Emily Sarah Holt

“ Belasez’s fervent voice had grown constrained all at once.
“Yes, thou dost not believe them, I suppose,” said Doucebelle, with a baffled feeling.
“I want a prophet, Doucebelle, not a priest. Nay, He knows, the Holy One, that we want a priest most bitterly; that we have no sacrifice wherewith to stand before Him,—no blood to make atonement. But we want the prophet to point us to the priest. Let us know, by revelation from Heaven, that this man, or that man, is the accepted Priest of the Most High, and trust us to bring our fairest lambs in sacrifice.” ”

“ And I cannot bear to think of her as a lost soul, with that face so like my Anegay, and that voice—
“Now, shame upon thee, Bruno de Malpas! Is Belasez more to thee than to Him that died for her? Canst thou not trust Him who giveth unto His sheep eternal life, not to allow this white lamb to be plucked out of His hand? O Lord, increase my faith!—for it is very low. I am one of the very weakest of Thy disciples. Yet I am Thine. Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee!” ”

“ Beatrice and Doucebelle answered by a smile of intelligence; Eva looked rather dissatisfied.
“But it is not a sin to be happy, Father?” asked Margaret in a low voice.
“Not if God give thee the happiness.”
“That is just it!” said Eva, discontentedly. “How is one to know?”
“My child,” answered Bruno, ignoring the tone, “God never means His children to put any thing into the place of Himself. The moment thou dost that, that thing is sin to thee.”
“But when do we do that, Father?” asked Doucebelle.
“When it makes thee forget to say thy prayers, I should think,” drily observed Beatrice. ”

“ How little does a Christian know the heart of a Jew! Canst thou not guess that in our eyes it is a degradation for a daughter of Israel to be looked on by such as you Gentiles—that for one of you so much as to touch her hand is pollution that only blood can wipe away? Why! I wanted to revenge myself on thee, and if it were not too late, to save the child’s soul. Thou canst hang me now, if thou wilt: I have had my revenge!’ And I said, ‘Licorice, my faith teaches me that revenge must be left to God, and that only forgiveness is for the lips of men. ”

“ Had Belasez been a Christian of noble birth, or even of mean extraction, she would have been regarded as an ornament of any Court in Christendom. Some nobleman or knight would very soon have found that lovely face, and her refined and dignified manners were fit for any lady in the land. Why must she be regarded as despicable, and treated with abuse and loathing, merely because she had been born a Jewess? Of course Doucebelle knew the traditionary reason—because the Jews had crucified Christ. But Belasez had not been one of them. Why must she bear the shame of others’ sins? ”

“ I, a sinner as thou art, must have nothing to do with vengeance. But, O Licorice, by all that thou deemest dear and holy, by the love that thou bearest to that babe of thine in the cradle, I conjure thee to tell me what has become of my child. Is she yet living?’ She paused a while. Then she said in a low voice, ‘No, Bruno. The journey was too much, in such a season, for so young an infant. She died the day after we arrived here. Perhaps,’ said Licorice, ‘thou wilt not believe me; but I am sorry that the child is dead. I meant to bring her up a strict Jewess, and to wed her to some Jew. ”

“ O Doucebelle, Doucebelle, I know not how to bear it! I thought I was so strong to stand up against all falsehood and error,—and here, one man, with one word,—Let me hold my peace. But O that Thou wouldst rend the heavens, that Thou wouldst come down! Hast Thou but one blessing, O Thou that art a Father unto Israel? Or are we so much worse off than our fathers in the desert? Nay, are we not in the desert, with no leader to guide us, no fiery pillar to bid us rest here, or journey thither? Why hast Thou given the dearly-beloved of Thy soul into the hands of her enemies? ”

“ Perhaps he spoke rather to himself than to Doucebelle. “Whenever the maiden will speak to thee, do not repulse her. Lead her, to the best of thy power, to see that Christ is God’s one cure for all evil. Yet He must teach it first to thyself.”
“I think He has done so—a little,” answered Doucebelle. “But, Father, will you not speak to her?”
“My child, we will both wait upon God, and speak the words He gives us, at the time He will. And remember,—whatever blunders men make,—Belasez is, after the flesh, nearer akin to Him than thou art. She is the kinswoman of the Lord Jesus. ”

