Ebenezer Wheelwright

“ This world is not yet a desert, which no flower of hope nor green beauty of summer can adorn. Winter may come with its frost, but spring will return and bring freshness, blossoms and life in its train. There is a bright side to the picture; do not refuse to behold it.'
'Hush,' said Mary, 'hear you not the voices [Pg 175] in yonder forest?' James paused, but no sound reached his ear. The wind sighed mournfully along, as if in sympathy with the sadness which had fastened deeply on the minds of brother and sister, as, arm in arm, they walked on the borders of the forest. ”

“ Willard,' said Mary; 'his caution tempers his zeal, but does not suppress it; his piety is not the less ardent because it is cheerful and unobtrusive.'
'You are quite his eulogist, Miss Graham. I am more inclined to the fervid zeal of the Mathers, than to the quiet course of Mr. Willard. Nevertheless, I esteem him highly. But I believe in the power of mighty impulses to renovate the heart and subdue the evil principle in man. The heart of man is like a wasted garden, full of unsightly plants and noxious weeds, and dry and barren trees. ”

“ Miss Elliott and Mary, accompanied by their brothers and Strale, left home at the usual time for public worship. As they passed along on their way to the South Church, they were deeply impressed with the state of feeling so obvious around them; to see their fellow beings enslaved by a superstition so unnatural and absurd; to be unable to break the fatal spell which had fallen upon nearly all, and to mark in the dim future those undefined yet assuredly fatal consequences, of whose nature and extent the worst apprehensions might be indulged, filled their minds with anxiety and sorrow. ”

“ Surely religion was never intended to strip the world of its beauty and clothe it in unnatural gloom. It must animate all our joyous sensibilities, and not suppress them—it must give us bright pictures of the future life, and not such as will cast shadows and gloom over the present.'
'Religion, Walter,' replied Mary, 'must strip the world of its false beauty, and present it in its true light. It must frown upon every sensibility, however joyous, which is sinful. ”

“ You well know I believe in the reality of religion, and reverence it too; you know my character, and cannot suspect me of dishonor. What does all this mean?'
'I mean to put you on your guard, Walter. I can only repeat what I have already said, that your present position and prospects do not warrant you in lavishing upon Mary so many proofs of your love. The course you are pursuing is unjust to her and unjust to yourself. I think you now understand me.'
'I do not understand,' said Walter, 'by what right you prescribe my duties, and undertake to regulate my social intercourse. ”

“ Time has lifted the veil; the storm of reproach has passed away; the shadows of the invisible world, in which they were seen to move as dark and mysterious forms enlisted in the service of Satan, and doing his will, have given place to the sunshine of Reason and Truth. The white robes of innocence and virtue now adorn them in the eye of every beholder, and [Pg 196] that foul stain stamps with its darkest hues, the memories of Stoughton, Sewall, Gedney, and Cotton Mather. ”

“ Why slept thy thunders, oh Jehovah! when the dire machination entered my heart? when I cursed the innocent victim and laid snares for her life? Thou didst turn back upon my soul a tide of guilt and horror, which would have drowned me in destruction and perdition, and now thou hast checked its rage, and given me space to proclaim the innocence of that victim, whom thou hast this day saved from the altar of Moloch. Hear me, magistrates and men, and ye ministers of an insulted God! hear me, old age, middle life and youth! ”

“ Love is always in advance of the judgment, and you speak like one little acquainted with its snares.'
'And what right have you,' replied Walter, 'to catechise me after this fashion? It is one of your worst faults, Lyford, that you see every thing in a dark and suspicious form. As to Mary, she never suspected me of anything but friendship and good will. She does not love me. ”

“ True Religion acknowledges no affinity with superstition. She has indeed suffered from the artificial bonds in which skepticism has entwined them; but if her robes have been soiled and her countenance marred by the unnatural position she is thus compelled to occupy, her voice of charity and accents of love still proclaim her divine, and she will always come forth with renovated beauty, and offer to man the best antidote against superstition, and his only true happiness for time and eternity. ”

