L I B RARY OF THE UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS 8Z3 GEEALDINE : A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. VOL. I. Digitized by tine Internet Arcinive in 2010 witii funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/geraldinetaleofc01ecae GERALDINE : A TALE OF CONSCIENCE BY E. C. A. VOL. I. " In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas." LONDON PUBLISHED BY BOOKER AND DOLMAN, 61, NEW BOND STREET. MDCCCXXXVII. LONDON : C. RICHARDS, PRINTEE, ST. MAETIN'S LANE. A, GERALDINE : A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. J CHAPTER I. "^ Each in his hidden sphere of joy or woe Our hermit spirits dwell, and range apart ; Our eyes see all around in gloom, or glow Hues of their own, fresh borrowed from the heart Keeble's Christian Year. It was the hour of sunset, as from the oriel window of her apartment, Geraldine Carrington gazed o'er the broad lands of which she was heiress. The _ skies poured forth a- flood of light and glory. The ^'clouds reposing tranquilly above the distant hills, formed that mysterious combination of earth and ~:sky, so emblematic of the soul of man ; and their breflected hues sparkling in the far-stretched bend jof the river, seemed, in each ripple of that moving Joy, to bring beneath the feet of her who sadly ^mused, messages of peace, and hope, and love ! ■Tor a time yielding to these sweet influences, Geraldine leaned yet farther from the casement to ^)look around the utmost extent of country. To the ? VOL. I. B 2f A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. right lay the old red town of Elverton, its ruined castle and mound standing in dark fantastic out- line against the brilliant sky ; and on the left re- posed a deep and wooded valley, which presenting to the eye above the tops alone of the impervious trees, carried its rich carpeting between the hills, till all was lost in distance ; while in the fore- ground stood, immoveable in majesty, the stately trunks and rigid branches of man}^ cedars. Along this valley, on a footpath formed on the hill-side, and far above the trees, were fixed, at intervals of some hundred yards, high whitened poles, a yellow pendant fluttered at the top of each, and a few detached figures moved in the measured tread of sentinels along the seemingly prohibited path. Geraldine's wandering and abstracted gaze rested at length on this line of demarcation ; she started, sighed heavily, some deep emotion strug- orlinfj in her breast. At this instant beffan the tolling of the city bell, when, wTinging her hands, she sank upon her knees, and cried, — " Oh my God ! I cannot die ! I cannot appear before thy throne in this bewilderment of mind. Oh ! cause me to know the truth, thou who art all truth. Spare me till this be clear — then take me to thy- self! And oh ! my God, calm thou this burning brain — send me some token of thy pity — give me back my wonted powers of mind, my courage, use- fulness, my influence over others — these all came A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. 3 from thee. Thou canst recal them all ; yet not now — not in the time of this thy public chastisement, when those who have looked up to me require them. Oh my God, I cannot cease to implore thee till thou hast answered me !" As Geraldine half breathed, half pronounced, this supplication, there arose from the outskirts of the town a shout of mingled voices, and, as the sounds died murmuring away, another shout arose, another, and another, while a still small voice seemed to interpret them, " Geraldine, thy prayer is heard !" The hours now passed unheeded on, and the deepening shades of night were flung around, before the silent commune of her heart was inter- rupted by a kindly hand resting on her shoulder, while in a tone of tender reproach, " Geraldine !" said her favourite friend, "Is it to be ever thus ? That vigorous mind, that noble heart, are they laid prostrate at the sight of danger, and are those ties of kindi'ed and of friendship so forgotten, that self alone engrosses one who once lived but for others ! Ah ! dearest, when I look upon this change, I tremble for all human constancy, and think ' truly this is a living death.'" " And would you see me welcome danger — death " said Geraldine, " give me back my ignorance, my prejudice, my blindness, and my peace. Let me think error, truth — delusion, cer- B 2 4 A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. tainty — and I will rusli upon the tainted throng ; will court the breath, will grasp the hand, of the first dying one, and hail the agonies which tear the frame, but free the soul to wing its flight above." •' Your blindness and your peace, my Geral- dine ! Have you misled me then ? Do you then love, and love unhappily ?" Geraldine smiled. " Katherine, your woman's heart cannot suppose a feeling worthy to engross its depth and magnitude, but love, mere human love ! But hear my heart declare its sentiments ; that heart of which the wawardness, the passion, and the pride, you — you alone — have known in their full extent ; hear me declare my present joy, that heaven forbade my early choice ; that I