"Water,"
repeated
John.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v07 - Cic to Cuv
So,
wasting no more words, I flew along the churchyard until I
>>
## p. 4126 (#504) ###########################################
4126
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
saw, shining against the boles of the chestnut-trees, a red light.
It was one of the hempen torches. Now at last I had got in
the midst of that small body of men-"the rioters. "
A mere handful they were, not above twoscore; apparently
the relic of the band which had attacked the mill, joined with a
few plow-lads from the country round. But they were desperate;
they had come up the Coltham road so quietly that, except this
faint murmur, neither I nor any one in the town could have told
they were near. Wherever they had been ransacking, as yet
they had not attacked my father's house; it stood upon the other
side of the road, barred, black, silent.
I heard a muttering, "Th' old man bean't there" - "Nobody
knows where he be. " No, thank God!
"Be us all y'ere? " said the man with the torch, holding it up
SO as to see round him. It was well then that I appeared as
Jem Watkins. But no one noticed me, except one man who
skulked behind a tree, and of whom I was rather afraid, as he
was apparently intent on watching.
"Ready, lads? Now for the rosin!
Blaze 'un out! "
But in the eager scuffle the torch, the only one light, was
knocked down and trodden out. A volley of oaths arose, though
whose fault it was no man seemed to know: but I missed my
man from behind the tree-nor found him till after the angry
throng had rushed on to the nearest lamp. One of them was
left behind, standing close to our own railings. He looked round
to see if none were by, and then sprung over the gate.
Dark as
it was, I thought I recognized him.
"John? »
"Phineas? "
He was beside me in a bound. "How could
you do ->
"I could do anything to-night. But you are safe
has harmed you. Oh, thank God, you are not hurt! "
And I clung to his arm my friend whom I had missed so
long, so sorely.
―
no one
He held me tight- his heart felt as mine, only more silently;
and silent hearts are strong.
"Now, Phineas, we have not a minute's time. I must have
you safe-
we must get into the house. "
"Who is there? "
"Jael; she is as good as a staff of constables; she has braved
them once to-night, but they're back again, or will be directly. "
## p. 4127 (#505) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
"And the mill? "
"Safe, as yet; I have had three of the tan-yard men there
since yesterday morning, though your father did not know. I
have been going to and fro all night between there and here,
waiting till the rioters should come back from the Severn mills.
Hist! there they are-I say, Jael. "
He tapped at the window. In a few seconds Jael had
unbarred the door, let us in, and closed it again securely;
mounting guard behind it with something that looked very like
my father's pistols, though I would not discredit her among our
peaceful society by positively stating the fact.
4127
"Bravo! " said John, when we stood all together in the barri-
caded house and heard the threatening murmur of voices and
feet outside. «< Bravo, Jael! The wife of Heber the Kenite was
no braver woman than you. "
She looked gratified, and followed John obediently from room
to room.
-
"I have done all as thee bade me-
John Halifax. We are secure, I think. "
Secure? Bolts and bars secure against fire? For that was
threatening us now.
"They can't mean it-surely they can't mean it," repeated
John, as the cry of "Burn 'un out! rose louder and louder.
But they did mean it. From the attic window we watched
them light torch after torch, sometimes throwing one at the
house but it fell harmless against the staunch oaken door, and
blazed itself out on our stone steps. All it did was to show,
more plainly than even daylight had shown, the gaunt ragged
forms and pinched faces, furious with famine.
John, as well as I, recoiled at that miserable sight.
"I'll speak to them," he said. “Unbar the window, Jael;
and before I could hinder he was leaning right out.
there! "
"Halloo,
-
thee art a sensible lad,
At his loud and commanding voice a wave of upturned faces
surged forward, expectant.
"My men, do you know what you are about? To burn down
a gentleman's house is-hanging. "
There was a hush, and then a shout of derision.
"Not a Quaker's! Nobody'll get hanged for burning out a
Quaker!
>>>>
## p. 4128 (#506) ###########################################
4128
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
"That be true enough," muttered Jael between her teeth.
"We must e'en fight, as Mordecai's people fought, hand to hand,
until they slew their enemies. "
“Fight! ” repeated John half to himself, as he stood at the
now closed window, against which more than one blazing torch
began to rattle.
――
"Fight with these? -What are you doing, Jael? " For she
had taken down a large book - the last book in the house she
would have taken under less critical circumstances, and with it
was trying to stop up a broken pane.
"No, my good Jael, not this;" and he carefully put back the
volume in its place-that volume, in which he might have read,
as day after day, year after year, we Christians generally do
read such plain words as these: "Love your enemies;" "Bless
them that curse you;
«< Pray for them that despitefully use you
and persecute you. "
A minute or two John stood by the book-shelves, thinking.
Then he touched me on the shoulder.
"Phineas, I am going to try a new plan-at least one so old
that it is almost new. Whether it succeeds or no, you'll bear
me witness to your father that I did it for the best, and did it
because I thought it right. Now for it. "
To my horror, he threw up the window wide, and leaned
out.
"My men, I want to speak to you. "
He might as well have spoken to the roaring sea. The only
answer was a shower of missiles, which missed their aim. The
rioters were too far off —our spiked iron railing, eight feet high
or more, being a barrier which none had yet ventured to climb.
But at length one random shot hit John on the chest.
I pulled him in; but he declared he was not hurt. Terrified,
I implored him not to risk his life.
"Life is not always the first thing to be thought of,” said
he, gently. "Don't be afraid; I shall come to no harm. But I
must do what I think right, if it is to be done. "
While he spoke, I could hardly hear him for the bellowings
outside. More savage still grew the cry:
They be only Quakers! "
"Burn 'em out! burn 'em out!
"There's not a minute to lose.
that a pistol? "
Stop, let me think-Jael, is
## p. 4129 (#507) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4129
"Loaded," she said, handing it over to him with a kind of
stern delight. Certainly Jael was not born to be a Friend.
John ran down-stairs, and before I guessed his purpose had
unbolted the hall door, and stood on the top of the flight of
steps in full view of the mob.
There was no bringing him back, so of course I followed. A
pillar sheltered me; I do not think he saw me, though I stood
close behind him.
