He paused — there was a slight stir among the audience, but otherwise not a sound. Sylvie sat quiet, a graceful, nymph-like figure, veiled in her cloudy white — Cardinal Bonpre’s mild blue eyes raised to the speaker’s face, were full of rapt attention — and Manuel still leaning against the great Cross seemed absorbed in dreamy and beautiful thoughts of his own.
“I should like,” went on Aubrey with increasing warmth and passion, “to tell you what I mean by ‘faith unbroken.’ It is the highest form of love, — the only firm rock of friendship. It leaves no room for suspicion, — no place for argument — no cause for contradiction. It is the true meaning of the wedding-ring. Apart from marriage altogether, it is the only principle that can finally civilize and elevate man. So long as we doubt God and mistrust our fellows, so long must corruption sway business, and wars move nations. The man who gives us cause to suspect his honesty, — the man who forces us to realize the existence of treachery, is a worse murderer than he who stabs us bodily to death; for he has tainted our soul; he has pushed us back many steps on our journey Godward, and has made us wonder and question whether in truth a God can exist who tolerates in His universe such a living lie! It is only when we have to contemplate a broken faith that we doubt God! For a broken faith is an abnormal prodigy in the natural scheme of the universe — a discord in the eternal music of the stars! There are no treacheries, no falsifying of accounts, in the Divine order of the Law. The sun does not fail to rise each morning, whether clouds obscure the sky or not, — the moon appears at her stated seasons and performs her silver-footed pilgrimage faithfully to time — the stars move with precision in their courses, — and so true are they to their ordainment, that we are able to predict the manner in which they will group themselves and shine, years after we have passed away. In the world of Nature the leaves bud, and the birds nest at the coming of Spring; the roses bloom in Summer — the harvest is gathered in Autumn, — the whole marvellous system moves like a grand timepiece whose hands are never awry, whose chimes never fail to ring the exact hour, — and in all the splendour of God’s gifts to us there is no such thing as a broken faith! Only we, — we, the creatures He has endowed with ‘His own image,’ — Free-will, — break our faith with Him and with each other. And so we come to mischief, inasmuch as broken faith is no part of God’s Intention. And when two persons, man and woman, swear to be true to each other before God, so long as life shall last, and afterwards break that vow, confusion and chaos result from their perjury, and all the pestilential furies attending on a wrong deed whip them to their graves! In these times of ours, when wars and rumours of wars shake the lethargic souls of too-exultant politicians and statesmen with anxiety for themselves if not for their country, we hear every day of men and women breaking their marriage vows as lightly as though God were not existent, — we read of princes whose low amours are a disgrace to the world — of dukes and earls who tolerate the unchastity of their wives in order that they themselves may have the more freedom, — of men of title and position who even sell their wives to their friends in order to secure some much-needed cash or social advantage, — and while our law is busy night and day covering up ‘aristocratic’ crimes from publicity, and showing forth the far smaller sins of hard-working poverty, God’s law is at work in a totally different way. The human judge may excuse a king’s vices, — but before God there are neither kings nor commoners, and punishment falls where it is due! Christ taught us that the greatest crime is treachery, for of Judas He said ‘it were better for that man that he had never been born,’ and for the traitor and perjurer death is not the end, but the beginning, of evils. Against the man who accepts the life of a woman given to him in trust and love, and then betrays that life to misery, all Nature arrays itself in opposition and disaster. We, as observers of the great Play of human existence, may not at once see, among the numerous shifting scenes, where the evil-doer is punished, or the good man rewarded, — but wait till the end! — till the drop-curtain falls — and we shall see that there is no mistake in God’s plan — no loophole left for breaking faith even with a child, — no ‘permit’ existing anywhere to destroy the life of the soul by so much as one false or cruel word! It is with a deep sense of the exact balance of God’s justice, that I stand before you to-day, my friends, and ask you without any accepted ritual or ceremonial to hear my vows of marriage. She to whom I pledge my word and life, is one who in the world’s eyes is accounted great, because rich in this world’s goods, — but her wealth has no attraction for me, and for my own self I would rather she had been poor. Nevertheless, were she even greater than she is, — a crowned queen with many kingdoms under her control, and I but the poorest of her servants, nothing could undo the love we have for each other, — nothing could keep our lives asunder! Love and love only is our bond of union — sympathy of mind and heart and spirit; wealth and rank would have been but causes of division between us if love had not been greater. The world will tell you differently — the world will say that I have married for money — but you who know me better than the world, will feel by my very words addressed to you to-day that my marriage is a true marriage, in which no grosser element than love can enter. My wife’s wealth remains her own — settled upon her absolutely and always, and I am personally as poor as when I first came among you and proved to you that hard work was a familiar friend. But I am rich in the possession of the helpmate God has given me, and with the utmost gratitude and humility I ask you to bear witness to the fact that this day before you and in the presence of the symbol of the Christian faith, I take my oath to be true to her and only her while life shall last!”
