Lucy Ellen Guernsey

“ A frightful storm that wrecks ships of all sizes on our shores, and makes hundreds of widows and orphans in a night; an earthquake that swallows up the good and bad alike; the sickness that wastes, the poverty that crushes, the deformity that revolts, the tears of bitterness that fall on many an innocent face, what then of your fanciful ideal of God? How do His attributes of benevolence and beauty stand in such a contrast? Who enjoys, who has satisfaction in such scenes? Who renders worship then to Him who is so beautiful and good? ”

“ Sorrow in itself has no power for good, but only for evil. It is only while we look not at the things that are seen, but at those which are unseen, that it works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
The things unseen had become to me more unreal than any dream, and consequently this great blow only hardened and embittered instead of softening my heart. I said to myself that there was no truth or trust in anything—that Andrew was no better than the rest. ”

“ Never will I leave you for the sake of becoming a lazy drone, like the monks yonder, or a proud priest like their prior, who rides abroad in such state upon his mule, and grinds the faces of poor men, and robs widows and orphans as he does. I would rather be a shepherd on the hillside all day like my old uncle Thomas, or a sailor like Davy Brent, or a miner underground, than live such a life! ”

“ For Master Guy had found himself in several violent passions, had indulged in more unbecoming language concerning his uncle and grandfather than had ever been heard from his lips before, had flung his lesson books into a corner, trampled down the flowers in his own particular garden, shaken his young fist at the aggravating birds that sang on cheerily among the trees, and exhausted himself in a flood of tears, with his arms clasped round the neck of a sympathising pony. ”

“ I have now been in attendance on her Grace two or three days, and have begun to feel a little more at ease, for at first I felt stifled, as it were. I can't think it pleasant to be with those who seem to look upon one as being of another flesh and blood than themselves, if they are ever so gracious. The Queen is very kind, no doubt (I don't believe she could be otherwise) , but it does seem to me more like the kindness one would bestow on a pet dog or cat, than the good will, not to say affection—one woman should give to another. I dare say all great folks are so, especially Kings and Queens. ”

“ Look at Lady Throckmorton, how she goes about to the Bath, and Cheltenham, and everywhere she pleases."
"I would rather be the poorest lay sister in a convent—I would rather teach a village school all my days, than to be Lady Throckmorton!" returned Amabel, with more vehemence than was at all common with her. "I think such people as she are the greatest fools in the world. They are like the little silly sparrows Lucy and I saw yesterday, building in the house that was at that moment being torn down. ”

“ My bed was surrounded by light curtains of blue and white checked linen, and through these at the foot I could see that the hangings of the latticed window were of the same. The bed was covered with a white spread worked with a curious pattern in colored crewels. Everything was very quiet, but I could hear the distant hum of a spinning-wheel, and the singing of a robin outside my window.
I lay quietly a long time, half asleep and dreaming, half bewildered, feeling as if I had died and wakened into a new world, of which all I knew was that it was safe and friendly. ”

“ How naturally the word mother now came to her lips, and how she wondered that she should ever have found it so hard to speak. "I do not think Mr. Hugo was nearly so much to blame as myself. He would never have thought of such a thing, if I had behaved properly."
"I dare say not," said Mrs. Mason. "In ninety-nine such cases out of a hundred, the fault rests more with the woman than the man. If a girl respects herself, other people will respect her."
"I think it will be hard for me to respect myself, after this," said Delia, sighing. "I am sure I cannot expect others to respect me. ”

“ But one day looking for something wherewith to divert myself, I found a Latin Bible. I read and read, and by degrees the light came to me, and the truth made me free."
"And what then, dear sister?"
"There is little more to tell," she answered. "His Grace was good enough to call me cousin before Martha, and bade her treat me with all respect. She is a good, faithful creature, and I love her as a sister. She grows infirm, and I fear may not last long. But I am old, too," she added, with a smile. "Loveday, the first time I looked into a mirror, I started back in affright. ”

