"It seems to be so needless, so useless," said Jane.
"Not so," the curate answered. "Let me repeat two verses of an ancient Syrian hymn, written A.D. 90, and you will learn what the earliest Fathers of the Church thought of the death of little children.
"The Just One saw that iniquity increased on earth, And that sin had dominion over all men, And He sent His Messengers, and removed A mult.i.tude of fair little ones, And called them to the pavilion of happiness.
"Like lilies taken from the wilderness, Children are planted in Paradise; And like pearls in diadems, Children are inserted in the Kingdom; And without ceasing, shall hymn forth his praise."
"Will you give me a copy of those verses?" asked Jane with great emotion.
"I will. You see a little clearer now?"
"Yes."
"And the glory and the safety for the child? Do you understand?"
"I think I do."
"Then give thanks and not tears because the King desired your child, for this message came forth from Him in whom we live and move and have our being: "Come up hither, and dwell in the House of the Lord forever. The days of thy life have been sufficient. The bands of suffering are loosed. Thy Redeemer hath brought thee a release." So she went forth unto her Maker. She attained unto the beginning of Peace. She departed to the habitations of just men made perfect, to the communion of saints, to the life everlasting."
In such conversation the evening pa.s.sed and all present were somewhat comforted, yet it was only alleviation; for comfort to be lasting, must be in a great measure self-evolved, must spring from our own convictions, our own a.s.surance and sense of absolute love and justice.
However, every sorrow has its horizon and none are illimitable. The factory bell rang clearly the next morning, and the powerful call of duty made John answer it. G.o.d had given, and G.o.d had taken his only child, but the children of hundreds of families looked to the factory for their daily bread. Yea, and he did not forget the contract with G.o.d and his father which bound him to the poor and needy and which any neglect of business might imperil. He lifted his work willingly and cheerfully, for work is the oldest gospel G.o.d gave to man. It is good tidings that never fail. It is the surest earthly balm for every grief and whatever John Hatton was in his home life and in his secret hours, he was diligent in business, serving G.o.d with a fervent, cheerful spirit. In the mill he never named his loss but once, and that was on the morning of his return to business. Greenwood then made some remark about the dead child, and John answered,
"I am very lonely, Greenwood. This world seems empty without her. Why was she taken away from it?"
"Perhaps she was wanted in some other world, sir."
John lifted a startled face to the speaker, and the man added with an air of happy triumph, as he walked away,
"A far better world, sir."
For a moment John rested his head on his hand, then he lifted his face and with level brows fronted the grief he must learn to bear.
Jane"s sorrow was a far more severe and constant one. Martha had been part of all her employments. She could do nothing and go nowhere, but the act and the place were steeped in memories of the child. All her work, all her way, all her thoughts, began and ended with Martha. She fell into a dangerous condition of self-immolation. She complained that no one cared for her, that her suffering was uniquely great, and that she alone was the only soul who remembered the dead and loved them.
Mrs. Stephen came from her retreat in Hatton Hall one day in order to combat this illusion.
"Three mothers living in Hatton village hev buried children this week, Jane," she said. "Two of them went back to the mill this morning."
"I think it was very wicked of them."
"They _hed_ to go back. They had living children to work for. When the living cling to you, then you must put the dead aside for the living.
G.o.d cares for the dead and they hev all they want in His care. If you feel that you must fret youself useless to either living or dead, try the living. They"ll mostly give you every reason for fretting."
"John has quite forgotten poor little Martha."
"He"s done nothing of that sort, but I think thou hes forgotten John, poor fellow! I"m sorry for John, I am that!"
"You have no cause to say such things, mother, and I will not listen to them. John has become wrapped up in that dreadful mill, and when he comes home at night, he will not talk of Martha."
"I am glad he won"t and thou ought to be glad too. How can any man work his brains all day in noise and worry and confusion and then come home and fret his heart out all night about a child that is in Heavenly keeping and a wife that doesn"t know what is good either for herself or anybody else. Listen to me! I am going to give thee a grain of solid truthful sense. The best man in the world will cease giving sympathy when he sees that it does no good and that he must give it over and over every day. I wonder John gave it as long as he did! I do that. If I was thee, I would try to forget myself a bit. I would let the sunshine into these beautiful rooms. If thou doesn"t, the moths will eat up thy fine carpets and cushions, and thou will become one of those chronic, disagreeable invalids that n.o.body on earth--and I wouldn"t wonder if n.o.body in heaven either--cares a b.u.t.ton for."