have since escaped all ties that could have fettered me — that I am free to follow the truth whithersoever it may lead me." " Geraldine," gravely replied her friend, " my mind being calmly settled in its early faith, would I not gladly attribute your excitement and distress to some other cause than that of bias towards a creed, which I must ever think most dark, deceit- ful, dangerous ?" The heavy tolling of the bell here interrupted them, and continued for some minutes, during which the friends remained silent, Geraldine being apparently engaged in prayer. On its ceasing she A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. remarked, '' How sad it is to watch those empty forms, surviving all the intrinsic value which they once possessed. At each score of deaths within our hapless town, that solemn sound is heard — for what ? — to warn the officials for mere official pur- poses, but no longer as the ancient ' passing bell,' when, far as the sounds could reach, the bended knee and fervent prayer obeyed the appeal to Christian charity, that souls which yet survived should supplicate for those departing hence. But Katherine," continued she with altered tone, and a joyousness of countenance and manner which, though once hers, she had of late but little shown, " Within these last few hours something has spoken peace to me — something connected with those po- pular shouts sent forth at sunset. Hovv* strange that having heard them, as you must have done distinctly, and repeatedly, two hours since, you have made no comment on them. This over- caution has confirmed my prophetic feeling, that those acclamations from an ignorant capricious mob, proceed from the same cause which, one short month ago, drew from them yells and exe- crations ! Yes, Katherine, I see it is so ! He who was hooted and pelted from the town, for simply preaching according to the doctrine of his Church, and the dictates of his conscience, he has now returned, because his enemies are dying of a fatal disease, and he can save or die with them. Tliis t> A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. is the devoted being heaven has sent, to ' speak peace to me,' and to say, ' Geraldine, thy prayer is heard.'" Here the first gush of tears she had known during many painful weeks, flowed irre- pressibly, and reheved the tension and excitement of her mind. " My dearest friend," at lengtli began Kathe- rine, " you observed to me some months ago, that our minds understood each other, as though they were parts of a whole, and grateful am I to say, that I feel this equally with yourself, excepting in this unlucky instance : but here, I candidly own, I do not sympathize ; and although I admit that' nothing can have been more heroic than the con- duct of this Catholic priest, or more apparently harsh than that of the leading people of the town, including, perhaps, some even of the clergy, yet I cannot but lament his return. All thinking and feeling persons regretted, as much as yourself, that the very characteristics of Protestantism, liberality and benevolence, should have been forgotten on this occasion, while an opposite conduct has proved as impolitic as it was ungenerous ; for in these popular excitements there is always danger of a reaction ; and it is exactly this reaction of feeling that has led this stupid mob, which I despise equally with yourself, to believe that their persecu- tion of this Mr., or, as they call him, Father, Bernard, has drawn on them heaven's vengeance A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. 7 in the cholera, and that his recal will stay the con- tagion. Certain it is, if the report of servants may be trusted, that when he appeared at that gate, where the ' sanatory cordon' begins, and simply told the group who were loitering there, that he had returned to nurse and comfort their sick, the news quickly spread, a crowd collected, and Mr. Bernard was actually borne along, amid the shouts of the multitude, to the cholera hospital, where his advice and remedies are alone attended to. And now, Geraldine, if he but stop here, I willingly give him my meed of praise ; but surely your love of w hat is noble and disinterested can never influ- ence you so far as to hope, that the awful delusions of the Romish Creed shall be once more held forth to the poor ignorant creatures who surround him, and who will now be w^eakened by terror and disease, and biassed by gratitude ?" " I believe," said Geraldine abstractedly, " that there is one point in which all these disputing Doctors agree, namely, that whatever may be the agony of the sufferers in this dreadful disease, they never lose their senses. These poor creatures will then be aware of Mr. Bernard's presence, and of his spiritual care how merciful !" " The best preparation for death must take place in the person's own mind," returned Kathe- rine. " This priest may comfort his own zealous heart with fancied converts in their last moments ; 8 A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. he may administer to them all the rites prescribed by his Church, but do you seriously suppose, my dearest Geraldine, that these converts, even