The Knight Of The Golden Melice, John Turvill Adams [the reading list TXT] 📗

Know; But We Do Know

That They Cannot Prevail, For She Is Founded On A Rock, And Bought

With A Great Ransom, And The Word Of God Is Pledged To Her Triumph.

But It Becomes Every True Son Of Holy Church To Have His Loins Girded,

And To Let No Weakness Of The Flesh Or Fainting Of The Spirit

Interfere, To Delay That Hoped-For Time When This Miserable Delusion

Shall Disappear. Verily, Heavy Is The Task Imposed On Feeble

Shoulders; But In The Strength Of One Who Can Supply Strength, Will We

Prevail."

 

  

"Has Any Information," Inquired Sir Christopher, "Been Received

Respecting The New Colony To Be Planted Under Lord Baltimore, In

Maryland, Or Promise Of Assistance From Our Friends At Home?"

 

  

"The English Catholics," Answered Father Le Vieux, "Are Lukewarm. The

Air Of Their Foggy Isle Is Tainted. Not Much Do I Expect From This

Cecil, Lord Baltimore. He Is, Forsooth, A Philosopher--A Man Who

Stands Half The Time Upon His Head--For He Is One Of Them Who Are

Puffed Up With Conceit Of Worldly Knowledge, And Who, In Contradiction

Of Holy Scripture, Assert, With Galileo Galilei, That This World Is A

Ball Which Daily Turns Round. His Company Has Not Arrived, And Never

May Arrive. Not On The Timorous And Doubting English Catholics, But On

My Own Brave Countrymen And The Faithful Spaniards, Must We Rely For

The Accomplishment Of The Heaven-Inspired Thought Of Our Great

Founder, The Immortal Loyola."

 

 

 "Expect You," Inquired Sir Christopher, "To Convert These English

Colonies Into Dependencies Of France Or Spain?"

  

 

"To You And To Me, And Every True Catholic, It Is Of Little

Consequence Whether They Be French, Or Spanish, Or English Colonies,

So They Be Gathered Into The Bosom Of Mother Church. Of How Little

Moment Are The Transitory Things Of Time, Our Poor Distinctions Of

Nationalities, Our Weak Prejudices, Our Loves And Hates, In Comparison

With Eternity And Its Determinations. Then, In That Other World, There

Will Be Neither French, Nor English, Nor Spanish, But 'The Blessed Of

The Father,' To Enter The Kingdom Prepared For Them; Or Howling

Heretics, Whose Doom Is Fire Unquenchable."

 

 

"Holy Father," Said The Knight, "I Pray You To Forgive Me; But, In My

Ignorance, I By No Means Approve Of Your Design, Nor Have I Confidence

In Its Success. Consider The Consequence, Should Even A Suspicion Of

It Be Entertained By The Government Of England. These Colonies Are Now

Regarded As Only Nests Of Wild Sectaries, Who Have Fled From Restraint

At Home To Indulge Fanatical Imaginations In A Wilderness. At Present,

They Are Neglected And Despised By The General, None, Save Those Of

Their Own Infatuated Faith, Thinking Of, Or Countenancing Them; But,

Let It Be Once Surmised That France Or Spain Is Attempting, Either By

Fraud Or Violence, To Set Foot Among Them, And You Will See The Whole

Force Of The Kingdom In Arms To Counteract Your Plot, And Thousands Of

Heretic Emigrants Will Arrive, Where Now Only A Few Make Their

Appearance."

  

 

"My Son, It Is Easier To Crush Error In The Egg Than In The Full-Grown

Serpent. But Forget You Not That You Are Only A Secular Coadjutor, And

Therefore Bound Simply To Obey?"

  

 

"_Peccavi_," Said The Knight, Bending His Head.

 

  

"_Absolvo_. I Espied This Weakness In The Confession Of Sins, And Now

Solemnly Warn Thee Against It. Attend, My Son, And Be My Words

Remembered. I Perceive In Thee A Jealousy Of The Political Power Of

Other Nations, When They Conflict With Thine Own. This, To The

Untutored Mind Of The Vulgar, Seems Commendable, Yet Do I Reprehend

It, And Say Unto It, '_Apage, Sathanas!_' As The Fruitfull Seed Of

Discord Betwixt Nations, And An Impediment In The March Of The Church.