“ I do want to pray for him," said Lucy, with a trembling voice. "It seems to be all the comfort there is, when I think of him in the midst of the swords and cannon balls, or perhaps lying on the ground wounded under the horses' feet, like that poor soldier in the great picture down-stairs: but what is the use of my praying, if I am inclining to wickedness with my heart all the time?"
"These are grave thoughts for a little lady like you," said Anne, not altogether at ease in her own mind. "I am sure the parson could not say all that any better. ”

“ Franklin and Johnny were really as grateful as they ought to be for her kindness to them.
In fact, Amity had for some days been getting into a bad way. She had been thinking how much better it was to be good and useful (as she was) than to be handsome like Emma, or splendidly dressed like Maud, or to play the piano and sing like Jenny Barnard! How good it was in her to stay a whole hour with Johnny every morning, instead of running out to play! There is no more sure and certain way of becoming worse than other people than this of thinking how much better we are than other people. ”

“ If you had trusted your uncle as you ought, you would not have made yourself ridiculous on the wharf as you did. If you had not been so perverse and unreasonable you would not have spoiled your best dress and your own temper as well as that of every one else. To conclude, if you had obeyed your uncle to-day, you would not have run heedlessly into danger, and thus have sacrificed perhaps the life of your poor little sister."
"Do you think Stella will die, aunt?" asked Etty.
"I cannot tell. She is very dangerously hurt, and even if she should live, it may be months before she can walk. ”

“ Just you do as I do. There! They are saying the prayers."
"In the midst of life, we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? Yet, O Lord most holy, O Lord most mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death!"
How solemn the words sounded! Christopher felt as if they were meant for him—as if he were being buried instead of Miss Lilla. He burst out crying in spite of himself, and of Osric's shakes and pinches.
"Do be still, you great baby! I never saw such a dunce in my life! ”

“ Rosamond, how amazed was I to find that there is in the New Testament no single hint of any worship being paid to our Lord's mother—nay, our Lord Himself saying, that those who did His Father's will, were even to Him as His own mother."
"'Tis not the right Gospel," said I. "Why Amice, only think how our Lady is honored throughout all Christendom. Depend upon it, you have been deceived."
"Who would dare to carry out such a deception?" said she. "Every learned man in Christendom would be against him." ”

“ THE last evening before the removal of the family from the Moat, the moon shone out brightly at intervals from a cloudy sky, touching with silvery light the gables and turrets of the mansion, the old church tower, and the edges of the tombstones that nestled amidst the grass and shrubs. Beneath three fine old cedars which wrapped one spot in the churchyard in gloom, was the family vault of the Falconers, and thither from her last visit to the cottage of the dying gardener, Mrs. Falconer directed her steps. ”

“ This, I am sure, is Amabel, from her looks, and this Cornish girl is Lucy Corbet. You are your father's girl, child, as Amabel is her mother's," looking at me with a curious contraction of her mouth, as of one in momentary pain. "Your father was a goodly and gallant man, child. I knew him well. And your mother was one of whom the world was not worthy. There, be a good girl and you shall never want a friend while I live. And you are Amabel, eh!" turning to her. "You are a beauty like your mother, but beauty is a fading flower—you know that, don't you?" ”

“ No man is bound to keep faith with heretics. You speak of acting according to your conscience. Why should I not act according to mine?"
"You know that you have not done so," said Jack, fixing a penetrating look on his sister's face. "You have belied your own conscience, and betrayed me to death, for the sake of what, in your heart, you know to be a lie. Yes, Anne, in your heart, you believe that what I have told you, and what you heard from Agnes, is true—God's own truth. If this may be heresy, you are at heart as much a heretic as I am." ”

“ Anyway, Lady Lucy, it was not much like hating you when God brought back your father from the prison and gave you such a nice home and such a nice lady to take care of you."
Lucy looked puzzled. "Did he do that? I never thought of that."
"Of course he did. He gives us all things. That is the reason we call him our Father, I suppose."
"I never thought of that," said Lucy, again. "I thought he was like a great king, who sat up in heaven and did not care what happened, only to punish people when they do wrong. I never thought of his being any thing like my father." ”

