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

To Satisfy Him Of His Duty,

To Trample Upon It At The Foot Of The Cross, That The Arguments Of The

Father Were Directed. The Plan Of Sir Christopher Was To Supplant And

Overpower The Puritans With English Catholics, Which, By The Aid Of

The Immense Wealth Of The Church, And The Ability Of The Enterprising

Jesuits, He Doubted Not Might Be Done, But Not To Make The Colony

French. Devoted Catholic As He Was, He Was Unable To Renounce His Love

Of Country.

  

 

Not So With The Father. With The Sagacity Of A Priest, He Placed No

Dependence Upon Any Portion Of A People Whose Councils Were Ruled By

Protestants, And With The Conceit Of A Frenchman, He Had Unlimited

Confidence In _La Grande_ Nation; Besides, He Had Been A Witness, And

Partaken Of The Sufferings Of His Brethren, The French Jesuits, Among

The Savages, And He Relied Much On A Zeal, The Superior Of Which The

World Has Never Seen, And Which He Believed Sanctioned By Heaven, And

In Spite Of Himself, And Try As He Might To Persuade Himself Of The

Contrary, National Feeling (As In The Case Of Sir Christopher) Mingled

With The Aspirations Of The Religionist. He Would, Indeed, Rather Than

Fail, Have Courted The Turk Himself, On Whom He Looked With Eyes About

As Favorable As On A Protestant, But He Preferred That His Own Nation,

As Well As His Own Order, Should Monopolize Both The Glory And The

Advantages Of The Achievement. These Feelings, Secret Almost To

Himself, He Carefully Kept Concealed From Sir Christopher, Whom He

Regretted Was Not A Countryman, And Confined Himself To The Religious

Aspect Of The Case. No Opportunity To Remove A Doubt, Or Inflame The

Zeal Of His Coadjutor, Did He Allow To Escape.

 

  

"There Is But One Church," He Said, In One Of Their Conversations,

"And Only Through Her Sacred Portals Is The Kingdom Of Heaven To Be

Entered--A Truth Received By Every Catholic--Else, Vain And Unmeaning

Was The Solemn Tradition Of The Keys To St. Peter. They Who Are Not

For Her Are Against Her, And Must Be Subdued To Obedience By Mild

Means If They Will Suffice--By Harsh, If Necessary."

 

  

"To These Truths I Give My Entire Assent," Said The Knight.

 

  

"I Doubt It Not--I Doubt It Not; But Let All Take Heed, My Son, Not To

Exhaust Belief In The Shadowy Region Of Theory. Truth Should Be An

Armed Soldier To Step Out To Deeds."

  

 

"Lord! Strengthen Me," Said The Knight, Humbly.

 

  

"Such," Said The Father, "Is The Prayer Of Every True Catholic.

Forgive Me, My Son, If, For The Refreshing Of My Own Resolution, And

The Strengthening Of Thy Soul, I Repeat Familiar Truths, But Which

Cannot Be Too Often Reiterated, Or Long Enough Meditated Upon.

Methinks That As I Give Their Vocal Sweetness To The Air, These Old

Woods Do Assume A More Reverent Aspect, And A Tide Of Holier Transport

Streams Through My Heart. Holy Jesus! I Would Have No Will; I Would

Have No Mind But Thine. Swallow Me Up In Thine Ineffable Perfections."

 

  

The Two Crossed Themselves At The Sacred Name, And The Knight Softly

Said, "Amen."

  

 

"But Let Us Be Cautious," Continued The Priest, "Not To Deceive

Ourselves As Do Some, Who Fancy Themselves Sound, And Yet Are

Diseased; Who Mix Up The Suggestions Of The Carnal Understanding With

Heavenly Promptings. Said Not Holy St. Augustine, _Credo Quia

Impossibile Et_? There Are Minds Too Shallow To Perceive The Profound

Wisdom Of The Maxim, And Scoff At It As An Absurdity. By God's Grace,

My Son, We Are Not Of The Number. We See It; We Feel It. Thanks To The

Discipline Wherewith We Have Been Exercised. Our Souls Do Calmly

Repose On This Truth, And In Its Strength Shall The Servants Of The

Church Triumph. What Is Impossible To Man, Is Possible With God."

 

 

"I Embrace This Truth," Said Sir Christopher.