“ Thou unconscionable Magot! Somebody will be ruined before thy wants are supplied.”
“And a red velvet gipcière, Lady? And I did so want a veil of sendal of Inde!”
“Worse and worse! Come, old man, prithee, measure off the Cyprus, and look out the wimples quickly, or this damsel of mine will leave me never a farthing in my pocket.”
“And Eva wants a new gown,” suggested Margaret.
“Oh yes!” said the Countess, laughing. “And so does Marie, and so does Doucebelle, I suppose,—and Hawise, I have no doubt. I shall be completely ruined among you!” ”

“ While Earl Hubert always had a will of his own, and knew what it was (though he did not always get it) , King Henry had no will, and never knew what it was until somebody else told him.
“I am afraid, Lady, I don’t understand the management of men,” said Margaret, with a little laugh and blush.
“Thou wilt learn in time, my dear. Thou art rather too fond of saying all thou meanest. That is not wise—for a woman. Of course a man ought to tell his wife every thing. But there is no need for a wife always to be chattering to her husband: she must have her little secrets, and he ought to respect them. ”

“ Can you see any light upon them, which you did not of old?”
“No, my child, I think not,” was Bruno’s answer. “If any thing, I should say they grow darker. But we learn to trust, Beatrice. It is not less dark when the child puts his hand confidingly in that of his father; but his mind is the lighter for it. We come to know our Father better; we learn to trust and wait. ‘What I do, thou knowest not now: but thou shalt know hereafter.’ And He has told us that in that land where we are to know even as we are known, we shall be satisfied. ”

“ Men always want managing. When thou hast been wed a year, thou wilt know more about it.”
“But can all women manage men?” asked Marjory in an amused tone.
“Ha, chétife! No, indeed. And there are some men who can’t be managed,—worse luck! But my Lord is not one of the latter, the holy saints be thanked.”
“And thou art one of the women who can manage men,” answered Marjory, laughing. “I wonder at thee, Magot, and have done so many times,—thou hast such a strange power of winning folks to thy will.”
“Well, that some have, and some have not. I have it, I know,” said the Countess, complacently. ”

“ Belasez stopped suddenly.
“Go on!” urged Margaret. “What then?”
“I shall say what my damsel will not wish to hear, if I do go on.”
“But I wish very much to hear it.”
“And then we look around on you, who call yourselves servants of Him whom ye say is come. We ask you to tell us what you have learned of Him. And ye answer us with the very things which the King of Israel solemnly forbade. Ye point us to images of dead men, and ye hold up before us a goddess, a fair dead woman, and ye say, These are they whom ye shall serve! ”

“ Belasez grasped her brother’s wrists.
“Cress, thou hast no thought of revenging thyself on Sir Richard of Gloucester for that boyish trick he once played on thee?”
“I’ll be even with him, Belasez. No man—least of all a Christian dog—shall insult me with impunity.”
“O Cress, Cress! Thou must not do it. Hast thou forgotten that vengeance belongeth to the Holy One, to whom be glory? And for such a mere nothing as that!”
“Nothing! Dost thou call it nothing for a son of Abraham to be termed a Jew cur by one of those creeping things of Gentiles? ”

“ There can be no peace between the King and an unpardoned rebel. Thou art that, Margaret de Burgh. Lay down thine arms, and put thyself in the King’s mercy.”
“Father!” said the girl, in a voice which was a mixture of surprise and alarm.
“Child, He giveth not account of any of His matters. Unconditional submission is what He requires of His prisoners. Thou wouldst fain dictate terms to thy Sovereign: it cannot be. Thou must come into His terms, if there is to be any peace between Him and thee. Yet even for thee there is a message of love. He is grieved at the hardness of thine heart. ”

