nva
OF-CAll
MAGIC OF KINDNESS;
WONDROUS STOKY OF THE GOOD HUAN.
BY
THE BROTHERS MAYHEW,
AUTHORS OF "THE GOOD GENIUS THAT TUENED EVEKY THING INTO
GOLD."
ILLUSTRATED BY
feorjje ffiruffcaljanft anfc Itenng jWeatiotos.
" There is goodness, like wild honey, hived in strange nooks and
corners of the earth." DOUGLAS JERBOLD.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
82 CLIFF STREET.
1849.
PREFACE,
[HIS book is more a matter of fact
I than a matter of fiction. For, strange
to say, though professing to be a fairy
tale, there is not a magic change in
7 it that has not had its origin in the
world without rather than in the imaginations of
the Authors. Indeed, to prevent the appearance
of romancing in this, perhaps one of the most won-
derful romances ever written chapter and verse
have been given for every wonder in it.
vi PREFACE.
The Authors are well aware how imperfectly
and prosaically the subject which is an endless
poem in itself has been handled. The only credit
they take to themselves is that they believe they
have been truthful and indeed, with this view,
they have often preferred the language of those
from whom they have gleaned their facts to their
own. And here they wish to acknowledge how
much they are indebted to Mr. Mackay for his
admirable work of" POPULAR DELUSIONS" to Dr.
Conolly the Pinel of England for his benevolent
treatise " ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND GOVERNMENT
OF LUNATIC ASYLUMS." and to Mr. Williams's
wondrous NARRATIVE of his Christian labors in the
South Sea Islands. The description they have
attempted to give of the ravages of a great pesti-
lence, has been borrowed chiefly from De Foe's
" HISTORY OF THE PLAGUE," that being a more
picturesque though perhaps less literal account
than those of Sydenham, Pepys, or Hodges.
Moreover, the Authors claim some little indul-
gence as well for the omissions as for the commis-
sions of their book, on account of the difficulties
they have had to encounter in weaving into a story
PREFACE. vii
that should be in any way consistent with the
principles of constructive art and connecting to-
gether by the thread of human emotions the origin-
ally disjointed incidents of the work. It was their
wish to have included in the MAGIC OF KINDNESS
many more of those wonders of benevolence that
have become at once the history and the glory of
our own time. The miracles worked by sympathy
upon criminals have been, from sheer necessity, left
untouched, so that the magic changes wrought by
Captain Maconochie, Howard, and Mrs. Fry upon
the hearts of those who seemed the least of all suscep-
tible of the kindly influence, remain for others to
work into a tale of almost incredible enchantment.
The quiet influence of Kindness among families
has also been left untouched the scheme of the
present book only admitting of the more striking
and less homely effects.
The scene of the tale has been laid in the east, so
that the frequent mention of names sacred among
Englishmen, might be avoided in what perhaps
some might still look upon as a mere story-book.
The Authors likewise wish it to be known that
the present work was conceived long before they
viii PREFACE.
had seen the beautiful little book entitled "ILLUS-
TRATIONS OF THE LAW OF KlNDNESS."
Nor is the creed of Kindness a creed that has
been taken up to serve the purposes of the day
one of the Authors having, many years ago, in a
work entitled "WHAT TO TEACH AND HOW TO
TEACH IT, so that the child may become a wise and
good man" attempted to apply the principle of
Kindness to the art of Education and, moreover,
having, some time after that, founded and origin-
ally edited the periodical entitled " |)tmcl)" upon
the same principle.
THE
OR, THE WONDROUS
0tot}j of tl)e
CHAPTER THE FIRST,
N the days of enchantment lived Ul-
philas, the King of Asulon.
King Ulphilas was a mighty king.
Surrounding nations paid him tribute.
Monarchs, far and near, did him hom-
e. But, growing tired of conquest,
and surfeited with glory, and feeling old age
creeping upon him while he was yet childless,
10 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
he laid aside his sword, and proclaimed peace with
all his neighbors.
Then from among the fair daughters of the
nobles of Asulon he chose the fairest, and made
her his Queen. And, when he first entered the
apartment of his bride, he scattered over her a
shower of large pearls from a tray of gold. Then,
lifting the vail from her face, he laid his hand on
the hair of her forehead, and called upon Allah to
bless their union, and to bestow upon him offspring
by her, and to bestow upon her offspring by him.
And he gave a great Feast, the like of which
had never been seen before, and men of all degrees
were welcomed to it. To the aged and helpless
poor he distributed numberless pieces of gold and
silver, in Charity. And he ordered Prayers to be
said, praying the Prophet to beseech Allah to
vouchsafe unto him a son, who should be worthy
to rule over so great and powerful a nation.
But the Feast, the Charity, and the Prayers of
Ulphilas were of no avail ; for in time his wife
bore him a daughter. And the monarch grieved
and murmured at his fate.
But, when they brought the little girl to him,
his heart was softened at the sight of his first-born
for it was the breathing miniature of the mother
he loved so well ; and his grief and murmurings
were turned into joy and thankfulness. Then,
taking it in his arms, he pressed it to his bosom,
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 11
and, kissing it, praised Allah for the loving gift,
and called the child Evoe.
At sun-set, alone in his chamber, he prayed that
the little babe might live to be a solace and a
comfort to him in the winter of his days, and that
she might cling unto him, and so twine around
him in his old age, that she should shed a new
beauty over his decay, and pour about him the
perfume of life, even to his parting hour like a
Rose beside a Ruin.
But Ulphilas was stricken to the ground with
sorrow, to find that, as the infant bud blossomed
into the child, his little Evoe neither spake nor
heard. Yet he hoped in patience.
Two years passed, and still the little one neither
spake nor heard.
And, when Ulphilas found that the ears of his
first-born were sealed to the fond babblings of its
mother, and that its tongue was tied and could not
utter the long-wished-for music of " Abba, Father,"
he grew sad and sullen. And he shut himself in
his chamber, and railed at the world, saying,
" There is naught but evil in it."
In the depth of his affliction, he sent for the
wisest and most learned of his Dervishes. And,
when the Priest had come to him, the king said,
" Tell me, O Welee ! thou favorite of God, what
hath my little one done, that he whom thou callest
all Justice, should have visited her thus heavily."
12 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
The Dervish, bowing, answered, " the ways of
Allah were hidden from his children, but that He
was the Compassionate, the Merciful."
Then TJlphilas, with a laugh of scorn, blas-
phemed, and, murmuring at the will of the Most
High, asked in mockery whether it was '{merciful
or compassionate to punish the innoceny?"
So the Dervish strove to comfort the King, and
spake of the wondrous bounty spread over the face
of the Earth, telling him howfeach little ill was
found, when rightly understood, to minister to some
great and kindly end. \
But Ulphilas only thought of the affliction of his
child, and laughed in scorn the more, saying, " It
is a dark and dreary world, and there is no good
in it."
Then the Welee, moved by the blasphemous
stubborness of the monarch, drew himself up in
anger and said, in a solemn voice, " Listen, proud
King, ! thou to whom the world is dark and
dreary, and who canst see no good in it. Listen !
and gather knowledge from the birds of the air."
And he spake this Fable :
" Of all the birds, the Owl was held to be the
wisest. He lived by himself in a mighty castle, far
away from the haunts of men. He never went
abroad but at night, and saw the world only in its
darkness. All the day through he sat in his dusky
chamber, brooding over the eternal gloorn that
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 13
seemed to him to cover up the whole Earth. For so
perverted was his sight, that, in his dull eyes, the
brightest light was as the blackest shade ; and what
was sunny day to others was cloudy night to him.
" And, when at twilight his dismal day began,
he would sally forth, and as he flew through the
damp and chilly air and saw the black fields spread
out beneath him, he would hoot at every thing
saying, ' It is a dark and dreary world, and there is
no good in it.'
" And so, because he railed at all things, looking
at Nature only in her dullest aspect, and dwelt
alone, shunning communion with every creature, he
was said to be the most sedate and wisest of birds.
" Now, it chanced one morning, as the sun was
rising, that the Owl, seeing his night beginning to
set in, was hastening home to rest, when a little
Lark, fresh risen from its grassy bed, was singing
high up in the air above him.
" The Lark heard the hooting of the Owl, and
the Owl heard the caroling of the Lark ; and, in
the ears of the happy little Lark, to whom a]l
Nature seemed to be rejoicing in the increasing
brightness, the railing of the Owl sounded harsh
and ungrateful while, to the melancholy Owl, in
whose eyes the world appeared only to be growing
more dark and dreary than before, the gay song of
the Lark sounded but as the outpouring of thought-
less vanity.
14 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
' Then the Owl, looking up, said to the Lark,
' Cease that empty song, thou silly bird ! When
the world is dark and dreary, and the Earth full
of woe, is it meet for one of God's creatures to sing ?
Go home, foolish one ! and learn some strain more
fitting to the gloom that overshadows all things.'
" But the little Lark, wondering within himself
how the Owl could see that gloomy which to him
appeared bathed in a flood of light, cried down to
the Owl, saying, ' Come up with me ! come up
with me ! Thou art too close to the Earth to see
its brightness. Come nearer Heaven, and look
down upon the beauty spread so bounteously over
all things, and then thou wilt sing as joyously as I
do, seeing the world is not dark and dreary, nor the
Earth full of woe.'
" So the Owl, with great labor, mounted after
the Lark. And, as he traveled up, the Lark cried
to the Owl, ' Now, look down, and see the opening
flowers their colors freshened with the dew ! See
how they shine in the sun, like a rainbow spread
over the earth as another token of God's loving-
kindness to man ! Look at the rivers, like threads
of silver ! Look at the cornfields, like plates of
gold ! Look at the fruit trees, bowed down with
their luscious loads, that sparkle like many-colored
gems in the sunshine ! Look at the shadows of
the passing clouds, fleeting over the sunny fields
like breath upon a mirror ! Look at the warm
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 15
smooth valleys, spread out like a peaceful lake ;
and look at the billowy, snow-topped mountains,
heaving as if they were the white crested waves
of the land !'
" And, as the Lark said this, he sang louder than
before ; and the burden of his song was, ' thanks be
to God for his wondrous goodness ! for the Earth
is not dark and dreary, nor the world full of woe.'
" But the Owl was blinded with the light that
the Lark rejoiced in, and only answered, ' Foolish
bird ! thou shouldst look at the world with my
eyes, and then thou wouldst see nothing bright in
it. The nearer / get to Heaven the blacker the
earth appears to me ; for verily, it is a dark and
dreary world with no good in it !'
" So the Lark flew away, saying, ' Wise as 1
they say thou art, O Owl ! still couldst thou look
at the Earth with my eyes, thou wouldst know
that the universal gloom thou seest exists not in
the world, but in thine own perverted sight.'
"And, verily, O King," added the Welee, "the
wisdom of the happy Lark was tenfold the wisdom
of the melancholy Owl."
Now, when the monarch heard this, he grew
sad, and beat his breast, and upbraided himself for
his complainings. And he put on a woolen gar-
ment of a sad-blue color, and fasted each day, from
the rising to the setting of the sun. Then, on the
first Friday of the new moon, he went on a pil-
1(3
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
grimage to Mecca, and he there made a vow, never
more to murmur at the will of Heaven. And, in-
voking blessings and peace on the Prophet, he again
prayed him to heseech Allah to vouchsafe unto him
a son, or at least a child blest with the power to
listen to his counsels and call him " Father."
Nor did he return till the ninth of the next
month. Then he gave camels, and buffaloes, and
mules, and goats, and gold and silver, in alms to
the poor. And, in the night of that day, he had a
vision in his sleep, and all he saw was green ; and
he was comforted, for he knew that the dream was
auspicious.
FTER this vision, Ulphilas be-
came an altered man, and again
sought pleasure in the chase.
And the first day that he did so
a gazelle passed by him with its
right side toward him : where-
upon he was filled with joy, for he saw in it a good
omen.
As he returned to the city, one of the royal
Eunuchs came hastening to meet him ; and, as the
man approached Ulphilas, he kissed the ground
before him, saying, " O King, I bring thee glad
tidings, thy Queen hath borne thee a son."
Then the King's joy knew no bounds. Dis-
mounting, he kissed the hand of the messenger, and,
taking from his side his royal scimitar the head of
which was alight with large jewels of many colors
18 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
and exceeding value the monarch gave it to the
slave. And he bade the emirs and nobles that were
with him reward the man for the glorious news he
had brought him. So some gave the Eunuch their
neck-ornaments and bracelets, set with pearls and
jacinths ; and some took off their costly robes of
honor, and gave them to him ; and others descended
from the horses they rode upon, and made the slave
the owner of them ; while many presented hiro
with large sums of money, till the bounty of the
court was such as no man ever received before.
Then, as the king entered the gates of the capi-
tal, he found all the houses and shops adorned with
shawls and brocades and rich dresses ; and different
kinds of costly articles of merchandise suspended in
front of them. Across the streets were hung many-
colored lamps and silk flags of red and green. From
each house came the sound of music and rejoicing,
and the whole city was fragrant with the burning
of ambergris.
As the monarch passed on his way to the palace,
the exulting people cried with one voice, " Long
live the Prince ! Long live great Ulphilas, our
King !"
But Ulphilas made no reply ; for he saw that the
flowers and other ornamental devices with which
his subjects had decorated their doors had, in the
haste, been painted on a dark-blue background.
And he shook with fear; for he knew it was the
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 19
color of mourning, and looked on it as the harbinger
of evil.
But, when the King reached the palace, he soon
forgot the idle omen, in the delight he felt at the
sight of the infant boy that had fulfilled all his
hopes and prayers.
When he had kissed and blessed the babe, he
called his vizier, and ordered him to proclaim a
seven-days' feast throughout the land. And he
commanded that the streets should be canopied over
from end to end, and the city decorated and lighted
with lamps, countless as the stars ; and that fires
of aloes and other scented woods should be placed in
all the public ways ; and that the shops should be
closed neither night nor day. Then he ordered that
kitchens should be set up around the city walls, and
that all kinds of viands should be cooked there, both
by day and by night ; and that all who were in the
city, and that all who were in the country around,
far and near, should eat and drink, and carry home
to their houses. And he directed that every one
who was in the prisons, both the criminal and the
debtor, should be set free. And, after this, he pub-
lished an edict that he would receive no tribute for
three years to come from such as lived by the la-
bor of their hands ; and he made over to the poor
the remainder of the tribute that should be paid
him by the nobles and merchants during that time.
But scarcely had the feast begun, than she who
20 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
bore the King his son, died ; and Ulphilas bowed
down his head like a reed in the storm.
Then the countless lamps were extinguished and
the fires of aloes- wood put out, and the brief revel-
ry of the city gave way to long sorrowing. And
the broken-hearted King had the walls of his cham-
ber smeared over with woad. And he cast off his
robes of bright colors, and wore nothing but woolen
garments of a sad, somber hue. And the gold-
worked cushions and the rich embroidered cover-
ings of his divans, were placed face downward, and
the carpets were turned with their patterns to the
ground.
And the old monarch wept like a child over his
infant son, saying, " If this bereavement be a loss to
me, how much greater a loss it is to thee, my poor
little one ! If the cup of joy has been dashed from
my lips, has not the fountain of life been snatched
from thine ? Who shall be a mother to thee ?
Who shall tend and watch over thy babyhood as
she would have tended and watched over thee ?
thee, in whom I had longed to see her gentleness
mingled with my rougher nature. But, alas ! no
sooner art thou sent unto me, than she the gentle
one is torn from me, and both of us are robbed of
our greatest treasure. While I could not spare her
for past happiness, thou couldst not spare her for
happiness to come."
Then the King sent out messengers to all the
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 21
country round, to seek a fitting foster-mother for the
young prince, whom he named Aleph, for he said,
" he shall be a great leader among men."
But the messengers found not any to please the
King ; and he bade them go forth again and seek
the healthiest matron in all his dominions, so that
his royal son might grow into a stalwart man, as
vigorous in body as in mind, and be blessed with a
frame fit for the fatigues of conquest.
At length the messengers returned, bringing with
them the robust and comely wife of Ergastor the
laborer, with her infant son Huan in her amis and
her little daughter Anthy at her side, as proofs of
the justness of their choice.
When the King saw the dame's sun-burnt face,
ruddy as a ripe apple and beheld the firm and
round limbs of the infant boy, the flesh plumped
out with exuberance of health and when he gazed
upon the rustic beauty of the little girl Anthy, with
her dimpled cheeks, dyed crimson with the hues of
morning and yet fair as rose-leaves steeped in milk ;
and her full eyes, blue and clear and deep as the sea
far away from land ; and her long, loose hair, gold-
en and wavy as a corn field in autumn he com-
mended his messengers for the choice they had made,
and doubled the sum they had promised the matron
for the nurture of the Prince.
Then the pretty little Anthy and the still-sleep-
ing Huan were taken back to their home, while the
22 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
mother remained behind, to nourish the royal Aleph
with the milk that nature had vouchsafed for the
nourishment of her own little one.
S the infant Prince waxed stronger
and stronger with the sustenance
of Huan's mother, the little peas-
ant-boy grew weaker and weaker
from the want of it ; so that, as
the limbs of the King's son became
plump and firm, the muscles of the laborer's child
became flaccid and pitted with the touch ; and his
bones grew soft and bent under him, as he tried to
use his little feet.
And, when two summers had passed, and the
royal Aleph was taken from the breast, the mother
left the monarch's boy a little lion in strength, and
returned home to find her own child with his right
leg withered, and crippled for life.
Summer after summer rolled on ; and still the
laborer's son, though a youth in years, was a babe in
24 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
strength and helplessness. Then his father, Ergas-
tor, began to see that the lad would always be a
burden on his labor ; and that, where other men
like him found their boys adding to the weekly
wealth, his could only take from it, and ever remain
a useless drone in the busy hive.
And, as he contrasted the deformity of the Crip-
ple Huan with the fair proportions of the pretty
Anthy, and glanced from the comeliness of the girl
to the unseemliness of the boy, he grew more and
more fond of the one, and more and more neglectful
of the other ; until at length he got to spoil the
rnaid and spurn the lad, loving to see the little dam-
sel decked out in all the gaudy finery he could afford
to lavish on her, and leaving the " locust" boy to
crawl about in rags.
At nightfall, on his return from labor, Ergastor
had always a kiss and a kind word for the one, and
a cuff and a harsh word for the other. And, when
it was holiday- time, and pleasure led him to the
city, he would take his little rosebud Anthy with
him, and leave the " good-for-nothing" Huan to sit,
as usual, on the door-step, basking in the sun. Then
the father's bosom would swell with pride to hear
the flattering things that were sure to be said of the
loveliness of his girl, and his heart sink within him,
when his friends asked with pity after his poor
afflicted boy.
So things went on the laborer ever praising his
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 25
darling beauty, and muttering at the poor Cripple
till the once-artless little girl grew poor thing !
into the vain, coquettish maid, and the neglected
boy became moody and sullen, arid moped his sport-
less youth away, so that while yet a frolicksome
lad in years he was a morose old man in habit and
in heart.
Nor was the premature moroseness of poor Huan
to be wondered at. He had hardly heard a word of
loving -kindness from his cradle unless, indeed, it
came from passing strangers, who pitied him, as they
noticed the poor Cripple moping on the threshold.
For, while his father only saw in the helplessness of
the lad an everlasting tax upon his labor, and was
ever taunting the wretched boy with his infirmities,
his mother, though less harsh, was scarcely more
kind. She remembered the pretty and well-formed
babe he was ; and, reading in the youth's crooked
and stunted limbs a bitter reproach to herself for
giving to another the nourishment that should have
gone to him, she got to dislike the sight of the lad,
and to shun him for the ugly lesson he was to her.
Little Anthy, indeed, was the sole friend he had.
Blinded by early habit to his deformities, the girl
only saw and felt for the privations of her Cripple-
brother. All she knew was, he lacked the strength
to sport and play as she did, and this made her pity,
and love to help and befriend, him. So she would
stand between her brother and her father's anger,
26 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
shielding the poor boy from many a blow ; and when
Ergastor brought her any new toy or childish gift,
she would share it by stealth with the unthought-
of-Cripple.
Thus Huan grew to find in his sister the only
charm life had for him, and to love her as he
loved the sunshine, which warmed his numbed and
withered limbs.
But it was far otherwise with the Prince. As
he advanced to man's estate, his thoughtless days
danced along with ever-changing sports, and the
whole country round rang with the skill, the spirit,
and the promise of the handsome youth. None
could sit the Arab horse as he did ! None could
cast the javelin so sure and far as he ! Who was
so bold a hunter as Prince Aleph ? Who was so
brave and generous a youth ? Could any compare
with him in manly vigor or manly beauty ?
And, when Huan heard these praises echoed at
his father's board, he looked at his withered and
stunted limbs, and his heart sank within him.
Then, as the Cripple sat by the door, he would
brood over the fine things he had heard said of the
young Prince, repeating them to himself with sneers.
And he would begin to think that the strength of
the royal boy ought to have been his. And he would
mutter to himself, " It was the milk that should
have been mine that gave this manly vigor and this
manly beauty to his frame. It was the mother's
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 27
milk, that kind Providence gave to nerve and nour-
ish me, that has made him the young hero ; and
it was the stealing of it from me that has made me
the Cripple. The muscles that make him throw
the javelin so sure and far should have been mine.
The skill and courage that all admire him for should
have been mine. The form, the power, the health
and spirits of the man should have been mine
they were my birthright my inalienable property
if ever human being justly had property on earth
God's free gift to me, sent with the first breath
I drew yes, all, in common honesty, were mine,
and, in common justice, should be mine still. But,
robbed of them, what a helpless beggar am I left
doomed to eat the food I long, but want the power,
to earn. A hideous Cripple ! Ay, a Cripple ! when
the labor of my muscles was all I had wherewith to
get a living for myself."
The chord once struck, vibrated and vibrated
in the wretched Huan's bosom, until, at length, he
would sit day after day in the sunshine, listening to
its solemn and melancholy music.
So, in time, he got to hate the royal youth, as
one who had done him some deadly wrong and he
loved to nurse bitter and savage thoughts against
young Aleph ; while each harsh word and cuff
Huan got, he would add, in his own mind, to the
long score of suffering he owed the Prince.
Sometimes the happy Aleph, on his way to the
28 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
chase, or returning from it, would stop at the la-
borer's cot, to say a passing word of greeting to his
foster-mother, or else to take another glance at the
budding beauty of the graceful Anthy. Then Huan
would look at him from under his brows, and run
his eyes askant up and down the well-knit form of
the noble lad; and he would look on the Prince
with a grim delight, as if in him he saw himself as
he ought to have been. And he would think that
such as Aleph was Huan icmild have been too, had
not the thews and sinews of that very form been
pilfered from him before he was able to raise even
a voice against the wrong. And, when the Prince
spoke kindly to the Cripple, and looked at him with
pity as indeed he seldom failed to do Huan
would sneer, and mutter to himself from between
his teeth, " By right J should be the pitier !"
the jTonrtl).
HEN the royal youth had
grown a man, his proud fa-
ther gave him the sword and
suit of Davidean mail with
which he himself had so
often carved his way to vic-
tory ; and, placing him at the head of his troops,
he blessed the stripling Chief, and bade him go
forth with them, and make his enemies bend the
knee to Aleph as they once had bent the knee to
Ulphilas.
And, when the news came of his boy's first vic-
tory, the exulting monarch made the whole city
merry with his lavish bounty ; and on the poets
that sang the Prince's praises Ulphilas bestowed
dresses of honor of exceeding splendor and great
value, and gold embroidered turbans, and neck-
rings and bracelets set with jewels.
30 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Then, on the return of the beardless hero, his
father hugged him to his swelling bosom, and wept
over him with joy.
After the Prince had sojourned for a time in the
city, the ambitious Ulphilas sent him forth a
second time to reap new honor in the battle-field.
A second time the lad returned victorious, and a
second time the happy King made the city rejoice
in the triumph.
Again and again his father sent him forth, and
again and again the people and the poets hailed
him Conqueror, until at length his praises were on
every man's lips. Old warriors wondered at the
prowess of the lad, and maidens loved to listen to
the story of his battles. The nation almost wor-
shiped the warrior-boy for the glory of his deeds,
and all, without a murmur, poured forth their
share of the tribute though each fresh conquest
nearly doubled the sum required at their hands.
Then Ergastor the laborer, who burdened as
he was with the Cripple Huan had before found
it hard, out of his little earnings, to furnish his
share of the tribute money, and still dress his
pretty daughter as he loved to see her, now felt
the payments of the tax fall so heavy, and come
round so often, that he began to see he must forego
all further finery for his pet girl at least, " so
long as he was cursed with that locust, good-for-
nothing: son of his."
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 31
And, when he beheld the once-smart Anthy clad
in garments as plain and humble as the daughters of
his neighbors, he began to wish his Cripple-boy were
dead, and to grudge him each crust he saw him eat.
Then, as Ergastor was alone at his work, he
would think to himself, if that drone of his were
dead and gone, how happy he might be at home
with the money the fellow took to keep him ; say-
ing, he would no longer feel ashamed then, as he
did now, to take his darling Anthy to the city with
him of a holyday.
Thus he would pass day after day, until he got
to harbor ugly thoughts against the wretched Crip-
ple, and pray Allah it would please Him to remova
the hateful burden from his back.
At length he made up his mind that the boy
should at least try to do something for what he
ate. Surely he could tend swine there wasn't
much labor in that, at any rate and it would be
teaching him he wasn't to fatten upon the bread
of idleness all his life, but must begin to look about
for himself a little, instead of lolling and dozing the
whole day through in the sun as he did.
So, on the morrow, the laborer placed his son on
his mule, and journeyed with him and the herd
into the forest. And, when he had reached the
heart of it, he helped the lad down, and, giving
him his crutch, bade him let him see whether he
couldn't do something for his living.
32 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
But the poor Cripple limped in vain after the
swine. His unnerved limbs soon began to fail
him ; and crying and sinking with fatigue, he lean-
ed against a tree, while the herd went straggling on.
When his father saw how unequal the lad was
to the task, and how utterly useless the Cripple
was, he grew savage, and swore at him, and tried
to cuff him on.
At length, finding even this of no avail, he turn-
ed round, more savage than before, and, gathering
the herd, told the affrighted boy that he might
hobble home as best he could and went his way,
leaving the poor helpless wretch alone in the
forest.
As Huan saw his father's form disappear among
the trees, and heard the grunting of the departing
swine grow fainter and fainter in the distance, he
cried after him, " Father ! Father ! Father !" each
cry growing louder and louder with his fear.
Nearly wild with fright, he took to his crutch once
more, and limped after him, till his weak and
aching muscles refused to carry him.
Then, as he lay upon the ground, Huan felt
assured his father would relent and come back for
him he never could mean to leave him to starve
and die in the woods. Next he thought, if his
father did return, he would go to the spot where
they had parted, but, finding no one there, he
would not know where to seek him.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 33
So Huan crawled back again to the place he
had left, and sat weeping on the ground, waiting
with wretched anxiety, and listening to every
sound he caught, till he felt sure each one was the
noise of the approaching herd.
At length the measured blows of a distant ax
roused him. In a moment he was up and scram-
bling toward the quarter whence the sound proceed-
ed, shrieking and screaming, " Help ! Help !"
And when after a time the blows ceased, he
fancied the woodman had heard his cries and was
coming to seek him.
Then, tearing a piece from his ragged clothes,
he tied it to the end of his crutch, and waved it as
high as he could in the air, hallooing and hallooing
and looking first this way and then that, among
the distant trees ; until at length, worn out with
his vain hopes, and spent, with the wild energy of
his exertions, he sank to the ground in an agony of
despair.
Suddenly he started up again, as a distant mur-
muring fell upon his ear. " Thank Heaven, there
they were at last ! He knew his father only
wanted to frighten him. Yes! there could be no
mistake this time, for that was the grunting of the
swine and, hark ! tJuit was the voice of his father
shouting to him."
Then, as he thought he could hear the sounds
taking a wrong direction, he put his hands to his
3
34 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
mouth, and shrieked through them at the top of
his voice. But no one came ; and still the mur-
murings went on, for it was only the rising breeze
at sundown moaning and whistling through the
forest.
And when he saw the distance grow blacker and
blacker in the thickening dusk, and the trunks of
the trees fade one by one from before his straining
eyes, he became the sport of his senses, for, in the
dimness, every object assumed the form of that
which he longed to see. Now he beheld his kind
sister Anthy coming to seek him, with her little
basket on her arm filled no doubt with food for
him. Then, yonder was his mother approaching
with the old mule to carry him back ; then after
that he could see woodman after woodman return-
ing, with their loads, home from their labor.
But, when the shades of nightfall had filled up
each chink of light, all hope fled, and, falling on
his knees, he prayed his heavenly Father to look
with pity on his helplessness, and show him the
mercy which he now knew it was idle to expect
from his earthly one.
Soon the growling of the beasts of prey put an
end to the trance into which he had fallen ; and,
as he saw their bright eyes moving like lights
between the trees, the fright of the crippled boy
returned tenfold, and quickened his frame with un-
natural strength.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
35
Then, crutch in hand, he crawled and crawled
about, through brake and bramble, till his palms
were scored and his rags half stripped from him by
the briers in his way for stay still he dare not.
At length, something white in the distance
loomed before him. It must be some woodman's
cot, and, thank God ! he was safe at last.
But, as he neared it, he found the cot a rock.
Then, limping round it in. search of some shelter
for the night, he perceived a cave ; so, praising
Heaven for the mercy it had shown, he entered,
and, cold and worn, laid his wearied body down,
and tried to rest.
IW
UT poor Huan was too hungry
to sleep. The few acorns he had
^picked up in the forest had served
:to increase rather than stay his
^cravings. Besides, he feared to
close his eyes, lest the wild heasts
that he knew infested the wood, might scent him
out and attack him as he slumbered. So he
gathered together the dry leaves and sticks at
the mouth of the cave, and made a fire with
them in order to scare the prowling creatures
from him.
Then, as the burning twigs and fagots sent forth
their lurid flames, he cast his eyes timidly around,
and, to his horror, saw the broken sides of the cave
all wet with a crimson dew, and red drops, like
gouts of blood, falling from the roof. Turning his
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 37
head, to look further into the black recess, he saw
pale-blue lights floating midway in the air.
Taking one of the burning branches from the
fire, he moved, as if drawn on by some magic spell,
to see into what strange place he had strayed.
Then, as he advanced, trembling, into the interior
of the cavern, a low murmuring sound fell upon
his ear, and the dank walls glistened beneath his
hand, as he staggered on. In every corner shone
bright lights, like eyes, glaring upon him ; here
and there he stumbled on some green bone that lay
rotting on the ground. Now, he had to bend his
head, as he went along the narrow way, and now
the passage so widened, that the sides were lost to
him, while the roof grew so high, that he could
riot see it in the gloom.
Then, as the passages narrowed again, he saw,
cut out of the jagged rock, a mighty throne, and
seat after seat raised around it, one above the
other he could not tell how high as if it were
some goblin hall. Frightened, he turned round
to fly ; but where he had entered by one passage,
now many stood before him. At the mouth of
each a monster figure grinned at him from out the
walls. Here was a huge bearded head frowning
at him. There, a giant warrior with a helmet
and a coat of mail. And there, a mammoth beast,
winged and with open jaws, guarded the passage.
Wild with terror, he hobbled down the one by
which he thought he had entered. But as he
38 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
advanced, he heard the running and splashing of
water ; and the murmurs which had first fell upon
hjs ear now grew into groans, while he was half-
stifled with the sulphurous fumes that came roll-
ing toward him, as he felt the ground grow hot
under his feet.
At last the light of his torch hegan to grow dim,
and refuse to burn in the fetid atmosphere. Then,
turning round, he limped back again to the goblin
hall ; and scarcely had he reached it, when some
winged thing flew at his burning branch, and, dash-
ing out the flame with its wings, darted off with a
screech that rattled against the walls and down
the sides of the cave, till the whole place seemed to
ring with a laughter of innumerable fiends.
No sooner was his torch extinguished, than Huan
knew by the red glare shining down one of the pas-
sages, that his fire was burning at the end of it ;
and, groping his way through the thick clouds of
smoke and mist, at last, nearly frenzied with what
he had seen, he was again at the mouth of the cave.
