The Knight Of The Golden Melice - John Turvill Adams (little red riding hood read aloud txt) 📗
- Author: John Turvill Adams
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Present. There Will Be Time Enough Hereafter To Disquiet Ourselves."
"And I Will Hie Me Presently," Said Arundel, "To Boston, To Inform The
Governor Of Your Arrival, And To Discover, If That Be Possible, What
Means The Nonsense That Has Taken Possession Of Philip, Unless Lady
Geraldine Can Explain It, Which Will Save Me The Trouble. Is It Your
Pleasure To Accompany Me, Or Remain You Later?"
"I Have Some Trifling Duties To Attend To," Answered Sir Christopher,
"And Shall Remain. It Will Be Enough For Thee, With All Convenient
Dispatch, To Inform Him Of The Successfu Issue Of Our Mission."
They Now Entered The House Together, And The Knight Went Immediately
To Seek The Lady. He Was Absent But A Short Time, And, On His Return,
Stated That The Only Information She Had Was Derived From The Soldier.
"She Bade Me Say," He Added, "That Her Prayers Have Been Earnest On
Thy Behalf, And That She Welcomes Thee Again To Thy Friends."
The Young Man, (Who, Meanwhile, Had Been Listening To A Communication
From Philip,) As Was Meet, Returned Thanks, And Desired His Dutiful
Service To Be Presented To The Lady.
Upon Parting, Sir Christopher Instructed Him Respecting His Message.
"Present To The Governor," He Said, In Conclusion, "My Congratulations
On The Successful Issue Of Our Enterprise. Now May The Husbandman,
Fearless, Sow His Seed, And His Wife And Little Ones Look With
Confidence For His Return. Midnight Treachery And Savage Cruelty Shall
Not Be Known, But Each One Expect With A Joyful Heart The Rising Of
The Sun. But I Counsel No Attempt At Nearer Approach. It Is Better
That The English And The Taranteens Should Avoid One Another. Only
Therein Is Safety. Say Also That I Purpose, After Needful Rest, To
Wait Upon Him Tomorrow, To Enjoy Once More The Charm Of His Gracious
Society, And To Possess Him More Fully Of Our Deeds."
With These Parting Words, He Waived Adieu, And, Turning, Sought The
Apartment Of Lady Geraldine.
The Door Was Opened, As Before, By The Little Indian Girl, Neebin,
Who, As Soon As She Had Admitted The Knight, Ran To The Side Of The
Lady, And, Falling On Her Knees, Began With Curious Eyes To Examine A
Book Which The Lady Held In Her Lap.
The Knight Looked Affectionately At The Child, And, Approaching Her,
Placed His Hand Upon The Raven Hair That Fell Low Upon The Shoulders,
And, Caressing The Bent Head, Said Gently:
"Good Little Neebin! Has She Learned All About The Pretty Pictures?"
The Girl Turned Up To Him Her Bright Eyes, And, In Better English Than
That Commonly Used By The Indians, And Even With A Pronunciation That
Approached Correctness, Replied:
"No--Neebin Knows Very Little Now, But The Lady Says The Book Will
Talk To Her By And By."
It Was One Of Those Illuminated Missals On Which, For Want Of Other
Occupation, And Sometimes With A Feeling Of Superstitious Piety, The
Monks Spent Incredible Pains, And Often A Capricious And Wonderful
Ingenuity, Which The Half-Reclaimed Little Savage Was Looking At. As
If Unable To Satisfy Her Curiosity Fast Enough, She Turned The Leaves
Over With Childish Impatience, Uttering Now And Then A Cry Of Delight
As She Beheld The Figure Of A Bird Or Of A Quadruped, While Her Eyes
Would Sadden As They Fell Upon The Mournful Face Of The Crucified
Saviour, Whose Image Was Delineated In Several Parts Of The Book.
"She Knows All Her Letters," Said Sister Celestina, Whose True
Character As A Catholic And A Nun The Reader Has Long Ago Divined "And
I Permit Her, As A Reward, To Look At The Missal Whenever She Has Been
Diligent."
"Your Task Is Something Like Taming A Young Hawk," Said The Knight.
"Neebin Is Not A Hawk!" Exclaimed The Child. "Hawks Do Not Wear
Clothes, Nor Yellow Chains, Nor Can They Say _Pater Noster_ And _Ave
Maria_."
"No," Said The Lady; "Nor Have They A Soul To Be Saved, Like Neebin."
"What Is A Soul?" Inquired The Girl.
Tears Dimmed The Eyes Of Sister Celestina At The Question, And, Before
She Could Reply, The Knight Said:
"Thou Hast Asked A Question, Neebin, Which Puzzles Wiser Heads; But It
Is Something Which Lives When The Body Becomes Dust."