if sincere, will find more acceptance before God than those poor unassisted Protestants, who have been taught to rest solely on the merits of their Re- deemer ?" " 1 will tell you what I seriously suppose," said Geraldine, " that whatever Christ has commanded we are to obey implicitly ^ — that we are not to con- jecture, and reason, and make an allegory of it, or limit it entirely to the times of the Apostles ; but we are to follow His commands to the very letter. So far, perhaps, you may think that we agree ; but / begin to perceive that to our Lord's promises are attached certain conditions, while you think them wholly free and unconditional. Now, this confi- dence may be praiseworthy, it may be presump- tuous, according as it is, or is not, conformable to Christ's intentions with respect to us." " To what are you referring," inquired Kathe- rine. " Principally to that sacrament commanded by an inspired Apostle to be administered to the sick, which we Protestants have supposed beneficial only to the early Christians, and which you seem to think of no consequence at all." " We cannot be long in doubt," replied Kathe- rine, " while we have our Bibles." A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. 9 " How can you say that," cried Geraldine, " when we are differing at this very moment, not about the divine authority of the Sacred Book, but about its meaning I If it be impossible to doubt, while we have the Bible, why are we not agreed on the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, commanded by Saint James, seeing that we both ardently desire to know the truth, both read incessantly in the Sacred Record, and both pray for the teaching of the spirit ? Kate ! Kate I tell me not that eveiy Bible reader knows the truth : I am weary of this repeated but unsatisfactory answer : I have proved its hollowiiess. You know well the in- creased interest I took in religion three years ago, — the confidence I placed in the body of professing Christians, both in this neighbourhood and in London, and the conspicuous part which, from my zeal and my position here, I was induced to take in the various religious associations set on foot. What have become of those Bible readers ! — those I most trusted ! One has ceased to pray, and now can only praise, being certain of salvation ; an- other has joined the Baptists, being dissatisfied with ' Infant Baptism ;' and my former excellent governess, and still dear friend, has become in- fatuated by the doctrines of the ' Miraculous Gifts;' and has even been worked upon, by the frenzy of excitement, to utter those sounds which her party denominate the ' Unknown Tongue ! ' B 3 10 A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. She has ceased to communicate with any of her former acquaintances, as being without the pale of the true Church, which has received baptism by the Holy Ghost : but she still yearns after me with the feelings of a sister. I have received several letters from her, and what think you is her constant entreaty ? That I will read the Bible, and nothing but the Bible ! pointing out to me the chapter hitherto so neglected during centuries, and re- served for these latter days, to be brought to light by the perfected Church ! You know the chapter, Katherine ; it is the fourteenth of Corinthians, in which there is certainly most distinct mention made by the Apostle of those very gifts of the Spirit, which, like the power of healing, the Irvingites contend would never have been lost but through want of faith. Now, Katherine, I have looked far too deeply into the cause of all this wild, unstable conduct, longer to suppose it the fault of the individuals who have so wandered astray. It is the system which I see is wrong, — the system of private interpretation of Scripture ; and hence, however I may pity, I can never blame, its victims." " There has unfortunately," said Katherine, " been too great license given of late to those who select detached passages of Scripture, and, by dwelling exclusively on them, give them undue weight over the other parts of the word of God. A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. 11 But do not judge of the Protestant Church by a few of its unruly members, or throw up the Pro- testant's glorious privilege of taking his faith from the Bible alone, merely from the abuses which may occur from this liberty degenerating into license." " I do not reason on the abuses merely, Kathe- rine; I disapprove and am alarmed even at the uses of a principle, which I once admired as much as yourself. And why are your reasoning faculties so obscured as not to see, that, w^hile we are sur- rounded by Bible Societies, and Branch Bible So- cieties, this county is torn by religious factions ? That the Established Church is here already in a minority; and that, not seeing the madness of division at such a crisis, she keeps up the internal disunion between the Evangelical and the High Church, — the curate often preaching in opposition to the know^i sentiments of his rector, the parishes divided between them, each congregation con- tending that their favourite minister alone * preaches the Gospel;' and