“ These hands have built that fatal scaffold, on which innocence and virtue must perish! Oh, might I die in her stead! Oh, that my blood might expiate my guilt! Vain hope! the weight of mountains, the fires of the second death can neither crush [Pg 192] nor consume me. Mine is an undying death, mine an unquenchable flame!'
Such were the exclamations of the wretched Trellison, as he stood on that fatal hill with the scaffold which, the day before, had been erected under a tree, directly in his view. ”

“ The intense application of the mind to any subject of absorbing interest will often destroy its balance, and unfit it for usefulness and happiness. How is it with the men of pleasure, of wealth, of talent and fame? Are they not overthrown sometimes by the excitement of their several vocations? And can religion, Walter, which is of all themes the most exciting, be always contemplated with such calmness as never to distract the mind?'
'It is not religion, dear Mary, that I object to; but to those distorted and unnatural shapes [Pg 81] which it seems to wear in the community. ”

“ Where, in the weak and erring temper of man, do we find a guarantee that bloodshed and crime, the fruit of other delusions, shall not again desolate the land? Let us not boast of the dignity of Reason, the victories of Science, and the golden age of taste and refinement. These are often the soil in which the worst delusions spring up and cover the land with a foliage so rank and poisonous, that the moral atmosphere is filled with pestilence and death.
As the evening advanced, the different agents in the events about to take place, were all at their posts. Strale occupied the cottage of Somers. ”

“ I hope this people, in the march of improvement, will learn to be a little more liberal. You are too severe yourself, Lyford, and all the innocent gayeties of life look to you, as so many clouds between us and heaven.'
'Religion is not severe in her demands,' said Lyford, 'and if she appears so to you, Walter, it is because you invest her with false attributes, and view her through a false medium. Mary Graham is a sincere Christian; her cheerfulness of character you will readily admit; it is a thing of nature, and never runs into excess. ”

“ Trellison was in the wrong place, the wine went the wrong way, and the earthquake came at the wrong time.'
'Hush, Walter; you speak too lightly on this latter point. All the trifles of the evening vanished from my mind when the earthquake voice of my Maker spoke to me of a coming judgment, and a crashing world. Why is it, Walter, that we think so little of our future destiny? Why do we build our hopes on a world we must leave so soon?'
'I know it is a fitting time to think, James,' said Strale; 'I would that sensible objects had less effect upon me; but so it is, Lyford, and I cannot help it. ”

“ Other generations like themselves have filled the land; the welcome of hospitality, the house of God, the family altar, the blessed Bible, and the thousand endearments of home and friends,—these, all these, and unnumbered other blessings, have been conferred upon New England by her primitive inhabitants, and are at once the monuments of their fidelity, and the pledges that if the sons walk in the footsteps of the fathers, she will continue to advance in national eminence and glory. ”

“ The picture may warn us to shun the incipient stages of guilt, and turn back into the current of reason and reflection the wild and turbulent elements of excited passion. Too often, alas! we plunge into the very vortex of ruin, ere we are conscious that we have passed the boundaries of virtue. Such is the influence of pride, self-love, and self-esteem, that the first discovery of guilt and danger, often comes too late to save us from the final plunge. ”

“ The village of Hadley had been the residence of the venerated Gen. Goffe. Every incident in his grandfather's history, every spot which the illustrious exile loved, was dear to the memory of Lyford. In their early childhood, James and his sister were the solace of many a weary hour, and threw around the aged patriot the last gleams of sunshine which fell on his troubled career. Every one loved the old man ”

“ Look now at the strange delusion which prevails at Salem. Under color of religion, several innocent persons have been imprisoned, charged with crimes which they cannot commit if they would; and yet we are told the interests of true religion require their punishment.'
'These are the excrescences of religion,' replied Mary, 'not the thing itself. As to the witch stories, and the proceedings of the magistrates, there is folly enough about them; but I am quite sure no part of it is to be laid to religion. Superstition affects all minds more or less. ”