"O, Yes," Said The Child. "I Have Heard The Lady (For So She Had Been
Taught To Call Sister Celestina) Talk About It. How Does It Look?"
"There Thou Askest A Question Beyond The Boundaries Of Knowledge. No
One Has Returned From The Grave To Answer It," Said The Knight.
"I Know," Said The Child; "My Mother Told Me. It Is Neebin's Soul
Which Looks At Her When She Bends Over A Clear Spring; It Lives In The
Water."
"I Have Tried," Said The Lady, "To Impart The Idea, But It Seems Only
To Begin To Dawn Upon Her Mind. I Trust, By Heaven's Grace, (Crossing
Herself,) It Will Grow And Bear Fruit To The Glory Of Sweet Jesus's
Name."
"What Magnificent Results Do Flow From Seemingly Insignificant
Causes!" Said Sir Christopher. "A Spark Shall Light A Conflagration Of
A Mighty City; An Acorn Shall Bear An Oak To Waft Armies Over Oceans
To Conquest; And The Conversion Of A Child To The True Faith May
Change The Destinies Of Nations. It May Be Thy Blessed Lot, Celestina,
To Plant A Seed Which Shall Grow Into A Tree, Whose Branches Shall
Cover Earth With Grateful Shade, And Reach To Heaven. There Was A Time
When, Influenced By The Example Of A King Or Queen, Whose Mind Divine
Grace Had Illuminated, Whole Multitudes Rushed To Be Laved In The
Saving Waters Of Baptism. Wherefore Should Not Those Days Return? Now
Doth The Suffering Church Mourn Like A Pelican In The Wilderness, And
Though She Gives Her Blood In Streams From Her Torn Bosom--Alas! How
Flows That Crimson River, As If In Vain!"
"Not All In Vain," Said The Lady. "Cheering Accounts Of The Progress
Of Our Missionaries In The Southern Portions Of This Vast Continent
Reach Us From Time To Time, And The Prayers Of The Church Are
Sanctifying The Land From The Flood Of The Mississippi To The Forests
Of Canada. But Tell Me Now, Sir Christopher, Of Thine Adventures."
The Knight Looked Significantly At The Indian Girl.
"Neebin," Said The Lady, "Take The Book And Examine It By Thyself. Sir
Christopher And I Desire To Be Alone. But Beware That Thou Show It To
No One, For All Are Not Privileged Like Thee To See Its Beautiful
Pictures."
The Child Took The Missal, But Lingered, As If Unwilling To Depart,
And It Was Not Until After A More Decided Repetition Of The Command,
That, With A Pout, She Left The Room.
"Whom Of The Holy Fathers Saw You?" Inquired Sister Celestina, After
The Door Was Shut.
"Only Father Le Vieux," Answered Sir Christopher, "And He Charged Me
With A Commission Which I Now Discharge." So Saying, He Took From His
Bosom The Letter Which The Jesuit Missionary Had Entrusted Him With,
And Handed It To The Lady.
Sister Celestina Took It, And, Imprinting A Kiss Upon The Epistle
Which Had Come From The Holy Father's Hand, Laid It On The Table.
"Let My Presence Be No Restraint," Said The Knight. "I Have Nought To
Say, Which Can Be Of Equal Importance With Anything That Comes From
Father Le Vieux."
"Thanks For Your Courtesy," Said The Lady; And, Taking Up The Letter,
She Broke The Wrapper Wherein It Was Contained, And Which Was Fastened
Together By Means Of Some Unknown Cement Or Gum, And Commenced Its
Perusal.
Perhaps The Knight Had Some Design In Desiring Her To Open It In His
Presence, For, During The Whole Time While She Was Engaged In Reading,
He Watched Her Countenance, As If He Expected To See The Contents Of
The Letter There; And Though Her Training Had Been As Complete As His
Own, Yet, By Reason Of Her More Delicate Organization, She Was Unable
So To Conceal Her Emotion That It Should Be Entirely Unobserved. The
Faintest Possible Color Suffused Her Face As She Proceeded, And When
She Raised Her Eyes At The Conclusion, They Had In Them A Look Which,
Though It Baffled The Sagacity Of Her Keen Observer, Betrayed A
Something Which He Did Not Like. It Was Not Triumph, Nor Despondency,
Nor Joy, Nor Grief, But, According To The Fancy Of Sir Christopher, A
Strange Mingling Of Them All. The Two Had Been In The Habit, On Their
Arrival In The Country, And For Some Time Thereafter, To Show To Each
Other Their Letters--A Custom From Which The Knight Had Never
Departed, But Which, Of Late, Had Been Observed With Less
Scrupulousness By The Lady; And He Noticed Now, That, Instead Of
Handing The Epistle To Him, As Formerly, She Hid It In Her Bosom.