Throwing himself down on the earth, he put his
hands before bis eyes, and trembled from head to
foot, as if his whole frame was palsied ; while in-
wardly the poor frantic boy prayed and prayed for
the sweet unconsciousness of sleep.
But his brain was too excited to allow him to
know the blessed peace of slumber.
At last, as the lad grew calmer, his mind began
to revert to the cause of all his bitter sufferings.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 39
He brooded again over the wrongs of his in-
fancy, and saw again in the Prince the worker of all
his misery. It was Aleph who had robbed him of
his natural nourishment and had made him the
Cripple. It was Aleph whose wars had caused
the burden of his helplessness to press doubly heavy
on his father, and had made the Cripple the outcast.
And, in the fury of his injuries, he invoked a
curse upon the head of his irijurer ; and, wishing
from his heart that he had the strength of a Giant
to curse the hated Prince, Huan grew exhausted
with his rage and fell into a restless sleep.
Then, as he slept, he saw the Demons of Wrong
and Retribution prompting him on to horrid deeds
one offering him a dagger another a javelin
while a third taunted him and bade him be a
Man and a fourth spat at him, and called him
" coward." And, as each Demon did his work, he
could hear a far-off choir of hidden Fiends chant-
ing the story of his injuries in the same melancholy
music that he himself had loved to listen to until,
maddened with their devilish goadings, he made a
clutch at the javelin brandished before him, and,
in the endeavor to clutch it, woke and found
himself the Giant he had prayed to be.
Before him stood the fascinating Spirit of Re-
venge, tricked out in the unsullied robes of Honor,
and wearing the mask of Right. Around her head
a glory seemed to shine, and in her hand she held
the sword and scales of Justice.
40 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Putting the wrongs of the Cripple into one scale
and the sword into the other, she weighed them
against each other, and Huan smiled savagely as
he saw the sword kick the beam.
She told him and, as she spake, her words
sounded as the sweetest music in his ears that
the gift of his unatural strength was hers ; chang-
ing his crutch into a spear, she bade him go forth
her servant ; and, now that she had made him
more than Man, at least to be Man enough to give
back wrong for wrong, and to blot out Injury with
the blood of the Injurer.
Falling on his knees, the amazed Huan asked by
what name he should worship his guardian Angel.
Whereupon the Spirit spake as follows :
" Of the blind Goddess Justice there were born
two children. The one was fair and golden-haired
as the Morning, the other dark and black-eyed as
the daughters of the East. The fair one was weak
and gentle like the Lamb the dark one proud-
spirited and dauntless as the Lion. And the fair
and gentle maid they named Forgiveness, while
her dark, proud sister they called Revenge.
" When the two had grown up to womanhood,
their blind Mother called them to her side, and,
having blessed them, bade them say which of her
possessions she should bestow upon them as their
dower. To her eldest child, Revenge, she gave
the first choice.
" And the dark damsel asked for the sword
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 41
wherewith to protect the Injured and punish the
Injurer. But gentle Forgiveness, falling on her
knees, besought her Mother that she might inherit
her blindness as her portion, so that, being blind,
she might be merciful to erring Man.
" Then Justice, turning to her younger child,
said, ' Thou hast chosen rightly, my gentle one ;
for whereas thy sterner sister hath asked of me
that which was given to me by Man, thou hast de-
sired of me that which was given to me by God.'
" Then Revenge, jealous of her sister's praise,
parted from Forgiveness forever, and went abroad
to see which of the two would win most favor
among the sons of the Earth.
" Wherever she went, high and low, noble and
ignoble, bent the knee and worshiped her. And
to those who sought her aid she gave such strength
and courage, and spoke so winningly, and looked
so like her mother, that men mistook her for Jus-
tice herself. At her bidding, nation warred against
nation ; for she preached the captivating creed of
blood for blood, until men blessed the sword, and
the fairest of the land admired him the most who
wielded it the best.
" So that, when at length Forgiveness came,
and strove to teach a gentler doctrine to Mankind,
they spurned her for her blindness and her weak-
ness; and those that listened to her counsels they
branded as cowards, \vhile those that slew the most
they praised as heroes.
4-2
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
" Dost thou know me now ?" the Spirit asked, as
Huan lifted up his clasped hands, in adoration of her.
" I do !" he cried, "I do ! thou art the proud
spirit of Re "
" Hush !" she exclaimed, hefore the word had
passed his lips. " On Earth they call me Honor,
in Heaven alone I am known as Revenge !"
Huan was about to swear eternal devotion to
the Spirit, but before the oath had left his lips, he
was alone again in the cave.
Then for the first time, he felt a vigor in all
his limbs, and the hot blood of youth dancing and
tingling in his veins. Now he chuckled with the
new delight, and now he toyed with his spear, till
his bosom rose and fell, as he thought of the havoo
he would make with it.
Chapter tije 0i*th.
T dawn the Giant rushed forth to
seek his royal enemy, but Aleph
was at the wars ; so, finding he
could not wreak his vengeance
[on the object of his hatred, he
wreaked it on all that belonged
or were dear to him.
By day he waylaid the King by night he de-
stroyed the Prince's horses and slew his hounds.
Soon, Huan's deeds became the terror of the
neighborhood, and men feared to walk abroad after
sunset, or to traverse the woods alone at any time.
When Ulphilas heard of the ravages of the Giant,
he sent out an armed band to slay him ; but they
never returned and that night the ravages of the
Giant were tenfold what they had heen before.
Another and another band went out ; but Huan's
44 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
monster strength prevailed over all and the terror
of the country grew greater than ever.
Each wound only made the Giant more and
more savage ; and he was forever hunting and
being hunted. In dread of snares and pitfalls, he
lived a life of suspicion, and walked the Earth in
fear ; for he knew that what Men could not com-
pass by strength they would by stratagem.
At length, one night he heard the hum of dis-
tant music, and songs of triumph floating on the
night- wind. Angry at the sounds of joy, he seized
his spear and sallied from the cave.
As he advanced, he saw the light of torches
flicker on the plain beneath. He hurried down,
and, putting the troop to flight, carried off the
favorite mistress of the Prince, as she was on her
way to welcome the victorious Aleph back from a
fresh conquest.
Overjoyed at the rich prize his revenge had at
length obtained, he bore his fainting prisoner to his
cave. As he secured her to the rock, he gloated
over the feast of vengeance he would have on the
morrow, and thought to himself how, in the tor-
ments of Prince Aleph's darling, he would break
Prince Aleph's heart.
When he had bound the poor girl fast, he tore
the vail from her face and staggered back, as he
discovered in the favorite mistress of his enemy his
own beautiful and beloved sister Anthy.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 45
He stood, with his eyes riveted upon her, still
and silent as a statue ; and, as he gazed on her
pretty face, the love he once had borne her curdled
into frantic hate. Bursting with rage he seized
his spear as if to kill her but suddenly he threw
it from him with a savage chuckle, as if some new
cruelty had struck him.
Seating himself by the fire, he fixed his eyes on
the trembling girl ; and, as he ground his teeth, he
taunted her with her infamy, calling her by names
that made her shudder as she heard them.
Presently, he rose, and plucked the jewels one
by one from her neck and arms, and crushed them
on the stone with his heel. Then he paced back-
ward and forward in his cave, telling her, with
horrid glee, how, on the morrow, he would go forth
and seek out her royal dishonorer, and then she
should see her love slain before her eyes.
Thus the night passed.
Early on the morrow, the restless Huan rushed
forth to seek the Prince, and as early the Prince
rushed forth to seek the Giant for Aleph had
sworn an oath that he, single handed, would avenge
and liberate his darling mistress.
But when the valiant youth saw the Giant he
had sworn to crush, even he bold as he was
quailed before the awful appearance of the mon-
ster.
In vain did Aleph raise his skillful sword to parry
46 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
off the savage thrusts of Huan's spear. In a mo-
ment the blade shivered like glass before the Giant's
blows, and the warrior boy of Asulon reeled sense-
less on the sward.
Raising the stripling in his arms, Huan hurried
back exulting to the cave. Then, binding Aleph
face to face with her he had come to save, the
Giant stanched the wounds of the bleeding boy, for
fear his vengeance should be balked.
And, when he saw the life that he feared had
fled before his vengeance was satisfied come back
and crimson the boy's white lips again, Huan's
heart leaped within him for very joy ; and he al-
most shrieked with delight, when he beheld his
victim shudder as he looked around him.
Then, how the monster grinned at the youth, as
he ran over and over again the horrors and the
torments that he had in store for him and her he
loved so fondly. Now, he would dance around
them, brandishing his spear. Then he would shake
his burly fist in Aleph' s face, and grind his huge
teeth close in front of him, and, afterward, he
would smite him on the cheek and spit upon him.
And, as he saw the girl grow faint for want of
drink, and that her lips were parched and cracked
with thirst, he fetched the clearest water from the
wood, and showing her how bright it was, drank
it off before her longing eyes.
As the day drew in, he roasted dainty forest meat
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 47
beside them, so that the savory perfumes of it
might madden their hunger ; and, seating himself
between them, he ate of it, smacking his lips the
while to make them long for it the more.
At night, exhausted with rage, he laid himself
down, to ponder over fresh and more savage cruel-
ties ; for none that he had yet devised seemed
savage enough to him ; until at last he grew so
greedy for their lives, that, no longer able to put
off the promised treat, he started up, and, seizing
his spear, moved toward the girl.
The sound of his heavy foot roused Anthy from
her fitful sleep. Waking up, she saw the lifted
spear of the Giant ready to pierce her breast, and
raised her trembling arms to stay the blow.
Then Huan beheld in her the same supplicating
look the same uplifted hands the same appeal
for mercy, as when he had seen her stand betwixt
him and his father's blows.
And the spear dropped harmlessly by his side.
Then, as his head fell on his bosom, he felt his
former love for her the only friend his youth had
known gush, like a pent-up stream, into his
breast again. And, as his nature softened, the
Giant's rage dwindled into the Cripple's tenderness
once more, and all his little sister's kindnesses stole,
one after another, back to his mind.
Turning from her, lest he should again grow
savage, he said within himself, " she is the injured
48 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
and not the injurer !" and moved toward the
Prince.
But the kindly spirit had set in, and the savage
was half-tamed. Aleph slept, and it was cowardly
to kill a sleeping man ; and, if he woke him up to
kill him, Anthy must remain forever dishonored,
while, if he lived, the Prince might yet blot out by
marriage the stain he had cast upon her. Then,
again, it was not the royal boy who was to blame
for the wrongs of the Cripple's infancy, but she
who had sold his birthright to the King.
In the impulse of the moment, he snapt their
bonds asunder, and bade them fly while he was
yet human.
But the astounded Aleph, frightened at the
strange manner of the Giant, stood transfixed to
the ground.
Giving them a lighted brand, Huan entreated
them to be gone gone before he again became
the savage.
And, when they had gone, a holy peace, that he
had never known before, crept over his heart, and
Huan felt calm and happy for the first time in his
life. He remembered that, as the Cripple, he had
at least got some little pity ; and thought of what
a life of strife he had led since he had been the
Giant ; and, moreover, how the Spirit of Revenge
had made him such a monster, that even his own
sister could not recognize him.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 49
Falling on his knees, he thanked Heaven for the
blessed feelings it had given him : and, bursting into
tears, he prayed to be again the Cripple that he
before had been.
Softened and soothed by his tears, he fell insensi-
bly asleep. And, as the calm moonlight shone
upon his face, it showed the peaceful smile upon his
lips, as he lay profoundly at rest on his brown bed
of leaves.
And his dreams were of exceeding comfort to his
wearied soul. For he saw a light, as of a thou-
sand meteors, streaming down from Heaven, and.
golden clouds resting on the green fields and piled
one above another, till the topmost was lost in the
amazing splendor of the skies. A white-winged
host of angels stepped down from cloud to cloud,
chanting to the music of their silver lutes a full-
throated hymn, in glory of the kindly act. Then'
as a thousand clarions trumpeted his praise, the
angels moved back again to Heaven, and, mount-
ing, beckoned, and bade Huan rise and follow
them.
Filled with a holy awe, the powerless Huan saw
the winged host melt one by one from his sight in
the brightness of the light above. As the last one
stood on the topmost cloud of all, she looked back
again, and once more beckoned him to follow her.
As she turned away to leave him forever, the
repentant Giant started up and, waking, found
4
50 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
himself a Dwarf, instead of the Cripple he had
prayed to be.
The sun was up and the jagged sides and roof
of the cave sparkled with the light-drops, as though
studded with myriads of many-colored gems. And
the air was cool with the rising dew and fragrant
with the breath of the fields ; while from the shady
thickets of the forest without, floated the soft notes
of the hezar and the wood-pigeon, crying, " Allah !
Allah !"
Huan, for the first time since his birth, felt at
peace with all the world.
By his side stood the Spirit of Kindness, clad in
robes of heavenly blue. Her wings were white as
May blossoms, and in her bosom nestled a wound-
ed dove. As she moved, there was a perfume of
crushed flowers like bruised spirits breathing bless-
ings for injuries.
At first Huan looked with suspicion on the Spirit
fancying she had come there not from any love
of him, but for some cunning purpose of her own.
But she gazed upon him so tenderly from out her
tearful eyes, and smiled upon him with so compas-
sionate a smile, that Huan's heart leapt toward
her. He would have fallen down and worshiped
her, but his bosom was too full to let him speak
the blessings he longed to pour upon her, and he
felt humbled, as if in the presence of God.
And yet she looked so weak and gentle, as she
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 51
leaned for support upon the cross she bore, that
Huan wondered within himself how she could have
such power over him.
She told him she had heard his prayer, and
pitying him, had changed the unnatural strength
of the Giant into the exceeding weakness of the
Dwarf. Then, turning his spear into an olive-
hranch, she bade him go forth her servant, and, by
the very might of his weakness, and magic of its
peaceful power, make more glorious conquests than
with the weapons of war.
But Huan feeling, as he strove to rise, how fee-
ble and powerless he was, had little faith in what
the Spirit spake, and feared to take the proffered
branch.
Seeing him hesitate, she advanced toward him,
and strove by gentle words and wise precepts, to
strengthen his purpose. And, among other things,
she spake this parable :
" When man had been sent from the Garden of
Eden, to till the ground and live by the sweat of
his brow, the Angels, sorrowing at his fall, cried,
' Surely he will perish, for there is no animal so
defenseless as Man.'
" Then Pity, looking down from Heaven, grieved
for him, saying, ' Woe to the race of Man ! for of
all God's creatures he is the most helpless in youth,
the most imbecile in old age !'
" And Justice, complaining, said, ' Ay, woe !
52 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
woe to his race, for every beast of the field God
hath clothed, but Man He hath left naked. To
every beast of the field He hath given some weapon
of defense, but Man He hath left unarmed. What
shall his strength avail him against the strength of
the lion, or his speed against the speed of the wolf?'
" Then Reason rose up and said, ' Grieve not for
the children of the earth ; for I will give unto them
Cunning, so that what they cannot conquer by
force they shall compass by stratagem.'
" So Cunning took up her abode among men ;
and she taught them to fashion the trees of the
forest into clubs, wherewith to repel their enemies.
" But soon Man, made wroth by envy, quarrel-
ed with his kind, and, turning the club against his
kinsman, slew his younger brother.
" And, when the Angels saw the first blow struck,
they sorrowed more bitterly than before, saying,
' We armed" him against the beasts of the field, but
he hath raised the weapon in anger against his
kindred. And, since Man wars with Man, we
must protect the weak against the strong, so that,
blow following blow, the strong, in fear, may cease
to oppress the weak.'
" Then Vengance, spear in hand, came down on
Earth, and, arming the oppressed against their
oppressors, bade them rise and give back tenfold
the blows that had been dealt out to them.
" So the Injured slew their Injurers.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 53
" Then the sons of those that had been slain, in
their turn, rose up, and, giving back again tenfold
the blows, destroyed the slayers and their children too.
" At length, blow begat blow so fast, that tribe
warred with tribe, and nation battled with nation.
" And then Peace, affrighted, fled back to Heaven,
leaving Strife and Ruin to ravage all the Earth.
" The angels heard the clatter of the fray, and
took counsel among themselves, saying, 'Verily,
the world will never be at rest. For since Man
hath learned to meet blow with blow, and to have
blood for blood, the circle of destruction must be
endless. Oh, for some almighty weapon to stay
this universal feud !'
" So they all pondered on the means, and each
Angel, in her turn, named som engine more fright-
ful than the rest, wherewith to rain such certain
death on all around, that men, fearing to face it,
should cease to battle.
"At last, there remained but one to speak, and
the angel-band turned anxiously to her. ' You
seek some new weapon,' she said, ' to check the
wrath of Man some weapon to give back so pow-
erful a blow, that men, however brave, shall lack
the courage to stand up against it. There is one
so mighty, that those you have named shall be
weak as reeds to it one so certain that the
boldest shall be cowed and the strongest be dis-
armed by its power ''
54 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
" And the Angels wondered among themselves,
and, cried with one voice, ' Thanks be to God !
Thanks be to God ! name it ! name it !'
" Let Man,' she answered, ' avenge his wrongs
with a kiss, and he shall find it a mightier weapon
than the blow.' "
And it was the Spirit of Kindness that spake
the words.
Falling on his knees, Huan thanked the Spirit
for his altered nature, and, taking the proffered
branch of peace, vowed never again to raise his
hand against his erring brother.
As he knelt before her, the Spirit blessed him ;
and, while she spake the kindly words, the sun
shone full upon her, and, melting in the light, she
vanished from the cave.
LIVE branch in hand, Huan sal-
lied into the forest. As he looked
down the long groves of trees,
arched like leafy cloisters high
above his head, the holy peaceful-
ness of the place entered his heart,
and made him tranquil as the woods around.
Charmed with the scene, he paused, as he saw
the long black shadows of the stems of the palm
and the cedar streaking the green grass, while the
sunbeams trickled through the leaves above, and
sprinkled the Earth with an almost liquid light.
Then, as he moved on again, the perfume of the
wild flowers that he crushed beneath his feet filled
the air with incense ; and, remembering how often
he had trod that same path before, and seen it only
as a place of gloom, Huan wondered how "the
56 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
beauty which encompassed him on every side
hanging on every branch and sparkling on every
blade could have been so long lost to him ; and
it pained him, as he thought of the days upon days
that he had lived in the midst of it, and yet lived
almost as blind to it as if instead of the fair earth
and glorious sky he had been the tenant of a
dungeon."
And he sat down in the shade so that the silent
beauty of the wood might sink the deeper into his
soul.
In a moment, his heart wandered back to home,
and, as he thought of his fallen sister, his long
dried-up tears streamed forth once more. And he
vowed within himself that she should be the first
on whom he would try the magic of his power.
Ay ! he would seek Anthy out, and, by his gentle
counsels and loving care, win her back to the
sunny path she had strayed from. He would talk
to her, not of the dark and loathsome past, but of
the bright and blessed future, telling her how the
tears of repentance were the waters of the fountain
of life. Not a harsh word would he say to her,
but, remembering how severely Heaven had tried
her with her beauty, he would pity her for the
lovely curse that had been put upon her, and so
renew her heart, that she lookin^j^Jifijself through
her tears should hate the gift that once a Prince
had prized.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 57
So he rose up, resolving to go seek his mother,
and learn from her where Anthy dwelt.
As he journeyed homeward all the sufferings of
his youth rose up one by one to his mind ; and, re-
membering that his Father had left him a Crip-
ple to perish in the woods, he thought how the
old man's conscience would smite him, when he
saw his boy still living, and how bitterly he would
reproach himself when he heard that boy forgive
him.
Suddenly, a distant moan murmured through
the forest. Huan paused to listen to it.
Again and again the groans echoed through the
woods, following one another so quickly and so
sadly, that Huan, fired with the glory of his mis-
sion, hurried in the direction whence they came.
As he forced his way past the tangled briers and
waded through the long rank grass, the cries grew
so loud and deep, that Huan knew it was no
human being that suffered.
He stopped for a moment, fearing to advance.
But the sounds were so full of anguish, and so
free from rage, that compassion got the better of
his fear, and, hurrying on again, at length he
reached a low bushy spot, where, stretched among
the tall mat-rushes, lay a huge black-maned lion,
powerless with pain.
When Huan saw the monster, and heard its
roar, his heart sank within him, and he drew back
58 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
with fright. Still it looked at him with so suppli-
cating a look, and cried so sorrowfully, as it licked
its swollen paw, that the trembling Huan, gaining
courage, stepped cautiously toward it. As he did
so, the suffering beast raised the wounded limb, as
if to ask for aid ; and as Huan stooped timidly to
see what ailed it, the Lion licked his hand in
gratitude.
So, shaking off his fear, Huan laid the heavy
foot upon his knee, and pressing the festered ball,
drew from out it a thorn ; after which, he placed
herbs upon it, and bound it up with part of his
raiment.
Then the joy of the poor brute, freed from the
anguish of the thorn, knew no limit.
Now it crouched before him and fawned at his
feet, and now it rolled in the rushes, turning up its
white stomach, as if entreating to be fondled by
him. And, as Huan patted his dusky sides, it
whined out its thanks, till the wood rang again
with its noisy gratitude.
Huan was moved almost to tears with the affec-
tion his compassion had begotten in the brute, -and
cried, " If the beasts of the field can be thus con-
quered by kindness, what Miracles shall it not work
in Man !"
th.e <JHgl)lI).
S Huan neared the spot where
his father's house had stood, a
roofless tenement was all that
met his sight. The once white
walls were here green with moss-
es, and there blue with mildew ;
and in and out of the dark openings where the
windows had been, the swallows skimmed, twitter-
ing to their young. The doorstep, on which he
had so often sat, basking in the sun, was almost
hidden in the tall, rank weeds around it.
And, when he entered, he found the half-burnt
logs that still remained upon the hearth gray, as if
with age, from the lichens and the beard moss that
had grown upon them ; while the earthen floor was
black and sodden with the wet, and dotted with
many a fungus.
60 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
As he looked into the room where his mother
was wont to sleep, an owl, scared from its resting-
place, flew, screeching, past him ; and Huan
hurried back to the fields again, for, though the
place had hardly been a home to him, still he
could not help loving the spot for Anthy and the
sunshine that had comforted him there.
It was in vain he asked at the nearest cottage
for tidings of his sister and his parents ; for Ergas-
tor's house was so far away from all other dwell-
ings, that the distant neighbors knew little of him.
At the woodman's near the forest, they told him,
" the Cripple son had died in the woods, and the
pretty daughter had gone away with Prince Aleph ;
and all they knew was, that shortly afterward the
house had been deserted."
At the fisherman's, beside the river, he learned
that, " after the children had gone the laborer and
his wife had never prospered ; and that Mustapha,
the traveling barber, had told them ' they had
come to no good !' though what that meant was
more than they could say."
So Huan resolved to seek his sister at the palace
of Prince Aleph, and set out toward the city.
And, when he had journeyed till he could see the
domes of the distant Mosques shining in the sun
like bubbles of gold, he met a long train of men
most of whom were blind carrying strings of a
thousand beads, and counting them, as they cried,
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 61
" There is no Deity but God !" And Huan,
thinking of his sister, grew sad, for he knew it was
a sign of mourning.
Further on, there came groups of women, with
their head and face-vails died of a deep blue, their
hair unbraided, and their hands and arms stained
with indigo. Some shrieked aloud their lamenta-
tions, while others beat their tambourines, crying,
" Alas ! for them ! alas ! alas ! for the city !"
And Huan, wondering what their wailing meant,
and fearing for his sister, hurried on to the city the
quicker.
Shortly afterward he saw advancing bands of
pilgrims, clad in coarse woolen garments, of sad
colors, reciting passages from the Koran, and
carrying with them their grave-clothes, which they
sprinkled as they went, with water from the Holy
Well in the Temple of Mecca. And, as they passed
Huan, they cried out to him, " May no evil befall
thee ! the Angel of Death hath smitten the city !
turn thy steps, and fly from the wrath of the Lord !"
But Huan, fearing the more for Anthy, said unto
them, "What shall become of the afflicted, if
all turn from them ?" and still went on.
As he advanced, he met camels and mules, and
Mamelukes, and black slaves with furniture, and
female slaves, and light-bearers, and litters. And
after them came King Ulphilas himself, attended
by his court, and surrounded and followed by mul-
62 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
titudes of the affrighted merchants and citizens,
chanting prayers for the dead, and carrying with
them all their wealth ; so that the crowd reached
to the distant gates of the city.
Still, for Anthy's sake he journeyed on.
Now Ulphilas, when he saw Huan hastening to
the capital, while all others were flying from it,
took pity on him, and, thinking him a stranger in
their land, sent one of his nobles to warn him that
a pestilence had broken out in the city.
But the courtier soon returned to Ulphilas, and
told him his pity was wasted on the man, for that
he was a fanatic, and would not listen to his coun-
sels, but had said, " What shall become of the
afflicted, if ye all turn from them ?"
And, as Huan neared the city, he found the
mounds of rubbish round its walls covered with
the carcasses of horses and mules ; and, when he
had reached the gates, he could not enter, for the
funerals that streamed through them.
And the dead were of all ranks ! Now there
passed him the bodies of the poor, in grave-cloth-
ing of cotton, and carried upon cords interwoven
between two poles ; and then came those of the
merchants and men of wealth, wrapped in Cash-
mere shawls of green and white some preceded
by camels, bearing bread and water, to be given to
the hungry at their graves and others, by buffa-
loes, to be sacrificed on their tombs, and the flesh
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 63
distributed in charity, as a peace-making with
God.
And, when at last the stream of death ceased
for a moment, and Huan sought to enter, the gate-
keepers warned him back, and bade him fly with
the rest. But again he only answered, " What
shall become of the afflicted, if all turn from
them ?" and still moved on, to seek his sister at
the palace of the Prince.
As Huan hurried through the streets, every
house he passed gave him some new and ghastly
proof of the terrors of the pest that was ravaging
the city. Scarce a door but it was painted blue,
as a sign of death within ; and on those thus color-
ed heavy locks and the seal of the chief magistrate
were set, while watchmen, staff' in hand, stood in
front, so that none might enter or leave the infect-
ed dwellings. On the closed shutters of some of
these was chalked, " O, misery.'" while from the
windows of others hung placards, on which were
written, " We all stiall die ! Woe ! Woe .'" Over
some of the doors that still stood open, was in-
scribed a verse from the Koran, and underneath
it' in large letters, "HERE LIVETH A TELLER OF
DESTINIES !" And, further on, he came to the
house of one who sold "NEVER-FAILING HERBS
AND POTIONS TO CURE THE PEST." At the
door of this one stood a woman weeping aloud
and wringing her hands as she cried, " Haste !
64 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
haste, or my child will die!" But a neighboring
watchman bade her be gone, saying, the Doctor
and all were dead within.
And, when he reached the market-streets, he
found the bread-shops alone open for men feared
to buy and sell beyond what was required to support
life ; and even then they would not receive the
food from the dealer's hands, but would take it
down themselves ; nor would the dealer accept the
money from their hands, but bade them drop it in
ajar of vinegar.
At each end of the several markets there blazed
huge fires, some of pitch and sulphur, and others
of benjamin ; so that the atmosphere around was
filled with the odor of them. And the few people
that dared to venture abroad, carried scents and
perfumes in their hands, and, when they met one
another, would cross the road for dread of the con-
tagion.
As Huan hastened through the silk-market, a
half-naked man, made frantic by his fears, rushed
by, shouting, amidst the terrible stillness, " O, the
great and dreadful God ! repent ye and prepare /"
While, in the perfume-market, as he passed along,
people might be heard in their houses, calling upon
God for mercy and confessing their sins aloud, say-
ing, " I have been an adulterer !" " I have been a
thief!"
In the money-changers'-market there lay a heavy
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 65
purse in the middle of the road ; and at the win-
dow of the house opposite sat a Jew, looking stead-
fastly at it, but fearing, for his life, to touch it.
Presently, as he went along, sorrowing, lest he
should have come too late to comfort his erring
sister, a window was thrown suddenly open, and a
woman shrieked above his head, " O Death !
Death! Death!''' The blood curdled in Huan's
veins ; and he sought to enter the house, but the
watchmen pushed him from the door, saying,
" Fool ! wouldst thou die, too ?"
Shortly after this, the door of the house of a rich
merchant was burst open, and a gray-headed man,
pocked all over with the pest, rushed, mad with
the fever, from his bed into the street, dancing, and
laughing, and singing, and making a thousand antic
gestures ; and after him ran his weeping wife and
screaming children, crying and calling upon him,
for the Lord's sake to come back to them ; and
entreating those around to help them get him to his
bed again. As Huan strove to follow and assist
them, the watchmen appointed to stop the spread-
ing of the disease, held him back ; bidding him go
to Mosque, if he wished to comfort the afflicted, for
the Dervishes were either dead or had fled in
fright, and the people cried aloud for consolation.
So Huan, hoping Anthy might have sought
refuge in the temple, bent his way thither; and,
when he had reached the porch, he found a crowd
-5
66 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
gathered outside the building. In the midst of
them stood a woman, pointing to the clouds ; and,
as she did so, she cried, " See yonder, an angel,
clothed in white ; in his hand is a fiery sword !
see, see, he brandishes it over his head, and now
points with it to the city !" And, though there was
nothing there, still the staring people saw it plain-
ly, and some cried, " Yes, there is his sword of fire !"
and others, " He hath a face of glory !" and others,
" It is a token of God's anger !"
But Huan, pitying their superstitious fears, pass-
ed on and entered the Mosque.
It was crowded with the devout and the house-
less with those that came to pray, and those that
lived there and slept upon the matting that cover-
ed the paved floor and they all cried, as if with
one voice, " Save us, O Lord God, the merciful, the
compassionate! save us from this thy just wrath!"
Now, when Huan heard the people say it was
God the merciful, the compassionate, who had sent
the pest among them, he could keep his peace no
longer, but moved toward the deserted altar. Arid
the people taking him for a Welee, or favourite of
God, crowded round him, and, kneeling, besought
him frantically for his blessing, crying, " Save us !
O save us, from this the just wrath of God !"
But Huan rebuked them, saying, "Ye know not
what ye speak! ye utter blasphemies instead of
prayers !" and then he recited this Parable :
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 67
" A certain city was infested by a mighty ser-
pent ; the breath of it was poison and its fangs
were the fangs of death. Whomsoever it fastened
upon went mad with the venom, and died.
" So men feared to go abroad, lest their enemy
should strike them, for so subtle was the serpent,
that none knew where it lurked, and it smote men
unawares. Even those that barred their doors
against it, and set a watch to keep it from them,
would wake and find their little ones carried off by
it as they slept, while they themselves ere long
would fall a prey to it. And none were safe, for,
guard their houses as they would, still the subtle
serpent would creep in, and destroy all who dwelt
there.
" At last, men, dreading the monster, got to
worship it, saying, ' It is no creature of the earth,
for its vengeance is terrible ; and it moveth from
place to place mysteriously as a God.'
" So, thinking it sent from Heaven as a scourge
for their sins, they prayed the Lord that He would
remove the visitation from them, saying, ' It cometh
from God, and is not born of Earth !" Arid so
they cried, until scarce a house remained unsmit-
ten.
" But at length their eyes were opened ; for, af-
ter all their prayers and fastings, they found the eggs
of the serpent were hatched in the muckheaps that
surrounded their own dwellings.
68 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
"And, verily, the poisonous pest sprang not from
the all-good God, but from the filth and corruption
of the city."
Now, when the people heard Huan preach these
things from the altar, they rose up against him,
saying, "He scoffs at the wrath of Heaven! If he
stay among us, he will draw down the vengeance
of the Lord on our heads as well as his own !"
So they drove him from the temple.
Then Huan hurried on to the palace of Prince
Aleph, hoping that he might find his sister there,
still unscathed.
When he reached it he found the guards fled,
and the gates wide open. He clapped his hands,
to summon the door keeper, but no one came.
Again he clapped his hands, till the silent halls
echoed with the noise and still no one came in
answer to him.