So sudden had been his act that even the rioters did not seem
to have noticed, or clearly understood it till the next lighted
torch showed them the young man standing there, with his back
to the door-outside the door.
The sight fairly confounded them. Even I felt for the
moment he was safe. They were awed
They were awed-nay, paralyzed, by his
daring.
But the storm raged too fiercely to be lulled, except for one
brief minute. A confusion of voices burst out afresh.
"No, he
"Who be thee? " "It's one o' the Quakers. "
bean't. " "Burn 'un anyhow. " "Touch 'un, if ye dare! "
There was evidently a division rising. One big man, who had
made himself very prominent all along, seemed trying to calm.
the tumult.
John stood his ground.
stooped and picked it up.
back again, but he did not;
it out safely with his foot.
effect on the crowd.
The big fellow advanced to the gate, and called John by his
name.
Once a torch was flung at him-he
I thought he was going to hurl it
he only threw it down and stamped
This simple action had a wonderful
"Is that you, Jacob Baines? I am sorry to see you here. "
"Be ye, sir? »
"What do you want? "
"Naught wi' thee. We want Abel Fletcher.
Where is 'un? "
"I shall certainly not tell you. "
As John said this, again the noise arose, and again Jacob
Baines seemed to have power to quiet the rest.
John Halifax never stirred. Evidently he was pretty well
known. I caught many a stray sentence, such as "Don't hurt
the lad;" "He were kind to my lad, he were;" "He be a real
gentleman;" "No, he comed here as poor as us," and the like.
At length one voice, sharp and shrill, was heard above the rest.
VII-259
## p. 4130 (#508) ###########################################
4130
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
"I say, young man, didst ever know what it was to be pretty
nigh vamished? »
"Ay, many a time. »
The answer, so brief, so unexpected, struck a great hush into
the throng. Then the same voice cried:
"Speak up, man! we won't hurt 'ee! You be one o' we! "
"No, I am not one of you. I'd be ashamed to come in the
night and burn my master's house down. "
-:
I expected an outbreak, but none came. They listened, as it
were by compulsion, to the clear manly voice, that had not in
it one shade of fear.
"What do you do it for? " John continued. "All because he
would not sell you, or give you, his wheat. Even so; it was his
wheat, not yours. May not a man do what he likes with his
own? "
That argument seemed to strike home. There is always a
lurking sense of rude justice in a mob- at least a British mob.
"Don't you see how foolish you were? You tried threats
too. Now, you all know Mr. Fletcher; you are his men
of you.
He is not a man to be threatened. "
some
This seemed to be taken rather angrily; but John went on
speaking, as if he did not observe the fact.
"Nor am I one to be threatened, neither. Look here- the
first one of you who attempted to break into Mr. Fletcher's
house, I should most certainly have shot. But I'd rather not
shoot you, poor starving fellows! I know what it is to be
hungry. I'm sorry for you-sorry from the bottom
of my
heart. "
____________
There was no mistaking that compassionate accent, nor the
murmur which followed it.
"But what must us do, Mr. Halifax? " cried Jacob Baines.
"Us be starved a'most. What's the good o' talking to we? "
John's countenance relaxed. I saw him lift his head and
shake his hair back, with that pleased gesture I remembered so
well of old. He went down to the locked gate.
"Suppose I gave you something to eat, would you listen to
me afterward? »
There rose up a frenzied shout of assent. Poor wretches!
they were fighting for no principle, true or false, only for bare
life. They would have bartered their very souls for a mouthful
of bread.
## p. 4131 (#509) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4131
"You must promise to be peaceable," said John again, very
resolutely, as soon as he could obtain a hearing. "You are
Norton Bury folk. I know you. I could get every one of you
hanged, even though Abel Fletcher is a Quaker. Mind, you'll be
peaceable? »
"Ay, ay! Some'at to eat; give us some'at to eat. "
John Halifax called out to Jael, bade her bring all the food
of every kind that there was in the house, and give it to him out
of the parlor window. She obeyed-I marvel now to think of
it, but she implicitly obeyed. Only I heard her fix the bar to
the closed front door, and go back, with a strange sharp sob, to
her station at the hall window.
"Now, my lads, come in! " and he unlocked the gate.
They came thronging up the steps, not more than twoscore,
I imagined, in spite of the noise they had made. But twoscore
of such famished, desperate men, God grant I may never again
see!
John divided the food as well as he could among them; they
fell to it like wild beasts. Meat, cooked or raw, loaves, vegeta-
bles, meal-all came alike, and were clutched, gnawed, and
scrambled for in the fierce selfishness of hunger. Afterward
there was a call for drink.
"Water, Jael; bring them water. "
"Beer! " shouted some.
"Water," repeated John. "Nothing but water. I'll have no
drunkards rioting at my master's door. "
And either by chance or design, he let them hear the click of
his pistol. But it was hardly needed. They were all cowed by
a mightier weapon still- the best weapon a man can use-his
own firm indomitable will.
At length all the food we had in the house was consumed.
John told them so; and they believed him. Little enough,
indeed, was sufficient for some of them: wasted with long fam-
ine, they turned sick and faint, and dropped down even with
bread in their mouths, unable to swallow it. Others gorged
themselves to the full, and then lay along the steps, supine as
satisfied brutes. Only a few sat and ate like rational human
beings; and there was but one, the little shrill-voiced man, who
asked me if he might "tak a bit o' bread to the old wench at
home! "
John, hearing, turned, and for the first time noticed me.
――――――
## p. 4132 (#510) ###########################################
4132
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
«< Phineas, it was very wrong of you; but there is no danger
now. "
No, there was none not even for Abel Fletcher's son.
stood safe by John's side, very happy, very proud.
"Well, my men," he said, looking around with a smile,
"have you had enough to eat? "
―――
-
I
"Oh, ay! " they all cried.
And one man added, "Thank the Lord! "
"That's right, Jacob Baines. And another time trust the
Lord. You wouldn't then have been abroad this summer morn-
ing" and he pointed to the dawn just reddening in the
sky-"this quiet, blessed summer morning, burning and riot-
ing, bringing yourself to the gallows and your children to
starvation. "
"They be nigh that a'ready," said Jacob, sullenly. "Us men
ha' gotten a meal, thankee for i'; bu' what'll become o' the 'ittle
uns a' home? I say, Mr. Halifax," and he seemed waxing
desperate again, "we must get food somehow. "
John turned away, his countenance very sad. Another of the
men plucked at him from behind.