Jane defended herself with an equal sincerity, and a good many truths were made clear to her that had only hitherto been like a restless movement of her consciousness. In fact the Lady of Hatton Hall left her daughter-in-law penetrated with a new sense of her position. Nor was this sense at all lightened or brightened by her parting remarks.
"I am thy true friend, Jane, that is something better than thy mother-in-law. I want to see thee and John happy, and I a.s.sure thee it will be easy now to take one step thou must never take if thou wants another happy hour. John is Yorkshire, flesh and bone, heart and soul, and thou ought to know that Yorkshiremen take no back steps. If John"s love wanes, though it be ever so little, it has waned for thee to the end of thy life. Thou can never win it back. _Never!_ So, I advise thee to mind thy ways, and thy words."
"Thank you, mother. I know you speak to me out of a sincere heart."
"To be sure I do. And out of a kind heart also. _Why-a!_ When John said to me, "Mother, I love Jane Harlow," I answered, "Thou art right to love her. She is a fit and proper wife for thee," and I made up my mind to love thee, too--faults included."
"Then love me now, mother. John minds your lightest word. Tell him to be patient with me."
"I will--but thou must do thy best to even things. Thou must be more interested in John. Martha is with G.o.d. If she hed lived, thou would varry soon be sending her off to some unlovelike, polite boarding-school, and a few years later thou would make a grand feast, and deck her in satin and lace and jewels and give her as a sacrifice to some man thou knew little about--just as the old pagans used to dress up the young heifers with flowers and ribbons before they offered them in blood and flame to Jupiter or the like of him. Martha was G.o.d"s child and He took her, and I must say, thou gave her up to Him in a varry grudging way."
"Mother, I am going to do better. Forgive me."
"Nay, my dear la.s.s, seek thou G.o.d"s forgiveness and all the rest will come easy. It is against Him, and Him only, thou hast sinned; but He is long-suffering, plenteous in mercy, and ready to forgive." And then these two women, who had scarcely spoken for years, kissed each other and were true friends ever after. So good are the faithful words of those who dare to speak the truth in love and wisdom.
As it generally happens, however, things were all unfavorable to Jane"s resolve. John had been impeded all day by inefficient or careless services; even Greenwood had misunderstood an order and made an impossible appointment which had only been canceled with offense and inconvenience. The whole day indeed had worked itself away to cross purpose, and John came home weary with the aching brows that annoyance and worry touch with a peculiar depressing neuralgia. It need not be described; there are very few who are not familiar with its exhausting, melancholy dejection.
John did his best to meet his wife"s more cheerful mood, but the strongest men are often very poor bearers of physical pain. Jane would have suffered--and did often suffer--the same distress with far less complaint. Women, too, soon learn to alleviate such a cruel sensation, but John had a strong natural repugnance for drugs and liniments, and it was only when he was weary of Jane"s entreaties that he submitted to a merciful medication which ended in a restorative sleep.
This incident did not discourage Jane in her new resolve. She told herself at once that the first steps on a good or wise road were sure to be both difficult and painful; and in the morning John"s cheerful, grateful words and his brave sunny face repaid her fully for the oblivion to which she had consigned her own trials and the subjection she had enforced upon her own personality.
This was the new battle-ground on which she now stood, and at first John hardly comprehended the hard, self-denying conflict she was waging. One day he was peculiarly struck with an act of self-denial which also involved for Jane a slight humiliation, that he could not but wonder at her submission. He looked at her in astonishment and he did not know whether he admired her self-control and generosity or not. The circ.u.mstance puzzled and troubled him. That afternoon he had to go to Yoden to see his brother, and he came home by way of Hatton Hall.
As he antic.i.p.ated, he found his mother pleasantly enjoying her cup of afternoon tea, and she rose with a cry of love to welcome him.
"I was thinking of thee, John, and then I heard thy footsteps. I hev the best pot of tea in Yorkshire at my right hand; I"m sure thou wilt hev a cup."
"To be sure I will. It is one of the things I came for, and I want to talk to you half an hour."
"Say all that is in thy heart, and there"s nothing helps talk, like a cup of good tea. Whatever does thou want to talk to me about?"
"I want to talk to you about Jane."
"Well then, be careful what thou says. No man"s mother is a fair counselor about his wife. They will both say more than they ought to say, especially if she isn"t present to explain; and when they don"t fully understand, how can they advise?"
"You could not be unjust to anyone, mother?"
"Well, then?"
"She is so much better than she has ever been since the child went away."
"She is doing her best. Thou must help her with all thy heart and soul."
"All her love for me seems to have come back."