Japhet In Search Of A Father Part 1 by Frederick Marryat (unputdownable books TXT) 📕

Was A Most Fortunate Occurrence,  And As Melchior Prophesied,  The Harvest

Did Now Commence. In Four Days We Had Received Upwards Of L200,  And We

Then Thought It Time That We Should Depart. The Letters Arrived,  Which

Were Expected,  And When We Set Off In a Chaise And Four,  The Crowd To

See Us Was So Great,  That It Was With Difficulty We Could Pass Through

It.

     In Which Melchior Talks Very Much Like An Astrologer,  And Tim And I

     Return To Our Old Trade Of Making Up Innocent Prescriptions.

We Had Taken Our Horses For The Next Town; But As Soon As We Were Fairly

On The Road,  I Stopped The Boys,  And Told Them That The Great

Aristodemus Intended To Observe The Planets And Stars That Night,  And

That They Were To Proceed To A Common Which I Mentioned. The Post-Boys,

Who Were Well Aware Of His Fame,  And As Fully Persuaded Of It As

Everybody Else,  Drove To The Common; We Descended,  Took Off The Luggage,

And Received Directions From Melchior In Their Presence About The

Instruments,  To Which The Boys Listened With Open Mouths And Wonderment.

I Paid Them Well,  And Told Them They Might Return,  Which They Appeared

Very Glad To Do. They Reported What Had Occurred,  And This Simple Method

Of Regaining Our Camp,  Added To The Astonishment Of The Good Town

Of ----. When They Were Out Of Sight We Resumed Our Usual Clothes,  Packed

All Up,  Carried Away Most Of Our Effects,  And Hid The Others In The

Furze To Be Sent For The Next Night,  Not Being More Than Two Miles From

The Camp. We Soon Arrived,  And Were Joyfully Received By Fleta And

Nattee.

As We Walked Across The Common,  I Observed To Melchior,  "I Wonder If

These Stars Have Any Influence Upon Mortals,  As It Was Formerly

Supposed?"

"Most Assuredly They Have," Rejoined Melchior. "I Cannot Read Them,  But

I Firmly Believe In Them."

I Made The Above Remark,  As I Had Often Thought That Such Was Melchior'S

Idea.

"Yes," Continued He,  "Every Man Has His Destiny--Such Must Be The Case.

It Is Known Beforehand What Is To Happen To Us By An Omniscient Being,

And Being Known,  What Is It But Destiny Which Cannot Be Changed? It Is

_Fate_," Continued He,  Surveying The Stars With His Hand Raised Up,  "And

That Fate Is As Surely Written There As The Sun Shines Upon Us; But The

Great Book Is Sealed,  Because It Would Not Add To Our Happiness."

"If,  Then,  All Is Destiny,  Or Fate,  What Inducement Is There To Do Well

Or Ill?" Replied I. "We May Commit All Acts Of Evil,  And Say,  That As It

Was Predestined,  We Could Not Help It. Besides Would It Be Just That The

Omniscient Being Should Punish Us For Those Crimes Which We Cannot

Prevent,  And Which Are Allotted To Us By Destiny?"

"Japhet,  You Argue Well; But You Are In error,  Because,  Like Most Of

Those Of The Christian Church,  You Understand Not The Sacred Writings,

Nor Did I Until I Knew My Wife. Her Creed Is,  I Believe,  Correct; And

What Is More,  Adds Weight To The Truths Of The Bible."

"I Thought That Gipsies Had No Religion."

"You Are Not The Only One Who Supposes So. It Is True That The Majority

Of The Tribe Are Held By The Higher Castes As Serfs,  And Are Not

Instructed; But With--If I May Use The Expression--The Aristocracy Of

Them It Is Very Different,  And Their Creed I Have Adopted."

"I Should Wish To Hear Their Creed," Replied I.

"Hear It Then. Original Sin Commenced In Heaven--When The Angels

Rebelled Against Their God--Not On Earth."

"I Will Grant That Sin Originated First In Heaven."

"Do You Think That A Great,  A Good God,  Ever Created Any Being For Its

Destruction And Eternal Misery,  Much Less An Angel? Did He Not Foresee

Their Rebellion?"

"I Grant It."

"This World Was Not Peopled With The Image Of God Until After The Fall

Of The Angels: It Had Its Living Beings,  Its Monsters Perhaps,  But Not A

Race Of Men With Eternal Souls. But It Was Peopled,  As We See It Now Is,

To Enable The Legions Of Angels Who Fell To Return To Their Former Happy

State--As A Pilgrimage By Which They Might Obtain Their Pardons,  And

Resume Their Seats In Heaven. Not A Child Is Born,  But The Soul Of Some

Fallen Cherub Enters Into The Body To Work Out Its Salvation. Many Do,

Many Do Not,  And Then They Have Their Task To Recommence Anew; For The

Spirit Once Created Is Immortal,  And Cannot Be Destroyed; And The

Almighty Is All Goodness,  And Would Ever Pardon."

"Then You Suppose There Is No Such Thing As Eternal Punishment?"

