Evans_Beulah.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']
the hardest
times! am sick of patients, sick of physic, sick of the very sound
of my own name."
" my guardian were only here to relieve--"
" your guardian! 't mention him in my presence. is a
simpleton. is what the ' ' calls a '.'
have no guardian, can tell you that. this he has gone
through all the transmigrations of ',' and the final
metempsychosis, gave him to the world a . , child; a
. fancy him at this instant, with two long plaits of hair
trailing behind him, as, with all the sublime complacency of
, he stalks majestically along, picking tea leaves.
your guardian. his name to me again, at the peril
of having your board raised."
", what is the matter with you?" asked his wife, smiling as
she handed him the lemonade he had desired.
" prating young woman is, as usual, trying to discourse of--
, this is just right. you, my dear." drained the glass
and handed it back. stood so that the light shone full on her
face. looked at her a moment, and exclaimed:
" here, child. ails you? , bless my soul, , what
is the matter? never saw the blood in your face before; and your
great, solemn eyes seem to be dancing a jig. ails you, child?"
grasped her hands eagerly.
" ails me; am well--"
" know better! gone mad and bit you? ! by all the
dead gods of , has come home. is he? is he?"
sprang up, nearly knocking his wife down, and looked around the
room. . emerged from the music room and advanced to meet
him.
", ! heathen! you ! you prodigal!"
bounded over a chair and locked his arms round the tall form,
while his gray head dropped on his friend's shoulder. stole
out quickly, and, in the solitude of her own room, fell on her knees
and returned thanks to the who hears and answers prayer.
.
was a sparkling morning--one of those rare days when all
nature seems jubilant. waters of the bay glittered like a sheet
of molten silver; the soft breeze sang through the
treetops, and the cloudless sky wore that deep shade of pure blue
which is nowhere so beautiful as in our sunny . in a dress
of spotless white, with her luxuriant hair braided and twined with
white flowers, stood beside her window, looking out into the
street below. hands were clasped tightly over her heart, and on
one slender finger blazed a costly diamond, the seal of her
betrothal. was very pale; now and then her lips quivered, and
her lashes were wet with tears. this was her marriage day.
had just risen from her knees, and her countenance told of a
troubled heart. loved her guardian above everything else; knew
that, separated from him, life would be a dreary blank to her; yet,
much as she loved him, she could not divest herself of a species of
fear, of dread. thought of being his wife filled her with vague
apprehension. had hastened the marriage; the old place had been
thoroughly repaired and refurnished, and this morning she would go
home a wife. clasped her hands over her eyes; the future looked
fearful. knew the passionate, exacting nature of the man with
whose destiny she was about to link her own, and she shrank back, as
the image of rose before her. door opened, and .
entered, accompanied by . . orphan looked up,
and leaned heavily against the window. . broke the
silence.
" are waiting for you, my dear. minister came some moments
ago. clock has struck ten."
handed her a pair of gloves from the table, and stood in the
door, waiting for her. drew them on, and then, with a long
breath, glanced at . . looked restless, and, she
thought, sterner, than she had seen him since his return. was
very pale and his lips were compressed firmly.
" look frightened, . tremble," said he, drawing her arm
through his and fixing his eyes searchingly on her face. ". ,
yes. believe am frightened," she answered, with a constrained
smile.
saw his brow darken and his cheek flush; but he said no more,
and led her down to the parlor, where the members of the family were
assembled. and were also present. minister met
them in the center of the room; and there, in the solemn hush, a few
questions were answered, a plain band of gold encircled her finger,
and the deep tones of the clergyman pronounced her 's
wife. took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly,
whispering:
" bless you, dear sister and friend! sincerely hope that your
married life will prove happier than mine."
congratulations wearied her, and she was glad when the
carriage came to bear her away. adieu to her friends, she
was handed into the carriage, and . took the seat beside
her. ride was short; neither spoke, and when the door was
opened, and she entered the well-remembered house, she would gladly
have retreated to the greenhouse and sought solitude to collect her
thoughts; but a hand caught hers, and she soon found herself seated
on a sofa in the study. felt that a pair of eyes were riveted on
her face, and suddenly the blood surged into her white cheeks.
hand lay clasped in his, and her head drooped lower, to avoid his
searching gaze.
", ! my wife! why are you afraid of me?"
low, musical tones caused her heart to thrill strangely; she
made a great effort, and lifted her head. saw the expression of
sorrow that clouded his face; saw his white brow wrinkle; and, as
her eyes fell on the silver threads scattered through his brown
hair, there came an instant revolution of feeling. vanished;
love reigned supreme. threw her arms up about his neck, and
exclaimed:
" am not afraid of you now. bless my guardian! my husband!"
