CHAPTER XXXVII.
But is there yet no other way besides Those painful passages, how we may come To death, and mix with our connatural dust? "There is," said Michael, "if thou will observe The rule of _not too much_, by temperance taught."
MILTON'S PARADISE LOST.
Till oft converse with heavenly habitants, Begin to cast a beam on th' outward shape, The unpolluted temple of the mind, And turns it by degrees to the soul's essence, Till all be made immortal.
COMUS.
The shades of evening were falling as Holden entered the village. Heproceeded straight to the house of Mr. Armstrong, whom he had seentwice or thrice already since his return from New York, though we havemade no mention of the visits.
He found Armstrong thinner and paler than ever. The constitutionalmelancholy with which he was afflicted appeared to have deepened, andthere was something now in the tones of his voice so sad and tender,that they moved Holden to an extraordinary degree. Other friends ofArmstrong were affected by them, but, with the exception of Faith,there was no one who seemed to lay these signs of unhappiness so muchto heart as the Solitary. This, perhaps, may account, in a measure,for the increased frequency of his visits.
A smile like sunshine stealing from behind a wintry cloud over thepure snow, welcomed Holden. As he took the offered hand of Armstrong,he found it extenuated and cold, and pressed it with more thanordinary feeling, before he took a seat by his side. The first inquiryof the Recluse was, as usual, after Faith.
"She is out," answered her father, "but I expect her soon."
"The sight of Faith is to me as the beauty and fragrance of days longgone," said Holden. "Unsinning Eve was not more lovely."
"She was early dedicated to her God, and is, indeed, a meet offeringfor his altar," said Armstrong.
"Blessed are they," exclaimed Holden, "whose feet have never strayedfrom the straight and narrow way. Where they tread spring up immortalflowers, and they breathe the air of Paradise."
"And, alas!" said Armstrong, "how short is usually their stay. Howsoon they depart for the celestial regions, to which they belong,leaving breaking hearts behind!"
"Woe to the earth-born selfishness, that riseth up in opposition!It is not agreeable to the law of God, nor can be. Down with therebellion of ignorance and unbelief."
"But is no allowance to be made for human weakness? May we not weepover the calamities of life?"
"Aye, weep, if the tears wash out a sin, but not because the divinewill is different from thine own. What callest thou calamity? There isno calamity, but sin."
"It is hard," sighed Armstrong, "to reach that height of abnegationand faith to which you would have me aspire."
"Hard, but attainable, for without faith it is impossible to pleaseHim. There are examples set before us for imitation of what thetrusting spirit can achieve. By faith Abraham offered up Isaac when hewas tried, having confidence that God could raise him up even fromthe dead. By faith--but why should I recount the deeds of those grandsouls, of whom the world was not worthy, who, through faith, subduedkingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouthsof lions, quenched the violence of fire, even from Enoch, who tastednot the bitterness of death, and Elijah, mounting on a fiery chariot,in a whirlwind, to heaven, down to these latter days, when, as saidthe apostle, 'faith should wax weak, and almost perish from theearth?'"
Armstrong looked at Holden, with an expression like fear.
"Who is equal to these things?" said he.
"I knew a man once," said the Enthusiast, thinking of the peril he hadjust escaped, and darkly shadowing forth its circumstances, "whom aravening lion sought to destroy, and the heart of the man sunk withinhim, for, in view of the beast, he forgot that the Lord God omnipotentreigneth, but an angel whispered it in his ear, and strengthened him,and he defied the lion, and smote him, and killed the lion. Thus doththe Lord continue to perform his marvellous works, for he is faithfuland true, and his mercy endureth for ever to them that love him."
Of course, Armstrong could have no correct idea of what Holden alludedto, nor did he inquire. It was to him only another instance, added byhis enthusiastic friend, to the long catalogue of those in thesacred record, for whom faith had triumphed over danger, and wroughtdeliverance.