So he entered, and, as he walked along the de-
serted corridors, not a soul did he see or hear ; and
in some of the chambers were chests filled with
brocades of many-colored silks, and shawls of ex-
ceeding value, and drinking cups of the precious
metals, and saucers of crystal, and yet no one staid
to guard them ; in others were coffers of red gold
and white silver, stored with pearls arid jacinths,
and precious minerals ; while one closet whose
door was open, was filled with suits of Davidean
mail, and gilded helmets, and Indian swords, and
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 69
other instruments of war. And, though the gates,
the coffers, and the chests were open, still no man
dared to enter or remain within the palace walls,
for fear of the contagion.
Wondering within himself, what could have be-
fallen his sister, Huan hastened into the thickest
of the disease, for he said, " If she be smitten
with the pest, I may yet have time to comfort
her !"
Wherever he went he found the sick left to die
alone excepting where some kind friend, who had
survived the pest, was tending the last moments of
his suffering neighbor ; and then the deep scars and
pits that the pestilence had left on the face of the
survivor, and the ulcerous sores that covered the
countenance of the sufferer, told how fearful an
affliction it was.
In one house, he found a man holding in his
arms the dead body of his young wife, and so over-
whelmed with grief, that, though Huan strove to
comfort him and lead him thence, he would not
listen to him, but, still clinging to the corpse, died
heart-broken before the night was out.
In another dwelling, a child was brought home
from its nurse, who had died of the pest ; and yet
the tender mother would not refuse to take in the
babe, and though its little head and hands were
swollen with the infection, and the purple tokens
of death were on it, still she laid it in her bosom
70 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
and nursed it till it died and then (kind soul !)
she died too.
When Huan saw these things, he wept and
prayed to the blessed Spirit of Kindness that she
would teach him how to stay the ravages of the
pestilence. And immediately his eyes were open-
ed, and he saw as in a vision the means whereby
to shield those who had yet escaped from it.
Full of joy he hurried back to the Mosque once
more, and bade those that had fled in terror there,
go home again and tend the sick, promising them,
if they would put faith in him, he would make
them proof against the infection.
But many laughed at him, while some cried in
anger, "It is the scoffer again, that seeketh to
oppose the will of God."
Others longed, but feared to trust his words.
But Huan entreated them so earnestly to have
faith in him, that the laughing ceased, and men,
wavering, looked inquiringly at one another. Here
knelt one who had a suffering wife and had
come to pray for her deliverance. There stood
another who had a stricken son and had fled in
fear from him. Here was a girl whose aged father
lay prostrate with the pest, and there a woman
whose little daughter lay moaning with the mal-
ady.
These, affliction made more bold and desperate
than the rest. And they came forward and sought
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 71
the magic aid of the dwarf, saying, " We have
faith in thy power."
So Huan blessed them, and touched each on the
right arm ; and whosoever came under his touch
had a mark left where that touch had been, and on
them the pestilence was powerless.
# * * # #
When the new miracle was spread abroad, a
smile of joy and wonder sat on every man's face.
Those who before had crossed over, to avoid each
other, when they met in the public ways, now
stopped to shake one another by the hand, and cry,
" God bless you !" And in the narrow market-
streets the people would throw open their windows,
and, calling to their neighbors, ask " how they did ;"
and if they " had heard the good news ?" Some,
in return, would say, " What good news ?" And,
when they were answered that the pestilence was
stayed, they would cry out, " GOD BE PRAISED !"
and would weep aloud for joy, blessing them for
their glad tidings, saying, "they had heard nothing
of it."
On the morrow, hundreds flocked to the Dwarf
for the blessing of the touch. And last of all came
those who were skilled in medicine ; and though
they had scoffed before, they now sought his aid.
To these Huan gave the same power as himself, so
that the pestilence was stayed, and the whole city
rang with the wonder of the deed.
72
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
But Huan was sad at heart, for among those
that flocked to him to be protected he saw not not
could hear of his sister Anthy.
OON the news reached the King
that the havoc of the pestilence
had been stayed by a touch of a
'Dwarf; and Ulphilas dispatched
messengers with presents to the
man, commanding him to come
and touch him and his.
So Huan was conducted to a high hill, at the
outskirts of the town, where the King with all his
court was encamped.
When the Dwarf reached the spot, he found
large fires of aloes- wood and scented resins burning
at the base of the mountain, so that the air might
be purified ere it reached the King. And the
whole multitude were engaged in prayer and fast-
ing ; for Ulphilas had ordained that so long as the
scourge was on the city no man should eat or drink
from the rising to the setting of the sun.
74 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
As Huan mounted the sides of the hill, the pray-
ers that the Dervishes chanted for the dead ceased,
and the priests and nobles came out to meet him,
pouring blessings on his head, and beseeching him
for the grace of his touch. And, as he gave it
to them, one would ask him how this man had
fared, and another, whether his father was dead or
not ; while others, who had all their kindred with
them, would seek to know how many had been
destroyed.
When Huan had set the charm upon Ulphilas
himself, the grateful monarch fell at his feet, and,
kneeling, bade him name his reward.
The Dwarf told him he worked not for rewards ;
still, for the sake of others, there was one that he
would ask.
And the grateful King cried, " Name it ! name
it ! were it half my kingdom, thou shouldst have
it!"
Then Huan demanded his noblest mansion of
the King ; and the courtiers smiled among them-
selves, saying, " What can he, a Dwarf, want with
a royal dwelling."
Huan heard the whisperings of the nobles, and,
turning to them, said, "Behold!" and, with a
wave of his magic branch, the Palace of the King
was changed into an Hospital for the poor.
Then, as the multitude gazed with wonder at
the act, and looked down from on high, they beheld
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 75
the sick, the maimed and the dying, carried from
all parts into the royal building. And, after these,
came the Doctors, vieing with each other for the
honor of tending the poor without fee or reward.
When Ulphilas saw this, his delight knew no
bounds ; and, as he wept tears of joy, he cried,
" Go on with thy good work ! go on ! Choose for
the poor another palace, rather than the sick be
without a resting place on earth."
Then the Nobles, fired with the glory of the
deed, in their turn, gave each a mansion of his
own, until at last almost every ill that troubles
Man had a palace set aside for the poor.
There were gorgeous homes for the Mad, the
Blind, the Deaf and the Dumb the Mother-in-
labor, and the Foundling the Widow and the
Orphan. And the Pauper, the Vagrant and the
Wanton the virtuous old and the sinful young,
the veteran Soldier and the worn out Sailor, had
each their palace too ; till the city bristled and
glittered with the magnificence of the buildings,
and the homes of the suffering poor rivaled in
grandeur the homes of the monarch himself.
Nor did the charity cease with their own coun-
trymen ; for the alien sick had noble homes set
apart for them likewise, till the very ships of war
that had been created to destroy the people of other
lands were given up to save or comfort them in
their last moments.
76 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
And the kindness that had been shown to the
children of other nations, the children of other
nations, in their turn showed to them. For, when
the bounty of the kingdom had been exhausted, so
that the last hospital stood half-raised, and Kind-
ness called in vain upon the people to finish the
home of their wasting children, a sweet-voiced bird
from other lands poured forth her song, and, as the
heavens rang with her melody, the building rose
and rose, till it grew to be the noblest of all the
noble monuments of love and kindness that graced
the city.
HEN Huan returned to the
city, multitudes flocked out to
meet him, kissinjj the ground
before him, and crying, " God
speed the worker of Good !"
And, while the King ad-
vanced with scarce a follower in his train, Huan
could not proceed for the thousands that gathered
round him. And, as he heard the blessings of the
people raining on his head, he wondered within
himself how he, a Dwarf, armed with a simple
Olive-branch, should have gained more power over
men than Ulphilas with all his host.
When he was alone in his chamber, he thanked
the holy Spirit of Kindness for the change she had
wrought in him, and vowed never to rest so long as
pain arid want were in the world, or Man was at
enmity with Man.
78 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
So Huan went about, comforting the poor and
tending the sick, until each day the people got to
love him more and more, and to call him the
"Noble Worker of Good."
Now it chanced one morning, as Huan visited the
hospital, he noticed, while all the sufferers he
passed had some gentle friend to smooth their
pillow and ease their pain, still there was one poor,
stricken thing whose bedside was deserted ; and,
though she lay gasping with the fire of the fever,
there was no one near to raise the cool cup to her
burning lips.
Filled with pity for her loneliness, he asked of
those around the name and history of the sufferer,
but none could tell him who or what she was, for
they said she had refused to answer all their ques-
tionings.
At first, Huan thought it might be his sister
Anthy, who, ashamed of the name she bore, had
sought to keep her misery secret from the world.
But he remembered that Anthy was the favorite
of the Prince, and Aleph, he said, would never
leave her, for whom he had once risked his life, to
die alone in such a place. And when Huan sat
himself down by her side, and looked at the scarred
and riddled face of the girl, his heart beat again,
for he felt sure she could not be the pretty Anthy
that he sought.
But, though he rejoiced at first to find another
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 79
stricken in his sister's place, still, as he looked
at the poor maid a second time, and read in her
sightless eyes how bitterly she had suffered, his
heart bled for her, and he vowed that he would
be a friend and brother to her in her hour of
trouble.
Huan tended her so kindly, and spoke to her so
gently and cheeringly, that the girl soon got to love
and confide in him ; so that, as she grew stronger,
she would raise herself on her pillow, arid, turning
her sightless eyes toward him, as he sat watching
by her side, would tell him of the days when she
was happy, and had found a friend in almost all
who looked upon her. And she would wonder
what those, who used to call her " the bright-
eyed" then, would say, if they could see her
now. Whereupon she would vow to herself that
henceforth she would be as altered in mind as
she was in body, so that none might recognize
her.
At one time she Would thank God for having
taken her eyes from her, saying that, " when she
had them, she had used them only to look upon
herself, until she got to think she was the fairest
thing in all creation ; whereas, now that she had
lost them she knew she was the foulest. Then, at
another time, she would speak to Huan of her
brother, telling him how her father had so hated
him for his deformity, and loved her for her beauty
80 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
that he had driven his poor boy from his house and
ruined his weak girl by the vanity of his praises.
So Huan, weighing all these things together,
soon got to know that the poor, disfigured object at
whose bedside he watched, was the once-lovely
Anthy, who, now that her loveliness had passed
away, had been flung aside like a withered flower,
and left without a friend to care whether she lived
or died.
As he consoled her. he drew from her, little by
little, the story of all her sufferings.
She told him she had fallen the victim of her
vanity and Aleph's admiration ; for her mother
and her father, proud to find their girl loved by a
Prince, had striven to fan the flame their child's
beauty had kindled, leaving her alone with Aleph
to listen to his flattery ; until at last, she blinded
with the brilliance of the lot he promised should be
hers had left her humble roof for his splendid home.
And, when her father found the girl that he had
been so proud of, and, to increase whose beauty he
had squandered all his earnings, had fled in dis-
honor from his care, his reason left him, and short-
ly after her mother died of grief.
Then, as she heard Huan weep aloud, she bless-
ed him for his compassion, and went on to tell him
that, " her beauty had been not only her own pest,
but the pest of all around. For, to increase the
charms she had been cursed with, she had asked of
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 81
the Prince when he begged her to name some
precious gift by which he might show the magni-
tude of his love for her a shawl of many colors
from the far Indies, made of the fine wool of the
goat of Thibet, and interwoven with red gold ; and
how in that shawl the pestilence had been brought
into the city, and she deprived by it of the very
charms it was intended to enhance ; so that
Aleph's love had turned to fear, and he had cast
her from him, cursing her as a witch."
And when she had told the wretched tale,
Huan, as he wept, confessed to his sister who he
was, and consoled her, saying, "he would be ever
near to guide and protect her in her darksome
way ; and, now that she was blind, she should
look at the world with his eyes, and find in it
beauties that she had never seen before."
Then, as she ran her fingers over his features,
she blessed him, as she kissed his hand again and
again, thanking Heaven for the hard lesson it had
taught her.
* # * #
As Anthy's health came slowly back again,
Huan would find her sometimes sorrowing for .the
beauty whose loss had deprived her of Aleph's love.
And then her brother, seeing her waver, would seek
to console and strengthen her in the purpose of her
new life, telling her " how all outward beauty was
a gorgeous cheat, unless the inner part were beau-
82 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
teous too ;" and how " the love which mere exter-
nal excellence begat was false and hollow as the
beauty which begat it." But that which moved
the frail one most, was the story he told her of
what befell the pretty Poppy.
" In a field of ripening Corn there grew a
Poppy ; and, while the homely Corn, dressed in its
suit of sober drab, was rough and plain, the Poppy
put forth her pretty crimson leaves and blossomed
into beauty. And, as the thriving Corn grew tan-
ned in the sun, increasing in wealth each day, the
silly Poppy feared to show her face, lest the scorch-
ing rays should take the color from her damask
cheeks. And, when the autumn came, the Corn,
that had gathered only goodness in the summer
of its days, bowed down its head for the fuller its
head became the humbler it grew. But the gaudy
Poppy, living not for others, and thinking only of
herself, was in her prime, as empty headed and
proud of her fine leaves as in the spring-time of her
life ; so that every lark that caroled above the
field she thought sang only the praises of her
charms, flattering herself that, while she was there
no one would deign to look with favor on the Corn.
" But when the reapers came, they passed the
vain Poppy by, as a showy, useless thing, leaving
her for others less wise than themselves to pluck for
her fickle beauty. Whereas, they took the Corn to
their arms, and, bearing it home with feasting,
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
83
treasured it up, calling it the life of their life ; for,
while they disregarded the rudeness of its outer
form, they prized it tenfold for its inner worth.
" But one weak, giddy youth, smitten with the
rosy charms of the Poppy, took her for her pretty
looks, and pressed her to his lips, till she wept for
very love of him. Then, as he kissed away her
" tears," the poison of her beauty sank deep into
his soul ', and laying himself down beside her, he
slept away the days in helpless sloth ; until at last,
when all her pretty leaves dropped one by one
away, and laid bare the poison that her loveliness
had hidden, he shook off his dream, and flung the
withered beauty from him as a thing for men to
trample under foot."
<Sh.apUr tije
HASTENED by the kindly doc-
trines of the Dwarf, Anthy, as she
>\!i listened to his counsels, grew to
reproach herself, and to excuse
her father, as the cause of her dis-
honor. And as Huan taught her
to be slow to condemn and quick to forgive, telling
her that " Charity sufiereth long and thinketh no
evil," the blind girl would weep, and reproach her-
self saying, "she alone was to blame, for it was
her selfish vanity that had brought all the evil on
their house. And she promised him that her
future life should be devoted to the care of her
father, whose reason she had sacrificed. And she
made a vow that she would know no rest until the
old man's chains were taken from his limbs.
Then the Dwarf blessed her for the new faith
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 85
he had begotten in her, while Anthy urged on by
his blessings, begged of him to lead her that day to
the Princess Evoe, so that she might seek her aid
to gain her father's liberty.
But Huan, fearing to find a sorry welcome for
his sister there, hesitated, reminding her that Evoe
was Aleph's sister, and that weak woman had but
little charity for woman's weakness.
But Anthy told him, as suffering had chastened
her heart, so had it softened Evoe's, for the sorrow-
ing never asked the Princess for her help in vain.
" None knew the kindness of the King's dumb
daughter, "she said, "so well as she did; when all
others had spurned her, she had found her greatest
friend in her whom she had expected would have
proved her bitterest enemy ; for Evoe in her good-
ness, would blame Aleph, and pity her, seeking, in
her written counsels, to lead her back to virtue's
ways, and bidding him if he loved the girl who had
given up father, mother, home, and every thing for
him, at least to cleanse her from the dishonor he
had cast upon her saying, " Love sought to bene-
fit and not to injure."
So ehe again entreated Huan that he would lead
her to the Princess, telling him to fear not, for she
knew when Evoe found that suffering had wrought
in her the change she wished, she would not turn
from her in her trouble.
So Huan, thanking in his heart the Dumb Girl
86 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
for her goodness, led his sister to the Palace, as she
desired.
As he entered the paved court, he found it filled
with guards and Mamelukes, ready armed and
mounted to follow the Warrior-Prince to some fresh
conquest. As he passed along their ranks each
man saluted him the favorite of the king. Call-
ing aside one whom he had saved, Huan bade him
go seek for him an interview with the Princess.
But when the interview was granted, and the
blind Anthy stood before the Deaf-and-dumb daugh-
ter of the King, she remembered for the first time
that afflicted as they both were, neither possessed
the means of holding communication with the
other and all her hopes vanished.
And Evoe, in her turn, when she beheld the
Blind Girl brought into her presence, knowing her
own infirmity, turned to Huan, as if to ask what
the cruel mockery meant.
Huan saw and felt the misery of both; and,
when he heard Anthy, in her anguish, cry, " O
that I could speak with her ! " he raised his eyes
in supplication to Heaven, and besought his guard-
ian angel to take pity on their helplessness.
Instantly, the Spirit of Kindness gave eyes to
the fingers of the one, and voice to the fingers of
the other making the blind to see, the dumb to
speak, and the deaf to hear.
Then the grateful Anthy told Evoe who she
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 87
was, while the Princess shrank back with horror,
as she gazed on the mangled features of the once-
beauteous girl. The tears streamed forth in pity
for her ; and she hid her face in her hands, for she
could not bear to look upon her.
As she wept, Aleph entered, dressed in his suit
of mail, to take leave of his sister before he led his
troops again to battle
But when Evoe saw him, she turned from him
in anger, and, as he sought her blessing, lest he
should fall in the wars, she motioned him away,
asking him "How she could pray Heaven have
mercy on him, when he had shown so little mercy
to others. Then, bidding him look upon the poor
disfigured girl before him hardly more blind now
than his false love had made her scarce a month
ago she bade him make his honor good at home,
before he sought to add to it abroad."
At first Aleph could scarce believe it was his
once loved Anthy that knelt at his sister's feet ;
but when he heard her call upon him, and recog--
nized her voice, his anger at finding his rejected
mistress in communion with his sister knew no
bounds.
So, without a word in answer to Evoe, he sum-
moned his guards, and bade them seize the blind
girl as a witch, saying it was she who had invoked
the pestilence upon the city ; and ordered she should
be burnt with the others on the morrow.
88 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
As the Mamelukes rushed into the chamber,
Anthy flew to her brother, crying, " Huan ! O,
Huan ! save me ! "
When Aleph heard the name, he turned round
to look at his foster-brother, and, as he gazed upon
Huan's stunted form, he shuddered to think that
he, a Prince, had been nourished by the mother
that had borne a Dwarf; for the afflictions which
had raised the pity of the youth now only served
to wound the pride of the man.
Huan saw the Prince gaze with scorn upon
him, and said, as he clasped his blind sister to
him, " Aleph, thou hast robbed me of my strength ;
thou hast robbed me of my form ; thou didst rob
me of my sister's honor, of my father's reason,
and my mother's life ; and, as I bear thee no
malice, why, bear thou none to thy blind victim
here !"
But Aleph's boyish passion for the girl had
ended in disgust ; and, even had she been as
beauteous as when she first had won his heart, his
conscience alone would have made her seem ugly
to him ; but, marked and disfigured as she was
then, she was something more than he could bear
to look upon. Besides, his sister's blessing had
been denied him for her sake ; and Huan's words
carried so sharp a sting with them, that, maddened
with anger at all he had seen and heard, he bade
the guards drag the girl away, and, hurrying from
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
89
the chamber, soon forgot the reproaches of his sister
and his conscience in the cheers and blessings of
the people.
th.e
S Huan beheld the guards drag
Anthy from him, he stood gazing
at her, following her with his
eyes as if assured that he was
parting with her forever; for he
knew that, in the blind supersti-
tion of the nation, witchcraft was a crime imputed
with so much ease, and repelled with so much dif-
ficulty, that the powerful, whenever they sought
the ruin of the weak, had only to accuse them of it
to insure their destruction ; while so rare were the
gleams of mercy, and so childish was the credulity
of the people, that, however preposterous the accu-
sations, thousands were condemned to death where
one was acquitted of the charge.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 91
So he threw himself at Evoe's feet, and, with
clasped hands and tearful eyes, besought her that
she would intercede with her royal father to save
his sister's life.
"Have mercy on her !" he cried, "have mercy on
her, or assuredly she will perish ; for, how can she
escape, poor girl ! when it is the law says, ' She must
make the malice of her prosecutors more clear than
the sun !' And how can she do this when her own
denial however honest and however earnest will
be held as nothing against the testimony of the
wicked or crazy creatures that may be brought
against her ! O, save her, save her !"
But Evoe, feeling how little hope there was for
Anthy, scarce liked to answer Huan ; for she knew
that on such a mission she had but little power
over the King.
" Go you yourself to my father," she replied,
"and seek his mercy; Ulphilas will be glad to pay
off the debt of gratitude he owes you with your
sister's life. Were I to beg the boon, I know al-
ready to my sorrow, it would be refused me ; for,
scarce a week before the pestilence broke out, a
poor, old, silly creature, who under torture, had con-
fessed herself a witch, sent a petition to me, pray-
ing I would come to her ; and, when I went, she
told me in secrecy, she had not confessed because
she was guilty, but because she was a poor creature
who wrought for her meat ; and being defamed for
92 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
a witch she knew she should starve, for no person,
thereafter, would give her either food or lodging,
but all men would beat her, and set dogs at her ;
and, therefore, she desired to be out of the world,
and did confess, that she might die. Whereupon
she wept most bitterly, arid, on her knees, called God
to witness to what she said.* And though I told
my father all," continued Evoe, " and at his feet,
begged for the wretched creature's life, yet, counsel-
ed by the Priests, he would not listen to my prayer ;
and so, poor soul, they burnt her."
Huan staid to hear no more, and sought the
King himself.
But Ulphilas had gone, with all his Court and
Priests and Judges, to the Mosque, to offer up
prayers, before the trials of those accused of witch-
craft commenced.
So Huan followed after them, resolving to peti-
tion the Monarch on his way back to the council-
chamber.
When the Dwarf reached the doors of the Tem-
ple, he could scarcely enter for the multitudes that
were gathered within ; for Ulphilas had published
a decree, saying, " The fearful abounding at that
time and in that country of those detestable slaves
of the Arch-fiend the witches, or enchanters had
moved him to appoint a commission of clergy and
* Sir George Mackenzie, on the Criminal Law of Scot-
land, 1678.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 93
laymen with full powers to punish the guilty, and
to root them out from the face of the earth." And
the news that one of the wisest of the Dervishes
would preach that day, before the King and all his
Court a sermon, " declaring the miserable case of
those who suffered themselves to be deluded by
Satan," had spread far and near, so that the
Mosque was filled with people from the country
round.
And, when the pious multitude had prayed with
one heart that God would remove the scourge from
the nation, the Temple grew silent as a tomb, and
the Chief Dervish rose and said :
" May it please you, O King, to understand, that
witches and sorcerers, within these last four years,
are marvelously increased in this your mighty
realm. Your subjects, O King, pine away even unto
the death ; their color fadeth, their flesh rotteth,
their speech is benumbed, their senses are bereft!
I pray Allah they may never practise further than
upon the subject!"*
And the crowd cried, "Amen!" while Huan
shuddered at the blindness of their superstition.
When silence was restored, the priest called upon
all true believers to assist in the extermination of
every witch arid sorcerer, saying, " They have ab-
jured all laws of God and Man, and concocted an
infernal scheme, to propagate the worship of the
* Bishop Jewel's Sermon before Queen Elizabeth.
94 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Evil One, whom they adore under the name of
Asmodi. Sometimes," contimied the learned and
pious Dervish, " this Father of Lies appears to his
worshipers as a goose or a duck ;* at others, as a
pale, black-eyed youth, with a melancholy aspect,
whose embrace filleth their heart with an eternal
hatred against the Prophet; while to one of the
most devout of the Welees he hath appeared first
in the shape of a dark man, riding a tall black
horse ; then as a friar, afterward as an ass, and
finally as a coach wheel."
" Allah ! have mercy on us !" cried the people.
Then this, the wisest of the Priests, went on to
tell them how the earth swarmed with demons, of
both sexes ; many of whom rendered themselves
hideous, while others assumed shapes of transcend-
ent loveliness and the forms of beautiful women,
to deceive men. Their bodies were of the thin
air, he said ; and they could pass through the
hardest substance with the greatest ease. When
thrown together in great multitudes, they excited
whirlwinds in the atmosphere and tempests in the
waters, and took delight in destroying the beauty
of nature and the monuments of the industry of
Man.
" Now, the number of these demons," continued
the Dervish, " is believed by some holy men to be
so great, that they cannot be counted ; but one of
* Pope Gregory IX.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 95
the most devout of the servants of the Prophet
hath asserted, with great reason, that they amount
to no more than seven millions, four hundred and
five thousand, nine hundred and twenty-six."*
The whole air, he told the people, as they moan-
ed aloud and cried again, " Allah ! have mercy
upon us !" was full of such denlons ; and many
unfortunate men and women drew them by thou-
sands into their mouths and nostrils at every in-
spiration ; so that, lodging in their bodies, they
tormented them with pains and diseases of every
kind, and sent them frightful dreams. f
Once more the panic-striken crowd cried, " De-
stroy them and theirs, O Lord !" while Huan, sor-
rowing for the blasphemy of the people, cried,
"Allah ! have mercy on them, for they know not
what they say !"
Then the learned Dervish informed them how
one of the most pious of their saints had related
a story of a Welee who omitted to say, " In
the name of God !" bfefore he began to eat, and
who, in consequence, had swallowed an imp, con-
cealed in a date, and was thereafter grievously
tormented, until ten demons had been cast out of
him 4
Again and again the multitude cried aloud to
* Werius.
t See Bekker, Leloyer, Bodin, &c.
t St. Gregory of Nice.
96 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
" Allah !" while the Dervish bade the King and
his people notice that, though all other points of
belief were in dispute among them, still witchcraft
was considered by every sect to be as well estab-
lished as the existence of God himself.
Then, as he told the populace that confession
was the only means left for the witch to make
atonement with Heaven, and charged those that
dealt in sorcery and enchantment if there were
any present to come forward to the altar and
declare the truth, a passion of tears seized upon the
multitude ; men, women and children began to
weep and sob, and hundreds of poor, old, half-wit-
ted creatures rose up and accused themselves of
things they never did, while others, more crazy
than the rest, confessed to things they never could
have done.*
On this the Dervish, in a voice of thunder, re-
minded the affrighted multitude that Heaven had
said, " Thou shall not suffer the witch to live !"
and bade them be sure, if a storm arose and blew
down their barns, it was the work of the witch ;
or if their cattle died of a murrain, or disease fast-
ened on their limbs, or death snatched a beloved
face from their hearths, be sure it was the work of
some neighboring hag, who had sold berself, body
and soul, to the Arch-fiend.
Then the anger of the people knew no bounds ;
* Swedish commission to Mohra.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 97
arid they rose up, as one man, to wreak their fury
on the witless things that, in the madness of the
time, had confessed themselves the confederates of
demons.
But Huan, unable to hold his peace any longer,
rushed, in the confusion, to the deserted altar, and
cried, in a loud voice, so that all turned round to
listen to him, " Madmen ! what would ye do ?
Have ye not had blood enough yet ? Our dun-
geons are gorged with such as these poor creatures.
There are not judges enough to try them. No day
passes but we render our tribunals bloody by the
dooms that we pronounce. No day passes but we
return to our homes discountenanced and terrified
by the horrible confessions we have heard.* Ye
say that the Demon the witches serve is so good a
master, that for each one of his slaves ye commit
to the flames an hundred rise up from the ashes ;
but have ye never thought that if, indeed, it be a
demon who raises up so many new witches to fill
the place of those ye consume, it is none other than
one in your own bosoms the Demon of Persecu*
tion ? But so it is ! The more ye burn the more
ye find to burn, until it has become a common
prayer with women, that they may never live to
grow old since to be aged, poor, or ill-favored, is,
with you, sufficient to insure death at the stake.
Look at the poor witless things ye would destroy !
* Florimond.
7
98 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Verily, they should be led to the hospital and not
to the scaffold, for they stand more in. need of
medicine than punishment."
Then, turning to the Dervishes, he said, " Ye
teach the people to thank God night and morning
for his loving-kindness, and praise Him for the bless-
ings of the seed-time and the harvest, and yet ye
teach them also, that Satan is at every man's beck
and call, to subvert God's laws, and thwart his
merciful intentions, by raising the whirlwind, in
despite of Him, or blighting the fruits of the earth,
or paralyzing the limbs of Man !"
Now, when the people heard Huan say these
things, they cried with one voice, " Seize him ! seize
him !" And the Chief Dervish, rising up, said,
" He doth deny there can be such thing as witch-
craft, and so maintaineth the old error of the Sad-
ducees, in the gainsaying of spirits ;"* while the
Vizier, jealous of the rising favorite, and anxious
to implicate Huan in the witchcraft that his
sister Anthy had been charged with, bade the
guards seize the Dwarf, saying, " He would pro-
cure impunity for Satan's crafts'-folk, whereby he
plainly betrayeth himself to be one of that pro-
fession."!
Huan in vain demanded an audience of the
King, for the Vizier motioned the guards to be
gone ; and immediately the dwarf, surrounded by
* James VI. t Ibid.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
99
his crazy and life-sick companions, was led through
the streets to prison the frantic crowd hooting
arid yelling after them, as they went.
T day-break, on the morrow, the
whole city was abroad and hurry-
ing to the council-chamber to
hear the trial of the mistress of
the Prince, and the Dwarf, her
brother.
And, as the citizens met one another in the mar-
ket-streets, they would say it was clear as the noon-
day sun, that the girl by witchcraft had invoked
the Pestilence upon the town, and that the Imp
Huan, whom men called the Worker of Good, had
expelled it by witchcraft too ; while, to those who
doubted and still thought well of the Dwarf, they
would cite strange cases of sorcerers who had con-
fessed that they had only sought the aid of the
Evil One for the purpose of curing diseases and un-
bewitching the afflicted.*
* Siour de Beaumont.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 101
When the King and his Court were seated, the
Chief of the Council rose up, and, turning to Ul-
philas, spake as follows :
" Thou knowest well, O King ! that there is no
crime so opposed to the commands of God as witch-
craft. And your mighty Father, O King ! whose
memory be ever blessed, passed that ' beautiful and
severe ordinance'* by which the punishment of
death was decreed against those who in any way
evoked the Evil One compounded love filters
afflicted man, woman, or child with palsy trou-
bled the atmosphere excited tempests destroyed
the fruits of the Earth dried up the milk of cows,
or tormented their fellow-creatures with sores and
diseases. All persons found guilty of exercising
these execrable arts were, by this blessed and me-
morable edict,! to be executed immediately upon
conviction, so that the earth might be rid of the
burthen and curse of their presence. And, though
thousands have been condemned and burnt under
this ordinance, still the slaves of the Arch-fiend do
so enormously increase that, despite all our holy
exertions and the unparalleled severity of our ordi^
nances, the Judges now complain that for two
witches they burn one day, there are ten to burn
the next."
* Remonstrance of the Parliament of Rouen to King
Louis XIV., in 1670.
t Capitulaire de Baluse.
102 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
After this, the Chief of the Council read the
letter which the King himself had written to his
people,* not, as the Monarch said, " as a show of
his own learning, but only from being moved of
conscience against the accursed opinions of the dis-
believers of witchcraft." In this letter, the King
had told his people that witches ought to be put to
death according to the law of God, the civil and
imperial law, and the municipal law of all pious
and holy nations. Yea, the King had said, " to
spare the life and not strike whom God bids us
strike, is not only unlawful, but, doubtless, as great
a sin as was Saul's sparing Agag."
And then the Chief of the Council bade the
Judges and the Court remember that the King
himself had told them, in that most wise and pious
letter, that the crime of witchcraft was so abomi-
nable that it might be proved by evidence that
would not be received against any other offenders ;
for that young children, who knew not the nature
of an oath, and persons of an infamous character,
who would not be believed upon their oaths on
any other matter, were sufficient witnesses against
those accused of sorcery.
The people murmured with delight to hear this,
and, when silence was restored, those who, of their
own free will, had come forward to bear witness
against Anthy were summoned before the council.
* King James I.
TOE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 103
First came one poor, mad thing, known as " the
Wise Woman of Asulon," who though she sealed
her own doom by what she said still had volun-
teered to "speak the truth" for such the wretch-
ed maniac fancied her dreams to be.
