Adam Hepburn's Vow: A Tale of Kirk and CovenantSwan, Annie S.
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Adam Hepburn's Vow: A Tale of Kirk and Covenant
Swan, Annie S.
Covenanters -- Fiction; Scotland -- History -- 17th century -- Fiction
"You have ever been a faithful and dutiful son to me, Andrew, for which
the Lord will reward you. I have but one word of warning to give
regarding the part you will take in the struggle which will shortly rage
with hotter violence than it has hitherto done in the land. See to it
that you fight for the Covenant with singleness of heart and purpose,
out of pure love for its sweet and simple doctrines, and do not allow
any personal spleen to mingle with your nobler aim, lest the blessing of
the Most High be withheld. To you, David, my son, I have also a word to
say. I bid you be of good courage, and fail not to strengthen and
encourage your brethren in arms with the ministrations of your holy
office whenever time and opportunity permit. And fear not those who can
kill the body, for it is written, ’Whosoever shall lose his life for My
sake shall find it.’ To you, Adam Hepburn, the widowed spouse of my
sweet Agnes, and dear to me as my own sons, my words will also be brief.
I would seek to remind you that vengeance belongs only to the Lord, and
that from high Heaven alone cometh sure retribution for deeds of blood.
Therefore I would warn you that you strive to overcome your evil and
revengeful passion, reminding you that it is not a spirit which the
ransomed soul of your beloved could approve. It is written that he that
slayeth with the sword shall perish by the sword. To you, my sweet and
well-beloved daughter, Jane, who have indeed followed closely in your
mother’s footsteps, since the mournful day when that dear saint left
this world for a better, I have simply to leave my gratitude and
fatherly blessing. Your reward for many deeds and words of love will
come by-and-by. And, last of all, Susan, my daughter, I would but call
to your remembrance that our God can bind up the broken heart, and that
your tears are treasured up against that day when He cometh to judge the
quick and the dead. And the parting is but for a little while.
Farewell, my children; save for your sakes I am not sorry to quit this
earthy tabernacle, and enter upon the inheritance which my sweet Lord
has kept for me since before the foundation of the world."
With these words the minister sank back exhausted among his pillows. It
must not be supposed that he was able to utter the foregoing sentences
as connectedly as they are written. Nay, they were spoken with much
difficulty, and many long pauses, and his parched lips had to be
continually moistened with the stimulant Jane kept ready at hand. He
lay so still after the last words passed his lips that they almost
feared he was gone. But at length his eyelids quivered slightly, and
then they saw a seraphic smile dawning upon his face, as if some lovely
vision had appeared to his soul. His lips moved slightly, and Jane,
hastily bending down, caught the faintly whispered words:--
"Coming, O my sweet Lord Jesus!"
So, quietly and painlessly, he fell asleep.
"It is all over," said Hartrigge, huskily.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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