"It is, indeed," he said, "a mighty means to bring down the divineblessing."
"As is the law of gravitation to the worlds," said Holden, looking outupon the clear sky, filled with stars, "which is the constant forceflowing from the living centre of all things, and retaining them inharmonious movement in their orbits; so is faith to the human soul.When it is present all is peace, and harmony, and joy; when it isabsent, a wild chaos, whirling in darkness and confusion, over whichthe Spirit hath never brooded like a dove."
At this moment the door opened, and Miss Armstrong, attended byWilliam Bernard, entered the room. She advanced towards Holden, andgave him her hand, which he took into both of his, and looking fondlyat her, said:
"Dear child, thy mother's image, the room is brighter for thypresence."
"There, William," said Faith, smiling, "a lady seldom receives sodelicate a compliment."
"Mr. Holden," said Bernard, "belongs to the old school of politeness,of which Sir Charles Grandison is the model. Modern degeneracy mightstrive in vain to compete with it."
There was a slight, a very slight, an almost imperceptible tone ofirony about the words, which did not escape the sensitive ear ofHolden. He turned towards Bernard, and fastened his large eyes uponhim, in silence, awhile, before he said:
"The secret of politeness is to be found in warmth and goodness ofheart. Flame blazes not up from ice." The words, the tone, the look,conveyed his estimate of the character of the young man, and was notwithout influence on one, at least, of his auditors. "But," continuedhe, "thy presence, Faith, is truly, to me, as light. Deemest thou mecapable of unmeaning compliments?"
"No," answered Faith, suspecting the little feeling of resentment, anddesirous to soothe it, "I do not. Forgive my absurd observation."
"And I hope," said Bernard, in his most engaging manner, "that Mr.Holden is not offended at my classing him among those who for delicacyand refinement were never surpassed."
"I like not," said Holden, "to be made a subject of conversation. Wewill find a fitter topic."
"You spoke of Faith's resemblance to her mother," said Mr. Armstrong,"whose quick sensibility had also detected the jarring string; how didyou discover it?"
"You forget," answered Holden, "that in conversation with me you havespoken of her."
"But not described her appearance."
"The resemblance of a child to a parent, may be oftentimes deducedfrom qualities of the mind, and traits of character. The outer garmentis fitted to the interior man. The exterior and transient is theproduct of the interior and permanent. But I mean not that it was thusI discovered the likeness; and if for a moment I misled thee, letme correct my error and thy mistake. You will consider these as thespeculations of a visionary."
"I do not consider them without foundation," said Armstrong, who,in the turn given to the conversation, seemed to have forgotten hisquestion.
"It is a speculation which, followed out, might lead to manyinteresting conclusions," said Bernard. "Mr. Holden would greatlyoblige us with his ideas."
"Do," said Faith, who delighted in the Solitary's flights. "Explain,dear Mr. Holden, your theory."
Holden looked at Mr. Armstrong, who bowed.
"The first man, Adam," said Holden, "was created perfect, perfect inbody as in mind. The dignity and beauty of his person correspondedto the grandeur and purity of his soul, of which it was the outwardexpression. All graces and harmonies, and perfections of creationcentered in him, for he was the image of his Maker. He was incapableof disease, because disease is disharmony and the fruit of sin, whichas yet existed not. And he was obedient unto the voice of the Lord,nor did he transgress His laws in anything. His meat was the herb ofthe field and the fruit of the tree, a
nd his drink the running brook.He had no permission to eat of flesh. But in an evil hour he fell; aleprosy overspread his body and his soul; the divine purity couldnot approach as before; and to his closed spiritual eyes, the holyPresence once visible, became shrouded in clouds and thick darkness.And as the spirit of man waxed more corrupt and he withdrew himselffurther from his heavenly source, so did his outward appearance, by anecessary law, whereby the outer and superficial conformeth itself,to the inner and hidden, become deformed and hideous. Hence is man nowbut a shadow, a skeleton of original beauty. The primeval perfectionand present degeneracy of man, are the tradition of centuries."