"Eternal!--No. Punishment There Is,  But Not Eternal. When The Legions Of

Angels Fell,  Some Were Not So Perverse As Others: They Soon Re-Obtained

Their Seats,  Even When,  As Children,  Having Passed Through The Slight

Ordeal,  They Have Been Summoned Back To Heaven; But Others Who,  From

Their Infancy,  Show How Bad Were Their Natures,  Have Many Pilgrimages To

Perform Before They Can Be Purified. This Is,  In Itself,  A Punishment.

What Other Punishment They Incur Between Their Pilgrimages We Know Not;

But This Is Certain,  That No One Was Created To Be Punished Eternally."

"But All This Is But Assertion," Replied I; "Where Are Your Proofs?"

"In The Bible; Some Day Or Other I Will Show Them To You; But Now We Are

At The Camp,  And I Am Anxious To Embrace Nattee."

I Thought For Some Time Upon This Singular Creed; One,  In Itself,  Not

Militating Against Religion,  But At The Same Time I Could Not Call To

Mind Any Passages By Which It Could Be Supported. Still The Idea Was

Beautiful,  And I Dwelt Upon It With Pleasure. I Have Before Observed,

And Indeed The Reader Must Have Gathered From My Narative,  That Melchior

Was No Common Personage. Every Day Did I Become More Partial To Him,  And

More Pleased With Our Erratic Life. What Scruples I Had At First,

Gradually Wore Away; The Time Passed Quickly,  And Although I Would

Occasionally Call To Mind The Original Object Of My Setting Forth,  I

Would Satisfy Myself By The Reflection,  That There Was Yet Sufficient

Time. Little Fleta Was Now My Constant Companion When In The Camp,  And I

Amused Myself With Teaching Her To Write And Read.

"Japhet," Said Timothy To Me One Day As We Were Cutting Hazel Broach

Wood In The Forest,  "I Don'T See That You Get On Very Fast In Your

Search After Your Father."

"No,  Tim,  I Do Not; But I Am Gaining A Knowledge Of The World Which Will

Be Very Useful To Me When I Recommence The Search; And What Is More,  I

Am Saving A Great Deal Of Money To Enable Me To Prosecute It."

"What Did Melchior Give You After We Left?"

"Twenty Guineas,  Which,  With What I Had Before,  Make More Than Fifty."

"And He Gave Me Ten,  Which Makes Twenty,  With What I Had Before. Seventy

Pounds Is A Large Sum."

"Yes,  But Soon Spent,  Tim. We Must Work A Little Longer. Besides,  I

Cannot Leave That Little Girl--She Was Never Intended For A

Rope-Dancer."

"I Am Glad To Hear You Say That,  Japhet,  For I Feel As You Do--She Shall

Share Our Fortunes."

"A Glorious Prospect Truly," Replied I,  Laughing; "But Never Mind,  It

Would Be Better Than Her Remaining Here. But How Are We To Manage That?"

"Aye! That'S The Rub; But There Is Time Enough To Think About It When We

Intend To Quit Our Present Occupation."

"Well,  I Understand From Melchior That We Are To Start In a Few Days."

"What Is It To Be,  Japhet?"

"Oh! We Shall Be At Home--We Are To Cure All Diseases Under The Sun.

To-Morrow We Commence Making Pills,  So We May Think Ourselves With Mr

Cophagus Again."

"Well,  I Do Think We Shall Have Some Fun; But I Hope Melchior Won'T Make

Me Take My Own Pills To Prove Their Good Qualities--That Will Be No

Joke."

"O No,  Num Is Kept On Purpose For That. What Else Is The Fool Good For?"

The Next Week Was Employed As We Anticipated. Boxes Of Pills Of Every

Size,  Neatly Labelled,  Bottles Of Various Mixtures,  Chiefly Stimulants,

Were Corked And Packed Up. Powders Of _Anything_ Were Put In Papers;

But,  At All Events,  There Was Nothing Hurtful In Them. All Was Ready,

And Accompanied By Num (Jumbo And Fleta Being Left At Home) We Set Off,

Melchior Assuming The Dress In Which We Had First Met Him In The Wagon,

And Altering His Appearance So Completely,  That He Would Have Been Taken

For At Least Sixty Years Old. We Now Travelled On Foot With Our Dresses

In Bundles,  Each Carrying His Own,  Except Num,  Who Was Loaded Like A

Pack-Horse,  And Made Sore Lamentations:

"Can'T You Carry Some Of This?"

"No," Replied I,  "It Is Your Own Luggage; Every One Must Carry His Own."

"Well,  I Never Felt My Spangled Dress So Heavy Before. Where Are We

Going?"

"Only A Little Way," Replied Timothy,  "And Then You Will Have Nothing

More To Do."

"I Don'T Know That. When Master Puts On That Dress,  I Have To Swallow

Little Things Till I'M Sick."

"It'S All Good For Your Health,  Num."

"I'M Very Well,  I Thank'E," Replied The Poor Fellow; "But I'M Very Hot

And Very Tired."