“ Emily looked at her for a moment, and then as the tide of recollection rushed back upon her mind, she turned away her head, and burst into a passion of tears and hysterical sobs.
"Listen to me Emily," said Delia firmly, but not unkindly, and taking Emily's hand in hers. "This will never do. You must command yourself and be quiet, or I shall have to send for Mrs. Pomeroy, and then an exposure will be inevitable. For your own sake, make an effort and compose yourself." ”

“ We had no time for any more talk just then, but ever since I have been turning over in my mind what Mother Mary Monica said. It does seem dreadful to me—the thought of watching all night and alone in that dreary place without a light. To be sure, the moon is at the full, and would shine directly into the great window, but then those dreadful vaults, and Sister Bridget's story do so run in my head. Every time the wind shook the ivy or whistled in the loopholes of the stones, I should fancy it a rustle among the graves below, or the grating of that heavy door on its hinges. ”

“ Oh, maman, she was so good last night."
"She is a dear maid," said my mother; "by far the best of the three."
"Better than Margaret?" said I, surprised, for I had looked upon Meg as a pattern of all excellence.
"Yes, because she is truly humble-minded—a rare and most precious quality. She is truly poor in spirit, while Meg, with all her good qualities—but we will not discuss the faults of others. Now, do you know what is to be done next?"
"I must go to my aunt and tell her that I am sorry," said I, "but, maman, what shall I say? ”

“ Had I not been taught by my former spiritual guides that falsehood was a venial sin, and might even become a virtue in the cause of religion?
But I knew now who was speaking to me, and how to answer him. I threw myself on my knees and prayed earnestly for help and direction, and I had it. It could never be right to do evil that good might come. I did not believe that Mr. Cheriton was unfaithful. I had evidence to the contrary under my hand, and I should be a base liar and slanderer if I told Amabel what I did not myself believe. ”

“ Early the next morning, all the inhabitants of the Falconer Range were astir; groups of people well-to-do, and groups of poor people, and of children innumerable, gathered about the park gates and along the village street, and when Joe and the black horses emerged from the park with the much loved exiles behind them, there was a rush to the carriage windows, hands were shaken and kissed, and murmured benedictions burst from many lips. Old men uncovered their grey heads, women sobbed, and children for once moved quietly. ”

“ Jack took his father's hand in his own thin fingers and kissed it. "I should be a wretch indeed, to grieve you, father. You have been father and mother both to me ever since my mother died. I only wish I could do more for you in return."
"Tut, tut, lad! What could any one expect of you more than you have done? Only get well and strong, and never fear but you will do enough. Anne, why do you not see to the lad's chamber, instead of standing there like an image of stone?" ”

“ Nelly Ryan, leaning over her grandmother's gate, with no one to teach her even to read, thought she would be perfectly happy if she could only go to boarding-school, and walk to church on Sunday morning with a nice dress and clean collar. Nelly Lambert, who had been taught and cared for all her life,—whose father spent hundreds of dollars every year upon her education,—had been fretting that very morning at being obliged to dress and go to church, and thought if she had no lessons to learn, and nothing to do but to amuse herself all day long, SHE would be perfectly happy. ”

“ Well, well, 'kissing goes by favor,' is an old saying, as true here as anywhere else!"
"You ought to be thankful, Sister, that you have such humiliations put upon you," answered Sister Catherine. "You know nothing is so precious as humility. Come, let us go to our duty, dear Sister, and be thankful that we dwell in the dust and are trampled on by the foot of pride. 'Tis a far safer and more blessed place, and we ought to rejoice to be despised." ”

“ I had been well furnished, like every Huguenot child, with abundance of answers to every argument that could be brought forward upon the Romish side; but, alas, the armor was loose and dented from neglect, and the sword rusty and out of use. My faith in Christianity itself had been in some degree shaken by the sneers and arguments I had heard from Lewis, and also from my Uncle Charles, who was a worshipper of Mr. Hobbes. I had come to think that one form of faith was perhaps as good as another—that so long as men led good lives, their opinions did not very much matter, and so forth. ”