Holden paused; and Faith said, gently, "There is a way to regain thehappiness we have lost."
"There is a way," said Holden, "through Him, the second Adam, the Lordfrom heaven. But mark: like him, must man be obedient. A faith withoutworks is fruitless and naught. How many imagine they have faith,and have it not! Will they give their bodies to be burned? Will theysacrifice the dearest thing they have, if it is His will? Nay, butfaith hath almost perished from the earth."
Bernard observing Holden wandering from his subject, here inquired,"And by a reversal of the process by which it was lost, the outwardbeauty may be recovered?"
"Yes. By the restoration of internal beauty. It is the latter thatshapeth and shineth through the former. But the eyes of men areblinded, and they cannot, because they will not, see the truth. Thecrust of inherited corruption interposeth betwixt them and the light.Hence, having eyes they see not, and ears, and they cannot hear. Thereis a law to control the spiritual, and a law for the material, and itis by observance of these two laws, that man's first estate is to beregained. He must, therefore be temperate, and sober, and wise in theregulation of his appetites and passions, banishing those perniciousinventions, whereby he degradeth and engendereth disease in a gloriousstructure that ought to be the temple of the Holy Ghost, and mustdiligently cultivate all noble aspirations, weeding out selfishnessand gross desires, loving his neighbor as himself, and the Lord hisGod with all his heart, which latter is the admiration and love ofbeauty, and truth and justice, and of whatever is excellent. Thus bothoutwardly and inwardly will gradually be transformed, the marred anddefaced image of humanity into the glorious likeness of the Son ofGod."
"That day so longed for and so glorious, is far distant I fear," saidMr. Armstrong.
"Nay, but the signs of His coming are kindling in the Eastern sky,"exclaimed Holden, "and soon amid the hymns and hallelujahs of saintsshall he establish His benign and resplendent empire. Then shallcommence the upward career of the race, whose earthly goal is thestate of primeval perfection; whose heavenly it hath not entered intothe heart of man to conceive. Then in that bright Millennium, whoseradiance streams through the advancing ages, shall man cast off theslough of ignorance and sin, and rise like the painted butterfly, onthe wings of faith, into the serene air of truth."
Our readers must not hold us responsible for the sentiments of Holden.They are his own, and no one's else, and expressed in his own words,with all their wildness and incoherence. Opinions like these seemto have prevailed at all periods of the Christian era. They wereentertained in the times of the Apostles, and are cherished now by amodern sect. Milton alludes to them in his treatise "Of Reformation inEngland" in language which for its stately eloquence, deserves to betranscribed to enrich this page. He speaks "of that day when Thou, theeternal and _shortly-expected_ King, shalt open the clouds to judgethe several kingdoms of the world, and distributing national honorsand rewards to religious and just commonwealths, shalt put an end toall earthly tyrannies, proclaiming thy universal and mild monarchythrough heaven and earth; when they undoubtedly, that by their labors,counsels, and prayers, have been earnest for the common good ofreligion, and their country, shall receive above the inferior ordersof the blessed, the regal additions of principalities, legions, andthrones, into their glorious titles, and in super-eminence of beatificvision, progressing the dateless and irrevoluble circle of eternity,shall clasp inseparable hands with joy and bliss in over-measure forever."
His auditors never thought of reasoning with or contradicting theEnthusiast. They listened in silence, only when he paused, making someinquiry or suggestion, in order to induce him to develop his notionsstill further; and so in conversation of this kind passed the evening.
Upon the departure of Bernard, Holden was pressed to pass the nightat his host's, and accepted the invitation. The events of the dayhad proved to be too much for even his iron frame, and he was notunwilling to be relieved of the long walk to his hut. Before retiring,he listened reverently to a chapter from the Bible, read by Armstrong,and joined with him and Faith, in their customary devotions.
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