“ At this stage of the music the words became inaudible, until the sound died away in the forest, and the quiet stillness of the evening again rested on the landscape.
'These are strange things, Mary,' said her brother, 'but they are only a part of the snares which are intended to betray you. Time will soon disclose all; meanwhile, have courage, my dear sister; in your conscious rectitude you will find consolation and support; in God there is abundant strength, and what man can do shall be faithfully done. Have no distrust of Walter; his love to you is all you can desire ”

“ The road was perfectly known to Lyford, and the scenery on the way was so picturesque and beautiful that he often paused in admiration on some of the cliffs over which his path led him, and gazed long and with lively interest at those wild and rugged features of nature which the labor of man has since softened into the calmer lineaments of pleasant meadows, flourishing gardens and cultivated fields. ”

“ Moreover, did you not see her at that cursed sacrament of devils, where every vow is sealed by blood, and where she solemnly ratified the hellish compact? What are all these but proofs of her damnable affinity with Satan? You cannot go back. The Lord requires your service, and it must be done.'
'But, Mr. Trellison,' replied the female, 'if I take this course, what will become of me? I shall be shunned by the good; and if Miss Graham is acquitted, where shall I find recompense and security?'
'Have I not told you of recompense? Is it nothing to free the world from the possessed of Satan? ”

“ She is not less the object of my regard than yours. Mary Graham [Pg 16] is more dear to me than I can express. There is no one on earth I love so well. Moreover, she returns my love, and of this I can give you the most unequivocal proofs.'
'Now, I have it,' replied the indignant Walter; 'you mean to supplant me in Mary's love, and all this parade of friendship and religion is a mere artifice to cover your own selfish designs. Lyford, you are playing the hypocrite and the villain.'
'Tell me not thus,' said Lyford calmly. 'Much as I love Mary, I shall not stand in your way. ”

“ He saw at once the terrible engine of power, which designing men might seize to punish private wrongs, and push their projects of revenge for real or supposed injuries. He knew the self-blinding power of the human mind, and how readily its dark purposes assume the form of religious duties and wear the counterfeit of the heavenly graces. And it was this view that filled him with apprehensions and forebodings, which neither conscious rectitude nor the power of reason could allay.
It was the first object of Lyford, after seeing Strale, to visit his sister at Salem ”

“ It was so in the days which this manuscript commemorates: men renowned for talents and learning gave countenance to a delusion which swept over the land, and will be known in all coming ages by its track of blood and death.
I am not opposed to innovations upon any vicious principle or habit whatsoever. I have no respect [Pg v] for any venerable theory, unless its claims are supported by the Bible and common sense; but how often is that noble edifice of Truth, which the Bible reveals to our eye, deformed by the additions and inventions of men! ”

“ Strale, Mary Lyford found the affection of parents, and gave in return the love and gratitude of a child. All the scenes of their past history were related by Walter, and in a few weeks, with the full consent of his parents, he led Mary to the nuptial altar. Their happiness was now complete. Years of love and tranquillity glided away, untarnished by the lapse of time, consecrated by a visible communion with God, and the life of christian faith. ”

“ Walter replied to Mary's letter, and informed her that no measure had been left untried with Sir William Phipps and his advisers; but nothing could be done; the delusion had seized the minds of the most gifted men in the land, and it was vain to hope for relief until the public malady had run its course; and he expressed his fears that her own standing in society, and the general esteem in which she was held, might not prove a sufficient protection against the envy and malice of some, and the credulity and superstition of others. ”

“ Another flash succeeded, when a shot struck the hand of Strale, and passed off into the neighboring woods.
'There are no witches here,' said Strale; 'there is too much cold lead to come from the gun of a witch; look at my hand, Lyford, and be thankful as I am it was not my head.'
'This is no time to look at heads or hands,' said Lyford, 'but to escape the loss of both, if we can'; and he instantly extinguished the lamp, and suppressing the voice of Walter, who was about to speak, they moved along as silently as possible, and in half an hour entered the college gate. ”