Here going to where Sylvie stood, he took her by the hand, and led her to the front of the platform. Then he turned again to his eager and expectant audience.
“In your presence, my friends, and in the presence of God and before the Cross, I take Sylvie Hermenstein to be my wedded wife! I swear to devote myself to her, body and soul, — to cherish her first and last of all human creatures, — to be true to her in thought, word and deed, — to care for her in sickness as in health, in age as in youth, — to honour her as my chiefest good, — and to die faithful to her in this world, — hoping by the mercy of God to complete a more perfect union with her in the world to come! In the name of Christ, Amen!”
And then Sylvie threw back her veil and turned her enchanting face upon the crowd, — a face fairer than ever, irradiated by the love and truth of her soul, — and the people gazed and wondered, and wondering held their breath as her clear accents rang through the silence.
“In your presence, and in the presence of God and before the Cross, I take Aubrey Leigh to be my wedded husband! I swear to devote myself to him body and soul, to cherish him first and last of all human creatures, — to be true to him in thought, word and deed, — to care for him in sickness as in health, in age as in youth, — to honour him as my chiefest good, — and to die faithful to him in this world, — praying God in His mercy to complete a more perfect union with him in the world to come. In the name of Christ, Amen!”
Then Aubrey, taking his wife’s hand, placed for the first time on her finger the golden wedding-ring.
“In the presence of you all, before God, I place this ring upon my wife’s hand as a symbol of unbreaking faith and loyalty! I pledge my life to hers; and promise to defend her from all evil, to shelter her, to work for her, and to guard her with such tenderness as shall not fail! I swear my faith; and may God forsake me if I break my vow!”
And Sylvie without hesitation, responded in her sweet clear voice.
“In the presence of you all, before God, I take this ring and wear it as a symbol of my husband’s trust in me, and a token of his love! I pledge my life to his; and promise to uphold the honour of his name, — to obey him in every just and rightful wish, — to defend his actions, — to guard his home in peace and good report, — and to surround him with such tenderness as shall not fail! I swear my faith; and may God forsake me if I break my vow!”
There followed a deep and almost breathless silence. Then Aubrey spoke once more, standing before the throng with Sylvie by his side and her hand clasped in his.
“I thank you all, my friends! Strange and unlike all marriage ceremonies as ours is to-day, I feel that it is a sacred and a binding one! Your thousands of eyes and ears have heard and seen us swear our marriage vows — your thousands of hearts and minds have understood the spirit in which we accept this solemn sacrament! I will ask you before we go, to kneel down with us and repeat ‘The Prayer of Heart-searching’ which I have said with you so often, and to then quietly disperse.”
In one moment the vast crowd was kneeling, and Cardinal Bonpre’s aged eyes filled with tears of emotion as he saw all these human beings, moved by one great wave of sympathy, prostrate themselves before the simple Cross where the wedded lovers knelt also, and where Manuel alone stood, like one who is too sure of God to need the help of prayer.
And Aubrey, thrilled to the heart by the consciousness that all the members of that huge congregation were with him in his ideal dream of Christian Union, offered up this supplication —
“All-powerful God! Most loving and beneficent Creator of the Universe! We Thy creatures, who partake with Thee the endowment of immortality, now beseech Thee to look upon us here, kneeling in adoration before Thee! Search our hearts and souls with the light of Thy revealing Holy Spirit, and see if in any of us there is concealed an unworthy thought, or doubt, or distrust, or scorn of Thy unfailing goodness! We ask Thee to discover our sins and imperfections to ourselves, and so instruct us as to what is displeasing to Thee, that we may remedy these wilful blots upon Thy fair intention. Give us the force and fervour, the wisdom and truth, to find and follow the way Thou wouldst have us go, — and if our strength should fail, constrain us, oh God, to come to Thee, whether we learn by sorrow or joy, by punishment or pity; — constrain us, so that we may find Thee, whatever else we lose! Let the great searchlight of Thy truth be turned upon the secret motives of our hearts and minds, and if there be one of us in whom such motives be found false, impure, cruel or cowardly, then let Thy just wrath fall upon the misguided creature of Thy love, and teach him or her, obedience and repentance! We pray that Thou wilt punish us, oh God, when we have sinned, that we may know wherein we have offended our dear Father; — and equally, when we have sought to serve Thee faithfully, may we receive Thy blessing! Make us one with Thee in Thy perfect plan of good; teach us how to work Thy will in the fulfilment of peace and joy; make our lives of use to this world, and our deaths gain to the next, and let the glory of Thy love encompass us, guide us, and defend us now and forever, through Christ our Lord, Amen.”
After he had ceased, there was a deep silence for many minutes, then all the people as if moved by one impulse, rose from their knees, and standing, sang the following stanzas, which Aubrey had taught them when he first began to preach among them his ideals of love and labour.
