Ninian

“ Bede, writing three centuries after Ninian, ascribes the name Ad Candidam Casam to the fact that the church of Ninian was built of stone. We are told by Bede that St Ninian dedicated his church to St Martin of Tours, who died between 397 and 400, but Ailred of Rievaulx is our only authority for the statement that St Martin supplied him with masons. The population of the north shore of the Solway Firth at the beginning of the 5th century were probably either Picts or Goidels or a blend of both, and naturally hostile to the Romanized Britons. ”

“ You know that Ninian is the typical Guyse name in our senior branch of the family. Thus my father named his twin sons Ninian Wilfrid and Wilfrid Ninian respectively, so that if one of us got knocked out the survivor might still be a Ninian Guyse. Wolf's wife might almost as well call herself Mrs. Ninian Guyse as you might. As he wanted the thing kept dark, he would be very likely to use his other name. It was an obvious precaution. As to the writing, Wolf and I write so alike that our hands are often mistaken for one another. ”

“ Somehow the fact that spring was on its way was consoling and made her feel more normal. She was schooling herself to believe that Madam's talk had been, as it often was, unbalanced, and that she ought not to take too much notice of it. Nothing could have been less presuming than Ninian's manner overnight. He certainly had not worn the air of one who knows that a girl is in his power.
As she descended the stairs she was considering the question of her own departure. ”

“ Ninian caught hold of her hair and pulled it. "He isn't a bad chap, old Quinny," he said. "Soft-hearted, a bit!"
"Shut up, Ninian!" Henry shouted, punching him in the ribs.
But Ninian would not shut up. "Blubs like anything if you kill a rabbit or anything. He eats them all the same!" [Pg 39]
Mary put her hands over Ninian's mouth. "Leave Quinny alone, Ninian," she said. "He's much nicer than you, and I do think it's horrid of you to go gutting fish just for fun. The fishermen have to do it, else we wouldn't get any breakfast, and of course plaice are very nice for breakfast...." ”

“ Father Ninian was one of the first, resplendent in a new soutane and sash, with Akbar Khân in his orderly's get-up, oscillating between a palsy of delighted servility, and a catalepsy of dignity; the one for his superiors, the other for his equals.
And, after a while, in one of those mysteriously nondescript four-wheeled vehicles that defy classification, but may be said to come under the head "phitton" (phaeton) of which mission people seem to have a monopoly, came good Mrs. Campbell and her niece, Erda Shepherd ”

“ Ninian, who had been yawning so heavily downstairs, was now sitting up in bed, reading a copy of the Engineer.
"Hilloa," he exclaimed as Henry entered the room in response to his "Come in!"
"I say, Ninian, what was the name of the girl that Gilbert was so gone on at Cambridge? Lady something or other! He was rather sick with you for mentioning her...."
"Oh, Lady Cecily Jayne!"
"Is that her name? Who is she?"
"Society female," said Ninian. "Takes an interest in literature and art in her spare time, but she doesn't know anything about either of them. ”

“ In the morning, Ninian and Roger rose early, for Ninian was going to Southampton to see the Gigantic start on her maiden voyage to America, and Roger had a case at a county court outside London. In a vague way, Ninian had intended to talk to Roger about his engagement, to reason with him, as he put it. Gilbert had pointed out that the chief employment of women is to disrupt the friendships of men. "Men," he had said to Ninian and Henry after Roger had gone to bed, "take years to make up a friendship, and then a female comes along and busts it up in a couple of weeks!" ”

“ Ninian gets up and drags Ann to the sofa, pushing her on to her knees and imprisoning her between his two legs. With one hand he is holding her two wrists behind her back, with the other he is stroking her hair.
Ninian: They didn’t know how to treat you, did they? Tim and the others? Only Jordan knew. Women always capitulate to the men who think lightly of love.
Ann: Ninian, you’re hurting me.
Ninian: I’m asserting myself, my dear. Master and Mistress—that’s what a household needs. ”

“ Although they were recorded by one who lived two and a half centuries after the period of the saint, the testimony of Alcuin, in a letter to the brethren serving God at Candida Casa, confirms that of Bæda, and shows that Ninian's memory formed the theme of monkish panegyric a century afterwards.
The later lives add little to our scanty knowledge. A ‘Life’ written by an Irish monk is now lost. ”

