Fabiola : or, The church of the catacombs - Digital Repository Services

he ran awny. and was supposed to have engaged
/ ( /. / u
himself on
board an Ka>t (ndiaman which sailed about that time fnun F.ximnub.
Xo tidings came of tin- runaway, ami t!~ row-
,;> nil hope of ever seeing him again. Kind
hbors tried to console her by predicting that he would return
some day a rich man, but Martha would riot believe them; tmd
as year after year passed without any news of her son, she re-
ed herself, with the help (if prayer at the foot of the Cross,
to this most afilicling bereavement.
Catherine, for the first few weeks, wept bitterly when the
merry playmate and companion of her childhood returned no
more as he was wont on the long looked for Saturday evenings,
and the Sundays especially seemed sad without him; but in
childhood sorrows are not lasting, and Catherine's tears were
easily dried by the tenderness of a fond mother. From that
time she became the sole object of Martha's affections. As she
advanced in years she fully repaid her mother's fond care, if in-
; it is possible that a child can repay the devoledness of an
anxious parent; but Catherine was a good, dutiful, and loving
child. Her education, and the peaceful life she led, had made
her in many respects very different from most girls of her own
age and position of life. Habits of self-restraint had given firmness
to her character, and to her whole demeanor an air of quiet
seriousness, which, however, did not prevent her from being of
a most truly cheerful and happy disposition. Her mother's ex-
ample taught her to have recourse to her Heavenly Father in all
difficulties, and thus she was well prepared to meet trials; and
her confidence in God's erer-loving Providence gave her a
strength and decision of character that sorted her well all
through her eventful life.
On Martha's death the kind neighbor who had assisted her in
her last moments, took Catherine to her home, until she should
find an opportunity of sending her in safety to her relations in
Cornwall. Andrews, the clothier, undertook to settle all her
money-matters, and to be her banker for any sum she should not
wish to take with her to Cornwall.
' And I will do the best I can with it, my child,' said the wor-
thy man.
' You must come to me for advice or assistance if you
need either, for I had a great esteem for your excellent mother,
and so, dear child, you must look to me as to a friend; and if you
do not find your father's family kind, come back to us ; my dame
will be a good friend to you. We are of the same religion, you
know, and must help each other, as Father Ralph says.'
All this was soothing to the feelings of the poor orphan. Many
times each day she knelt before her Crucifix and, amidst tears and
sobs, she exclaimed, '
Thy
will be done.' At first it was with
diliiculty she could utter these words; but Father Ralph encouraged
her to persevere; telling her that by so doing, the virtue of
entire resignation to God's will would be given to her. Nor was
he wrong; for soon a profound calm pervaded her soul, and made
itself visible in words and actions.
At last an opportunity presented itself of sending Catherine to
her relations. A respectable woman, well known to Master
Andrews, was about to undertake what was then considered the
perilous voyage to Penzance. This person readily agreed to
take Catherine with her, and see her safely conducted to her
aunt.
Poor Catherine's sad feelings can better be imagined than des-
cribed, as she bade farewell to the home of her childhood, her
dear mother's grave, her kind friends, and all those objects which
were so familar to her. The boat in which they were to sail
was a small trading vessel that plied between Exeter and Peu-
zance, occasionally convey ing passengers. This, indeed, was the
only way in which the poorer classes could go to and fro between
those towns; for as the roads that traversed Devon and Cornwall
were mere bridle-paths, there were then no coaches, nor even a
carrier's cart. The rich traveled on horseback, accompanied by
armed attendants, and even so, by reason of highwaymen, the
journey was often dangerous.
At five o'clock one bright morning in the beginning of June
our travelers went on board. Their luggage was piled upon the
deck, and Catherine and her new friend, Dame Penrith, sealed
Ives close to it. As the little craft glided slowly down
>
the r'.\( . the i sad young orphan kept her it the old
city.. House after house vanished from her sight ; she could only
see the lowers of tin: Cathedral and the oldcaMle of Kougemoiit. ;
when these also were no longer visible, an inexpressible feeling
of loneliness crept over her. She thought of her dear mother
now lying in the churchyard, and her heart seemed inundated
with such intense grief that, as she sobbed and wept, her whole
frame trembled and seemed convulsed; but she had promised
Father Ralph never to give way to these terrible bursts of sor-
row, so raising her eyes to heaven she murmured, '
Thy
will be
done.'
She thought of all her Divine Saviour had suffered, then of
God's mercy to her dear mother, and of the almost certain hope
that she was now in the enjoyment of eternal happiness. Making
a resolution so to live on earth as to deserve to be with that much
loved mother one day in heaven, she recovered her former peace
of mind.
'
-
I say, little girl, and 3 ou, good dame, here we are at Exmouth.
"Why don't you look out on the sea? That is something worth,
looking at, much better than any of your towns.'
So spoke the captain, a rough but good-natured Cornish man.
The travelers followed his advice. There stretched the ocean be-
fore them in calm grandeur, sparkling under the morning sun.
'How beautiful! '
exclaimed Catherine; and for an instant her
sad little face lit up with joy. She said no more, but stood mo-
tionless, leaning against the side of the boat, now gazing as far
as her sight could reach, across the open sea ; now watching the
rippling waves as they played about the vessel. Her thoughts
were of the majesty of that God who created such beauteous and
magnificent works; of the mystery of eternity, of which indeed
the ocean is a faint emblem; of the beauty of heaven, where she
confidently hoped her mother now was; these and other thoughts
arose in her mind, not in that crowding confusion which only
serves to harass us, but welling gently up, then sinking deeply
into her heart and filling her with a pious awe that was also very
soothing.
The boat seldom kept at any great distance from the shore ,
Catherine could therefore sec the rocks, and at times even the
white cottages of some fishing-hamlet shining in the sun; and
they passed many of the haunts of the smuggler and the wrecker.
Poor Dame Penrith was far from enjoying the voyage; she
complained of the tossing and rocking of the vessel; every now
ami then she would exclaim that the ship was sinking, and at such
moments would bitterly bewail her folly in having undertaken
such a perilous voyage. But all her troubles ended on the afternoon
of the second day of their journey, and great was her joy as
the vessel entered the harbor of Penzance. Catherine also was
glad to leave the ship.
The dame turned to her little charge, and inquired where her
aunt lived.
'
At some distance from the town, I believe,' replied Catherine.
'Then,' said her friend, 'you had better come with me to my
cousin's. She will tell us the way."
Accordingly they both proceeded to the shop of Dame Penrith's
cousin. Great was the pleasure of the two old women at meeting.
When the first emotion had subsided, inquiries were made
about Dame Barnby's dwelling-place.
'
'
said Dame Penrith's cousin. It is
I know her cottage well, '
betwixt this and the village of Gulval. But the child must sup
with us ere she goes to her aunt.'
After supper, at which meal were served various strange Cornish
pies and pastries, Catherine, thanking her friends for their
kindness, departed with an old servant, who undertook to lead
her to her aunt's cottage.
It was a beautiful, warm night; the moon shone brightly on
our two travelers as they wended their way through the narrow
and tortuous streets. Penzance was a queer little town in those
davs, its old timber-fronled houses with diamoud-pancd bowwindows
projecting far into the streets.
Catherine and her companion snon found themselves in the
open country. Before them lay extensive moors, bounded by