drowned," Said Bertha, Looking Up With Eyes That

Were Full Of Fear And Trouble.

 

 

 

"Have You Forgotten Jesus?"

 

 

 

"But He'S 'Way Off On The Side Of The Mountain."

 

 

 

"He Is Never So Far From His Friends But That He Can See Them And Know

All About Them. He Saw These Friends In the Boat, For Jesus Can See In

The Darkness As Well As In the Light; And When The Night Grew Darkest,

And The Waves Were Highest, And His Friends Most Weary And Discouraged,

He Came To Them So That They Might Know That He Could Save Them, When

They Felt They Could Not Save Themselves. And He Came As No Other Help

Could Have Come--Walking Over The Very Waves That Threatened to Swallow

Up His Friends; And When He Was Near To Them He Called out, 'Be Of Good

Cheer, It Is I; Be Not Afraid.' Then He Went Right Up To The Boat And

Stepped into It Among His Friends. Oh! What A Happy Change His Coming

Made, For The Winds Ceased, The Waves Went Down, And In a Very Little

While The Boat Reached the Sea-Shore. The Bright Sun Rose Up, The

Darkness Fled away, And The Friends Of Jesus Were Safe. They Have Been

Safe Ever Since. Nothing Can Harm Jesus' Friends. He Takes Care Of Them

From Day To Day, From Year To Year, And From Age To Age. Whenever They

Are In trouble Or Pain Or Danger He Comes To Them As He Did To His

Friends In the Boat, And He Brings Them Safely Through It All. Don'T You

Think He Is A Good Friend To Have?"

 

 

 

"Isn'T I Too Little To Be His Friend?"

 

 

 

"No, Indeed; No One Ever Loved little Children As He Does. He Used to

Take Them In his Arms And Bless Them, And He Said, 'Suffer Them To Come

To Me'; And Where He Lives He Has Everything Beautiful To Make Little

Children Happy."

 

 

 

"And You Say Papa Is With Him?"

 

 

 

"Yes, Papa Is With Him."

 

 

 

"Why Can'T We All Go To Him Now?"

 

 

 

"As Soon As He Is Ready For Us He Will Come For Us."

 

 

 

"I Wish He Was Ready For Mamma, Amy, And Me Now, And Then We Could All

Be Together. It'S So Lonely Without Papa. Oh! I'M So Tired," She Added

After A Few Moments, And A Little Later Her Head Dropped against

Haldane'S Breast, And She Was Asleep.

 

 

 

"Mr. Haldane," Said Amy In a Low, Agitated voice, "Have You Embodied

Your Faith In that Story To Bertha?"

 

 

 

"Yes, Miss Amy."

 

 

 

"Why Do You Think"--And She Hesitated. "How Do You Know," She Began

Again, "That Any Such Being as Jesus Exists And Comes To Any One'S

Help?"

 

 

 

"Granting That The Story I Have Told You Is True, How Did His Disciples

Know That He Came To Their Help? Did Not The Hushed winds Prove It? Did

Not The Quieted waters Prove It? Did Not His Presence With Them Assure

Them Of It? By Equal Proof I Know That He Can And Will Come To The Aid

Of Those Who Look To Him For Aid. I Have Passed through Darker Nights

And Wilder Storms Than Ever Lowered over The Sea Of Galilee, And I Know

By Simple, Practical, Happy Experience That Jesus Christ, Through His

All-Pervading Spirit, Has Come To Me In my Utter Extremity Again And

Again, And That I Have The Same As Felt His Rescuing Hand. Not That My

Trials And Temptations Have Been Greater Than Those Of Many Others, But

I Have Been Weaker Than Others, And I Have Often Been Conscious Of His

Sustaining Power When Otherwise I Would Have Sunk Beneath My Burden.

This Is Not A Theory, Miss Amy, Nor The Infatuation Of A Few Ignorant

People. It Is The Downright Experience Of Multitudes In every Walk Of

Life, And, On Merely Scientific Grounds, Is Worth As Much As Any Other

Experience. This Story Of Jesus Gains The Sympathy Of Little Bertha; It

Also Commands The Reverent Belief Of The Most Gifted and Cultivated

Minds In the World."

 

 

 

"Oh, That I Could Believe All This; But There Is So Much Mystery, So

Much That Is Dark." Then She Glanced at Her Mother, Who Had Turned away

Her Face And Seemed to Be Sleeping, And She Asked: "If Christ Is So

Strong To Help And Save, Why Is He Not Strong To Prevent Evil? Why Is

There A Cry Of Agony Going Up From This Stricken City? Why Must Father

Die Who Was Everything To Us? Why Must Mother Suffer So? Why Am I So

Shadowed by An Awful Fear? Life Means So Much To Me. I Love It," She

Continued in low Yet Passionate Tones. "I Love The Song Of Birds, The

Breath Of Flowers, The Sunlight, And Every Beautiful Thing. I Love

Sensation. I Am Not One Who Finds A Tame And Tranquil Pleasure In the

Things I Like