"Sir, when thee was a poor lad, I lent thee a rug to sleep
on; I doan't grudge 'ee getting on; you was born for a gentle-
man, surely. But Master Fletcher be a hard man. ”
"And a just one," persisted John. "You that work for him,
did he ever stint you of a halfpenny? If you had come to him
and said, 'Master, times are hard; we can't live upon our
wages;' he might—I don't say he would-but he might even
have given you the food you tried to steal. "
"D'ye think he'd give it us now? " And Jacob Baines, the
big gaunt savage fellow who had been the ringleader - the
same too who had spoken of his "little uns". -came and looked
steadily in John's face.
"I knew thee as a lad; thee'rt a young man now, as will be
a father some o' these days. Oh! Mr. Halifax, may 'ee ne'er
want a meal o' good meat for the missus and the babies at
home, if 'ee'll get a bit of bread for our'n this day. "
"My man, I'll try. "
He called me aside, explained to me, and asked my advice
and consent, as Abel Fletcher's son, to a plan that had come
into his mind. It was to write orders, which each man pre-
senting at our mill should receive a certain amount of flour.
## p. 4133 (#511) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4133
"Do you think your father would agree? "
"I think he would. "
And
"Yes," John added, pondering, "I am sure he would.
“I
besides, if he does not give some he may lose all. But he would
not do it for fear of that. No, he is a just man. I am not
afraid. Give me some paper, Jael. "
He sat down as composedly as if he had been alone in the
counting-house, and wrote. I looked over his shoulder, admiring
his clear firm handwriting; the precision, concentrativeness, and
quickness with which he first seemed to arrange and then execute
his ideas. He possessed to the full that "business" faculty so
frequently despised, but which out of very ordinary material
often makes a clever man, and without which the cleverest man
alive can never be altogether a great man.
When about to sign the orders, John suddenly stopped.
་
"No; I had better not. "
"Why so? "
"I have no right; your father might think it presumption. "
"Presumption, after to-night! "
"Oh, that's nothing! Take the pen. It is your part to sign
them, Phineas. "
I obeyed.
"Isn't this better than hanging? " said John to the men, when
he had distributed the little bits of paper, precious as pound-
notes, and made them all fully understand the same.
"Why,
there isn't another gentleman in Norton Bury who, if you had
come to burn his house down, would not have had the constables
or the soldiers shoot down one-half of you like mad dogs, and
sent the other half to the county jail. Now, for all your mis-
doings, we let you go quietly home, well fed, and with food for
your children too. Why, think you? "
"I doan't know," said Jacob Baines, humbly.
"I'll tell you.
Christian,"
Because Abel Fletcher is a Quaker and a
"Hurrah for Abel Fletcher! hurrah for the Quakers! " shouted
they, waking up the echoes down Norton Bury streets: which of
a surety had never echoed to that shout before. And so the
riot was over.
John Halifax closed the hall door and came in- unsteadily—
all but staggering. Jael placed a chair for him-worthy soul!
she was wiping her old eyes. He sat down shivering, speechless.
## p. 4134 (#512) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4134
I put my hand on his shoulder; he took it and pressed it
hard.
"O Phineas, lad, I'm glad; glad it's safe over. "
"Yes, thank God! "
"Ay indeed, thank God! "
He covered his eyes for a minute or two, and then rose up,
pale, but quite himself again.
"Now let us go and fetch your father home. "
We found him on John's bed, still asleep. But as we en-
tered he woke. The daylight shone on his face-it looked ten
years older since yesterday. He stared, bewildered and angry,
Where is my son-
where's my Phineas? "
I fell on his neck as if I had been a child. And almost as
if it had been a child's feeble head, mechanically he soothed
and patted mine.
"Thee art not hurt?
"No," John answered;
injured. "
He looked amazed.
"Phineas will tell you.
at John Halifax.
"Eh, young man - oh! I remember.
Nor any one? ”
"nor is either the house or tan-yard
"How has that been? ”
Or stay
better wait till you are at
home. "
But my father insisted on hearing. I told him the whole
without any comments on John's behavior; he would not have
liked it, and besides, the facts spoke for themselves. I told the
simple plain story-nothing more.
Abel Fletcher listened at first in silence. As I proceeded, he
felt about for his hat, put it on, and drew its broad brim down
over his eyes. Not even when I told him of the flour we had
promised in his name, the giving of which would, as we had
calculated, cost him considerable loss, did he utter a word or
move a muscle.
John at length asked him if he was satisfied.
"Quite satisfied. "
But having said this, he sat so long, his hands locked to-
gether on his knees, and his hat drawn down, hiding all the
face except the rigid mouth and chin - sat so long, so motion-
less, that we became uneasy.
―
John spoke to him gently, almost as a son would have
spoken.
## p. 4135 (#513) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4135
« Are you very lame still? Could I help you to walk
home ? »
My father looked up, and slowly held out his hand.
"Thee hast been a good lad, and a kind lad to us. I thank
thee. »
There was no answer; none. But all the words in the world
could not match that happy silence.
By degrees we got my father home. It was just such another
summer morning as the one two years back, when we two had
stood, exhausted and trembling, before that sternly bolted door.
We both thought of that day; I knew not if my father did also.
He entered, leaning heavily on John. He sat down in the
very seat, in the very room where he had so harshly judged us
-judged him.
Something perhaps of that bitterness rankled in the young
man's spirit now, for he stopped on the threshold.
"Come in," said my father, looking up.
"If I am welcome; not otherwise. "
"Thee are welcome. "
He came in-I drew him in- and sat down with us. But
his manner was irresolute, his fingers closed and unclosed ner-
vously. My father too sat leaning his head on his two hands,
not unmoved. I stole up to him, and thanked him softly for the
welcome he had given.
"There is nothing to thank me for," said he, with something
of his old hardness. "What I once did was only justice, or I
then believed so. What I have done, and am about to do, is
still mere justice. John, how old art thee now? "
«< Twenty.
"Then for one year from this time I will take thee as my
'prentice, though thee knowest already nearly as much of the
business as I do. At twenty-one thee wilt be able to set up for
thyself, or I may take thee into partnership—we'll see.