“ Margaret looked up quickly, changed colour, and with a slight compression of her lower lip, went back to her work in silence.
“But what wouldst thou have done, Eva?” demanded the practical little Marie. “Wouldst thou have stared out of the window all day long?”
“No!” returned Eva with fervent emphasis. “I should have wept my life away. But Margaret is not like me. She can get interested in work and other things, and forget a hapless love, and outlive it. ”

“ She did not see His Face very clearly, but enough so to be sure that it was He.
“Belasez, dear maid, He said one other thing. ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Trust me, the surest way to find out who He is, is to come to Him.”
“What meanest thou? He is not on earth.”
“He is where thy need is,” answered Doucebelle gently. “In any labyrinth out of which we know not the way,—over any grave where our hearts lie buried,—we can meet Him.” ”

“ One was Belasez: the other was a memory of his sorrowful past, a fair girl-face, the likeness to which had struck him so distressingly in hers, and which would never fade from his memory “till God’s love set her at his side again.”
“What will become of the maiden?” he whispered to himself. “So like, so like!—just what my Beatrice might have been, if—nay, Thou art wise, O Lord! It is I who am blind and ignorant. Ay, and just the same age! She must be the infant of whom Licorice spoke: she was then in the cradle, I remember. ”

“ Ay, Thou hast done well, my Lord! Pardon Thy servant if at times the journey grows very weary to his weak human feet, and he longs for a draught of the sweet waters of earthly love which Thou hast permitted to dry up. Grant him fresh draughts of that Living Water whereof he that drinketh shall thirst no more. Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe!
“Was I right in refusing to baptise the maiden? Verily, it would have been rich revenge on Licorice. I had no right, as I told her, to suffer the innocence of her chrism to be soiled with the evil passions which were sin in me. ”

“ Now, as to Sir Richard, I can see as well as possible the kind of management he will require; thou must quietly suggest ideas to him, gently and diffidently, as if thou wert desirous of his opinion: but whenever he takes them up, mind and always let him think he is getting his own way. He has a strong will, against which a foolish woman would just run full tilt, and spoil every thing. A wise one will quietly get her own way, and let him fancy he has got his. That is thy work, Magot.”
Margaret shook her bright head with a laugh. ”

“ Let each woman choose for herself. ‘If a virgin marry, she hath not sinned.’ Nevertheless, ‘she that is unmarried thinks of the things of the Lord, that she may be holy, body and soul.’”
“Father, do you wish me to be a nun?”
“Never!” hastily answered Bruno. “Nay, my Beatrice; I should not have said that. Be thou what the Lord thinks best to make thee. But I do not want to be left alone again.”
Beatrice’s heart was set at rest. She had terribly feared for a moment lest Bruno, being himself a monk, might think her absolutely bound to be a nun. ”

“ The two chaplains of the Earl had shown no interest whatever in Margaret and her troubles. Father Warner despised all human affections of whatever kind, with the intensity of a nature at once cold and narrow. Father Nicholas was of a far kindlier disposition, but he was completely engrossed with another subject. Alchemy was reviving. The endless search for the philosopher’s stone, the elixir of life, and other equally desirable and unattainable objects, had once more begun to engage the energies of scientific men. ”

“ Never canst thou be loveless, Bruno de Malpas, while the deathless love of Christ endureth; never canst thou be lonely and forlorn, whilst thou hast His company who is the sunlight of Heaven. Perhaps it would not have been good for me, had my beloved stayed with me. ”

“ Beatrice, however, took no notice of it. Indeed, she was too glad to see Abraham to feel an inclination to quarrel with the person who announced his arrival in any terms whatever. She threw aside her work in haste, and ran down into the hall.
“My Belasez, light of mine eyes!” said the old man fervently, as he folded her in his arms and blessed her. “Ah, there is not much light for the old pedlar’s eyes now!”
“Dost thou miss me, my father?”
“Miss thee! Ah, my darling, how little thou knowest. The sun has gone down, and the heavens are covered with clouds.” ”