As High As The Concerns Of Heaven Transcend Those Of Earth, Do The

Interests Of The True And Universal Church Those Of The Petty Kingdoms

Which, For Their Own Good, She Subjects To Her Control. They Are Not

To Be Thought Of When Her Magnificent Voice Is Heard. Who Is It Speaks

From The Chair Of St. Peter, But The Vicegerent Of God? Who Is

Vitalleschi, Our Chief, But Another Accredited Instrument To

Accomplish The Salvation Of The Nations? And If It Be The Duty Of

Every Catholic To Set The Welfare Of The Church Before All Other

Considerations, And To Die A Thousand Deaths Before Abandoning It, How

Much More Is It The Life-Business Of Each Member Of The Society Of

Jesus To Sacrifice All Things For Her! Power, Wealth, Fame, Life, And

Honor, Which Some Value More Than Life, What Are They All When Weighed

Against That One Duty And The Reward That Awaits Its Observance? The

Principles Of The Blessed Company Of Jesus Are Not The Crude Fancies

Of Some Crazy Heretic, Nor Suggestions Of Man's Unguided Reason, But

They Are Conclusions Of Wise Men Inspired By The Holy Spirit, And

Infallibly Directed To Truth! Such Thou And I Have Acknowledged Them

To Be By Becoming Members Of The Order, And Thereby Assuming Its

Obligations. My Faith Burns Daily Brighter--Each Obstacle But Inflames

My Zeal. If, By My Martyrdom, I Could Advance Our Cause One Hour, How

Gladly Would I Lay Down A Life Worthless, If Not Spent In The Service

Of The Church."

 

  

Father Le Vieux Paused, His Fine Face Beaming With Enthusiasm, While

The Knight Bent Again His Head, And, Kissing The Priest's Hand,

Murmured "_Peccavi_."

  

 

"Thy Faithfulness I Commend," Resumed The Father, "But As Thy

Spiritual Guide, I Warn Thee Against Human Weakness. It Is A Mighty

Discourager Of Great Undertakings. Only By Faith And Remembrance Of

What Thou Art Vowed To, Can It Be Overcome. Nor Doubt, Though Thou

Dost Not Clearly Understand, And But Little Progress Seems To Be Made.

Remember That Though We Must Soon Depart, The Society Of Jesus

Remains. Our Order May Be As The Drops Of Water Perpetually Falling On

A Rock, Which Are Dashed Into Fragments By The Fall; Yet Is The Fate

Of The Repelling Body Inevitable, And, After Centuries, It Is Doomed

To Be Washed Away."

 

  

"Reverend Father," Said The Knight, "I Will Bury Thy Words, In My

Mind, And Often Meditate Upon Them." 

 

 

"Do So, My Son, And By The Aid Of Holy Mary, And The Saints, And

Blessed Evangelists, Doubt Not They Will Profit. But I Charge Thee To

Beware Of Laic Reason And Human Impulses. Refer All Things To The

Standard Whereby Thou Hast Been Taught, For So Only Will It Be Well.

Farewell; Morning Approaches, And I Depart, For I Would Not Have The

Presence Of A White Man Suspected By Thy Companion. I Will Communicate

Further With Thee As Opportunity Presents, And, Meanwhile, I Will

Consider How Thy Mission May Be Made To Redound Most To The Honor Of

The Church. If, By Restraining The Ferocity Of The Taranteens, The End

May Be Accomplished, Gladly Will I Exert My Influence Therefor; But,

On The Contrary, If I See That A Union Among The Tribes Can Be

Effected, Whereby These Intrusive Philistines Can Be Driven From The

Land, I Will Put Myself At The Head Of Our Savage Friends, And

Winthrop And His Unhappy Followers Shall Be Doomed."

 

 

He Ceased, And Bowed, And The Knight Reverently Bending His Body, Took

Leave.

Chapter XXI (Low, Reverently Low, Make Thy Stubborn Knowledge Bow, Weep Out Thy Reason's And Thy Body's Eyes, Deject Thyself, That Thou Mayest Rise, To Look To Heaven--Be Blind To All Below.)

Mathew Prior.