“ I dare say the place would look dingy enough to us now, but at that time it was quite a fairy palace.
"What a soft bed!" said I, as I lay down. "I don't know what Mother Prudentia would say to it."
"She would say we must not talk in bed, I suppose," replied Amabel. "What are they all doing at our old home?"
"They are at service in the church," said I, as a clock on the mantel-piece struck seven. "Does it not seem strange that we may sit up till nine o'clock if we choose."
"I could not I am sure, I am too sleepy," answered Amabel. "It seems as though I had lived a hundred years since morning. ”

“ Oh, Guy, if ever you see a fellow creature in danger of being misled by affection or any other snare towards this religion of hollow shows and blighting treachery, use my sad experience to warn; and bring to the front at once that real chief object which Rome hides until the last, the secret of her power, the essence of her existence—the confessional. It is no means of Divine consolation; it is a human contrivance, by means of which a proud domineering priesthood may enslave and rule the world. ”

“ Father Barnaby colored and bit his lip. "You are scarce civil, my son."
"I meant not to be uncivil," said Jack. "So far as you mean kindly, I thank you; but the things you propose have no charms for me at present. I am too near death not to see their true character. As a man would be a fool who should give away the inheritance of a kingdom for the sake of playing the king one day before the eyes of man, so do I hold him a million times a fool who barters his assured hope of a heavenly inheritance for aught this world has to give."
Father Barnaby sat silent for a moment. ”

“ But Nelly, if Kitty comes again, and I am here; just tell me. I want to speak to her."
"She did not mean any harm," said Nelly, desirous to screen her friend.
"No: I dare say not. Most of the mischief in the world is done by people who don't mean any harm."
"I shouldn't have said any thing about her," continued Nelly, "only I didn't see how I was to tell the truth without. I hate telling tales. It seems so mean."
"Nothing can be meaner than telling tales for the sake of making mischief," said Mrs. Kirkland. "It is almost or quite as bad as lying, and always leads to it. ”

“ What does my mother care for your fastings, or lying on the floor? Or what boots all these tears, so long as you are proud, and wilful, and disobedient to the friend who has rescued you from misery—perhaps from such a dreadful death as my Lady Carey threatened you with? One simple, honest act of obedience is worth all the tears, and fastings, and penances in the world. ”

“ If Vevette is flying at any such game, she may as well come down at once."
"I am not flying at any game that I know of," said I, feeling my cheeks flame, as what lady's would not.
"Your face tells another tale," returned my lord. "Such blushes do not come for nothing."
"One may blush for others as well as for one's self," said I, rising from the tables where I had been playing with my lord, and in my confusion oversetting the board. And I betook myself to my own room, nor did I leave it all the next day, saying that I was ill at ease, which was the truth, and wished to be quiet. ”

“ Thorpe, is my father a Catholic?" asked Amabel, going to the point, as usual.
"My dear, that is more than I can tell you," answered Mrs. Thorpe. "His father and mother were so, and he was brought up in that way. My own impression is that he is not much of anything."
"You do not mean that he has no religion at all!" said Amabel, startled.
"If he hasn't, he is not the only one,—more's the pity say I," answered the good woman. "But in England just now, as I understand is the case here, a great many fine gentlemen profess infidelity just as they carry clouded canes and tortoise-shell snuff-boxes. ”

“ Oh, sister, the way is so easy!"
"Easy! Yes, the way to hell is always easy," said Anne, with bitterness. "It is the other way that is hard. How dare you come bringing your heresies into this room where our mother died? How dare you speak them to me who am the promised bride of Christ? How dare you tell me that all my prayers and penances are worth nothing in God's sight, after all these years that I have striven to earn His favor and love?"
Jack was silent for a moment, startled by Anne's burst of passion so unlike her usual self-restraint. ”