  

 

"Nor When Commanded By A Superior Is It Ours To Question, In Imaginary

Wisdom, As Is The Manner Of The World, The Propriety Of The Order. As

An Archangel, Commissioned By The Supreme Intelligence To Execute His

Decrees, And Pour Pestilence Or Famine Upon A Land Devoted To

Destruction For Its Sins, May Not Say What Doest Thou, So Must Not A

Servant Of The Order Of Jesus Doubt The Inspiration Of Him Whom He Is

Bound To Obey. Does He So, He Is Too Weak For The Post Whereunto His

Presumption Has Aspired, And False Alike To Himself And The Cause He

Espoused. Not Unto The Weak In Mind, But To The Strong In Faith, Is

Committed The Cause Of The Church."

 

 

 

"Holy Father," Said The Knight, "Your Words Probe The Secrets Of My

Soul. I Do Intend, And Practice Always, Perfect Obedience To My

Superior, Knowing That Whatever Is Ordered By Him Whom The Ordinance

Of God, And Of Our Holy Order Hath Set Over Me, I May Not Only Perform

Without Sin, But That The Same Will Redound To My Salvation; And Yet,

In Spite Of Fastings And Prayers, Do Involuntary Doubts Sometimes

Creep Into My Mind, Which I Hasten To Banish, As The Whisperings Of

The Devil."

 

  

"They Are--They Are The Instigations Of Sathanas," Said The Priest,

Crossing Himself. "O, My Son, Whenever These Temptations Occur,

Remember Thy Vows And Obligations, And Betake Thyself More Diligently

To Prayer And Penance. But, Sir Christopher, It Becomes Me Not To

Address Thee As A Babe In Christ. Though It Be Thy Pleasure To Remain

In An Inferior Position, Thou Hast A Mind Which Soars With The Highest

In The Order, And Comprehends The Theory And Working Of Our Regimen.

Upon The Divine Pattern Have We Modeled Our System, And The Operation

Of The Same Must Run Parallel Therewith. As At The Head Of The

Universe Stands The Law-Giver And Ruler, So With Us; As Obedience To

Him Is Order And Truth, So With Us; As To Accomplish His Purposes He

Makes Use Of All Influences, Tempest, Lightning, Plague, Pestilence,

The Sword, As Well As Of The Breeze Of Health, The Refreshing Rain And

Golden Sunshine, Now Melting With His Smile, And Now Terrifying With

His Frown, So Do We. Teaches Not God By His Example How To Govern His

World?"

 

  

"Aye, Possessed We His Wisdom," Said The Knight.

  

 

"Doubt Not, That If With A Holy Motive We Seek To Do His Will, He Will

Furnish The Wisdom. Blessed Unto The Children Of Israel Was Their

Obedience, When Hearkening Unto Moses, God's Vicegerent To Them, They

Did, Stifling All Suggestions Of Infatuated Reason Which Would Stamp

The Deed As A Cruelty, Put To The Edge Of The Sword Thousands Of Men,

Women, And Children, Of The Unhappy Canaanites. Who Will Doubt It

Right? And Thinkest Thou The Authority Of Moses Over A Few Wild Tribes

More Prevailing, And An Act Sanctioned By Him A Temporary Guide, More

Pleasing Than One Approved By The Successors Of St. Peter, More

Solemnly And Extensively Invested With The Divine Power, And Destined

To Exist To The End Of The World? If The Offending Heathen Might

Lawfully Be Slaughtered At The Command Of The Jewish Leader, It Is

Impious To Shrink From Sacrifices Like Those On The Altar Of St.

Bartholomew, When Required By The Vicar Of Christ. If By Direction Of

One Entitled To Give The Order, I Slay My Brother, My Motive Being

Obedience, And The Promotion Of The Interests Of The Church, The

Greater Is My Reward For Overcoming The Weakness Of The Flesh, And

Forcing It, Albeit, Reluctant, To Obey. Emptied Of Myself I Am Filled

With Divine Grace. The Creature Is Enabled To Be Made The Sword Of The

Creator. A Higher Reason, Incomprehensible Because So High, Is

Substituted For The Lower, And The Dogma Of St. Augustine Becomes An

Animating Principle And A Living Power. Try, Prove, Search, Examine

Thyself, My Son, And Thou Wilt Find These Doubts Do Arise From The

Rebellious Reason Ever Ready To Set Itself Up As God, And To Demand

The Worship Which Belongs To Him. Each One Would Be A Law Unto

Himself, And Hence As Many Laws As Law-Givers. Let The Reason Of Man

Prevail, (An Impious Thought, And An Impossible Fact,) And The

Seamless Coat Of Christ Is Rent, A Deluge Of All Manner Of Heresies

And Abominations Follows, And Zion In Sackcloth Mourns Her Blighted

Hopes. Behold The Condition Of The World, How It Confirms My Words!"