But »
and he looked at me, then sternly, nay fiercely, into John's
steadfast eyes - "remember, thee hast in some measure taken
that lad's place. May God deal with thee as thou dealest with
my son Phineas-my only son! "
"Amen! " was the solemn answer.
And God, who sees us both now -ay, now! and perhaps not
so far apart as some may deem - he knows whether or no John
Halifax kept that vow.
-
## p. 4136 (#514) ###########################################
4136
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
PHILIP, MY KING
L
OOK at me with thy large brown eyes,
Philip, my King!
For round thee the purple shadow lies
Of babyhood's regal dignities.
Lay on my neck thy tiny hand,
With love's invisible sceptre laden;
I am thine Esther to command,
Till thou shalt find thy queen-handmaiden,
Philip, my King!
Oh the day when thou goest a-wooing,
Philip, my King!
When those beautiful lips are suing,
And some gentle heart's bars undoing,
Thou dost enter, love-crowned, and there
Sittest all glorified! - Rule kindly,
Tenderly, over thy kingdom fair,
For we that love, ah, we love so blindly,
Philip, my King!
I gaze from thy sweet mouth up to thy brow,
Philip, my King:
Ay, there lies the spirit, all sleeping now,
That may rise like a giant, and make men bow
As to one God-throned amidst his peers.
My Saul, than thy brethren higher and fairer,
Let me behold thee in coming years!
Yet thy head needeth a circlet rarer,
Philip, my King!
A wreath, not of gold, but palm. One day,
Philip, my King,
Thou too must tread, as we tread, a way
Thorny, and bitter, and cold, and gray:
Rebels within thee and foes without
Will snatch at thy crown. But go on, glorious,
Martyr, yet monarch! till angels shout,
As thou sittest at the feet of God victorious,-
"Philip, the King! »
## p. 4137 (#515) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4137
TOO LATE
OULD ye come back to me, Douglas, Douglas,
C In the old likeness that I knew,
I would be so faithful, so loving, Douglas,
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true.
Never a scornful word should grieve ye,
I'd smile on ye sweet as the angels do:
Sweet as your smile on me shone ever,
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true.
Oh to call back the days that are not!
My eyes were blinded, your words were few:
Do you know the truth now, up in heaven,
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true?
I never was worthy of you, Douglas;
Not half worthy the like of you;
Now all men beside seem to me like shadows
I love you, Douglas, tender and true.
Stretch out your hand to me, Douglas, Douglas,
Drop forgiveness from heaven like dew,
As I lay my heart on your dead heart, Douglas,
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true.
NOW AND AFTERWARDS
"Two hands upon the breast, and labor is past. "
wo hands upon the breast,
And labor's done;
"Tw
-
Two pale feet crossed in rest,-
The race is won;
Two eyes with coin-weights shut,
And all tears cease;
RUSSIAN PROVERB.
Two lips where grief is mute,
Anger at peace: "
So pray we oftentimes, mourning our lot;
God in his kindness answereth not.
## p. 4138 (#516) ###########################################
4138
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
"Two hands to work addressed
Aye for his praise;
Two feet that never rest
Walking his ways;
Two eyes that look above
Through all their tears;
Two lips still breathing love,
Not wrath, nor fears:"
So pray we afterwards, low on our knees.
Pardon those erring prayers; Father, hear these!
## p. 4139 (#517) ###########################################
4139
MADAME AUGUSTUS CRAVEN
(PAULINE DE LA FERRONAYS)
(1820-1891)
M
ADAME CRAVEN has told the story of her home life in 'Récit
d'une Sour: Souvenirs de Famille' (The Story of a Sister).
She has given a charming idyllic picture of a Catholic
French family-cultivated, simple-minded, and loving, and all ani-
mated by religious fervor. She has depicted with the strength of a
personal experience the hopes and fears of those who see their dear-
est friends dying of consumption. She loves to show the gradual re-
nunciation of life, the ennobling influence of sorrow, the triumph of
faith over death and bereavement. Her affectionate nature, full of
admiring enthusiasm for those she loved, led her to idealize real
people as the characters of her books.
She was born at Paris, but had early advantages of travel unusual
for a French girl. Her father was Ambassador to Berlin; the family
were in Italy for a time; and after her marriage with Augustus
Craven she lived a great deal in his native England. So the titles
of her books reflect a certain cosmopolitan spirit. She was interested
in English politics, and wrote a number of sketches on the subject.
The lives of devout Catholic friends appealed to her strongly, and
she wrote that of Sister Nathalie Narishkine of the Charity Saint
Vincent de Paul, which was cordially indorsed by Cardinal Newman;
and that of Lady Georgiana Fullerton.
Her 'Reminiscences,' recollections of England and Italy, show the
same keenly sympathetic power of observation. She also translated
from the Italian. But her most popular work has been stories. The
Story of a Sister' (1866), a collection of memoirs, was enthusiastically
admired by Catholic readers, and translated into English, was widely
read in England and America. It was followed by several novels, of
which the most popular have been Anne Séverin,' 'Le Mot de
l'Enigme' (The Veil Withdrawn), and 'Fleurange. ' These have all
been translated into English, and the last especially has continued in
favor for twenty years. Here, as in her other books, the author's
strongest desire is to bear witness to the helpful discipline of trouble
and the satisfactions of religion. She treats simple problems of love
and duty, depicts primitive emotion, and deals very little in the com-
plex psychology of later fiction. In a strong, fluent, fervid style she
demonstrates that religious ecstasy is the most perfect of all joy, and
that in Catholicism alone all difficulties may find solution.
## p. 4140 (#518) ###########################################
4140
MADAME AUGUSTUS CRAVEN
ALBERT'S LAST DAYS
From A Sister's Story'
Ο
NE of these latter days, Albert suddenly threw his arm round
me and exclaimed: "I am going to die, and we might have
been so happy! " O my God! I felt then as if my heart
would really break.
――
JUNE 26TH. Before mass, which was again said at twelve
o'clock at night in his room, Albert looked at me a long time,
and then said with deep feeling, "God bless you! " Then he
made the sign of the cross on my forehead, and added, "And
God bless your mother, too.
wasting no more words, I flew along the churchyard until I
>>
## p. 4126 (#504) ###########################################
4126
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
saw, shining against the boles of the chestnut-trees, a red light.