Immediately she saw the King, she fell upon
her knees, and, holding up her skinny hands, cried,
" Good Master, forgive me !" So Ulphilas, observ-
ing her supplicating him, said, " What is the
matter with thee, woman ?" " O, master," she
replied, " I have been the cause of all this trouble
to your people." " Have you ?" exclaimed the
King ; " what cause did I ever give you to use me
and my people thus ?" " Master," she whispered,
" I have forsaken my Maker, and given my soul to
the Devil."*
Then the council shuddered, as they heard her
tell how she and others to the number of upward
of two hundred, including Anthy and her brother
the Dwarf had, last Friday, at midnight, each
embarked in a riddle or sieve, and sailed over the
sea very substantially on their way to the great
Sabbath of Fiends.
" After cruising about for some time," she said,
" they met with a Fiend, by name Ilemazar,"
dressed in a suit of sad green, and bearing in his
claws a cat that had been drawn nine times through
the fire, and had four joints of men tied to its feet.
* Examination of Alice Samuel.
104 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
This the Fiend delivered to Anthy, bidding her
cast it into the sea and cry ' Hola !' which being
done, immediately the ocean became convulsed, the
waters hissed loudly, and the waves rose mountains
high.
" They all sailed gallantly through the tempest,"
the poor mad thing went on, " and, landing on the
coast, took their sieves in their hands, and marched
in procession to a gravel-pit, that lay hard by the
cross-way There Huan the Dwarf called three
times upon the Antecessor, bidding him come and
carry them to his Domdaniel ! And immediately
the Arch-fiend appeared to them as a shapeless
mass, resembling the trunk of a blasted tree, seen
indistinctly amid the darkness.
" He told them to make ready for their journey ;
but first bade them go and procure some scrapings
of altars and filings of church-clocks. This done,
he changed himself into a huge black he-goat ; and
they all seated themselves on his back, which
lengthened or shortened, according to the number
he had to cariy. Then away they went, taking
with them as many children as they could ; for
the Antecessor," she said, "did plague and flog
them with a whip of scorpions, if they did not pro-
cure him children."*
Here many a mother in the crowd clutched their
little ones fast to them, saying, "Allah ! preserve
* Confessions of witches at Mohra,
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 105
us !" And one stood up to tell how her child had
been carried away in the night, and how the fiends
had beaten it black-and-blue, so that she and
others had plainly seen the marks in the morning.
Then, as the first witness was led out, and the
mob shrank back, for fear lest she should touch
and wither them as she passed, another, still more
crazy than she, was brought forward to tell her
grim tale too, and have her ravings taken down as
truth.
She also had been summoned to the Domdaniel,
or Demon-sabbath. " And Anthy and her brother
had gone with them," she said, " to the haunted
Mosque, and paced around it withershins that is
to say, in the reverse way of the sun. Anthy," she
swore, " had blown into the keyhole of the door,
which opened immediately, and all the witches
entered. Whereupon Huan the Dwarf blew with
his mouth upon the candles, which instantly lighted ;
and then the Antecessor was seen seated upon a
large gilded throne, and dressed in a black gown
and hat, with boots, sword, and spurs.
" After they had all bound themselves body and
soul to the service of Satan, they sat down to a
feast, composed of broth made of coleworts and
bacon, and oatmeal, milk and cheese, and the flesh
of unbaptized babes. And the Evil One placed
Anthy on his right hand and Huan on his left, and
played to them on a lute while they were eating.
106 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
After the feast, they were amused by a dance of
toads. Thousands sprang out of the Earth, and
standing on their hind-legs, danced, while Satan
played the bag-pipes. Then they all danced with
the fiends in a ring, cursing and swearing the while
the Evil One himself leading off the dance with
Anthy. And thus they kept up the sport till the
cock crew."*
The next that bare witness against poor Anthy
was a woodman that had lived near her father's
cottage ; and he, as superstitious as those that lis-
tened to him, said, that "the axle-tree of his wagon
chanced to break one day, as it passed Ergastor's
house when Anthy came out, and, frowning at him
put the Evil Eye upon him ; and, when he had
mended his wagon again, and was bringing it home
into his field, it stuck so fast in the gate's head,
that neither he nor his neighbors could possibly get
it through, but were forced to cut down the posts
of the gate to make it pass though they could not
perceive the wagon touched the gate-posts on
either side. And, while they were trying to cut
the posts down, the noses of those that came to as-
sist him burst out a-bleeding, so that he and the
neighbors were forced to wait till the next morning,
to complete their work. Within a short time after
* Confession of Gillie Duncan, who was summoned before
King James, on the night before her execution, to play on
the Jews'-harp the reel that she played to the Devil and his
imps and witches, when proceeding to the Demon-sabbath.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 107
this, all his four mules had died, and he sus-
tained several other losses by a murrain among his
cattle.* Further, on several occasions he had
dreamed of Arithy and a black cat ; and moreover
exactly a year and a quarter after she had put the
ICvil Eye upon him, the pestilence had broken out,
and all his children been carried off by it."
Then there came one who was a maker of palm-
baskets, and who said that " he had long been
sorely pestered with cats, so that he could not rest
at night. At last he had sought a cunning man,
to know the reason why his slumbers were thus
disturbed ; and the cunning man told him that his
tormentors were no cats but witches. Whereupon
his wife had remembered she had often heard the
cats talking together in human voices. One night,
hearing the creatures crying and screaming about
his house most unmercifully, he went out and
frightened them away, and they all ran off toward
the palace of Prince Aleph. One of these cats had
the face of Anthy indeed he had often seen a cat
with the face of the Prince's favorite. On another
night, being sorely disturbed in his rest, he dis-
charged two arrows at the cats, arid with them
put out both the eyes of the one that had Anthy's
face. A little while after this the pestilence broke
out ; and, when next he saw the young Witch
* Evidence of John Soam and Robert Sherminghara
cm the trial of Amy Dany and Rose Cullender.
108 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Anthy, she had lost both her eyes. And he verily
believed that it was she that he had shot under the
likeness of a cat."*
On this, the Judges desired that the accused
Anthy might be brought into their presence, so that
they might condemn her forthwith ; but Ulphilaa
restrained them, asking whether the tests had been
tried upon her, and saying, " he feared some of the
witches were, like their master, extreme liars." So
the Chief of the Council bade the guard go and
summon before them the Witch-Finder-General.
Now this man was one of great consideration ;
and he entered, attended by his two assistants.
The crowd made way for him as he came in, out
of respect to the wealth that he had amassed in
his calling ; for to each town he visited he charged
a piece of gold, together with the cost of his enter-
tainment and carriage there and back. This he
was paid whether he found witches or not, and if
he did find any, he received a piece of gold in ad-
dition for each one he brought to execution.
Even the King paid the man great deference for
the number of witches he had burnt ; and Ulphilas
himself asked him whether he had tried the tests
on the young Witch Anthy.
The Witch-Finder-General answered that he
had. He had weighed her against the Koran, and
* Evidence of William Montgomery against Nannie Gil-
bert, and Thomas Ireland against the Witch of Walkerne.
THE MAGIC OF KINDiNESS. 109
had bade her repeat her prayers without a mistake ;
and in both of these unerring tokens she had failed.
Moreover, in. order that his own conscience and
that of others might be satisfied, he had tried upon,
her the test of swimming, so highly recommended
by the King himself.* He had tied the thumb of
the right hand to the toe of the left foot, and that
of the left hand to the right foot, and wrapping her
in a blanket, had laid her on her back in the river ;
but she had not sunk immediately, as the learned
Monarch well knew she would have done, had she
not parted with her soul to Satan. Moreover, so
that even the most skeptical might have no doubt
of her guilt, he had placed the girl in the middle of a
room, cross-legged on a stool, and set men to watch
her for four-and-twenty hours, during which time
she had been kept without meat or drink. And
there had come to her four flies, which neither of the
watchers could kill and so proved them to be some
of her imps, that had come to suck her blood. t
On this the council turned to Ulphilas, as if to
say, " Art thou convinced now, O King."
But the Monarch asked the man whether he had
found on the body of the young Witch the demon's
mark, and had tried the insensibleness thereof.
The Witch-Finder answered,, that he had ; and
that when he had thrust long pins into her flesh,
* James I.
t Gaul's pamphlet against Matthew Hopkins.
110 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
she had only wept three tears of the left eye. la-
deed all things had gone to prove her an abomina-
ble witch who was a curse and burthen to the
land.
Now, when Ulphilas heard this, and was told
that, notwithstanding all these clear evidences of her
guilt, the young Witch not only stubbornly refused
to confess, but, prompted by the Father of lies, still
protested her innocence, the Monarcji ordered Anthy
to be brought before him, that she might be exam-
ined by his council.
When the Blind Girl was led in, she felt that
every eye was turned with horror toward her ; and
trembling with fear, she murmured a prayer to her-
self, while those that were near and heard her,
cried out, " O King, she is conjuring of her evil
spirits now."
Then the Chief of the Council rose and asked her
whether she would deny that she could excite
whirlwinds and tempests and call down the light-
ning ; and he demanded likewise to know whether
she had ever hurt any ships or boats.*
Anthy's pale face grew red with indignation, as
she answered quickly, " No !"
Then he who was the head of the Dervishes,
and accounted the most learned and pious of them
all, demanded of her whether she would swear
Satan had never sucked at her chin or under her
# Examination of Temperance Lloyd.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. Ill
ears, in the shape of a dun chicken, an. owl, or a
white rat.*
But Anthy, gaining courage, drew herself up,-
and said, as she raised her hand to Heaven, she
^vould swear it.
And, when the holy man heard this, he lifted up
his eyes in horror at the girl's stubbornness, and sat
himself down.
Next stood up the wisest of the Elders, and the
people all turned with expectation toward him.
Then he asked Anthy solemnly whether she had
ever passed through a key-hole, or had ridden across
an arm of the sea on a cow.f
But still the only answer they could get was
"No!"
The Elder stood for a moment gazing at her, as
if wonder-stricken at the wicked hardihood of the
girl; and then, as he tossed his head, asked her
one other question, saying, "Wilt thou, on thine
oath, deny that the Arch-fiend hath ever come to
thee as a magpie, and that, having blown into thy
mouth, an imp hath forthwith jumped out of it?"t
Anthy again appealed to Heaven to witness she
was innocent.
And then the wisest of the Elders, turning to
* Alice Samuel and others,
t Examination of Temperance Lloyd,
t Information of Anne Wakley and Examination of Joan
Willimot.
112 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Ulphilas, said, the Father of lies hath still power
over her, O King ! The torture alone can force the
truth from the hag." -; -.
And the council one and all cried, " Ay ! to the
rack with the young Witch ! to the rack with
her !"
Already the guards had seized upon the trembling
Anthy, when Ulphilas bade them hold, saying, " To
condemn the innocent was as great an abomination
to the Lord as to let the guilty go free." Then,
turning to him who was held the chief Philosopher
of the kingdom, he desired him to give his judg-
ment of the girl.
So the Philosopher said that, "after all he had
heard he was clearly of opinion the girl Anthy had
bewitched the people. There had lately been," he
added, " a discovery of witches in the city of El-
Basrah, where the slaves of the Arch-fiend had tor-
mented persons by conveying crooked pins, needles
and nails into their bodies." And he said that he
thought " the Evil One acted, in such cases, upon
human bodies by natural means ; namely, by ex*
citing and stirring up the superabundant humors ;
and, if the affliction of the late pestilence was a
natural one, it had certainly been considerably in-
creased by the subtlety of Satan co-operating with
the malice of the witches."*
* Evidence of Sir Thomas Brown on the trial of Amy
Dany and Rose Cullender.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 113
After this the girl was again asked if she would
confess.
Again she protested her innocence ; and the
Judges and the council consulted among themselves.
Suddenly a voice from the crowd cried out, " She
hath bewitched her own father !" Whereupon Ul-
philas turned to Anthy, and bade her say if that
charge were true.
Then the girl, conscience-stricken, lost all courage,
as she thought of the affliction she had brought
upon her parent; and, burying her face in her
hands, remained dumb with shame and remorse.
So the King commanded Ergastor should be sent
for, that they might hear what the old man had to
say against his daughter.
Then the madman was brought from his cell, to
bear witness against his child. At the first men-
tion of his daughter's name, his ravings returned,
and he railed at Anthy and the Prince so wildly,
and cursed them so awfully, that the poor girl, un-
able to listen to his fury any longer, fell on her
knees, and cried, " O take him from me ! in mercy
take him from me ! I do confess it was the Arch-
fiend that prompted me to rob him of his reason.
Yes ; I confess it all every thing any thing if
you will but take him from me."
Then the Chief Judge, who was accounted a man
of great knowledge and discernment, having ordered
the madman to be removed, rose up, and said,
8
114 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
" The case was apparent, and their consciences
were well satisfied. For himself he did riot in the
least doubt there were such creatures as witches ;
first, because the Koran affirmed it ; arid, secondly,
because the wisdom of all nations, particularly
their own, had provided laws against witchcraft,
which implied their belief in it."*
And then, as a deathlike silence reigned in the
hall, he pronounced sentence upon the girl, say-
ing
" Seeing that the blind girl Anthy hath, by the
testimony of credible witnesses and by her own.
spontaneous confession, been proved guilty of the
abominable crime of witchcraft and conjuration of
evil spirits, this council condemneth her to be tied
to a stake on the morrow and burned alive and
quick, and her ashes then scattered to the winds ;t
and Allah have mercy on her soul !"
Anthy heard her doom unmoved ; and only said
" Amen" to the prayer at the end of it ; while the
people murmured their delight at the judgment.
As the girl was removed by one door, Huan was
brought in at another.
While he stood before the council, awaiting the
questionings of the Judge he fixed his eye upon the
King ; and, though Huan said not a word in re-
monstrance, still Ulphilas read in his glance so bit-
* Sir Matthew Hale.
t Usual form of condemnation.
THE MAGIC OF KlNDiNESS. 115
ter a rebuke that he almost quailed beneath it, and
turned his head aside, to avoid the mute reproof.
Then the Vizier stood up, and told the Dwarf
that he was charged with having attended the
Domdaniel, or Sabbath of Fiends ; and with having
used, practiced and exercised conjuration of wicked
and evil spirits, so that by their aid and assistance
he had stayed the pestilence that had fallen on the
city. And the Vizier asked him what he had to
say in answer to the accusation.
Huan replied that he had nothing to say to
those who could listen to such a charge.
The Vizier warned him that unless he disproved
the charges his life would be forfeited. Whereupon
Huan inquired of them how many such forfeits had
been paid already.
But the Vizier, angry at the question, remained
silent, until Ulphilas, who still looked with favor
on the Dwarf, bade the minister say how many
hundreds had suffered.
The Vizier answered, "We count those that
suffer now by thousands instead of hundreds, O
King."
" And yet," sorrowfully exclaimed the Dwarf,
" though the Heavens are red as blood with the
flames of the fires ye have lighted, still ye can not
see that you yourselves breed the very crime that
ye would exterminate.'*'
The Judges looked at one another with amaze-
116 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
ment while the people wondered at the boldness of
the man. But Ulphilas asked the meaning of his
words.
And Huan answered the King by a Parable.
" While the world was yet in its darkness, Igno-
rance, to stop the quarrelings of her children, be-
thought her of a teacher to read the Book of Life
to them, so that they might learn to love their
brethren as themselves. And, hearing that none
preached such virtue as the Headsman, she sent
her sons to learn of him.
" Then, as the simple dame heard the dark
teacher thunder from his crimson pulpit, ' Thou
shalt not kill,' her heart swelled with admiration
at the tutor she had chosen ; and she cried, ' With
such a master, surely Man will live in peace with
Man.'
" But the children, quicker than their mother,
saw that, as the stern tutor held the Holy Book
and read from out it, ' Thou shalt not take thy
brother's life,' his hands were reddened with his
brothers' blood.
" And they grew sick at the sight of it ; while
they whispered among themselves, saying, ' If, as
he telleth us, it be written, ' The Lord gave, and
the Lord taketh away,' and therefore it be wrong
to kill, why doth he ?' So they gave little heed to
what they heard, and thought only of what they
THE MAGIC OF KIiNDNESS. 117
" Then, as from day to day the same stern tutor
taught the same bloodless precepts with the same
bloody hands, the children grew callous alike to
both, and in time got to laugh at the Headsman's
lessons and imitate his acts. So that for every
life the stern teacher took, his thousand pupils took
their thousand after him.
" At length men thought so little of their broth-
ers' lives, that Ignorance, made wiser by her fears,
sought out the tutor and rebuked him, saying,
' Thou didst promise that the quarrelings and
battlings of my children should cease and yet,
under thy guidance, they quarrel and battle the
more ! Thou didst promise to teach them loving-
kindness to one another, and neither by word nor
deed to hurt any living thing arid yet thou thyself
wert the first to torture others in their sight.
Thou didst promise, too, to teach them above all
things to keep their hands from shedding their
brothers' blood and yet thou thyself wert again
the first to use them to the shedding of it.'
" And the dark teacher answered, ' Nay, they
should have done as I said, and not as I did.'
" But the mother, in her new wisdom, would
not listen to him, and cast him forth, saying,
' Hypocrite ! first learn to practice what thou
preachest; for, since example hath more power
among men than precept, know that, if thou
wouldst have others think it criminal to kill or
118 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
torture, tliou thyself shouldst be the first to desist
from torturing and killing.' "
Now, when Ulphilas heard this, and remembered
the Dwarf had worked good rather than evil, and
that he himself perhaps owed his life to him, he
felt moved toward Huan. So he said to the coun-
cil, " This man hath done no wrong, let him go
free. He hath saved so many lives, that surely
his own should be spared to him."
The Judges, angry at the mercy of the Monarch
communed among themselves for a time, and then
the Vizier rose, and, turning to Ulphilas, remon-
strated with him, saying, " We humbly supplicate
thee, O King ! that before thou dost set free one ac-
cused of witchcraft, thou wilt reflect once more
upon the terrible results which proceed from the
malevolence of witches on the deaths from un-
known diseases which often follow their menaces
on the loss of the goods and chattels of thy subjects
on the sudden transportation of bodies from one
place to another and other facts, verified by eye-
witnesses, and, moreover, confessed to by the accus-
ed parties themselves. These, O King ! are truths
so closely bound up with the principles of our relig-
ion, that, extraordinary though they be, no person
hath up to this day been able to call them in ques-
tion. We, therefore, supplicate thee, Great Ulphi-
las ! that thou wilt not, by extending thy mercy to
this man, suffer to be introduced during thy reign
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 119
an opinion contrary to that glorious religion for
which thou hast always employed both thy cares
and thine arms."*
But the Monarch gave no ear to the appeal, and
bade the guards set Huan at liberty.
Then the people murmured among themselves,
and the Judges, indignant at the pardon, rose up
and left the council.
* Remonstrance of the Parliament of Rouen to King
Louis XIV., in 1670.
ROM the council-chamber, Huan
i hurried to the Palace, so that, on
(the return of the King, he might
supplicate him to extend the same
mercy to Anthy as he had shown
to him ; for he knew that the Monarch looked
with favor on him, and felt assured that Ulphilas
if none were near to hinder him would not let
him plead in vain for his sister's life.
But, as Huan stood waiting at the gates, the
Vizier entered, and, seeing him, gave orders that
he should on no condition be allowed to speak with
the King.
Still Huan waited at the Palace-gates in patience ;
and though he begged of e-ach one that entered to
beseech the monarch to grant him an intorview (
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 121
yet none returned to bring him the wished-for
answer.
The minarets tolled to evening-prayer, and still
he stopped. He saw the gilt domes of the neigh-
boring Mosques turn to silver in the moonlight,
and he heard the low chant of the watchmen, cry-
ing, as they went, " Attest the unity of God !"
and still he stirred riot.
At last the many-colored lamps of the Palace
died out, and the air grew blue and bleak with the
coming day ; and then, weary and cold, Huan went
toward the lonely market-streets, to while away
the time till Ulphilas should rise.
As he walked along, he saw advancing a band
of men leading mules laden with reeds and fagots
arid naphtha. As they passed yawning by, an-
other drowsy band approached with camels bearing
stakes and gibbets. Huan's heart sank within
him, and his knees bent under him, in his horror ;
and, thinking how little time he had to gain his sis-
ter's pardon, he hastened back again to the Palace.
Then he wrote a petition to the King, begging
Ulphilas to take back the pardon that he had
vouchsafed to him, and grant it to his sister in his
stead for that her life was more precious to him
than his own.
And, as the first gate of the Palace opened, he
gave the paper to the guard, bidding him, for the
love of God, deliver it to the King.
122 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
He sat himself down to wait in wretched anxiety
for the royal answer.
As the sun rose, the whole city came streaming
by, careless, as if it were a holiday ; and, as the
callous tide poured along, some would ask, "how
many were to be burned," and others, " how long
it wanted to the hour of burning," while others,
would look at Huan and whisper to one an-
other, " it was he whose sister was condemned to
death."
At length the crowd had ceased, and the city
and the Palace were still as night ; and Huan,
fearing lest Ulphilas should leave without reading
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 123
his petition hastened to the Princess to beg of her
to pray an audience for him of the King.
But Evoe, when she heard his wish, told him,
" he had come too late, for Ulphilas had already left
the Palace." Huan nearly sank to the ground in
his agony of despair.
But it was no time for idle grief, and, staggering
from the room, he darted wildly into the street,
and then he almost shrieked, as he saw the sky
grow red with the distant flames.
the .fifteenth..
S soon as the King and all his
court had reached the place of
execution, the muffled drums beat
a dead march, and the witches
^were brought forth, some to be
pinioned to the stake, and others
to suffer at the gibbet.
Then, as the poor demoniac things were led past
the King, the crowd yelled and hooted at them ;
and, though the guards strove to keep the people
back, still some of the wretched victims nearly lost
their lives, from the injuries they received at the
hands of the multitude. For the most superstiti-
ous of the mob no matter what their rank*
would rush forth to tear the gray hairs from the
heads of the poor hags, believing that, if the lock
* Lady Cromwell and Alice Samuel.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 125
were burnt by them at any future time, it would
act as a charm against the machinations of the
Evil One.
As the wretched band marched on, there came rich
and poor, young and old, men and women, sane
and insane ; some decrepit and idiotic ; others, stal-
wart and demoniac and all condemned to be burnt
alive and quick, as burthens and curses on the land.
Now there passed one that was doomed to death
for her ugliness for that alone was sufficient to
stamp the aged poor as the slaves of the Arch-
fiend and now another, who, being accounted
the prettiest girl in all the town,* men, in their
bigotry, had judged to be some demon that had
assumed a form of transcendent loveliness, to de-
ceive mankind.
Next there came a Dervish who, in his mad-
ness, had confessed that, by the imps at his com-
mand, he had sunk a ship ; arid though, when his
reason had returned, he had denied all that he
had spoken in his ravings, still he was doomed to
death ; and, as he walked to the stake, he repeated
aloud his own burial service.! After him, came
a poor crazy creature, who believing herself the
witch her fanatic Judges had pronounced her to
be, paced on, muttering the jargon charm which
was said to have the power to raise the Evil One.
Then came the poor, blind Anthy, so rapt in
* Gobel Babelin. f Rev. Mr. Lewis.
126 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
the prayer she uttered, that she heard not the yells
and curses of the people as she passed. Beside her
danced a wretched, frantic woman, who, in the
wildness of her frenzy, laughed and clapped her
hands at the sight of " the bonnie fire" that was to
consume her.* And, last of all this melancholy
band, there came a child so youthful that, though
he had only known the world five years, still
women, in the madness of the time, had sworn
they had often seen the little one in company with
the Arch-fiend and Judges, barely wiser than those
whose oaths they listened to, had condemned the
babe to be burnt, and its ashes scattered to the winds, t
And, even more degrading still, after the human
train had gone, there came a dog that, in the
pitchy darkness of the time, had been tried by the
wise Judges of the land, and found guilty of such
crimes against God and man, that death alone was
deemed sufficient to atone for them 4
And, verily, the crimes for which the poor things
were to suffer showed that those who judged were
as insane as the crazy creatures they condemned.
One had been found guilty, by the testimony of
credible witness, of riding her lame daughter as a
pony to the Demon-sabbath, where it was sworn
Satan had shod the child, and so caused her
The Witch of Dornock.
f Trials for witchcraft in New England.
j Trials for witchcraft in New England.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 127
lameness * another of clambering over walls in
the shape of a pig, and milking cows dry, under
the form of a haref and another of destroying
the crops of an enemy, by yoking toads to his
plough, in order that the Evil One himself might
turn up the land with his team in the night, and
so blast it for the season. $ Here was a man who
was doomed to death for having prowled about the
country at night as a wolf, devouring little chil-
dren ; and there a woman and her little daughter
were to be burnt alive and quick, for raising up a
storm by pulling off their stockings.il This woman
was to be deprived of life, because it had been sworn
she had been seen crouching over her fire, mutter-
ing to the Arch-fiend, until twelve black cats had
jumped out of the floor and danced around her for
half-an-hour at least ;^[ and that boy was doomed
to be cut ofF in his childhood, for having confessed
he would willingly have sold himself to Satan for
a good dinner and cakes every day of his life, and
a pony to ride upon.**
Here stood one who cried aloud that her crimes
could never be atoned for, even if she were drawn
asunder by wild horses, for that, under the dis-
guise of a hare, she had been hunted by a pack of
* Trial before the sheriff-deputy of Caithness.
f Maria Sanger. J Isabel Gowdie.
Gilles Gamier, at Dolle. || Trial at Huntingdon.
H Kornelias Van Purmerund.
** Execution, Wurzburg.
128 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
hounds.* There others shouted out that they de-
served to he stretched upon an iron rack for their
sins some confessing to having charmed the feath-
ers in pillows f others to having killed children
by praising their heautyj and others to having
bewitched bits of wood, hot cinders and knives into
the bodies of these that had offended them.
At length the chief Dervish rose, and the whole
mob became suddenly silent, and, bowing their
heads, knelt down in prayer. But scarcely had
the solemn supplication ceased, than the crowd,
growing greedy for the promised feast of torture,
jumped up and cried with one voice, " Fire the
reeds ! fire the reeds !"
Then, as they bound the first poor trembling
thing to the stake, she screamed from out the fag-
gots that were piled about her to her waist, " Lord
God, speed me well ! Though my sins be as red
as scarlet, thou, O Father, canst make them as
white as snow. Lord God, be merciful to my poor
!"|| And then the flames choked the un-
finished prayer, and the drums beat loud, to drown her
shrieks, while the mad mob yelled with grim delight.
And so, she poor soul ! was burned alive and
quick, and her ashes scattered to the winds.
* Scottish trials for witchcraft.
f The Witch of Walkerne.
j Trials at Bamberg, in Bavaria. Ibid.
II Susanna Edwards, of Biddiford.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 129
Then another gray-haired creature was led forth,
and pinioned to the stake ; and, as the executioner,
torch in hand, advanced to the reeds, she shrieked,
" Hold !" Then, lifting up her body, she cried in a
loud voice, "Now, all you that see me this day,
know that I am to die as a witch, by my own con-
fession ; and, as I must make answer to the God
of Heaven presently, I declare I am as free of
witchcraft as any child. But being accused by a
malicious woman, and put in prison under the
name of a witch disowned by my husband and
friends and seeing no ground of hope of ever
coming out again, I made up that confession, to
destroy my own life, being weary of it, and choosing
rather to die than live. So the guilt of my blood
be on my own head.*
But the Priests and the multitude only answered,
" This, more than all, proves the hag to be a witch.
Fire the reeds! fire the reeds !"
And so she, too, poor soul ! was burned alive and
quick, and her ashes scattered to the winds.
Next came two young and beautiful women,
who, on the oaths of " credible witnesses," had been
found guilty of having joined in the witches' dance
at midnight under a blasted oak.
As their wretched husbands saw them led to the
stake, they rushed forward to the King and falling
on their knees, called Heaven to witness that, at
* See " Satan's Invisible World," by the Rev. G. Sinclair.
9
130 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
the time stated, their wives were fast asleep in their
arms. But it was all in vain ; for the Chief of
the Dervishes told the men they had been deceived
(poor simpletons !) by Satan and their own senses.
"They had," said the learned and holy Priest,
"only the semblance of their wives in their beds,
and not their wives themselves ; for it was a three-
legged stool that the hags had witched to assume
their form while they were far away under the oak,
dancing with toads."*
And so, poor souls ! they too were burned alive
and quick, and their ashes scattered to the winds.
Then were dragged forth, mother, father and
daughter,t all to be burned beside each other.
And, while they lashed the old man to the stake,
he turned to his wife and railed at her, cursing her
for having, in her madness, sworn away his and
their daughter's life. And, as he gnashed his teeth,
he cried aloud. " A plague of God light upon thee,
mother ! for thou art she that hath brought us all
to this, and we may thank thee for it, thou heart-
less hag !"
While they bound the daughter, the Dervish who
stood near exhorting her in vain to confess her
sins took pity on the youth and beauty of the
trembling girl, and urged her, as the torch was
borne toward her, to plead pregnancy, that she
* Decision of the Archbishop at Piedmont.
t Mother Samuel, her Husband and her daughter Agnes.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 131
might gain, at least, a respite from death. But
the timid girl made heroic by the love of virtue,
cried proudly, as the red blood rushed back to her
white cheeks, " No ! it shall never be said I was
witch and wanton too."
And so the noble maid, her father and her crazy
mother were all burned alive and quick, and their
ashes scattered to the winds.
At length it came to Anthy's turn ; and then a
wilder and more savage shriek than had hailed the
torture of any yet, was sent up to Heaven at the
prospect of her death. Still the mad mob howled
their curses at her unheard, for there the chastened
Blind Girl stood, her soul away in Heaven before
its time, pleading mutely with her Maker for the
forgiveness of herself and her enemies.
The executioner piled the dry reeds and fagots
high around her body; but, lost in prayer, Anthy
heeded him not.
The Dervish called upon her again and again to
confess the justice of her sentence, and own herself
a witch ; but still, lost in prayer she heard him not.
Then the multitude waved toand fro, in their
fury at what they thought the wicked stubbornness
of the young Hag ; and the sky was rent with the
clamor of their cries, as again and again they bade
the executioner do his work. And the man of
death, in obedience to the cries, held down his
torch, to fire the reeds.
the Sixteenth,.
REATHLESS with his fears
and haste, Huan reached the sum-
t of the hill which overlooked
the fatal field. "Thank Hea-
iven! some still live," he cried,
and, gaining new vigor from the
sight, he hurried on.
Suddenly his eye fell upon the figure of the gentle
victim, who stood smiling at death, as if weary of
the world, and longing for that blessed sleep from
which she knew she would rise with new life in
the morning.
In the quickness of his love, Huan felt it was his
sister Anthy ; and, with a wild shriek of horror,
fell to the Earth.
Then, as he knelt, he prayed with all the zeal
of his bitter agony, that the Spirit of Kindness
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 133
would look down with pity upon men and so en-
lighten their understandings that, seeing the won-
drous mechanism of Creation, they might know
that He who made the world moved and governed
it by wiser and more kindly laws than they, in their
darkness imagined.
And the blessed Spirit of Kindness heard the
prayer ; and the work of destruction was stayed,
and Anthy and her poor crazy companions in death
were spared.
For, as Huan gazed on the plain beneath, and
beheld the executioner hold down his torch, to fire
the reeds, he saw the fagots, as they kindled, send
up a smoke so dense, that men were blinded by it.
And the fumes of the witch-fires hung above the
city like a black cloud till darkness overshadowed
all the land.
Presently, the sun shone high above, and,
piercing the thick fog, a beam of blessed light
struggled through the universal gloom. And,
when the first ray fell on Earth, the people shut
their eyes, and turned from its dazzling bright-
ness, blinking at the unknown light as if, instead
of the smiling Earth, they had been living in a
dungeon.
Then, as the magic went on, and ray after ray shot
down from above, the mist gave way before them ;
and, as the sun shone full upon the demon-fires,
134 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
one by one they died away, till the world, which
but a little while since was red with the glare of
bloody flames, was now golden with the light of
Heaven.