If thou’rt a Christian in deed and thought, Loving thy neighbour as Jesus taught, — Living all days in the sight of Heaven, And not ONE only out of seven, — Sharing thy wealth with the suffering poor, Helping all sorrow that Hope can cure, — Making religion a truth in the heart, And not a cloak to be worn in the mart, Or in high cathedrals and chapels and fanes, Where priests are traders and count the gains, — All God’s angels will say, “Well done!” Whenever thy mortal race is run. White and forgiven, Thou’lt enter heaven, And pass, unchallenged, the Golden Gate, Where welcoming spirits watch and wait To hail thy coming with sweet accord To the Holy City of God the Lord!
If Peace is thy prompter, and Love is thy guide, And white-robed Charity walks by thy side, — If thou tellest the truth without oath to bind, Doing thy duty to all mankind, — Raising the lowly, cheering the sad, Finding some goodness e’en in the bad, And owning with sadness if badness there be, There might have been badness in thine and in thee, If Conscience the warder that keeps thee whole Had uttered no voice to thy slumbering soul, — All God’s angels will say, “Well done!” Whenever thy mortal race is run. White and forgiven, Thou’lt enter heaven, And pass, unchallenged, the Golden Gate, Where welcoming spirits watch and wait To hail thy coming with sweet accord To the Holy City of God the Lord!
If thou art humble, and wilt not scorn. However wretched, a brother forlorn, — If thy purse is open to misery’s call, And the God thou lovest is God of all, Whatever their colour, clime or creed, Blood of thy blood, in their sorest need, — If every cause that is good and true, And needs assistance to dare and do, Thou helpest on through good and ill, With trust in Heaven, and God’s good will, — All God’s angels will say, “Well done!” Whenever thy mortal race is run. White and forgiven, Thou’lt enter heaven, And pass, unchallenged, the Golden Gate, Where welcoming spirits watch and wait To hail thy coming with sweet accord To the Holy City of God the Lord!
[Footnote: By the late Charles Mackay, LL.D., F.S.A.]
The effect of the last eight-line chorus sung by thousands of voices, was marvellous. Such a spirit of exaltation pervaded the music that the common wooden shed-like building in which these followers of one earnest man asserted their faith in God rather than in a Church, seemed to take upon itself all the architectural beauty of a temple costing millions of money. When the singing ceased, Aubrey raised his hand, and while his audience yet remained standing, pronounced the blessing.
“God be with you all, my friends! — in your hearts and lives and daily conduct! May none of you here present shadow His brightness by one dark deed or thought of evil! I will ask you to pray that God may be with me too, and with my beloved wife, the future partner of all my work, my joys and sorrows, that we may in our union make our lives useful to you and to all others who seek our help or care. God’s blessing be upon us all in the name of Christ our Saviour!”
And with one accord the people answered “Amen!”
Then this brief service over, they began to disperse. Without any scramble or rush, but in perfect order and with quiet and reverent demeanour, they left their seats and began to make their way out. None of them were seen gossiping together, or smiling or nodding over each other’s shoulders as is very often the case when a congregation disperses from a fashionable church. For these people in their worship of the Creator, found something reverent, something earnest, something true, valuable and necessary to daily living, — and though there were two peaceful-looking constables stationed at the door of egress, their services were not required to either keep order or compel any of those thousands of poor to “move on.” They kept order for themselves, and were too busy with practical life and thought, to hang about or gossip on the way to their various homes. Several members of the congregation on hearing that their friend Leigh was going to take his marriage vows before them all, had provided themselves with flowers, and these managed to pass in front of the platform where, simply and without ostentation, they handed up their little bouquets and clusters of such blossoms as they had been able to obtain and afford in winter, — violets especially, and white chrysanthemums, and one or two rare roses. These floral offerings meant much sacrifice on the part of those who gave them, — and the tears filled Sylvie’s eyes as she noted the eagerness with which poor women with worn sad faces, and hands wrinkled and brown with toil, handed up their little posies for her to take from them, or laid them with a touching humility at her feet. What a wonderful wedding hers was, she thought! — far removed from all the world of fashion, without any of the hypocritical congratulations of “society” friends, — without the sickening, foolish waste, expense and artificiality, which nowadays makes a marriage a mere millinery parade. She had spoken her vows before thousands whom her husband had helped and rescued from heathenism and misery, and all their good wishes and prayers for her happiness were wedding gifts such as no money could purchase. With a heart full of emotion and gratitude she watched the crowd break up and disappear, till when the last few were passing out of the building, she said to her husband —
; “Let us leave the flowers they have given me here, Aubrey, — here, just at the foot of the Cross where you have so often spoken to them. I shall feel they will bring me a blessing!”
“It shall be as you wish, sweetheart!” he answered tenderly,— “and I must thank you for having entered so readily into the spirit of this strange marriage before my poor friends, Sylvie, — for it must have seemed very strange to you! — and yet believe me, — no more binding one was ever consummated!” He took her hand and kissed it, — then turned to Cardinal Bonpre, who had risen and was gazing round the bare common building with dreamy eyes of wistful wonderment.
Delphi Collected Works of Marie Corelli Page 519