It was one of the hempen torches. Now at last I had got in
the midst of that small body of men-"the rioters. "
A mere handful they were, not above twoscore; apparently
the relic of the band which had attacked the mill, joined with a
few plow-lads from the country round. But they were desperate;
they had come up the Coltham road so quietly that, except this
faint murmur, neither I nor any one in the town could have told
they were near. Wherever they had been ransacking, as yet
they had not attacked my father's house; it stood upon the other
side of the road, barred, black, silent.
I heard a muttering, "Th' old man bean't there" - "Nobody
knows where he be. " No, thank God!
"Be us all y'ere? " said the man with the torch, holding it up
SO as to see round him. It was well then that I appeared as
Jem Watkins. But no one noticed me, except one man who
skulked behind a tree, and of whom I was rather afraid, as he
was apparently intent on watching.
"Ready, lads? Now for the rosin!
Blaze 'un out! "
But in the eager scuffle the torch, the only one light, was
knocked down and trodden out. A volley of oaths arose, though
whose fault it was no man seemed to know: but I missed my
man from behind the tree-nor found him till after the angry
throng had rushed on to the nearest lamp. One of them was
left behind, standing close to our own railings. He looked round
to see if none were by, and then sprung over the gate.
Dark as
it was, I thought I recognized him.
"John? »
"Phineas? "
He was beside me in a bound. "How could
you do ->
"I could do anything to-night. But you are safe
has harmed you. Oh, thank God, you are not hurt! "
And I clung to his arm my friend whom I had missed so
long, so sorely.
―
no one
He held me tight- his heart felt as mine, only more silently;
and silent hearts are strong.
"Now, Phineas, we have not a minute's time. I must have
you safe-
we must get into the house. "
"Who is there? "
"Jael; she is as good as a staff of constables; she has braved
them once to-night, but they're back again, or will be directly. "
## p. 4127 (#505) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
"And the mill? "
"Safe, as yet; I have had three of the tan-yard men there
since yesterday morning, though your father did not know. I
have been going to and fro all night between there and here,
waiting till the rioters should come back from the Severn mills.
Hist! there they are-I say, Jael. "
He tapped at the window. In a few seconds Jael had
unbarred the door, let us in, and closed it again securely;
mounting guard behind it with something that looked very like
my father's pistols, though I would not discredit her among our
peaceful society by positively stating the fact.
4127
"Bravo! " said John, when we stood all together in the barri-
caded house and heard the threatening murmur of voices and
feet outside. «< Bravo, Jael! The wife of Heber the Kenite was
no braver woman than you. "
She looked gratified, and followed John obediently from room
to room.
-
"I have done all as thee bade me-
John Halifax. We are secure, I think. "
Secure? Bolts and bars secure against fire? For that was
threatening us now.
"They can't mean it-surely they can't mean it," repeated
John, as the cry of "Burn 'un out! rose louder and louder.
But they did mean it. From the attic window we watched
them light torch after torch, sometimes throwing one at the
house but it fell harmless against the staunch oaken door, and
blazed itself out on our stone steps. All it did was to show,
more plainly than even daylight had shown, the gaunt ragged
forms and pinched faces, furious with famine.
John, as well as I, recoiled at that miserable sight.
"I'll speak to them," he said. “Unbar the window, Jael;
and before I could hinder he was leaning right out.
there! "
"Halloo,
-
thee art a sensible lad,
At his loud and commanding voice a wave of upturned faces
surged forward, expectant.
"My men, do you know what you are about? To burn down
a gentleman's house is-hanging. "
There was a hush, and then a shout of derision.
"Not a Quaker's! Nobody'll get hanged for burning out a
Quaker!
>>>>
## p. 4128 (#506) ###########################################
4128
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
"That be true enough," muttered Jael between her teeth.
"We must e'en fight, as Mordecai's people fought, hand to hand,
until they slew their enemies. "
“Fight! ” repeated John half to himself, as he stood at the
now closed window, against which more than one blazing torch
began to rattle.
――
"Fight with these? -What are you doing, Jael? " For she
had taken down a large book - the last book in the house she
would have taken under less critical circumstances, and with it
was trying to stop up a broken pane.
"No, my good Jael, not this;" and he carefully put back the
volume in its place-that volume, in which he might have read,
as day after day, year after year, we Christians generally do
read such plain words as these: "Love your enemies;" "Bless
them that curse you;
«< Pray for them that despitefully use you
and persecute you. "
A minute or two John stood by the book-shelves, thinking.
Then he touched me on the shoulder.
"Phineas, I am going to try a new plan-at least one so old
that it is almost new. Whether it succeeds or no, you'll bear
me witness to your father that I did it for the best, and did it
because I thought it right. Now for it. "
To my horror, he threw up the window wide, and leaned
out.
"My men, I want to speak to you. "
He might as well have spoken to the roaring sea. The only
answer was a shower of missiles, which missed their aim. The
rioters were too far off —our spiked iron railing, eight feet high
or more, being a barrier which none had yet ventured to climb.
But at length one random shot hit John on the chest.
I pulled him in; but he declared he was not hurt. Terrified,
I implored him not to risk his life.
"Life is not always the first thing to be thought of,” said
he, gently. "Don't be afraid; I shall come to no harm. But I
must do what I think right, if it is to be done. "
While he spoke, I could hardly hear him for the bellowings
outside. More savage still grew the cry:
They be only Quakers! "
"Burn 'em out! burn 'em out!
"There's not a minute to lose.
that a pistol? "
Stop, let me think-Jael, is
## p. 4129 (#507) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4129
"Loaded," she said, handing it over to him with a kind of
stern delight. Certainly Jael was not born to be a Friend.
John ran down-stairs, and before I guessed his purpose had
unbolted the hall door, and stood on the top of the flight of
steps in full view of the mob.
There was no bringing him back, so of course I followed. A
pillar sheltered me; I do not think he saw me, though I stood
close behind him.
So sudden had been his act that even the rioters did not seem
to have noticed, or clearly understood it till the next lighted
torch showed them the young man standing there, with his back
to the door-outside the door.