, marriage is not the end of life; it is but the beginning of
a new course of duties; but cannot now follow .
her history is bound up with another's. save her husband from his
unbelief is the labor of future years. had learned to suffer and
to bear patiently; and though her path looks sunny, and her heart
throbs with happy hopes, this one shadow lurks over her home and
dims her joys. and months glided swiftly on. . 's
face lost its stern rigidity, and his smile became constantly
genial. wife was his idol; day by day his love for her seemed
more completely to revolutionize his nature. cynicism melted
insensibly away; his lips forgot their iron compression; now and
then, his long-forgotten laugh rang through the house. was
conscious of the power she wielded, and trembled lest she failed to
employ it properly. afternoon she sat in her room, with
her cheek on her hand, absorbed in earnest thought. little
lay on her lap, and she was pondering the text she had heard that
morning. came and nestled his huge head against her.
she heard the quick tramp of hoofs and whir of wheels; and
soon after her husband entered and sat down beside her.
" are you thinking of?" said he, passing his hand over her head
caressingly.
" of my life--of the bygone years of struggle."
" are past, and can trouble you no more. ' the dead past bury
its dead!'"
"; my past can never die. ponder it often, and it does me good;
strengthens me, by keeping me humble. was just thinking of the
dreary, desolate days and nights passed, searching for a true
philosophy and going further astray with every effort. was so
proud of my intellect; put so much faith in my own powers; it was no
wonder was so benighted."
" is your old worship of genius?" asked her husband, watching
her curiously.
" have not lost it all. hope never shall. genius has
accomplished a vast deal for man's temporal existence. physical
sciences have been wheeled forward in the march of mind, and man's
earthly path gemmed with all that a merely sensual nature could
desire. , looking aside from these channels, what has it effected
for philosophy, that great burden, which constantly recalls the
fabled labors of and the ? the rising of
's star, in the cloudy sky of polytheism, what has human
genius discovered of , eternity, destiny? build
gorgeous cloud palaces, but the soul cannot dwell in their cold,
misty atmosphere. wrangle and write; 's moldering
monuments are raked from their desert graves, and made the theme of
scientific debate; but has all this learned disputation contributed
one iota to clear the thorny way of strict morality? the
out of sight, and how much will human intellect discover concerning
our origin-our ultimate destiny? the morning of time sages
handled these vital questions, and died, not one step nearer the
truth than when they began. , our philosophers struggle,
earnestly and honestly, to make plain the same inscrutable
mysteries. ; blot out the records of , and we would grope in
starless night; for, notwithstanding the many priceless blessings it
has discovered for man, the torch of science will never pierce and
illumine the recesses over which has hung his veil.
we see, indeed, as 'through a glass, darkly.' believe the
day is already dawning when scientific data will not only cease to
be antagonistic to accounts, but will deepen the impress
of on the pages of ; when 'the torch shall be
taken out of the hand of the infidel, and set to burn in the temple
of the living '; when and shall link hands.
revere the lonely thinkers to whom the world is indebted for its
great inventions. honor the tireless laborers who toil in
laboratories; who sweep midnight skies in search of new worlds; who
unheave primeval rocks, hunting for footsteps of ; and
believe that every scientific fact will ultimately prove but another
lamp planted along the path which leads to a knowledge of !
! it is indeed peculiarly the duty of 'to watch, with
reverence and joy, the unveiling of the august brow of by the
hand of ; and to be ready to call mankind to a worship ever
new'! thought subserves many useful, nay, noble, ends; the
gave it, as a powerful instrument, to improve man's temporal
condition; but oh, sir, speak of what know, when say: alas,
for that soul who forsakes the divine ark, and embarks on the gilded
toys of man's invention, hoping to breast the billows of life and be
anchored safely in the harbor of eternal rest! heathens, 'having
no law, are a law unto themselves'; but for such as deliberately
reject the given light, only bitter darkness remains. know it; for
, too, once groped, wailing for help."
" religion is full of mystery," said her husband gravely.
"; of divine mystery. , 'a comprehended is no at
all!' is clear, as to rules of life and duty. is
no mystery left about the directions to man; yet there is a divine
mystery infolding it, which tells of its divine origin, and promises
a fuller revelation when man is fitted to receive it. it were not
so we would call it man's invention. turn from
because it contains some things you cannot comprehend; yet you
plunge into a deeper, darker mystery when you embrace the theory of
an eternal, self-existing universe, having no intelligent creator,
yet constantly creating intelligent beings. , can you understand
how matter creates mind?"
had laid her on his knee; her folded hands rested upon it,
and her gray eyes, clear and earnest, looked up reverently into her
husband's noble face. soft hand wandered over her head, and he
seemed pondering her words.
aid the wife in her holy work of love!