And then the unburnt fagots began to bud with
a new life, and the stake and gibbet to put forth
boughs and leaves, each growing and growing till
a mighty tree, laden with the daintiest fruits, stood
luxuriant with life, where the ghastly beam of
death had lately been.
At first, men looked with fear upon the tree and
dreaded to touch it ; for they said, "It is the evil
Tree of Knowledge, and will destroy them that eat
of it."
Still many hungered for the food, but the Priests
strove to keep them back ; while those that, de-
spite their pious threats, dared to gather the fruit,
they branded as blasphemers, and put a mark upon
them, so that their neighbors might shun them
as they would serpents for the poison of their
tongues.
But at last all men grew greedy for the fruit
of the goodly tree ; and those that feasted on
it had the film taken from their eyes, and the
wonders and the beauty of the universe were laid
bare to them ; for they saw into the remotest
corners of space and the deepest depths of the
earth and the sea. And the minds of the wisest
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 135
entered and pervaded the minds of their less-gifted
brethren, till men learned to read with kindlier
eyes the hearts and brains of their fellow-men.
And, while the feasters partook of the blessed fruit
themselves, they gave freely to all around, and
yet were the richer rather than the poorer for
the gift.
Then as the magic still went on, the prison
gates were flung open, and herds of wild and
savage beasts rushed out, scaring the populace
before them. And, as they ate the fruit, the ani-
mals grew human, and for the first time were rec-
ognized as men.
On this the bars and chains fell from the prison-
doors and windows, while the prisons themselves
were turned to hospitals and schools ; and, where
before the Jailer and the Headsman had governed
and destroyed, the Teacher and the Doctor guided
and healed.
Then, as the crazy things, freed from the
stake were taken to the hospitals, the children
of the poor were gathered from the streets and
bye ways, to be led to the schools. The orphan,
the foundling and the outcast the children of
want and the children of crime the cleanly and
the ragged all found shelter, knowledge, and good
counsel there.
And Huan blessed the Spirit of Kindness for the
136
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
goodly work, and the people laughed and wept for
very joy ; for they saw God Nature and their
fellow-creatures in a new guise.
lh.e Qevenleentlj.
OW when the King saw the ma-
gic change that had been wrought
in the hearts and minds of his peo-
ple, his joy knew no bounds, and
he cried, "It is the Dwarf that
hath done it all ! Go, bring him
and his blind sister to me, that I may do honor to
them and supplicate their pardon."
But Huan and Anthy were away, weeping over
their raving father ; and, when the message of the
King was brought them, they said, "Ay, let us
straightway go to him, and at his feet beseech him
to take the galling chains from the poor old man's
limbs." So they hastened into the presence of
the King. And immediately, when Ulphilas saw
them, he cast himself at their feet, imploring their
forgiveness. Huan raised him up ; and then the
138 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
old Monarch folded them in his arms, and praising
God that their lives had been spared, called them
his dear children, till his tears choked his words.
Then he commanded Huan and his sister to say
how the people and their King could pay the heavy
debt of gratitude they owed them ; and he told
them to speak boldly, " for all that he could give
them," he said, " would not be a tithe of their due."
And he bade Anthy be the first to name the
reward she wished. Whereupon, the Blind Girl,
true to her new nature, besought the King that he
would liberate her maniac father from his chains.
But Ulphilas answered her not ; and turned to
Huau to know the boon that he desired.
The Dwarf, bowing, demanded of the King that
he would remove the chains not from one madman
only, but from all.
Then the Monarch grew sad ; and, as he turned
his head from them, he replied, " Nay, ask of me
my richest province, and it shall be yours. You
know not the danger of what you seek. Though
we have leamt we should not take the lives of the
mad, still it is but meet we should bind them,
lest, in their madness, they take ours."
But Huan urged that, though the insane were
deaf to reason, they were not dead to feeling ; say-
ing, kindness spake to the heart and not to the
head. And he reminded Ulphilas that their work
of mercy was but half complete. They had remov-
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 13i)
ed the maniacs from the stake to the hospital, it
was true ; but though they had learnt to save
them from the felon's death, still they had yet to
learn to strip them of the felon's chains.
But Ulphilas, as Huan entreated him to have
faith in Kindness, and grant him the boon he ask-
ed, told the Dwarf again and again that he dare
not listen to him.
So Huan and his blind sister, both sad at heart,
returned to the city, to forget the sorrows they
themselves felt, in comforting the sorrows of others.
Meanwhile, the people of Asulon became fanat-
ics in the new creed, and almost worshiped the
Dwarf and his sister ; blessing them, as they passed
their doors, or surrounding them in crowds, and load-
ing them with presents so that none ever receiv-
ed such honor before.
And the gifts that the grateful people heaped
upon them Huan and Anthy turned to good also.
For Huan would bring back to their homes the
wives that had left their husbands, and Anthy the
daughters that had fled from their fathers ; while
each, to make the return more welcome, would
add the presents they had received, and so re-estab-
lish love and good-will between those that lived
unhappily ; till at length people would guard as a
treasure the cup from which the Dwarf or his blind
sister had sipped, for every where they were wel-
comed as the Peacemakers.
140 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Then the Priests, embracing, in their turn, the
new creed of Kindness, and feeling for the oppres-
sion of the people, from the arrogance and rapacity
of the nobles, strove to promote universal love and
good-will, by establishing throughout the land a holy
covenant, which they called "The Truce of God;"
by which men bound themselves by oath not to
enjoy the fruits of property usurped from others,
nor to take revenge for any injury ; nor, above all,
to use any deadly weapon against their fellow-creat-
ure. And thousands flocked to swear observance
to it ; for, in rewa.rd, the Priests promised them a
resting-place in Paradise and universal peace on
Earth.
And so the nobles ceased to war among them-
selves, and the poor were no longer oppressed, while
over each man's door the Olive branch was hung,
in token of his reverence for " The Truce of God."
In the midst of the peace the trump of war was
heard, and the host that Aleph had led forth was
seen returning over the distant hills. But their
banners were hung down, their drums were muf-
fled, and each man's head dropped upon his breast as
he marched along ; for they grieved for the young
Prince their leader, who had been wounded in the
strife ; and they feared his days were numbered.
Then the whole city, as the sad news was spread
abroad, streamed from their houses, and followed
the troops, sorrowing for the young warrior, whose
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 141
valor when a boy they had almost worshiped.
And, as they marched silently after the soldiers,
each man cursed within himself the ghastly trade
of war.
When the mournful tidings reached Ulphilas'
ears, he ran to meet his dying boy, and wept over
him, saying, " Woe to my gray hairs ! woe to my
people ! And must the prop of my old age be
dashed from under me, and the hope of the nation
be blighted, when the harvest-time was near ?"
But, though there was much sorrowing for Aleph,
none sorrowed more than she who had suffered the
most from him ; for Anthy, now that Aleph's life
was in peril, felt all her love for him return, and,
forgetting the wrong he had done her, she thought
of him only as the generous boy that had won her
girlish heart. And she besought Evoe that she
might tend upon him in his hour of danger ; so
that, with a woman's gentle hand, she might strive
to hold back the life that struggled to be gone.
And, when her prayer was granted, she sat day
and night beside the Prince, thanking God that,
in the delirium of his fever, he knew not the hand
that dressed his wound and bathed his burning
brow. Then, as those skilled in medicine came,
she would listen breathlessly to each word they
spake, and beg of them, ere they went, to tell her
that all hope was not yet fled, and that by care
his life might yet be saved.
142 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
And, when they turned away and ansAvered her
not, she would return to Aleph's couch, to tend him
with redoubled tenderness, so that her love might
compass that which their art would fail in.
But still Anthy tended him in vain ; for, de-
spite her care, the wound grew worse, and Aleph,
with the torment of it, knew no rest. Each day
the doctors told the King that the Prince must lose
his arm or die ; yet, when the downcast Ulphilas
bade them save his son and take it, they would
answer that they dare not yet awhile, for if they
took it then, the youth would surely perish.
As Anthy heard the sick Aleph moan and writhe
with his pangs day after day, and night after night
knowing neither rest nor sleep, she bethought her
of her brother's magic power. So she sent for
Huan, and on her knees begged of him to have
mercy on her and him she loved, saying, " If kind-
ness be, as you have taught us, all-powerful like
the God from whom it springs, O let it like Him
w r ho sent blessed sleep, to give new life to Man
and ease him of his pains teach men the way to
give slumber to the suffering, and rob nature of its
bitterest agony.
And Huan took pity on the poor girl, and
besought the Spirit to grant her prayer.
Immediately an invisible vapor arose, and, cir-
cling round the Prince, bathed him in its blessed
atmosphere. Then his eyelids drooped, while his
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 143
groans died away, and he whose torments had let
him know no rest for weeks, lay wrapt in the
happy ease of slumber. And, as he slept, the
shattered arm was taken from him, without a sigh
to tell of suffering.
And when, at night, Aleph woke from out his
trance, and found the aching limb was gone, he
called down blessings on all around for the holy
rest he felt.
Then, as he asked for water, he saw by the dim
light of his chamber the figure of the Blind Girl
standing, cup in hand, beside him, in instant
answer to his wants. And, as the doom that he
had cast upon her flashed across his guilty mind,
he thought the Spirit of the girl had come down
from Heaven to rebuke him for the cruel death he
had condemned her to ; for, on the face of her,
whose worst enemy he had been, there shone so
sweet a smile, and in the cup she bore, Aleph read
so loving a reproach, that she seemed one of the
angel-host flown back to Earth to pay with good
the evil he had heaped upon her.
And, softened by the sickness, Aleph wept, and
begged forgiveness of the heavenly Spirit that stood
beside him, praying her, for the love she once had
borne him, and that he had flung aside, to mend
his heart and so watch over him in this world, that
he might be fit to meet her in the next.
Then Anthy blessed the sufTerings she had un-
144 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
dergone, for the rich reward they had brought her ;
and thought herself more than paid for the bitter
cruelty of Aleph's hate, in the return of Aleph's
love. And she could not speak, for the tears of joy
that streamed down her face.
And, when the repentant Prince discovered that
it was Anthy herself, and learnt from his sister how
she had tended him in his anguish, the gratitude
he felt for all her loving care made him see the
kindly girl more beauteous than ever ; for the pure
light of her chastened spirit shone from out the face
whose beauty had fled like a glow-worm beneath
a flower in the night. And his affection for her
returned with a tenfold strength and truth ; for his
boyish passion now over, his manly love began.
And he besought her to let him atone for the
wrongs that he had done her, by making good the
vows that he alone had broken, and so give back
the honor that she, in the faith of her love, had
trusted to his keeping.
But Anthy, though her heart swelled with joy
at the healing words she heard, still would not
listen to his entreaties, for she said " it was too late
now ;" and she bade him think of her as one dead,
and look upon her as one new risen from the tomb
of her own honor. " Her new life," she told him,
" was wedded to Charity, and henceforth she could
love him only as she loved all those that suffered
and were chastened by their sufferings.
Chapter l!)e eighteenth.
O sooner was it known through-
out Asulon that Prince Aleph's
life had been saved through the
prayers and tender care of her
whom he had sought to destroy,
than the love of the people for
the Blind Girl grew greater than ever ; and they
got to look upon her as a saint, and one whose
touch gave health and whose councils happiness.
And, as the wonder of the cure was magnified,
as it traveled from house to house, people grew
to place such faith in her powers, that women
would stop one another in the market-streets to
speak of some new miracle she had wrought ;
and gossips would run into their neighbors' houses
to tell, with uplifted hands and brows, of the last
new marvel rumor attributed to her.
10
HG THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
At length it was whispered through the city that
Anthy, grateful for the happiness she knew, had
resolved to thank God at the Prophet's Tomb for
the sparing of that life which was more precious to
her than her own. And, as the time drew near for
the starting of the Caravan, the Dervishes called
upon those that had not yet made the pilgrimage
to Medina, to put on the woolen garb and accom-
pany the holy maid.
Then the people, glad to make atonement for the
wrongs they had heaped upon the Blind Girl, re-
solved to seek forgiveness and offer up prayers for
An thy' s welfare at the Prophet's Tomb; and,
where at other times men paid the hireling
pilgrims to make the long and painful journey for
them, they now refused with scorn the purchase of
their prayers, but, full of enthusiasm, set the dan-
ger and hardships of the way at defiance, and pre-
pared to make the pilgrimage themselves.
Each day the Mosques were crowded with those
that sought a blessing of the Priests before setting
out upon their pious journey ; and each day the
number of the pilgrims so increased, that they were
called the "Army of the Lord."
As the time of their departure drew near, all
Asulon was in commotion, preparing to forsake
their homes, kindred and occupation, so that, at the
Prophet's Tomb, they might lighten themselves of
the heavy burthen of their sins. And such was the
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 147
fanatic fury of the city, that not a meteor shot
across the heavens but the people viewed it as a
warning to those who lagged behind, and the next
day an hundred more made ready to swell the holy
band.
And, when the day of leaving came, the Chief
of the Dervishes led the pilgrim-troop from the city,
and Ulphilas, with the Prince and Huan by his
side, went with them as well. And, as the mul-
titude moved along, people came from their houses
to cry, "Heaven guard the holy pilgrims!" and
touch the garment of her who led them. And they
would beg of those they knew among the band, to
bring them water from the Holy Well, or mold
from the blessed tomb, to keep as charmed relics
within their houses.
. And among the multitude were people of all
classes ; men, women, and even children, trudged
along in droves. Some had camels bearing tents,
and others mules laden with provisions for the way ;
while others had nothing, trusting to charity and
the berries that ripened by the road-side for their
subsistence.
And the King and the High Priest journeyed
with them one day. And, on the morning of the
second the Dervish blessed the multitude, and
Aleph commanded his chosen band of Mamelukes
to accompany the caravan and protect it, as it
traversed the lands of the barbarian tribes ; while
148 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
TJlphilas pressed the Blind Girl and her brother to
his bosom, and, weeping over them, bade all his
people love and honor them as his children. And
then, bidding the pilgrims " God speed," he return-
ed with Huan and the Prince, sorrowing, to the
city, while the mighty multitude marched on,
chanting in one loud, solemn voice, the praises of
the Lord.
But scarcely had two weeks passed, when tidings
were brought to Asulon that a wandering horde
had swept down upon the pilgrim-band, and,
slaughtering the Mamelukes, had carried off Anthy
and her unarmed companions.
At first, the city, gave no credit to the news.
But they had little time for doubt ; for, presently,
there carne a holy Welee one that had journeyed
with the multitude his heart big with indigna-
tion at the insults they had suffered. And in
every village through which he passed he preached
the story of their wrongs so touchingly, and called
for justice on the heathen in such stirring tones,
that multitudes flocked from their houses, to listen
to him as he carne ; and, fired with his eloquence,
followed him when he went. So he entered the
city with thousands in his train, each man calling
as lustily as their leader for the blood of their hea-
then foes.
The Welee bent his way to the Mosque, and
sought out the Dervishes. And, as he told them
THE MAGIC OF KINDiNESS. 149
how the defenseless pilgrims had been plundered
and beaten with stripes and their countrymen mas-
sacred as they slept and how the Olive-branch
had been spat upon, and the holy symbols of their
religion trampled under foot the fury of the Priests
knew no bounds, and they all cried aloud for ven-
geance against the Pagan hordes.
And the Chief of the Dervishes wept, and bade
his holy brethren each go preach the story of the
pilgrims' wrongs, so that the whole country might
be roused and the heathen be rooted out of the
land.
And immediately he summoned a council to
make all preparation for the Holy War. And
he sat with closed doors for seven days, while
multitudes from far and near flocked into the
town to hear the pious Chief hold forth to the
people.
And they came in such vast numbers, that the
fields around were encumbered with those who,
unable to procure lodging in the city, pitched their
tents under the trees and by the way-side, till the
whole country seemed as one vast camp.
The great square in front of the Mosque became
each instant more and more crowded, as the time
drew nigh when the Chief Dervish was to exhort
the multitude.
At length the holy Chief came forth, snrround-
ed by all the Priests and Welees of the city,
150 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
and, as he lifted up his hands, every voice was
hushed.
He told the listening thousands of the miseries
of the pilgrims ; and, as the populace groaned, he
cried aloud, " You who hear me you who have
received the true faith, and been endowed by Allah
with power and strength and greatness of soul, I
call upon you to stop the progress of the Infidel,
and wipe out these impurities from the face of
the Earth. O, brave people ! offspring of invincible
fathers ! you will not disgrace your ancient blood !
Go ! forget the ties of father, wife, and little ones.
Go ! armed with the sword and the Book of
Life, and teach these barbarous Pagans the blessed
doctrines of peace arid loving-kindness among men.
Go, then, in expiation of your sins, convert the hea-
then, and rest assured that imperishable glory shall
be yours in the world that is to come."*
Then the crowd, moved by the words of the
Dervish, shouted with one voice, " God wills it !
God wills it !"
And when the Dervish heard the cry, he turned
to the multitude, and said, " It is Allah that speaks,
within you ! If Allah had not been in your souls,
ye would not all have cried the same cry. It was
Allah that spake the words by your lips. It was
Allah that put the words into your hearts. Be
that cry, then, your war-cry in the combat. And,
* Speech of Pope Urban at the Council of Clermont.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 151
when the army of the Compassionate, the Merciful,
rushes upon its foes, to teach them the blessings of
brotherly love, cry but that one cry, ' God wills it !
God wills it !' "*
And the men, women, and children echoed the
words, and cried again, with one loud, furious
voice
" Ay, God wills it ! God wills it !"
"And whosoever," continued the Dervish, "is
ready to bind himself to this holy cause, let him
bear upon his breast the sign of the Olive-branch,
as a token of the peaceful doctrines he would
spread over the whole world.f And let every man
who wears this blessed badge outside his heart,
carry within it this one resolve, ' Death or new life
to the heathen !"
And once more the war-cry rose, and once more
the air resounded with the shout of " God wills it !
God wills it !"
Then immediately the rich, the needy, the dis-
solute, the prudent, the young and old even wo-
men and children, and the halt and the lame
enrolled themselves by thousands under the banner
of the Lord.
But the zeal of none in all that zealous multi-
tude, was greater than the zeal of Aleph ; for he,
moved by the Priests and fired by his own love,
* Speech of Pope Urban at the Council of Clerraont.
f Ibid.
152 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
felt a double ardor in the cause. And he vowed
that he himself would lead the people on, and if
Anthy still lived either rescue her from her savage
foes, or lose the life that she had saved.
In every village the clergy were busy, promising
eternal bliss to those who fought for the glory of
the Olive-branch, and denouncing all those who
refused or even hesitated to raise the sword in its
defense.
Every debtor who joined the sacred host was
freed from the claims of the creditor, however just ;
and no man who wore the sign of the Olive-branch
could be stayed for any crime, even though it were
robbery or murder.*
And it was agreed that a tax, called the " Pa-
gans' -tithe," and consisting of a tenth-part of all
possessions, should be enforced from every believer
who was either unable or unwilling to help root
the heathen out of the land ; while those who re-
fused or could not pay the penalty, were to become
the bondsmen and absolute property of the noble
on whose ground they lived. t
Among all classes of men the Priests preached
" Death to the Infidel." One Welee went through
the villages, announcing that the Prophet, in a
vision, had bidden him stir up the shepherds and
tillers of the soil to the defense of the true Faith.
* Mackay's Popular Delusions, vol. ii. p. 109.
f " Saladin's Tithe," instituted by Philip Augustus.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 153
And thousands flocked around him, ready to follow
him wherever he should lead ; so that the pastures
and the corn fields were deserted, and the sheep
were left to stray from the fold, and the ripe corn
to rot in the field.*
Another Welee traversed the country, preaching
to the children, till the young became fired like the
old; and, raising mimic banners of the Olive-
branch, would range themselves, both boys and
girls, in battle order, and, armed with sticks instead
of swords, march on, shouting aloud the war-cry of
" God wills it ! God wills it !"t
Nor did the women escape the fury of the time.
Numbers, thirsting, like their husbands and their
lovers, for the blood of the heathen, prepared to
follow them to the war. And the most devout of
the women put on armor and rode their horses like
men. And they were headed by a female chief
chosen from among themselves, and called, "the
golden-footed lady," from the gilt spurs she wore.J
And such was the enthusiasm of the whole sex
that many of them pricked the sign of the Olive-
branch upon their arms, and colored the wound
with a green dye, as a lasting memorial of their
zeal for the holy war ; while others, still more
zealous, did the same on the tender limbs of their
* Millet's Elemens de 1'Histoire de France.
t Mill's History of Crusaders.
t Mackay's Popular delusions, vol. ii. p. 94.
154 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
young children, and even the infants at their
breasts.*
And all that had property of any description,
hurried to change it into money, wherewith to huy
their arms. Lands and houses were sold for what
at other times had been merely the rental of them,
while weapons of war and suits of mail were bought
for sums that would have endowed a charity. The
nobles mortgaged their estates for mere trifles to
Jews, and melted down their plate, to furnish sup-
plies for the war. Women sold their trinkets to
raise a troop to slay the heathen. And the farmer
sold his plough and the artisan his tools, to purchase
a saber for the deliverance of the pilgrims, and the
conversion of the Pagan. t
Then as the day drew near for the assembling
of all the troops, the roads were flooded with the
mighty human tide, rolling on to the place of meet-
ing. Who shall tell the children and the aged that
hastened along to destroy the heathen ? Who shall
count the mothers and the maidens that longed for
the fight?
And there were a thousand strange sights to be
seen by the way ; the poor shoeing their oxen and
harnessing them to carts, and placing their children
and scanty provisions in them, and then leaving
house and home, to go slay the Pagan ; while, as
* Mackay's Popular Delusions, vol. ii. p. 20.
t Guibert de Nogent.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 155
they went, the babes, at each troop they saw, would
demand eagerly whether they were the pagans they
were going to slay.* At other parts of the road,
groups of nobles might be seen traveling on, amus-
ing themselves, as they journeyed, with hawk and
hound.
Many came down the river in boats and rafts,
others trudged barefoot along the rough path all
hurrying on, sword-in-hand, to teach the heathen to
love their brethren as themselves, and thinking it
a sin deserving of the wrath of God to let the un-
believer live.
And there was a great jubilee held in Asulon !
and the chiefs of the blessed army were to be pub-
licly appointed to their different troops, and solemn-
ly invested with the Holy Order of the Olive-branch.
And the richest merchants and nobles of the land,
with the King at their head, and, led on by the
Dervishes and Welees, went in procession to the
great Mosque.
Then, after prayers had been chanted, each chief
as he was chosen approached the altar, and present-
ed his sword to the High Priest, who, taking it in
his hand, blessed and consecrated it to the service
of the Lord.t
Then, turning to the chosen chief, the Priest sol-
* Guibert de Nogent.
t Menestrier de la Chevalrie et ses preuves, chap. ii.
and ix.
156 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
emnly warned him of the difficulties and duties of
the holy order he was about to enter, telling him
that he who sought to be a chief, and fight under
the banner of the Olive-branch, must vow never to
battle without first offering up prayer nor to spare
either his own blood or the blood of others in spread-
ing the blessed doctrines of peace and good-will
among all men. And he must go forth, sword-in-
hand, to make men learn to reverence the lives of
others and teach justice by injuring an hundred-
fold those that dared to injure.*
Then the proudest and fairest of the maids of
Asulon advanced and armed the new chief one
buckling on his spurs, another placing the helmet
on his head, while a third gave him his spear.t
And, when the arming was finished, the noble
who acted as his sponsor in arms rose from his seat,
and promised and vowed in the young chief's name
that he should dedicate the sword to the increase
and defense of the true faith. And then he struck
him upon the shoulder with the naked blade, saying,
"In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the
Merciful, I make thee chief go, bear this blow,
but never bear another. "$
And when each of the leaders had taken the oath
and been invested with the Order of the Olive-
* Speech of Bishop of Valenciennes to the young Count
Ostravant.
t St. Palaye. J Hartnock, liber ii. chap. i.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 157
branch, Aleph, angry to find that all should have
taken precedence of Huan Anthy's own brother
drew his jeweled sword from its sheath, and gave
it to the chief Dervish, saying, that he himself
would be sponsor for the Dwarf.
So the Priest called publicly upon Huan to come
forward and take the oath and receive the weapon
blessed from his hands.
But Huan, though his heart bled for his sister's
fate, could not bear to see the sign of peace made
the symbol of war, aud refused to take the weapon,
telling the Dervish that, "to uphold the glory of
the Olive-branch, men should break, rather than
worship, the sword."
Then the chiefs grew indignant at the words, and
cried aloud, " Cast him forth ! The brother will
not succor the sister cast the coward forth !"
And the Dervish asked him a second time to
come forward and seek a blessing for his sword, and
a second time Huan refused, saying, " The sword
will only drive the Pagan further from you, and
make them more brutal even than they now are.
If you would force them from their savage ways,
go. make a road between them and you, that you
may bring them the closer to you, and distribute
among them the knowledge and the blessings that
make you better than they."
And, as the nobles laughed in scorn at what he
said, Huan told them this parable :
158 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
" Before man was created, and when the Heavens
and the Earth were without form and void, God
made the metals. And He locked them up in cof-
fers of stone, and, setting huge rocks upon them,
buried them deep under the ground.
"First, He made the yellow gold gorgeous as
the sun. And the Angels cried aloud, ' We praise
Thee O Lord ! Heaven and Earth are full of the
majesty of thy glory.'
" Then the white silver chaste as the moon,
was made. And again the angels cried, ' We
praise Thee, O Lord.'
" Next the copper was formed red as the morn-
ing. And once more the angels cried, ' Heaven
and Earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.'
" And then he made the iron gray as night
and the lead in color like the thunder-cloud. But
the angels grieved at the sight, and were silent.
" And Peace bent down her head, and weeping,
cried, ' Make them not, Merciful Father ! make
them not ! For, though Thou lockest them up in
coffers of stone and hidest them in the bowels of
the Earth, Man will find them out and use them
to slay his brother ; and I and my sister angels
will have no resting place on earth.'
" But the angel of Wisdom rose up and cried,
' Make them, O Lord ! make them ! for Man, after
a time, surfeited with slaughter, shall, with the
iron, set a girdle round about the Earth, that will
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 159
prove a surer safeguard than the sword, and bind
tribe with tribe, and nation with nation, till the
whole human race shall be linked together by it
into one family. And the lead he shall cast into
tiny tongues, wherewith the best and wisest of
mankind shall speak with their distant brethren
and pour their minds into those of their less-gifted
neighbors ; and, making their voice heard by it
far beyond the cannon's roar, shall tell the whole
world of the wondrous beauty and bounty of thy
works !' .
" Then the angels, assenting, cried ' Make them
make them, O Lord ! so that peace may dwell
among men forever, and the Earth be full of the
majesty of thy glory !' "
But the people would hear no more ; and, seizing
the Dwarf, they bore him from the Mosque, and
placed him on a scaffold, in the sight of the assem-
bled multitudes. And they broke the sword that
Aleph had given him, before Huan's face ; and the
Olive-branch was torn from his hands and dragged
through the dirt, while the heralds proclaimed his
ignominy to the world. Then the Chief thrice de-
manded his name, and as the herald each time
cried aloud " Huan the Dwarf!" the Priest answer-
ed " A base and heartless coward !" Next hot
water was poured upon his head to wash away the
memory of his honor, and, after that he was placed
on a hurdle and drawn back to the Mosque, where
160 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
he was covered with a pall and the funeral prayers
were chanted over him as one dead to glory and to
fame.*
But Huan bore the scorn and insults of the peo-
ple without a murmur ; for he only thought how
he would go forth unarmed among his poor sis-
ter's barbarian foes, and teach them the same doc-
trines as had softened his heart, and changed him
from the savage to the man of peace. Ay ! he
the Dwarf would go forth as the Kindly Spirit
bade him armed with his simple Olive-branch,
and, by the very might of his weakness and the
magic of its peaceful power, make more glorious
conquests among men than with the weapon of
war.
Early on the morrow the whole host encamped
without the city. As far as the eye could reach,
the meadows of Asulon were covered with tents.
And as all those that joined the army had been
promised by the priests full remission of their sins,
thousands gave themselves up to the most un-
bounded licentiousness. The glutton feasted and
the drunkard caroused, and the gambler played till
morn ; debauchery flourished throughout the camp
the vice being only exceeded by the superstition
of the people. But the holiness of the enterprise
was to wipe out all trespasses ; for the same eternal
* Form of Degradation of Ancient Knight La Colom-
biere Theatre.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 161
bliss was promised to the sensualist as to the an-
chorite who lasted from the rising to the setting
of the sun ; and such were the charms of the
doctrine for the ignorant, that the song of volup-
tuous revelry and the hymn of prayer rose from
the tents at the same instant.*
At last the countless multitude hegan their
march. At their head went a body of fanatics,
who made it a profession to be without money ; and
they walked barefoot, and carried no arms, and
preceded even the beasts of burthen, living only
upon roots and herbs ; while their rags were loath-
some to look at.t Next came the nobles ; some
with bright armor inlaid with gold and silver and
shining in the sun like figures of fire ; whilst others
on their horses, armed at all points, looked like
statues of bronze ; then came Priests, habited in
the coarse w r oolen garb of the pilgrim ; and above
their heads floated their banners of purple and gold
and rich colors. Next followed the Dervishes, in
priestly robes, with helmets on their heads and
swords in their hands, each leading a motley band
of armed merchants and peasants and laborers.
After them, came troops of women carrying their
children, some on their backs, and some in their
arms, and others on mules ; and, marching with
these, were herds of boys, under leaders chosen from
* Mackay's Popular Delusions, vol. ii. p. 25.
t Guibert de Nogent, book vii.
11
162 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
among themselves and called after the names of
the principal chiefs.*
Last of all came the troops, with Aleph at their
head, and the chief Dervish on his right hand, and
bands of choristers hy his side, swinging their cen-
sers as they went till the air was fragrant with
ambergris and chanting in one voice, " Glory be
to God!" whilst the troops, the pilgrims, the
peasants and the rabble, took up the cry, and made
the air ring with their voices.
As the multitude moved on, their enthusiasm
increased, and while the greater part hurried to
convert or destroy the heathen, the more zealous
of the rabble inveighed against the folly of going to
slay the barbarian hordes, while they left the un-
converted Jew behind. So many of the holy host
hastened back to Asulon, and, swearing fierce ven-
geance to the Israelite, first mutilated and then
slaughtered all those they could lay their hands
upon.t
As the vast human flood rolled on, Aleph and
the chief Dervish soon found that, despite the ex-
ertions of the nobles and chiefs, it was beyond their
power to keep in subjection the multitude that
followed them for the greater part of those they
led, consisted either of the folly, fanaticism, or vil-
lainy of the country. Devoid of principle, dis-
* Guibert de Nogent, book vii.
t Mackay's Popular Delusions, vol. ii. p. 35 and 36.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 163
cipline, or true courage, they swept over the land
like a pestilence, spreading terror and famine, and
death, robbery and murder journeying with them
all the way.*
At one time they were perishing for want, so
that horses and camels, and the very vermin, were
eaten as luxuries by the daintiest, and scarce a
chief was left a steed to ride upon.f At another,
when, maddened with hunger and despair, they
gained a victory, giving themselves up to frantic
revelry once more, arid, in the wantonness of their
luxury, refusing to eat any but the choicest parts
of the beasts they slaughtered, casting away as
worthless all the remainder.^ Now, at the sack-
ing and pillaging of some city on their way, dressed
in ermine, and purple and gold, and silken stuffs,
and laden with vases of gold and silver, and pre-
cious stones then, parched with drought and dying
with fatigue, casting away first their heavy golden
spoils, and then their armor ; while the women,
who still kept up with " the army of the Lord,"
would throw down their babes in the army's track,
and roll prostrate on the ground with the agony of
their thirst, offering their naked bosoms to the
swords of the soldiers, and begging for death.
* Mackay's Popular Delusions, vol. ii. p. 26.
t Robertus Monachus, book vi.
t Raimond d'Argilles.
Albert of Aix, book iii.
eW
Hi
the
S soon as Huan on the day of
his degradation had escaped
from the hands of the frantic
citizens, he journeyed far away,
and staid not till he beheld the
sea like a vast crystal pavement
spread out before him. Then he sought the
wildest and most desolate part of the coast, and
there, as the waves rippled at his feet, he thought
to himself how he could at once save his poor
sister's life, and teach his countrymen the mad-
ness of their acts.