The sight fairly confounded them. Even I felt for the
moment he was safe. They were awed
They were awed-nay, paralyzed, by his
daring.
But the storm raged too fiercely to be lulled, except for one
brief minute. A confusion of voices burst out afresh.
"No, he
"Who be thee? " "It's one o' the Quakers. "
bean't. " "Burn 'un anyhow. " "Touch 'un, if ye dare! "
There was evidently a division rising. One big man, who had
made himself very prominent all along, seemed trying to calm.
the tumult.
John stood his ground.
stooped and picked it up.
back again, but he did not;
it out safely with his foot.
effect on the crowd.
The big fellow advanced to the gate, and called John by his
name.
Once a torch was flung at him-he
I thought he was going to hurl it
he only threw it down and stamped
This simple action had a wonderful
"Is that you, Jacob Baines? I am sorry to see you here. "
"Be ye, sir? »
"What do you want? "
"Naught wi' thee. We want Abel Fletcher.
Where is 'un? "
"I shall certainly not tell you. "
As John said this, again the noise arose, and again Jacob
Baines seemed to have power to quiet the rest.
John Halifax never stirred. Evidently he was pretty well
known. I caught many a stray sentence, such as "Don't hurt
the lad;" "He were kind to my lad, he were;" "He be a real
gentleman;" "No, he comed here as poor as us," and the like.
At length one voice, sharp and shrill, was heard above the rest.
VII-259
## p. 4130 (#508) ###########################################
4130
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
"I say, young man, didst ever know what it was to be pretty
nigh vamished? »
"Ay, many a time. »
The answer, so brief, so unexpected, struck a great hush into
the throng. Then the same voice cried:
"Speak up, man! we won't hurt 'ee! You be one o' we! "
"No, I am not one of you. I'd be ashamed to come in the
night and burn my master's house down. "
-:
I expected an outbreak, but none came. They listened, as it
were by compulsion, to the clear manly voice, that had not in
it one shade of fear.
"What do you do it for? " John continued. "All because he
would not sell you, or give you, his wheat. Even so; it was his
wheat, not yours. May not a man do what he likes with his
own? "
That argument seemed to strike home. There is always a
lurking sense of rude justice in a mob- at least a British mob.
"Don't you see how foolish you were? You tried threats
too. Now, you all know Mr. Fletcher; you are his men
of you.
He is not a man to be threatened. "
some
This seemed to be taken rather angrily; but John went on
speaking, as if he did not observe the fact.
"Nor am I one to be threatened, neither. Look here- the
first one of you who attempted to break into Mr. Fletcher's
house, I should most certainly have shot. But I'd rather not
shoot you, poor starving fellows! I know what it is to be
hungry. I'm sorry for you-sorry from the bottom
of my
heart. "
____________
There was no mistaking that compassionate accent, nor the
murmur which followed it.
"But what must us do, Mr. Halifax? " cried Jacob Baines.
"Us be starved a'most. What's the good o' talking to we? "
John's countenance relaxed. I saw him lift his head and
shake his hair back, with that pleased gesture I remembered so
well of old. He went down to the locked gate.
"Suppose I gave you something to eat, would you listen to
me afterward? »
There rose up a frenzied shout of assent. Poor wretches!
they were fighting for no principle, true or false, only for bare
life. They would have bartered their very souls for a mouthful
of bread.
## p. 4131 (#509) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4131
"You must promise to be peaceable," said John again, very
resolutely, as soon as he could obtain a hearing. "You are
Norton Bury folk. I know you. I could get every one of you
hanged, even though Abel Fletcher is a Quaker. Mind, you'll be
peaceable? »
"Ay, ay! Some'at to eat; give us some'at to eat. "
John Halifax called out to Jael, bade her bring all the food
of every kind that there was in the house, and give it to him out
of the parlor window. She obeyed-I marvel now to think of
it, but she implicitly obeyed. Only I heard her fix the bar to
the closed front door, and go back, with a strange sharp sob, to
her station at the hall window.
"Now, my lads, come in! " and he unlocked the gate.
They came thronging up the steps, not more than twoscore,
I imagined, in spite of the noise they had made. But twoscore
of such famished, desperate men, God grant I may never again
see!
John divided the food as well as he could among them; they
fell to it like wild beasts. Meat, cooked or raw, loaves, vegeta-
bles, meal-all came alike, and were clutched, gnawed, and
scrambled for in the fierce selfishness of hunger. Afterward
there was a call for drink.
"Water, Jael; bring them water. "
"Beer! " shouted some.
"Water," repeated John. "Nothing but water. I'll have no
drunkards rioting at my master's door. "
And either by chance or design, he let them hear the click of
his pistol. But it was hardly needed. They were all cowed by
a mightier weapon still- the best weapon a man can use-his
own firm indomitable will.
At length all the food we had in the house was consumed.
John told them so; and they believed him. Little enough,
indeed, was sufficient for some of them: wasted with long fam-
ine, they turned sick and faint, and dropped down even with
bread in their mouths, unable to swallow it. Others gorged
themselves to the full, and then lay along the steps, supine as
satisfied brutes. Only a few sat and ate like rational human
beings; and there was but one, the little shrill-voiced man, who
asked me if he might "tak a bit o' bread to the old wench at
home! "
John, hearing, turned, and for the first time noticed me.
――――――
## p. 4132 (#510) ###########################################
4132
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
«< Phineas, it was very wrong of you; but there is no danger
now. "
No, there was none not even for Abel Fletcher's son.
stood safe by John's side, very happy, very proud.
"Well, my men," he said, looking around with a smile,
"have you had enough to eat? "
―――
-
I
"Oh, ay! " they all cried.
And one man added, "Thank the Lord! "
"That's right, Jacob Baines. And another time trust the
Lord. You wouldn't then have been abroad this summer morn-
ing" and he pointed to the dawn just reddening in the
sky-"this quiet, blessed summer morning, burning and riot-
ing, bringing yourself to the gallows and your children to
starvation. "
"They be nigh that a'ready," said Jacob, sullenly. "Us men
ha' gotten a meal, thankee for i'; bu' what'll become o' the 'ittle
uns a' home? I say, Mr. Halifax," and he seemed waxing
desperate again, "we must get food somehow. "
John turned away, his countenance very sad. Another of the
men plucked at him from behind.