then, to make confusion worse confounded, the women beginning to teach, and to decide, and to subdue by clamour, the authority of their appointed teachers ! Now these re- fractory curates, and vociferous women, are all incessant Bible readers; and yet, even in their rebellion, they are not agreed." " Rebellion," cried Katherine, smiling, " is a 12 A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. Strong term; and now, Gcraldine, confess to me, that the Church of England had fallen into a trance until these her own energetic children aroused her, and that what Wesley would have done for her, had he not been rudely thrust into dissent, the Evangelical body are achieving, namely, diffusinor warmth and action throughout the inert mass. Why, then, be surprised and alarmed that some confusion and dissension take place during this process, — that pride and jealousy are irritated on the side of the higher powers, and that, on the Evangelical and reforming side, there is not always discovered zeal without innovation ?" " Yes ! Katherine, I have considered all this, — and I have also felt myself under deep obligation to the party whose cause you espouse : it was from them I first learned to consider religion, not only as a duty, but as a delight, and felt a personal interest in all its glorious promises. Oh ! what a happy being I was then, when I fully trusted my spiritual guides with all the warmth and confiding aflPection of my character ! The awakening from this delusion has, indeed, been dreadful, and I bless God that my senses are still preserved." " And have you never consulted any Gospel minister, Geraldine, who, having remained steady to scriptural truth, would be able to prove to you that the individuals vou refer to have been to A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. 13 blame, through want of caution and humility; and that Protestantism is not to be pronounced a faulty system on account of these bad specimens ?" " I cannot consider these persons as bad spe- cimens of the Protestant system, Katherine. They were, they are, constant and fervent in prayer, searching the Scriptures with all diligence, un- remitting in deeds of charity and love. What right have I to charge these pious and devoted beings with want of humility ? No ! I pity, I love them through all their fearful wanderings ; for, as I before said, I regard them as victims to the s'ystem of private interpretation of Scrip- ture." " Is Mr. Edmund Sinclair, your relative, and your parish minister, acquainted with the unsettled state of your mind ?" " But partially ; for I feel that he could not help me. I know too well the state of my uncle Ed- mund's mind to expect relief Piety, and tender- ness, and sympathy, I have ever found, and should find again ; but how could he give me that which he has not to give — stability ?" " Then, for Heaven's sake, Geraldine, consult some party, amongst the Protestants, whom you can trust ; try even, if you will, the High Church body, which has stability enough, if forms, and articles, and liturgies, will content you. Better side with the worshippers of the * Thirty-nine,' of 14 A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. the Homilies, and of the Book of Common Prayer, than rush into all the fooleries of the Romish Church." " I shall rush into nothing, Katherine ; and could I hope to be satisfied with the old-fashioned Church of England, I would most gladly rest in her bosom. I have often wished to consult my eldest uncle, the Warden, who arrived here last week, and who is considered by his university as a standard authority in points of orthodoxy; but I have ever found the High Church party wanting in fervour, in zeal ! I cannot but remember how dull I used to find religion when a child, and how interesting it is made to children in the Evangelical families." " Yes," said Katherine, " I can never suppose that your ardent soul will be satisfied with the * venerable Establishment !' Tliat Episcopalian atmosphere has a soporific effect even upon me, as certain as it is indescribable. Still, as you are de- termined to put yourself under the thraldom of the « commandments of men,' and I have no hope of winning you over to the communion which I prefer (namely, that of Scotland), you had better consult that big-wig uncle of yours, and be satisfied with his orthodox arguments, if you can; for Heaven knows that any thing is better tlian Popery !" Geraldine remained some time in thought. At A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. 