 

  

"Father, Feeling As Well As The Unsanctified Reason, Does At Times

Rebel."

 

 

"Alas, They Are Conspirators Together. How Willingly The One Echoes

The Fancies Of The Other, While They Deal Out Mutual Encouragement!

But It Needs Not To Say, To Thee At Least, That Feeling Can Be No

Criterion Of Truth; Or, Rather, That The Disturbance Of The Faculties,

Baptized With The Name Of Feeling, And Which Springs From A Corrupt

Nature, Must Be Hostile Thereto. There Is In High Contemplations On

Man's Duties, But One Infallible Test Of Truth, Viz: The Holy

Scriptures, As Interpreted By The Faithful Witness, The Church. To

Them, My Son, The One As The Record, And The Other As The Inspired

Interpreter, Is It Our Duty, And Should Be The Business Of Our Lives,

To Bring Into Subjection The Rebellious Passions, The Fainting

Weaknesses And Erring Reason. Inspired By This Grand Truth, Behold

Thousands Of Devoted Men And Women, Weak With Human Infirmity, But

Sustained By Courage From On High, Renouncing The Dulcet, But

Transitory Enjoyments Of This Life, To Encounter, For The Salvation Of

Their Souls, And Of Others, Privation And Sorrow, And Painful Death.

_Quoe Terra Non Plena Nostri Laboris?_ Yet, O How Contemptible Is

The Suffering, When Compared With The Joy Of The Hope Which Is Set

Before Us--Of The Starry Crown That Awaits The Willing Martyr! Feed

Thy Soul, My Son, On These Divine Contemplations, Until They Become A

Part Of Thyself, And The Path That Leads To A Bloody Grave Shall Be

Strewed With Roses. Be The Motto Of Our Order Forever Before Thine

Eyes. From The Mystical Words In _Majorem Gloriam Dei_, Shall Beam A

Light Brighter And More Blessed Than That Of The Sun, For It Flows

From The Throne Of The Eternal."

  

 

With Suggestions And Arguments Like These Did The Enthusiastic Father

Endeavor To Animate And Confirm The Less Exalted Resolution Of His

Fellow-Laborer. Nor Were They Without An Influence. As The Thirsty

Traveller, Faint And Worn With The Toil And Heat Of The Day, Drinks Of

The Refreshing Spring, And Bathes His Brow In Its Cooling Waters, And

Goes Strengthened On His Way, So Did The Knight Derive Vigor From His

Words.

  

 

At Their Last Meeting, Father Le Vieux Announced The Conclusion To

Which He Had Persuaded The Taranteens.

 

  

"Hostilities At The Present Time Were Premature," He Said. "The Tribes

Are Not Sufficiently United To Make Head, With All The Assistance We

Can Afford, Against The Heretics. We Will Wait Awhile, Until The

Present Supposed Outrage Is Followed By Another--And, In The Position

And Temper Of The English, It Is Inevitable--Which Shall Rouse Other

Tribes. Be Sure, The Taranteens Will Not Forget. The War-Whoop Must

Sound Simultaneously, From The Kennebec To The Mouth Of The

Connecticut, Or Our Labor Will Be Worse Than Lost. Meanwhile, A Great

Advantage Has Been Gained. A Gulf Is Now Between The Proud Englishman

And The Taranteen, Over Which Neither Will Pass. Your Report, Then, To

Them Who Sent You Will Be Peace. Thus Will Their Confidence In You And

Your Influence Be Increased." [At The Same Time The Father Gave A

Letter For Sister Celestina.] "Tell Her," He Continued, "Of My

Admiration Of Her Devotion. Blessed Be She Among Women!"

 

  

Thus They Parted, The Priest To Return To His Self-Sacrificing Labors

Among The Indians, At No Distant Period To End In That Crown Of

Martyrdom After Which His Soul Panted, And The Knight To His Post Of

Observation Near The English Colony.

 

 

Chapter XXII ("So Full Of Passion Were His Amorous Glances, So Artfully The Wicked Jade Dissembled, So Well Each Sighed Ridiculous Romances, That For Them Both, I Vow, I Fairly Trembled.")

 

 

 

 Anonymous.

 

 

During The Absence Of The Knight And His Young Friend, Events Had

Occurred Which Require Us To Shift