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

"Do so," replied Metella, " in Rome, if the price of thy mother's
freedom will not be so great as I expect, but thou hast
merited infinitely more, as you have led me to that field in which
I discovered the great pearl of our holy Faith. I was ax a beaten
way," continued she sighing, " till your prayers and tears loosened
the soil, and placed within its bosom the seeds of faith. I
was a cast oft piece of rough marble, in which a noble image
slumbered, but which could only be brought to light by a good
chisel. Dearest child, thou art that chisel, never to be forgotten.
The artist that guided it is the Creator of the world, who
formed the body of Eve, and placed it at the head of the creation.
Blow after blow fell upon thee, thou patient instrument, and
upon me the hard unformed stuff. Still the longer our martyrdom
lasts, the nearer we are to its completion. Now the work
confusion attracted her attention. The sailors were putting all
in order, some were hauling in the ropes and unfurling suffi-
cient sail, while one with more authority than the rest, calls
those to order who have the care of stowing in the luggage, to
keep a sharp look out for goods still left on the landing place.
A tight little fellow, although one of the crew, slips from the
labor and confusion to a distant part of the ship to hold converse
with a friend on the opposite side of the water, which seemed no
easy task, as their questions and answers were almost drowned
by the noisy waves and the freshening breeze. The hour for departure
at length arrives, and the sailors are bustling to and fro,
shouting with all their might, to tighten up and clear decks.
The farewells were of a varied description. A mother could be
seen parting with her only son, and in floods of tears, invoking
for him the protection of the gods. Husbands taking leave of
their wives and families, to seek in foreign land a support for
them, which was denied at home. Men were amongst the number,
who by their countenances clearly showed, that loss and
gain were the sum total of their existence here. They were
alone, for when the heart is absorbed in the goods of this life, it
closes itself against the tender ties of family and friends. Wealth
is their god, and sacrifice is made to the deity of their sordid
LTD I A.
minds.
The principal passengers consisted of rich merchants, trading
between Greece, Rome and Italy. Jews also, with their merchandize
and invalid Greeks, who then, as now, sought the restora-
tion of their health in the balmy climate of Malta. L3 r dia joined
herself to some Christian families who were bound for Rome.
The decks being cleared, the trumpet blew the signal for departure,
and Lydia waved a last adieu to her friends on shore.
" A happy journey," screamed out little Ophne, " and a quick
return ;" and she dried up her falling tears, and returned pensively
to the palace, regretting the loss of her dear friend. The
second signal sounded, and loosed from its moorings, the vessel
floated on with swell^ig sail. They anchored at Delos. This is-
land of the Grecian Archipelago, and so famous in ancient history,
is said to have been at one time a floating island. Being the birth-
place of Apollo and Diana, it was always held sacred on that account
by the pagans, and used as an asylum for all living crea-
tures. In the distance was lovely Syra, rising above the blue
waters, like a citadel on a rock. This friendly and well-known
island, famous in ancient times for its commerce, has even in
our own days become a place of staple commodities. From
Delos the ship sailed by the most southern point of the Morea,
BO called from "Morus,"a mulberry tree, which abounds in that
part of Greece, and is appropriated to the support of the silkworm.
The}' then struck out on the high sens in the direction
of the distantly situated Malta.
During the last months, tlie crowd uf circumstances in Lydia's
life had so oppressed her, that she was glad to be aione and unobserved,
that she might recall to her mind the events that had
so quickly followed in succession. She would sit for hours on
the deck, apparently watching the foaming waters, but her
mind was far distant, and busily occupied taking a retrospective
view of the chequered scenes of her own eventful life. IIow
much richer was she now in experience, after having passed
through such a school of affliction ! At the time she was captive
in Smyrna every pulse throbbed for martyrdom. Now experience
taught her, that than; was a still greater martyrdom than
is finished, therefore the chisel is to be put back to enjoy its well
merited rest."
After a most affectionate embrace, and with heart-felt thanks,
Lydia tore herself from the arms of her benefactress. She departed
from Athens after having passed in it ten eventful years.
Metella ascended the pergula to have a last look at the dear
traveler. The sun sinking in the west, cast a rich glow on the
distant Piraus; a soft evening breeze the sails of the vessel.
rose, and gently swelled
Lydia was accompanied to the harbor by several of the domestics,
all of whom loved her tenderly; and close to her side, was
the faithful Ophne, whose loquacity never ceased, till that of the sword or fire; and that to a certain extent, her life as
a slave had been nothing but a continued one, which had ended
in the conquest of the Faith. How unmistakable did the loving
dispensations
they
reached the harbor, nor would it then, had not the noise and
of Providence present themselves before, her
mind I She had been appointed as an humble instrument towards
the conversion of one of the most illustrious women of
Athens. God had prepared this soul to embrace Christianity
by the death of her husband and son trials over which her
wealth had no control, but these drew her to the possession of
that which neither temporal prosperity nor the gifts 01 the mino.
could purchase for her the one Faith. The human heart has &
necessity to communicate with those after death whom it loved
in life, and this communication is only possible when the bene.
is in the immortality of the soul. This was the first motive tha-
attracted Metella towards conversion. But what Christianity
was, and in what manner it was to be practised in order to prepare
man for a supernatural life, she learned from her slave. At
length God showed her the truth of His revealed Religion, by
His holy servants, and confirmed the doctrine ot the same by
the wonderful interference of His own divine power.
If a voyage be long, and for the greater part monotonous
how can a meditative mind fail for a subject, when it beholds in
the immeasurable waters of the deep, the beauties ot nature m
their wildest form. The sea itself gives ample scope tor contem
plation. Is it not in its calm, as well as in Us loud anger, in its
immeasurable extent, as well as in its unfathomable depths, a
type of the Divinity? And is not the vessel that sails on the
bosom of the waves, between the blue nrmament and the yawning
unknown abyss, a figure of man who wanders through afo
between the heaven of grace and the depths 01 <
depravity
When the great luminary ot the day sinks in the West ana
leaving to the wide expanse of Heaven his reflective rays, a\
most as varied in color as the rainbow, does it not give the soul
a longing desire to wing its flight above, and bask in the eternal
sunshine of its Creator!
What loving soul that has ever gazed on the starry Heavens
when on the sea, can say that he was ever more deeply impressed
with the majesty of God and his own nothingness, that at such
a moment? He is as a mite on the face of the waters, wonder-
ing at the immensity of its Creator. It seems as though the
soul would burst its earthly bondage, soar on high, and mingle
with the starry host. That milky way where the stars rojl as in
a cloud of vapor, draws our mind along, higher and big \.T, un-
til it arrives at the palace of the Almighty. It is only a heart
full of faith that can appreciate all this. Just as in the dark-
ness of night, a million of worlds appear to man, which by the
dazzling light of day are to Him invisible, so, dispensations of
the power and wisdom of God disclose themselves to the single
eye of the believer, in the hidden darkness of life, a government
of which the enlightened mind of the wise ones of the world,
has not the slighest conception.
The passengers could as yet see nothing of lovely Malta, save
the tops of the sloping hills that were just appearing above the
horizon. As they approached nearer, its steep and rugged coast
excited no small degree of alarm stmong the passengers. On
those rocks, thought Lydia, the vessel that was conveying the
great St. Paul as prisoner to Rome, was shattered by a storm,
leaving its