And he prayed his guardian Spirit, that she
would bear him across the sea, to those far-distant
shores whither Aleph and his fanatic host were
hurrying, so that he might, by showing kindness to
those who had never yet felt the charm of it, tame
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 165
them before " the army of the Lord" had time, by
the barbarities of war, to make them even more
savage than they were.
The wish was no sooner uttered, than the Spirit
begat what the kindly heart desired, and immedi-
ately the trees in the neighboring forest fell like
reeds to the earth, while others bent down and
curved themselves into the ribs and sides of a
goodly ship. Then, from the tallest and straightest
of the wood, the branches were stripped, till the
naked stems stood up as masts for the magic vessel.
And the shores, where the ring of the anvil had
never been heard, were red with the glare of the
forge, and tinkled with the music of countless ham-
mers, as the plastic iron was wrought into bolts and
anchors for the loving mission. And all around
was heard the hum of a myriad of wheels, as the
coarse fiber of the cocoa-nut tree was spun and
wove into the sails and cordage of the ship. Then,
as the tide rose and rose, the waves danced around
the vessel, and, lifting it on their backs, bore it and
Huan far away from land.
And the same kindly Spirit that had built the
ship, freighted it with loving gifts, and christened
it " The Messenger of Peace," while from its mast-
head floated the Dove and the Olive-branch, as
emblems of both its name and object.*
* The name and flag of the ship that Williams the mis-
sionary, built unassisted, at Raiatea, in the South Seas, in
166 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
But Huan, though he traveled by sea, could not
reach the shores of the heathen before Aleph and
his multitude, who came by land, had begun the
war that he had hoped by his coming to have pre-
vented ; so that, when he neared the shore, the
natives, who might before have listened to his
words, were up in arms and screaming for the
blood of the stranger.
Though it was night, his vessel had been seen
from afar by the natives, and, as he stood toward
the land, countless lights flickered like fire-flies on
the distant beach, while on the breeze floated the
yells and war-cries of the infuriated people that he
had come, unarmed, to conquer.
But Huan prayed for strength and faith in the
power of the Spirit whose servant he was, and,
gaining new courage, landed amidst them.
Some of them had one side of their face and
body blackened with charcoal ; others were paint-
ed most fantastically with yellow and red ocher,
and stripes of all the colors they could procure ;
while many had their skins tatooed with curious
devices from head to foot, and dyed orange with
turmeric, and were dressed as warriors, with large
caps, adorned with white cowrie shells and birds'
feathers.
As Huan looked around, he trembled for his
order that he might visit the savage natives of the other
islands.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 167
rashness ; for he saw that the natives were drawn
up in hostile array, some with three or four spears,
others with slings, and their belts full of large
stones, while others, with torches of dry cocoa-nut
leaves, danced about him, shouting and making the
most frantic gestures.
Many had climbed the trees, to see the stranger ;
and upon the trunks and astride the branches Huan
saw them in clusters, by the red glare of the
torches, peeping, with glistening eyes and wonder-
ing look, from the rich, dark foliage that surround-
ed them.
Presently, some of them advanced, and, taking
hold of his hands, felt every limb, smelt him, turn-
ed up his sleeves, to see his flesh, and examined
him most minutely. Then, as they again poised
their spears, one cried out, " I'll have his cap ;"
another, "I'll have his cloak ;" and a third, bran-
dishing his huge club, screamed, " Let us kill the
hog ! let us kill him."*
But Huan desired them to put aside their spears
and clubs, telling them he had come as a friend to
them, laden with presents, to teach the blessings
of -peace and good-will among men.
When they heard this, they tied up their wea-
pons in bundles and threw aside their slings. t
* The native teacher Papeiha's narrative of his landing
at Rarotunga.
f Landing of Williams at Mangaia.
168 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Then Huan distributed to them pieces of cloth,
and hammers, and ribbons, and clasp-knives, and
blue beads, and mirrors and fish-hooks.
Some of the cloth he gave them the natives fast-
ened round their Priest ; but the holy man tore it
in anger from him, and throwing it on the ground,
stamped on it, crying, " Am I a woman, that I
should be encumbered with stuff?" Another, to
whom Huan gave a saw, broke it in pieces, and,
hanging the glittering fragments round his neck
and to his ears, ran off dancing through the forest.*
Pleased with the gifts, the people grew more
kindly toward the Dwarf, saying, " He can not have
come to injure us, for he brings good and not evil
things with him, and hath no weapon but his
tongue, "f
Then Huan told them he had come to teach
them the knowledge of the true God, so that they
might burn the idols of wood, of cloth, and of birds'
feathers, which they had made and called gods.
Immediately a cry of horror burst from the peo-
ple, and some said, " What, burn the gods ! What
gods shall we then have ?" and others, " What-
shall we do without the gods ?" while the Priest
cried, " Away with this man to the Chief, for he
is one of the others that would destroy us and our
gods too ;" and, muttering something to the people,
* Landing of Williams at Mangaia.
f Conversion of the natives of A tin.
THE MAGIC OF KINDN'ESS. 169
the natives seized Huan some by his legs, others
by his arms and carried him far away into the
presence of their Chief, Vara, the man-killer.
This Vara was a mighty warrior ; and, as Huan
entered, he was seated on a stage stained with
blood, eating his bread-fruit, with the heads of the
enemies he had slain ranged round him. His ap-
pearance was awful ; his cheek-bones were high
and prominent, and his countenance forbidding.
His whole body was smeared with charcoal, and
his long black hair fell like a mane upon his shoul-
ders, while his beard was plaited and twisted, and
reached to his girdle. Around his loins was a nar-
row slip of cloth, through which his spear was
passed ; and the only badges of his nobility were a
few shells and part of an old clasp-knife handle,
that dangled from the girdle round his waist.
Before him stood his mother, weeping, and cut-
ting with sharks' teeth deep gashes in her face and
arms, to show her grief, while she bewailed the
death of her child, and charged the Chief with
having killed his little brother, and sent his body to
the Priests, because the King had demanded of
him a sacrifice to the gods.
But Vara only looked up from his feast of bread-
fruit and abused her, saying, " Is not the favor of
the gods, and the pleasure of the King, arid the
security of our possessions, worth more than that
little fool of a brother ? Better lose him than the
170 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
government of our district and the protection of
Oro the war-god."*
Then Huan, horrified at all that he had seen
and heard, stood boldly forward, and spake to the
Chief on the wickedness and madness of ofiering
up such sacrifices to a piece of paiuted wood.
And, telling him " he had come to teach them the
folly and wickedness of war, he exhorted the Chief
to worship his God, whose word was the word of
peace and love."
On this Vara rose, and said, angrily, "If it be
so, why do these strangers come, armed with spears,
to preach the word of peace to us, and slaughter
our wives and children to teach us the word of
love. They have come," said the Chief, " to take
us by force and make us worship their god ; but,
rather than yield, we will gather our warriors
around us and fight for Oro, who is not more
savage than they."
Then Huan told the Chief " no force on Earth
could make him worship Allah, for that He was a
God of Kindness, and those who fought his battles
must go armed only with love and charity to all ;
so that men, seeing they sought but their welfare,
might receive them as friends, and listen to their
words without fear or suspicion."
Then, turning to the people, Huan said, " Out
of pure pity I come to bring the blessings of these
* Speech of Vara, sacrifice procurer and Chief of Aimeo.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 171
kindly truths to you, before you entirely destroy
each other by your wars and the worship of your
savage gods. Think, friends, what a life of misery
and strife and fear you lead ! You can not go
down to the sea to catch fish, or to the mountains
to procure food, but you walk the earth in dread of
your foes I come to teach you peace and happi-
ness, that you have never known. You hide your-
selves in caves, when your Priests seek your lives
as a sacrifice to the gods I come to give you the
safe shelter of God's love to all his creatures.
Your chiefs enter your houses, seize your rolls of
cloth, kill the fattest of your swine, pluck the best
of your bread-fruit, and take the very posts from
your doors as firewood, wherewith to cook their
food. Is there a person present who has not buried
his new canoe in the sands, to hide it from these
desperate men ? I come unarmed and unfearing
among you, to put an end to these savage wrongs.
I come to show you how to live in amity, without
fear of your neighbor. I come to teach you to do
to others as you would that others should do to you ;
so that, instead of being pierced with spears, or
beaten to death with the clubs of your warriors, or
burnt as offerings to your senseless idols, you may
live and die in peace in. your own habitation, sur-
rounded by your friends."
Now all this was new to the people, and the in-
terest it begat in those who heard it was intense ;
172 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
for if any moved, they would cry, " Be still ! be
still ! let us hear."
But the Chief, Vara, rose and said to the Priest
and those assembled, " The stranger who would
teach us this new creed may, like his brethren,
want our lands and our wives. I do not say that
such is the case, but it may be so. Therefore, do
not be in haste. Let us know something more
about this new religion of Kindness, before we
abandon the religion of Revenge, which our ances-
tors for ages have venerated. Suppose we were to
visit his country, and say to his people, that Allah
was not the true God, and invite them to cast him
off and become worshipers of Oro the god of war,
what reply would they make ? Would they not
say, ' Do not be in haste. Let us know some-
thing more of Oro and the worship he requires ?'
I wish my people to do and say the same as the
stranger's people would say, in the same circum-
stances."*
Then, turning to Huan, he asked, " Where does
your God live ?" Huan answered, that " Heaven
was his dwelling-place ; but that he filled both the
sky and the Earth with his presence." " I can not
see him !" rejoined the Chief, " but mine I can
look upon and touch with my hand ; and if the
Earth was full of your God, surely he would be
big enough to be seen." " Ay, and we should run
* Speech of a Samoan chief.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 173
against Him," added the Priest, who had brought
the Dwarf to the Chief's house.
To all this Huan made answer, that " the
Earth was full of air, but they could not see it, nor
touch it with their hands ; that they were sur-
rounded by light, and yet they did not run against
it."*
Then Huan spake kindly to the mother, that
still grieved for her murdered son, and strove to
comfort her, telling her of the happy time of peace
and good-will to come ; so that the poor woman
unused to sympathy thanked him, as her heart
overflowed with his compassion. And she brought
baked meats and yams, and cocoa-nut water, and
spread them before him, on a table-cloth of fresh-
plucked leaves, and bade him eat and drink, say-
ing, that she knew he had come to comfort, and
not to injure them.
After this, she besought her son that he would
listen to the stranger's good counsels, and no longer
worship as gods, those things of painted wood and
birds' feathers, that robbed them of their children
and their brothers. And she exhorted him not to
lead his men to battle on the morrow, but to stav
with the stranger and hear more from him about
the God of Peace and Loving-Kindness.
And when Huan had finished his meal, seeing
* Dialogue between Papeiha, a native teacher, and
Tinomana, Chief of Arorangi.
174 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
him overcome with fatigue, she spread a mat for
him, and, bidding him rest his tired limbs, placed
a bundle of dried grass as a pillow for his head.
As Huan prayed before he slept, Vara hearing
him say, " Have mercy on us, O Lord, as we have
mercy on others," wondered at the charity of the
prayer, and, drawing his mat beside the Dwarf,
told him he had come to be taught to pray to the
God of Mercy. Delighted with the request, Huan
repeated the supplication, while the chief said it
after him.
But when Vara had made him go over it again
and again, Huan, overcome with fatigue, dropped
off to sleep.
Scarcely, however, had he closed his eyes, when
the anxious Chief awoke him, saying, " I have for-
gotten it, tell it to me once more."* And, when
he had made him repeat it many times, Huan fell
asleep again, and was again awoke.
This the Chief did frequently through the night,
till he had got the prayer by heart. And, as soon
as the air grew blue with the coming morning,
he bade Huan wake and talk with him, saying, he
had been thinking seriously on all he had heard,
and felt greatly disposed to burn his gods, but was
afraid, lest they should be enraged and strangle
him in the night. But, as it was a matter of
* Papeiha, a native teacher, and Tinomana, the Chief
of Arorangi.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 175
great importance, it was well not to be in haste.
However, since Huan had come for the purpose
of dissuading him from fighting, he would lay
aside all thoughts of war for the present.
Then the Dwarf, finding he had made a friend
of the Chief, ventured to speak upon the subject
that he had not dared to mention before. So he
asked Vara if he still remembered the prayer that
he had learnt ; and the Chief repeated it to him
word for word. Whereupon Huan told him, that
he alone, of all his countrymen, had come in mercy
to them, though none had suffered at their hands
more than he had.
Then the Chief asked him, how he and his
people could have injured one whom they had
never seen before.
So Huan told him they had robbed him of his
sister's life, and though his countrymen had called
him " coward," still he had come to them in char-
ity, to teach them those blessed truths which had
taught him to live in peace with all men, and love
his enemies. And Huan wept bitterly.
When Vara heard the speech, he fell back and
gazed with wonderment upon the Dwarf. Then,
suddenly starting up, he cried, " Now do I see that
yours is the true God. Had you slain my sister, I
and my children's children would not have rested
till we had made your skull our drinking cup ; for
I should have bequeathed rny vengeance as a legacy
176 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
to my sons, and commanded them to have blood for
blood, even though they had to wait for it till the
third or fourth generation.* But you, instead of
injuring us or our wives or our children, have come
among us laded with gifts, to pay back good for
evil. Truly, yours is a religion of mercy, and none
but the true God could have made it."t
But Huan's heart was fixed on Anthy ; and he
asked the Chief if, among those that had been slain
he remembered one that was blind.
And, when Vara had answered that he did, the
Dwarf inquired if she had suffered much.
But the Chief replied, that the blind were sacred
with them ; for that, if they took their lives,
Marama, the Goddess of Darkness, would be angry
with them, and destroy them as they slept.
Then Huan's head fell on his bosom, and he
sobbed for very joy, while he praised God that
Anthy still lived.
But Vara thought he grieved for the approach-
ing fight, and cried, " O that your countrymen had
come to us in charity, as you have done ! But they
came as enemies, and fell upon us with the sword
and the firebrand, under cover of the night. And
they slew our priests, our wives, our brothers, and
our children, till the dead covered the earth like
* The " Ono," or systematic revenge, prevailing through
all the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
t Speech of the Chief of Tahaa.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
177
trees after the hurricane. They desecrated our
temples, cut down our sacred groves, tore Oro from
his seat, stripped him of his robes, and set fire to
our altars and our gods. And, when our people
saw the green fields and trees dyed red with the
flames of their gods, and the blood of their country-
men, they screamed for vengeance. And they
sounded the trumpet-shell of war, and called on the
tribes around to destroy the ruthless strangers, say-
ing, ' There is no peace for the God-burners, till
they have felt the fury of the fire with which they
destroyed Oro.*' "
* The war at Raiatea.
Chapter th.* & to enlist h..
S the chief yet spoke, the sun rose,
and suddenly, the trumpet-shell
sounded, and the air was rent
with the cries of the Priests and
the yells of the warriors, as they
gathered together. Then the
shouts ceased , and there was heard the chant of the
Priestesses of the war god singing of the victory to
come, while from afar, floating on the breeze, came
the prayer of the armed host of Asulon.
Then Huan, led hy the chief, hastened down the
mountain-side to see if there were no way left to
stay the coming strife. But, as the war-cry again
came up louder and fiercer than hefore, he looked
down into the plain heneath, and saw the barbarian
horde assembled in the vast waste which their fore-
fathers had set aside for their battle-ground, with
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 179
their war-caps on their heads and their long jagged
spears, set with sharks' teeth, ready poised above
them ; while, drawn up behind the savage horde,
stood bands of women, bearing baskets of stones,
and slings and clubs, with which to supply the
warriors as they fought.
So Huan hurried on with quicker speed, and
reached the plain as the boldest of the chiefs darted
forward from the ranks and began his war-dance
of defiance, close in front of the army of Asulon.
Now the savage chieftain quivered his spear, and
ran to and fro, leaping and shouting, as though in-
spired with the spirit of wildness. Then, with a
bound he stood close before his foes, and gnashed
his teeth and grinned at them, till he foamed at
the mouth, all the while keeping up a low hide-
ous howl, and forcing his eye-balls almost from
their sockets. Then, calling them women and chil-
dren, he defied them to the combat, while he thrust
his long gray beard into his mouth, and gnawed it
with savage vengence.*
And when the people of Asulon saw this, they
cried aloud, " Death or new life to the heathen ;"
and, brandishing their swords on high, rushed for-
ward to the fray.
Then Huan fell on his knees, and, remembering
the magic power of the branch he bore, waved it
in the air, as he called on the Spirit of Kindness
* War-dance at " Savage Island."
180 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
to help him stay the murderous hand of Aleph and
his host, so that the arms they carried might be
changed to the instruments of peace, and, gaining
greater power from their greater kindness, theirs
might be a victory of the heart and not of the
sword.
Immediately the shouts and the war-cry ceased,
and the fanatic foe became the earnest friend. The
spears were turned into priming-hooks and the battle-
axes into plough-shares. The armor fell from the
limbs of the zealous host, and the bigot-warrior
stood transformed into the apostle of peace coming
with sickles instead of swords in their hands, where-
with to teach men to live in happiness and plenty.
And, in the magic of the change, the girdle of
scalps fell from the Pagan's loins, and his naked
and painted limbs became clothed, while the up-
lifted club dropped harmless from his hand. And
those, whose brains they, in their savageness, had
come down to offer up on bread-fruit leaves as food
for their gods,* they no longer feared as enemies ;
but now gathered round in faith to listen to their
words.
Then, as the kindly teachers spake, the sky grew
crimson with the burning of the Pagan temples, as
if the heavens themselves were stained with the
blood of their thousand victims. Arid the people
were seen advancing in procession, tribe after tribe,
* Practice in the \var at Rarotonga.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 181
the Chiefs and the Priests leading the way, and
men, women and children following them, bearing
their rejected gods upon their shoulders.* Some
of the idols were large, some were small, some
were beautiful, while others were hideous. Here
was carried the great god of death called TANGA-
ROA,t the man eater, whose Priests were supposed
to be inspired by the shark, holding in one hand
the spear with which he killed men, and in the
other a net, with which he caught their spirits as
they fled from their bodies. There was borne an-
other, whom they called TAUA.t the God of Thun-
der ; and he held a mighty fan, and had wings,
the sounds made by the flapping of which, as he
flew, they said, caused the thunder to peal through
the skies. Next was brought a rod, with snares at
the end of it, made with the fibers of the cocoa-
nut husk, with which the Priest caught the spirit
of the gods, and which was also used in war-time
to catch the god of battle by the leg and secure his
influence on the side of his worshipers. After this
one was carried PAPO, the God of Revenge. || This
was made of rotten matting, and round it there
hung a string of pieces of polished pearl shells,
which were thought to be the soul of the idol ; and
* Overthrow of idolatry at Aitutaki.
t The great national god at Aitutaki.
t One of the idols of the same island. Ditto.
II National idol of Savaii.
182 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
he was regarded with great veneration, so that
those who sought his assistance would cut off with
sharp shells the joints of their little fingers.
Then the idols were rolled toward the fire, some
of those who had worshiped them a short time
back kicking them as they went, saying, " There !
your reign is at an end."
And, when they had cast all but PAPO into the
flames, one of the Priests, lifting up the roll of
rotten matting that they called the God of Re-
venge, begged with tears that that idol might be
thrown into the sacred tank hard by, as drowning
was a less painful death than burning. And when,
to please the simple one, they had granted his re-
quest, he tied a stone to the idol, and, weeping,
cast it in.*
No sooner was the last of the blood-stained gods
destroyed, than the magic of the Olive-branch went
on, and from the sacred groves there came the
sound of many axes, and the loud crash of boughs
and branches falling to the earth. And the bread-
fruit trees were seen to drop one by one to the
ground, and where they had stood rose up the
rnilk-white walls of the humble temple of the new
God. On its roof were the leaves of the sugar-
cane, on its floor were the leaves of the cocoa-nut,
and the steps before it were of hewn coral, both
white and red, while the path that led to it was
* Request and conduct of Fauca, chief of Tongatabu.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 183
strewn with shells of many colours.* And all
around waved the stately bread-fruit trees, with
their dark-green, glossy foliage, and their light-
green, oval fruit, hanging like balls of emerald
from the end of every bough. And interwoven
with their branches were the white leaves of the
candle-nut tree, while, overtopping all, were seen
the graceful plumes of the cocoa-nut. Though the
thick green foliage peeped the snowy walls of the
house of peace, dotted with drops of sun-light trick-
ling through the leaves above. Across the sun-
beams flitted bright-colored butterflies, like winged
flowers and the cooling breeze from the ocean
swept by laden with spice and perfume.
Then was heard the ringing of the call to prayer,
and men were seen beating, as they went, battle-
axes with large stones, to summon the people to
the temple. t
And, as the teachers entered the holy place for
the first time, their hearts were moved at the sight
of the change that had been so wondrously wrought
in the people ; for the jagged spears of the savage
chiefs were arranged as balustrades to support the
rails around the altar, while from the rafters hung
the rejected idols, as trophies of the bloodless victory
that had been gained.^
And, when they had prayed, a chief arose and
* Chapel at Rarotonga. t Custom at Aitutaki.
t Chapel at Rurutu.
184 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
said, " Thus the gods made with hands shall per-
ish. There they are, tied with cords ! Their glory !
look ! it is birds' feathers, soon rotten ; but our
new God is the same for ever. Friends, let us re-
member our former state ; how we slew our chil-
dren how, when age made made our mothers
helpless, we would tempt them to the woods, and
then hurling them into a hole that we had dug,
would cast heavy stones upon them and how,
when we came to manhood, we would fight and
wrestle with our fathers for the mastery ; and if we
obtained it, take forcible possession of their goods,
and drive them from their home to starve and
how, when the hand of death had snatched the
husband from the wife, we instead of visiting in
kindness the fatherless and the widowed in their
affliction waited to seize all that belonged to them
and turn the disconsolate mother with her offspring
away, and possess ourselves of the house, the food,
and the land that was theirs. Now, friends, none
are to be pillaged, none are to be destroyed. But
some are still doing as we have done. Some are
still killing themselves, and others their children
and their parents. Some are still worshiping their
blood-thirsty idols. Let us, then, send them teach-
ers, to teach them the good word that we have
been taught."*
* Speech of King Tamatoa before Captain Waldegrave
at Raiatea.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 185
Next an old priest stood up, and, holding out his
hands, moved rapidly the joints of his wrists and
fingers. Then he opened and shut his mouth, and
raised his leg and moved it in various directions.
And, having done this, he said, " See, I have hinges
all over me ! If the thought grows in my heart
that I wish to handle any thing, the hinges in my
hands enable me to touch it. If I want to utter
any thing, the hinges in my jaws enable me to say
it. And, if I desire to go any where, here are
hinges in my legs to enable me to walk thither.
Now I perceive great wisdom in the adaptation of
my body to the wants of my mind ; and when I
look into the book of Life, I see wisdom in it equal
to that in my frame ; and my heart tells me that
the Maker of my body is He who therein commands
us to love our brethren as ourselves."*
Scarcely had the priest finished, when a body of
natives rushed into the temple, dragging with them
a chief they had taken in ambush.
As they forced him forward to the altar, they
cried, " See, great Malietoa ! we bring thee thine
enemy at last. Now, take thou thy vengeance on
him."
Then Malietoa rose, and advancing to the captive
said, " Thou didst take my child as thy prisoner in
war, and pressed her to become thy wife. But she
* Speech of a native priest before Captain Waldegrave
at the same place.
186 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
would not consent, and even thine own people said
it was base in thee to take by force the daughtei
of a chieftain like myself. Upon this thou didst
seize thy club, and swearing that if thou didst not
have her no one else should, didst strike her on the
head and slay my only child. Now, my blood urges
me to avenge the death of my girl ; but I have
learnt the religion of Peace, and I will begin by
trying to love thee my bitterest enemy."*
Then the chief who had come prepared for death
and torture, was stricken down with the charity of
his enemy ; and, as his head fell upon his bosom,
he cried, " I will unite mjself to this new religion,
for it is one of wondrous mercy, and I know, by
my life bring spared, that none but a great and
good God could have made it.t Henceforth, Malie-
toa, let us two have but one heart." And he fell at
his forgiver's feet, and buried his face in his hands.
Then the noble chieftain, took his enemy by the
hand, and said, " Rise, brother ! tear off the garb
of Satan, and be a man of God."
Huan thanked the Guardian Spirit for the won-
ders she had worked in the hearts of the people,
and, calling Vara to his side, he bade him conduct
him to his sister Anthy.
So Vara led him far into the once sacred groves,
* Conduct of Malietoa, Chief of Upolo, to one of the
chieftains of Manono.
t Speech of the Chief of Tahaa after the war at Raiatea.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 187
till they came to a thicket dense with trees of
ebony and iron-wood, with their black boughs and
leathery leaves so closely matted together, that the
herbs beneath grew white as in a cave ; while, as
they walked along, the screech-owl and the Vam-
pire-bat darted, like shadowy imps in and out the
branches.
At length they reached the Hall of Darkness
sacred to Marama, the Goddess of the Night
within whose ebon doors and blackened walls no
ray of light had ever entered. Beside it grew the
night-shade, and all around glimmered dim glow-
worms that never ceased to shine.
When Huan heard that beneath this dismal
roof his sister was imprisoned, his blood chilled
with horror, and he thanked Heaven for the blind-
ness that screened the terrors of the dungeon from
her.
Then Huan as he waved his magic branch, be-
sought his Spirit to wipe out the black blot from
the earth, and let the light of Heaven shine for
the first time within the walls of Darkness.
Instantly, the branches above opened, and the
light streamed in a golden flood through the leafy
lattice, till the earth was drenched with it, and the
walls grew white, and the grass grew green, and
sparkled with many-colored flowers, as though,
where each sun-beam touched, a gem was left be-
hind.
188 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Then the sides of the vast building were pierced
with many windows^ and, as the light poured in,
there arose, from within, the buzz of a thousand
infant voices, humming like a swarm of bees, as
they hived the honey in their brains. Some learnt
a thanksgiving for their food others a simple
prayer to say before they rose or slept while above
all, was heard the gentle voice of Anthy telling the
little ones the wondrous story of the life of Him
who first taught and showed mankind how " to love
their enemies, and do good and lend, hoping for
nothing again."
When Huan entered, he found the people gath-
ered in the Hall and dressed as for a feast to listen
to the children. At their head sat the gray-haired
old King, who had been worshiped as a god, and
had led many fierce warriors to the fight ; but his
glistening eyes showed that he felt more glory in
that peaceful scene, than in all the battles he had
won.*
As the little ones lisped aloud the kindly lessons,
it was a touching sight to look upon the faces of the
parents gathered round to hear those very infants
learn to hurt nobody by word or deed, and be true
and just in all their dealings whom a little while
since they would have destroyed or dedicated to
Hmo, the God of Thieves, that they might have
become clever and desperate in pi under, t Here
* Jubilee of children at Raiatea. t Polynesian custom.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 189
were some aged listeners, whose eyes glistened with
delight, as the mother said to the father, " Thank
God, we spared our little one !" There sat others
with saddened countenances and faltering voices,
who bewailed in bitterness that they had put theirs
to death ; while the silent tears, as they trickled
down the cheeks of many, told the painful tale that
all their children were destroyed.*
Suddenly, a woman in the crowd started up ; and,
as she wrung her hands, she shrieked, " O, my chil-
dren ! my murdered children ! All the little ones I
have slain rise up in judgment against me. My sins !
my sins ! there is no hope for a wretch like me !"
Then, as she sobbed aloud, she continued, " Even
my little first-born I put to death. My second, my
husband would have saved, but I and my mother
cried aloud for its life. My third was more beauti-
tiful than all, and its father's heart yearned toward
it, and he begged and entreated it might be spared
to him ; but I and my mother again had our mur-
derous way. We rose in the night, placed its little
body in a hole we had dug, covered it with a plank,
and left it there to perish. O, my babes ! my mur-
dered babes !"t
* Jubilee of children at Raiatea.
t Confession of the wife of one of the chiefs of Tahiti
one of the reasons for the practice of infanticide was, that
nursing impaired the personal attractions of the mother,
and curtailed the period during which her beauty would
continue to bloom. Williams.
190 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Scarcely had she sat down, hefore the brother of
the King a chieftain gray with years arose ; and
as he beat his breast, he cried, " Let me speak ! I
must speak ! I will speak ! O that in my youth I
had known what I now know in my desolate old
age. O that I had known that these blessings
were in store for us ! Then I should have spared
my children, and they would have been among this
happy group, repeating these precious truths. But,
alas ! alas ! I destroyed them all. I have not one left
no, not one." Then, turning to the King he cried,
as he stretched out his arm, "You, my brother, saw
me kill child after child, but you never stayed this
murderous hand." And then, shaking his clenched
fists at the idols that hung in contempt above their
heads, he cursed the gods he had but lately wor-
shiped, saying, " It was you that bred this savage
spirit in us, and now I shall die childless, though I
have been the father of nineteen children."* And
the tears trickled down the old warrior's cheeks, in
his bitter agony, like the sweat-drops of his soul.
* This chief was an Airoi of the highest rank, and the
laws of his class required the destruction of all his chil-
dren. See Williams 1 * Narrative.
S Huan gazed upon the Blind
Girl, with the little ones grouped
around her knees, he longed to
fold her in his arms, and have,
in the sweet assurance of the em-
brace, thrilling proof that she still
was spared to him. And, when the King and
chiefs and little ones and all had gone, and Huan
was left alone with Anthy, he threw himself upon
her neck, and thanked Heaven for its many bless-
ings, but for the blessing of his sister's life above
them all.
Then she told him of all her sufferings, and he
of all his stragglings to relieve her. And, while
pity strengthened the love of the one, gratitude
gave a double earnestness to the affection of the
other.
192 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
As they each ran over to the other the peaceful
triumphs they had gained, Anthy besought Huan
that he would make that happy land their resting
place, so that they themselves might watch over
the goodly work they had begun.
But the Dwarf reminded her that before they
gave to strangers, they should first satisfy the wants
of home. And he asked her whether she were so
blest that none who claimed kindred with her
stood in need of her Charity.
Anthy saw the meaning of her brother's words,
and, remembering her father's sufferings, bade Huan
take her back to him at once.
Now when it was known among the people
that their good friends were about to depart, little
groups of men, women, and children would collect
in the cool of the evening, around the hut, and,
sitting beneath the shade of a stately banana- tree,
would sing in plaintive tones the rude verses they
had made to express their sorrow at the parting ;
while others would bring their mats and sleep on
them beneath Huan's and his sister's windows, in
order to be near them ;* so that the first sounds
Anthy and her brother heard, as the east grew crim-
son with the rising sun, was the plaintive farewell
hymn, mingled with the voices of the birds.
And when, at last the day of departure came,
* Conduct of the natives of Rarotonga to Williams, pre-
vious to his leaving the island.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 193
thousands went with the kindly couple to the
beach, where a feast was spread, that they might
break bread in peace before they parted.
On their way thither, both sides of the path were
lined with the multitude who had come to crave a
blessing ere they left them forever. And, as Huan
and Anthy walked along and looked upon the
altered people, they smiled with joy to think how
different was their parting from their meeting.
The war-field in the distance, which for ages
had been left barren for the fight, was here brown
with the new-turned earth, and there green with
the coming crop. And men sat in the shade be-
side their doors, on chairs of their own making,
with their wives and daughters next them, plying
the needle, or busy at the spinning-wheel. The
clanking of the loom and the ring of the anvil
ceased, as Huan and Anthy advanced, and the
chieftain, who now plied the shuttle, left the web,
and the blacksmith once a noted warrior came
from the forge, with bare and brawny arms, to
shake the hand that had taught them their peace-
ful arts. Then as they neared the village, girls
came running from the churn and men from the
plough, to swell the train, while those who once had
been priestesses to the god of war, now came forth,
knitting on their way, to join the throng. Next,
the splashing of the water and the drone of the
wheel of the sugar-mill was stopped , and the whirr
13
194 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
of the turning-lathe ceased ; and the priest, who
was now the printer, left off working at the press ;
all nocked out to implore a blessing on the heads
of those who had come in kindness to teach them
how to serve God, their neighbor, and themselves.
