Barbara Lynn: A Tale of the Dales and Fells.Jenkinson, Emily J.
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Barbara Lynn: A Tale of the Dales and Fells.
Jenkinson, Emily J.
Westmorland (England) -- Fiction
"I'm going out," he said curtly, "don't expect me back till you see me."
She tightened her lip, looking at him with stern eyes.
"I hope you're going after no foolishness, Master Joel."
He laughed harshly, turned on his heel, and went away.
Standing by the wall, he gazed down at the trees below him, which were
singing in the wind. There was a cool, sweet air, and the scent of damp
earth rising from the forest. He thought that he would go and see
Timothy Hadwin, and get a sleeping draught. If he were possessed by a
devil, as he verily believed he was, Old Camomile would be able to cast
it out.
He followed the cart-road for some way, then took the winding path that
led to Timothy's cottage. The old man was sitting on the bench by the
door, enjoying the calm of the twilight.
"I can't sleep," said Joel.
Timothy looked quietly into his face, saw the lines round his mouth, and
the restlessness of his eyes.
"Tell me how you feel," he replied.
"I can't sleep," reiterated Joel; "give me something to make me sleep."
"Come in," said the old man. His living-room was small, but neat and
clean. There were rows upon rows of shelves along the walls, filled with
jars and bottles; the place smelled of lavender, rosemary, lad's love,
and other sweet herbs. He mixed a powder and gave it to the young man,
then he made him lie down.
"You must open your mind, my lad," he said, "and let the sweet
influences of the night in. Peace floweth about us like a river."
"Not round me! Nothing has ever flowed round me but black waters, and
I'm drowning in 'em."
Already he felt the cold waves of which he spoke pressing upon his
eyelids so that he could not see. He heard Timothy's voice; it came to
him as through a curtain. The old man was talking of peace. What was
peace? Was it but the exhaustion of passion, the sinking down of a
stormy sea, as waves sink, when the tempest is over? Or was it paralysis
of the living soul, which had felt so much that it could feel no more?
Or could it be the inflowing of some holy element, that would mingle
with his thoughts and purify them? He longed for it, whatever it was. He
longed to be quiet, and as he pondered over the thoughts which
Timothy's words had roused, the roaring in his ears subsided, the
darkness lightened like the coming of dawn. He imagined that he was
lying on golden sand, and gazing up at a river flowing over his head.
Peace! The waters of Peace! Timothy had said that they flowed through
the world, and now he was bathed in them. He heard the river's ripple as
it passed; he felt at rest.
For a few minutes longer the old man talked on, but Joel could not make
out what he said, for the words were subdued and mingled with the murmur
of the magical river.
"Settled weather has come at last," remarked Timothy, going to the door,
and looking at the sky, which was flying with rosy streamers, although
so late. But Joel made no reply. He had gone to sleep.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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