"Sir, when thee was a poor lad, I lent thee a rug to sleep
on; I doan't grudge 'ee getting on; you was born for a gentle-
man, surely. But Master Fletcher be a hard man. ”
"And a just one," persisted John. "You that work for him,
did he ever stint you of a halfpenny? If you had come to him
and said, 'Master, times are hard; we can't live upon our
wages;' he might—I don't say he would-but he might even
have given you the food you tried to steal. "
"D'ye think he'd give it us now? " And Jacob Baines, the
big gaunt savage fellow who had been the ringleader - the
same too who had spoken of his "little uns". -came and looked
steadily in John's face.
"I knew thee as a lad; thee'rt a young man now, as will be
a father some o' these days. Oh! Mr. Halifax, may 'ee ne'er
want a meal o' good meat for the missus and the babies at
home, if 'ee'll get a bit of bread for our'n this day. "
"My man, I'll try. "
He called me aside, explained to me, and asked my advice
and consent, as Abel Fletcher's son, to a plan that had come
into his mind. It was to write orders, which each man pre-
senting at our mill should receive a certain amount of flour.
## p. 4133 (#511) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4133
"Do you think your father would agree? "
"I think he would. "
And
"Yes," John added, pondering, "I am sure he would.
“I
besides, if he does not give some he may lose all. But he would
not do it for fear of that. No, he is a just man. I am not
afraid. Give me some paper, Jael. "
He sat down as composedly as if he had been alone in the
counting-house, and wrote. I looked over his shoulder, admiring
his clear firm handwriting; the precision, concentrativeness, and
quickness with which he first seemed to arrange and then execute
his ideas. He possessed to the full that "business" faculty so
frequently despised, but which out of very ordinary material
often makes a clever man, and without which the cleverest man
alive can never be altogether a great man.
When about to sign the orders, John suddenly stopped.
་
"No; I had better not. "
"Why so? "
"I have no right; your father might think it presumption. "
"Presumption, after to-night! "
"Oh, that's nothing! Take the pen. It is your part to sign
them, Phineas. "
I obeyed.
"Isn't this better than hanging? " said John to the men, when
he had distributed the little bits of paper, precious as pound-
notes, and made them all fully understand the same.
"Why,
there isn't another gentleman in Norton Bury who, if you had
come to burn his house down, would not have had the constables
or the soldiers shoot down one-half of you like mad dogs, and
sent the other half to the county jail. Now, for all your mis-
doings, we let you go quietly home, well fed, and with food for
your children too. Why, think you? "
"I doan't know," said Jacob Baines, humbly.
"I'll tell you.
Christian,"
Because Abel Fletcher is a Quaker and a
"Hurrah for Abel Fletcher! hurrah for the Quakers! " shouted
they, waking up the echoes down Norton Bury streets: which of
a surety had never echoed to that shout before. And so the
riot was over.
John Halifax closed the hall door and came in- unsteadily—
all but staggering. Jael placed a chair for him-worthy soul!
she was wiping her old eyes. He sat down shivering, speechless.
## p. 4134 (#512) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4134
I put my hand on his shoulder; he took it and pressed it
hard.
"O Phineas, lad, I'm glad; glad it's safe over. "
"Yes, thank God! "
"Ay indeed, thank God! "
He covered his eyes for a minute or two, and then rose up,
pale, but quite himself again.
"Now let us go and fetch your father home. "
We found him on John's bed, still asleep. But as we en-
tered he woke. The daylight shone on his face-it looked ten
years older since yesterday. He stared, bewildered and angry,
Where is my son-
where's my Phineas? "
I fell on his neck as if I had been a child. And almost as
if it had been a child's feeble head, mechanically he soothed
and patted mine.
"Thee art not hurt?
"No," John answered;
injured. "
He looked amazed.
"Phineas will tell you.
at John Halifax.
"Eh, young man - oh! I remember.
Nor any one? ”
"nor is either the house or tan-yard
"How has that been? ”
Or stay
better wait till you are at
home. "
But my father insisted on hearing. I told him the whole
without any comments on John's behavior; he would not have
liked it, and besides, the facts spoke for themselves. I told the
simple plain story-nothing more.
Abel Fletcher listened at first in silence. As I proceeded, he
felt about for his hat, put it on, and drew its broad brim down
over his eyes. Not even when I told him of the flour we had
promised in his name, the giving of which would, as we had
calculated, cost him considerable loss, did he utter a word or
move a muscle.
John at length asked him if he was satisfied.
"Quite satisfied. "
But having said this, he sat so long, his hands locked to-
gether on his knees, and his hat drawn down, hiding all the
face except the rigid mouth and chin - sat so long, so motion-
less, that we became uneasy.
―
John spoke to him gently, almost as a son would have
spoken.
## p. 4135 (#513) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4135
« Are you very lame still? Could I help you to walk
home ? »
My father looked up, and slowly held out his hand.
"Thee hast been a good lad, and a kind lad to us. I thank
thee. »
There was no answer; none. But all the words in the world
could not match that happy silence.
By degrees we got my father home. It was just such another
summer morning as the one two years back, when we two had
stood, exhausted and trembling, before that sternly bolted door.
We both thought of that day; I knew not if my father did also.
He entered, leaning heavily on John. He sat down in the
very seat, in the very room where he had so harshly judged us
-judged him.
Something perhaps of that bitterness rankled in the young
man's spirit now, for he stopped on the threshold.
"Come in," said my father, looking up.
"If I am welcome; not otherwise. "
"Thee are welcome. "
He came in-I drew him in- and sat down with us. But
his manner was irresolute, his fingers closed and unclosed ner-
vously. My father too sat leaning his head on his two hands,
not unmoved. I stole up to him, and thanked him softly for the
welcome he had given.
"There is nothing to thank me for," said he, with something
of his old hardness. "What I once did was only justice, or I
then believed so. What I have done, and am about to do, is
still mere justice. John, how old art thee now? "
«< Twenty.
"Then for one year from this time I will take thee as my
'prentice, though thee knowest already nearly as much of the
business as I do. At twenty-one thee wilt be able to set up for
thyself, or I may take thee into partnership—we'll see.