Then, as they passed the schools, the old and
the young marched forth to greet them. Here
was a gray-haired chieftain that, in his old age,
had come to learn ; and he had, slung round his
neck, a chip a magic one, he thought on which
a hasty message had been written ; and, as he
danced along, he cried, " See the wisdom of these
strangers ! They can make even the wood talk to
people at a distance."* There was another, as
old and simple as the last, who, to bless the Blind
Girl and her brother as they went by, muttered his
new-learnt alphabet as a fancied prayer, f
And, when the shore was reached, and the feast
was ended, the King rose up, and said, "It is my
wish, that all who are now assembled, promise
our brother and our sister the best friends we
ever knew that the good work they have begun
shall not be put aside, when they are far away.
When they first came among us, we thought them
drift wood cast on shore by the waves of the ocean,
* Conduct of a chief of Rarotonga, after carrying a mes-
sage written on a chip.
f Prayer uttered by the converted priest Tiaki, in a
moment of supposed danger.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 195
but see what they have taught us. Let us think
of what we are and what we were. Our bodies
are now covered all over with beautiful cloth, while
formerly we had nothing but a girdle of leaves
around our waist. Now our very feet are clothed,
and a little while since they were like the dogs'.
Formerly we were obliged to work with our axes
of stone, day after day, before we could cut down
a single tree, now we have axes so hard and sharp,
that the trees are like reeds before us. Before
they came among us, we used human bones to dig
and make our canoes with, now we have tools so
hard and sharp, that we cut through the wood
and the ground, as though they were water. Our
knives, too, what valuable things are they ! how
quickly they cut up our swine, compared with our
bamboo ones of old ! Our women have no need to
go down to the water to look at themselves, be-
cause now they have small shining things, in
which they can see their faces as plainly as we
can see one another. And our children no longer
cry and scream to have their hair cut, now that it
is done with scissors instead of sharks' teeth. Now,
when I look at the wisdom of these people, and see
how superior they are to us, and how superior they
have made us to what we were, I say again, it is
my wish that their God should be our God for
ever and ever."*
* Speech of a venerable Samoan chief.
196 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Then, as Huan and his sister rose with tearful
eyes, to bid them all God speed, Vara, who had
been the first to learn to pray, ran toward the
Dwarf, and, throwing himself at his feet, wept bit-
terly. And, as he knelt and lifted his clasped
hands to Heaven, the whole multitude knelt also,
while Vara cried aloud, " O God, tell the winds
about them, that they may not blow fiercely upon
them. Command the ocean concerning them, that
it may not swallow them up. Conduct them in
safety to their far-distant country, and give them a
happy meeting with their friends, and then con-
duct them back again to us. I have seen, O Lord,
a compass in their vessel, by which the shipmen
steer the right path. Do Thou, in their absence,
be our compass, to direct us in the right course,
that we may escape the rocks and quicksands in
our way. Be to us, O Lord, the compass of Ever-
lasting Life."*
Then, as Huan and Anthy tore themselves away
from the grateful people, and the boat left the
shore, and floated past the sloping banks of white
and red coral, that shone at the bottom of the
placid and transparent waters, like a flower garden
beneath the sea, the people sang with one voice
and one heart, " Blessing on you, kindly friends !
blessing on you, in your journey on the deep !"
Now the thousand voices were hushed, while a
* Prayer of Teava, a converted native of Rarotonga.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
197
thousand hands were waved toward them. Now
the same loving song broke forth again, growing
fainter and fainter, as the waves went dancing by
the boat, till it was heard only as the breeze came
rippling over the crystal waters ; and then it was
lost forever in the distance.*
* Departure of Williams from Rarotonga.
LEPH and his band had long
since returned to Asulon, to tell the
wondrous story of the nation that
had been conquered, without the
^shedding of one drop of blood.
And, when it was spread about,
that Huan and his sister were returning, Ulphilas
and his court went out to meet them, and bid
them welcome, as the greatest glory of the land.
And the Monarch set apart for An thy and her
brother the noblest chambers in his palace. Then,
as the evening drew in, he made Huan and his
sister go over and over again, the many marvels
they had wrought. And the mighty warrior, who
had conquered half the Earth by the resistless
sway of his arms, cried, as he listened to the tale,
"Verily, there are but two powers in the world
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 199
Kindness and the Sword ; and, in the end, Kind-
ness is sure to subdue the Sword ; for, there is no
force so overwhelming as that, whose strength lies
in its very weakness."*
But Huan, smiling, answered, he feared the King
had not yet perfect faith in the magic of the kindly
influence. Then the Monarch called Heaven to
witness, that he believed there were no limits to
its power over man.
Instantly Huan bade him prove his words, and
free the maniac of his chains. But Ulphilas
sought to qualify the speech, and answered, " that
Man was only Man by the possession of his reason,
and, when that left him, he was as the beasts
of the field." Whereupon Huan replied, " that
it was the province of the reason to think and
not to feel, and Kindness," he told the King a
second time, " spake to the heart and not to the
head."
As Huan saw the King waver, he again urged
Ulphilas, that he would allow him to unchain the
maniacs. And he pleaded for their liberty with
such earnestness and warmth, that the Monarch at
length gave way to his arguments, and agreed to
go with the Dwarf and visit the maniacs' dungeons
in the morning.
Anthy and her brother could scarcely sleep that
night, for the joy they felt at last their prayer
* Saying of Napoleon.
200 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
had been heard, and their father would be free on
the morrow.
Early the next day, Huan and Anthy led the
King to the grim abode. As they entered, they
found the sufferers chained naked to the walls and
being shown for money, like wild beasts, to gaping
visitors, while the keepers so that the rage of the
poor frantic wretches might be increased for the
amusement of the sight-seers alluded to every
subject likely to excite their fury. The voracious
idiot, too, was kept without food, so that his unnat-
ural gluttony might appear the more wonderful
to the wonder-seeking crowd.*
But, when Ulphilas saw the fury of those that
were chained, and heard the confused sounds of
their cries, shrieks, laughter, and curses ; and, above
all, the clanking of the iron fetters in the damp
and dark cells, he repented him of what he had
said, and hurried from the place, exclaiming, " You
will become the victim of their rage and your
own rashness. Your blood be upon your own
head."t
And, now that the time had come, even Huan
himself half trembled for the result ; and he bade
* Exhibitions at Bethlehem during the last century, by
which an income of 400/. per an. was derived by the
Hospital.
t Speech of M. Couthon, a member of the French
Commune, to M. Pinel, senior, previous to his liberation
of fifty-three madmen from their chains.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 201
Anthy leave him, so that he alone might meet the
danger. But the loving girl clung the closer to
him, and, as his faith wavered under the heavy
trial, hers grew the stronger for it ; and she re-
minded him, how Kindness had tamed the beast of
the field and the savage of the forest ; and she
hade him still trust the Magic Power, that had
triumphed when all others had failed.
But again Huan heard the fury and the shrieks,
and his spirit quailed before them. So he prayed
for strength, saying, " Almighty Spirit of Kindness,
help me, O, help me ! in this, the greatest work of
all. Show to those that want faith, in the magic
of thy power, that even the maniac, deprived of
every other means of intercourse with man, is still
able to understand thy gentle voice, and be guided
by thy tender hand."
Then, as he felt his confidence come back, he
turned to those about him, and bade them lead him
to Ergastor's cell. But they dared not, saying,
" Ergastor's fury made him the most dangerous of
all." So they besought him to begin the perilous
trial upon those, whom long confinement had ren-
dered almost powerless ; and Huan, yielding to
their entreaties, moved toward the cell. In it was
one who had been in chains for forty years, and
who had been so long hidden from the world, that
no one knew his history. The keepers approached
him with caution, for in a fit of rabid rage he had
202 THE MAGIC -OF KINDNESS.
killed one of them with a blow from his manacles.
His chains were heavier, stronger, and tighter than
the rest.
Huan entered the dark dungeon and, speaking to
the maniac in a calm, kind voice, told him he had
come to free him of his fetters ; but the madman
laughed scornfully, as he said, " No ! No ! No !
You are all too much afraid of me."
But the dauntless Huan advanced, and smote
the chains with the magic branch, and instantly
the links burst like bubbles at the touch. Then
Anthy and the Dwarf drew back from the cell,
leaving open the heavily barred door.
The poor wretch raised himself many times from
his seat, and as many times sank down again. He
had been so long chained to his chair, that his legs
bent under him, as he tried to use them. At last,
he stood up, and with tottering steps reached the
door of his dark dungeon.
His first look was at the blue sky that he had
not gazed upon for forty years ; and, as he drank
in the sweet air, and felt the soft refreshing breeze
fan his burning brain, he cried out, as his lip quiv
ered with emotion, and his eyes filled with tears
" Great God ! how beautiful !"
Then the poor wretch staggered into the sun-
shine, and stood still to listen to the chirping of the
birds. And then he hurried back into the cool
shade again, and gazed wildly upon the green trees,
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 203
all the time uttering quickly, as he went ; " How
beautiful ! Great God ! how beautiful !"*
In the next cell that Huan visited was one who
had not stirred from it for ten years. He had been
a soldier, but drink had driven him mad. In his
frenzy he believed himself a general, and attacked
all those who would not bow to his rank ; and he
was more dangerous than all, from his greater
bodily strength ; for, he had often, in his fury,
snapped his chains with his hands only. Once he
had broken loose, and then had defied his keepers
to enter his cell, till they had passed under his legs.
Nor could he be quieted, until eight of the boldest
had obeyed his strange command.
One wave of the branch, and the maniac-giant
was unchained, with the Dwarf unarmed and alone
beside him.
But the change was sudden and complete ! No
sooner was the madman free, than he became
gentle and devoted as a child. With his eye he
followed every motion of the Dwarf. And, when
Huan called upon him to help him release his fel-
low-prisoners from their chains, he joyfully obeyed,
speaking kindly arid even reasonably to his brothers
in affliction.
And, so earnest was the attachment of the mad-
man to his deliverer, and all that belonged to him
* See the account given by M. Pinel, jun., of the libera-
tion of the madmen at Bicetre, by his father.
204 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
that, when years had gone by and the hand that
had freed him was moldering in the dust, he still
followed and tended so faithfully those that claim-
ed kindred with his liberator, that they could not
hear, without emotion the mention of his name.*
In the cell adjoining this one were three strangers
in the land. They had been in chains for many
years but why, no one knew. They were calm
and harmless, becoming animated solely when con-
versing in their own language, which none about
them could understand. They were allowed the
only consolation of which they seemed sensible to
live together.
As Huan entered to release them, they became
alarmed, for they fancied he had come to inflict
new tortures on them, and they warned him, by
their gestures, not to approach.
In vain did Huan wave the magic branch, for
though the chains fell heavily from the poor creat-
ures' limbs, still they would not quit the seat that
many years of bondage had used them to. Either
grief or loss of intellect had rendered them indif-
ferent to liberty and the earth had no fairer spot
for them than the dark and damp dungeon, to
which their chains so long had bound them.f
* Account given by M. Pinel, jun., of the liberation by
his father of the soldier of the French guards, who after-
wards became the faithful servant of the father and the
playmate of the son.
t Liberation by M. Pinel, sen., of the three Prussian
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 205
And now that Huan had shown to the few that,
wondering, followed him, how Kindness still held
sway over those upon whom Reason had lost all
power, he asked the keepers whether they yet had
courage to take him to his father's cell.
When they had led him there, and unbarred the
door, they fled in fear.
As Huan forced back the heavy, creaking mass
of iron his heart bled to look upon the awful spec-
tacle before him; and he shuddered to behold the
iron vices that gripped the old man's limbs.
In his ravings, Ergastor had struck the doctor
of the house ; and, either from fear or as a punish-
ment, a new and most ingenious instrument of tor-
ture had been invented for his confinement. A
neck-ring of stout iron was riveted round his throat
and from it was a heavy chain that bound him to a
bar at his back, which was fastened in the wall.
Round his body a strong iron girdle was clamped,
with iron armlets, welded on each side, and through
these the old man's arms were passed and held
close pinioned to his body. Over his shoulders
were two thick iron braces, with their ends screwed
to the girdle, so that the poor wretch might not
lift his arms and draw them through the iron belts
that gripped them to his waist. These braces,
again, were fastened by a double link to the iron
soldiers confined in the Bicetre, as described by M. Pinel,
junior.
206 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
collar ; while from all ran chains, bolted to the bar
against the wall. His right leg, too, was chained
to the trough in which he was encaged, and which
served him for chair bed home world and
all ; and though the chains which held him to the
bar at his back, slid up and down the iron post,
still the wretched creature could neither stand up-
right nor lie down at ease.
One touch of the branch, and the iron belts and
bands snapped like threads.
But the freedom came too late ; for the arms of
the poor maniac still pressed as close as ever to his
sides. Not a limb did he move in token of the
liberty that had at last been given ; but he sat as
though he were still manacled, and his muscles had
become as rigid as the iron that so long had bound
them.
Anthy flew to her father's side, and tried with
gentle care to set his foot down on the stony floor,
so that she might help him pass from his wretched
dungeon into the pure air without. As she moved
the stiffened limb, the old man shrieked with pain.
Then Huan strove to lay him down, but the poor,
cramped creature shrieked more wildly than before
as they tried to bend the muscles of his back.
Anthy fell upon her knees, and, as she sobbed
aloud, screamed "Father ! father ! forgive me ! oh,
forgive me !"
But the old man moved not a muscle in reply ;
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 207
his glassy eye was still fixed with the same vacant
stare.
Again the Blind Girl called frantically upon her
father for his forgiveness, but in vain for the eye-
lid drooped, and the jaw fell, and the old man died
in the same posture as his chains so long had held
him.
And there sat the corpse, its back against the
bar, its arms close pressed against its sides, as if its
stiffened limbs had been the iron fetters of its soul ;
till Kindness, taking pity on its wretched bondage,
had freed the spirit of its fleshy chains, and let it
fly like an uncaged bird to Heaven.*
Huan dragged Anthy senseless from the awful
scene. Then, with his sympathies for the suffer-
ings of the maniacs, made still more keen by the
sufferings of his father, he cried aloud to the Spirit
of Kindness that she would put an end to such
atrocities forever.
As he spoke the words, a magic cnange came
over the dismal building ; and the gloomy, barred
and bolted prison became the cheerful and kindly
asylum. The high, dark walls that had shut out
the green fields of the earth and the golden light
of heaven, sank, till the country round was seen in
all its healthful verdure and soothing beauty. The
bars dropped from before the narrow windows as if
* Mode of confinement practised upon, and death of
William Norris, a naval officer in Bethlehem.
208 THE MAGIC OF KINDiNESS.
melted by the sun-beams that came streaming in,
or swept away by the sweet air that now gushed
through them.
And, where the bars had frowned, birds in cages
sang, and flowers blossomed ; till the damp, dark
dungeons that once had echoed with the clanking
of chains and reeked with the fetid atmosphere,
were now cheerful chambers, pleasant with melody
and perfume.
There was warmth for the winter, and coolness
and shade for the summer. There were lightsome
places set apart for the tranquil, the sick and the
helpless ; and places as lightsome, too. though more
secure, for the unruly, the noisy and the violent.
And those who for years had never moved a
limb or had a peaceful thought, were now busy for-
getting their delusions in the workshops and the
work-rooms, the farm and the dairy, the smithy, the
printing-office and the play-ground, that gave new
life and health to the place. Those who, a little
while back, would have been chained in wooden
troughs, now made soft bedding for their suffering
brethren. Those whose bodies would once have
been strapped to the coercion-chair, were now busy
making easy seats for the feeble and the helpless.
Those whose limbs would have been gripped fast
by leg-locks, were now hard at work tilling the
sweet-smelling earth ; while others, whose muscles
would have been stiffened with iron belts and
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 209
braces, fashioned toys and puzzles for the child-
ish.*
Where the dismal yards and barren courts had
stood, encompassed by their high and gloomy walls
without a tree, without a shrub, without a blade
of grass without shade in the heat of summer or
shelter from the rains of winter with the hard
stony soil worn into hollows from the restless feet
that trod it and the only luxury there, a bench
fastened to the wall, with massive iron rings above
it, so that, even in the open air, force, instead of
care, might rule the inmates now gardens bloomed
instead, with shrubs and trees, to fling their cool,
refreshing shade across the sunny paths for years to
come ; and fragrant summer-houses, and seats in
pleasant places, for the feeble and the imbecile to
sit and warm their sluggish blood in the sun. And
there were flower-beds, prismatic with the colors of
their many blossoms ; and wide, red, gravel walks
between rows of lime trees ; and aviaries musical
with birds, and cages alive with tame animals, for
the maniac to foster and fondle, and be himself
tamed in the kindly act.f
Here one madman might be seen, drawing after
him a wheeled chair, in which his helpless brother
sat drinking in the fragrant breeze. There was
* Dr. Conolly on the Construction and Government of
Lunatic Asylums,
f Dr. Conolly.
14
5210 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
another, moody and lethargic, who had been tempt-
ed out by the kindly words of him on whose arm
he rested. Some, like children, came running with
the hoop ; others stood still to play at battledore.
Yonder was a noisy crew, sporting with fantastic
mirth on the smooth bowling green ; and, in shel-
tered corners, some rode the rocking-horse, others
forgot their follies over their ninepins, while others
'in the distance worked at the healthful farm.*
As the evening drew in, the walls which had
formerly echoed only to the groans, shrieks, and
ravings of their furious prisoners, now sounded
cheerily with the music of flute, clarionet, and violin,
played by hands that a little while back would but
have rattled the chain. And some sang plaintive
ballads, and others merry songs ; while, in the
spacious hall below, hundreds danced together with
quaint mirth, freely and fantastically as they
And, when the hour of bed-time came, cheer-
ful faces and grateful looks told how well the kindly
treatment worked ; while the wild dancers, with
their limbs tired and weary with their sport, longed
for the rest that formerly the maniac had seldom
known. And, if even then they could not rest,
there was, ever in the depth of the night, a kindly
hand near them to bathe their burning brow or
moisten their parched lips with cooling drink.
* Dr. Conollv.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 211
For, whereas before, the cries of the restless only
brought some savage keeper to strap them the
tighter in their beds, now there came, in instant
answer to their wants, a gentle hand, bearing some
refreshing draught, or ready to make the bed afresh
or put a cool, clean dress upon the fevered limbs ;
and then, with a kind and cheerful good night, to
leave the poor creatures at least calmed and grate-
ful, if not to sleep.*
After this came the crown ing- work of all, where-
in men, by the MAGIC OF KINDNESS, were made to
appear as gods, giving mind, and almost senses, to
human creatures who seemed lower in intelligence
than even the beasts of the field.
The troubled brain had been composed, and
the heart of the maniac tranquilized, but it yet
remained for the Spirit of Kindness to show
that by her wondrous power even the crushed
intellect could be restored and the lost affections
regained.
Instantly with a wave of the Magic Branch, the
kindly tutor was seen seated in the maniac school,
among his crazy and idiot scholars, like a father
among his children, encouraging them, assisting
them, directing them, and promoting all kinds of
easy and pleasant mental exercises, that might by
gentle efforts lead back again those powers by the
* Dr. Conolly, on the Construction and Government of
Lunatic Asylums.
212 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
loss of which all is lost that is worth preserving.*
The tranquillity, the consent, the cheerfulness of that
little room, was a thing to be remembered for all time.
Now one poor maniac, whose wandering eye
still told the fever of his brain, stood up with
cheerfulness, and recited a short poem ; while
those around, though as mad as he, listened atten-
tively to all he said. Then the witless crew sang
together, keeping time and harmony, without one
to lead them whose senses were less disordered
than their own, while the little band that accom-
panied them was played by creatures as crazy as
the rest.
Next they ranged themselves in mimic rank and
file, while the youngest of the class, a little idiot
boy of five years old, who a little while ago could
scarcely move his torpid limbs, followed the rest,
imitating their actions holding out first his right
arm, then the left, and marching now this way,
now that, at the word of command, to the sound
of a drum, beaten with all the lively skill of a
soldier's hand, by another idiot, who strutted along
delighted with the drummer-clothes he wore.f
And all this was done by a band of beings whose
powers both of mind and body, seemed the very
despair of art, holding out such li ttle hope of culture
* Dr. Fabret. at the schools for the insane and the
idiotic at the Saltpetriere.
t Idiot school of M. Seguin, at Bicetre,
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 213
that formerly the wretched, witless things would
have been left to mope away their lives in uncared-
for indolence and apathy.
But among these many wonders was seen the
greatest wonder of the whole. There stood one
who for many years had been an idiot in his intel-
lect, his inclinations, and even his senses a creat-
ure in utter discord with the human world with-
out ; signalized by a voracious, indiscriminate,
gluttonous appetite a hideous, insatiable craving
and a blind and terrible instinct of destruction.
He was wholly an animal without attachment,
without tact, intelligence, power of attention, or
sense of property or right. His eyes were never
fixed, and seemed to act without his will ; his
taste was depraved ; his touch obtuse ; his ear
scarcely recognized sounds ; and he barely seemed
to be possessed of the sense of smell. Devouring
every thing, however disgusting ; brutally sensual
and passionate ; breaking, tearing, destroying, what-
ever he could lay his hands upon, and, if prevent-
ed, then pinching, biting, and scratching himself,
until he was covered with blood. He walked with
difficulty, and could neither run, leap, nor exert
the act of throwing. Sometimes he sprang like a
leopard, and his sole delight was to strike one sono-
rous body against another, and to put the last
ghastly touch to the degrading picture he was so
attracted by the eyes of his brothers, sisters, and
214 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
playfellows, as to be continually striving to push
them out with his fingers.*
And now what a magic change had untiring
care and loving-kindness worked ! There stood
this same poor idiot-boy, docile in his manners,
decent in his habits, and capable though not
without some little effort of directing his vague
senses and wandering attention, so that his memory
was stored with some little knowledge, and he
could tell the names of the simple objects and
figures that surrounded him, while he had become
affectionately conscious of the presence of his
kindly teachers and friends. Redeemed from the
constant dominion of the lowest animal propensities
with the few fragments of faculties that had
been left him, cultivated and others even called
into life it was most affecting to see the poor
little fellow come foward and hear him sing his
little ballad, and recite his little prayer to see
him write as steadily and as well as most youths
in his station of life and watch him count by
means of marbles or small pieces of wood. Some-
times, it is true, the poor half-witted lad would
fail in his answers, but soon encouraged by the
kindly voice of his master, he would make a
second effort, and rectify himself the crowning
* M. Voisin's description of Charles Emile, an idiot
boy, who who was confined and actually educated in the
Bicetre Asylum.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
215
glory of the marvel being that, while the senses,
the muscular powers, and the intellect had receiv-
ed some culture, the habits had been improved,
the propensities regulated, and play given to the
affections ; so that a ivild, ungovernable animal,
calculated to excite only fear, aversion or disgust,
stood transformed by the wondrous magic of the
Spirit of Kindness into the likeness and manners
of a man*
* Dr. Conolly's account of the idiot schools of Paris.
^
UAN returned with Anthy to the
J Palace, and entreated Evoe that
I she would watch over and con-
' sole his poor stricken sister in her
affliction.
Then he bent his steps to the King, and be-
sought him that he would come with him and see
the change that had been worked.
So Ulphilas, with Aleph and all his court, pro-
ceeded straightway to the madhouse. And, when
the King saw what Kindness had done upon those
whose hearts seemed closed to its influence, he turn-
ed to his courtiers and asked what reward should
be given to the man that had wrought the marvel.
The assembled nobles answered, that " Heaven
alone could compensate him. The honors that
man could bestow would only be a fraction of his
due."
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 217
Then Ulphilas called Huan to him, and implor-
ed him to remain forever by his side, so that he
might profit by his counsels and learn to govern
his people with the same kindly principles as he
had used to govern the savage and the maniac.
And he said, " According to thy word, all my peo-
ple shall be ruled, and only in the throne will I be
greater than thou. I will set thee over all the
land, and even my own son shall be under thee."
Now, when Aleph heard the speech, though he
bowed in obedience to the command, still, his heart
swelled with wounded pride, and he looked in
anger upon Huan.
But when it was known throughout the nation
that the good Dwarf was to rule over them, the
city grew merry with the news, and they feasted
the hungry and clothed the naked, crying in their
joy, " Now shall evil cease and happiness alone
reign in the land."
Then Huan sent heralds throughout the country
to cite the people to the city from far and near.
And, as the crowd that gathered round the trum-
peted messengers, heard the summons, they mar-
veled at the meaning of it, and asked among them-
selves " Why is our presence needed ?"
And, when the wondering multitude had been
assembled, Huan led them to a high mountain
beyond the gates of the capital.
Then he bade the people say whether they loved
218 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
their neighbors as themselves ; and, immediately,
the hills echoed with one loud cry of " We do !
we do !"
Then, as Huan, raised the magic branch above
his head, there arose from the far-off sea a dewy
mist ; and, as the sun behind them shone full upon
it, there was seen in the skies the mirage of a dis-
tant land. And, pictured in the far air, the won-
dering people beheld a peaceful plain studded with
groups of large cotton trees, and plumed with
thickets of oil and sago-palms their stems spotted
white and scarlet with the flowers of the bind-
weeds that twined around them. And, set in
fields of the purple-flowered indigo and white and
red rice, stood a cluster of round clay huts with
their conical roofs thatched with the yellow leaves
of the fan-palm.
In the distance twisted a broad river, through
banks blushing with the blossoms of the almond
and the cream-fruit tree ; while the neighboring
hills were here gray with the barren granite, and
there motley with the bloom of the sweet-smelling
heaths and rock-roses.
And, beneath the shade of the tamarind trees
sat men with their skins black as ebony, weaving
many-colored rushes, while, in the far-off fields,
women, with their skins as black as those who
wove, braved the scorching sun, though it cast no
shadow of their figures along the ground, and tilled
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 219
the parched earth or tended the herds of black
cattle that waded through the long, thick grass.
Presently, were seen the white sails of a strange
ship, slowly gliding up the stream. As it neared
the village, a boat left it for the shore ; and there
white-faced men, stepped from it, and went along
the banks beating big drums. Instantly, the skies
grew red with the fires that blazed up in answer
on the hill-tops, telling the Christian crew that the
human cargo they had come to buy was ready to
be sold.
Then, as Huan again waved his branch, the
scene darkened with the shades of night, and, as
all around grew black, the little windows of the
huts shone yellow with the lights within. As the
moon rose from behind the dusky mountains, and
its beams fell in a silver shower on the peaked
roofs, the lights vanished one by one from the win-
dows, and the negro-village was hushed in slum-
ber.
Then, from the hill-tops, a black flood of men
came pouring down their arms glittering white
in the moonlight led on by their half-clad king,
eager for the human plunder. The treacherous
band surrounded the sleeping village so that none
might escape, and, firing the huts, the scene grew
light as day with the flames. Then men, women,
and children were seen rushing, screaming, from
their homes ; and husbands and fathers hurried
220 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
forth, spear in hand, to defend their wives and
little ones, while others madly attacked their foes,
preferring to lose their lives rather than outlive
their liberty.*
Some of the villagers were seized and bound
together with thongs ; while others, escaping, fled
toward the river, pursued by the ruthless robbers,
and, plunging in, the moonlit waters were black
over with their heads, as they swam for refuge to
the Christian ship. As they breasted the stream,
the white-faced crew cheered them on, inviting
them to seek protection there. But, as some of the
stranger-seamen welcomed them and helped them
gain the deck, others, immediately they set upon
it, sprang, armed with cutlasses, upon the trusting
blacks, and, dragging them below, cast them into
bondage forever.t
Then as the magic branch was again waved,
the same village was seen lighted by the morning
sun, the white smoke rising from the ruins that
marked the spots where the huts had stood, while
all round, in black and red masses, lay the slaugh-
tered villagers.
Then long canoes, well manned and armed, were
seen sweeping through the tall mat rushes, that
flanked the neighboring creeks, and in the bottom
of the boats lay heaps of wretched captives, thrown
one above the other, with their hands and feet
* Clarkson. t Old and New Town, Calabar.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS 221
lashed with matting ; while along the yellow path
a cloud of dust was seen, and droves of manacled
blacks moved slowly toward the ship, bound to-
gether at the neck, with thongs of buffalo hide ;
but now they stopped to free the hand and neck of
one, who spent with his sufferings, sank to the
ground, and was left to die.*
And when the captive flock had all been herded
together, the Christian strangers, came from the
ship, and walked up and down the human cattle-
fair, haggling with the heartless dealers, now giving
a pistol, or a keg of spirits in exchange for this
man, and now a bar of unwrought iron, a yard or
two of printed cotton, and a few colored beads as
the purchase-money of that family.t
Then as the black dealers returned from the fair,
delighted with their gains, Huan showed the peo-
ple how they grew greedy for more.
Hurrying back to their own villages, some hid
themselves in the forest, and crouching in the un-
derwood, watched beside the paths that ran from
village to village, as a huntsman watches for his
game ; and as the unsuspecting traveler strolled
along, they sprang out and secured their prize.
Others lurked in the tall weeds, that grew near
the springs, so that they might pounce upon those
that came to quench their thirst.
Some more treacherous than these proclaimed a
* Clarkson. t Sir F. Bnxton.
222 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
feast, and regaled their simple trusting friends with
the spirits they had received from the Christian
crew, and when they had made the feasters help-
less with the drink, they lashed their limbs together,
and carrying them to the huge factory, stored them
there for a future sale. Others, made avaricious
by their heartless gains, gambled madly among
themselves for more ; and when they had lost all
they had, they staked the freedom of their wives
and children, against a few bright blue beads ; and
when these had gone too, in the frenzy of the
game, they wagered even their own liberty, and
by an unlucky throw enslaved themselves as they
had enslaved their kindred for life.*
Then, as the vision melted from the skies, Huan
turned to the shuddering crowd, and lifting up his
hands, cried again " Shall we say we love our
brethren as ourselves, and still let these things be ?"
And the people one and all exclaimed, in an-
swer; " No, they shall not be."
Again Huan waved the magic branch, and
again there was a mirage in the skies, and a ves-
sel was seen taking in its live cargo. As the ne-
groes set foot upon the deck, the white men bound
them together two and two, some by the neck,
and others by the leg, with fetters of solid iron.
While some of the crew were busy riveting the
irons, others placed strong netting high up along
* See Clarkson's Essay.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 223
the shrouds of the ship, so that none of the pre-
cious lives might he lost, by the captives leaping
overboard.
As the slaves sat huddled together on the deck,
about to leave their native land forever, and be
torn from all that was dear to them, they watched
eagerly for some means to end their hopeless days.
Some, despite all the care, leaped with happy faces
into the shark-infested stream, and, immediately, the
waters were red with their blood ; others refusing
to eat, the 'receivers stood over them with the food
in one hand and the lash in the other, still neither
the threats nor even the whip itself could make
the resolute wretches part their lips. Then live
coals were brought, and pressed close against their
mouths, but still the poor things held them fast.
At length an iron instrument was used to wrench
their jaws asunder, and liquids poured down their
throats, to save the lives that were so dear to the
Christians.* Others again, driven mad by their
sufferings, sat chained by the neck to the masts, or
lay on their backs fastened to the deck of the ves-
sel ; and there they raved, now cursing their en-
slavers, and now breaking out into dismal songs,
bewailing the loss of their friends and country
and thus to be kept till they either died in their
ravings, or in a lucid interval were sold as " sound."
One, more desperate than the rest, as he sat
* Clarkson.