15 length, starting up, she exclaimed, — '*' You are right, Katherine ; I ought to endeavour, at least, to content myself with the Church in which I was born and educated, in which are my nearest and dearest ties, and in which I have been taught to know and love my Saviour. Could I be satis- fied within the Church of England, what conflict, what agony would it not save me ! And I have just been struck by the coincidence of the War- den's long promised visit, deferred till now, \\'ith my present unsettled state of mmd; for there is no one more capable of giving me instruction than this my revered uncle. Having promised me that, in my father's absence, and for the whole of the long vacation, he would remain at the Hall, — shut up together during the raging of this disease, with an ample library at our command, every thing is favourable to my earnest wish for instruction; and my learned uncle, with his strong bent towards deep theological research, is exactly the book of reference to suit my purpose, provided that he will deign to answer a woman's questions : for, though by virtue of his creed, he must allow her to pos- sess a soul, he often treats that soul as he would the butterfly which is its emblem." " Are you in awe, then," said Katherine, laugh- ing, " of this dignified head of a college?" " Yes, I am ; but that wiU not prevent my giving him my confidence : and I have only to prove to l6 A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. him that I am not a buttei-fly, but a true ' Psyche,' and then prepare yourself, dear Kate, for hours and days of controversy, when, if truth be not doubly on my side, I must inevitably be foiled,- — for here, like the little David, with but sling and stone, I brave the celebrated John Sinclair, of , the Goliah of Oxford !" A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. 17 CHAPTER II. But let us try these truths ^^-ith closer eyes, And trace them thro' the prospect as it lies. The Traveller. The conversation between the two friends was here interrupted by the entrance of a servant, announcing that coffee and tea were served in the saloon, and that the Warden had returned from the Town Hall, where he had been, since dinner, attendino; the conference of the Board of Health. On descending to the saloon, the ladies found not only the dignitary in question, but also two medical gentlemen, who had just arrived from London, and whom Dr. Sinclair had invited to spend the evening at Elverton Hall. The conversation be- tween the gentlemen, which the entrance of oMi^s Carrington and her friend had suspended, was, after awhile, renewed; and the Warden, who grasped at every species of information, heaped question on question to his medical visitors, re- specting the different theories advanced on the treatment of the cholera, and the results attendant on each. One of these surgeons had been ap- pointed, by the London Board of Health, to remain in the town of Elverton, where the disease 18 A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. raged most furiously; the other was proceeding farther north, having but a few weeks previously returned from Vienna, where his reputation had been established. It happened that the arrival from London of these two gentlemen, took place exactly at the time when the uproarious people of Elver ton were bearing on their shoulders, to the town hospital, their former victim, and present idol, Father Bernard, the Catholic priest ; and the gen- tleman from Vienna, Mr. Warburton, related, with much animation and apparent interest, the scene at the hospital on the re-appearance of the devoted Father Bernard. To this account Dr. Sinclair gave a polite attention. Geraldine lost not a word of the narrative ; and Katherine Gra- ham, feeling equally alarmed and provoked at the fresh interest which this incident was likely to occasion towards the Popish priest in the heart of her friend, whispered to Geraldine, as Mr. vYarburton^s anecdotes closed, that, with respect to all this gentleman had advanced to prove the anni- hilation of self in the Catholic clergy, as seen abroad and at home, she could only observe, as a melancholy trait in human nature, that people were ever more devoted, and more constant to their delusions, than to the truth, and that this fact could only be accounted for by regarding it as the work of Satan ! At length Mr. Warburton, remembering, per- A TALE OF CONSCIENCE. 19 haps, as he finished his eulogiums on the Catholic priesthood, that his subject was not chosen in th^ best taste, when addressing a dignitary of the Eng- Ksh estabHshment, suddenly checked himself, and rising, with his fellow practitioner, took leave of the party at the Hall, promising great success to the cause of life and health at Elverton, from the extraordinary discoveries of his friend Dr. Newitt, whose pompously silent manner had not hitherto prepossessed the fair ladies in his favour, but who had succeeded more with the Warden, who liked silence, had learned to endure pomposity, and who, delighting in pamphlets which attacked nei- ther Church nor State, had just been presented with the second edition of Dr. Newitt's boldly pro- nounced opinion, that '• he who was well salted could never die !" After the departure of the two medical visitors, Geraldine wandered about the elegant and spa- cious room, too much absorbed by the wished for yet dreaded conference with her uncle to be aware that his eye was upon her. She passed her liand across the strings of her neglected harp, then sighed, and left it, to draw aside the crimson dra- pery which hung before the sliding doors of plate glass that divided the south end of the room from a noble conservatory. But there was no moon- light, and the alabaster lamps had not that nighi been made to she