 

 

 

On Rising, Which He Did With The Sun, Leaving The Knight Buried In

Sleep, Arundel Took His Way Through The Village To Enjoy The Fresh

Morning Air And Examine The Indian Wigwams, It Being The First

Considerable Collection Of Them Which He Had Seen. He Found Them, To

The Number Of Forty Or Fifty, Extending At A Distance Of Four Or Five

Rods From One Another, In A Couple Of Wide Avenues, From The Edge Of A

Wood To The Margin Of A River. The Piece Of Ground On Which The Lodges

Were Built Seemed To Be A Bit Of Alluvial Formed By The Overflowing Of

The River. All Along The Stream Were Scattered Fields Of Maize, Whose

Tall, Stout Stalks Attested The Richness Of The Soil. The Cultivation

Was Of That Sluggish And Negligent Description Which Was To Be

Expected From The Indolent Character Of The Indians, It Being Entirely

Entrusted To The Squaws, The Men Considering Labor Beneath Their

Dignity. The Object Was Attained, If The Plants Were Sufficiently

Protected Against The Encroaching Weeds To Enable Them To Overtop The

Latter, After Which They Were Left To Take Care Of Themselves. Yet,

Notwithstanding All This Negligence, Prodigal Nature Rendered A Rich

Return. It Has Been Said (With What Truth We Know Not) That The Weeds

Of A Soil Depend Upon The Race Which Cultivates It--They Which Spring

From The Sweat Of An Indian Being Different From Those Which Embarrass

The Toil Of The White Man Or The Negro. If It Be So, Then Have We

Perhaps Another Proof Of The Kind Accommodation Of Mother Earth To Her

Children, Excusing For The Reluctant Indian That Labor Which She

Exacts From The Hardier White And Black Man.

  

 

As Arundel Passed By The Bark Wigwams, He Was Able To Form Some

Opinion Of The Mode Of Life Of The Taranteens. Indolently Thrown Upon

The Ground In Front Of His Lodge, In The Soft Summer Morning, He

Beheld Its Master Inhaling The Fumes Of That Pernicious But Seductive

Plant, Which Is One Of The Few Gifts The North American Savage Has

Transmitted To His Conquerors, That Promise To Perpetuate His Memory.

Little Children, Of Whom Seldom More Than Two Or Three Were To Be Seen

In Any Wigwam, Played Around Him, Now And Then Obtaining A Word Of

Notice, While The Patient Squaws Were Either Engaged In Ordinary

Culinary Preparations, Or, If More Than One Wife Were In The Lodge,

Dividing Their Labors Among Themselves, The One Cooking, A Second

Mending Moccasons Or Robes, And A Third Preparing To Start With Her

Agricultural Tools, Made Of Quohaug Shells, (A Large Kind Of Clam,)

For The Maize Field. Here And There He Could See Young Men Armed With

Bows And Arrows, Leaving For The Surrounding Woods, In Pursuit Of That

Game On Which Was Their Principal Dependance For Food. Only One Old

Person Did He Behold, Whence He Inferred That Their Precarious Life

Was Unfavorable To Longevity. He Lounged Throughout The Whole

Encampment Without Interruption, Sometimes Regarded With A Frown,

Sometimes With A Smile, But For The Most Part Treated With

Indifference.

 

 

 

The Monotony Of Indian Life Affords Little To Interest During The Week

Spent By Sir Christopher And Arundel Among The Taranteens. It Was

Passed By The Latter In Daily Hunts With Some Young Taranteens, With

Whom He Had Contrived To Ingratiate Himself, And To Whom His Gun Was

No Unwelcome Assistant In The Chase. The Knight Had Assured Him Of The

Absence Of All Danger From The Indians, But Even Without Such

Assurance, Arundel Would Have Preferred To Encounter Some Peril Rather

Than Submit To The Tedium He Must Otherwise Have Endured.

  

 

As For Sir Christopher, His Preconcerted Meeting With Father Le Vieux,

And The Conversation Betwixt Them, Prove That He Had Other Objects

Besides The Establishment Of Peace Between The English And The

Taranteens. The Determination Of The Question Of Peace Or War Seemed

To Be Left Entirely With The Father. We May Consider His Remaining In

The Village Was For The Purpose Of Waiting For The Announcement Of The

Conclusion To Which The Indians, Under The Direction Of The Jesuit

Priest, Should Come, And Also To Arrange Their Mutual Plans; For,

Taking Advantage Of The Absence Of Arundel, Which, As Is Seen, He

Encouraged, The Knight Had Frequent Conferences With The Priest, The

Grand Object Of Which Was To Advance Such Measures As Might Obtain The

Whole Of North America For The Catholics, As South America Had Already

Been Secured. It Would Seem That, Although The Knight Had The

Accomplishment Of That Result As Much At Heart As The Priest Himself,

His National Pride And Patriotism Relucted At The Idea That English

Colonies Should Become Possessions Of The Hereditary Enemies Of His

Nation. It Was To Combat This Notion, And