The Lions of the Lord: A Tale of the Old West
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CHAPTER XXIV.
_The Coming of the Woman-Child_
The next day he sent across the settlement for the child, waiting forher with mixed emotions,--a trembling merge of love and fear, withsomething, indeed, of awe for this woman-child of her mother, who hadcome to him so deviously and with a secret significance so mighty ofportent to his own soul. When they brought her in at last, he had tobrace himself to meet her.
She came and stood before him, one foot a little advanced, several dollsclutched tightly under one arm, and her bonnet swinging in the otherhand. She looked up at him fearlessly, questioningly, but with no signof friendliness. He saw and felt her mother in all her being, in hereyes and hair, in the lines of her soft little face, and indefinably inher way of standing or moving. He was seized with a sudden fear that themother watched him secretly out of the child's eyes, and with thechild's lips might call to him accusingly, with what wild cries ofanguish and reproach he dared not guess. He strove to say something toher, but his lips were dry, and he made only some half-articulate sound,trying to force a smile of assurance.
Then the child spoke, her serious, questioning eyes upon himunwaveringly.
"Are you a damned Mormon?"
It broke the spell of awe that had lain upon him, so that he felt forthe moment only a pious horror of her speech. He called Christina totake charge of her, and Martha, the second wife, to put away her littlebundle of clothing, and Tom Potwin to fetch water for her bath. Hehimself went to be alone where he could think what must be done for her.From an entry in the little Bible, written in letters that seemed toshout to him the accusation of his crime, he had found that she must nowbe five years old. It was plainly time that he should begin to supplyher very apparent need of religious instruction.
When she had become a little used to her surroundings later in the day,he sought to beguile her to this end, beginning diplomatically withother matters.
"Come, tell me your name, dear."
She allowed her attention to be diverted from her largest doll.
"My name is Prudence--" She hesitated.
"Prudence--what?"
"I--I lost my mind of it." She looked at him hopefully, to be prompted.
"Prudence Rae."
She repeated the name, doubtingly, "Prudence Rae?"
"Yes--remember now--Prudence Rae. You are my little girl--Prudence Rae."
"But you're not my really papa--he's went far off--oh, ten ninety milesfar!"
"No, Prudence--God is your Father in heaven, and I am your father onearth--"
"But not my _papa_!"
"Listen, Prudence--do you know what you are?"
The puzzled look she had worn fled instantly from her face.
"I'm a generation of vipers."
She made the announcement with a palpable ring of elation in her tones,looking at him proudly, and as if waiting to hear expressions ofastonishment and delight.
"Child, child, who has told you such things? You are not that!"
She retorted, indignantly now, the lines drawing about her eyes insignal of near-by tears:
"I _am_ a generation of vipers--the Bishop said I was--he told thatother mamma, and I _am_ it!"
"Well, well, don't cry--all right--you shall be it--but I can tell yousomething much nicer." He assumed a knowing air, as one who withheldknowledge of overwhelming fascinations.
"Tell me--_what_?"
"BUT YOU'RE NOT MY REALLY PAPA!"]
And so, little by little, hardly knowing where to begin, but feelingthat any light whatsoever must profit a soul so benighted, he began toteach her. When she had been put to bed at early candle-light, he wentto see if she remembered her lesson.
"What is the name of God in pure language?"
And she answered, with zest, "Ahman."
"What is the name of the Son of God?"
"Son Ahman,--the greatest of all the parts of God excepting Ahman."
"What is the name of man?"
"Sons Ahman."
"That is good--my little girl shall be chosen of the Lord."
He waited by her until sleep should come, but her mind had been stirred,and long after he thought she slept she startled him by asking, in avoice of entire wakefulness: "If I am a good little girl, and learn allthe _right_ things--_then_ can I be a generation of vipers?" Shelingered with relish on the phrase, giving each syllable withdistinctness and gusto. When he was sure that she slept, he leaned oververy carefully and kissed the pillow beside her head.
In the days that followed he wooed her patiently, seeking constantly tofind some favour with her, and grateful beyond words when he succeededever so little. At first, he could win but slight notice of any sortfrom her, and that only at rare and uncertain intervals. But graduallyhis unobtrusive efforts told, and, little by little, she began to takehim into her confidence. The first day she invited him to play with herin one of her games was a day of rejoicing for him. She showed him thedolls.
"Now, this is the mother and this is the little baby of it, and we willhave a tea-party."
She drew up a chair, placed the two dolls under it, and pointed to theopening between the rungs.
"Here is the house, and here is a little door where to go in at. Youmust be very, very particulyar when you go in. Now what shall we cook?"And she clasped her hands, looking up at him with waiting eagerness.
He suggested cake and tea. But this answer proved to be wrong.
"Oh, _no_!"--there was scorn in her tones--"Buffalo-hump and marrowbonesand vebshtulls and lemon-coffee."
He received the suggestion cordially, and tried to fall in with it, butshe soon detected that his mind was not pliable enough for the game. Shewas compelled at last to dismiss him, though she accomplished theungracious thing tactfully.