“ The influences of the age were, in fact, adverse to the permanent development of such a movement as his. The period of Ninian's activity is coincident with the fall of the Roman empire in Britain, and the repeated incursions of Saxon, Scotic, and Pictish invaders. The assertion of Bæda that the southern Picts renounced idolatry and accepted the faith through his preaching is thus only relatively accurate. ”

“ If he read the Psalter in the open air, the shower would avoid touching him and his book. If thieves tried to steal his cattle, an angel drove them away. One of Ninian’s scholars, being afraid of a whipping, fled to the seashore, but took care to steal his master’s pastoral staff; and this staff, after the youth had prayed, guided his boat in safety, and was both rudder and mast and sail by turns. The saint converted the Picts far and near, and was succeeded by St. Mungo and St. Columba. His relics also were said to continue to work miracles long after he was dead. ”

“ But Ninian and Mary were too impatient to wait for the buggy, and so they set off together, leaving Henry to follow with Mrs. Graham.
"Quinny'll drive you down, mater," Ninian said.
Mrs. Graham turned to Henry. "You won't let Peggy run away with me, will you?" she said, pretending to be alarmed, and Mary and Ninian burst into laughter at the thought of Peggy ... which was short for Pegasus ... running away with any one.
"He's fat and lazy," said Ninian.
"He goes to sleep in the shafts," Mary added, running out of the drawing-room on Ninian's heels. ”

“ Ninus nodded, and the youth went on: "In all things, save one alone, I have set the King's desires above the yearnings of my will. In childhood I bore his wine cup, obedient to his lightest nod. From him I learned the arts of war, and served him through conquests of four score lands, sparing neither strength nor blood to bring him victory. When Nineveh was rising from the earth I journeyed down into Arabia, measured my sword with the Prince Boabdul, and sealed a treaty which gave Assyria peace along the border lands. ”

“ Hear the decree of Ninus, king and god,
That Artavan, the brother of the queen,
Shall freely live, and die by no man’s hand!
(Silence. The voice of Khosrove below)
Khos. Assyria, speak!
Nin. I, Ninus, so decree!
(Staggers back toward front as all press to rear to see the troops go out. Semiramis, Artavan and Sola stand together gazing out)
Sem. O, Khosrove! See—he rides—away—away!
(Leans forward waving her scarf. Ninus, alone in front, goes toward his chamber, falls on the steps overpowered with rage and lifts his clenched hands)
Nin. O, vengeance! Vengeance for a king! ”

“ Nineveh was a heap of ruins in the days of Xenophon, twenty centuries ago. Greece and Rome grew, ruled, flourished, and decayed. A new religion arose, and spread a strange civilization among the nations of northern Europe, who rose to power upon the ruins of the Roman empire. From these people, curious travellers wandered to the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Vast mounds and fragments of sculptures met their gaze. There they were told the mighty Babylon and the gorgeous Nineveh had reared their temples and palaces to the sun, awing into submission the neighboring nations. ”

“ NINUS, in Greek mythology, the eponymous founder of Nineveh (q.v.) , and thus the city itself personified. He was said to have been the son of Belos or Bel, to have conquered in seventeen years the whole of western Asia with the help of Ariaeus, king of Arabia, and to have founded the first empire. During the siege of Bactra he met Semiramis, the wife of one of his officers, Onnes, whom he took from her husband and married. ”

“ Farewell, maiden; we must part....”
“Don’t leave me!” cried the girl, seizing Ninus’ robe. “Look!” she added drawing from her arm a glittering gold band, “if this is enough, take it.”
“I am easily satisfied,” said Ninus, snatching the gold. “Well then, I’ll tell you everything. Before a baetylus will show its power one must fast thrice seven days and hold no conversation with men; then the stone must be washed in spring-water and clad in swaddling clothes like a little child. Even this is not enough. A lamp must be lighted in a clean room in the house, incense offered, and prayers repeated. ”