224 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
chained to his fellow, seized a knife from the hand
of a white man as he ate, and then, even fettered
as he was, darted forward, and plunged it into the
heart of his Christian enslaver. And the desperate
wretch would have wreaked his vengeance on the
rest, but, finding the partner of his chains afraid
to follow him, he stabbed his black brother, as one
unfit to live.*
Then, as the wind sprang up, the human cargo
was forced down into the low, dark hold. And
through the airy sides of the spectral slave-ship the
poor wretches were seen stowed as any other lum-
ber, close as bales, so that even the room necessary
to change their position and ease their cramped
muscles might not be lost. Some lay on their
backs, on ledges one above another, others sat cross-
legged, there to be tossed and rolled about by the
vessel, till, by the chafing of the boards, their very
bones should work their way through the muscles
and the skin.t
Then as the vessel sailed away, there was seen
the large fin of many a shark made prescient by
its hunger cutting the waters in the wake.J
Again Huan waved his branch, and the ship
was seen far away at sea. As the sun broke out
from between the thick clouds, and shone on the
* Clarkson.
t Captain Pilkington, R. N., quoted by Lord George
Bentinck, in the House of Commons. t Buxton
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 225
wet decks, the glittering tarpaulings were taken
from the hatches, and the gratings uncovered at
last, after the long rain. As they were lifted off,
the rank steam came reeking up from the hold like
the vapor from a boiling pot, while the sailors
stood back to avoid the blast that streamed forth,
hot as from an oven. Then came the rabid rush
and scream for air below, while all pressed forward
to the light to drink in the sweet cool breeze.
Some were hindered by the partner of their chains,
lying dead beside them, and, though they strove,
they lacked the power to drag him after them ;
others, bruised and bleeding in the struggle, fainted
and were trampled under foot by their stronger
brethren.* Then as the black multitude were
mustered on the deck, those that were sick and
those that were dying were cast into the sea, so
that the remainder of the human cargo might
escape contagion, and the loss, by some crafty
plea of necessity, be made to fall upon the Chris-
tian insurers rather than the Christian owners of
the vessel. t
After this came the most fearful time of all.
The sky was like a vault of lead, and the breast
of the petrel, as it whirled above the mast-tops,
shone with a double whiteness against the black
clouds. The sea was like a vast waste of drifting
* See Clarkson's Essay on Slavery,
t Rev. Pascoe Hill.
15
226 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
snow, with the fury of restless waves ; while the
vessel, stripped of its masts, was driven before the
hurricane like a leaf in the wind. As the waves
smote the sides of the ship, she stopped for a minute,
as if stunned, and quivered again with the hlow ;
while the waters swept over the deck, covering the
ship with a shroud. Then the gratings were again
battened down and sealed with the tarpaulings
as if with the black seal of death so that
neither water nor even air could enter. Then the
pumps were worked, but, though the crew r , one
and all, labored at them with desperate energy,
still the water in the hold gained upon them, while
the hideous and piercing screams that rose from
beneath the hatches, told that the slaves were
choking and drowning down below. Then the
sky was lighted for a moment with the flash of a
gun, that cried aloud in the wide waste of waters
for help.
At last a sail appeared in sight. As she bore
down in answer to the signal of distress, the boats
were lowered, and then the heartless Christian
crew were seen to quit the sinking hull and leave
its wretched human freight fast battened down
to the mercy of the boiling waves.*
Once more Huan asked the multitude whether
such things should be, and once more they answer-
ed, " No ; they shall not be."
* Clarkson.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 227
Again the branch was waved, and again the
scene was changed. And the more fortunate ships
that had braved the tempest, rode securely at
anchor in the distant bay. In the center of a
large market on the shore, were seen, penned, the
less fortunate blacks that had not perished in the
storm. Beside the fresh slaves exposed there for
sale stood others, who had been long in servitude,
and nearly all with their bodies scarred and maimed
with the marks of the passion, despotism, or caprice
of their late masters. Those that had come to
buy, walked round and scanned the forms and felt
the muscles of those that were for sale. And, as
they picked out and paid for some father and
husband that pleased them, the wife and children
would cry aloud, and beg of the buyer to buy them
too. And, when the mother and little ones had
begged in vain, and the time came for their separa-
tion forever, they would appeal for mercy by every
sign and gesture, and cling so fast to the limbs of
him they dearly loved, that the lash alone could
sever them from their last embrace.*
And, when the strong and hale had been sold,
there came the Jews to risk a trifle on the chance
of the returning health of the sick and weak ; and
these were sold to the highest bidder, and then sent
home to be nursed and fatted up for a future sale ;
while those that were too weak and sickly for the
* Sir T. Buxton.
228 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
boldest speculator to hazard any thing upon, were
taken back again to the ship, either to be starved to
death, or else, while still living, cast with the dead
body of their companion in chains into the sea.*
Once more the scene was changed, and those
that were taken home from the sale had their ears
slit and their shoulders branded as a mark of the
property of their Christian owners. After this,
they were sent to the field to toil from the rising
of the sun far into the night badly clothed
miserably fed their drudgery intense and incessant
their rest short without a single law to protect
their wearied limbs t without the possibility of
their wrongs without even a Sabbath to rest
redress without a hope that their situation would
be bettered, unless, indeed, death should end their
sufferings. For Huan showed the people that if,
still worn with fatigue after their scanty sleep, the
poor blacks came not to the field exactly at the ap-
pointed hour if, drooping with sickness, they
appeared to work unwillingly at the sugar-cane
or if the bundle of grass they had been collecting
blade by blade, beneath the burning sun, seemed
too small in the eye of their task-master, then the
* See Clarkson, page 102.
t " While the horse has one day in seven to refresh his
limbs, the African has but one in fifty-two, has a relaxation
from his labors. For, if the negroes do not employ their
Sundays in the cultivation of their little spots, they must
be starved." Clarkson, p. 151.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 229
whip was sure to fall heavily on their hacks, scoring
their black skins red at almost every stroke, so that
the smack of it rang the whole day long in the ears
of all that were near.*
Next was seen one who, sick at heart and weak
with fatigue, fell down beneath his burden. But
the rattan was plied to raise him, and the poor
spent slave staggered to his feet once more. A
few steps further, and, unequal to the task, he sank
to the earth again. Then the savage task-master,
enraged at what he thought the sullen spirit of the
black, repeated his blows, as he swore to make him
rise, and lashed, and lashed, till the worn-out negro
expired at his feet.f Then Huan showed them
one poor soul, on whom the terrors of the whip had
been exhausted, placed in an iron coffin pierced
with holes, and set so near a fire, that the inmate
writhed and shrieked within. J And, when he had
died under the torture, and the officers came to
claim the fine that Christian justice had imposed
as a compensation for the wrong, the master gave
them the sum in value scarcely the purchase
money of a horse that the law had named as full
and sufficient punishment for the murder of a
black.
After this, as the people groaned and shuddered
at the wrongs, Huan showed them the last dread-
ful scene of all. A wilderness, dark with the thick
* Wilherforce. t Clarkson. t Ibid. Ibid.
230 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
set trees was seen. Presently a negro, who had
escaped from his overwhelming toil, and on whose
head a price was set, darted by, his black skin
whitened with the lather of his limbs, and looking
back in fear, as he threaded in and out the trees.
When he had gone, there came two blood-hounds,
with their noses to the ground, sniffing for the
human scent they knew so well ; and after them a
huntsman, mounted on his horse, with his rifle
ready-cocked in his hand. And when these had
passed, there was seen in the darkness of the distant
wood the bright flash of a gun.
Then the scene was changed once more, and men
sat drinking in a tavern. As they laughed and
joked, the door was flung suddenly back, and the
same huntsman entered, with the same blood-
hounds whining and jumping up about him. Ad-
vancing to the table where the drinkers sat, the
huntsman dashed down among the wine-cups the
bleeding head of the runaway slave, and demanded
of one of the revelers the price that he had set
upon it.*
Now when Huan had sho\vn these scenes to the
people, he cried a third time, " Shall we say we
love our neighbors as ourselves, and still let these
things be ?"
And a third time the people answered, "No;
they shall not be."
* Clarkson, p. 109.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 231
Then Huan said, "It is for you to break the
chains that bind these wretched men it is for you
to stop the stealing and the slaying of your dark-
skinned brethren. Let each give his mite."
Instantly, all with one accord threw down their
little offering ; and the golden heap grew and grew
until the people's bounty numbered twice ten mill-
ion pieces.
Then the whip ceased, and the cries were hushed,
and the mother shrieked no more.
And there was a vision in the skies of a rude
temple by night, where knelt the grateful negroes,
with the yellow light streaming down and tinting
their black faces, and their upturned eyes shining
white as large pearls, while their hands were
clasped, as he who had been their only Friend
taught them to speak the homely prayer, they long-
ed but lacked the skill to utter.
And, as their prayers went up to Heaven, the
golden finger of the dial crept slowly on, until it
marked the hour of midnight.
Then, as the bells chimed forth the long-looked-
for time, telling them the first moment of their pre-
cious liberty had at last arrived, the voice of the
preacher-friend was heard crying in the stilly depth
of the night. " Slaves you are free !"*
In a moment there burst forth from a million
throats one long, loud, lusty cheer ; and there was
* See Life of Knibb.
232 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
a scream of wild joy, and the sky flashed crimson
with the red flames of the fires of a mighty jubilee.
Then came floating on the night-breeze the
hymn of thanksgiving, sung by a thousand grateful
voices. But, louder than the mighty music of un-
locked for liberty, was heard the sound of trumpets
in the heavens above, heralding the wondrous
kindness of the deed ; till the whole world rang
with the glory of it, and other tribes woke up with
the far-sounding praise, and stood aghast at the
unparalleled charity of the act.*
* See Life of Knibb.
OVEKNED by Huan's counsels,
the people of Asulon lived in
peace, happiness, and plenty : and
all loved the Dwarf but Aleph,
who was still angry that his fos-
ter brother should have been set
over him.
Ulphilas in his old age rejoiced in the comforts
and amity of his subjects, and his rule was that of
a good father over a loving family. For the old
warrior, softened by the teachings of the Dwarf,
grew to be so compassionate to those in want and
under misfortune, that he would feed daily multi-
tudes' of poor people at his table, in whatever part
of the kingdom he might be. Ofttimes he would
serve them himself, and from his own table, even
234 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
before he had eaten or drunk ; and, when fed, he
would send them to their homes, each with a
certain sum ; so that the money he gave away
in alms could not be told or counted. And, when
some of his household murmured at his great
gifts, the good King would reply, that " he would
rather spend his revenue in charity than in follies
and vanity."*
Anthy dwelt with Evoe and each shared her
blessings with the other, so that the afflictions
of the two were felt by neither, and they visited
the poor and the sick together ; for Evoe with
her eyes would seek out the sufFering, while An-
thy with her voice would comfort and counsel
them.
And so year after year came and went in joy
and friendship, until at last Ulphilas, spent with
old age, was stricken down, like one fatigued with
a long journey. In the midst of his life-struggles,
the good old King looked at death as the patriarch
of old looked at the dove that brought him the
fresh-plucked olive leaf, to tell him that the storm
was abating and peace was at hand. Then, as
he felt his life-stream ebbing fast, he called Huan
and his children round him, and besought the
Dwarf, as a last request, that he would reign over
his people until such time as the hot blood of his
son Aleph should have cooled with growirtg age,
* See Joinville r s Memoirs of Saint Louis IX.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 235
and fitted him to learn and love the kindly princi-
ples that had made the kingdom so tranquil and so
happy.
Huan prayed the dying Monarch that he would
unsay his words, and begged Ulphilas to let him
guide instead of lead, promising that he would
serve the son as faithfully as he had served the
father.
But Ulphilas saw Aleph's brow darken with
jealousy of Huan, and he said, as he panted for
breath, " Nay, my son, be not angry with thy
country's truest friend. I alone am to blame.
Had I not trained thee to love conquest, thou
mightest now have been fit to rule over a people
loving peace. Go, unlearn with Huan all that
thou didst learn from me, and, when thou canst
find more glory in bearing blows than in returning
them, then ask of him the crown that I here make
over to him in trust for thee."
Again Huan besought the King to give his son
his birthright, and let him be the Prince's friend
rather than the Prince's stumbling-block.
But the dying Ulphilas rebuked Huan, telling
him it was unjust to hesitate between the ambition
of one arid the happiness of so many. And he
made the Dwarf promise he would not turn a deaf
ear to his last request.
Then the good old King blessed the sorrowing
Evoe arid the sullen Aleph ; and, as he spake the
236
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
kindly words, the thin hand fell powerless, and the
trembling voice was hushed, and then the spent
spirit floated back with a sigh to its mighty home
like a wave rippling on a vast shore.
Chapter tlje tt)etU2~fifth..
OW, when it became known to
the neighboring nations that the
warrior Ulphilas was dead, and
the passive dwarf had been
proclaimed King of Asulon, the
foreign chieftains rose in arms
crying, "The sword of him we feared rests by his
side in the grave. The tribute that he and his
people forced from us, we will now force back from
them."
So they gathered their arms together, and de-
clared war against the worshipers of the Olive-
branch.
Soon the shepherds came flying from the distant
plains to the city of Asulon, telling how a mighty
host was sweeping over the land like a plague of
locusts, covering the face of the earth, and destroy-
ing all that fell in their way.
238 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
Then the affrighted people, stirred up by the
jealous Aleph, called upon Huan the King to pre-
pare for defense against their invaders, saying, " The
principle of kindness is good for individuals but not
for nations ; for if we resist not evil now that an
armed host is coming to sack our town, our homes
will be burnt, and our wives and children massa-
cred by the enemies we are told to love."
But Huan upbraided them for their want of faith,
telling them, " If those that came to fight found
none to fight with, there could be no fighting on
either side ; for that men did not go out with axes
to cut reeds, nor did they hurl their javelins at
shadows. The wall of stone," he said, " could not
stand against the ball poured from the cannon's
mouth, and yet the bag of sand could stay its
course. What," he asked them, " was so weak as
water ? Did it not yield even to the breeze ? and
yet, by its very yielding, it gained a force that
even the rocks themselves could not withstand."
But Aleph laughed scornfully at the words of
the Dwarf, and in mockery bade the people go
home and make ready their little all, so that those
that came to plunder might return laden with the
easy spoil, and, scoffing at the craven crew that
gave it them, tell others to come and take their fill
also.
And those who were as young and impassioned
as Aleph, listened to his words, and cried in
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 239
answer, "It is well to be kind, but it is base to be
cowardly ! Though we would not be heroes, find-
ing our greatest glory in the slaughter of the great-
est number, still do not let us become dogs, to lick
the hand that smites us."
Then Aleph, finding a spirit of discontent grow-
ing up among the youths of the city, gathered
them around him, and became their leader.
And they rose in the night, and, surrounding
the Palace, seized upon Huan and all those that
sided with him. And, when they had cast the
Dwarf into prison, Aleph was proclaimed King in
his stead.
Then the warrior-youth summoned together
again the troops that he had so often led on to
conquest, and prepared once more for battle.
But the people still looked upon Huan as one
beloved by God, and feared to draw the sword, un-
less he blessed the banners they were to fight
under.
So Aleph sought out Huan in his dungeon, and
spake kindly to him, promising him his liberty,
if he would but consecrate the banners of the
troops. But the Dwarf answered, " Ye have set
the Olive-branch upon them, and made the symbol
of Peace the emblem of War. Verily, to implore
a blessing on the one is to invoke a curse upon the
other."
Presently news was brought to the city that the
240 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
enemy were within a few days march of Asulon.
And the citizens grew alarmed, and again cried
aloud for the blessing of the Dwarf.
Then Aleph, knowing the superstition of the
multitude, feared to lead the people on without
Huan's benison. So he gathered together his
troops, and, summoning the Dwarf from his dun-
geon, bade him, in the presence of the assembled
army, invoke a blessing on the banners threatening
him with death if he withheld it.
But Huan asked the royal youth by what form
of words he should call upon the Compassionate,
the Merciful, to pour down his grace upon the
banners of death ? or by what blasphemy he should
invoke the Spirit of Kindness to bless and make
holy the flag of Slaughter ?
Now, when Aleph heard the rebuke, he shook
with anger, and the army grew furious, crying,
" Away with him to the lions' den ! away with
him !"
Then the unresisting Huan was seized and
dragged to the valley beyond the city walls. And,
while some set a rude barrier round about the
meadow, others hurried to bring the cage of the
roaring monster ; and, when they had dragged it
thither, they placed it in the center of the field.
As the hungry beast paced restlessly up and
down its den, and made the hills rattle with its
roar, Anthy, led on by Evoe, threw herself at
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 241
Aleph's feet, and besought him by the love he said
he bore her, that he would spare her brother.
Evoe, too, pointing to Aleph's empty sleeve, silent-
ly reminded him how Huan and the Blind Girl
had saved him from the jaws of death.
But the young warrior could not forget that his
father, for the love of him they pleaded for, had
disinherited him of the throne ; and he hated the
Dwarf not only for having forestalled him of the
crown, but for the craven principles he taught,
even while an armed enemy was marching to lay
waste their city.
Yet in pity for the Blind Girl, who still clung
to his feet, beseeching his mercy, he asked the
Dwarf a third time whether he would bless the
banners.
For the third time Huan refused, saying, he was
the minister of Kindness. And Aleph, crimson
with passion at the man's stubbornness, cried,
" Cast him in ! Let us see how this Kindness will
avail him with raging lions."
Then Huan was thrust within the arena, and the
savage monster let loose upon him, while the crowd
climbed the neighboring hills, and stood breathless
with suspense, as they gazed down upon the plain.
The huge lion sprang from his den, and bounded
toward Huan, who stood rapt in prayer. But no
sooner was the eye of the creature fixed upon the
Dwarf, than the black-maned beast crouched at his
16
242 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
feet, and, as it rolled on its back, turned up its
white stomach to be fondled by him.
Then Huan recognized in the grateful brute the
creature whom he had freed of the thorn ; and, as
he placed his foot upon the lion's side, it rolled
backward and forward in the dust, as it whined out
again and again its noisy gratitude.
As the people remained silent with wonder at
the sight, Huan turned to Aleph, and, as he looked
upon him, cried aloud, " See you now how Kind-
ness availeth a man even with raging lions."
Then the mob in answer, cried " Verily he is a
Spirit from heaven ; even the beasts of the field
fear to injure him."
But the troops shouted, " He is a demon, and
governs lions as well as men. To the stake with
him ! to the stake !"
In a moment the soldiers rushed down into the
arena, and, with their spears, slew the noble, harm-
less brute, as he yet crouched at the Dwarf's feet.
Then, forcing back the relenting mob, some
drove a stake into the earth, while others, with
eager hands, cut fagots from the neighboring
woods.
Then, as they led him to the stake, some spat
upon him, while others, snatching the Olive-
branch from him, smote him with it in the face,
crying, " Wilt thou bless the banners now ?" But
Huan held out his hand in friendship, to those that
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 243
struck him, saying, " Nay, brothers, I am a man of
peace."
Huan's firmness they called obstinacy ; and,
growing only more savage with each fresh refusal,
they bethought them by what cruel torture they
could wring the blessing from him. Then, as they
saw the Blind Girl still by Aleph's side, imploring
him by every tie that had ever been between them,
to look with mercy on her brother, they rushed
toward her ; and, before the Prince could stay the
savage spirit he had roused and fostered till it had
grown beyond his control, they bore her down to
the death-stake of her brother ; and, placing a
lighted torch in her hand, vowed that, unless the
Dwarf gave the blessing they sought, his own sister
should be his executioner.*
Huan, seeing Anthy pale and powerless with
horror at the threat, ran toward her, and, kissing
her on the cheek, said, "Be of good heart, sister !
and play the woman, for God will either assuage
the fury of the flame, or strengthen me to bear
it."t
Then, as they chained him, he again exhorted
the fainting girl, crying, " Be of good comfort, sister
Anthy ! we shall this day light such a fire, by
* The burning of William Tylsworth, at Amershara,
in 1566, whose only daughter was compelled to set fire to
his pile with her own hands.
t Ridley, at the stake.
244 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
God's grace, in Asulon, as I trust never shall be
put out."*
As Anthy fell back senseless the soldiers held the
lighted torch within her lifeless hand, and stretched
her unresisting arm toward the fagots. And,
before the repenting Aleph could reach the plain,
the flames were curling round about the unconscious
Dwarf, as at his death he prayed for what in
his life he had preached the forgiveness of his
enemies.
As Huan spake the kindly words, and looked up
in prayer, he saw, as when he slept in the cave, the
same dazzling light streaming down from Heaven,
and the same golden clouds resting on the green
fields, and, piled one above another, till the topmost
was lost in the amazing splendor of the skies.
And the same white- winged host of angels mount-
ed them as before, chanting the glory of the kindly
words, and beckoning him to follow them.
The angel-band melted one by one from his
sight, and the last stood again on the topmost
cloud t>f all. And she looked back once more, and
once more beckoned him to follow her. As she
gazed at him, she looked upon him so tenderly
from out her tearful eyes, and smiled upon him
with so compassionate a smile, that Huan knew it
was the Spirit of Kindness that still showed him
the way to Heaven.
* Latimer. at the stake.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 245
And, as his soul struggled to be gone, the people
beheld rise from out the ashes of the fire an angel
form, winging its way to the realms of endless
peace.
Then the repentant multitude fell on their knees,
and bowed their heads to the earth in worship, as
they saw the last and greatest magic change of
all the Spirit of Kindness change the Man into
the Angel.
And the hearts of the people were turned to
gentleness, and they one and all cast their spears
and swords and arrows into the fire, vowing by the
ashes of him they had murdered, that, henceforth,
only with kindly words would they turn away
wrath.
Aleph stood for a while, beating his breast with
remorse ; then, throwing himself upon Evoe's neck,
the tears gushed for the first time down the young
warrior's cheek, as he thought of the many wrongs
he had done the Dwarf and his gentle sister. And
he prayed Evoe that she would take the senseless
Anthy from the field, while she was yet uncon-
scious of her brother's fate, and so spare him the
bitter rebuke of her forgiveness, until he knew that
the kindly spirit he had destroyed had entered his
own soul, and, by doing as her brother would have
done, had shown Anthy, both by his love and his
acts, that her brother still lived in himself.
ACH citizen, at Aleph's bidding,
returned to his home ; and when
news was brought him that the en-
emy was in sight, Aleph bade them
>all go to their work, as though
they cared not for the coming.
So, when the armed foes poured down upon
the city, they found the ramparts deserted and the
gates open. And, as they entered in hostile array,
their trumpets sounding defiance, and their swords
ready to repel the citizens, they looked round for
the troops, and they saw the husbandman at his
plough, and the shepherd tending his flock ; and
they heard the blacksmith busy at his anvil, and
the peasant-.girl at her churn; while old women
sat in the sunshine, plying the spinning-wheel, or
with their children's children at their feet, thread-
ing the needle for them.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS. 247
And, as the soldiers paced along 1 , the weaver
stopped his loom, and peeped from his window for
a minute at the show, and then plied the shuttle
as before ; the laborer rested on his spade for
awhile, and then, turning from the sight, dug on
again ; and the water-carrier stopped on his rounds,
to offer to the tired troops a draught of cool drink
from the skins he bore. Mothers brought out their
babes to hear the music, while housewives stood at
their doors, with plates of fruit and sweetmeats
wherewith to feast the wearied enemies ; girls ran
out to see the pretty flags and glittering armor, and
boys marched fearlessly by the side of the hostile
troops in mimic rank and file.
As the amazed enemy tramped along, they asked of
the heedless passers-by, " Where are your soldiers ?"
" We have none ;" was the answer. " But we have
come to take the town !" they cried. "Well, friends,
it lies before you, take it," was the calm reply.
" Is there no one to defend it ? No one to
fight ?" inquired the leader. " No one ! we live in
peace here with all men," returned the careless
passengers, and moved on.
And when the army had reached the palace,
Aleph himself came forth to meet and welcome
them. Again they cried, " We come to take your
town ! Is there nobody that thinks it worth the
fighting for?" But still the answer was, "No!
we live in peace here with all men."
Then the chieftains were perplexed ; and they
248 THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
cried, " If there is nobody to fight with, verily,
there can be no fighting ;" and the people looked
with wonder at one another, for they remembered
the prophetic words of the Martyr-Dwarf.
Then Aleph, seeing the abashed army about to
depart, besought them that they would enter arid
rest their tired limbs, and break bread, ere they
went their way.
So the armed host, finding themselves received
as friends, refused to act as enemies, and they re-
mained for awhile as the welcome guests of those
whose town they had come to sack and pillage.*
And, when the invading host had left, Aleph
swore an oath, never again to raise his hand in war
or anger against his fellow-man, now that he had
learnt that the kiss was a mightier weapon than
the blow.
Then he sought out Anthy, and, throwing him-
self at her feet, begged of her, by the charity of the
creed that Huan had taught them all and he,
alas ! had learned too late to forgive and love
him her bitterest enemy.
And he wept as though his heart would break.
Anthy bade him rise, saying, " She forgave him as
she hoped to be herself forgiven and she promised
him, moreover, that the struggle of her life should
be to love him too. For if ever she could force
herself to look with affection on him again, then she
* L. M. Child's account of the " bomb-proof town," in
the Tyrol.
THE MAGIC OF KINDNESS.
249
would know," she said, " how truly the spirit within
her had triumphed over the promptings of the flesh."
And Aleph besought her that she would remain
with Evoe, and be ever near, to watch over him,
so that, by her sweet counseling, she might
strengthen him in the kind-
ly creed, and teach him,
even in his angry mo-
ments to have faith
in the SPIRIT OF
KINDNESS.
ABBOTT'S HISTORIES
IN COURSE OF PUBLICATION
*** Each Volume of this Series is printed and bound
uniform with the other Volumes, and is adorned with a
richly-illuminated title-page and numerous Engravings.
12mo, Muslin, plain edges, 60 cents per volume ; Muslin,
gilt edges, 75 cents per volume.
Blurt}
of Iroti
This history is given here minute in every point of real interest, and
without the encumbrance of useless opinions. There is no sentence
thrown away no time lost in mere ornament. Perhaps no book extant
containing so few pages, can be said to convey so many genuine historical
facts. There is here no attempt to glaze over recorded truth, or win the
reader by sophistry to opinions merely those of the author. The pure,
simple history of Queen Mary is placed before the reader, and each one
is left to form an unbiased opinion from events impartially recorded there.
One great and most valuable feature in this little work is a map of Scot-
land, with many engravings of the royal castles and wild scenes connect-
ed with Mary's history. There is also a beautiful portrait of the Queen,
and a richly illuminated title-page such as only the Harpers can get up.
National Magazine.
Full of instructive and heart-stirring incident, displayed by the hand
of a master. We doubt whether old Queen Bess ever before had so much
justice done to her within the same compass. Such a pen as Jacob Ab-
bott wields, especially in this department of our literature, has no right
to lie Hill. Albany Express
2 AbboWs Historical Series.
CljarlE5 tlje first
We incline to think that there never was before so much said about
this unfortunate monarch in so short a space ; so much to the purpose ;
with so much impartiality ; and in such a style as jusl suits those for
whom it is designed the " two millions" of young persons in the United
States, who ought to be supplied with such works as these. The en-
gravings represent the prominent persons and places of the history, and
are well executed. The portrait of John Hampden is charming. The
antique title-page is rich. Southern Christian Advocate,
ilial tfje Carttjagimati
A new volume of the series projected by the skillful book-manufactarer,
Mr. Abbott, who displays no little tact in engaging the attention of that
marvellous body " the reading public" in old scholastic topics hitherto
almost exclusively the property of the learned. The latter, with their
ingenious implements of lexicons and scholia, will be in no danger of be-
ing superseded, however, while the least-furnished reader may gain
something from the attractively-primed and easily-perused volumes of
Mr. Abbott. The story of Hannibal is well adapted for popular treatment,
and loses nothing for this purpose in the present explanatory and picto-
rial version. Literary World.
uria Mnittrfte.
In a style copious and yet forcible, with an expression singularly clear
and happy, and in language exceedingly chaste and at times very beau-
tiful, he has given us a plain, unvarnished narrative of facts, as he him-
self says, unclogged by individual reflections which would " only encum-
ber rather than enforce." The present work wants none of the interest
inseparably connecting itself with the preceding numbers of the same
series, but is characterized throughout by the same peculiar beauties,
riveting the attention and deeply engraving on the mind the information
with which they every where teem. Evening Mirror.
Abbotts Historical Series. 3
Stotikr tlje d^rat
The history of Alexander the Great, as penned by Jacob Abbott, will
be read with thrilling interest. It is profusely embellished, containing
maps of the Expedition of Alexander, of Macedon and Greece, the plain
of Troy, the Granicus, and the plain of Issus ; and engravings of Alex-
ander and Bucephalus; Paris and Helen ; the bathing in the river Cyn-
dus ; the siege of Tyre ; Alexander at the siege of Susa ; and the pro-
posed improvement of Mount Athos. It is written in a most graphic and
attractive style. Spectator.
tlje
A valuable engraving of Lely's portrait of Cromwell opens the book,
and there are several illustrative wood engravings and an illuminated
title-page. This is a comprehensive and simple narration of the main
features of the period during which Charles the Second reigned, and it
is done with the clear scope and finely-written style which would be ex-
pected from the pen of Jacob Abbott one of the most able and useful
literary men, as he is one of the very best teachers of his time. Home
Journal.
fear.
The author seems gifted with that peculiar faculty, possessed by so
few, of holding communion with and drawing out ardent imagination and
budding genius, and at the same time of directing both into the great
channel of truth. The labors of such a man are productive of incalcu-
lable good, and deserve the highest reward. New Hampshire Patriot.
Hirjrnri tjrt jfirst
Mr. Abbott's entertaining and instructive historical works are becom-
ing more and more popular, and are undoubtedly among the best of the
many condensed histories that have been written. For young people we
know of nothing more entertaining or better calculated to excite a desire
to become acquainted with the leading events of history. Buffalo Cour.
Abbott 's Historical Series.
ifje Cjitit
We know of no writer in this country whose style and ability better
fit him for such a service. They are admirable works for youth, and
make a valuable fund of reading for the fireside and for schools. New
York Evangelist.
flit
History, under the pen of Mr. Abbott, discloses its narratives and ut-
ters its lessons in a style of great simplicity and intelligence, and, above
all, with no danger of detriment to morals. He has selected his field
with excellent taste, and we shall be glad to see his series pursued in-
definitely. In their line, these volumes have never been surpassed.
Baptist Recorder.
us, Jting nf
Mr. Abbott's design to write a succession of histories for the young is
admirable, and worthy of all encouragement, and the manner in which
he has executed his work thus far is most excellent. Let him be en-
couraged to proceed till he has reached the last volume of history, that
the coming generation may turn from the world of romance to that of
reality, and learn that what is and has been is as brilliant in character,
as glorious in description, and as captivating in detail, as that which the
genius of fiction ever created. Observer.
These historical memoirs by Mr. Abbott are marked by their great
impartiality, condensation of facts and picturesqueness of style ; his
practiced and elegant pen has, in Mary Queen of Scots and Charles the
First, invested the historic page with the brilliancy and fascination ol
romance. Mirror.
Abbott's Historical Series. 5
afrrn* tjrt tfwrt.
"The grand excellence of these little volumes is, that those points of
history which involve the principles, the causes of human action, and
which too often receive but little attention from those who write for
youth, are brought forward into their proper station and so successfully
treated, that the weakest capacities may become interested and stronger
ones profited. The maps and engravings, of which there are many, add
much to their value."
KINGS AND QUEENS;
OR, LIFE IN THE PALACE : CONSISTING OF HISTORICAL
SKETCHES OF JOSEPHINE AND MARIA LOUISA, Louis
PHILIPPE, FERDINAND OF AUSTRIA, NICHOLAS,
ISABELLA II.. LEOPOLD, AND VICTORIA.
BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
With numerous Illustrations. 12mo, Muslin, $1 00.
These sketches of the most distinguished personages of Europe are
drawn by a master hand, and with the life-like distinctness which char-
acterizes all the works of the popular author. The work is-full of ro-
mantic interest, while at the same time its perusal will enable the reader
to understand the present state of Europe and of the crowned heads who
form an essential part of its shifting pageantry. Ladies' Wreath.
Brief, but very comprehensive and glowing sketches of eminent sov-
ereigns are comprised in this beautiful little volume. The present po-
litical posture of some of these characters, and the wonderful incidents
connected with others, give this work almost the air of a romance, so
eventful, stirring, and unexpected is the history of their lives and for-
tunes. The views of Mr. Abbott are those of a thoughtful, conscientious,
well-read man ; and are far more trustworthy, to those who desire to
know the real truth of history, than the representations of many histo-
rians who pass for standard authors. Evangelist.
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