"Perhaps you have some farming to do out at the barn, because my dolliescan't _be_ very well with you at a tea-party, because you are too much."
But she had shown a purpose of friendliness, and this sufficed him. Andthat night, before her bed-time, when he sat in front of the fire, shecame with a most matter-of-fact unconsciousness to climb into his lap.He held her a long time, trying to breathe gently and not daring to movelest he make her uncomfortable. Her head pillowed on his arm, she wassoon asleep, and he refused to give her up when Martha came to put herto bed.
Though their intimacy grew during the winter, so that she called him herfather and came confidingly to him at all times, in tears or inlaughter, yet he never ceased to feel an aloofness from her, anawkwardness in her presence, a fear that the mother who looked from hereyes might at any moment call to him.
That winter was also a time for the other members of the household toadapt themselves to their new life. The two wives attended capably tothe house. The imbecile boy, who had once loved one of them to his ownundoing, but who no longer knew her, helped them a little with the work,though for the most part he busied himself by darting off uponmysterious and important errands which he would appear to recallsuddenly, but which, to his bewilderment, he seemed never able tofinish. The other member of the household, Delight Tench, the gaunt,gray woman, still made sallies out to the main road to search for herdeceived husband; but they taught her after a little never to go farfrom the settlement, and to come back to her home each night.
During the winter evenings, when they sat about the big fireplace, themaster of the house taught them the mysteries of the Kingdom as revealedby God to Joseph, and then to Brigham, who had been chosen by Joseph aswas Joshua by Moses to be a prophet and leader.
In time Brigham would be gathered to his Father, and in the celestialKingdom, his wives having been sealed to him for eternity, he wouldbeget millions and myriads of spirits. During this period of increase hewould grow in the knowledge of the Gods, learning how to make mattertake the form he desired. Noting the vast increase in his family, hewould then say: "Let us go and make a world upon which my family ofspirits may live in bodies of grosser matter, and so gain valuableexperience."
At the word of command,
thereupon spoken by Brigham, the elements wouldcome together in a new world. This he would beautify, planting seedsupon it, telling the waters where to flow, placing fishes in them,putting fowls in the air and beasts in the field. Then, calling it allgood, he would say to his favourite wife: "Let us go down and inhabitthis new home." And they would go down, to be called Adam and Eve bysome future Moses.
Eve would presently be tempted by Satan to eat fruit from the one treethey had been forbidden to touch, and Brigham as Adam would then partakeof it, too, so she should not have to suffer alone. In a thousand yearsthey would die, after raising many tabernacles of flesh into which theirspirit children from the celestial world would have come to find abode.
Brigham, going back to the celestial world, would keep watch over theseearthly children of his. Yet in their fallen nature they would in timeforget their father Brigham, the world whence they came, and the worldwhither they were going. Sometimes he would send messages to the purestof them, and at all times he would keep as near to them as they wouldlet him. At last he would lay a plan to bring them all again into hispresence. For he would now have become the God they should worship. Hewould send to these children of earth his oldest son, entrusted with themission of redeeming them, and only faith in the name of this son wouldsecure the favour of the father.
Joel Rae instructed his wondering household, further, that such glory asthis would be reserved, not for Brigham alone, but for the least of theSaints. Each Saint would progress to Godhead, and go down with his Eveto make and people worlds without end. This, he explained, was why Godhad made space to be infinite, since nothing less could have room forthe numberless seed of man. In conclusion, he gave them the words of theHeaven-gifted Brigham: "Let all who hear these doctrines pause beforethey make light of them or treat them with indifference, for they willprove your salvation or your damnation."
Yet often during that winter while he talked these doctrines he wouldfind his mind wandering, and there would come before his eyes a littleprinted page with a wash of blood across it, and he would be forced toread in spite of himself the verses that were magnified before his eyes.The priesthood of which he was a product dealt but little with the NewTestament. They taught from the Old almost wholly, when they wentoutside the Book of Mormon and the revelations to Joseph Smith--of theGod of Israel who was a God of Battle, loving the reek of blood and thesmell of burnt flesh on an altar--rather than of the God of theNazarene.
He found himself turning to this New Testament, therefore, with acurious feeling of interest and surprise, dwelling long at a time uponits few, simple, forthright teachings, being moved by them in ways hedid not comprehend, and finding certain of the dogmas of his Churchsounding strangely in his ears even when his own lips were teachingthem.
One of the verses he especially dreaded to see come before him: "Butwhoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it werebetter for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that hewere drowned in the depth of the sea." He taught the child to pray, "OGod, let my father have due punishment for all his sins, but teach himnever to offend any little child from this day forth."
He used to listen for this and to be soothed when he heard it. Sometimesthe words would come to him when he was shut in his room; for if neitherof the women was by her when she prayed, it was her custom to raise hervoice as high as she could, in the belief that otherwise her prayerwould not be heard by the Power she addressed. In high, piping tonesthis petition for himself would come through his door, following alwaysafter the request that the Lord would bless Brigham Young in his basketand in his store, multiplying and increasing him in wives, children,flocks and herds, houses and lands.