“ This plan of war seemed good to Ninus, and in his joy he forgot all else save the fire of a mighty conqueror; yet when his engines were dragged into the plains and set at vantage points within his lines, he remembered Menon, and his heart grew cold again.
This man had saved Assyria's vanguard from defeat, aye, even the life of Ninus he had saved, and thereby won the love of a multitude who were witness to the deed. Justice cried out for the King's forgiveness, yet it cried in vain, for justice is ever a feather-weight in the scale of jealousy. ”

“ Nay, King Ninus is a god whose wisdom marketh the works of lesser men, and he smileth because of them. Therefore, since Ninus knoweth all, he will treasure up this jest till such a time as Menon cometh unto Nineveh, and will rally him in the sight of all the court. ”

“ King Ninus himself sat down upon the river bank where the waters of the Tigris and the Khusur join, and here he wrought his plans. A band of men went northward to the forest lands, felled trees, and split them into boards with which they fashioned a fleet of wide flat boats. These boats, propelled by sweeps and pushing-poles, were manned by Phoenicia's sons, for Assyria knew no more of ship-craft than hillsmen know the camel's back; yet Ninus employed the skill of others in his self appointed task. ”

“ Now in every land and in every city there are those who suffer with the worms of a strange unrest, and did their highest god come down to rule amongst them they would find some cause for disaffection, yearning for a change in government.
With men of this breed Prince Ninyas whispered, promising that when the throne was his a reign of peace should come to Nineveh, wherein the wormy ones might look for the fruits of their souls' desire; so, when the Queen returned, and report was spread concerning the death of Ninus, then a million infant lies were born. ”

“ Mayhap the captive lied, seeking to draw away another force from the baggage trains, when hidden mountaineers might pour into the valley, wrecking the machines of war and dealing a fatal blow to the plans of siege. On the other hand, should Ninus, in his overconfidence of strength, become entangled in the narrow gorge, then of a certainty Assyria's fate was sealed.
Menon faltered. A haunting whisper worried at his ears:
"Let Ninus die! Wherefore should a mortal shield an enemy who houndeth him in a cause of cruelty? Leave him to his fate! Race back to Nineveh and the goal of a heart's desire!" ”

“ Menones’ daughter, ere the night shall be
The bride of Ninus, king of all Assyria!
(Khosrove rises, bows before her, and stands with silent dignity)
Sem. You—you—were saying—
Khos. Nothing, royal madam.
Have you not friends without?
(Semiramis hesitates, goes to door and calls)
Sem. Sumbat!
(To Khosrove) Thou ’rt safe!
Khos. (Ironically)
Assyria’s queen should know!
Sem. She does!
(Re-enter Sumbat and officers)
Sum. Unbound!
Sem. Ay, he is free! We only wait the word
Of gracious Ninus. Guard him until then,
We charge you, Sumbat. Keep you nearest him. ”

“ For generations the great oppressing city had slept buried beneath the fragments of its own ruins, its history lost, its very site forgotten. Its name had passed into the region of myth even in the age of the classical writers of Greece and Rome; Ninos or Nineveh had become a hero-king about whom strange legends were told, and whose conquests were fabled to have extended from the Mediterranean to India. Little was known of the history of the mighty Assyrian Empire beyond what might be learnt from the Old Testament, and that little was involved in doubt and obscurity. ”

“ His wife, whoever she might be, had always seemed 261peculiarly dear to Ninzian. And now, as he looked back upon the exceeding love which he had borne his wife, in Nineveh and Thebes and Tyre and Babylon and Rome and Byzantium, and in all other cities that bred fine women, and as he weighed the evanescence of this love which was evading him after these few thousand years, it seemed to Ninzian a pitiable thing that his season of earthly contentment should thus be cut off in its flower and withered untimelily. ”

“ How better then, could this passion of desire be wrought than in mating with Assyria's lord? To barter one human body in exchange for dominion over all the world! True, Ninus drove the chariot of state, yet she had but to whisper in the driver's ear to turn the course of its plunging steeds. If Ninus held the reins, a woman held the lash—and, by the smoke of Gibil, she would lay it on!
Thus dreamed Semiramis, while about her the waters of the Tigris crooned their chant of mystery; above, the great stars hung, and flung their burning meteors across the sky ”