Part 1 (2/2)
_THE APOSTLE TO THE INDIANS_
CHAPTER I
THE NEW ENGLAND MEETING
Such as sit in darkness and the shadow of death--_Bible_
One Sabbath o, the dawn broke clear and beautiful over New England It was one of those lovely s that seem like a benediction, a smile of God upon the earth, so calm are they, so full of unutterable rest and quiet Over the sea, with its endless line of beach and promontory washed softly by the ocean swells; over the towns of the coast,--Boston and Sale splendid promise of the future; over the fars where the outer liled with the priht as the sun rose above the blue line of eastern sea And still beyond, across the Alleghanies, into the depth of the wilderness, passed the sweet, calospel sunshi+ne to the Indians of the forest
Nowhere did the Sunday seem more peaceful than in a sheltered valley in Massachusetts Beautiful indeed were the thrifty orchards, the rustic farmhouses, thewere festooned with running vines, the fields green with Indian corn, and around all the sweep of hills dark with the ancient wood Even the gri-house on the hill, which ont to look the very personification of the rigid Calvinistic theology preached within it, see on that sweet June Sabbath
As the hour forservice drew near, the druan to thunder forth his su those stern Puritans whose idea of religion was that of a life-long warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil
Soon the people began to gather,--grave arb of the day, and little children, clad in their ”Sunday best,” undergoing the awful process of ”going toat the cool shadoood as they passed, and thinking how pleasant it would be to hunt berries or birds' nests in those sylvan retreats instead of listening to a two hours' serer of perdition if they went to sleep,--for in such seductive guise did the Evil One tee and garb were the groups, although here and there the glea maiden, or a bonnet tastefully adorned, showed that ”the world, the flesh, and the devil” were not yet wholly subdued ah the open door, theone side of the house, the latter the other,--the aisle for line between them The floor was uncarpeted, the walls bare, the pulpit undraped, and upon it the hour-glass stood beside the open Bible Anything -house it would be difficult to find
An unwonted stir breaks the silence and soleation, as an official party enters It is the Governor of the colony and his staff, who area tour of the province, and have stopped over Sunday in the little frontier settleust man, even he may not presume to travel on the Sabbath in this land of the Puritans The new-co heavy, arb, especially in the Governor's He is a statelyloves, his lace and ruffles, with a h the audience as the distinguished visitors pass up the aisle to the front seats assigned, as the custolances at the divers shakes of the head fro of an ear, at which the culprit sets up a s and choking with indignant grief during the reth the dru both the arrival of the in
Theman, of delicate mould, with a pale and intellectual face Exquisite sensitiveness was in the large gray eyes, the white brow, the delicate lips, the long slender fingers; yet will and energy and command were in them all His was that rare union of extreiven the world its religious leaders,--its Savonarolas and Chrysostoms; men whose nerves shrank at a discord in rand cause, were like steel to suffer and endure
So of this was in theHis eyes shone and dilated, and his slight figure gathered dignity as his gaze an, that instru deemed a device of the Prince of Darkness to lead the hearts of the unwary off to popery; but the opening hy,--usually a very monotonous perforiven in the youngcould have been , every metaphor was a picture; the whole psalm seemed to breathe with life and power: ”Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations”
Majestic,with deathless hope, was the minister's voice; and the people were deeply ue of the average Puritan clergyain his face was lifted before them as he rose to announce the text It was paler now; the eyes were glowing and luers were tremulous with excitement It was evident to all that no common subject was to be introduced, no corew more quiet still The very children felt the hush of expectation, and gazed wonderingly at the reat randeur, and leaned expectantly forward
The subject was Paul's vision of thefor help
The speaker portrayed in burning words the condition of Macedonia, the heathen gloom and utter hopelessness of her people, the vision that ca to England under the Druids, he described the dark paganise; and told of the cry that went forth for light,--a cry that touched the heart of the Ro missionaries to show them the better way
Like soh the storms and perils of more than a thousand years, amid the persecution of popes, the wars of barons, and the tyranny of kings, England had kept the torch burning, till in these latter tiht Beautiful was the tribute he paid to the more recent defenders of the faith, and most intense the interest of the listeners; for men sat there who had come over the seas because of their loyalty to the faith,--old and grizzled men, whose youth had known Cromwell and Charles Stuart, and who had inMonyle
The old Governor was roused like a veteran war-horse at the sound of the tru minister paused reflectively at the enthusiasm he had kindled A sorrowful slow of inspiration was still burning in his eyes Would they be as enthusiastic when he land, yea, even New England, was false, disloyal She had but half kept the faith When the cry of pagan England had gone forth for light, it had been heard; the light had been given But now in her day of illumination, when the Macedonian cry came to her, she closed her ears and listened not On her skirts was the blood of the souls of men; and at the last day the wail of the heathen as they went down into the gulf of flaainst her
Grave and i the voice of the h a prophet were speaking
”Out from the forests around us come the cry of heathen folk, and ye will not listen Ye have the light, and they perish in darkness and go down to the pit Generation after generation has grown up here in forest and mountain, and has lived and died without God and without hope Generation has followed generation, stu blindly doard to the dust like the brutes that perish And now their children, bound in iron and sitting under the shadow of death, reach out their hands from the wilderness with a blind cry to you for help Will ye hear?”
He lifted his hands to them as he spoke; there was infinite pathos in his voice; for a moment it see through hiht Tears were in many eyes; yet in spite of the wonderful power of his oratory, there were faces that grew stern as he spoke,--for only a few years had passed since the Pequod war, and the feeling against the Indians was bitter
The Governor now sat erect and indignant