“ Maude drew closer to her mother and tenderly kissed her brow.
"Oh, Guy," said she, "why do you add to our sorrow by your naughty anger against God? Do you think He does not love this dear mother better than we do? And couldn't He have prevented all that has happened if He thought it right? Take care, dear brother, or we shall have the hard pain of finding out that she has to suffer for our sakes, because we are rebellious and proud, and must be humbled and proved, and made good somehow."
"People can be good, I suppose, without having such miserable things happening to them," said Guy. ”

“ I thought her very sad-looking, and remarked upon it to my aunt.
"Yes, poor thing, she is sad enough, and no wonder, since she is silly enough to love her husband," said my aunt.
"Do you think it silly for a woman to love her husband, aunt?" I asked.
"Yes, when he does not love her. But in truth, the queen is too grave and too devout to please a merry monarch like King Charles."
"Perhaps she finds comfort in devotion," I ventured to remark.
"Yes, I dare say. 'Tis the refuge of disappointed wives and faded widows. ”

“ In answer I gave her an account of our visit to Lady Throckmorton.
"Just like her!" was the comment. "What's bred in the bone stays long in the blood. I keened her mother before her, and she was just such another. A fine guardian, truly, to set over his daughter. Aweel, Lucy Corbet, I am no Papist nor favorer of Papists, or of them that would bring them back on this land, but, saving their religion, I would wish you and my niece were safe back yonder in your convent. Poor children! This world is a hard place for motherless lassies." ”

“ A man must do his duty, be he jailer or mayor; but he need not have a heart as hard as the nether millstone. I judged you and the old man would like to be together, so I clapped you in here; but do not you tell yonder monk so."
"Never fear," said Jack. "I do not love him so well as all that. Again I thank you, Master Davis, and so will my father. Be assured you shall be no loser. Come, we are better than we might be," said he after the man had closed the door. "I am heartily glad we have fallen into such good hands. Shall we awaken our companion? He sleeps soundly." ”

“ But in the churchyard, she conquered him quite; listened to his tales of the heroes of the Falconers' line; gleaned wonders of village lore from names and dates and epitaphs; trod softly round the tomb beneath the cedars; made him lift her high enough to read the record on the marble slab, and before tripping away,—
"Thank you," she said, gravely. "I wish Mrs. Falconer and the children had not gone away from the Moat; there is plenty of room for us all, and I can't see why they should go; can you, Mr. Spadeley?" ”

“ It is quite time you should learn that your father's word is not to be disputed. Go and do as I bid you, or it will be the worse for you. There, I meant not to be over-sharp, Anne, but you must learn, my maid, that so long as you are under your father's roof, his word is your law."
"Dear father, do not be sharp with poor Anne," pleaded Jack, when his sister had left the room. "She means no harm, poor girl, only they have taught her at the convent to think nothing is of any account in comparison with church observances; and they are right, for aught I know, if it is as the priests tell us." ”

“ There was an easel bearing an unfinished picture of some lovely spot, an open portfolio of designs and copies, brushes and paints and chalks, a few books, a delicate piece of ladies' fancy work, on which Maude was sometimes employed; and from the hand of the sleeper, a little Testament had slipped.
From these surroundings, Mrs. W—'s gaze returned to that still beautiful face, and she almost shuddered to see how very worn it looked, how delicate and thin the cheek, how care-lined the brow.
"This will never do," thought she; "something must be done, or she will die." ”

“ Jack understood at once the secret of David Brent's refusal to see the priest, and his dying, as his wife said, without the sacraments, yet as peaceful and calm as a babe. He felt, as he looked at the books written out with so much care by a hand evidently unused to holding a pen, like one who comes unexpectedly on the writing of a dear friend long dead; and he vowed that as long as he lived, David Brent's children should never want anything that he could do for them. ”

“ And here by your dear father's grave I am able to forgive fully and freely, as I hope to be forgiven, all whose conduct may have seemed to injure us, and I charge you solemnly before God to do the same. No peace, no rest can help the unforgiving spirit, and so long as you encourage hate and anger, you will be the unhappy slave of unspeakable wretchedness. ”