But »
and he looked at me, then sternly, nay fiercely, into John's
steadfast eyes - "remember, thee hast in some measure taken
that lad's place. May God deal with thee as thou dealest with
my son Phineas-my only son! "
"Amen! " was the solemn answer.
And God, who sees us both now -ay, now! and perhaps not
so far apart as some may deem - he knows whether or no John
Halifax kept that vow.
-
## p. 4136 (#514) ###########################################
4136
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
PHILIP, MY KING
L
OOK at me with thy large brown eyes,
Philip, my King!
For round thee the purple shadow lies
Of babyhood's regal dignities.
Lay on my neck thy tiny hand,
With love's invisible sceptre laden;
I am thine Esther to command,
Till thou shalt find thy queen-handmaiden,
Philip, my King!
Oh the day when thou goest a-wooing,
Philip, my King!
When those beautiful lips are suing,
And some gentle heart's bars undoing,
Thou dost enter, love-crowned, and there
Sittest all glorified! - Rule kindly,
Tenderly, over thy kingdom fair,
For we that love, ah, we love so blindly,
Philip, my King!
I gaze from thy sweet mouth up to thy brow,
Philip, my King:
Ay, there lies the spirit, all sleeping now,
That may rise like a giant, and make men bow
As to one God-throned amidst his peers.
My Saul, than thy brethren higher and fairer,
Let me behold thee in coming years!
Yet thy head needeth a circlet rarer,
Philip, my King!
A wreath, not of gold, but palm. One day,
Philip, my King,
Thou too must tread, as we tread, a way
Thorny, and bitter, and cold, and gray:
Rebels within thee and foes without
Will snatch at thy crown. But go on, glorious,
Martyr, yet monarch! till angels shout,
As thou sittest at the feet of God victorious,-
"Philip, the King! »
## p. 4137 (#515) ###########################################
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
4137
TOO LATE
OULD ye come back to me, Douglas, Douglas,
C In the old likeness that I knew,
I would be so faithful, so loving, Douglas,
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true.
Never a scornful word should grieve ye,
I'd smile on ye sweet as the angels do:
Sweet as your smile on me shone ever,
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true.
Oh to call back the days that are not!
My eyes were blinded, your words were few:
Do you know the truth now, up in heaven,
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true?
I never was worthy of you, Douglas;
Not half worthy the like of you;
Now all men beside seem to me like shadows
I love you, Douglas, tender and true.
Stretch out your hand to me, Douglas, Douglas,
Drop forgiveness from heaven like dew,
As I lay my heart on your dead heart, Douglas,
Douglas, Douglas, tender and true.
NOW AND AFTERWARDS
"Two hands upon the breast, and labor is past. "
wo hands upon the breast,
And labor's done;
"Tw
-
Two pale feet crossed in rest,-
The race is won;
Two eyes with coin-weights shut,
And all tears cease;
RUSSIAN PROVERB.
Two lips where grief is mute,
Anger at peace: "
So pray we oftentimes, mourning our lot;
God in his kindness answereth not.
## p. 4138 (#516) ###########################################
4138
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK
"Two hands to work addressed
Aye for his praise;
Two feet that never rest
Walking his ways;
Two eyes that look above
Through all their tears;
Two lips still breathing love,
Not wrath, nor fears:"
So pray we afterwards, low on our knees.
Pardon those erring prayers; Father, hear these!
## p. 4139 (#517) ###########################################
4139
MADAME AUGUSTUS CRAVEN
(PAULINE DE LA FERRONAYS)
(1820-1891)
M
ADAME CRAVEN has told the story of her home life in 'Récit
d'une Sour: Souvenirs de Famille' (The Story of a Sister).
She has given a charming idyllic picture of a Catholic
French family-cultivated, simple-minded, and loving, and all ani-
mated by religious fervor. She has depicted with the strength of a
personal experience the hopes and fears of those who see their dear-
est friends dying of consumption. She loves to show the gradual re-
nunciation of life, the ennobling influence of sorrow, the triumph of
faith over death and bereavement. Her affectionate nature, full of
admiring enthusiasm for those she loved, led her to idealize real
people as the characters of her books.
She was born at Paris, but had early advantages of travel unusual
for a French girl. Her father was Ambassador to Berlin; the family
were in Italy for a time; and after her marriage with Augustus
Craven she lived a great deal in his native England. So the titles
of her books reflect a certain cosmopolitan spirit. She was interested
in English politics, and wrote a number of sketches on the subject.
The lives of devout Catholic friends appealed to her strongly, and
she wrote that of Sister Nathalie Narishkine of the Charity Saint
Vincent de Paul, which was cordially indorsed by Cardinal Newman;
and that of Lady Georgiana Fullerton.
Her 'Reminiscences,' recollections of England and Italy, show the
same keenly sympathetic power of observation. She also translated
from the Italian. But her most popular work has been stories. The
Story of a Sister' (1866), a collection of memoirs, was enthusiastically
admired by Catholic readers, and translated into English, was widely
read in England and America. It was followed by several novels, of
which the most popular have been Anne Séverin,' 'Le Mot de
l'Enigme' (The Veil Withdrawn), and 'Fleurange. ' These have all
been translated into English, and the last especially has continued in
favor for twenty years. Here, as in her other books, the author's
strongest desire is to bear witness to the helpful discipline of trouble
and the satisfactions of religion. She treats simple problems of love
and duty, depicts primitive emotion, and deals very little in the com-
plex psychology of later fiction. In a strong, fluent, fervid style she
demonstrates that religious ecstasy is the most perfect of all joy, and
that in Catholicism alone all difficulties may find solution.
## p. 4140 (#518) ###########################################
4140
MADAME AUGUSTUS CRAVEN
ALBERT'S LAST DAYS
From A Sister's Story'
Ο
NE of these latter days, Albert suddenly threw his arm round
me and exclaimed: "I am going to die, and we might have
been so happy! " O my God! I felt then as if my heart
would really break.
――
JUNE 26TH. Before mass, which was again said at twelve
o'clock at night in his room, Albert looked at me a long time,
and then said with deep feeling, "God bless you! " Then he
made the sign of the cross on my forehead, and added, "And
God bless your mother, too.
