Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-08-24

day have kept vigil, and flesh and spirit
alike are fainting. Your worship knows
that to call at the wicket of any of the
Astounding monasteries will bring you
succor, temporal or spiritual-aid fan
better than my poor, weak service. Il
pray you, senior, think no harm, but ]
beg to decline the Office"
The man at his side laughed shortly
a crisp, crude laugh, that made the
monk feel as if he were shriveling up as
he heard it.
Goods deathl these friars are pre-
sumptuous! The ministers of God
the servants of heaven-so their creeds
profess, yet they give themselves the
airs of statesmen and beg to decline the
offices of their profession Have you
forgotten your vows, sirrahH Have you
forgotten to what service You are conse-
Grated? Nay, then, will have you
you and none other. See that you move
on before me-" He made as if TO impel
the monk by grasping his arm; but the
touch of that hard hand so affected
Friar Lorenzo that he reeled and would
have fallen had not the man released
him.
"What-what would your worship
have of mep he stammered family.
"You go TO shrive sinner" and with
that answer his guide halted before a
lofty mansion whose overhanging bal
comics Swallowed the street. The sombei
cavalier pushed open the great zaguan,
or entrance door, without knocking, al
EN.sa Il Nbar.
was knocker of peculiar design, quite
distinct from the conventional clenched
hand OF lions head-for this was bat
tie ak, falling upon buckler, and the
two glimmered quite strangely clear in
the gloom. The tunnel-like arch of the
zaguan was all in densest darkness,
save where dim ray of light filtered
out from the crack of door ON the left
hand, whittier the way was led by the
man who had captured the friar.
This was the apartment usually as
signed as a door porter's lodge in great
houses, but here it seemed of dimensions
more spacious than was common. The
dark walls seemed to absorb rather than
reflect the pale rays of the candle, yet
enough of brilliance fell 10 flash CLEANS
of keen color from the jewels of one who
lay on rough cot in corner, draped
over with a coverlet of rich brocade,
glinting back the candle light from the
golden threads Of its embroideries.
The stern man pointed to the out
stretched figure; "Do thou confess her
quickly"
The friar drew back with start and
a SILVER when he had bent over the
woman, for she was fast bound to the
rude bed, made moveless by harsh cords
that held her beautiful naked arms out
stretched by her sides and dashed heI
feet, too, closely. An observer Of more
worldly knowledge than Friar Lorenzo
would have guessed that she had been
borne hither from some scene Of gala
and rejoicing, for on her delicate wrists,
and on her exquisite neck, and in the
! soft masses of her dark hair blazed
splendid jewels; and the zone of her
corsage, showing above the coverlet,
roughly wrapped around her, showed
that the stuff of her garb was of exceed.
ing richness.
"Wouldst thou confess, my daugh.
teri" stammered Friar Lorenzo, drawn
back to her despite his fear, less by his
sense of duty than by the appeal in her
eyes, full of great despair and a mighty
/ terror. He turned, when she made O
a sign of assent, toward his captor, in
intimation of the privacy due TO a con-
fession, but that somber fgnre only
laughed, albeit most harshly, and drew
|
Then Friar Lorenzo, bending low above
the woman, shaken between his fears
and his pity, listened TO her confession.
But she had not yet finished when the
/ grim watcher strobe forward, caught
the friar by his lean, trembling arms
and cried: Have done! thou art max
ing pretextsl Too long this wretched
woman has lived alresdyr' and so
against her wild entreaties and the
friar's protests, he dragged the minister
away and thrust him forth into the
street.
| The friar, half stunned yet half des-
perate with the thoughts awakened by
his forebodings and the tale heard from
the woman, called, prayed and knocked,
beating his frail hands on the heavy
bronze bossed portal in a very frenzy.
But the massive wood gave back only
the sound of his blows, and that but
DULY. At last, despairing, he hastened
from the spot with so hurried and un.
certain step that the few wayfarers
who now began to appear in the street
shrunk aside from him with more OF
awe than reverence, and murmured,
ooh, the poor padrel his appearances
have made him mad"
Friar Lorenzo was half distracted,
most of all with doubts as TO his divided
duty. Did his priestly vows as 10 the
inviolability Of confession exact silence
as TO what had happened? Did the du-
ties of humanity and justice demand
that he give up to investigation and
punishment the doer or would be doer
| of what he was convinced was n foul