Something, Indeed, She Said About Its Being From Her Confessor, But
The Explanation, Though Natural, Did Not Satisfy. He Made No Remark,
However, But Proceeded To Give An Account Of What Had Befallen Him And
His Companion. He Told Her How, By An Arrangement With Mesandowit,
(Who Had Been Sent By The Taranteens To Inquire Of Him Whether Their
Second, Viz., Their Hostile Embassy, Would Be In Danger From The
English, And Which, In Consequence Of Sir Christopher's Assurances,
Had Been Ventured Upon,) They Had Been Taken Prisoners--Of The
Conversation Which Passed Between Himself And Father Le Vieux, And Of
The Means Resorted To, In Order To Remove Arundel From The Indian
Village. The Lady Listened With A Pleased Ear To The Recital, And, At
Its Conclusion, Expressed Her Gratification At The Dexterity With
Which The Business Had Been Managed, And The Success Which Had Crowned
It.
"The Holy Saints And Angels Have Watched Over You, To Guard You In
Your Ways," She Said, "And It Proves The Divine Approbation."
"Truly, Celestina, Is Such A Belief Necessary, Else Would The Things I
Am Called Sometimes To Do, Break Me Down With Their Oppressive Weight.
Only By Its Means Can I Satisfy Myself, When The Commands Of My
Superiors Seem To Conflict With Mine Honor."
"Honor!" Exclaimed Sister Celestina--"What Is It But A Delusive
Phantom, Whereby Ye Men Are Frighted From The Noblest Undertakings?
What Right Has Such A Consideration To Interfere, When You Are Called
Upon To Act By Them Who Are Set Over You, And Whom You Are Bound To
Obey? It Is A Deadly Sin To Dream That They May Err, And Granting That
They Do, On Them And Not On You Rests The Responsibility."
"True; Yet Speak Not Slightingly Of A Feeling Which Is Ever The Parent
Of Glorious Deeds. Was It Not Inspired By Honor, That The Roman
Regulus Returned To Certain Torture And Death? That The Chivalrous
King Of Israel, When Fainting With Thirst, Poured Out To The Lord The
Water For Which His Soul Longed? That Gallant Hearts Innumerable Have
Crimsoned The Battle-Field With Their Hearts Blood, Rather Than That
Even A Suspicion Should Soil Their Escutcheon?"
"Were A Profane Heretic, Or An Accursed Jew, Or A Misguided Heathen,
To Set These Up To Himself As Ensamples, It Might Be Excused," Said
The Sister, Scornfully; "But What Has The Soldier, Who Has Enlisted
Under The Banner Of The Blessed St. Ignatius, To Do With Imaginations
Alike Fantastic And Full Of A Sounding Frenzy? Was It For The Glory Of
God That These Men Died, Or Because They Coveted The Praise Of The
World, And Gratified A Ferocious Instinct Of Their Nature?"
"I Deny Not The Superior Nobility Of The Principle Of My Order,"
Returned The Knight, "Inasmuch As It Excludes Selfishness, Save As It
Is Of Necessity, Connected With The Aspiration For Salvation; Still
Can I Not Be Mistaken In The Admiration Of A Sentiment Which Lifts Man
Above All Baseness, And Prompts Him To Achieve Exploits That Shall
Send His Name Reverberating Through The Halls Of Princes And The
Cabins Of Laborers, To Be Warbled By The Lips Of Beauty At The
Festival, Or Shouted In Front Of The Charging Host. Yet, Mistake Me
Not, Celestina, But Believe, That While My Heart Loves Not Honor Less,
My Understanding Renders A Deeper Homage To The Principle Of Ignatius.
But Whither Hath My Wandering Talk Strayed?" He Added, Checking
Himself. "I Did Desire, After Delivering Thy Letter, To Say, That It
Is My Purpose To Follow Hard On The Heels Of Master Arundel, And Also
To Caution Thee To Continue To Keep Carefully Concealed, During My
Absence, The Sacred Crucifix, And Whatever Else Might Betray Us To Our
Enemies. Forgive Me That I Give This Advice, But I See That Thou Hast
Relaxed Thy Watchfulness Over The Missal."
"The Warning Is Unnecessary. Nightly Is The Blessed Cross, Whereon The
Hands Of His Holiness Have Been Laid, Deposited With My Missal And
Rosary In Our Place Of Concealment. And As For Neebin, Fear Not To
Trust Her. She Is As Jealous Of Her Treasure As Could Be Thou Or I.
But Leave Me Not Until You Receive Tidings From The Heretics. These
Ill-Omened Reports I Like Not. They May, Indeed, Be Idle, Yet It Is
Only, Prudence To Wait."
"I
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